Controlled aperture ball drop
US9739111B2 · kind B2 · utility
3Cited by
14References
20Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 15, 2014 |
| Grant date | Aug 22, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 26, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B43/2607
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A controlled aperture ball drop includes a ball cartridge that is mounted to a frac head or a high pressure fluid conduit. The ball cartridge houses a ball rail having a bottom end that forms an aperture with an inner periphery of the ball cartridge through which frac balls of a frac ball stack supported by the ball rail are sequentially dropped from the frac ball stack as a size of the aperture is increased by an aperture controller operatively connected to the ball rail. A control console displays a user interface that permits an operator to control the controlled aperture ball drop to drop frac balls only when desired.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.