SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL

Description

IPC Class B05 covers the fundamental technologies and apparatus for spraying, atomising, and applying liquid or other fluent materials onto surfaces. This encompasses spray guns, atomisers, nozzles, and complete spraying systems used across diverse industries including painting, coating, pesticide application, and industrial finishing. The class includes both the mechanical devices that generate spray patterns and the process methods for controlling fluid delivery and atomisation. Adjacent classes address specific applications (such as agricultural spraying in A01M) or narrower technical aspects covered in subclasses B05B through B05D.

Filing statistics

IPC B05 recorded 517,549 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023, summed across its 3 subclasses. Annual filings grew from 23,448 in 2013 to 71,093 in 2023 (+203%). The most active applicants in class B05 are DUERR SYSTEMS (1,073 applications), 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY (MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY) (941 applications) and TOKYO ELECTRON (825 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings