PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL

Description

B01 encompasses apparatus and processes for fundamental physical and chemical operations that are not restricted to a specific technical field or application. This class covers general-purpose equipment and techniques such as mixing, separating, heating, cooling, and drying, along with associated control systems and apparatus designs. Inventions classified here typically serve as building blocks across multiple industries—from pharmaceuticals to food processing to chemical manufacturing—and are inventions that cannot be adequately classified within more specialized B-subclasses dedicated to particular applications or materials. B01 excludes devices designed for highly specific technical applications, which are classified in their respective specialized subclasses (such as B02 for crushing/grinding or B05 for spraying).

Filing statistics

IPC B01 recorded 2,370,136 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023, summed across its 5 subclasses. Annual filings grew from 92,255 in 2013 to 324,435 in 2023 (+252%), peaking at 340,041 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class B01 are SINOPEC (CHINA PETROCHEMICAL CORPORATION) (16,893 applications), CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (11,733 applications) and BASF (BADISCHE ANILIN & SODA FABRIK) (3,898 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings