Company patents

KOENIG & BAUER AG

KOENIG & BAUER AG's patent strategy reveals a surprising shift towards new energy and material science, with Batteries & Fuel Cells experiencing a 100.0% year-over-year growth in 2026 (4 patents so far) and Layered Products (Laminates, Films) also growing by 100.0% in 2026 (2 patents so far), while its traditional core in Material Handling (Sheets, Webs) and Printers & Typewriters shows a notable decline, with Material Handling seeing a -45.5% drop in 2024 and Printers & Typewriters declining by -28.6% in 2025.

Patent Trend by Technology Area

Yearly patent publications since 2023

Product themes

Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.

131 US filings (since 2023) · 7 categories · 14 themes

Integrated Sheet/Web Post-Processingfiltered

Systems that perform operations like cutting, folding, binding, or applying liquids to sheets or webs, often integrated within larger production lines such as printing or image forming apparatuses.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
82since 2023
-35.7%YoY
Web Tension Control

Systems and methods for precisely measuring, monitoring, and regulating the longitudinal tension in continuous webs of material during roll-to-roll processes to prevent defects, reduce waste, and ensure consistent product quality.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
18since 2023
-75.0%YoY
Media Handling & Feeding Systems

Mechanisms and control systems for reliably feeding, conveying, and separating print media, including managing media roll changes, adjusting airflow, and adapting to different media characteristics.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
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14since 2023
+200.0%YoY
Web/Sheet Path Guiding & Alignment

Technologies for maintaining the correct path and alignment of webs or individual sheets during conveyance, including mechanisms for steering, correcting positional deviations, and managing static electricity.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
14since 2023
+100.0%YoY
Printhead Cleaning Systems

Mechanisms and methods for preventing or removing clogs, ink residue, or contaminants from printhead nozzles and surfaces to ensure consistent print quality and extend printhead lifespan.

Printers & Typewriters
Who else files here? →
13since 2023
-33.3%YoY
Media Conveyance & Detection

Mechanisms and sensors for accurately conveying, positioning, loading, and managing various types of recording media (e.g., paper, fabric, labels) through a printing apparatus, and detecting their presence, type, or potential collision.

Printers & Typewriters
Who else files here? →
9since 2023
+150.0%YoY
Automated Winding & Reeling

Apparatus and methods for automatically winding or unwinding continuous materials such as webs, cables, conduits, or yarns onto or from spools, reels, or bobbins, including aspects like layering, coreless winding, and material supply.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
9since 2023
+200.0%YoY
Printhead Actuator Design

Innovations in the design and arrangement of piezoelectric or thermal actuators, drive electronics, and fluidic structures within the printhead to achieve precise and efficient liquid ejection.

Printers & Typewriters
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8since 2023
new
Ink Supply Management

Systems and components for storing, delivering, circulating, and managing printing liquids (e.g., ink) to the printhead, often including features for pressure regulation, filtration, degassing, and balancing liquid levels.

Printers & Typewriters
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3since 2023
n/a
Automated Visual Inspection

Systems that employ imaging and image processing to automatically detect defects, verify states, or ensure quality control in manufactured goods, printed materials, or industrial processes.

Material & Chemical Analysis
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2since 2023
new
Material ID & Process Monitoring

Methods and systems for uniquely identifying individual units of material (e.g., yarn spindles, winding spools, bobbins) and monitoring their performance or status within a material handling process, often using sensors and coding.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
2since 2023
n/a
Battery Electrode Coating & Slurry

Slurry compositions and coating processes for battery electrodes, including binder/active-material slurries, surface coating layers, and electrode-to-foil adhesion for cathode and anode.

Batteries & Fuel Cells
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1since 2023
new
Flexible Electronic Films & Electrodes

Thin, multi-layered films and structures specifically designed for electronic applications, including flexible substrates for devices, display panel components, and active material layers for battery electrodes.

Layered Products (Laminates, Films)
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1since 2023
new
Droplet Ejection Diagnostics

Technologies for precisely controlling the timing and volume of liquid droplet ejection, and for real-time or post-ejection monitoring of droplet trajectory, velocity, and nozzle health to maintain print accuracy and quality.

Printers & Typewriters
Who else files here? →
1since 2023
n/a

Patents

Page 16 of 18
US 20210178748 A1APPLICATION
B41F9/06

GRAVURE PRINTING UNITS FOR PRINTING ONTO SUBSTRATES BY A GRAVURE PRINTING METHOD

Filed:2020-02-03Pub:2021-06-17
Applicant:KOENIG & BAUER AG

Recess printing units are usable for printing on a substrate and using associated methods for operation. The recess printing units comprise an intaglio printing cylinder, which provides an image-forming pattern of recesses on its circumference; and an inking unit for applying ink to the pattern of recesses that are provided on the intaglio printing cylinder. The inking unit comprises a first inking unit cylinder which has, in a region of its lateral surface, recesses corresponding to the recesses in the intaglio printing cylinder and to which recesses ink can be supplied by an ink application device in the region of an application point lying on the circumference of the first inking unit cylinder. A second inking unit cylinder cooperates with the first inking unit cylinder and has, in a region of the lateral surface of the second inking unit cylinder, elevations corresponding to recesses in the intaglio printing cylinder or raised regions corresponding to regions of the image-forming pattern of recesses on the intaglio printing cylinder, which regions comprise recesses. The ink application device also comprises, on at least a downstream side of the application point, with respect to the operating direction of rotation of the inking unit cylinder comprising the recesses, a retaining device in the form of a doctor blade or an ink knife. The second inking unit cylinder comprises, on a lateral surface thereof, elevations corresponding to engraving on the intaglio printing cylinder.

US 20210170783 A1APPLICATION
B42D25/48

METHOD FOR SEPARATING AND CATEGORIZING AT LEAST ONE SUBSTRATE, AND SUBSTRATE CATEGORIZING MACHINE

Filed:2019-08-22Pub:2021-06-10
Applicant:KOENIG & BAUER AG

The invention relates to a method for separating and categorizing at least one substrate ( 02; 03 ) that originates from a sheet source ( 47 ) or is transported in the form of a material web ( 02 ) to a cross-cutting apparatus and is separated into a multiplicity of sheets ( 03 ) there, wherein the respective sheets ( 03 ) are inspected in respective inspection operations with regard to at least one property that the substrate ( 02; 03 ) already had before the particular separating operation or severing operation, and wherein the sheets ( 03 ) are each assigned to one of at least three categories in an assigning operation on the basis of the result of the inspection carried out in the particular inspection operation, and wherein each of the sheets ( 03 ) is deposited on a delivery pile ( 06; 07; 08 ) corresponding to its category, and to a substrate categorizing machine ( 01 ), which has a sheet source ( 47 ) or a material-web source ( 09 ) and a cross-cutting device ( 11 ), wherein the substrate categorizing machine ( 01 ) has, downstream of the sheet source ( 47 ) or downstream of the cross-cutting device ( 11 ), a sheet transport device ( 12 ) having a gripper system ( 13 ), and an inspection device ( 14; 16; 17; 18 ), and, downstream of the inspection device ( 14; 16; 17; 18 ), a delivery apparatus ( 19 ), which has at least three depositing stations ( 21; 22; 23 ).