Flow Metering for Custody Transfer Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- Filings have declined since a 2021 peak of 290, falling to 187 by the 2022 midpoint and down to single digits by 2026 — a sign the core claim space is filling in, not that the field is cooling.
- G01F dominates at 6,491 of 6,503 records, with G01N material analysis and G01P velocity sensing as the largest adjacent branches worth watching for cross-filed claims.
- The United States leads receiving offices with 1,618 filings, ahead of China at 1,081 and the EPO at 988, shaping where enforcement risk concentrates first.
Filing growth compares 2021 (290 records) with 2024 (159) — 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. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 6,503 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Custody transfer metering is the point where a flow measurement becomes a commercial transaction — oil, gas, LNG or water changing hands based on a number a meter reports. The patent activity in this dataset centres on Coriolis flowmeters, calibration and proving methods, and turndown ratio design, filtered to records that explicitly address measurement uncertainty, cryogenic fluid handling or proving against a reference standard. That filter matters: it separates custody-grade metering claims from the much larger universe of general flow-sensing patents.
The 6,503 families here span 2017 through the 2026 data cut-off, with IPC codes concentrated in G01F (flow, level and volume measurement) and secondary claim activity in material analysis, velocity sensing and non-electric control. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the low counts in the final year understate real filing activity rather than signalling a sudden stop.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim density.
A peak in 2021, then a steady decline
Filings rose from 210 in 2017 to a peak of 290 in 2021, then fell back to 187 by 2022 and continued down toward single digits by 2026. Read the tail-end drop with the 18-month publication lag in mind rather than as evidence of abandoned R&D — but the multi-year decline from peak through the 2022 midpoint is a real trend, not a lag artefact.
G01F carries nearly the entire dataset
G01F flow, level and volume measurement appears in 6,491 of 6,503 records, effectively defining the field. The next largest subclasses — G01N material analysis (592), G01P velocity/acceleration (253) and G05D non-electric control (253) — mark where custody metering claims overlap with adjacent measurement and control disciplines, including a smaller but notable overlap with E21B wellbore equipment (161).
Shares are the percentage of the 6,503 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Flow Metering for Custody Transfer with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about flow metering for custody transfer and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited prior art and a representative claim
Digital Flow Meter with Enhanced Turndown Ratio
A digital fluid flow meter for measuring fluid flow past a surface on one side of a wall including first and second reduced thickness areas in the wall spaced from one another, a first detector having a first temperature sensitive element thermally coupled to the first reduced thickness area to provide thermal transfer between fluid in contact with the surface and the first detector, a second detector comprising a second temperature sensitive element thermally coupled to the second reduced thickness area of said wall to provide thermal transfer between fluid in contact with the surface and the second detector.Filed by Sentry Equipment Corporation, published 2012-02-16, this filing predates the dataset's main filing window but its turndown ratio approach remains a reference point for later claims in the same subfield.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6971274B2 | Immersible thermal mass flow meter | 623 |
| 2 | US4827430A | Flow measurement system | 592 |
| 3 | US6874480B1 | Flow meter | 591 |
| 4 | US20140060147A1 | Systems and methods for mass flow controller verification | 545 |
| 5 | US9169975B2 | Systems and methods for mass flow controller verification | 505 |
| 6 | US5555190A | Method and apparatus for adaptive line enhancement in Coriolis mass flow meter measurement | 366 |
| 7 | US5325728A | Electromagnetic flow meter | 341 |
| 8 | US6047602A | Ultrasonic buffer/waveguide | 278 |
| 9 | WO1995016897A2 | Single path radial mode coriolis mass flow rate meter | 276 |
| 10 | US5301557A | Stability coriolis mass flow meter | 274 |
Citation counts reflect influence within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial relevance.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing decisions
Three patterns stand out once the raw counts are read against the IPC composition and the receiving-office split.
The core claim space is filling, not growing
A decline from a 2021 peak of 290 filings to 187 at the 2022 midpoint, continuing downward through the visible trend, suggests the primary Coriolis and calibration claim space is becoming saturated. New entrants are more likely to find room in adjacent IPC codes than in the core G01F claims.
US remains the primary filing venue
The United States receives more filings than China or the EPO individually, with WIPO PCT filings (511) indicating a meaningful share of applicants pursuing multi-jurisdiction protection from the outset rather than filing nationally first.
