Gas Pipeline Leak Detection Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- A single filer leads with 11 records while the rest of the ranked field never exceeds a handful each, pointing to one dominant technical position rather than broad competition.
- Filing peaked in 2021 at 5 records and fell to 0 by 2024 — the only complete year-over-year window the data supports — before recent years reopen as publications catch up.
- G01N material analysis appears in 96.3% of the 27 records while G01S radar and positioning sits at just 7.4%, showing where sensing method claims concentrate and where they thin out.
Filing growth compares 2021 (5 records) with 2024 (0) — 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.
What this landscape covers
This review covers 27 published records matching pipeline leak detection, methane leak survey and mobile methane detection art, cross-referenced against tunable diode laser, leak indication grading, vehicle-mounted survey, wind correction, emission quantification and survey coverage terms. The scope spans filings from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off, drawing from receiving offices led by the United States (15 records) with smaller counts from Australia, Canada, Norway, the WIPO PCT route and China.
Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend understate real filing activity — they are still filling in, not necessarily falling off. The picture that follows should be read as a record of claim positions taken through 2024, with 2025 and 2026 treated as provisional.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 27-record dataset: how filing activity moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim volume.
Filing trend: a sharp rise and an unfinished fall
Filings climbed to a peak of 5 records in 2021, then declined to 0 by 2024 — a -100% move over that three-year span, the only complete window this dataset supports. Years after 2024 should not be read as a continued decline; they are still accumulating publications.
IPC composition: sensing and measurement dominate
G01N (material analysis & testing) appears in 96.3% of the 27 records and G01M (testing machine & structure balance) in 51.9%, confirming that most claims sit on detection and measurement methods rather than downstream data handling. G06K data recognition (22.2%), G06V image recognition (14.8%) and G01S radar/positioning (7.4%) trail well behind, marking thinner claim coverage in how survey data gets classified, imaged or geolocated.
Shares are the percentage of the 27 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Methane Survey with Eureka
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Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this space
System and method for remote quantitative detection of fluid leaks from a natural gas or oil pipeline (US6995846B2)
A system for remote quantitative detection of fluid leaks from a natural gas or oil pipeline by use of an airborne platform, including at least one laser light source for nearly simultaneous illumination of two or more target fluids and a background at differing absorption wavelengths. An illumination source is pointed via a positioning system while scanning a geometric area along a flight path, and a signal detector applies quantitative signal processing to the returns to identify and quantify the target fluids.Filed by Harris Corporation; the family this patent belongs to (US6822742B1, US6995846B2, US20050134859A1) accounts for the three most-cited records in this dataset.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6822742B1 | System and method for remote quantitative detection of fluid leaks from a natural gas or oil pipeline | 222 |
| 2 | US6995846B2 | System and method for remote quantitative detection of fluid leaks from a natural gas or oil pipeline | 121 |
| 3 | US20050134859A1 | System and method for remote quantitative detection of fluid leaks from a natural gas or oil pipeline | 51 |
| 4 | US20170097302A1 | High-sensitivity gas-mapping 3D imager and method of operation | 46 |
| 5 | US9970756B2 | High-sensitivity gas-mapping 3D imager and method of operation | 30 |
| 6 | US20180216932A1 | High-sensitivity gas-mapping 3D imager and method of operation | 29 |
| 7 | US20190285409A1 | High-sensitivity gas-mapping 3D imager and method of operation | 21 |
| 8 | WO2005064316A1 | System and method for remote quantitative detection of fluid leaks from a natural gas or oil pipeline | 16 |
| 9 | US11105621B2 | High-sensitivity gas-mapping 3D imager and method of operation | 9 |
| 10 | US20230243648A1 | High-sensitivity gas-mapping 3D imager and method of operation | 7 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and favour older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
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Browse MCP servers →What the filing pattern signals
Three read-outs from the citation, technology and assignee data that matter for anyone deciding where to file or partner next.
Early airborne quantification claims anchor the field
The three most-cited records in this dataset — US6822742B1, US6995846B2 and US20050134859A1 — are all variants of the same Harris Corporation airborne quantitative leak-detection family. Their combined citation weight (222, 121 and 51) suggests this family shaped much of the vocabulary and method structure that later filings had to work around.
Detection method claims are the busiest ground
Almost every record in scope touches G01N material analysis and testing, and over half also carry G01M structure-testing classifications. That density means a new filing built purely around detection method or sensor configuration is more likely to run into prior art than one built around data handling, quantification workflow or survey logistics.
