B41M 5/26
Thermography
Official title: Thermography (B41M5/20, B41M5/24 take precedence); {Marking by high energetic means, e.g. laser otherwise than by burning, and characterised by the material used (B23K takes precedence; thermographic or photothermographic systems using noble metal compounds G03C1/494)}
B41M5/26 (Thermography) appears on 7,270 US grants and 3,909 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in B41M- Granted patents
- 7,270
- Published applications
- 3,909
- Assignees
- 1,379
- Inventors
- 8,927
- Latest grant
- 6 Oct 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 39 | 0 |
| 1977 | 41 | 0 |
| 1978 | 34 | 0 |
| 1979 | 26 | 0 |
| 1980 | 32 | 0 |
| 1981 | 57 | 0 |
| 1982 | 49 | 0 |
| 1983 | 55 | 0 |
| 1984 | 71 | 0 |
| 1985 | 111 | 0 |
| 1986 | 122 | 0 |
| 1987 | 120 | 0 |
| 1988 | 152 | 0 |
| 1989 | 204 | 0 |
| 1990 | 205 | 0 |
| 1991 | 242 | 0 |
| 1992 | 257 | 0 |
| 1993 | 279 | 0 |
| 1994 | 320 | 0 |
| 1995 | 266 | 0 |
| 1996 | 255 | 0 |
| 1997 | 241 | 0 |
| 1998 | 251 | 0 |
| 1999 | 271 | 0 |
| 2000 | 250 | 0 |
| 2001 | 239 | 84 |
| 2002 | 217 | 188 |
| 2003 | 179 | 242 |
| 2004 | 206 | 239 |
| 2005 | 141 | 275 |
| 2006 | 150 | 177 |
| 2007 | 141 | 182 |
| 2008 | 98 | 218 |
| 2009 | 98 | 189 |
| 2010 | 103 | 150 |
| 2011 | 120 | 178 |
| 2012 | 146 | 104 |
| 2013 | 164 | 133 |
| 2014 | 144 | 164 |
| 2015 | 124 | 120 |
| 2016 | 130 | 142 |
| 2017 | 133 | 130 |
| 2018 | 124 | 140 |
| 2019 | 118 | 120 |
| 2020 | 93 | 124 |
| 2021 | 78 | 131 |
| 2022 | 70 | 124 |
| 2023 | 75 | 124 |
| 2024 | 102 | 98 |
| 2025 | 78 | 76 |
| 2026 | 49 | 57 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- B41M 5/40Characterised by the base backcoat, intermediate, or covering layers2,677
- B41M 5/382Contact thermal transfer or sublimation processes2,438
- B41M 5/30Using chemical colour formers1,898
- B41M 5/34Multicolour thermography532
- B41M 5/28Using thermochromic compounds or layers containing liquid crystals, microcapsules, bleachable dyes or479
- B41M 5/36Using a polymeric layer, which may be particulate and which is deformed457
- B41M 5/267Marking of plastic artifacts437
- B41M 5/262Recording or marking of inorganic surfaces or materials235
Recent patents
- Casting system and casting6 Oct 2026US 12,752,565 B2Sintokogio, Ltd.
- Heat-sensitive recording medium1 Sep 2026US 12,722,411 B2Osaka Sealing Printing Co., Ltd.
- Process1 Sep 2026US 12,723,167 B2Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Composition4 Aug 2026US 12,697,831 B2Datalase Ltd.
- Laser-imageable composition21 Jul 2026US 12,686,225 B2Datalase Ltd.
- Image forming method and image forming apparatus8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307414 A1Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Sublimation printing transfer paper having tacky properties8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307415 A1
- Laser marking of containers1 Oct 2026US 2026/0296083 A1Krones AG
- Method of producing thermal transfer print sheet, thermal transfer print sheet, and method of thermal transfer printing24 Sep 2026US 2026/0286603 A1
- Tattoo artist practice tool system, method and article17 Sep 2026US 2026/0273876 A1Shay Alsaid , LLC
Most cited
By later US patents
- Semiconductor wafer edge marking561US 6,710,364 B2Texas Instruments Incorporated · 2004
- Indirect printing process for applying selective phase change ink compositions to substrates423US 5,372,852 ATektronix, Inc. · 1994
- Data carrier having an optical authenticity feature and methods for producing and testing said data carrier249US 4,765,656 AGAO Gesellschaft fur Automation und Organisation mbH · 1988
- Ablation-transfer imaging/recording243US 5,171,650 AGraphics Technology International Inc. · 1992
- Optical storage identification card and read/write system234US 4,663,518 APolaroid Corporation · 1987