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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/capsule-filling-machines-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Pharmaceutical EquipmentCapsule Filling Machine Patents: Who Leads and Where Filing Is Heading
- One filer dominates the ranked field. the leading assignee holds 37 records against a fifth-place count of 5 and a tenth-place count of just 2, across 23 ranked companies.
- Filing peaked in 2019 at 18 records and has since thinned; the complete-year comparison shows a -75% drop from 2021 (4) to 2024 (1).
- Almost all activity sits under one IPC subclass. A61J containers-for-medicine covers 91.0% of the 78 records in scope, with packaging (B65B) a distant second at 37.2%.
78
Published Records
-75%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
CN
Leading Jurisdiction
23
Active Filers Ranked
Filing growth compares 2021 (4 records) with 2024 (1) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Overview
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks 78 published patent records filed between 2015 and mid-2026 that combine capsule filling machine or dosator capsule filling terminology with claim language on dosing discs, fill weight control, capsule separation, powder plug density, powder flowability or changeover parts. It is a narrow, mechanism-level search rather than a broad packaging-equipment sweep, so the records that surface are concentrated on the metering and dosing hardware inside capsule fillers rather than on capsules themselves or on general pharmaceutical packaging lines.
Filing offices split across China (23), India (21), Europe (9), the United States (9), South Korea (7) and the WIPO PCT route (4), pointing to a field where Asian manufacturing and formulation houses file domestically first and only a minority of applicants pursue multi-jurisdiction coverage through PCT.
Filing activity by year, 2017-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Capsule Filling Machines covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
The Data
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 78-record set: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which parts of the technology stack the claims actually sit in.
A 2019 peak followed by a documented pullback
Filings rose from 4 in 2017 to a peak of 18 in 2019, then eased off. The last complete year-over-year comparison available, 2021 to 2024, shows filings falling from 4 to 1 — a -75% change. 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, so those final bars should be read as a floor, not a verdict on where the field is heading.
Concentration in containers-for-medicine hardware
A61J (containers for medicine) appears on 91.0% of the 78 records, confirming that most claims are anchored in capsule-handling and dosing hardware rather than in generic packaging. B65B packaging and wrapping follows at 37.2%, often layered onto the same records as downstream handling claims. Presses (B30B, 7.7%) and electric/magnetic measurement (G01R, 7.7%) appear at meaningfully lower but non-trivial rates, and food shaping (A23P), cigarette filters (A24D), medicinal preparations (A61K) and sports equipment (A63B) each register only a handful of records — evidence of occasional cross-filing from adjacent forming or dosing industries rather than a distinct sub-field.
Shares are the percentage of the 78 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Capsule Filling Machines covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Capsule Filling Machines with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about capsule filling machines and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
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Representative filing and most-cited prior art
Representative Filing
Smart tamping system for dosage optimization in capsule filling machine (US20220218567A1)
SCITECH CENTRE
Filed by Scitech Centre, this record describes a tamping system that selectively actuates pneumatic cylinders to restrict individual tamping pistons on a dosing disc, based on whether an empty capsule body is present in the corresponding turret segment. The mechanism is aimed at preventing wasted or misaligned slug formation when a capsule body is missing, tying dosage optimisation directly to sensor-driven piston control rather than to disc geometry or powder formulation alone.Abstract trimmed for length; see the full record for complete claim language.
Most-cited records in this dataset
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US3978640A | Hard-gelatin capsule filling machines | 44 |
| 2 | CN209301753U | 全自动胶囊填充机 | 14 |
| 3 | CN2905056Y | 一种全自动胶囊填充机 | 12 |
| 4 | CN103040624A | 加料可控全自动胶囊填充机 | 11 |
| 5 | CN113520874A | 一种制药用生物胶囊填充机 | 9 |
| 6 | US20100132313A1 | Capsule filling machine and method for producing hard gelatin capsules | 9 |
| 7 | CN202342471U | 带监测装置的全自动胶囊填充机 | 8 |
| 8 | CN107072882A | 胶囊填充机 | 6 |
| 9 | CN116637031A | 一种胶囊充填机用分囊机构 | 5 |
| 10 | US20220218567A1 | Smart tamping system for dosage optimization in capsule filling machine | 5 |
Citation counts accumulate over time, so older US and Chinese filings dominate this list; treat them as markers of influence on the field, not as evidence of current filing activity.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Capsule Filling Machines covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Read together, the assignee spread, the filing curve and the technology split point to a field with one entrenched player, a shrinking pool of new complete-year filings, and claim density concentrated in a narrow hardware class.
Concentration
37 vs 5
leader vs fifth place (records)
One filer, then a steep drop-off
The leading assignee's 37 records dwarf the fifth-place count of 5 and the tenth-place count of 2 among the 23 ranked companies. That gap suggests a single applicant has built a broad portfolio around dosator and dosing-disc mechanisms, while the rest of the field files sparingly or opportunistically.
Based on the 23-company assignee ranking
Momentum
-75%
2021 (4) to 2024 (1)
New filings have thinned through the last complete years
The only reliable year-over-year comparison available, 2021 to 2024, shows a -75% drop in filings. Combined with a 2019 peak of 18, the shape reads as a technology that saw a burst of filing activity mid-decade and has since slowed among complete-year data.
