PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B05

B05C - Apparatus FOR Applying Fluent Materials TO Surfaces

Apparatus for applying fluent materials to surfaces, in general. 5,022 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

5,022
US patents granted
B05
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+9%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Apparatus FOR Applying Fluent Materials TO Surfaces ranks #252 of 670 CPC technology areas - 5,022 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 9% over five years.

#252
of 670 CPC technology areas
5,022
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nordson
leading assignee (217)
+9%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Nordson Corporation (217 patents)

CPC subclass B05C - APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL - covers 5,022 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B05 (SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B05C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Nordson Corporation leads with 217 patents, followed by Tokyo Electron Limited at 135 grants and Illinois TOOL Works Inc. at 79.

Filing activity in B05C is up 9% 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 B05C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B05C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 9% versus 2015–2019.

250300350400450500550 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 297

Who leads B05C?

The 12 most active assignees in APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nordson is the most active filer in B05C, holding 217 of the 5,022 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 B05C
Rank Company Patents in B05C
#1 Nordson Corporation 217
#2 Tokyo Electron Limited 135
#3 Illinois TOOL Works Inc. 79
#4 Sulzer Mixpac Ag 62
#5 Screen Holdings Co., Ltd. 59
#6 Musashi Engineering, Inc. 52
#7 Kateeva, Inc. 44
#8 LG Energy Solution, Ltd. 41
#9 Dürr Systems Ag 39
#10 Semes Co., Ltd. 32
#11 Heraeus Medical Gmbh 22
#12 Medmix Switzerland Ag 22
#13 DL Technology, Llc. 21
#14 Ordos Yuansheng Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. 20
#15 Graco Minnesota Inc. 20
#16 Screen Semiconductor Solutions Co., Ltd. 17
#17 Atlas Copco IAS Gmbh 17
#18 Rooftop Research, Llc 17
#19 Axalta Coating Systems IP Co., Llc 16
#20 Robatech Ag 16

About This Class

CPC subclass B05C belongs to class B05.

5,022 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 B05C 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 B05C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B05C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B05C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B05C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 050100150200250 Patents in B05C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NordsonTokyo ElectronIllinois Tool WorksSulzer MixpacScreen HoldingsMusashi EngineeringKateevaLg Energy SolutionDürr SystemsSemesHeraeus Medicalmedmix SwitzerlandDl TechnologyOrdos Yuansheng Optoe…
Top 14 B05C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B05C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B05C?
CPC subclass B05C covers APPARATUS FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL. It belongs to CPC class B05 (SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL), with 5,022 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B05C?
5,022 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B05C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B05C?
Nordson Corporation leads B05C with 217 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B05C 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., B05) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B05C 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.