F15B SYSTEMS ACTING BY MEANS OF FLUIDS IN GENERAL; FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS, e.g. SERVOMOTORS; DETAILS OF FLUID-PRESSURE SYSTEMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
Description
F15B covers fluid-pressure actuator systems and general fluid-power technologies, including hydraulic and pneumatic devices that convert fluid energy into mechanical motion or control. This subclass encompasses servomotors, cylinders, motors, pumps, valves, accumulators, and system components used in fluid-pressure applications across diverse machinery and industrial equipment. It also includes residual technical details and system aspects of fluid-power installations not specifically allocated to other IPC classes. Adjacent classes F15C and F15D address more specialized applications such as fluid-power tools and prime movers respectively.
Filing statistics
CPC subclass F15B recorded 65,877 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 4,301 in 2013 to 5,272 in 2023 (+23%), peaking at 7,310 applications in 2018. The most active applicants in class F15 are ROBERT BOSCH (1,281 applications), SMC CORPORATION (865 applications) and HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY COMPANY (814 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
16 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- F15B 1/00 Installations or systems with accumulators; Supply reservoir or sump assemblies
- F15B 11/00 Servomotor systems without provision for follow-up action; (F15B3/00 takes precedence)
- F15B 13/00 Details of servomotor systems ( F15B15/00 take precedence)
- F15B 15/00 Fluid-actuated devices for displacing a member from one position to another; Gearing associated therewith
- F15B 17/00 Combinations of telemotor and servomotor systems
- F15B 18/00 Parallel arrangements of independent servomotor systems
- F15B 19/00 Testing; fluid-pressure systems or apparatus not otherwise provided for
- F15B 20/00 Safety arrangements for fluid actuator systems; Applications of safety devices in fluid actuator systems; Emergency measures for fluid actuator systems
- F15B 21/00 Common features of fluid actuator systems; Fluid-pressure actuator systems or details thereof, not covered by any other group of this subclass
- F15B 2201/00 Accumulators
- F15B 2211/00 Circuits for servomotor systems
- F15B 2215/00 Fluid-actuated devices for displacing a member from one position to another
- F15B 3/00 Intensifiers or fluid-pressure converters, e.g. pressure exchangers; Conveying pressure from one fluid system to another, without contact between the fluids
- F15B 5/00 Transducers converting variations of physical quantities, e.g. expressed by variations in positions of members, into fluid-pressure variations or vice versa; Varying fluid pressure as a function of variations of a plurality of fluid pressures or variations of other quantities (F15B9/00 takes precedence)
- F15B 7/00 Systems in which the movement produced is definitely related to the output of a volumetric pump; Telemotors
- F15B 9/00 Servomotors with follow-up action, i.e. in which the position of the actuated member conforms with that of the controlling member
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class F15, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- ROBERT BOSCH DE 1,281
- SMC CORPORATION JP 865
- HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY COMPANY JP 814
- KYB CORPORATION JP 584
- SCHAEFFLER TECHNOLOGIES & COMPANY DE 536
- CATERPILLAR US 532
- FESTO & COMPANY DE 486
- JOHN DEERE US 419
- KAWASAKI HEAVY IND JP 368
- HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND US 368