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IPC Main Group
G06K 21/00

Information retrieval from punched cards designed for manual use or handling by machine; Apparatus for handling such cards, e.g. marking or correcting

Introduced: September 1968

Last revised: January 2006

Classification Context

Section:
PHYSICS
Class:
COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
Subclass:
GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS

Filing statistics

IPC G06K 21/00 belongs to the parent subclass G06K, which recorded 601,580 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings declined from 25,461 in 2013 to 14,926 in 2023 (-41%), peaking at 101,406 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class G06 are SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY (66,669 applications), IBM (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION) (62,313 applications) and MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING (41,918 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

Additional Content

Detection or correction of errors by rescanning patterns Checking correct operation of card-conveying mechanisms Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital marking

Related Keywords

punched or slotted cards for INFORMATION retrievalSTORAGE of information on record carriers designed to carry digital markings

4 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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  • G06K 21/02 in which coincidence of markings is sensed mechanically, e.g. by needle
  • G06K 21/04 in which coincidence of markings is sensed optically, e.g. peek-a-boo system
  • G06K 21/06 Apparatus or tools adapted for slotting or otherwise marking information-retrieval cards
  • G06K 21/08 Apparatus or tools for correcting punching or slotting errors

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class G06, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

  1. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 66,669
  2. IBM (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION) US 62,313
  3. MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING US 41,918
  4. GOOGLE US 32,969
  5. SGCC(STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA) 30,822
  6. INTEL CORPORATION US 30,010
  7. TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY 28,235
  8. HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY CN 26,079
  9. APPLE US 21,891
  10. HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY 20,505