Material analysis is the largest adjacent claim zone
G01N appears in 592 records alongside the core G01F claims, pointing to a consistent pattern of custody meters claimed jointly with fluid composition or material property analysis — relevant for anyone drafting around multiphase or wet-gas metering.
Older mass-flow patents still anchor prior art searches
The most-cited record in this corpus, an immersible thermal mass flow meter patent, carries 623 citations — a reminder that citation counts favour age within a searched corpus and should be read as influence, not as a signal that thermal mass approaches are the current commercial focus.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to flow metering for custody transfer, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds ground, and where momentum has stalled
Recent-year momentum across the tracked assignees is uniformly flat or negative, which is unusual for a field with this much historical filing depth.
Even the most active historical filer shows zero latest-year filings
Micro Motion, the strongest co-assignee node in this dataset with repeated pairings against named inventors, recorded zero filings in the latest year — a -100% year-on-year drop that is more likely a publication-lag effect than a withdrawal from the field.
Co-assignee activity concentrates around one organisation
Of the 10 co-assignee pairs identified, the strongest links both pair Micro Motion with named individual inventors at a count of 10, indicating a stable internal inventor team rather than cross-company joint filings.
Decline is not limited to one assignee
Endress+Hauser shows a smaller but still steep -80% year-on-year decline, and several other named assignees — Daniel Measurement and Control, Cameron, Hitachi Automotive Systems, Kamstrup — all report zero filings in the latest tracked year.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Endress+Hauser Flowtec AG | 1 | -80% |
| Micro Motion, Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| Daniel Measurement and Control, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Cidra Corporate Services, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Kamstrup A/S | 0 | — |
| Emerson Electric Co. | 0 | — |
| GWF MessSysteme AG | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a maturing core and a thinning filing pace — the next step is deciding where your own claims would actually sit.
Map a freedom-to-operate position
Cross-reference the most-cited records against any planned Coriolis or turndown ratio claim to see which prior art a new filing would need to design around.
Explore in EurekaTrack the assignees still filing
Recent-year momentum is negative across nearly every named assignee here — worth confirming with fresh publication data before treating the field as closed.
Explore in EurekaScope the adjacent IPC branches
G01N, G01P and G05D overlaps suggest claim room outside the saturated core; a targeted search across those subclasses can surface less-contested angles.
Explore in EurekaCommon questions about custody transfer metering patents
Custody transfer metering patents address measurement uncertainty, calibration against a traceable reference, and proving — the process of verifying a meter's accuracy in the field or against a master meter. A general flow-sensing patent that does not touch these accuracy and verification requirements typically falls outside custody-grade claims. This dataset was filtered specifically on those terms alongside core flow meter and Coriolis flowmeter language, which is why it captures 6,503 families rather than the much larger set of all flow-sensing patents.
Coriolis meters measure mass flow directly rather than inferring it from volume and density, which gives them an accuracy advantage that matters when fluid is being bought and sold. That accuracy requirement is exactly what custody transfer applications demand, so a large share of the calibration, turndown ratio and proving claims in this space are built around Coriolis sensor designs. The concentration of records in IPC subclass G01F reflects this — flow, level and volume measurement claims dominate the dataset almost entirely.
Neither conclusion is safe from this data alone. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the low counts in the final one or two years understate real activity. That said, the decline from a 2021 peak of 290 to 187 by the 2022 midpoint is a genuine multi-year trend that predates the lag window, and it lines up with recent-year momentum figures showing several major assignees at zero or steeply negative year-on-year filings — consistent with a claim space that is filling up rather than one that has stopped attracting investment.
The dataset's co-assignee analysis points to Micro Motion as the strongest filer, appearing in the highest-count co-assignee pairs alongside named inventors, though its own latest-year filings dropped to zero. Endress+Hauser, Daniel Measurement and Control, Cameron, Hitachi Automotive Systems and Kamstrup also appear among the named assignees, all showing flat or negative recent-year momentum. A full ranking by patent family count is rendered separately in the assignee table on this page.
The clearest opportunities sit in the IPC branches adjacent to the saturated G01F core: material analysis overlap (G01N, 592 records) for multiphase or wet-gas metering, velocity sensing overlap (G01P) for non-Coriolis approaches, and the smaller wellbore equipment overlap (E21B, 161 records) for integrated downhole custody metering. Cryogenic LNG proving methods and self-diagnosing meter verification also show thinner claim density relative to the core turndown ratio and calibration claims that dominate the dataset.
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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.