Claims
- 1. An apparatus, comprising:a first tubular member; a second tubular member; a threaded connection for coupling the first tubular member to the second tubular member; at least one annular chamber defined between the first and second tubular members; and one or more sealing members disposed within the annular chamber for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members before, during, and after a radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second tubular members; wherein the size of the annular chamber permits the sealing members to expand in the axial direction during the radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second tubular members.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the threaded connection comprises a pin and box threaded connection.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sealing members are positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one of the sealing members is positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within one of the annular chambers; and wherein another one of the sealing members is positioned within the threaded connection within another one of the annular chambers.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the sealing members are positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the size of the annular chamber permits the sealing members to expand at least approximately 20% in the axial direction during the radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second tubular members.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sealing members are positioned within the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the threaded connection further comprises one or more male threads for engaging one or more female threads; and wherein the annular chamber is disposed between the male threads.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the threaded connection further comprises one or more male threads for engaging one or more female threads; and wherein the annular chamber is disposed between the female threads.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the size of the annular chamber permits the sealing members to expand at least approximately 20% in the axial direction during the radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second tubular members.
- 11. An apparatus, comprising:a tubular assembly including: a first tubular member; a second tubular member; a threaded connection for coupling the first tubular member to the second tubular member; at least one annular chamber defined between the first and second tubular members; and one or more sealing members disposed within the annular chamber for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members before, during, and after a radial expansion and plastic deformation,of the first and second tubular members; wherein the size of the annular chamber permits the sealing members to expand in the axial direction during the radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second tubular members; and wherein the tubular assembly is formed by the process of radially expanding and plastically deforming the tubular assembly.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the threaded connection comprises a pin and box threaded connection.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the sealing members are positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein one of the sealing members is positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within one of the annular chambers; and wherein another one of the sealing members is positioned within the threaded connection within another one of the annular chambers.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein a plurality of the sealing members are positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the sealing members are positioned within the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the threaded connection further comprises one or more male threads for engaging one or more female threads; and wherein the annular chamber is disposed between the male threads.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the threaded connection further comprises one or more male threads for engaging one or more female threads; and wherein the annular chamber is disposed between the female threads.
- 19. An apparatus, comprising:a tubular member comprising: a first solid tubular member; a second solid tubular member; a threaded connection for coupling the first solid tubular member to the second solid tubular member; at least one annular chamber defined between the first and second solid tubular members; and one or more sealing members disposed within the annular chamber for sealing the interface between the first and second solid tubular members before, during, and after a radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second tubular members; wherein the size of the annular chamber permits the sealing members to expand in the axial direction during the radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second solid tubular members; and a mandrel positioned within the tubular member including an expansion surface having an angle of attack ranging from about 10 to 30 degrees for radially expanding and plastically deforming the first and second tubular members.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the threaded connection comprises a pin and box threaded connection.
- 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the sealing members are positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein one of the sealing members is positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within one of the annular chambers; and wherein another one of the sealing members is positioned within the threaded connection within another one of the annular chambers.
- 23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein a plurality of the sealing members are positioned adjacent to an end portion of the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the size of the annular chamber permits the sealing members to expand at least approximately 20% in the axial direction during the radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second solid tubular members.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the sealing members are positioned within the threaded connection within the annular chamber.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the threaded connection further comprises one or more male threads for engaging one or more female threads; and wherein the annular chamber is disposed between the male threads.
- 27. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the threaded connection further comprises one or more male threads for engaging one or more female threads; and wherein the annular chamber is disposed between the female threads.
- 28. An apparatus, comprising:a first tubular member; a second tubular member; and a pin and box connection for coupling the first tubular member to the second tubular member, the pin and box connection comprising: one or more sealing members positioned adjacent to an end portion of the pin and box connection for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members; and one or more sealing members positioned within the pin and box connection for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members before, during, and after the radial expansion and plastic deformation of the first and second tubular members.
