Pipe Handling & Racking Automation Patents: Leaders & Gaps 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The five leading assignees hold 61.1% of all 303 records in scope, and the leading ten hold 86.5% — a field with little room left for a generic pipe-handling claim.
- Filing has cooled from its 2019 peak. Activity peaked at 23 records in 2019; from 2021 to 2024, the last complete year, filings fell 60%, from 10 to 4.
- Almost everything sits in one IPC subclass. 97.0% of records classify under E21B (earth and rock drilling), with cranes, hydraulics and jacks appearing only as minor secondary classes.
Filing growth compares 2021 (10 records) with 2024 (4) — 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 303 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks 303 published records at the intersection of pipe handling systems, power tongs and pipe racking systems, cross-referenced against control-and-sensing features such as pipe position sensing, elevator latching, tubular stand handling, robotic pipe transfer, slip actuation and manipulator arm control. Coverage runs from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off, so the most recent filing years are still incomplete because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months.
The search string ties two layers together deliberately: the mechanical handling hardware (tongs, racking systems, transfer mechanisms) and the sensing or control logic that lets that hardware run with less manual intervention. That pairing is why the technology composition skews so heavily toward drilling-specific classification rather than general materials-handling or robotics codes.
Filing trend and classification mix
Two views of the same 303 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings rose to a peak of 23 records in 2019, then declined; the 2021-to-2024 window (the last year treatable as complete) shows a 60% drop, from 10 to 4 records. Years after 2024 are still filling in and should not be read as a continued fall.
IPC subclass composition
E21B (earth and rock drilling for wells) covers 97.0% of the 303 records — effectively the home classification for this whole search. Everything else is a minor secondary class: B66C (cranes and hoists) at 3.0%, H10P at 3.6%, and single-digit shares for hydraulic engineering, semiconductor devices, jacks, excavating equipment and pipe fittings. Because records can carry multiple classes, these shares add to more than 100% of the record total.
Shares are the percentage of the 303 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Pipe Handling and Racking Automation with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about pipe handling and racking automation and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records in this space
US9121235B2 — Tubular stand building and racking system
The present invention provides a rapid rig-up and rig-down pipe stand building and racking system that is capable of being retrofit to an existing drilling rig. In particular, the invention relates to a horizontal to vertical pipe delivery machine that is mountable to a drilling rig. The horizontal to vertical machine delivers sections of pipe to a pair of drilling rig mounted elevators. The elevators receive and vertically translate the sections of pipe. A power tong may be used to make connections between the sections of pipe to form a pipe stand, and may also break the connections of the pipe stand. A drill floor mounted pipe racking system receives the connected drill pipe from the elevators.Filed by T&T Engineering Services, Inc., dated 2015-09-01 — illustrates the retrofit-to-existing-rig framing that recurs across the leading assignee's portfolio.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6705414B2 | Tubular transfer system | 123 |
| 2 | US20080202812A1 | Simultaneous tubular handling system | 120 |
| 3 | US20030159854A1 | Tubular transfer system | 119 |
| 4 | US8235104B1 | Apparatus for pipe tong and spinner deployment | 92 |
| 5 | US7802636B2 | Simultaneous tubular handling system and method | 85 |
| 6 | US7726929B1 | Pipe handling boom pretensioning apparatus | 64 |
| 7 | US20160060979A1 | Laterally moving racker device on a drilling rig | 62 |
| 8 | US20140202769A1 | X-Y-Z Pipe Racker for a Drilling Rig | 53 |
| 9 | US20110030942A1 | Pipe stand | 52 |
| 10 | US20100038088A1 | Multi-function multi-hole drilling rig | 52 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings — treat this list as a map of influence, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three cuts of the same dataset, read for what they mean to a filing decision rather than as raw counts.
The top of the field is crowded
Five assignees account for 61.1% of all 303 records in scope, and the leading ten hold 86.5%. A new entrant filing a broad pipe-handling or racking claim is filing directly against that dense prior art rather than into open space.
Activity has pulled back from its peak
Filings peaked at 23 records in 2019 and fell 60% between 2021 (10 records) and 2024 (4 records), the last year treatable as complete. That is consistent with a maturing core claim set rather than a technology losing relevance.
