Tank Inspection Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- One filer dominates. the leading assignee holds 75 of the 103 records in scope, while fifth place holds only 4 — a steep drop from leader to long tail.
- Filing has cooled from its 2018 peak. 46 records published that year against 20 in 2017, and the 2021-to-2024 span shows a measured -86% decline (7 down to 1) using the last complete filing years.
- Material testing and positioning dominate the claims. G01N (material analysis) appears in 72.8% of the 103 records and G01S (radar, sonar & positioning) in 56.3%, while pressure-vessel-specific claims under F17C sit at just 7.8%.
Filing growth compares 2021 (7 records) with 2024 (1) — 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 patent filings addressing tank inspection and integrity — magnetic flux leakage scanning, corrosion-under-insulation detection, ultrasonic thickness measurement, settlement surveys and bottom-lining repair — across 103 published records from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 data cut-off. The scope spans both stationary inspection instrumentation and robotic or crawler-based inspection platforms, reflecting how tank integrity work has shifted from manual gauging toward autonomous and semi-autonomous scanning tools.
Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend chart will always look thinner than the underlying filing activity actually was — treat 2025 and 2026 as still filling in, not as a real drop.
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Filing trends and technology composition
The record set spans ten years of publications and eight IPC subclasses, giving a view of both when activity happened and which technical disciplines carry the claims.
A 2018 peak, then a multi-year decline
Filings ran from 20 in 2017 to a peak of 46 in 2018. Using the last two complete filing years, 2021 (7 records) to 2024 (1 record) represents an -86% change — a real signal, though it should be read alongside the publication lag rather than as evidence that interest has stopped.
Material testing and positioning lead the claim space
G01N (material analysis & testing) touches 72.8% of the 103 records and G01S (radar, sonar & positioning) 56.3%, confirming that sensing and measurement — not mechanical tank hardware — is where most claim language sits. F17C (pressure vessels & gas storage) sits at just 7.8%, and G05D (control of non-electric variables) at 17.5%, both comparatively open.
Shares are the percentage of the 103 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Tank Inspection and Integrity with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about tank inspection and integrity and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this field
US11526168B2 — Robotic inspection of in-service tanks through lower wall
A launch system couples to the bottom of an in-service tank carrying a multiphase fluid split into a settled lower phase and a floating upper phase. Operating the launch system introduces a robotic inspection device into the lower fluid phase while bypassing the upper phase, letting the device inspect the tank bottom for corrosion without draining or opening the tank.Filed by Saudi Arabian Oil Company; published 2022-12-13.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6104970A | Crawler inspection vehicle with precise mapping capability | 210 |
| 2 | US20230003687A1 | Systems, methods and apparatus for in-service tank inspections | 52 |
| 3 | WO2019035856A1 | Methods for performing tasks in a tank containing hazardous substances | 24 |
| 4 | US20090229362A1 | Method for non-destructive inspection | 20 |
| 5 | US20210018396A1 | Methods for performing tasks in a tank containing hazardous substances | 10 |
| 6 | WO2009110795A1 | Method for non-destructive inspection | 9 |
| 7 | US20210089033A1 | Methods for controlling charge accumulation while operating a mobile platform immersed in a hazardous, non-co… | 7 |
| 8 | WO2021102079A1 | Systems, methods and apparatus for in-service tank inspections | 7 |
| 9 | JP1992240597A | Remote inspection device of self propelling underwater probe type | 7 |
| 10 | US20210116419A1 | Voltage differential reduction methods used while retrieving a mobile platform from a tank containing a hazar… | 6 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply by virtue of being in the corpus longer — read them as a signal of influence on later filers, not as a measure of current technical importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the data means for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once the records are grouped by year, class and citation weight.
One foundational filing still anchors the field
US6104970A, a crawler inspection vehicle with precise mapping capability, carries far more citations than any other record in scope, well ahead of the next-most-cited filing at 52. That gap marks it as the reference point later robotic-inspection claims were written against.
Activity has cooled from a 2018 high
Filings rose from 20 in 2017 to 46 in 2018, then eased. The 2021-to-2024 window shows a -86% change (7 to 1) using the last complete filing years, though 2025-2026 figures are still incomplete due to publication lag.
Sensing and measurement dominate the claim space
Material analysis and testing (G01N) and radar/sonar positioning (G01S) together cover the large majority of records, showing that most of the field's IP value sits in how a defect is detected and located rather than in tank mechanical hardware.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to tank inspection and integrity, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| GARIMA SINGH | AMIT SHUKLA | 4 |
| Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) | ARAMCO AMERICAS | 1 |
| ROENTGEN TECHNISCHE DIENST BV | YU DELI | 1 |
| ROENTGEN TECHNISCHE DIENST BV | TOMAR MUNENDRA S | 1 |
| ROENTGEN TECHNISCHE DIENST BV | FINGERHUT MARTIN | 1 |
Only 5 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, with the strongest pairing recorded 4 times — most work here is filed by single entities rather than joint ventures or research partnerships.
