Solids Control System Integration Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Concentrated at the top. The five leading assignees account for 394 of 825 records in scope (47.8%), and the ranked ten hold 67.6% between them.
- Filings are accelerating again. Annual filings rose from 13 in 2021 to 34 in 2024, a +162% increase over that three-year span, after a 2017 peak of 111.
- Drilling-side classification dominates. 84.2% of records sit in E21B (earth & rock drilling), while separation, testing and centrifuge classes each cover a much smaller, more contestable slice.
Filing growth compares 2021 (13 records) with 2024 (34) — 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 825 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Solids control system integration spans the equipment and methods used to remove drilled solids from circulating drilling fluid: shale shakers, degassers, centrifuges, mud tanks and the control logic that ties them together. This landscape draws on 825 published records filed or published between 2015 and mid-2026, searched against terms covering solids control equipment, mud processing systems, drilling fluid dilution, low gravity solids, mud tank and vacuum degasser configurations, mud cooling and solids removal efficiency. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent one to two years in any trend understate actual filing activity.
The dataset is built at the patent family level for the assignee ranking, which neutralises repeat filing through continuations and multi-jurisdiction copies. Classification, receiving-office and citation data are drawn from the same 825-record set unless noted otherwise.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 825 records: how filing volume has moved year on year, and which IPC subclasses the underlying technology falls into.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings peaked at 111 in 2017, then declined before recovering: 2021 filings stood at 13 and reached 34 by 2024, a +162% increase over that span. 2025 and 2026 figures (5 published so far in 2026) are still filling in as later publications post.
IPC subclass composition
E21B (earth & rock drilling) covers 84.2% of the 825 records, confirming this is fundamentally a drilling-operations field. Separation processes (B01D, 13.7%) and material analysis and testing (G01N, 13.1%) are the next most common classes, followed by smaller shares in materials (C09K), sieving (B07B), centrifuges (B04B), geophysics (G01V) and control systems (G05B, 1.7%) — a record can carry more than one class, so shares sum to over 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 825 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Solids Control System Integration with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about solids control system integration and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited records
Particle size distribution control in drilling fluid management (US8812236B1)
This 2014 filing from Particle Size Engineering claims a method for optimizing drilling fluids by maintaining a particle size distribution curve with a maximum particle sizing of 6 microns, preventing coarser drilled solids from degrading below the point of mechanical separation and building up as low gravity solids that removal equipment can no longer capture.The claim ties a specific micron threshold to a real-time management process rather than to a piece of hardware, which is what makes it durable.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20110280104A1 | Dual top drive systems and methods for wellbore operations | 169 |
| 2 | US6944547B2 | Automated rig control management system | 138 |
| 3 | US20080314641A1 | Directional Drilling System and Software Method | 110 |
| 4 | WO2009123476A1 | Systems and methods for subsea drilling | 106 |
| 5 | US20160097270A1 | Integrated Drilling Control System | 98 |
| 6 | US20120132418A1 | Wellbore operations, systems, and methods with McNano devices | 93 |
| 7 | US4807469A | Monitoring drilling mud circulation | 84 |
| 8 | US5853583A | Multi-functional linear motion shaker for processing drilling mud | 81 |
| 9 | US4116288A | Method and apparatus for continuously separating lost circulating material from drilling fluid | 80 |
| 10 | US8575541B1 | Systems and methods for real time monitoring and management of wellbore servicing fluids | 79 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older records; treat them as a signal of influence within this dataset, not as a measure of current commercial importance.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Four read-outs from the dataset, each pointing at a different practical question: where claim space is occupied, where it is thin, and how fast the field is moving.
The field has a small controlling core
The five leading assignees hold 394 of the 825 records in scope, and the ranked ten extend that to 67.6%. New entrants are filing into a space where the core mechanical and control claims around solids control equipment are already well covered by a handful of oilfield service majors.
Filing activity is rebuilding after a post-2017 decline
Annual filings fell from the 2017 peak of 111 before climbing from 13 in 2021 to 34 in 2024. That three-year growth rate suggests renewed investment in solids control integration rather than a mature, settled field.
Drilling classification dominates, control systems are thin
Records classified under earth and rock drilling (E21B) dwarf every other subclass. Control and regulating systems (G05B) sit at just 1.7% of records, and centrifuges (B04B) at 3.8%, both far smaller footprints than the headline drilling classification.
