A61C 1/18
Flexible shafts
Official title: Flexible shafts; Clutches or the like; {Bearings or lubricating arrangements; Drives or transmissions}(flexible shafts in general F16C; clutches in general F16D)
A61C1/18 (Flexible shafts) appears on 427 US grants and 347 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in A61C- Granted patents
- 427
- Published applications
- 347
- Assignees
- 184
- Inventors
- 645
- Latest grant
- 29 Sep 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 7 | 0 |
| 1977 | 7 | 0 |
| 1978 | 2 | 0 |
| 1979 | 4 | 0 |
| 1980 | 10 | 0 |
| 1981 | 15 | 0 |
| 1982 | 9 | 0 |
| 1983 | 5 | 0 |
| 1984 | 3 | 0 |
| 1985 | 9 | 0 |
| 1986 | 7 | 0 |
| 1987 | 9 | 0 |
| 1988 | 5 | 0 |
| 1989 | 2 | 0 |
| 1990 | 5 | 0 |
| 1991 | 8 | 0 |
| 1992 | 5 | 0 |
| 1993 | 5 | 0 |
| 1994 | 11 | 0 |
| 1995 | 9 | 0 |
| 1996 | 15 | 0 |
| 1997 | 11 | 0 |
| 1998 | 12 | 0 |
| 1999 | 17 | 0 |
| 2000 | 13 | 0 |
| 2001 | 11 | 4 |
| 2002 | 10 | 22 |
| 2003 | 11 | 12 |
| 2004 | 5 | 15 |
| 2005 | 7 | 18 |
| 2006 | 6 | 15 |
| 2007 | 7 | 21 |
| 2008 | 6 | 20 |
| 2009 | 8 | 11 |
| 2010 | 5 | 23 |
| 2011 | 9 | 15 |
| 2012 | 8 | 11 |
| 2013 | 5 | 8 |
| 2014 | 8 | 10 |
| 2015 | 8 | 22 |
| 2016 | 5 | 14 |
| 2017 | 18 | 13 |
| 2018 | 12 | 23 |
| 2019 | 15 | 7 |
| 2020 | 8 | 10 |
| 2021 | 9 | 16 |
| 2022 | 5 | 14 |
| 2023 | 11 | 6 |
| 2024 | 12 | 7 |
| 2025 | 6 | 5 |
| 2026 | 7 | 5 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
Recent patents
- Rotatable ultrasonic vibration device29 Sep 2026US 12,746,098 B2Shenzhen Superline Technology Co., Ltd.
- Dental implant driver25 Aug 2026US 12,714,544 B1
- Dental handpiece and axial groove ball bearing21 Jul 2026US 12,685,614 B2Gebr. Reinfurt GmbH & Co. KG
- Endodontic driving and operating device2 Jun 2026US 12,642,622 B2ReDentNova GmbH & CO. KG
- Smart oil spray adapter24 Feb 2026US 12,558,447 B2Aesculap AG
- Dental handpiece9 Jul 2026US 2026/0191620 A1Nakanishi Inc.
- Dental handpiece4 Jun 2026US 2026/0151210 A1J. Morita Mfg. Corp.
- Dental cleaning device and handpiece assembly thereof26 Mar 2026US 2026/0083538 A1Dongguan Anbo Industries Co., Ltd.
- Dental handpiece1 Jan 2026US 2026/0000480 A1
- Handpiece adapter for an endodontic file1 Jan 2026US 2026/0000482 A1Mdt Micro Diamond Technologies Ltd.
Most cited
By later US patents
- Identification type instrument assembly, identification type adapter, identification type tube, and medical apparatus using them1,720US 6,899,538 B2J. Morita Manufacturing Corporation · 2005
- Medical instrument with programmable torque control1,129US 5,543,695 AStryker Corporation · 1996
- Handpiece for medical purposes, in particular for a medical or dental treatment device, preferably for a cutting treatment of a dental root canal1,111US 5,924,864 AKaltenbach & Voigt GmbH & Co. · 1999
- Motor controller for a dental handpiece1,072US 5,980,248 AKabushiki Kaisha Morita Seisakusho · 1999
- Coupling ensemble for dental handpiece1,035US 4,406,621 AYoung Dental Manufacturing Company · 1983