The present invention relates to flexible pipe, and more particularly to reels used to store, ship and deploy flexible pipe.
Currently, flexible pipe that can accommodate fluids at relatively high pressures (e.g. for use in the oil and gas industry) is typically coiled on reels (after manufacture), stored on reels, shipped on reels, and many times deployed directly from reels. A conventional reel 2 is illustrated in
Typically, pipe suppliers must have a large fleet of reels to handle pipe production and shipping processes, which can be costly. In addition, shipping pipe on reels incurs larger shipping costs, as there are weight limits on shipments on trucks. With a double drop trailer (which is normally used), a truck can pull a load that is roughly 38,000 lb. Two reels of flexible pipe for the oil/gas industry are all that can fit onto a double drop trailer. The reels themselves can weigh approximately 3200 lb each. Thus, only about 31,600 lb of pipe can be shipped on a single truck.
Once reels of pipe are shipped out to customers, the customers typically have to rent the reels in their possession (i.e. until the pipe thereon is deployed). Once the customer has deployed the pipe, the empty reels (which are expensive) must be shipped back to the pipe supplier, incurring additional shipping costs. Additional costs are further incurred to maintain the reels.
There is a need for a more economical solution in deploying coils of pipe without the expense and other drawbacks of conventional reels.
The aforementioned problems and needs are addressed by a drum assembly that includes a post, first and second spoke frames mounted to the post, a plurality of drum segments, and a plurality of mechanical actuators. Each of the first and second spoke frames includes a plurality of expandable spokes, wherein each of the expandable spokes extends away from the post and has a distal end movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The plurality of drum segments are each mounted to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the first spoke frame and to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein the drum segments extend parallel to the post. The plurality of mechanical actuators each extend between the post and one of the expandable spokes or one of the drum segments, for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions.
In another aspect of the present invention, a drum assembly includes a post, first and second spoke frames mounted to the post, a plurality of first drum segments, a plurality of second drum segments, and a plurality of mechanical actuators. Each of the first and second spoke frames includes a plurality of expandable spokes and a plurality of immovable spokes which extend away from the post, wherein each of the expandable spokes includes a distal end movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The plurality of first drum segments are each mounted to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the first spoke frame and to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the plurality of first drum segments extends parallel to the post. The plurality of second drum segments are each mounted to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the first spoke frame and to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the plurality of second drum segments extends parallel to the post. The plurality of mechanical actuators each extend between the post and one of the expandable spokes or one of the plurality of first drum segments, for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a drum assembly includes a post, first and second spoke frames mounted to the post, a pair of first drum segments, a pair of second drum segments, and a plurality of mechanical actuators. Each of the first and second spoke frames includes a pair of expandable spokes and a pair of immovable spokes which extend away from the post, wherein each of the expandable spokes includes a distal end movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The pair of first drum segments are each mounted to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the first spoke frame and to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the first drum segments extends parallel to the post. The pair of second drum segments are each mounted to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the first spoke frame and to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the second drum segments extends parallel to the post. The plurality of mechanical actuators each extend between the post and one of the expandable spokes or one of the first drum segments, for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent by a review of the specification, claims and appended figures.
The present invention is an expandable coil deployment drum assembly 10 that enables coils of pipe that would normally require reels for deployment to be deployed in a very similar manner, but without reels. With the coil deployment drum assembly 10, the necessity of reels is essentially eliminated as reels will not be required for pipe deployment (or for shipment of coils due to shipping coils with no reels). A substantial cost savings can be achieved with the elimination of reels.
The coil deployment drum assembly 10 is illustrated in
A plurality of drum segments 14 are each mounted to the ends of corresponding spokes 20/22 of spoke frames 18 (parallel to and spaced apart from post 16), as best shown in
Hydraulic cylinders 34 are connected between the post 16 (via connectors 36) and the drum segments 14 of the expandable spokes 22 (via connectors 38). Hydraulic cylinders (also commonly called linear hydraulic motors) are mechanical actuators that are well known in the art, and not further described herein. Hydraulic cylinders 34 are used to move the expandable spokes 22 between a retracted position (see
In a preferred non-limiting exemplary embodiment, the drum assembly 10 is configured to be used to manipulate and/or deploy coils of pipe that are approximately 84 inches in inside diameter by approximately 94 inches wide and weigh 20,000 lb. However, the structure is scalable to work with pipe coils of varying sizes and weights. The telescoping action of the expandable spokes 22 allows the drum assembly 10 to contract to approximately a 77 inch diameter. The contraction provides clearance for the drum assembly 10 to be inserted into coiled pipe 40 that is roughly 84 inches in inside diameter, as illustrated in
With the use of drum assembly 10, reels will no longer be necessary for deploying pipe. Instead, pipe can be coiled (without reels) and stored and shipped using wooden skids. Wooden skids are far lighter than reels and are disposable (i.e. no need to ship back to the pipe supplier). Using wooden skids to support coils of pipe allows for much more pipe to be shipped on a double drop trailer. Wooden skids weigh approximately 400 lb each. Therefore, 37,200 lb of pipe can be shipped using coils disposed on skids. Eliminating reels allows approximately 5600 lb more pipe to be shipped per truck, which reduces costs. Eliminating reels also eliminates the costs of reel maintenance.
In many applications, the drum assemblies 10 can simply stay in the field with the deployment trailers. Wherever there is a trailer to deploy pipe on a job site, there can be several drum assemblies 10. When the coils of pipe 40 are delivered to the job site, they will be unloaded from the truck. It is at this point that the drum assembly 10 is ideally used. Since the pipe is not wrapped on a reel, there is no convenient way to mount the pipe on the deployment trailer by itself. Thus, the drum assembly 10 is inserted into the pipe coil and expanded, and then the deployment trailer can lift the coil of pipe using the post 16 of the drum frame 12. From there, the pipe can be deployed from the drum assembly 10 in mostly the same manner as it would be deployed using a reel. Once done, the drum assembly 10 can be locally stored in the field for the next delivery of coiled pipe.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) described above and illustrated herein, but encompasses any and all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims. For example, references to the present invention herein are not intended to limit the scope of any claim or claim term, but instead merely make reference to one or more features that may be covered by one or more of the claims. Materials, processes and numerical examples described above are exemplary only, and should not be deemed to limit the claims. Further, while hydraulic cylinders 34 are shown as the mechanism for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions, other mechanical actuators could instead be used (for example, mechanical screw actuators). Hydraulic cylinders 34 could be connected to the rigid members 22b instead of the drum segments 14. Lastly, while two rigid and two expandable spokes are shown and described above, fewer or additional rigid and/or expandable spokes can be used (e.g. all spokes could be expandable, or more than four spokes can be used, etc.).
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/587,588, filed Jan. 17, 2012, and which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20140191076 A1 | Jul 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61587588 | Jan 2012 | US |