HOSE REEL FOR USE WITH OIL RIGS
A hose reel for use with a moveable oil rig is disclosed. The hose reel can hold a hose having a length of greater than 150 feet with a pressure rating of greater than 5,000 psi. As the rig moves, or as otherwise convenient, the hose reel permits the hose to play out as the hose reel rotates. A motor can help to rotate the reel. The reel can have plural sections to accommodate hoses of different sizes.
Oil rigs have been used to extract hydrocarbons from wells for many years. Many of the technologies still in use today were developed many years ago and persist in today's rigs simply because they are the way things have always been done. One example of this is the way in which oil rigs are supplied with fluids such as air, water, mud, and cement. In a typical installation, the rig is positioned remote from a source of these fluids and a hose is built to pump these fluids to and from the rig. The hose is built from hose and or pipe segments which are relatively short—on the order of ten or twenty feet in length. Each length is connected with a hammer union, and this is performed by skilled technicians at the rig site. This method is costly in terms of time and other resources.
SUMMARYVarious features are described herein to illustrate certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the disclosure is directed to a hose reel for use with an oil rig. The reel can include a rotating drum having a central axle and a hose configured to be wound upon the drum such that rotation of the drum causes the hose to play in or out of the reel. The hose is rated for pressures greater than 5,000 psi. The reel also includes a port arm coupled to the hose and configured to provide a fluid passage from the hose, and a reel port rotatably coupled to the port arm to permit the port arm to rotate with the rotating drum. In some embodiments the hose reel is not greater than twelve feet tall and not greater than twelve feet wide to permit transport via a truck using standard roadways and minimal permits.
Further embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to an oil rig including a base that can move between oil wells, and a hose reel carried by the base. The hose reel is rotatable relative to the base. The hose reel can have a hose at least partially wound upon the hose reel and capable of passively playing out the hose as the base moves between oil wells. The hose can be between 40 and 150 feet in length.
Still further embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a hose reel assembly including a base having an axle and a rotating drum coupled to the axle to permit the rotating drum to rotate about the axle. The assembly can also have a hose between 40 and 150 feet in length and having a pressure rating of greater than 5,000 psi. Substantially the entire hose portion is wound around the rotating drum in a single layer of coils.
Delivering fluids to an oil rig is a challenging proposition due to the many constraints inherent in the endeavor. In today's oilfield oil wells are distributed in more varied patterns, including non-linear or grid-like patterns, whereas in years past wells were distributed in straight lines and with more certain distances between the wells. A previous approach was to use discrete, relatively short hose segments which were joined together via hammer unions as the rig was moving from well to well. This approach may be efficient if the wells are spaced apart such that the hose and or pipe segments match the distance between the wells. The hose segment approach can also be poorly suited for wells distributed in a non-linear arrangement because it is somewhat limited in its ability to accommodate a non-linear pattern of wells.
The four most typically used fluids on an oil rig are air, water, mud, and cement, though the present disclosure is not limited to these fluids. For that matter, the present disclosure is not limited to use with oil rigs and can be used in other fields such as construction, military, fire control, agriculture, etc. One challenge presented by cement and mud is the hoses are made of a much more durable and pressure-resistant material, and in dimensions exceeding those for other applications. In some embodiments the hoses of the present disclosure are rated to hold pressure between 5,000 and 10,000 psi. They can have an outer diameter of seven inches and an inner diameter of two inches. The hoses can be made of a woven steel and/or nylon material to support the pressure and perhaps the harmful nature of the fluids, such as corrosiveness or toxicity. As such, these hoses may be damaged if they are bent at a radius smaller than a prescribed minimum bend radius. Some hoses simply cannot be made to bend more than their prescribed minimum bend radius. Additionally, the hoses are heavy enough that manually turning a reel upon which the hoses are wound is impossible without mechanical assistance in the form of a motor. Considering these parameters, the hoses of the present disclosure can be between 40 and 150 feet in length, greatly minimizing the amount of work and expenditure of time and resources required to operate the hose at the rig.
Yet another constraint upon the hose reels disclosed herein are transport restrictions. Many jurisdictions in the United States have restrictions upon the height, width, and weight of an object to be transported on roadways. For example, many states have a restriction to twelve feet high, twelve feet wide for any trailer or truck. Some of these restrictions allow the envelope to be up to sixteen feet, but they can require a more expensive license, and may have some time of day/week restrictions and even route restrictions. Some bridges are not tall enough to transport certain objects and no license can change that.
The drum 106 can have outer flanges 114 at an outer periphery of the drum 106 to help maintain a hose in position on the drum 106. The hoses are not shown here and will be shown later in this disclosure. In some embodiments, the two sections 108 and 110 are for hoses intended for different fluids. For example, the first section 108 can be for cement and the second section 110 can be for mud. The drum 106 can have a slot to accommodate loading the drum 106 onto the axle 104. The drum 106 can be riveted, bolted, welded, or otherwise fastened to the axle 104 such that the drum 106 can rotate relative to the axle 104 and the stand 102 to play the hose out or in as needed.
