PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B23

B23H - Working Of Metal By The Action Of A High Concentration Of…

Working of metal by the action of a high concentration of electric current on a workpiece using an electrode which takes the place of a tool; such working combined with other forms of working of metal. 839 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

839
US patents granted
#7/9
in B23
1.8%
B23 class share
-23%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Working Of Metal By The Action Of A High Concentration Of… ranks #478 of 670 CPC technology areas - 839 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 23% over five years.

#478
of 670 CPC technology areas
839
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Fanuc
leading assignee (165)
-23%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B23H's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B23H recorded 337 grants versus 439 in 2015–2019 (-23% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 111 grants and bottomed in 2024 at 42 (+164% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Fanuc Corporation holds 19.7% of the class ; the top three share 25.7%.

Leaderboard read

B23H concentration, lead at 19.7%

Fanuc Corporation leads this historical grant record at 19.7% of B23H - foreign corporation assignees hold 90% of class grants (320 of 357). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
19.7%

165 of 839 grants

Top three share
25.7%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
133

more grants than Sodick Co., Ltd.

Where B23H sits inside B23

Among 9 subclasses in B23 (Machine TOOLS; Metal-working NOT Otherwise Provided FOR), B23H ranks #7 and holds 1.8% of the parent class's 47,646 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B23K 21,060 B23P 8,569 B23Q 5,906 B23B 5,282 B23D 2,856 B23C 2,322 B23F 529 B23G 283

Rising assignees active in B23H

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. #1 Seibu Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd. 2.00x 2 → 4 company-wide · 8 in B23H
  2. #2 Sodick Co., Ltd. 1.20x 50 → 60 company-wide · 32 in B23H
  3. #3 ECP Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH 1.09x 46 → 50 company-wide · 5 in B23H
  4. #4 Agie Charmilles SA 1.00x 8 → 8 company-wide · 19 in B23H
  5. #5 Thermocompact 1.00x 3 → 3 company-wide · 5 in B23H

B23H grants by year, peak 2019 (111)

US utility-patent grants per year in B23H, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 23% versus 2015–2019.

20406080100120 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 38

Who leads B23H?

The 12 most active assignees in Working OF Metal BY THE Action OF A High Concentration OF Electric Current ON A Workpiece Using AN Electrode Which Takes THE Place OF A TOOL; Such Working Combined With Other Forms OF Working OF Metal - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Fanuc is the most active filer in B23H, holding 165 of the 839 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 B23H
Rank Company Patents in B23H
#1 Fanuc Corporation 165
#2 Sodick Co., Ltd. 32
#3 Agie Charmilles SA 19
#4 MTU Aero Engines AG 17
#5 Makino Milling Machine Co., Ltd. 15
#6 Seibu Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd. 8
#7 Metal Industries Research & Development Centre 7
#8 ECP Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH 5
#9 Canon Marketing Japan Kabushiki Kaisha 5
#10 Thermocompact 5
#11 Roche Sequencing Solutions, Inc. 4
#12 WHG Properties, LLC 4
#13 Powdermet, Inc. 4
#14 Intai Technology Corp. 4
#15 Hoden Seimitsi Kako Kenkyusho Co., Ltd. 4
#16 Faraday Technology Corp. 3
#17 Vactronix Scientific, LLC 3
#18 Franz Haimer Maschinenbau KG 3
#19 Medical Microinstruments, Inc. 3
#20 Changsha University OF Science AND Technology 2

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B23H 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 B23H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B23H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 051015202530 -50050100150200 Patents in B23H Avg claims / patent (company-wide) FanucSodickAgie CharmillesMtu Aero EnginesMakino Milling MachineSeibu Electric &…Metal Industries…Ecp Entwicklungsgesell…Canon Marketing JapanThermocompactRoche Sequencing…Whg PropertiesPowdermetIntai Technology
Top 14 B23H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B23H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near B23H's 839-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B23H (#478 of 670 by volume ; lead share 19.7%) - not the B23 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

G10D 828 B21F 817 F02G 812 B61C 870

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B41J 19.3% A24C 20.7% B41C 17.4% D05C 17.2%

Questions about B23H

Which company holds the most patents in B23H?
Fanuc Corporation leads B23H with 165 patents (19.7% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 90% of class grants.
Which B23H assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B23H, Seibu Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (2.00x: 2 grants in 2019–2021 → 4 in 2022–2024) while holding 8 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does B23H compare inside parent class B23?
Inside B23 (Machine TOOLS; Metal-working NOT Otherwise Provided FOR), B23H ranks #7 of 9 subclasses by grant volume and holds 1.8% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B23K (21,060 grants).

What to do with this data

B23H in context - here's where to go next.

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

Methodology - B23H figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (839 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.