CPC Subclass Not Allocatable
F16C SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS
Description
F16C covers shafts, bearings, pivots, and rotary support elements that enable mechanical power transmission and rotation in machinery. The class encompasses rigid and flexible shafts, crankshaft components, pivotal connections, and all bearing types designed to support rotational or oscillating motion. Notably excluded are gearing, couplings, clutches, and brakes, which fall under separate classifications despite their role in power transmission systems. This subclass forms the structural foundation for rotating machinery across industrial, automotive, and mechanical engineering applications.
54 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- F16C 1/00 Flexible shafts (flexible shafts in dental machines for boring or cutting A61C1/18); Mechanical means for transmitting movement in a flexible sheathing
- F16C 11/00 Pivots; Pivotal connections (arrangements of steering linkage connections B62D7/16)
- F16C 13/00 Rolls, drums, discs, or the like (guide rollers in feeding webs B65H27/00; calender rolls, bearings therefor D21G1/02; rotary drums or rollers for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus F28F5/02); Bearings or mountings therefor
- F16C 15/00 Construction of rotary bodies to resist centrifugal force (flywheels, correction weights F16F15/30, F16F15/32)
- F16C 17/00 Sliding-contact bearings for exclusively rotary movement (F16C32/06 takes precedence; adjustable bearings F16C23/00, F16C25/00)
- F16C 19/00 Bearings with rolling contact, for exclusively rotary movement (adjustable bearings F16C23/00, F16C25/00 )
- F16C 21/00 Combinations of sliding-contact bearings with ball or roller bearings, for exclusively rotary movement (F16C17/24, F16C19/52 take precedence)
- F16C 2202/00 Solid materials defined by their properties
- F16C 2204/00 Metallic materials; Alloys (alloys in general C22C; F16C2206/00 takes precedence)
- F16C 2206/00 Materials with ceramics, cermets, hard carbon or similar non-metallic hard materials as main constituents
- F16C 2208/00 Plastics; Synthetic resins, e.g. rubbers
- F16C 2210/00 Fluids
- F16C 2212/00 Natural materials, i.e. based on animal or plant products such as leather, wood or cotton or extracted therefrom, e.g. lignin
- F16C 2220/00 Shaping
- F16C 2223/00 Surface treatments; Hardening; Coating
- F16C 2226/00 Joining parts; Fastening; Assembling or mounting parts
- F16C 2229/00 Setting preload
- F16C 2231/00 Running-in; Initial operation
- F16C 2233/00 Monitoring condition, e.g. temperature, load, vibration
- F16C 2235/00 Cleaning
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class F16, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- SCHAEFFLER TECHNOLOGIES & COMPANY DE 22,817
- ZAHNRADFABRIK FRIEDRICHSHAFEN DE 10,523
- HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY KR 7,933
- ROBERT BOSCH DE 7,059
- KIA MOTORS CORPORATION KR 4,867
- SKF SE 4,729
- TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION JP 4,111
- FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES US 3,838
- GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS US 3,575
- TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 3,499