Mud Pumps Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- 43.0% of all 1,171 records sit with just five assignees, and the top ten hold 66.5% — a field concentrated at the top with a long tail behind it.
- Filings fell 57% from 2021 to 2024 (65 to 28), the last span the data treats as complete, after a 2020 peak of 101 filings.
- F04B pump mechanics dominate at 55.1% while adjacent branches like valves (F16K, 5.9%) and geophysics integration (G01V, 5.8%) stay comparatively thin.
Filing growth compares 2021 (65 records) with 2024 (28) — 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 1,171 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape draws on 1,171 published patent families filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine mud pump or triplex/quintuplex pump hardware with specific operating problems: liner wear, pulsation dampening, valve seat erosion, crosshead design and discharge pressure rating. The search string ties fluid-end and power-end pump terminology to these failure and performance modes, which keeps the set focused on circulating-system engineering rather than drilling generally.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the 2025 and 2026 counts in the trend chart are still filling in and should not be read as a drop-off. The most recent complete comparison the data supports is 2021 to 2024.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,171 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the underlying inventions actually sit in.
A 2020 peak followed by a real pullback
Filings ran from 49 in 2017 to a peak of 101 in 2020, then declined to 65 in 2021 and 28 in 2024 — a 57% fall over that three-year span. That is the last window the data treats as complete; years after 2024 are still accumulating publications.
Pump mechanics lead, chemistry and valves trail
F04B positive-displacement pump classifications appear on 55.1% of records and E21B well-drilling classifications on 43.0%, confirming this is primarily a mechanical-pump field with drilling-system context. Downstream classes — F16L piping (13.4%), F16K valves (5.9%), G01V geophysics (5.8%) and the polymer-chemistry classes C08K/C08J/C08L (roughly 5-7% each) — are present but far less claimed, which is where narrower filings tend to have more room.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,171 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Mud Pumps and Circulating Systems with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about mud pumps and circulating systems and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records and a representative filing
System pulsation dampener device(s) substituting for pulsation dampeners utilizing compression material therein (US11473711B2)
A fluid delivery system built around a charge-free pulsation dampener housing that omits the elastomeric compression material used in conventional designs. The system combines a fluid reservoir, fluid pump, manifold, pulsation dampener and piping, with the manifold positioned downstream of the pump to receive and combine flows before they reach the dampener.Filed by Performance Pulsation Control, Inc., granted 2022-10-18.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20150252661A1 | Hydraulic fracturing system | 422 |
| 2 | US8789601B2 | System for pumping hydraulic fracturing fluid using electric pumps | 376 |
| 3 | US4878815A | High pressure reciprocating pump apparatus | 310 |
| 4 | US20180298731A1 | Power system and method | 306 |
| 5 | US20160105022A1 | System and method for parallel power and blackout protection for electric powered hydraulic fracturing | 297 |
| 6 | US20170016433A1 | Reducing fluid pressure spikes in a pumping system | 291 |
| 7 | US20110085924A1 | Pump assembly vibration absorber system | 288 |
| 8 | US20100310384A1 | System and Method for Servicing a Wellbore | 282 |
| 9 | US6230824B1 | Rotating subsea diverter | 279 |
| 10 | US6102673A | Subsea mud pump with reduced pulsation | 275 |
Citation counts reflect an older-skewing corpus; treat them as a signal of influence rather than current relevance, since older filings have had more time to accumulate citations.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Three patterns stand out once the ranking, trend and IPC data are read together.
Filing sits with a small group of established oilfield-services names
Five assignees account for 504 of the 1,171 records in scope, and ten account for 779. That leaves a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants competing for the remaining share, which suggests freedom-to-operate work needs to focus heavily on the leaders' portfolios rather than spreading evenly across the ranked list.
Activity has cooled from its 2020 peak
Filings peaked at 101 in 2020 and pulled back sharply through 2021-2024. Several of the largest historical filers show zero activity in the latest year, including a -100% year-on-year change for one major assignee, though the newest years are still incomplete due to publication lag.
The field is mechanically anchored, chemically thin
Over half of records touch F04B pump-mechanics classifications, with E21B drilling-system context on 43.0%. Polymer and additive classes (C08K, C08J, C08L) each sit near 5-7%, indicating that seal, liner and elastomer chemistry is claimed far less densely than the mechanical hardware around it.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to mud pumps and circulating systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gate sits
The leader board is dominated by large oilfield-services groups and a specialist pulsation-control filer, with several entities linked through shared corporate lineage.
