Contacts

Introduced: September 1968

Last revised: January 2006

Classification Context

Section:: ELECTRICITY
Class:: ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
Subclass:: ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES

Filing statistics

IPC H01H 1/00 belongs to the parent subclass H01H, which recorded 242,774 patent applications worldwide between 2013 and 2023. Annual filings grew from 16,532 in 2013 to 24,974 in 2023 (+51%), peaking at 27,753 applications in 2020. The most active applicants in class H01 are TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY (43,574 applications), SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY (42,206 applications) and LG CHEM (21,383 applications).

Source: EPO PATSTAT, worldwide filings

9 direct subcodes

Child Classifications

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H01H 1/02 characterised by the material thereof
H01H 1/06 characterised by the shape or structure of the contact-making surface, e.g. grooved
H01H 1/12 characterised by the manner in which co-operating contacts engage
H01H 1/5 Means for increasing contact pressure, preventing vibration of contacts, holding contacts together after engagement, or biasing contacts to the open position
H01H 1/56 Contact arrangements for providing make-before-break operation, e.g. for on-load tap-changing
H01H 1/58 Electric connections to or between contacts; Terminals
H01H 1/6 Auxiliary means structurally associated with the switch for cleaning or lubricating contact-making surfaces
H01H 1/62 Heating or cooling of contacts
H01H 1/64 Protective enclosures, baffle plates, or screens for contacts

Top Applicants

Top 10 applicants by patent filingsfor class H01, 2013–2023, worldwide · Source: EPO PATSTAT

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY TW 43,574
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY KR 42,206
LG CHEM KR 21,383
APPLIED MATERIALS US 20,441
LG ENERGY SOLUTION KR 20,279
SAMSUNG DISPLAY KR 19,725
CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 19,400
TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 18,819
SGCC(STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA) 18,082
TOKYO ELECTRON JP 17,634