Drill cuttings diverter system |
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申请号 | US14639099 | 申请日 | 2015-03-04 | 公开(公告)号 | US09689218B1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2017-06-27 |
申请人 | Thomas McDaniel; | 发明人 | Thomas McDaniel; | ||||
摘要 | A drill cuttings diverter system for distributing downhole drill cuttings inside a cuttings box, where the drill cuttings diverter system is equipped with a diverter conduit having a bottom that is concaved toward a side opening. The diverter conduit is rotatably inserted through an opening in the cuttings box so that the operator can rotate the side opening at the bottom of the diverter conduit to change the direction of the drill cuttings being fed into the cuttings box, and thereby prevent the drill cuttings from accumulating in a single pile inside the cuttings box. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed is: |
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说明书全文 | The present application claims priority from provisional patent application No. 61/947,973, filed on Mar. 4, 2014. The present invention is an apparatus and method for containing drill cuttings in a cuttings box during the process of drilling a well. In many oil and gas operations, the handling and disposal of the drilling fluid and the material entrained in the drilling fluid during the drilling process, commonly known as the drill cuttings, has become an increasingly difficult problem. Environmental regulations and considerations prohibit or make undesirable the surface disposal of so-called drill cuttings. Therefore, drill cuttings must be contained for disposal or other use. As is well known in the drilling industry, shakers and other equipment are used to remove the drill cuttings from the drilling fluid before the drilling fluid is redirected down into the well. The removed drill cuttings are typically transferred from the shaker to large boxes for disposal away from the drilling location. These large boxes are known as “cuttings boxes,” and can have a capacity of twenty-five (25) oil field barrels and are typically made of metal. While various means of transferring the cuttings into the cuttings boxes are used, one common system is a vacuum system. Vacuum systems use a high-volume air stream at pressures typically slightly below atmospheric, which pull the drill cuttings through a pipe, hose, or other conduit, to an inlet in the cuttings box, where the drill cuttings fall into the cuttings box. As the drill cuttings fall into the cuttings box, they begin to accumulate below the inlet of the cuttings box. The accumulation of drill cuttings forms a pyramid-shaped pile under the inlet until the top of the pyramid-shaped pile reaches the inlet. At that point, either the cuttings box is considered full, or the lid of the cuttings box has to be opened to manually distribute the drill cuttings more evenly inside the cuttings box. A typical cuttings box is a generally elongated box having at least one hinged lid on the top and a hinged relief hatch on the top. The hinged lid is typically bolted shut with a number of nuts and bolts, and can be very heavy. To open the lid for access to the interior of the cuttings box, all of the nuts and bolts must be removed (which is time consuming), and the lid rotated back on its hinges. Due to the weight of the lid, and the various pinch points presented, a number of accidents have occurred in the process of manipulating the lid. These accidents occur because workers are typically in a hurry to get the lid opened and closed. In addition, at least two workers are generally required to perform the lid opening and/or closing. The present invention provides an apparatus and method that eliminates the need to remove the lid of a cuttings box to manually distribute drill cuttings more evenly inside the cuttings box. The accompanying drawings are provided for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention. The drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein: While the present invention will be described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments (and legal equivalents thereof) falling within the scope of the appended claims. Referring now to Diverter assembly 20 is preferably removably and sealably attached to an inlet opening 12 on the top 11 of cuttings box 10. Inlet opening 12 is typically round and has a cylindrical lip 14 extending upwardly from top 11 of cuttings box 10. Inlet opening 12 also typically has a top edge 15 to facilitate a sealed connection between diverter assembly 20 and inlet opening 12, as discussed in more detail below. A hose, pipe, or other conduit (not shown) is typically connected to diverter assembly 20 to facilitate the flow of drill cuttings into cuttings box 10 through diverter assembly 20. Referring to Still referring to Referring to As shown in When coupler 24 is removably and sealably fit over cylindrical lip 14 of inlet opening 12 of cuttings box 10, seal 25 is preferably placed between top edge 15 of cylindrical lip 14 and lower shoulder 31 of inner ring 29 of coupler 24 to prevent air from entering cuttings box 10 when diverter assembly 20 is attached to inlet opening 12 on the top 11 of cuttings box 10. Seal 25 is preferably made from a compressible material used in sealing applications known in the art. Referring to As shown in Still referring to As shown in In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a direction indicator 42 can be attached to outer surface 33 of diverter conduit 22 between open top 34 of diverter conduit 22 and outer ring 37 of diverter conduit 22, as shown in In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one handle 43 can be attached to outer surface 33 of diverter conduit 22 between open top 34 of diverter conduit 22 and outer ring 37 of diverter conduit 22, as shown in In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a camlock fitting 44 with a male camlock end 45 can be attached to open top 34 of diverter conduit 22. Camlock fitting 44 is preferably made of metal and should be designed for quickly connecting a hose, pipe, or other conduit to diverter assembly 20 to facilitate the flow of drill cuttings into cuttings box 10 through diverter assembly 20. Referring now to Still referring to Bushing 52 is preferably made of metal and can be cylindrically shaped. Bushing 52 preferably has an outer surface 57 equipped with male threads 58 that correspond with female 56 of inner surface 55 of coupler 51. Bushing 52 also preferably has an inner surface 59 equipped with female threads 60. In the preferred embodiment, bushing 52 is threadably attached to coupler 51 by threading male threads 58 of outer surface 57 of bushing 52 into female threads 56 of inner surface 55 of coupler 51, as shown in Nipple 53 is preferably made of metal and can be cylindrically shaped. Nipple 53 preferably has an open top 61, an open bottom 62, an outer surface 63 having male threads 64 adjacent to open top 61 and male threads 67 adjacent to open bottom 62. Male threads 64 adjacent to open top 61 of nipple 53 preferably divided into a lower portion 65 and an upper portion 66. Lower portion 65 of male threads 64 of nipple 53 are preferably threadably attached to female threads 60 of inner surface 59 of bushing 52 so that nipple 53 extends through coupler 51, as shown in In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cylindrically shaped camlock fitting 68 having an inner surface 69 equipped with female threads 70 can be threadably attached to upper portion 66 of male threads 64 on outer surface 63 adjacent to open top 61 of nipple 53, as shown in In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cylindrically shaped camlock fitting 72 having an inner surface 73 equipped with female threads 74 can be threadably attached to male threads 67 on outer surface 63 adjacent to open bottom 62 of nipple 53, as shown in Float cage 54 is preferably equipped with a plurality of vertical bars 78 attached to outer shoulder 77 of camlock fitting 72, as shown in In use, diverter assembly 20 and float assembly 50 are connected to inlet opening 12 and outlet opening 13, respectively, of an empty cuttings box 10. A hose, pipe, or other conduit is connected to diverter assembly 20 to facilitate the flow of drill cuttings into cuttings box 10 through diverter assembly 20. A hose, pipe, or other conduit is connected to float assembly 50 to connect a vacuum system to the empty cuttings box 10. The vacuum system is switched on the begin sucking drill cuttings into cuttings box 10 through diverter assembly 20. As portions of cuttings box 10 begin to fill up with drill cuttings, diverter conduit 22 is rotated on vertical axis 41 to direct drill cuttings through side opening 36 of diverter conduit 22 to other portions of cuttings box 10. Once cuttings box 10 is completed filled to capacity, diverter assembly 20 and float assembly 50 are removed from the filled cuttings box 10 and transferred to an empty cuttings box 10 to repeat the process. It is understood that one embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed by way of example and that other modifications and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. |