Who holds the claims
The assignee ranking returned by the data endpoint lists 17 companies, counted in records, not a top-50 or top-100 cut — this is the complete ranked set.
One assignee holds the majority of records
The leading assignee accounts for 75 of the 103 records in scope, a scale no other ranked entity approaches — fifth place holds only 4 records and tenth place just 1.
A steep drop-off past the top few names
After the leader, filing counts fall quickly: fifth place holds 4 records and tenth place holds just 1, pointing to a field with one heavily-invested filer and many single- or few-patent entrants including academic and individual inventors.
US, Europe and India lead receiving offices
The United States receives the most filings at 19, followed by Europe (EPO) and India at 11 each, Canada and Singapore at 10 each, and WIPO/PCT filings at 8 — a spread that suggests inspection technology is being protected across multiple jurisdictions rather than concentrated in one filing route.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| TANKBOTS INC | 0 | — |
| SQUARE ROBOT INC | 0 | — |
| PLANYS TECH PTE LTD | 0 | — |
| Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) | 0 | — |
| GARIMA SINGH | 0 | — |
| AMIT SHUKLA | 0 | — |
| ROENTGEN TECHNISCHE DIENST BV | 0 | — |
| DHVANI RES & DEV SOLUTIONS PVT | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio strategy or identifying a filing gap.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leading filer
With one assignee holding 75 of 103 records, any new robotic or bottom-inspection concept should be checked against that portfolio specifically before drafting claims.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in Eureka →Explore the under-claimed branches
F17C pressure-vessel-specific claims and G05D control-system claims sit well below the sensing classes in filing density, suggesting room for a first-mover claim.
Map white space in Eureka →Track momentum past the publication lag
Recent-year figures understate real activity by roughly 18 months; re-checking filing momentum in 6-12 months will give a truer read on whether the post-2021 decline is holding.
Set up a monitoring alert in Eureka →Common questions about tank inspection patents
One assignee holds a clear majority of the 103 records in scope, with 75 records against a fifth-place figure of just 4. This concentration suggests a single company has invested heavily and consistently in robotic and sensor-based tank inspection over the covered period, while the remaining ranked assignees — including national oil companies, robotics startups and individual inventors — hold comparatively small, often single-digit portfolios. Anyone assessing competitive risk in this space should look closely at the leader's specific claim language rather than assume the field is fragmented.
Material analysis and testing (IPC class G01N) appears in 72.8% of the 103 records, and radar, sonar and positioning technology (G01S) appears in 56.3%, making these the two most heavily claimed disciplines. Optical systems (G02B) and pictorial communication/video (H04N) also feature prominently, reflecting the shift toward camera- and sensor-equipped robotic crawlers. Pressure-vessel-specific claims under F17C are comparatively rare at 7.8% of records, indicating that most inventive effort centres on detection and imaging rather than the tank structure itself.
Filing activity peaked in 2018 at 46 records after rising from 20 in 2017, and the last two complete filing years show a real decline — from 7 records in 2021 to 1 in 2024, an -86% change. However, publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so the very recent years in any chart will understate true activity and should not be read as proof the field has gone quiet. A clearer picture of 2025-2026 filing behaviour will only emerge once those publications catch up.
US11526168B2, assigned to Saudi Arabian Oil Company and published 2022-12-13, covers a launch system that introduces a robotic inspection device into the settled lower fluid phase of an in-service tank while bypassing the floating upper phase, allowing bottom-corrosion inspection without draining the tank. The claims are specific to multiphase fluid separation and a valve-based launch mechanism at the tank bottom, not to robotic tank inspection generally. Designers working on alternative access methods — for example, side-wall entry or fully drained inspection — are less likely to run into this particular claim scope.
The technology composition data shows pressure-vessel-specific integrity claims (F17C, 7.8% of records) and non-electric control-system claims for inspection robots (G05D, 17.5%) sitting well below the dominant sensing classes. Settlement-survey techniques and roof-drain integrity monitoring are named in the search scope but are not reflected in any of the most-cited or leading records, suggesting they remain thinly claimed relative to corrosion and thickness-measurement technology. A first claim combining automated settlement-survey data with robotic scanning output would sit in relatively open territory based on the current filing pattern.
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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.