B41B MACHINES OR ACCESSORIES FOR MAKING, SETTING, OR DISTRIBUTING TYPE; TYPE; PHOTOGRAPHIC OR PHOTOELECTRIC COMPOSING DEVICES (photographic devices in general G03)
Description
B41B encompasses machinery and equipment for the complete manufacturing and handling workflow of typographic characters, including type casting, setting, spacing, and sorting systems. It covers mechanical type composition devices, photocomposition systems, and photoelectronic typesetting equipment used in traditional and modern printing preparation. This subclass also includes the physical type characters themselves and auxiliary apparatus for type distribution and management. Related printing processes and the actual printing machines themselves fall under adjacent B41 subclasses rather than B41B.
Filing statistics
CPC subclass B41B recorded 45 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 2 in 2013 to 3 in 2022 (+50%), peaking at 16 applications in 2017. The most active applicants in class B41 are SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION (8,446 applications), SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION (8,438 applications) and HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (7,828 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
14 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- B41B 1/00 Elements or appliances for hand composition; Chases, quoins, or galleys
- B41B 11/00 Details of, or accessories for, machines for mechanical composition using matrices for individual characters which are selected and assembled for type casting or moulding
- B41B 13/00 Equipment specially adapted for photographing mounted characters or the like, e.g. advertisements, lines
- B41B 15/00 Photographic composing machines with movable character carriers for composing lines of characters prior to photography
- B41B 17/00 Photographic composing machines having fixed or movable character carriers and without means for composing lines prior to photography
- B41B 19/00 Photoelectronic composing machines
- B41B 21/00 Common details of photographic composing machines of the kinds covered in groups B41B17/00 and B41B19/00
- B41B 23/00 Auxiliary devices for modifying, mixing or correcting text or layout in connection with photographic or photoelectronic composing
- B41B 25/00 Apparatus specially adapted for preparation of record carriers for controlling composing machines (for casting individual characters or spaces, e.g. in type casting machines B41B7/04; methods for marking or reproducing record carriers having digital data thereon in general G06K1/00)
- B41B 27/00 Control, indicating, or safety devices or systems for composing machines of various kinds or types (computers in general G06F)
- B41B 3/00 Apparatus for mechanical composition using prefabricated type, i.e. without casting equipment
- B41B 5/00 Devices for making type or lines (for mechanical composition B41B7/00, B41B9/00, B41B11/00)
- B41B 7/00 Kinds or types of apparatus for mechanical composition in which the type is cast or moulded from matrices
- B41B 9/00 Details of, or accessories for, machines for mechanical composition using fixed combinations of matrices from which type is cast or moulded
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class B41, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 8,446
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION JP 8,438
- HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY US 7,828
- CANON JP 5,419
- CANON 4,156
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES JP 3,763
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES 2,779
- RICOH COMPANY JP 2,717
- FUJIFILM JP 2,423
- RICOH COMPANY 1,739