PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A46

A46B - Brushes

Brushes. 2,997 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

2,997
US patents granted
A46
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+35%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Brushes ranks #314 of 670 CPC technology areas - 2,997 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 35% over five years.

#314
of 670 CPC technology areas
2,997
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Colgate-palmolive
leading assignee (382)
+35%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Colgate-palmolive Company (382 patents)

CPC subclass A46B - BRUSHES - covers 2,997 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A46 (BRUSHWARE). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A46B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Colgate-palmolive Company leads with 382 patents, followed by L'oreal at 141 grants and The Braun Corporation at 71.

Filing activity in A46B is up 35% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A46B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A46B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 35% versus 2015–2019.

150200250300350 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 201

Who leads A46B?

The 12 most active assignees in BRUSHES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Colgate-palmolive is the most active filer in A46B, holding 382 of the 2,997 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass A46B
Rank Company Patents in A46B
#1 Colgate-palmolive Company 382
#2 L'oreal 141
#3 The Braun Corporation 71
#4 The Gillette Company Llc 53
#5 Trisa Holding Ag 44
#6 Dyson Technology Limited 43
#7 Bissell Inc. 38
#8 Albea Services 27
#9 Sharkninja Operating Llc 22
#10 GEKA Gmbh 21
#11 Omron Healthcare Co., Ltd. 18
#12 Bissell Homecare, Inc. 18
#13 Water Pik, Inc. 16
#14 Chanel Parfums Beaute 16
#15 Willo 32 SAS 16
#16 Aktiebolaget Electrolux 14
#17 Sage Products, Llc 13
#18 Sunstar Suisse Sa 13
#19 Unger Marketing International, Llc 12
#20 Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 12

About This Class

CPC subclass A46B belongs to class A46.

2,997 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A46B assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A46B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A46B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A46B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A46B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 -1000100200300400500 Patents in A46B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Colgate-palmoliveL'orealThe BraunThe GilletteTrisa HoldingDyson TechnologyBissellAlbea ServicesSharkninja OperatingGekaOmron HealthcareBissell HomecareWater PikChanel Parfums Beaute
Top 14 A46B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A46B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A46B?
CPC subclass A46B covers BRUSHES. It belongs to CPC class A46 (BRUSHWARE), with 2,997 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A46B?
2,997 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A46B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A46B?
Colgate-palmolive Company leads A46B with 382 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A46B collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., A46) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A46B provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.