E21B 4/00
Drives for drilling, used in the borehole
E21B4/00 (Drives for drilling, used in the borehole) appears on 3,004 US grants and 2,240 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in E21B- Granted patents
- 3,004
- Published applications
- 2,240
- Assignees
- 855
- Inventors
- 3,759
- Latest grant
- 6 Oct 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 56 | 0 |
| 1977 | 34 | 0 |
| 1978 | 38 | 0 |
| 1979 | 17 | 0 |
| 1980 | 28 | 0 |
| 1981 | 55 | 0 |
| 1982 | 25 | 0 |
| 1983 | 32 | 0 |
| 1984 | 34 | 0 |
| 1985 | 41 | 0 |
| 1986 | 37 | 0 |
| 1987 | 46 | 0 |
| 1988 | 40 | 0 |
| 1989 | 47 | 0 |
| 1990 | 35 | 0 |
| 1991 | 39 | 0 |
| 1992 | 51 | 0 |
| 1993 | 36 | 0 |
| 1994 | 45 | 0 |
| 1995 | 27 | 0 |
| 1996 | 31 | 0 |
| 1997 | 23 | 0 |
| 1998 | 39 | 0 |
| 1999 | 26 | 0 |
| 2000 | 41 | 0 |
| 2001 | 43 | 12 |
| 2002 | 50 | 27 |
| 2003 | 44 | 43 |
| 2004 | 30 | 59 |
| 2005 | 33 | 42 |
| 2006 | 47 | 38 |
| 2007 | 44 | 49 |
| 2008 | 31 | 67 |
| 2009 | 36 | 74 |
| 2010 | 48 | 77 |
| 2011 | 55 | 77 |
| 2012 | 55 | 82 |
| 2013 | 59 | 99 |
| 2014 | 83 | 124 |
| 2015 | 107 | 160 |
| 2016 | 114 | 171 |
| 2017 | 114 | 132 |
| 2018 | 141 | 154 |
| 2019 | 161 | 122 |
| 2020 | 166 | 135 |
| 2021 | 140 | 111 |
| 2022 | 107 | 97 |
| 2023 | 120 | 91 |
| 2024 | 98 | 87 |
| 2025 | 100 | 71 |
| 2026 | 55 | 39 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Subgroups
Granted patents
- E21B 4/02Fluid rotary type drives1,145
- E21B 4/06Down-hole impacting means795
- E21B 4/003Bearing, sealing, lubricating details566
- E21B 4/18Anchoring or feeding in the borehole387
- E21B 4/04Electric drives245
- E21B 4/006Mechanical motion converting means221
- E21B 4/16Plural down-hole drives163
- E21B 4/20Combined with surface drive100
Recent patents
- Hydrojets rotary drill bit6 Oct 2026US 12,753,657 B2Cooled Edge Bits, Inc.
- Method and system for controlling drill functionality6 Oct 2026US 12,753,689 B2Technological Resources Pty. Limited
- Modular anti-rotation drilling systems and methods actuated by fluid pressure29 Sep 2026US 12,747,654 B1National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC
- Drill head for use with microtunneling apparatus15 Sep 2026US 12,735,946 B2OptionX Holdings Pty Ltd
- Enclosed torque controlled electric actuator and method8 Sep 2026US 12,732,056 B2Premium Oilfield Technologies, LLC
- Augers8 Oct 2026US 2026/0308981 A1Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation
- Seal assemblies for rotary control devices (rcd) of drilling systems and related methods24 Sep 2026US 2026/0286779 A1Schlumberger Technology Corporation
- Drilling robot with an extrusion unit10 Sep 2026US 2026/0266139 A1ZHAW - Zürcher Hochschule Für Angewandte Wissenschaften
- Systems and methods for real time downhole motor power curve generation3 Sep 2026US 2026/0258722 A1Schlumberger Technology Corporation
- Devices, systems, and methods for wellbore operations20 Aug 2026US 2026/0243132 A1Halliburton Energy Services.Inc.
Most cited
By later US patents
- Composite polycrystalline diamond compact502US 4,604,106 ASmith International, Inc. · 1986
- Thrust bearing assembly for a downhole drill motor475US 4,560,014 ASmith International, Inc. · 1985
- Diamond thrust bearing and method for manufacturing same434US 5,092,687 AAnadrill, Inc. · 1992
- Well drilling tool with diamond radial/thrust bearings383US 4,410,054 AMaurer Engineering Inc. · 1983
- Actively controlled rotary steerable system and method for drilling wells344US 6,092,610 ASchlumberger Technology Corporation · 2000