Stacked tray ball dropper for subterranean fracking operations
US9534469B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 27, 2013 |
| Grant date | Jan 3, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 16, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B33/068
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A ball dropper has a stack of trays that have solid portions for supporting a ball and open portions to allow a ball to pass through a tray. Fixed barriers limit the travel of the ball with the rotating tray to allow the ball to become unsupported so that it can be caught on the tray below. A stepper motor precisely makes the required incremental rotation to allow the addition of the next ball at the top. Once the trays are filled or the balls loaded are advanced such that the lead ball is on the last tray any further rotation will start to discharge the balls with each increment of rotation. The device is easy and cheap to fabricate and presents a reliable way to get jam free operation while having a housing that will tolerate the operating pressures in the wellbore.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.