Note(s) [2015.01]

• This class covers :
  • working of metallic materials;
  • working of non-metallic materials, provided that the methods applied are similar to those used in metal-working and not provided for elsewhere;
  • features, specific to machine tools, which relate to a requirement or problem of a nature which is not peculiar to a particular kind of machine tool, e.g. feeding work, which are covered by subclass B23Q, although the realisation of these features may differ according to the kind of machine tool concerned. The said subclass covers such features, in general, even if the feature or a specific function, in any particular case, is to some extent peculiar to, or is claimed only for, machine tools designed for one particular operation; only in exceptional cases are such features classified in the subclass for the machine tool concerned. Certain features of this general nature are, however, referred to subclasses relating to particular metal-working operations, especially B23B, in which case the subclasses in question are not restricted, in respect of those features, to the kind of machine tool with which they are primarily concerned.
• In this class, the following terms or expressions are used with the meanings indicated:
  • "kind of operations" and similar expressions relate to such metal-working operations as boring, drilling, milling and grinding;
  • "kind of machine" means a machine designed for a particular kind of metal-working operation (e.g. a lathe);
  • "form of machine" means a machine of a particular kind adapted or arranged for a particular way of working or for particular work, e.g. face-plate lathe, tailstock lathe, turret lathe;
  • "different machines" covers different forms of machines for performing the same type of metal-working operation, e.g. vertical and horizontal boring machines.
• If details, components, or accessories have no essential feature specific to machine tools, the more general class, e.g. F16, takes precedence.

Note(s) [3]

• In this subclass, groups designating parts of machine tools cover machine tools characterised by constructional features of such parts.
• Attention is drawn to the Notes following the title of class B23.

Note(s)

• In groups B23Q 33/00 or B23Q 35/00, the following term is used with the meaning indicated:
  • "copying" covers the derivation of a required shape from a pattern, of the same or a different shape or scale, by a mechanism or equivalent means controlled by a member following the pattern. The pattern may be a model or drawing, or an element such as a cam incorporated in the operating mechanism of a machine. This term does not cover the derivation of a required shape from simple geometrical shapes, e.g. generating a cycloid by a rolling circle, which in general is provided for in group B23Q 27/00.