2025-2026 figures are still filling in due to publication lag
Technology mix
91.0%
of 78 records carry A61J
Claims cluster tightly around capsule-handling hardware
Nine in ten records touch A61J containers-for-medicine claims, with B65B packaging appearing on over a third. The smaller classes — presses, measurement, food shaping, filters — each account for a handful of records, marking narrow but real cross-filing rather than distinct competing sub-fields.
Shares sum above 100% because records can carry multiple IPC classes
Geography
23 & 21
China and India receiving-office counts
Filing activity is centred on China and India
China (23) and India (21) receive more filings than Europe (9) or the US (9) individually, with South Korea (7) and WIPO PCT (4) trailing. That pattern fits a field driven by capsule-machine manufacturers and formulation houses filing close to their manufacturing base rather than pursuing broad international coverage.
Based on receiving-office counts across the 78 records
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to capsule filling machines, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Capsule Filling Machines covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Players
Who is filing, and where the field is still open
The ranked assignee list is dominated by one applicant, with a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants — a pattern common in mechanically specific equipment niches once an early mover locks down core geometry.
Leader
37 records
top-ranked assignee
A single applicant anchors the field
The top-ranked assignee's 37 records sit well above the rest of the 23-company ranking, indicating sustained, multi-year investment in dosator and tamping mechanisms rather than a one-off filing burst.
Leader vs. fifth place: 37 vs 5
Mid-tier
5 records
fifth-ranked assignee
A small group of repeat filers
Beyond the leader, filing counts drop quickly; the fifth-ranked assignee holds 5 records and the tenth-ranked holds 2, suggesting a handful of manufacturers maintain modest but ongoing patenting activity around changeover parts and fill-weight control.
Based on the 23-company ranking
Collaboration
30 co-filings
strongest co-assignee pair
The strongest pairing links two large filers
The most frequent co-assignee pairing in this dataset links the leading applicant with a second major filer at 30 shared records, pointing to a sustained joint development or licensing relationship rather than incidental overlap.
Strongest of the co-assignee pairs identified
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Scitech Centre | 0 | — |
| ACG Pam Pharma Technologies Pvt Ltd | 0 | — |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | 0 | — |
| Sichuan Pharmaceutical Formulation Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| SEJONG PHARMATECH | 0 | — |
| FETTE ENG | 0 | — |
| Chiatai Qingchunbao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Manesty Machines Ltd. | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Capsule Filling Machines covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
What's Next
Where to take this next
The landscape points to a concentrated core and a thin recent-filing tail — useful starting points for deeper diligence.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading portfolio
With one assignee holding 37 of the ranked records, any new dosator or tamping design should be checked against that portfolio's specific claim scope before committing to a mechanical architecture.
Explore the leader's portfolio in EurekaWatch the 2025-2026 filings as they publish
Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, the apparent slowdown after 2021 may firm up or reverse once the most recent filing years finish publishing.
Track new filings in EurekaScout the under-claimed branches
Powder flowability sensing and closed-loop fill-weight control show far fewer records than the core dosing-disc claims, and may offer more open claim space for new entrants.
Run a white-space search in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Capsule Filling Machines covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about capsule filling machine patents
Within this 78-record dataset, one assignee leads clearly with 37 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked company at 5 and the tenth-ranked company at 2, across a ranked field of 23 companies. That gap indicates a sustained, multi-year patenting programme rather than a single burst of filings. Anyone evaluating freedom to operate in dosator or dosing-disc mechanisms should treat that leader's portfolio as the first thing to check, since its scale dwarfs every other filer in the ranking.
Filing peaked in 2019 at 18 records and the most recent reliable comparison, 2021 to 2024, shows a -75% drop from 4 filings to 1. That is a real, complete-year decline, not an artefact of missing data. However, 2025 and 2026 figures are still incomplete because publication typically lags actual filing by about 18 months, so it is too early to say whether the slowdown continues, stabilises, or reverses once those years finish publishing.
The overwhelming majority, 91.0% of the 78 records, fall under IPC class A61J, containers for medicine, confirming that claims centre on capsule-handling and dosing hardware. Packaging and wrapping claims under B65B appear on 37.2% of records, often alongside A61J claims in the same filing. Smaller classes such as presses, electrical measurement, food shaping and filters each cover only a handful of records, suggesting occasional cross-filing from adjacent industries rather than distinct competing technology streams.
China leads with 23 receiving-office filings in this dataset, followed closely by India at 21. Europe and the United States each account for 9 filings, South Korea for 7, and the WIPO PCT route for 4. This distribution suggests that capsule-machine manufacturers and pharmaceutical formulation companies file predominantly in their home or manufacturing jurisdictions, with comparatively modest use of international PCT filings to seek broader coverage.
Relative to the dense claim activity around dosing discs and tamping mechanisms, areas like powder flowability sensing, capsule separation mechanisms, changeover part standardisation and closed-loop fill-weight control show noticeably fewer filings in this dataset. These branches sit adjacent to the core A61J claims but are not yet heavily claimed, which can make them more promising starting points for new filings, though any specific design should still be checked against the leading portfolio for overlap before proceeding.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Capsule Filling Machines covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.