Manipulators
Official title: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50})
B25J (Manipulators) appears on 32,973 US grants and 40,119 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in B25J- Granted patents
- 32,973
- Published applications
- 40,119
- Assignees
- 8,702
- Inventors
- 57,339
- Latest grant
- 6 Oct 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 36 | 0 |
| 1977 | 43 | 0 |
| 1978 | 35 | 0 |
| 1979 | 35 | 0 |
| 1980 | 45 | 0 |
| 1981 | 57 | 0 |
| 1982 | 53 | 0 |
| 1983 | 59 | 0 |
| 1984 | 98 | 0 |
| 1985 | 157 | 0 |
| 1986 | 211 | 0 |
| 1987 | 305 | 0 |
| 1988 | 226 | 0 |
| 1989 | 266 | 0 |
| 1990 | 210 | 0 |
| 1991 | 210 | 0 |
| 1992 | 172 | 0 |
| 1993 | 192 | 0 |
| 1994 | 184 | 0 |
| 1995 | 176 | 0 |
| 1996 | 178 | 0 |
| 1997 | 158 | 0 |
| 1998 | 234 | 0 |
| 1999 | 191 | 0 |
| 2000 | 201 | 0 |
| 2001 | 240 | 96 |
| 2002 | 259 | 236 |
| 2003 | 242 | 280 |
| 2004 | 212 | 347 |
| 2005 | 176 | 366 |
| 2006 | 250 | 371 |
| 2007 | 213 | 377 |
| 2008 | 191 | 451 |
| 2009 | 178 | 513 |
| 2010 | 293 | 629 |
| 2011 | 326 | 655 |
| 2012 | 454 | 668 |
| 2013 | 622 | 858 |
| 2014 | 700 | 1064 |
| 2015 | 944 | 1313 |
| 2016 | 1104 | 1530 |
| 2017 | 1294 | 1821 |
| 2018 | 1434 | 2455 |
| 2019 | 1890 | 2946 |
| 2020 | 2283 | 3259 |
| 2021 | 2242 | 3432 |
| 2022 | 2512 | 3415 |
| 2023 | 2718 | 3415 |
| 2024 | 2989 | 3543 |
| 2025 | 3159 | 3317 |
| 2026 | 2316 | 2762 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Main groups
- B25J 9/00Program-controlled manipulators23,155
- B25J 15/00Gripping heads and other end effectors7,200
- B25J 19/00Accessories fitted to manipulators6,409
- B25J 13/00Controls for manipulators5,916
- B25J 11/00Manipulators not otherwise provided for4,984
- B25J 5/00Manipulators mounted on wheels or on carriages3,137
- B25J 17/00Joints2,209
- B25J 18/00Arms1,572
Recent patents
- System and methods for positioning a manipulator arm by clutching within a null-perpendicular space concurrent with null-space movement6 Oct 2026US 12,751,779 B2Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
- Tool driver with reaction torque sensor for use in robotic surgery6 Oct 2026US 12,751,780 B2Auris Health, Inc.
- Two-tool anatomy stabilization6 Oct 2026US 12,751,781 B2LEM Surgical AG
- Bilateral surgical robotic system6 Oct 2026US 12,751,782 B2LEM Surgical AG
- Method for moving an exoskeleton6 Oct 2026US 12,751,886 B2Wandercraft
- Automated cooking system8 Oct 2026US 2026/0305870 A1
- Device for automatically inserting and manipulating a medical tool into and within a bodily lumen8 Oct 2026US 2026/0305918 A1Microbot Medical Ltd.
- Robotic manipulation of a surgical tool handle8 Oct 2026US 2026/0305919 A1Microbot Medical Ltd.
- Inverse kinematics of a surgical robot for teleoperation with hardware constraints8 Oct 2026US 2026/0306201 A1Auris Health, Inc.
- Method and Apparatus for Generating a Reciprocating Sanding or Polishing Path8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307199 A1ABB Schweiz AG
Most cited
- Articulated surgical instrument for performing minimally invasive surgery with enhanced dexterity and sensitivity3,169US 5,792,135 AIntuitive Surgical, Inc. · 1998
- Method and apparatus for performing minimally invasive cardiac procedures2,567US 5,855,583 AComputer Motion, Inc. · 1999
- Alignment of master and slave in a minimally invasive surgical apparatus2,565US 6,364,888 B1Intuitive Surgical, Inc. · 2002
- Remote center positioning device with flexible drive2,445US 5,817,084 ASRI International · 1998
- Robotic apparatus2,381US 6,786,896 B1Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 2004