Patents Examined by Sean Andrish
  • Patent number: 9957684
    Abstract: A pile system for permafrost comprising a pilot hole, at least one pile, and frozen slurry. The pilot hole is formed to a pilot hole depth. The at least one pile is arranged at least partly within the pilot hole and extends to a pile string depth. The frozen slurry is within the pilot hole and is at least partly around the at least one pile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: American Piledriving Equipment, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Suver, Matthew E. Fenwick
  • Patent number: 9931588
    Abstract: An underdrain apparatus and a method for manufacturing such apparatus are provided. The underdrain apparatus can be extruded in long sections as a unitary part. The underdrain apparatus may be extruded in various sizes, shapes, and materials. Further, the underdrain apparatus may include a passageway for transporting water to and from the filter media and/or air to the filter media. In some embodiments, apertures are formed in the underdrain apparatus during an extrusion process to provide a path between the passageway and the filter media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Meurer Research, Inc.
    Inventor: Charles Lonnie Meurer
  • Patent number: 9863569
    Abstract: In an example, a method of repairing a pipeline includes isolating a section of a pipeline that includes a leak site. The method includes flooding the section of the pipeline with a plug formulation that includes artificial platelets and an ultraviolet (UV) photoinitiator. The section may be pressurized to induce migration of the artificial platelets to the leak site. The method also includes draining excess plug formulation from the section of the pipeline. The method further includes exposing the UV photoinitiator to UV light to form a gas impermeable seal at the leak site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Sarah K. Czaplewski, Joseph Kuczynski, Melissa K. Miller, Jing Zhang
  • Patent number: 9856638
    Abstract: The invention relates to a drain element formed of a hydrophilic coherent man-made vitreous fiber substrate (MMVF substrate), wherein the MMVF substrate comprises man-made vitreous fibers bonded with a cured binder composition, the MMVF substrate having opposed first and second ends and a passage which extends from a first opening in the first end to a second opening in the second end.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Rockwool International A/S
    Inventor: Michaeel Emborg
  • Patent number: 9856621
    Abstract: Method for construction of a wind turbine generator on a slip formed concrete on a construction/deployment dry dock barge and delivery of WTG and foundation to the installation site as a complete unit. A split hull hydraulic dump scow facilitates the slip form construction and deployment of the slip-formed gravity anchor(s). The barge is sunk as a dry dock to a draft that permits the WTG/WTG foundation to be floated off. The free floating WTG foundation is ballasted with sea water to its operating draft. The tension legs from the gravity anchors are attached to the WTG foundation. The sea water is then removed from the WTG foundation. The gravity anchor(s) is constructed from slip formed concrete on a split hull hydraulic dump scow and deployed to the installation site, with tension legs attached for deployment and attachment to the WTG platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: DBD Systems, LLC
    Inventor: Fontain M. Johnson, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9845675
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a formation probe assembly that includes a probe piston configured for reciprocal movement between a retracted position and an extended position. The apparatus also includes a draw down assembly in fluid communication with the formation probe assembly. The draw down assembly includes a draw down piston being actuatable between a first position and a second position in a cylinder to draw fluid into the cylinder through the piston in the formation probe assembly and a position indicator configured to determine a position of the draw down piston in the cylinder. The apparatus includes a controller configured to control at least one of a rate and a volume of the fluid being drawn into the cylinder of the draw down assembly based, at least in part, on the position of the draw down piston determined by the position indicator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2017
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventor: Kristopher V. Sherrill
  • Patent number: 9841522
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to loading a helical conveyor for underwater seismic exploration. The system includes a case and a first conveyor having a helix structure provided within the case to support one or more ocean bottom seismometer (“OBS”) units. The case can include a first opening at a first end of the first conveyor and a second opening at a second end of the first conveyor. The system can include a base to receive at least a portion of the case. The system can include a second conveyor positioned external to the case that can move an OBS unit into the first opening at the first end of the first conveyor. The first conveyor can receive the OBS unit and direct the OBS unit towards the second opening at the second end of the first conveyor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: FAIRFIELD INDUSTRIES, INC.
