Note(s)

• In this section, the following term is used with the meaning indicated:
  • "variable" (as a noun) means a feature or property (e.g., a dimension, a physical condition such as temperature, a quality such as density or colour) which, in respect of a particular entity (e.g., an object, a quantity of a substance, a beam of light) and at a particular instant, is capable of being measured; the variable may change, so that its numerical expression may assume different values at different times, in different conditions or in individual cases, but may be constant in respect of a particular entity in certain conditions or for practical purposes (e.g., the length of a bar may be regarded as constant for many purposes).
• Attention is drawn to the definitions of terms or expressions used. Some appear in the notes of several of the classes in this section, see in particular the definition of "measuring" in class G01. Others appear in paragaph 187 of the Guide to the IPC, see in particular the definitions of "control" and "regulation".
• Classification in this section may present more difficulty than in other sections, because the distinction between different fields of use rests to a considerable extent on differences in the intention of the user rather than on any constructional differences or differences in the manner of use, and because the subjects dealt with are often in effect systems or combinations, which have features or parts in common, rather than "things", which are readily distinguishable as a whole. For example, information (e.g., a set of figures) may be displayed for the purpose of education or advertising ( G09), for enabling the result of a measurement to be known ( G01), for signalling the information to a distant point or for giving information which has been signalled from a distant point ( G08). The words used to describe the purpose depend on features that may be irrelevant to the form of the apparatus concerned, for example, such features as the desired effect on the person who sees the display, or whether the display is controlled from a remote point. Again, a device which responds to some change in a condition, e.g., in the pressure of a fluid, may be used, without modification of the device itself, to give information about the pressure ( G01L) or about some other condition linked to the pressure (another subclass of class G01, e.g., G01K for temperature), to make a record of the pressure or of its occurrence ( G07C), to give an alarm ( G08B), or to control another apparatus ( G05).
  • The classification scheme is intended to enable things of a similar nature (as indicated above) to be classified together. It is therefore particularly necessary for the real nature of any technical subject to be decided before it can be properly classified.

Note(s) [2011.01]

• This class does not cover reproduction of pictures or patterns by scanning and converting into electrical signals, which is covered by subclass H04N.
• In this class, the following terms are used with the meaning indicated:
  • "records" means photographs or any other kind of latent, directly-visible or permanent storage of pictorial information, which consist of an imagewise distribution of a quantity, e.g. an electric charge pattern, recorded on a carrier member;
  • "optical" applies not only to visible light but also to ultra-violet or infra-red radiations.

Note(s)

• This subclass covers, as far as processes are concerned, only processes characterised by the use or manipulation of apparatus classifiable per se in this subclass.

Note(s) [5]

• In this subclass, the following expressions are used with the meanings indicated:
  • "photosensitive compositions" covers photosensitive substances, e.g. silver halides, and, if applicable, binders or additives;
  • "photosensitive materials" covers the photosensitive compositions, e.g. emulsions, the bases carrying them, and, if applicable, auxiliary layers.

Note(s) [5]

• This subclass covers:
  • the production of permanent directly-visible pictures in conformity with an original picture or document, using an intermediate imagewise distribution of an electric or magnetic quantity, such as a charge pattern, an electric conductivity pattern, or a magnetic pattern;
  • the production of permanent directly-visible pictures using an intermediate imagewise distribution of an electric or magnetic quantity, when the origin and the way of generating said intermediate distribution are not relevant.
• This subclass does not cover:
  • use of electric signals for the transmission of the picture information from the original to the reproduction, i.e. pictorial communication, which is covered by subclass H04N;
  • production of pictures by heat patterns exclusively, not using an electrostatic or magnetic pattern, which is covered by group B41M 5/00;
  • production of prints by transferring ink from a printing form to a printing surface, without physical contact and using the force of an electrostatic field, which is covered by subclass B41M;
  • selective printing mechanisms characterised by the selective supply of electric current, or the selective application of magnetism or radiation, to a printing material or impression-transfer material, which are covered by groups B41J 2/385, B41J 2/435.