B41B 21/40 for line spacing
Full Title
Common details of photographic composing machines of the kinds covered in groups B41B17/00 and B41B19/00 > Film carriers; Film-conveying or positioning devices (film-handling means in line-composing photographic devices B41B15/32; machines with means for moving the film in its plane for photographing characters in succession B41B17/16) > with positioning mechanisms > for line spacing
Filing statistics
CPC B41B 21/40 belongs to the parent subclass B41B, which 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
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