D06C FINISHING, DRESSING, TENTERING OR STRETCHING TEXTILE FABRICS
Introduced: September 1968
Last revised: July 1974
Classification Context
- Section:
- TEXTILES; PAPER
- Class:
- TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- Subclass:
- FINISHING, DRESSING, TENTERING OR STRETCHING TEXTILE FABRICS
Description
D06C encompasses machinery and processes for post-weaving or post-knitting treatment of textile fabrics, including finishing operations that impart desired properties such as smoothness, stiffness, or aesthetic appearance. It covers tentering frames and stretching devices used to set fabric dimensions and remove wrinkles, as well as dressing processes that apply sizing agents or other chemical treatments. This subclass excludes general laundering and cleaning operations (D06B) and specific dyeing or color application methods (D06B or D06P), focusing instead on mechanical and chemical finishing treatments that prepare fabrics for final use.
Filing statistics
IPC subclass D06C recorded 40,235 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 1,348 in 2013 to 5,414 in 2023 (+302%), peaking at 6,403 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class D06 are QINGDAO HAIER WASHING MACHINE COMPANY (10,520 applications), HAIER SMART HOME (8,532 applications) and LG ELECTRONICS (7,853 applications).
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
In class comparison
D06C ranks 4th of 11 subclasses with filings in D06, with 40,235 applications between 2013 and 2023, 9.7% of the class. Annual filings grew 302% from 2013 to 2023, above the class as a whole (+98%).
| Rank | Subclass | Title | Applications | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D06F, Laundering, Drying, Ironing, Pressing or Folding Textile Articles | Laundering, Drying, Ironing, Pressing or Folding Textile Articles | 135,930 | 32.7% |
| 2 | D06B, Treating Textile Materials Using Liquids, Gases or Vapours | Treating Textile Materials Using Liquids, Gases or Vapours | 67,125 | 16.2% |
| 3 | D06M, Treatment, Not Provided for Elsewhere in Class , of Fibres, Threads, Yarns, Fabrics, Feathers or Fibrous Goods Made From Such Materials | Treatment, Not Provided for Elsewhere in Class , of Fibres, Threads, Yarns, Fabrics, Feathers or Fibrous Goods Made From Such Materials | 66,904 | 16.1% |
| 4 | D06C | Finishing, Dressing, Tentering or Stretching Textile Fabrics | 40,235 | 9.7% |
| 5 | D06H, Marking, Inspecting, Seaming or Severing Textile Materials | Marking, Inspecting, Seaming or Severing Textile Materials | 34,771 | 8.4% |
| 6 | D06P, Dyeing or Printing Textiles; Dyeing Leather, Furs or Solid Macromolecular Substances in Any Form | Dyeing or Printing Textiles; Dyeing Leather, Furs or Solid Macromolecular Substances in Any Form | 25,428 | 6.1% |
| 7 | D06N, Wall, Floor, or Like Covering Materials, e.g. Linoleum, Oilcloth, Artificial Leather, Roofing Felt, Consisting of a Fibrous Web Coated With a Layer of Macromolecular Material; Flexible Sheet Material Not Otherwise Provided for | Wall, Floor, or Like Covering Materials, e.g. Linoleum, Oilcloth, Artificial Leather, Roofing Felt, Consisting of a Fibrous Web Coated With a Layer of Macromolecular Material; Flexible Sheet Material Not Otherwise Provided for | 20,490 | 4.9% |
| 8 | D06G, Mechanical or Pressure Cleaning of Carpets, Rugs, Sacks, Hides, or Other Skin or Textile Articles or Fabrics; Turning Inside-Out Flexible Tubular or Other Hollow Articles | Mechanical or Pressure Cleaning of Carpets, Rugs, Sacks, Hides, or Other Skin or Textile Articles or Fabrics; Turning Inside-Out Flexible Tubular or Other Hollow Articles | 15,805 | 3.8% |
| 9 | D06L, Dry-Cleaning, Washing or Bleaching Fibres, Filaments, Threads, Yarns, Fabrics, Feathers or Made-Up Fibrous Goods; Bleaching Leather or Furs | Dry-Cleaning, Washing or Bleaching Fibres, Filaments, Threads, Yarns, Fabrics, Feathers or Made-Up Fibrous Goods; Bleaching Leather or Furs | 5,729 | 1.4% |
| 10 | D06Q, Decorating Textiles | Decorating Textiles | 2,596 | 0.6% |
Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings
Related Keywords
14 direct subcodes
Child Classifications
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- D06C 11/00 Teasing, napping or otherwise roughening or raising pile of textile fabrics
- D06C 13/00 Shearing, clipping or cropping surfaces of textile fabrics; Pile cutting; Trimming seamed edges
- D06C 15/00 Calendering, pressing, ironing, glossing or glazing textile fabrics
- D06C 17/00 Fulling
- D06C 19/00 Breaking or softening of fabrics
- D06C 21/00 Shrinking by compressing
- D06C 23/00 Making patterns or design on fabrics
- D06C 25/00 Treating selvedges or other edges, e.g. stiffening
- D06C 27/00 Compound processes or apparatus, for finishing or dressing textile fabrics, not otherwise provided for
- D06C 29/00 Finishing or dressing, of textile fabrics, not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
- D06C 3/00 Stretching, tentering or spreading textile fabrics; Producing elasticity in textile fabrics
- D06C 5/00 Shaping or stretching of tubular fabrics upon cores or internal frames
- D06C 7/00 Heating or cooling textile fabrics
- D06C 9/00 Singeing
Top Applicants
Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class D06, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT
- QINGDAO HAIER WASHING MACHINE COMPANY 10,520
- HAIER SMART HOME 8,532
- LG ELECTRONICS KR 7,853
- WUXI LITTLE SWAN COMPANY 5,749
- QINGDAO HAIER WASHING MACHINE COMPANY CN 2,905
- BSH (BOSCH UND SIEMENS HAUSGERAETE) DE 2,785
- SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 2,662
- GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES 1,701
- PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 1,391
- MIELE DE 1,374