A single leader well ahead of fifth place
The top-ranked assignee holds 135 records against 74 at fifth place, a gap wide enough that its portfolio is the first stop for any clearance search in mud pump hardware or pulsation control.
Shared filings trace corporate consolidation
The strongest co-assignee pairs link entities under the same historical corporate umbrella, with counts as high as 36 shared filings between two related names. That pattern usually reflects group restructuring or joint R&D units rather than independent collaboration.
A dedicated pulsation-control specialist sits among the majors
Unlike the diversified oilfield-services filers around it, one ranked assignee files narrowly on pulsation dampener hardware, including the representative record featured on this page — a sign that focused mechanical niches can still support a competitive portfolio.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | 0 | — |
| S P M Flow Control, Inc. | 0 | — |
| PERFORMANCE PULSATION CONTROL INC | 0 | — |
| Cabot Corporation | 0 | — |
| Schlumberger Technology Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| US WELL SERVICES LLC | 0 | — |
| Schlumberger Technology B.V. | 0 | — |
| Schlumberger Canada Limited | 0 | — |
Where to take this
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is clearance, whitespace filing, or monitoring.
Run a clearance search against the top-ranked assignees
With 43.0% of records held by five assignees, a freedom-to-operate check should start with their granted claims in pump hardware and pulsation control before widening to the long tail.
Search assignee portfolios in EurekaScope a filing in an under-claimed branch
Valve seat erosion coatings and elastomer liner chemistry carry lower IPC density than core pump mechanics, which may leave room for narrower, defensible claims.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack momentum shifts among leading filers
Several top assignees show zero filings in the latest year; confirming whether that reflects a real pullback or publication lag matters for competitive monitoring.
Set up assignee alerts in EurekaCommon questions on mud pump patents
The assignee ranking in this dataset is led by a single company with 135 of the 1,171 records in scope, well ahead of the fifth-ranked filer at 74. The top five assignees together hold 43.0% of all records, and the top ten hold 66.5%, so filing activity is concentrated among a small group of established oilfield-services companies rather than spread evenly. Beyond the top ten there is a long tail of assignees with only a handful of filings each, which is typical for a mature mechanical field with a few dominant incumbents.
Filings peaked in 2020 at 101 and then declined to 65 in 2021 and 28 in 2024, a 57% drop over that three-year window, which is the most recent span the data treats as complete. Publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the lower counts shown for 2025 and 2026 are still being filled in and should not be read as an active decline. Based on the complete years, though, the field has genuinely cooled from its 2020 high.
Positive-displacement pump mechanics (IPC class F04B) appear on 55.1% of the 1,171 records, and earth/rock drilling context (E21B) appears on 43.0%, making this primarily a mechanical pump field set within a drilling-systems frame. Supporting areas like pipe fittings (F16L, 13.4%), valves (F16K, 5.9%) and polymer chemistry for seals and liners (C08K, C08J, C08L, each roughly 5-7%) are present but far less densely claimed. That gap suggests chemistry-adjacent and valve-specific claims may face less crowded prior art than core pump-mechanics claims.
US11473711B2, assigned to Performance Pulsation Control, Inc. and granted 2022-10-18, covers a fluid delivery system built around a pulsation dampener housing designed to work without the elastomeric compression material used in conventional charge-free dampeners. The claimed system includes a fluid reservoir, fluid pump, manifold and piping arranged so the manifold sits downstream of the pump and combines flows before delivery to the dampener. Anyone designing a pulsation dampener that avoids elastomer compression material inside the housing should review this claim scope closely before finalizing a design.
Based on IPC composition, the least-claimed areas relative to core pump mechanics are valve seat erosion-resistant coatings, elastomer and polymer liner compounds, and discharge-pressure sensing integration — each tied to IPC classes sitting well below F04B's 55.1% record share. These branches touch materials science and sensing rather than core mechanical pump design, which is where the bulk of existing claims sit. A narrowly scoped filing in one of these areas is more likely to clear a crowded prior-art search than a general pump-mechanism claim.
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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.