- 29. An apparatus, comprising:a tubular assembly including: a first tubular member; a second tubular member; and a pin and box connection for coupling the first tubular member to the second tubular member, the pin and box connection comprising: one or more sealing members positioned adjacent to an end portion of the pin and box connection for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members before, during, and after radially expanding and plastically deforming the tubular assembly; and one or more sealing members positioned within the pin and box connection for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members before, during, and after radially expanding and plastically deforming the tubular assembly; wherein the apparatus is formed by the process of radially expanding the tubular assembly.
- 30. An apparatus, comprising:a tubular member comprising: a first solid tubular member; a second solid tubular member; and a pin and box connection for coupling the first solid tubular member to the second solid tubular member, the pin and box connection comprising: one or more sealing members positioned adjacent to an end portion of the pin and box connection for sealing the interface between the first and second solid tubular members before, during, and after radially expanding and plastically deforming the tubular member; and a mandrel positioned within the tubular member including an expansion surface having an angle of attack ranging from about 10 to 30 degrees for radially expanding and plastically deforming the tubular member.
- 31. An apparatus, comprising:a tubular member comprising: a first tubular member; a second tubular member; and a pin and box connection for coupling the first tubular member to the second tubular member, the pin and box connection comprising: one or more sealing members positioned adjacent to an end portion of the pin and box connection for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members before, during, and after radially expanding and plastically deforming the tubular member; and one or more sealing members positioned within the pin and box connection for sealing the interface between the first and second tubular members before, during, and after radially expanding and plastically deforming the tubular member; and a mandrel positioned within the tubular member including an expansion surface having an angle of attack ranging from about 10 to 30 degrees.
- 32. A seal mechanism for a radially expandable connection assembly comprising: a pin member; a box member adapted to telescopically receive the pin member to form an overlapping annular area between the pin and box members; an annular groove carried by one of the pin members or the box member within the overlapping area, the groove defining an annular volume within the overlapping area; and an annular, deformable seal component carried in the groove, the seal occupying less than all of the annular volume of the groove before expansion of the connection and occupying a greater percentage of the annular volume following radial expansion of the connection assembly to form a seal in the overlapping area.
- 33. The seal mechanism as defined in claim 32 wherein the seal component expands at least about 20 percent in the axial direction within the annular area during the radial expansion.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/131,106, filed on Apr. 26, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/523,460, filed on Mar. 10, 2000, now abandoned, which claimed the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/124,042, filed on Mar. 11, 1999, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/510,913, filed Feb. 23, 2000, which claimed the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/121,702, filed on Feb. 25, 1999, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/502,350, filed on Feb. 10, 2000, now abandoned, which claimed the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/119,611, filed on Feb. 11, 1999, which was a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/454,139, filed on Dec. 3, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,289 which claimed the benefit of the filing date of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/111,293, filed on Dec. 7, 1998.