    Inventors: Roger L. Fyffe, Etienne Marc
  • Patent number: 9834900
    Abstract: A pile is moved downwards by a movable part inside a piling apparatus. An apparatus body is fastened to the pile by fastening elements, during piling the movable part inside the apparatus body is moved downwards, the movable part is stopped hydraulically by medium in a cylinder space without the movable part striking the apparatus body. As the downwards directed motion of the movable part is stopped, the apparatus body and the pile fastened to it jerk downwards, after which, the movable part is moved hydraulically upwards. The counterforce of the motion affects the apparatus body and the pile fastened to it by pushing them downwards. The piling apparatus includes hydraulic cylinder cylinder to the piston of which the movable part is fastened, and to the hydraulic cylinder are connected a pressure transformer, a damping apparatus and a set of control valves to stop the movable part hydraulically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Inventor: Pentti Heinonen
  • Patent number: 9834898
    Abstract: A debris flow drainage channel is provided. The debris flow drainage channel is applicable to debris flows with large gully bed longitudinal slopes. The debris flow drainage channel has an upstream step section and a downstream step section. The debris flow drainage channel also has a step pool disposed between the upstream step section and the downstream step section. The pool section has a cable net cage bottom protection, a cable net cage buffer layer and block stones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: INSTITUTE OF MOUNTAIN HAZARDS AND ENVIRONMENT CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    Inventors: Xiaoqing Chen, Fangqiang Wei, Jiangang Chen, Yong You, Tao Wang
  • Patent number: 9809942
    Abstract: An on-board re-inflatable containment boom for a waterborne vessel that lies substantially flat and capable of being spooled when deflated and floats in the proper orientation when inflated, that has re-inflatable float sections which are sequentially inflated during deployment and sequentially deflated during recovery, that can be repeatedly deployed and recovered for the purposes of training and testing, and that can be deployed immediately upon occurrence of an oil spill from a waterborne vessel because of its on-board location and its rapid deployment, and a control system for proper inflation and deflation of re-inflatable containment boom during deployment and recovery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Inventors: Michael T. Miller, Terry Hall
  • Patent number: 9797526
    Abstract: A riser assembly and method of installing a riser assembly are disclosed. The riser assembly includes a first attachment element connected to a first portion of flexible pipe and a second attachment element connected to a second portion of flexible pipe. The first attachment element and second attachment element are connected by at least one tether element, via a fixed structure in a configuration such that, in use, in response to movement of the first and second portions of flexible pipe, the tension load at any moment in time, at each attachment element, remains substantially equal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: GE Oil & Gas UK Limited
    Inventors: Yanqiu Zhang, Zhimin Tan, Yucheng Hou, Jiabei Yuan, Linfa Zhu
  • Patent number: 9797106
    Abstract: A revetment block for reducing the energy of water flowing over a levee. The revetment blocks each have a tapered top surface that tapers upwardly from a downstream end of the block to an upstream end of the block. The upwardly tapered top surface terminates in an abrupt downward transition edge. When plural tapered top blocks are installed together in a mat on a surface of the levee, the oncoming water surge encounters the many abrupt transition edges and reduces the energy of the water surge. The tapered top revetment blocks can be installed on the water side of the levee, or on the land side of the levee, or both sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Inventors: Lee A. Smith, James S. Kole, Jr.
