CPC technology class · B06

B06B - Methods OR Apparatus FOR Generating OR Transmitting Mecha…

Methods or apparatus for generating or transmitting mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency, ; e.g.; for performing mechanical work in general. 4,009 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

4,009
US patents granted: B06
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +70%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Methods OR Apparatus FOR Generating OR Transmitting Mecha… ranks #272 of 670 CPC technology areas - 4,009 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 70% over five years.

#272
of 670 CPC technology areas: 4,009
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Seiko Epson
leading assignee (165): +70%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (165 patents)

CPC subclass B06B - METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, ; e.g.; FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL - covers 4,009 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B06 (GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B06B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Seiko Epson Corporation leads with 165 patents, followed by AAC Technologies Pte. Ltd. at 55 grants and Flodesign Sonics, Inc. at 51.

Filing activity in B06B is up 70% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B06B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B06B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 70% versus 2015–2019.

Butterfly Network

56
Aac Pte

55
Flodesign Sonics

51
Bfly Operations

49
Olympus

48
Invensense

45
Cirrus Logic

43
Fujifilm Sonosite

41
Samsung Medison

39
Minebea Mitsumi

35
Mplus

34
Exo Imaging

32

What this shows Seiko Epson is the most active filer in B06B, holding 165 of the 4,009 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 B06B
Rank	Company	Patents in B06B
#1	Butterfly Network, Inc.	56
#2	AAC Technologies Pte. Ltd.	55
#3	Flodesign Sonics, Inc.	51
#4	BFLY Operations, Inc.	49
#5	Olympus Corporation	48
#6	Invensense, Inc.	45
#7	Cirrus Logic, Inc.	43
#8	Fujifilm Sonosite, Inc.	41
#9	Samsung Medison Co., Ltd.	39
#10	Minebea Mitsumi Inc.	35
#11	Mplus Corp.	34
#12	Exo Imaging, Inc.	32
#13	Shaheen Innovations Holding Limted	25
#14	Philips Image Guided Therapy Corporation	23
#15	Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik Gmbh & Co. KG	23
#16	Immersion, Llc	22
#17	Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc.	20
#18	GE Precision Healthcare Llc	19
#19	CK Materials LAB Co., Ltd.	19
#20	Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.	17

About This Class

CPC subclass B06B belongs to class B06.

4,009 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 B06B 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 B06B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B06B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B06B?

CPC subclass B06B covers METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, ; e.g.; FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL. It belongs to CPC class B06 (GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL), with 4,009 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in B06B?

4,009 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B06B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in B06B?

Seiko Epson Corporation leads B06B with 165 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for B06B 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., B06) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B06B 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.