Subterranean Room Conduit Conveyor Assemblies and Methods for Extending Conduit from a Subterranean Room
Subterranean room conduit conveyor assemblies are provided comprising a conveyor operatively aligned with a guide assembly, the guide assembly operatively aligned with a subterranean well head. Methods for extending conduit from a subterranean room to within a well extending from the room to within the earth surrounding the room are provided, the methods comprising operatively aligning a conveyor assembly with the well head of the well, feeding coiled conduit to the conveyor assembly, and conveying the conduit from the assembly into the well head of the well from the room. Well clean out nozzles are provided as well.
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The present disclosure provides assemblies and methods for conveying conduit. In particular embodiments, the present disclosure provides assemblies and methods for extending conduit from within a subterranean room to within a well head extending into the soil surrounding the subterranean room.
BACKGROUNDSubterranean rooms can be used to mine or acquire assets from the soil or earth surrounding the room. These rooms present problems associated with acquiring these assets. These rooms can be extraordinarily small and make it difficult to acquire assets using the limited equipment that can be provided into the rooms. In some particular operations, assets that may be acquired include but are not limited to petroleum reserves in the form of gas or liquid reserves. The present disclosure provides assemblies and methods that may be utilized to extend conduit into these rooms and/or assist in the acquisition of assets from the soil surrounding these rooms.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURESubterranean room conduit conveyor assemblies are provided comprising a conveyor operatively aligned with a guide assembly, the guide assembly operatively aligned with a subterranean well head.
Subterranean room conduit conveyor assemblies may comprise a conveyor, a guide assembly, and a well head coupling.
Methods for extending conduit from a subterranean room to within a well extending from the room to within the earth surrounding the room are provided, the methods comprising operatively aligning a conveyor assembly with the well head of the well, feeding coiled conduit to the conveyor assembly, and conveying the conduit from the assembly into the well head of the well from the room.
Methods for extending conduit from a subterranean room to within a well extending from the room are provided, comprising providing conduit having nozzle attached thereto, nozzled end first, extending the conduit into the well, and projecting fluid from the nozzle to within the well, the projecting conveying the conduit to within the well.
Embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to the following accompanying drawings.
This disclosure is submitted in furtherance of the constitutional purposes of the U.S. Patent Laws “to promote the progress of science and useful arts” (Article 1, Section 8).
The assemblies and methods of the present disclosure are provided with reference to
The subterranean room can include a conduit 22, and operator 4, and/or a conduit conveyor assembly 10 in operational configuration and/or coupling with well head 24. Conduit 22 can be conduit that is typically stored in a coiled fashion. It can be rubberized and/or plastic, for example. It may be also made of other flexible materials. Conduit 22 can also include a 2′ to 3′ long pipe at the terminal end that may be configured to couple a nozzle to the pipe. Typically, conduit 22 is either stored or transported in a coiled form, and in that form, it is biased to stay in that form until straightened or otherwise manipulated. It has been realized that the use of this conduit to clean out wells such as the well having well head 24 can be challenging, because the conduit is biased to maintain that coiled fashion and this can make manipulation of the conduit difficult. Assembly 10 can be a conduit conveyor assembly that can be utilized to manipulate conduit 22 and access well of well head 24 in an effort to clean out well 24.
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Guides 14 and/or 16 may be utilized together or separately, and these guides may provide an opening through which conduit 18 may pass as it extends into and past well head 24. In accordance with example implementations, conveyors 12 and/or 20 may be operatively aligned with the guide assembly such as guides 14 or 16, and these guides may be operatively aligned with well head 24. As such, conveyor 10 can include at least one conveyor, at least one guide assembly, and a well head coupling, for example. In accordance with example implementations, assembly 10 can include at least two aligned conduit guides such as guides 14 and 16, and the conveyors such as 12 and/or 20 can be aligned between these two guides. As shown in
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In accordance with example implementations, these wheels can be provided along an axis such as the axle shown in
Assembly 30 can also include a safety member 52 that can extend away from assembly 30, preventing an operator 4 from extending their hands into assembly 30 when providing conduit thereto. This safety member 52 can be constructed as likewise of the assemblies described herein, of a metal material.
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In compliance with the statute, embodiments of the invention have been described in language more or less specific as to structural and methodical features. It is to be understood, however, that the entire invention is not limited to the specific features and/or embodiments shown and/or described, since the disclosed embodiments comprise forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims appropriately interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.
Claims
1. A subterranean room conduit conveyor assembly comprising a conveyor operatively aligned with a guide assembly, the guide assembly operatively aligned with a subterranean well head.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the guide assembly comprises at least two aligned conduit guides.
3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the conveyor is aligned between the two guides.
4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the guide assembly comprises at least one wheel rotatably aligned with the well head.
5. The assembly of claim 4 wherein the wheel further comprises tread about the wheel.
6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the tread further comprises a trough extending along the tread.
7. A subterranean room conduit conveyor assembly comprising:
- a conveyor:
- a guide assembly; and
- a well head coupling.
8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the conveyor comprises at least one wheel rotatable about an axis substantially normal to the guide assembly.
9. The assembly of claim 7 wherein the conveyor comprises at least two wheels, the wheels arranged opposing one another along parallel axis, the axis substantially normal to the guide assembly.
10. The assembly of claim 7 wherein conveyor comprises at least one conveyor surface configured to engage conduit, the surface defining a trough therein.
11. The assembly of claim 10 wherein the conveyor further comprises another conveyor surface opposing the one surface.
12. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the other surface defines a complimentary trough.
13. The assembly of claim 11 wherein the other conveyor is biased against the one conveyor.
14. A method for extending conduit from a subterranean room to within a well extending from the room to within the earth surrounding the room, the method comprising:
- operatively aligning a conveyor assembly with the well head of the well:
- feeding coiled conduit to the conveyor assembly; and
- conveying the conduit from the assembly into the well head of the well from the room.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising vising the conduit between a pair of biased conveyors.
16. The method of claim 14 further comprising extending the conduit through a guide prior is comprised by feeding the coiled conduit to the conveyor assembly.
17. A method for extending conduit from a subterranean room to within a well extending from the room, the method comprising:
- providing conduit having nozzle attached thereto:
- nozzled end first, extending the conduit into the well; and
- projecting fluid from the nozzle to within the well, the projecting conveying the conduit to within the well.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the projecting the fluid comprises directing the fluid in a direction toward the conduit.
19. The method of claim 17 wherein the projecting the fluid comprises directing the fluid toward the walls of the well.
20. The method of claim 17 wherein the extending is also facilitated by a motorized conveyor.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 5, 2013
Publication Date: May 7, 2015
Applicant: NEP IP, LLC (Sheridan, WY)
Inventors: Chan Taylor (Huntley, MT), Paul Nichols (Camp Verde, AZ)
Application Number: 14/072,495
International Classification: E21B 19/22 (20060101);