Nearly every record sits in one subclass
97.0% of the 303 records carry an E21B classification, the earth-and-rock-drilling code. Secondary classes — cranes and hoists, hydraulic engineering, jacks — appear only in single-digit shares, suggesting most inventive activity is being framed as drilling equipment rather than general lifting or robotics.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to pipe handling and racking automation, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and who is filing together
The ranking covers 41 companies returned by the data endpoint — the whole ranking, not a top-50 or top-100 cut. A small number of pairings account for most of the co-assignee activity recorded.
A clear single leader
The top-ranked assignee holds 58 records, well ahead of fifth place at 21 and tenth place at 13 — a steep drop-off rather than a gradual one.
One dominant collaboration pair
Ten co-assignee pairs are recorded; the strongest, between Atwood Oceanics and Friede Goldman United, spans 28 shared records, far ahead of the next pairing.
Recent activity has gone quiet across the leaders
Every one of the assignees tracked for recent-year momentum, including the field leader, shows zero filings in the latest year — a pattern consistent with the broader publication lag rather than a sign the leaders have stopped filing.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| T&T Engineering Services, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Itrec B.V. | 0 | — |
| ATWOOD OCEANICS INC | 0 | — |
| National Oilwell Varco, L.P. | 0 | — |
| FRANKS INT | 0 | — |
| FRIEDE GOLDMAN UNITED LTD | 0 | — |
| FRIEDE & GOLDMAN UNITED BV | 0 | — |
| Canrig Robotic Technologies AS | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a mature, concentrated core and a handful of thinner secondary classes. Two directions follow from that.
Pressure-test a claim against the leader's portfolio
With one assignee holding 58 of 303 records and the next five combined still short of that share, any new filing in the core E21B space should be checked directly against the leading portfolio before drafting.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaExplore the secondary classes for open claim space
B66C, E02B, B66F and F16L each carry only a handful of records. That is either genuine white space or an unexplored combination — worth a targeted search before assuming either.
Search adjacent IPC classes in EurekaCommon questions on pipe handling and racking automation patents
One assignee leads the field with 58 records out of 303 in scope, noticeably ahead of the rest of the ranked leaders — fifth place holds 21 records and tenth place holds 13. The top five assignees combined account for 61.1% of all 303 records, and the top ten account for 86.5%, so the field is concentrated rather than fragmented. A newcomer should expect to file against dense prior art from a small group of established players rather than into open territory.
Filing activity peaked at 23 records in 2019 and has since declined; between 2021 (10 records) and 2024 (4 records) — the most recent year that can be treated as complete — filings fell 60%. Years after 2024 look lower still in the raw data, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual drop in activity. Treat the 2021-to-2024 window as the reliable read on recent momentum.
US9121235B2, assigned to T&T Engineering Services and dated 2015-09-01, covers a retrofit-capable pipe stand building and racking system: a horizontal-to-vertical delivery machine that feeds pipe sections to rig-mounted elevators, which translate the pipe vertically, with a power tong making and breaking connections and a drill-floor racking system receiving the finished stand. It is one of the more cited records in this dataset and is representative of the leading assignee's approach of retrofitting automation onto existing rigs rather than requiring a new-build rig. Anyone designing a similar horizontal-to-vertical handling sequence should review its claim scope closely.
E21B, the earth-and-rock-drilling-for-wells subclass, covers 97.0% of the 303 records in scope, making it the effective home classification for this entire search. Secondary classes appear only in small numbers: B66C (cranes and hoists) at 3.0%, H10P at 3.6%, and E02B, H01L, B66F, E02F and F16L each under 2%. Because a single record can carry multiple IPC codes, these percentages add to more than 100% of the record total and should be read as overlap, not as a strict breakdown.
The secondary IPC classes — hydraulic and waterway engineering (E02B), jacks and lifting devices (B66F), excavating equipment (E02F) and pipe fittings (F16L) — each carry only a handful of the 303 records, in contrast to E21B's 97.0% share. That gap suggests these adjacent branches have not been heavily worked from a pipe-handling-and-racking angle specifically, though it is worth confirming with a targeted search rather than assuming the space is empty. Crane and hoist control logic (B66C) is another area with room, given its 3.0% share against the dominant drilling classification.
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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.