  • Patent number: 9789932
    Abstract: The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method for installing a tubular element, such as a suction pile, in a bottom of a body of water. The system comprises a tubular element and a deintensifier in fluid communication with the tubular element. The deintensifier is configured to be exposed to an ambient pressure external to the tubular element and reduce pressure within the tubular element. The method comprises lowering the tubular element to the bottom of the body of water, filling the tubular element with water at ambient pressure, and exposing the water within the tubular element to a deintensified external ambient pressure so as to withdraw the water out of the tubular element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2017
    Assignee: Cameron International Corporation
    Inventors: Johannes van Wijk, Melvyn F. Whitby
  • Patent number: 9777454
    Abstract: Provided is a removable ground anchor body using a rotation wherein when a pc strand or a deformed steel bar is rotated, a screw bar is interlock-rotated to raise an operation member and sequentially raise a body and a wedge from the pc strand or the deformed steel bar thereby to release the connection state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignees: Samjin Steel Ind. Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hyun Taik Shin
  • Patent number: 9771701
    Abstract: A subsea fluids storage facility comprises a tank (11) for holding and separating fluids which is equipped with ballast capacity (14) and a separable base (12) to be deployed upon the seabed in shallow or deep water, and the storage facility is connectable to a surface production facility, especially a buoy (24) for processing fluids. In deep water the tank (11) is held at a depth above the base (12) for temperature controlled stabilization of produced oil in the tank (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: SLLP 134 Limited
    Inventor: Richard Selwa
  • Patent number: 9771700
    Abstract: A structure for mounting offshore installations such as wind turbines or oil and gas platforms. The structure comprises a base, a top piece, and a lattice structure connecting the base to the top piece. The sub-components of the structure can be pre-assembled prior to installation to facilitate ease of construction, or they may be transported to a pre-determined location and assembled on site.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: OWLC HOLDINGS LTD.
    Inventor: Matthew Bleasdale
  • Patent number: 9745124
    Abstract: System for preventing the leakage of liquid from an outdoor work-site around the perimeter of the work-site includes a load-supporting surface having at least two adjacent mats and a plurality of berm members configured to be disposed around the perimeter of the load-supporting surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignee: Newpark Mats & Integrated Services LLC
    Inventor: James Kerwin McDowell
  • Patent number: 9739028
    Abstract: An irregular trapezoidal structural unit configured to be arranged with other like units in courses to form a structure comprises opposing upper and lower surfaces, opposing irregular front and rear faces, and irregular opposed side faces. The side faces each include a general S-shape mating section that are translated images of each other such that each side of the unit will mate with either side face of another like unit. The front and rear faces optionally include S-shaped mating sections that are translated images of each other. Structures are formed in courses by arranging units side to side along a line to form at least a first course, wherein adjacent side faces mate and interlock. Optionally, a second course is disposed laterally adjacent the first course wherein adjacent front and rear faces mate and interlock. Additional courses can be added on top of the other courses forming wall structures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: KEYSTONE RETAINING WALL SYSTEMS LLC
    Inventors: Thomas S. Riccobene, Robert A. MacDonald
  • Patent number: 9731897
    Abstract: A gas containment system can include a gas barrier layer forming a capsule. The gas barrier layer can be made up of a particulate swelling clay, a non-swelling particulate material mixed with the particulate swelling clay, water, and a water-soluble polyol. The water can hydrate the particulate swelling clay and form a continuous liquid phase in the gas barrier layer. The water-soluble polyol can be dissolved in the water. The gas containment system can further include a gas retained inside the capsule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Assignee: Red Leaf Resources, Inc.
    Inventor: James W. Patten
  • Patent number: 9732491
    Abstract: A transportable wave suppressor and sediment collection system for suppressing wave action along the shore of a body of water, which includes a plurality of interconnected sections, each section including a base, a forward wall, and a rear wall, and having a plurality of flow pipes extending from the forward wall to the rear wall, and further including a plurality of shelves on the forward wall for dispersing wave energy, while redirecting and using the wave energy to allow water and sediment to flow into the flow pipes and for collecting sediment that is not carried into the flow pipes and settles on the shelves for being contacted by a following wave to carry the sediment into the flow pipes. In some deeper water embodiments, the sections may include a base portion, a top portion and one or more spacer portions to enable raising or changing the height of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2017
    Inventor: Webster Pierce, Jr.