Patents by Inventor Bob Lixin ZHANG

Bob Lixin ZHANG has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Pull tube sleeve stress joint for floating offshore structure
    Patent number: 8474539
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides an improved design for a pull tube sleeved stress joint and associated pull tube for managing stresses on a catenary riser for a floating offshore structure. The pull tube sleeve stress joint includes at least one sleeve surrounding a length of the pull tube with an annular gap between the sleeve and pull tube and a link ring therebetween. For embodiments having a plurality of sleeves, a first sleeve can be spaced by an annular first gap from the pull tube and coupled thereto with a first ring between the pull tube and the first sleeve, and a second sleeve can be spaced by an annular second gap from the first sleeve and coupled thereto with a second ring between the first sleeve and the second sleeve. Both pull tube and sleeves can be made with regular pipe segments welded together with regular girth welds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2013
    Assignee: Technip France
    Inventors: Michael Y. H. Luo, Bob Lixin Zhang, Shih-Hsiao Mark Chang
  • PULL TUBE SLEEVE STRESS JOINT FOR FLOATING OFFSHORE STRUCTURE
    Publication number: 20110048729
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides an improved design for a pull tube sleeved stress joint and associated pull tube for managing stresses on a catenary riser for a floating offshore structure. The pull tube sleeve stress joint includes at least one sleeve surrounding a length of the pull tube with an annular gap between the sleeve and pull tube and a link ring therebetween. For embodiments having a plurality of sleeves, a first sleeve can be spaced by an annular first gap from the pull tube and coupled thereto with a first ring between the pull tube and the first sleeve, and a second sleeve can be spaced by an annular second gap from the first sleeve and coupled thereto with a second ring between the first sleeve and the second sleeve. Both pull tube and sleeves can be made with regular pipe segments welded together with regular girth welds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2009
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Applicant: TECHNIP FRANCE
    Inventors: Michael Y.H. LUO, Bob Lixin ZHANG, Shih-Hsiao Mark CHANG