E21C 37/16
Mining or quarrying: other methods or devices for dislodging with or without
Official title: by fire-setting or by similar methods based on a heat effect (drilling by use of heat E21B7/14)
E21C37/16 (Mining or quarrying: other methods or devices for dislodging with or without) appears on 82 US grants and 79 published applications in this corpus.
Search patents in E21C- Granted patents
- 82
- Published applications
- 79
- Assignees
- 59
- Inventors
- 164
- Latest grant
- 15 Sep 2026
Filings by year
| Year | Granted patents | Published applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 2 | 0 |
| 1978 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | 1 | 0 |
| 1981 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 |
| 1989 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | 3 | 0 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 3 | 0 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 1 | 2 |
| 2003 | 2 | 3 |
| 2004 | 3 | 5 |
| 2005 | 3 | 3 |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | 3 | 2 |
| 2009 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | 1 | 5 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | 3 | 3 |
| 2013 | 7 | 2 |
| 2014 | 1 | 5 |
| 2015 | 1 | 4 |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 2 |
| 2018 | 1 | 2 |
| 2019 | 3 | 6 |
| 2020 | 2 | 4 |
| 2021 | 4 | 1 |
| 2022 | 4 | 8 |
| 2023 | 7 | 9 |
| 2024 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4 |
| 2026 | 3 | 3 |
By publication year. Applications have been published since 2001. 2026 runs to 8 Oct.
Recent patents
- Millimeter-wave directed-energy excavation15 Sep 2026US 12,735,985 B2Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- High power laser tunneling mining and construction equipment and methods of use25 Aug 2026US 12,715,063 B2Foro Energy, Inc.
- Systems for automated blast design planning and methods related thereto14 Apr 2026US 12,602,519 B2Dyno Nobel Inc.
- Mechanical continuous mining device integrating microwaves and cutter heads, and use method4 Nov 2025US 12,460,544 B2Northeastern University
- TBM tunneling test bench for microwave-assisted rotary rock breaking24 Jun 2025US 12,339,199 B2China Railway Tunnel Group Co., Ltd.
- Apparatus and methods for drilled hole locating and assessing, and payload delivery into a hole23 Jul 2026US 2026/0208654 A1Jevons IP Pty Limited
- Systems and methods for radiant gas dynamic mining of permafrost for propellant extraction14 May 2026US 2026/0132717 A1Trans Astronautica Corporation
- Microwave-based mining systems and methods with robotic arm waveguide12 Mar 2026US 2026/0071543 A1Off-World, Inc.
- Millimeter-Wave Directed-Energy Excavation20 Nov 2025US 2025/0354489 A1Impact Technologies, LLC
- Microwave energy applicator23 Oct 2025US 2025/0327403 A1Off-World, Inc.
Most cited
By later US patents
- System and method for drilling a borehole51US 8,109,345 B2Schlumberger Technology Corporation · 2012
- Method and apparatus for a plasma-hydraulic continuous excavation system36US 6,761,416 B2Placer Dome Technical Services Limited · 2004
- Non-explosive drill hole pressurization method and apparatus for controlled fragmentation of hard compact rock and concrete34US 5,308,149 ASunburst Excavation, Inc. · 1994
- Slimhole drill system31US 6,000,479 AWestern Atlas International, Inc. · 1999
- Method and apparatus for controlled small-charge blasting of hard rock and concrete by explosive pressurization of the bottom of a drill hole27US 6,035,784 ARockTek Limited · 2000