VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION

Introduced: September 1968

Classification Context

Section:: PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Class:: VEHICLES IN GENERAL
Subclass:: VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION

Description

B60B covers the design, construction, and functional improvement of vehicle wheels, castors, and their supporting axle systems. This includes wheel structures (rims, hubs, spokes), castor assemblies for movable furniture and equipment, axle designs for load distribution, and technologies for enhancing traction and adhesion between wheels and road surfaces. The classification encompasses both pneumatic and solid wheel types, bearing systems, and mechanical modifications to improve grip and handling characteristics.

Filing statistics

IPC subclass B60B recorded 76,043 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 4,157 in 2013 to 8,554 in 2023 (+106%), peaking at 10,866 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class B60 are TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (28,052 applications), HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY (27,773 applications) and FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES (26,243 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

Additional Content

Wheels for roller skates

Related Keywords

RAILWAY(S),RAILROAD(S) vehicle wheels or axlesvehicle wheel RIMSSTUB axleswheels for VEHICLESfurniture castorsvehicle WHEEL(S)

20 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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B60B 1/00 Spoked wheels; Spokes thereof
B60B 11/00 Units comprising multiple wheels arranged side by side; Wheels having more than one rim or capable of carrying more than one tyre
B60B 15/00 Wheels or wheel attachments designed for increasing traction
B60B 17/00 Wheels characterised by rail-engaging elements
B60B 19/00 Wheels not otherwise provided for or having characteristics specified in one of the subgroups of this group
B60B 21/00 Rims
B60B 23/00 Attaching rim to wheel body
B60B 25/00 Rims built-up of several main parts
B60B 27/00 Hubs
B60B 29/00 Apparatus or tools for mounting or dismounting wheels
B60B 3/00 Disc wheels, i.e. wheels with load-supporting disc body
B60B 30/00 Means for holding wheels or parts thereof
B60B 31/00 Apparatus or tools for assembling or disassembling wheels
B60B 33/00 Castors in general
B60B 35/00 Axle units; Parts thereof
B60B 37/00 Wheel-axle combinations, e.g. wheel sets
B60B 39/00 Increasing wheel adhesion
B60B 5/00 Wheels, spokes, disc bodies, rims, hubs, wholly or predominantly made of non-metallic material
B60B 7/00 Wheel cover discs, rings, or the like, for ornamenting, protecting, or obscuring, wholly or in part, the wheel body, rim, hub, or tyre sidewall
B60B 9/00 Wheels of high resiliency

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class B60, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 28,052
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY KR 27,773
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES US 26,243
KIA MOTORS CORPORATION KR 20,110
ROBERT BOSCH DE 19,033
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION JP 17,924
BMW (BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE) DE 14,214
HONDA MOTOR COMPANY 12,527
AUDI DE 10,806
GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS US 10,336