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 grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

5,022
US patents granted: #3/3
in B05: 18.1%
B05 class share: -4%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Apparatus For Applying Fluent Materials To Surfaces ranks #252 of 670 CPC technology areas - 5,022 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 4% over five years.

#252
of 670 CPC technology areas: 5,022
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Nordson
leading assignee (217): -4%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B05C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B05C recorded 2,216 grants versus 2,313 in 2015–2019 (-4% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2017 at 512 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 389 (+32% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Nordson Corporation holds 4.3% of the class ; the top three share 8.6%.

Leaderboard read

B05C concentration, lead at 4.3%

Nordson Corporation leads this historical grant record at 4.3% of B05C - foreign corporation assignees hold 57% of class grants (1,330 of 2,322). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 4.3%
Top three share: 8.6%
Lead over #2: 82

Where B05C sits inside B05

Among 3 subclasses in B05 (Spraying OR Atomising IN GENERAL; Applying Fluent Materials TO Surfaces, IN General), B05C ranks #3 and holds 18.1% of the parent class's 27,719 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B05B 12,186 B05D 10,511

Rising assignees active in B05C

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 LG Energy Solution, Ltd. 770x 2 → 1,539 company-wide · 41 in B05C
#2 medmix Switzerland AG 41x 0 → 41 company-wide · 22 in B05C
#3 Eisenmann GMBH 8.00x 1 → 8 company-wide · 6 in B05C
#4 Robatech AG 4.50x 4 → 18 company-wide · 16 in B05C
#5 IO Tech Group Ltd. 4.25x 8 → 34 company-wide · 10 in B05C

B05C grants by year, peak 2017 (512)

US utility-patent grants per year in B05C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 4% versus 2015–2019.

Nordson

217
Tokyo Electron

135
Illinois Tool Works

79
Sulzer Mixpac

62
Screen Holdings

59
Musashi Engineering

52
Kateeva

44
Lg Energy Solution

41
Dürr Systems

39
Semes

32
Heraeus Medical

22
medmix Switzerland

22

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.

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

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).

Classes near B05C's 5,022-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B05C (#252 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.3%) - not the B05 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

C10L 5,025 B62K 4,996 E04F 5,179 H03G 5,213

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B33Y 4.3% G21K 4.3% H01R 4.3% B23P 4.3%

Questions about B05C

Which company holds the most patents in B05C?

Nordson Corporation leads B05C with 217 patents (4.3% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 57% of class grants.

Which B05C assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B05C, LG Energy Solution, Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (770x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 1,539 in 2022–2024) while holding 41 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does B05C compare inside parent class B05?

Inside B05 (Spraying OR Atomising IN GENERAL; Applying Fluent Materials TO Surfaces, IN General), B05C ranks #3 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 18.1% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B05B (12,186 grants).

What to do with this data

B05C in context - here's where to go next.

Nordson Corporation leads B05C with 217 grants in this class. See full portfolio
B05C ranks #252 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class B05, the largest sibling subclass is B05B with 12,186 grants. Explore B05B

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

Methodology - B05C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (5,022 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.