B63B 21/56
Towing or pushing equipment
Official title: Towing or pushing equipment (tugs B63B35/66; towing arrangements for water sports use B63B34/60)
B63B21/56 (Towing or pushing equipment) appears on 884 US grants and 644 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in B63B- Granted patents
- 884
- Published applications
- 644
- Assignees
- 367
- Inventors
- 1,375
- Latest grant
- 15 Sep 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 15 | 0 |
| 1977 | 15 | 0 |
| 1978 | 12 | 0 |
| 1979 | 7 | 0 |
| 1980 | 8 | 0 |
| 1981 | 7 | 0 |
| 1982 | 7 | 0 |
| 1983 | 5 | 0 |
| 1984 | 10 | 0 |
| 1985 | 7 | 0 |
| 1986 | 12 | 0 |
| 1987 | 11 | 0 |
| 1988 | 12 | 0 |
| 1989 | 8 | 0 |
| 1990 | 5 | 0 |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 |
| 1992 | 4 | 0 |
| 1993 | 8 | 0 |
| 1994 | 16 | 0 |
| 1995 | 13 | 0 |
| 1996 | 10 | 0 |
| 1997 | 10 | 0 |
| 1998 | 11 | 0 |
| 1999 | 15 | 0 |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 |
| 2001 | 15 | 4 |
| 2002 | 17 | 9 |
| 2003 | 18 | 6 |
| 2004 | 13 | 14 |
| 2005 | 16 | 17 |
| 2006 | 14 | 14 |
| 2007 | 14 | 13 |
| 2008 | 10 | 17 |
| 2009 | 9 | 23 |
| 2010 | 18 | 25 |
| 2011 | 16 | 12 |
| 2012 | 16 | 27 |
| 2013 | 21 | 31 |
| 2014 | 33 | 40 |
| 2015 | 35 | 36 |
| 2016 | 41 | 40 |
| 2017 | 39 | 48 |
| 2018 | 42 | 54 |
| 2019 | 58 | 32 |
| 2020 | 30 | 54 |
| 2021 | 34 | 32 |
| 2022 | 35 | 27 |
| 2023 | 36 | 24 |
| 2024 | 22 | 20 |
| 2025 | 27 | 16 |
| 2026 | 11 | 9 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- B63B 21/66Equipment specially adapted for towing underwater objects or vessels533
- B63B 21/58Adaptations of hooks for towing118
- B63B 2021/563Pushing equipmentIndexing code25
- B63B 21/62Characterised by moving of more than one vessel25
- B63B 2021/566Comprising running ropes or chainsIndexing code15
- B63B 21/64Equipment for towing or pushing vessels by vehicles or beings moving forward8
Recent patents
- Submersible device for underwater sonar imagery15 Sep 2026US 12,736,669 B2Navico Group Americas, LLC
- Multi-source with inline offset and method28 Jul 2026US 12,691,976 B2Cgg Services SAS
- Apparatus and system for flexible member deployment using sabot cones21 Jul 2026US 12,686,475 B1The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
- Apparatus and method for measuring shape of underwater tow cables14 Jul 2026US 12,680,811 B1The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
- Pulling structures into water16 Jun 2026US 12,654,810 B2Subsea 7 Limited
- Multi-source with inline offset and method8 Oct 2026US 2026/0307761 A1Cgg Services SAS
- Continuous-wave radar system for detecting ferrous and non-ferrous metals in saltwater environments24 Sep 2026US 2026/0287734 A1HG Partners, LLC
- Underwater towing system27 Aug 2026US 2026/0249958 A1Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- A Tow Pin Device and a Tow Pin and Shark Jaw Arrangement20 Aug 2026US 2026/0242036 A1Kongsberg Maritime AS
- Coupling device for connecting an unmanned underwater vehicle to a floating vehicle and navigation assembly comprising said coupling device2 Jul 2026US 2026/0184403 A1
Most cited
By later US patents
- Submarine deployed ocean bottom seismic system109US 6,474,254 B1WesternGeco L. L. C. · 2002
- Method and apparatus for deploying and recovering water borne vehicles101US 5,253,605 AApplied Remote Technology, Inc. · 1993
- Convoy of towed ocean going cargo vessels and method for shipping across an ocean98US 6,354,235 B12002
- Method and apparatus for controlling and optimizing seismic data acquisition94US 6,590,831 B1WesternGeco L. L. C. · 2003
- Riser pipe fairing84US 4,474,129 AW. R. Grace & Co. · 1984