PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B04

B04B - Centrifuges

Centrifuges. 1,233 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,233
US patents granted
B04
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+15%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Centrifuges ranks #430 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,233 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 15% over five years.

#430
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,233
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Alfa Laval Corporate…
leading assignee (100)
+15%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: ALFA Laval Corporate AB (100 patents)

CPC subclass B04B - CENTRIFUGES - covers 1,233 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B04 (CENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS OR MACHINES FOR CARRYING-OUT PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B04B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. ALFA Laval Corporate AB leads with 100 patents, followed by Fenwal, Inc. at 56 grants and GEA Mechanical Equipment Gmbh at 45.

Filing activity in B04B is up 15% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B04B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B04B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 15% versus 2015–2019.

80100120140 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 83

Who leads B04B?

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

patents

What this shows Alfa Laval Corporate… is the most active filer in B04B, holding 100 of the 1,233 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 B04B
Rank Company Patents in B04B
#1 ALFA Laval Corporate AB 100
#2 Fenwal, Inc. 56
#3 GEA Mechanical Equipment Gmbh 45
#4 Terumo BCT, Inc. 38
#5 Becton, Dickinson And Company 29
#6 Andreas Hettich Gmbh & Co. KG 23
#7 Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha 21
#8 Mann+hummel Gmbh 17
#9 Beckman Coulter, Inc. 16
#10 Thermo Electron LED Gmbh 16
#11 Flottweg SE 16
#12 Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. 15
#13 Cummins Filtration IP, Inc. 14
#14 Qwtip Llc 13
#15 Eppendorf Ag 12
#16 Exact Sciences Corporation 12
#17 Pneumatic Scale Corporation 12
#18 Precision Planting Llc 11
#19 Haemonetics Corporation 11
#20 Cellares Corporation 10

About This Class

CPC subclass B04B belongs to class B04.

1,233 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 B04B 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 B04B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B04B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B04B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B04B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 020406080100120 Patents in B04B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Alfa Laval Corporate…FenwalGea Mechanical Equipm…Terumo BctBecton Dickinson andAndreas Hettich & KgTerumoMann+HummelBeckman CoulterThermo Electron LedFlottweg SeHitachi KokiCummins Filtration IpQwtip
Top 14 B04B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B04B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B04B?
CPC subclass B04B covers CENTRIFUGES. It belongs to CPC class B04 (CENTRIFUGAL APPARATUS OR MACHINES FOR CARRYING-OUT PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES), with 1,233 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B04B?
1,233 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B04B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B04B?
ALFA Laval Corporate AB leads B04B with 100 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B04B 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., B04) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B04B 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.