B23F MAKING GEARS OR TOOTHED RACKS (by stamping B21D; by rolling B21H; by forging or pressing B21K; by casting B22; arrangements for copying or controlling B23Q; machines or devices for grinding or polishing, in general B24B)
Description
B23F covers machine tools, processes, and equipment specifically designed for manufacturing gears and toothed racks through cutting, shaping, or finishing operations. This includes gear hobbing machines, gear shaping machines, gear grinding equipment, and related tools for producing spur gears, helical gears, bevel gears, and rack teeth. The classification encompasses both the machines themselves and the manufacturing methods employed, such as hobbing, shaping, grinding, and lapping of gear teeth.
Filing statistics
CPC subclass B23F recorded 6,819 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 350 in 2013 to 597 in 2023 (+71%), peaking at 853 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class B23 are ITW (ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS) (3,642 applications), DISCO CORPORATION (3,316 applications) and FANUC (3,111 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
12 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- B23F 1/00 Making gear teeth by tools of which the profile matches the profile of the required surface (special adaptations for making curved teeth B23F9/00)
- B23F 11/00 Making worm wheels, e.g. by hobbing
- B23F 13/00 Making worms by methods essentially requiring the use of machines of the gear-cutting type (making screw-thread B23G)
- B23F 15/00 Methods or machines for making gear wheels of special kinds not covered by groups B23F7/00 - B23F13/00
- B23F 17/00 Special methods or machines for making gear teeth, not covered by the preceding groups
- B23F 19/00 Finishing gear teeth by other tools than those used for manufacturing gear teeth
- B23F 21/00 Tools specially adapted for use in machines for manufacturing gear teeth
- B23F 23/00 Accessories or equipment combined with or arranged in, or specially designed to form part of, gear-cutting machines (accessories or equipment not restricted to gear-cutting machines B23Q)
- B23F 3/00 Making gear teeth involving copying operations controlled by templates having a profile which matches that of the required tooth face or part thereof or a copy thereof to a different scale (copying systems or devices per se B23Q35/00)
- B23F 5/00 Making straight gear teeth involving moving a tool relatively to a workpiece with a rolling-off or an enveloping motion with respect to the gear teeth to be made
- B23F 7/00 Making herringbone gear teeth
- B23F 9/00 Making gears having teeth curved in their longitudinal direction
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class B23, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- ITW (ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS) US 3,642
- DISCO CORPORATION JP 3,316
- FANUC JP 3,111
- ROBERT BOSCH DE 2,711
- FANUC 2,163
- GE (GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY) US 2,113
- ISCAR IL 1,516
- SIEMENS DE 1,459
- LINCOLN GLOBAL US 1,433
- KOBE STEEL JP 1,423