B23K 26/00
Working by laser beam
Official title: Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
B23K26/00 (Working by laser beam) appears on 18,906 US grants and 23,498 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in B23K- Granted patents
- 18,906
- Published applications
- 23,498
- Assignees
- 6,255
- Inventors
- 38,075
- Latest grant
- 6 Oct 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 41 | 0 |
| 1977 | 32 | 0 |
| 1978 | 50 | 0 |
| 1979 | 31 | 0 |
| 1980 | 46 | 0 |
| 1981 | 55 | 0 |
| 1982 | 53 | 0 |
| 1983 | 52 | 0 |
| 1984 | 52 | 0 |
| 1985 | 97 | 0 |
| 1986 | 79 | 0 |
| 1987 | 165 | 0 |
| 1988 | 128 | 0 |
| 1989 | 146 | 0 |
| 1990 | 146 | 0 |
| 1991 | 175 | 0 |
| 1992 | 182 | 0 |
| 1993 | 194 | 0 |
| 1994 | 181 | 0 |
| 1995 | 166 | 0 |
| 1996 | 177 | 0 |
| 1997 | 203 | 0 |
| 1998 | 234 | 0 |
| 1999 | 248 | 0 |
| 2000 | 273 | 0 |
| 2001 | 300 | 123 |
| 2002 | 355 | 416 |
| 2003 | 399 | 430 |
| 2004 | 365 | 518 |
| 2005 | 285 | 672 |
| 2006 | 312 | 645 |
| 2007 | 257 | 562 |
| 2008 | 259 | 621 |
| 2009 | 279 | 623 |
| 2010 | 430 | 626 |
| 2011 | 389 | 645 |
| 2012 | 436 | 646 |
| 2013 | 523 | 764 |
| 2014 | 596 | 897 |
| 2015 | 587 | 986 |
| 2016 | 676 | 1213 |
| 2017 | 750 | 1311 |
| 2018 | 727 | 1343 |
| 2019 | 1062 | 1484 |
| 2020 | 1157 | 1364 |
| 2021 | 1037 | 1409 |
| 2022 | 969 | 1355 |
| 2023 | 901 | 1350 |
| 2024 | 1005 | 1353 |
| 2025 | 973 | 1214 |
| 2026 | 671 | 928 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- B23K 26/02Positioning or observing the workpiece8,910
- B23K 26/36Removing material6,534
- B23K 26/08Devices involving relative movement between laser beam and workpiece5,428
- B23K 26/20Bonding3,789
- B23K 26/34Laser welding for purposes other than joining2,363
- B23K 26/14Working by laser beam: using a fluid stream2,106
- B23K 26/352Working by laser beam: for surface treatment1,961
- B23K 26/70Auxiliary operations or equipment1,798
All 19 subgroupsShow fewer
- B23K 26/0006Taking account of the properties of the material involved1,586
- B23K 26/50Working by transmitting the laser beam through or within the workpiece1,424
- B23K 26/12In a special environment or atmosphere1,158
- B23K 26/16Removal of by-products513
- B23K 26/18Working by laser beam: using absorbing layers on the workpiece427
- B23K 26/60Preliminary treatment406
- B23K 26/0093Combined with mechanical machining or metal-working covered by other subclasses than b23k377
- B23K 26/346In combination with welding or cutting covered by groups b23k5/00 - b23k25/00239
- B23K 26/009Working by laser beam: using a non-absorbing177
- B23K 26/351Working by laser beam: for trimming or tuning of electrical components159
- B23K 26/0096Portable laser equipment151
Recent patents
- Laser welding monitoring device and laser welding monitoring method6 Oct 2026US 12,752,368 B2Amada Company, Limited
- Laser machining apparatus6 Oct 2026US 12,752,369 B2Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
- Laser welding apparatus and laser welding method6 Oct 2026US 12,752,370 B2NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
- Femtosecond laser surface processing for controlled fill and targeted deposition6 Oct 2026US 12,752,371 B1Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, LLC
- Laser beam irradiation apparatus6 Oct 2026US 12,752,372 B2Disco Corporation
- Laser processing method, laser processing device, and processing result estimation method8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307167 A1Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.
- Methods of patterning substrates8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307168 A1University of Rochester
- Laser machining system for a timepiece component and laser machining process8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307169 A1Rolex SA
- Coaxial laser hotwire head8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307170 A1Illinois Tool Works Inc.
- Additive manufacturing systems and related methods utilizing risley prism beam steering8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307171 A1VulcanForms Inc.
Most cited
By later US patents
- Rotary drive shaft assemblies for surgical instruments with articulatable end effectors1,997US 8,747,238 B2Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. · 2014
- Machining apparatus with automatic restart function986US 5,293,024 AMitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha · 1994
- Method and apparatus for producing parts by selective sintering887US 4,863,538 ABoard of Regents, The University of Texas System · 1989
- Method for forming staple pockets of a surgical stapler883US 8,008,598 B2Tyco Healthcare Group LP · 2011
- Forming structures from CAD solid models580US 6,391,251 B1Optomec Design Company · 2002