Patents by Inventor John Astleford

John Astleford 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).

  • Publication number: 20120067831
    Abstract: Apparatus for recovering clean drilling fluid from fluid contaminated with entrained debris comprises an input conduit for the contaminated drilling fluid, the conduit being branched whereby a portion of the contaminated fluid is delivered to a preliminary separation stage and the remainder flows to a main separation stage, each said stage comprising a screen for separating debris from the fluid. The preliminary separation stage comprises a vibrating screen and conveyor means for conveying separated debris into the remainder flow to the main separator stage, thereby increasing the proportion of entrained debris in the remaining fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2011
    Publication date: March 22, 2012
    Inventor: John Astleford
  • Patent number: 7703537
    Abstract: A method of bringing hydrocarbons from a well into production by introducing encapsulated bubbles into the fluid in the production string to reduce the hydrostatic pressure holding the hydrocarbons in the reservoir. For reservoirs where the reservoir pressure has been depleted to the point where the reservoir pressure is not sufficient to push a column of hydrocarbons to the surface at an acceptable rate, encapsulated bubbles can be continuously introduced into the production string at a suitable depth to reduce the pressure required to bring hydrocarbons to the surface and allowing the encapsulated bubbles to be recovered and recycled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2010
    Inventor: John Astleford
  • Patent number: 7556154
    Abstract: In a method and apparatus for screening drilling fluids to remove entrained debris, the fluid is urged upwardly from the lower side to the upper side of an inclined or horizontal mesh screen, so that debris falls from the face of the screen under gravity to be collected and removed, and the clean fluid emerges above the screen. The debris may be removed by a conveyor or by a vibrating mesh surface. The operating life of the screen is thereby extended.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2009
    Inventors: John Astleford, Sharon Astleford
  • Publication number: 20090084548
    Abstract: A method of bringing hydrocarbons from a well into production by introducing encapsulated bubbles into the fluid in the production string to reduce the hydrostatic pressure holding the hydrocarbons in the reservoir. For reservoirs where the reservoir pressure has been depleted to the point where the reservoir pressure is not sufficient to push a column of hydrocarbons to the surface at an acceptable rate, encapsulated bubbles can be continuously introduced into the production string at a suitable depth to reduce the pressure required to bring hydrocarbons to the surface and allowing the encapsulated bubbles to be recovered and recycled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Publication date: April 2, 2009
    Inventor: John Astleford
  • Publication number: 20060081508
    Abstract: In a method and apparatus for screening drilling fluids to remove entrained debris, the fluid is urged upwardly from the lower side to the upper side of an inclined or horizontal mesh screen, so that debris falls from the face of the screen under gravity to be collected and removed, and the clean fluid emerges above the screen. The debris may be removed by a conveyor or by a vibrating mesh surface. The operating life of the screen is thereby extended.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2005
    Publication date: April 20, 2006
    Inventors: John Astleford, Sharon Astleford