B41B MACHINES OR ACCESSORIES FOR MAKING, SETTING, OR DISTRIBUTING TYPE; TYPE; PHOTOGRAPHIC OR PHOTOELECTRIC COMPOSING DEVICES (photographic devices in general G03)
Introduced: September 1968
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.
Title
Titles differ between systems:
IPC: MACHINES OR ACCESSORIES FOR MAKING, SETTING, OR DISTRIBUTING TYPE; TYPE; PHOTOGRAPHIC OR PHOTOELECTRONIC COMPOSING DEVICES
CPC: MACHINES OR ACCESSORIES FOR MAKING, SETTING, OR DISTRIBUTING TYPE; TYPE; PHOTOGRAPHIC OR PHOTOELECTRIC COMPOSING DEVICES (photographic devices in general G03)
Full Title
Full titles differ between systems:
MACHINES OR ACCESSORIES FOR MAKING, SETTING, OR DISTRIBUTING TYPE; TYPE; PHOTOGRAPHIC OR PHOTOELECTRONIC COMPOSING DEVICES
MACHINES OR ACCESSORIES FOR MAKING, SETTING, OR DISTRIBUTING TYPE; TYPE; PHOTOGRAPHIC OR PHOTOELECTRIC COMPOSING DEVICES (photographic devices in general G03)
IPC and CPC are identically structured here. All 14 subcodes exist in both systems.
5 shared codes have differing titles between IPC and CPC.
Child Classifications
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- B41B 1/00 Elements or appliances for hand composition; Chases, quoins, or galleys IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- 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 IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 13/00 Equipment specially adapted for photographing mounted characters or the like, e.g. advertisements, lines IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 15/00 Photographic composing machines with movable character carriers for composing lines of characters prior to photography IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 17/00 Photographic composing machines having fixed or movable character carriers and without means for composing lines prior to photography IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 21/00 Common details of photographic composing machines of the kinds covered in groups B41B17/00 and B41B19/00 IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 23/00 Auxiliary devices for modifying, mixing or correcting text or layout in connection with photographic or photoelectronic composing IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- 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) IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 27/00 Control, indicating, or safety devices or systems for composing machines of various kinds or types (computers in general G06F) IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 3/00 Apparatus for mechanical composition using prefabricated type, i.e. without casting equipment IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 5/00 Devices for making type or lines (for mechanical composition B41B7/00, B41B9/00, B41B11/00) IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 7/00 Kinds or types of apparatus for mechanical composition in which the type is cast or moulded from matrices IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
- B41B 9/00 Details of, or accessories for, machines for mechanical composition using fixed combinations of matrices from which type is cast or moulded IPC+CPC Available in IPC and CPC
Top Applicants
Top Applicants (IPC)
Class B41,2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 14,672
- CANON 14,153
- RICOH COMPANY 8,049
- SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION JP 8,044
- HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY US 7,312
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES 6,887
- KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS 5,463
- CANON JP 5,001
- KONICA MINOLTA CORPORATION 4,512
- BROTHER INDUSTRIES JP 3,681
Top Applicants (CPC)
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