CPC technology class · A47

A47K - Sanitary Equipment

Sanitary equipment not otherwise provided for ; toilet accessories. 3,567 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

3,567
US patents granted: #7/9
in A47: 7.8%
A47 class share: +21%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Sanitary Equipment ranks #294 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,567 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 21% over five years.

#294
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,567
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Gojo Industries
leading assignee (220): +21%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How A47K's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, A47K recorded 1,820 grants versus 1,508 in 2015–2019 (+21% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 416 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 200 (+108% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Gojo Industries, Inc. holds 6.2% of the class ; the top three share 14.4%.

Leaderboard read

A47K concentration, lead at 6.2%

Gojo Industries, Inc. leads this historical grant record at 6.2% of A47K - us corporation assignees hold 66% of class grants (1,470 of 2,229). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 6.2%
Top three share: 14.4%
Lead over #2: 70

Where A47K sits inside A47

Among 9 subclasses in A47 (FURNITURE; Domestic Articles OR APPLIANCES; Coffee MILLS; Spice MILLS; Suction Cleaners IN General), A47K ranks #7 and holds 7.8% of the parent class's 45,744 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

A47L 9,460 A47J 8,354 A47B 7,915 A47C 6,586 A47G 4,697 A47F 3,660 A47D 1,075 A47H 430

Rising assignees active in A47K

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

#1 Medic, Inc. 16x 1 → 16 company-wide · 9 in A47K
#2 House of Atlas, LLC 9.00x 3 → 27 company-wide · 10 in A47K
#3 Bemis Manufacturing Company 7.00x 4 → 28 company-wide · 20 in A47K
#4 Safeway Safety Step, LLC 5.00x 1 → 5 company-wide · 11 in A47K
#5 Dispensing Dynamics International, Inc. 3.00x 3 → 9 company-wide · 23 in A47K

A47K grants by year, peak 2019 (416)

US utility-patent grants per year in A47K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 21% versus 2015–2019.

Gojo Industries

220
Kohler

150
Kimberly-clark…

142
Gpcp Ip Holdings

96
Op-hygiene Ip

84
Essity Hygiene And…

77
Toto

57
Daio Paper

44
Sca Hygiene Products…

41
Liberty Hardware Mfg

40
Delta Faucet

31
Dispensing Dynamics…

23

What this shows Gojo Industries is the most active filer in A47K, holding 220 of the 3,567 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass A47K
Rank	Company	Patents in A47K
#1	Gojo Industries, Inc.	220
#2	Kohler Co.	150
#3	Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.	142
#4	Gpcp IP Holdings LLC	96
#5	Op-hygiene IP GMBH	84
#6	Essity Hygiene AND Health Aktiebolag	77
#7	Toto Ltd.	57
#8	Daio Paper Corporation	44
#9	SCA Hygiene Products AB	41
#10	Liberty Hardware MFG. Corp.	40
#11	Delta Faucet Company	31
#12	Dispensing Dynamics International, Inc.	23
#13	Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP	20
#14	Bemis Manufacturing Company	20
#15	Dyson Technology Limited	19
#16	THE Clorox Company	19
#17	Cascades Canada ULC	19
#18	SCA Tissue France	18
#19	Bobrick Washroom Equipment, Inc.	17
#20	simplehuman, LLC	16

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A47K 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 A47K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A47K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near A47K's 3,567-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for A47K (#294 of 670 by volume ; lead share 6.2%) - not the A47 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B25F 3,594 B63H 3,529 G01H 3,605 C09B 3,624

Nearest by lead-assignee share

H04J 6.2% E04D 6.2% B67B 6.1% H10N 6.1%

Questions about A47K

Which company holds the most patents in A47K?

Gojo Industries, Inc. leads A47K with 220 patents (6.2% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 66% of class grants.

Which A47K assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in A47K, Medic, Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (16x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 16 in 2022–2024) while holding 9 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does A47K compare inside parent class A47?

Inside A47 (FURNITURE; Domestic Articles OR APPLIANCES; Coffee MILLS; Spice MILLS; Suction Cleaners IN General), A47K ranks #7 of 9 subclasses by grant volume and holds 7.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is A47L (9,460 grants).

What to do with this data

A47K in context - here's where to go next.

Gojo Industries, Inc. leads A47K with 220 grants in this class. See full portfolio
A47K ranks #294 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class A47, the largest sibling subclass is A47L with 9,460 grants. Explore A47L

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - A47K figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (3,567 grants in the tracked window).

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.