PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B67

B67C - Cleaning

Cleaning, filling with liquids or semiliquids, or emptying, of bottles, jars, cans, casks, barrels, or similar containers, not otherwise provided for; funnels. 1,069 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,069
US patents granted
B67
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+22%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Cleaning ranks #450 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,069 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 22% over five years.

#450
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,069
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Krones
leading assignee (166)
+22%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Krones Ag (166 patents)

CPC subclass B67C - CLEANING, FILLING WITH LIQUIDS OR SEMILIQUIDS, OR EMPTYING, OF BOTTLES, JARS, CANS, CASKS, BARRELS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; FUNNELS - covers 1,069 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B67 (OPENING, CLOSING ; OR CLEANING; BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B67C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Krones Ag leads with 166 patents, followed by KHS Gmbh at 162 grants and Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. at 69.

Filing activity in B67C is up 22% 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 B67C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B67C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 22% versus 2015–2019.

406080100120 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 56

Who leads B67C?

The 12 most active assignees in CLEANING, FILLING WITH LIQUIDS OR SEMILIQUIDS, OR EMPTYING, OF BOTTLES, JARS, CANS, CASKS, BARRELS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; FUNNELS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Krones is the most active filer in B67C, holding 166 of the 1,069 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 B67C
Rank Company Patents in B67C
#1 Krones Ag 166
#2 KHS Gmbh 162
#3 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. 69
#4 Sidel Participations S.a.s 27
#5 Co2pac Limited 24
#6 Pepsico, Inc. 15
#7 Sidel S.p.a. CON Socio Unico 14
#8 Serac Group 11
#9 Graham Packaging Company, L.p. 10
#10 FOGG Filler Company, Llc 10
#11 Discma Ag 9
#12 Cornerstone CM, Inc. 9
#13 GEA Procomac S.p.a. 9
#14 Sacmi Cooperativa Meccanici Imola Societa' Cooperativa 8
#15 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd. 7
#16 Shibuya Corporation 7
#17 Leibinger Gmbh 7
#18 SIG Technology Ag 6
#19 Sodastream Industries Ltd. 6
#20 Brand Gmbh & Co KG 6

About This Class

CPC subclass B67C belongs to class B67.

1,069 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 B67C 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 B67C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B67C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B67C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B67C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 050100150200 Patents in B67C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) KronesKhsDai Nippon PrintingSidel Participations SCo2pacPepsicoSidel S P A Con Socio…Serac GroupGraham PackagingFogg FillerDiscmaCornerstone CmGea Procomac S p ASacmi Cooperativa Mec…
Top 14 B67C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B67C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B67C?
CPC subclass B67C covers CLEANING, FILLING WITH LIQUIDS OR SEMILIQUIDS, OR EMPTYING, OF BOTTLES, JARS, CANS, CASKS, BARRELS, OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; FUNNELS. It belongs to CPC class B67 (OPENING, CLOSING ; OR CLEANING; BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING), with 1,069 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B67C?
1,069 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B67C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B67C?
Krones Ag leads B67C with 166 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B67C 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., B67) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B67C 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.