The hose reel 100 also includes fluid ports 118 and 120—one on each side of the reel 100. In some embodiments a single port can be used on either side of the reel 100. In some embodiments, the fluid ports 118, 120 are concentric with respect to the axle 104. A rotatable joint can be used to allow the drum 106 to rotate with respect to the fluid ports 118, 120. Fluid can be pumped into the fluid ports 118, 120. The fluid ports 118, 120 are in fluid communication with the hose, such that pumping fluid through the ports 118, 120 causes fluid to enter and pass through the hose. The hoses and fluid ports 118, 120 can be used to move fluid in either direction—into the port and then to the hose, or from the hose to the port and out of the reel 100.
The reel 100 also includes a motor 124 which is operatively connected to the axle 104 and the drum 106 such that the motor 124 powers rotational movement of the drum 106 relative to the base 102. The motor 124 can be an electric motor, a hydraulic motor, a pneumatic motor, or any other suitable source of power configured to rotate the drum 106 to play in and out the hose from the reel 100.
The reel 100 can have a second port arm 140 which is substantially similar to the port arm 129, including axial portion 150, plate 148, bend 146, radial section 142, and hose coupler 144. The second port arm 140 can be configured for use with a different material and as such can have different dimensions from port arm 129. The motor 124 can be positioned on either side of the reel 100 or there can be two motors, one on each side.
In some embodiments the drum sections 108, 110 can be formed to rotate relative to one another to allow one hose to be played out independently from the other. In such a case there can be two motors, one on each side configured to move the drum sections 108, 110.
The foregoing description is given to highlight certain features of the present disclosure and any examples given are for illustration and not limitation. A person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that features and aspects of the present disclosure are described sufficiently to enable them to make and use features of the present disclosure without undue experimentation. It is to be appreciated that relative terms such as front, back, right, left, down, up, etc. are given to help understand certain figures and are not used in a limiting way.
Claims
1. A hose reel for use with an oil rig, comprising:
- a rotating drum having a central axle;
- a hose configured to be wound upon the drum such that rotation of the drum causes the hose to play in or out of the reel, wherein the hose is rated for pressures greater than 5,000 psi;
- a port arm coupled to the hose and configured to provide a fluid passage with the hose; and
- a reel port rotatably coupled to the port arm to permit the port arm to rotate with the rotating drum.
2. The hose reel of claim 1 wherein the hose reel is not greater than twelve feet tall and not greater than twelve feet wide.
3. The hose reel of claim 1 wherein the rotating drum has a first section and a second section axially spaced apart from one another, wherein the first and second sections are configured to a first hose and a second hose respectively having different diameters.
4. The hose reel of claim 3 wherein the first section and second section have different diameters.
5. The hose reel of claim 4 wherein a radius of the first section plus a radius of the first hose is equal to a radius of the second section plus a radius of the second hose such that a centerline on the first and second hoses when wound upon the rotating drum is at the same radius relative to the central axle.
6. The hose reel of claim 1 wherein the hose is configured to carry at least one of mud or cement.
7. The hose reel of claim 1 wherein the hose has an interior diameter of at least four inches and an outer diameter of at least seven inches.
8. The hose reel of claim 1 wherein the hose is between 40 and 150 feet long.
9. The hose reel of claim 1 wherein the hose has a minimum bend radius equal to a radius of the rotating drum.
10. The hose reel of claim 1, further comprising a motor operatively coupled to the rotating drum.
11. The hose reel of claim 3 wherein the first section and second section are rotatable relative to one another on the central axle.
12. The hose reel of claim 11, further comprising a motor operatively coupled to one or more of the first section and second section of the rotating drum.
13. The hose reel of claim 12 wherein the motor can be selectively coupled to one or more of the first and second sections of the rotating drum.
14. The hose reel of claim 1 wherein the rotating drum is rotatable about a horizontal axis, and wherein the hose reel is further rotatable about a vertical axis.
15. An oil rig, comprising:
- a base configured to move between oil wells;
- a hose reel carried by the base, wherein the hose reel is rotatable relative to the base;
- a hose at least partially wound upon the hose reel and configured to passively play out the hose as the base moves between oil wells, wherein the hose is between 40 and 150 feet in length.
16. The oil rig of claim 15 wherein the hose has a pressure rating of at least 5,000 psi.
17. The oil rig of claim 15 wherein the hose reel wound with hose is not greater than twelve feet tall and is not greater than twelve feet wide.
18. The oil rig of claim 15, further comprising a motor operatively coupled to the hose reel and operative to rotate the hose reel.
19. A hose reel assembly, comprising:
- a base having an axle;
- a rotating drum coupled to the axle to permit the rotating drum to rotate about the axle;
- a hose portion being between 40 and 150 feet in length and having a pressure rating of greater than 5,000 psi, wherein the entire hose portion is wound around the rotating drum in a single layer of coils.
20. The hose reel assembly of claim 19, further comprising a transport configured to support the base, rotating drum, and the hose portion, wherein the transport is able to be carried by a truck.
21. The hose reel assembly of claim 19, further comprising a motor operatively coupled to the rotating drum and configured to rotate the rotating drum.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 21, 2017
Publication Date: Jan 24, 2019
Inventors: Christopher Shane Lalumandier (Sugar Land, TX), Glenn Ervin Griffin (Montgomery, TX)
Application Number: 15/656,144