Even the leaders are pulling back in the latest year
Recent-year momentum for the top assignees shows year-on-year declines across the board, with several logging zero filings in the latest tracked year. Given the roughly 18-month publication lag, this likely reflects incomplete recent-year data rather than a genuine slowdown.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to solids control system integration, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
Filing activity concentrates around a small group of oilfield service companies, with co-filing patterns pointing at internal group structures rather than external collaboration.
One assignee leads by a wide margin
The top-ranked assignee holds 140 records, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 57 and the tenth-place holder at 28. The drop-off from first to fifth place is steep, then flattens into a longer tail across the remaining ranked companies.
Co-assignee pairs mostly link related entities
The dataset records ten co-assignee pairings, with the strongest links appearing between entities that share a parent group. This pattern points to internal corporate structuring in how patents are assigned across subsidiaries, rather than cross-company joint development.
Filing activity is anchored in North America, with strong PCT and European presence
The United States receives the largest share of filings at 261, followed by Canada at 103 and the EPO at 101. WIPO/PCT filings (96) alongside Australia and the United Kingdom (63 each) show applicants routinely seek broad multi-jurisdiction protection for solids control system integration technology.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| National Oilwell Varco, LP | 2 | -78% |
| Schlumberger Technology Holdings LLC | 1 | -67% |
| National Oilwell DHT, LP | 0 | — |
| Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Schlumberger Technology Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| M-I LLC | 0 | — |
| Enhanced Drilling AS | 0 | — |
| RECOVERY ENERGY SERVICES INC | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, competitive tracking or identifying open claim space.
Map freedom-to-operate against the top assignees
With 67.6% of records held by the ranked ten, a freedom-to-operate check should start with the leading assignees' claim scope in E21B and B01D before assessing smaller filers.
Explore assignee claims in EurekaWatch the control-systems and centrifuge classes
G05B and B04B carry the smallest shares of records in this dataset, making them worth monitoring for new entrants attempting to claim integration logic ahead of the incumbents.
Track emerging filings in EurekaRe-run the trend once 2025-2026 data settles
Given the roughly 18-month publication lag, the 2025 and 2026 filing counts shown here will rise as more records publish; revisit the growth comparison once those years are closer to complete.
Set up a monitoring alert in EurekaFrequently asked questions
One assignee leads the ranked field with 140 records, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 57 and the tenth-place holder at 28. The top five assignees combined account for 394 of the 825 records in scope, or 47.8%, and the top ten extend that to 67.6%. This is a field with a clear controlling core rather than a flat distribution across many small filers.
Filings peaked at 111 in 2017 and declined afterward, but the more recent complete-year data shows renewed growth: annual filings rose from 13 in 2021 to 34 in 2024, a +162% increase over that three-year span. The 2025 and 2026 figures in the dataset are still low, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual drop in activity. Treat any apparent decline in the final one to two years of a filing trend with caution for the same reason.
The overwhelming majority of records, 84.2% of the 825 in scope, classify under E21B, earth and rock drilling for wells, confirming this is primarily a drilling-operations field rather than a standalone separation-equipment field. Separation processes (B01D) and material analysis and testing (G01N) each cover around 13-14% of records, with smaller shares in materials, sieving, centrifuges, geophysics and control systems. Because records can carry multiple IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100%.
The IPC composition shows control and regulating systems (G05B) at just 1.7% of records and centrifuges (B04B) at 3.8%, both far thinner than the dominant drilling and separation classes. That gap suggests integration logic connecting shakers, degassers, centrifuges and mud cooling loops into a single automated control scheme is comparatively under-claimed relative to the mechanical hardware itself. Real-time particle size feedback tied to control logic, as seen in the representative record here, is one specific example of a still-open claim direction.
US8812236B1 claims a method for maintaining drilling fluid particle size distribution with a maximum particle sizing of 6 microns to prevent low gravity solids from building up beyond the point of mechanical separation. It blocks methods that tie real-time or near-time particle size analysis to active management of a drilling fluid system around that specific threshold approach, not the underlying separation hardware itself. Companies can generally design around it by using different particle size thresholds, different measurement timing, or by claiming hardware-level rather than method-level control, but any near-time particle-size-driven fluid management scheme close to this threshold merits a closer freedom-to-operate review.
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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.