PlainPatent

CPC technology class · Y04

Y04S - Systems Integrating Technologies Related TO Power Network…

Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation, communication or information technologies for improving the electrical power generation, transmission, distribution, management or usage, i.e. smart grids. 12,488 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

12,488
US patents granted
Y04
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+2%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Systems Integrating Technologies Related TO Power Network… ranks #147 of 670 CPC technology areas - 12,488 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 2% over five years.

#147
of 670 CPC technology areas
12,488
US patents granted, 2015–2025
General Electric
leading assignee (260)
+2%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: General Electric Company (260 patents)

CPC subclass Y04S - SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS - covers 12,488 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class Y04 (INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in Y04S is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. General Electric Company leads with 260 patents, followed by ABB Schweiz Ag at 116 grants and Strong Force Iot Portfolio 2016, Llc at 110.

Filing activity in Y04S is up 2% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is Y04S innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in Y04S, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 2% versus 2015–2019.

05001,0001,5002,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 454

Who leads Y04S?

The 12 most active assignees in SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows General Electric is the most active filer in Y04S, holding 260 of the 12,488 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass Y04S
Rank Company Patents in Y04S
#1 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. 127
#2 ABB Schweiz Ag 116
#3 Strong Force Iot Portfolio 2016, Llc 110
#4 Lutron Technology Company Llc 99
#5 Causam Energy, Inc. 71
#6 Itron, Inc. 67
#7 Digital Global Systems, Inc. 66
#8 Johnson Controls Technology Company 63
#9 LSIS Co., Ltd. 62
#10 Schneider Electric USA, Inc. 57
#11 Chargepoint, Inc. 54
#12 Causam Enterprises, Inc. 53
#13 Battelle Memorial Institute 51
#14 Enel X North America, Inc. 49
#15 Solaredge Technologies Ltd. 48
#16 Broadcom Corporation 45
#17 Landis+gyr Innovations, Inc. 45
#18 General Electric Technology Gmbh 44
#19 Emerging Automotive, Llc 44
#20 Witricity Corporation 41

About This Class

CPC subclass Y04S belongs to class Y04.

12,488 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading Y04S assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 Y04S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in Y04S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 Y04S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in Y04S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 406080100120140 Patents in Y04S Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Schweitzer Engineerin…Abb SchweizStrong Force Iot Port…Lutron TechnologyCausam EnergyItronDigital Global SystemsJohnson Controls Tech…LsisSchneider Electric UsaChargepointCausam EnterprisesBattelle Memorial Ins…Enel X North America
Top 14 Y04S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in Y04S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class Y04S?
CPC subclass Y04S covers SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS. It belongs to CPC class Y04 (INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS), with 12,488 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in Y04S?
12,488 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass Y04S between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in Y04S?
General Electric Company leads Y04S with 260 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for Y04S collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., Y04) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like Y04S provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.