CPC technology class · B04

B04C - Apparatus Using Free Vortex Flow

Apparatus using free vortex flow, e.g. cyclones. 873 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

873
US patents granted: #2/2
in B04: 41.5%
B04 class share: +32%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Apparatus Using Free Vortex Flow ranks #476 of 670 CPC technology areas - 873 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 32% over five years.

#476
of 670 CPC technology areas: 873
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Omachron Intellectual…
leading assignee (97): +32%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B04C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B04C recorded 462 grants versus 349 in 2015–2019 (+32% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2020 at 110 grants and bottomed in 2016 at 62 (+77% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Omachron Intellectual Property Inc. holds 11.1% of the class ; the top three share 15.7%.

Leaderboard read

B04C concentration, lead at 11.1%

Omachron Intellectual Property Inc. leads this historical grant record at 11.1% of B04C - foreign corporation assignees hold 64% of class grants (257 of 401). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 11.1%
Top three share: 15.7%
Lead over #2: 75

Where B04C sits inside B04

Among 2 subclasses in B04 (Centrifugal Apparatus OR Machines FOR Carrying-out Physical OR Chemical Processes), B04C ranks #2 and holds 41.5% of the parent class's 2,106 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B04B 1,233

Rising assignees active in B04C

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 Enercorp Engineered Solutions, LLC 14x 1 → 14 company-wide · 5 in B04C
#2 Vulco S.A. 4.00x 1 → 4 company-wide · 6 in B04C
#3 Techtronic Floor Care Technology Limited 2.18x 33 → 72 company-wide · 5 in B04C
#4 Supercritical Fluid Technologies, Inc. 2.00x 2 → 4 company-wide · 5 in B04C
#5 Adey Holdings (2008) Limited 1.71x 14 → 24 company-wide · 7 in B04C

B04C grants by year, peak 2020 (110)

US utility-patent grants per year in B04C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 32% versus 2015–2019.

Omachron Intellectual…

97
Dyson Technology

22
Cidra Corporate…

18
Qwtip

14
Mann+Hummel

13
Hayward Industries

8
Vermeer Manufacturing

7
Adey Holdings (2008)

7
Jiangsu Midea…

7
M-i L L C

6
Techtronic Industries

6
Vulco

6

What this shows Omachron Intellectual… is the most active filer in B04C, holding 97 of the 873 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 B04C
Rank	Company	Patents in B04C
#1	Omachron Intellectual Property Inc.	97
#2	Dyson Technology Limited	22
#3	Cidra Corporate Services LLC	18
#4	Qwtip LLC	14
#5	MANN+HUMMEL GmbH	13
#6	Hayward Industries, Inc.	8
#7	Vermeer Manufacturing Company	7
#8	Adey Holdings (2008) Limited	7
#9	Jiangsu Midea Cleaning Appliances Co., Ltd.	7
#10	M-I L.L.C.	6
#11	Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd.	6
#12	Vulco S.A.	6
#13	FMC Separation Systems, BV	6
#14	Techtronic Floor Care Technology Limited	5
#15	X'pole Precision Tools Inc.	5
#16	Enercorp Engineered Solutions, LLC	5
#17	KBK Industries, LLC	5
#18	Supercritical Fluid Technologies, Inc.	5
#19	Elemental Scientific, Inc.	4
#20	Koganei Corporation	4

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B04C 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 B04C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B04C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near B04C's 873-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B04C (#476 of 670 by volume ; lead share 11.1%) - not the B04 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B61C 870 A61D 885 B62L 885 F42D 887

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A41H 11.1% B27B 11.2% B31F 11.0% F05B 11.0%

Questions about B04C

Which company holds the most patents in B04C?

Omachron Intellectual Property Inc. leads B04C with 97 patents (11.1% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 64% of class grants.

Which B04C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B04C, Enercorp Engineered Solutions, LLC shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (14x: 1 grants in 2019–2021 → 14 in 2022–2024) while holding 5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does B04C compare inside parent class B04?

Inside B04 (Centrifugal Apparatus OR Machines FOR Carrying-out Physical OR Chemical Processes), B04C ranks #2 of 2 subclasses by grant volume and holds 41.5% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B04B (1,233 grants).

What to do with this data

B04C in context - here's where to go next.

Omachron Intellectual Property Inc. leads B04C with 97 grants in this class. See full portfolio
B04C ranks #476 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class B04, the largest sibling subclass is B04B with 1,233 grants. Explore B04B

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

Methodology - B04C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (873 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.