MAKING WOUND ARTICLES, e.g. WOUND TUBES, OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER

Introduced: September 1968

Classification Context

Section:: PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Class:: MAKING ARTICLES OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER; WORKING PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER
Subclass:: MAKING WOUND ARTICLES, e.g. WOUND TUBES, OF PAPER, CARDBOARD OR MATERIAL WORKED IN A MANNER ANALOGOUS TO PAPER

Description

B31C covers the manufacture of tubular and spiral wound articles produced from paper, cardboard, or paper-like materials through winding and lamination processes. This subclass includes paper tubes, cores, spools, and similar hollow cylindrical products formed by winding continuous sheets of material around a mandrel or former. The classification encompasses machinery, methods, and apparatus for controlling winding tension, adhesive application, cutting, and finishing of wound articles across various industrial applications such as packaging, textiles, and paper handling.

Filing statistics

IPC subclass B31C recorded 1,675 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 106 in 2013 to 134 in 2023 (+26%), peaking at 240 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class B31 are GPI (GRAPHIC PACKAGING INTERNATIONAL) (356 applications), KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION (296 applications) and RANPAK CORPORATION (257 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

Related Keywords

making BOTTLE(S) by winding plastic sheet materialmaking drinking STRAW(S) from sheet materialforming articles by winding paper TAPE(S)making TUBE(S) by winding paper or metal foilmaking TUBE(S) by winding plastic sheet materialmaking articles by WINDING paper or metal foilmaking articles by WINDING plastic sheet material

7 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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B31C 1/00 Making tubes or pipes by feeding at right angles to the winding mandrel centre line
B31C 11/00 Machinery for winding combined with other machinery
B31C 3/00 Making tubes or pipes by feeding obliquely to the winding mandrel centre line
B31C 5/00 Making tubes or pipes without using mandrels
B31C 7/00 Making conical articles by winding
B31C 9/00 Simultaneous forming of cylindrical and conical shapes by winding separate webs, e.g. forming bottles
B31C 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class B31, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

GPI (GRAPHIC PACKAGING INTERNATIONAL) US 356
KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION US 296
RANPAK CORPORATION US 257
P&G (PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY) US 228
BOBST MEX CH 218
JIANGSU NANJIANG MACHINERY COMPANY 214
SINOTECHO (WUHAN) INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY COMPANY 209
DONGGUAN HONGMING MACHINERY COMPANY 195
BHS CORRUGATED MASCHINEN- UND ANLAGENBAU DE 192
TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE CH 183