One filer holds a lead the rest do not approach
The ranked leader holds 11 records against a fifth-place count of 1 and a tenth-place count of 1, in a ranking of 10 companies. That gap — rather than any computable concentration share — is the signal: it points to a single entity with a sustained filing programme surrounded by a long tail of single or few-record entrants.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to gas pipeline leak detection and methane survey, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| ITT Manufacturing Enterprises LLC | SPOONHOWER JOHN P | 1 |
| ITT Manufacturing Enterprises LLC | PAZ PUJALT GUSTAVO R | 1 |
| ITT Manufacturing Enterprises LLC | KALAYEH HOOSHMAND M | 1 |
| SPOONHOWER JOHN P | PAZ PUJALT GUSTAVO R | 1 |
| SPOONHOWER JOHN P | KALAYEH HOOSHMAND M | 1 |
| PAZ PUJALT GUSTAVO R | KALAYEH HOOSHMAND M | 1 |
Only 6 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, the strongest tied to a single organisation pairing with three individual co-inventors — evidence of largely independent filing programmes rather than joint development.
Who holds position, and where the gate sits
The ranked field is small — 10 companies — with activity heavily weighted toward one leader and momentum that has cooled across the board in the most recent complete year.
A dominant single-assignee filing programme
The top-ranked assignee holds 11 of the records captured in this ranking, well ahead of the rest of the field. That scale of filing, concentrated in airborne and mobile methane detection method claims, suggests a company treating leak-detection sensing as a core, defensible product line rather than an occasional filing.
Most ranked filers hold a single record
From fifth place down through tenth place in the ranking, counts sit at 1 record each. This is typical of a technology area where academic groups, individual inventors and smaller specialists file opportunistically around a dominant player's core claims rather than building a sustained portfolio.
Filing here is mostly a solo activity
Co-assignee pairing is limited to 6 pairs across the whole dataset, with the strongest links tied to one organisation filing alongside named individual inventors rather than another company. There is little sign of joint-venture or cross-licensing filing behaviour in this space so far.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| BRIDGER PHOTONICS INC | 0 | -100% |
| ITT Manufacturing Enterprises LLC | 0 | — |
| Axcelis Technologies, Inc. | 0 | — |
| University of British Columbia | 0 | — |
| Xijing University | 0 | — |
| Eastman Kodak Company | 0 | — |
| SPOONHOWER JOHN P | 0 | — |
| PES UNIV | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a concentrated core and a thinner periphery — the next step is deciding which of those gaps are worth a filing, and which are already blocked.
Map a specific claim against the cited core
Before drafting around detection method or sensor geometry, check it against the Harris Corporation airborne quantification family that dominates citations here — those claims have already shaped what counts as novel in this space.
Explore the citation network in Eureka →Test white-space claims for real novelty
Wind-corrected quantification, survey coverage optimisation and image-based plume recognition show thinner IPC coverage in this dataset, but thin coverage in one search is not proof of an open field elsewhere.
Run a deeper prior-art search in Eureka →Common questions on this landscape
In this 27-record dataset, one assignee leads with 11 records, well ahead of the rest of the ranked field of 10 companies. From fifth place down, counts drop to a single record per filer, which points to one company running a sustained filing programme while others file opportunistically around it. This pattern typically means the leader's granted claims set the boundaries that later filers have to design around.
Filing rose to a peak of 5 records in 2021 and fell to 0 by 2024, a -100% move over that three-year span — the only complete year-over-year comparison this data supports. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the years after 2024 are still filling in and should not yet be read as a continued decline. A fair read is that activity cooled through the early 2020s, with the true 2025-2026 picture not yet visible.
US6995846B2, assigned to Harris Corporation, covers an airborne system that illuminates target fluids and background with laser light at differing absorption wavelengths, points the illumination via a positioning system along a scan path, and applies quantitative signal processing to detect and measure the fluids. It sits in a family with US6822742B1 and US20050134859A1, together the three most-cited records in this dataset. Anyone filing on airborne, multi-wavelength quantitative leak detection needs to check their claims against this family specifically, not just against the general concept of laser-based gas detection.
The IPC composition shows G01N material analysis in 96.3% of the 27 records and G01M testing in 51.9%, meaning sensing and measurement method claims are densely occupied. Coverage thins markedly in G06V image recognition (14.8%) and G01S radar and positioning (7.4%), and gate-area terms like wind correction, survey coverage and leak indication grading appear in the search string but are not concentrated in any single dominant filer. That combination — specific search terms with no visible leader — is where a first mover could plausibly claim a workable position, subject to a proper freedom-to-operate check.
The assignee ranking returned by this dataset contains 10 companies, from a leader with 11 records down to single-record filers in fifth through tenth place. This is the entire ranked list the data endpoint returns for this search, not a top-50 or top-100 cut, so it likely understates the full universe of filers who appear in the broader 27-record set but did not rank. The gap between the leader and everyone else is the more informative fact than the raw count of 10.
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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.