This application is related to the following co-pending applications: U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/108,558, filed Nov. 16, 1998, U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/111,293, filed Dec. 7, 1998, U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/119,611, filed Feb. 11, 1999, U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/121,702, filed Feb. 25, 1999, U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/121,907, filed Feb. 26, 1999, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/124,042, filed Mar. 11, 1999, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (139)
Foreign Referenced Citations (175)
Number |
Date |
Country |
736288 |
Jun 1966 |
CA |
771462 |
Nov 1967 |
CA |
1171310 |
Jul 1984 |
CA |
203767 |
Nov 1983 |
DE |
233607 |
Mar 1986 |
DE |
278517 |
May 1990 |
DE |
0633391 |
Jan 1995 |
EP |
0823534 |
Feb 1998 |
EP |
0881354 |
Dec 1998 |
EP |
0881359 |
Dec 1998 |
EP |
0899420 |
Mar 1999 |
EP |
0937861 |
Aug 1999 |
EP |
0952305 |
Oct 1999 |
EP |
0952306 |
Oct 1999 |
EP |
2717855 |
Sep 1995 |
FR |
2741907 |
Jun 1997 |
FR |
2771133 |
May 1999 |
FR |
2780751 |
Jan 2000 |
FR |
557823 |
Dec 1943 |
GB |
961750 |
Jun 1964 |
GB |
1062610 |
Mar 1967 |
GB |
1111536 |
May 1968 |
GB |
1137310 |
Dec 1968 |
GB |
1448304 |
Sep 1976 |
GB |
1563740 |
Mar 1980 |
GB |
2058877 |
Apr 1981 |
GB |
2115860 |
Sep 1983 |
GB |
2216926 |
Oct 1989 |
GB |
2243191 |
Oct 1991 |
GB |
2256910 |
Dec 1992 |
GB |
2305682 |
Apr 1997 |
GB |
2322655 |
Sep 1998 |
GB |
2326896 |
Jan 1999 |
GB |
2329916 |
Apr 1999 |
GB |
2329918 |
Apr 1999 |
GB |
2336383 |
Oct 1999 |
GB |
2343691 |
May 2000 |
GB |
2344606 |
Jun 2000 |
GB |
2346165 |
Aug 2000 |
GB |
2346632 |
Aug 2000 |
GB |
2347445 |
Sep 2000 |
GB |
2347446 |
Sep 2000 |
GB |
2347950 |
Sep 2000 |
GB |
2347952 |
Sep 2000 |
GB |
2348223 |
Sep 2000 |
GB |
2348657 |
Oct 2000 |
GB |
2350137 |
Aug 2001 |
GB |
2359837 |
Apr 2002 |
GB |
208458 |
Oct 1985 |
JP |
6475715 |
Nov 1986 |
JP |
102875 |
Apr 1995 |
JP |
94068 |
Apr 2000 |
JP |
107870 |
Apr 2000 |
JP |
10261817 |
Apr 2000 |
JP |
10286403 |
Apr 2000 |
JP |
162192 |
Jun 2000 |
JP |
9001081 |
Dec 1991 |
NL |
113267 |
May 1998 |
RO |
2016345 |
Jul 1994 |
RU |
2039214 |
Jul 1995 |
RU |
2056201 |
Mar 1996 |
RU |
2064357 |
Jul 1996 |
RU |
2068940 |
Nov 1996 |
RU |
2068943 |
Nov 1996 |
RU |
2079633 |
May 1997 |
RU |
2083798 |
Jul 1997 |
RU |
2091655 |
Sep 1997 |
RU |
2095179 |
Nov 1997 |
RU |
2105128 |
Feb 1998 |
RU |
2108445 |
Apr 1998 |
RU |
2144128 |
Jan 2000 |
RU |
350833 |
Sep 1972 |
SU |
607950 |
May 1978 |
SU |
612004 |
May 1978 |
SU |
620582 |
Jul 1978 |
SU |
641070 |
Jan 1979 |
SU |
909114 |
May 1979 |
SU |
832049 |
May 1981 |
SU |
853089 |
Aug 1981 |
SU |
874952 |
Oct 1981 |
SU |
894169 |
Jan 1982 |
SU |
899850 |
Jan 1982 |
SU |
907220 |
Feb 1982 |
SU |
953172 |
Aug 1982 |
SU |
959878 |
Sep 1982 |
SU |
976019 |
Nov 1982 |
SU |
976020 |
Nov 1982 |
SU |
989038 |
Jan 1983 |
SU |
1002514 |
Mar 1983 |
SU |
1041671 |
Sep 1983 |
SU |
1051222 |
Oct 1983 |
SU |
1086118 |
Apr 1984 |
SU |
1158400 |
May 1985 |
SU |
1212575 |
Feb 1986 |
SU |
1250637 |
Aug 1986 |
SU |
1411434 |
Jul 1988 |
SU |
1430498 |
Oct 1988 |
SU |
1432190 |
Oct 1988 |
SU |
1601330 |
Oct 1990 |
SU |
1627663 |
Feb 1991 |
SU |
1659621 |
Jun 1991 |
SU |
1663179 |
Jul 1991 |
SU |
1663180 |
Jul 1991 |
SU |
1677225 |
Sep 1991 |
SU |
1677248 |
Sep 1991 |
SU |
1686123 |
Oct 1991 |
SU |
1686124 |
Oct 1991 |
SU |
1686125 |
Oct 1991 |
SU |
1698413 |
Dec 1991 |
SU |
1710694 |
Feb 1992 |
SU |
1730429 |
Apr 1992 |
SU |
1745873 |
Jul 1992 |
SU |
1747673 |
Jul 1992 |
SU |
1749267 |
Jul 1992 |
SU |
1749267 |
Jul 1992 |
SU |
1786241 |
Jan 1993 |
SU |
1804543 |
Mar 1993 |
SU |
1810482 |
Apr 1993 |
SU |
1818459 |
May 1993 |
SU |
1295799 |
Feb 1995 |
SU |
8100132 |
Oct 1981 |
WO |
9005598 |
Mar 1990 |
WO |
9201859 |
Feb 1992 |
WO |
9208875 |
May 1992 |
WO |
9325799 |
Dec 1993 |
WO |
9325800 |
Dec 1993 |
WO |
9421887 |
Sep 1994 |
WO |
9425655 |
Nov 1994 |
WO |
9503476 |
Feb 1995 |
WO |
9601937 |
Jan 1996 |
WO |
9621083 |
Jul 1996 |
WO |
9626350 |
Aug 1996 |
WO |
9637681 |
Nov 1996 |
WO |
9706346 |
Feb 1997 |
WO |
9711306 |
Mar 1997 |
WO |
9717524 |
May 1997 |
WO |
9717526 |
May 1997 |
WO |
9717527 |
May 1997 |
WO |
9720130 |
Jun 1997 |
WO |
9721901 |
Jun 1997 |
WO |
9800626 |
Jan 1998 |
WO |
9807957 |
Feb 1998 |
WO |
9809053 |
Mar 1998 |
WO |
9822690 |
May 1998 |
WO |
9826152 |
Jun 1998 |
WO |
9842947 |
Oct 1998 |
WO |
9849423 |
Nov 1998 |
WO |
9902818 |
Jan 1999 |
WO |
9904135 |
Jan 1999 |
WO |
9906670 |
Feb 1999 |
WO |
9908827 |
Feb 1999 |
WO |
9908828 |
Feb 1999 |
WO |
9918328 |
Apr 1999 |
WO |
9923354 |
May 1999 |
WO |
9925524 |
May 1999 |
WO |
9925951 |
May 1999 |
WO |
9935368 |
Jul 1999 |
WO |
9943923 |
Sep 1999 |
WO |
0001926 |
Jan 2000 |
WO |
0004271 |
Jan 2000 |
WO |
0008301 |
Feb 2000 |
WO |
0026500 |
May 2000 |
WO |
0026501 |
May 2000 |
WO |
0026502 |
May 2000 |
WO |
003772 |
Jun 2000 |
WO |
0031375 |
Jun 2000 |
WO |
0037767 |
Jun 2000 |
WO |
0037768 |
Jun 2000 |
WO |
0037771 |
Jun 2000 |
WO |
0039432 |
Jul 2000 |
WO |
0046484 |
Aug 2000 |
WO |
0050727 |
Aug 2000 |
WO |
0050732 |
Aug 2000 |
WO |
0050733 |
Aug 2000 |
WO |
0077431 |
Dec 2000 |
WO |
Provisional Applications (5)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60/131106 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
|
60/124042 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
|
60/121702 |
Feb 1999 |
US |
|
60/119611 |
Feb 1999 |
US |
|
60/111293 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (4)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/523460 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/559122 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/510913 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/523460 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/502350 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/510913 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/454139 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/502350 |
|
US |