Patent ID: 8978754
Filing Date: 2015-03-17
Classification: E21B,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An inflatable sleeve comprising a mandrel extending along a longitudinal axis and a sealed inflatable jacket connected to the mandrel and selectively adopting a rest configuration or a maximum inflation configuration, said inflatable sleeve further comprising a restraining sheath covering the inflatable jacket, and imposing to the jacket in its maximum inflation configuration a predetermined model form, and said restraining sheath including a flexible structure comprising a belt at least partially formed of substantially inextensible peripheral fibers in a stretched configuration, and said belt being able to adopt a rest configuration in which said peripheral fibers adopt a pleated configuration and a full elongation configuration in which the resistant fibers are fully stretched and impose to the belt their own inextensible behavior, and wherein the relative length difference of the belt between the stretched configuration and the pleated configuration is of a magnitude of at least few hundreds of percent and wherein, said belt being helically wound around the sealed inflatable jacket, forming coils, with each peripheral fiber extending around the longitudinal axis by forming with the longitudinal axis an angle of at least equal to 70 degrees, and wherein, at rest configuration, the belt is set in a partial state of elongation specific for each one of the coils, this partial state of elongation, for a given coil, being such that the relative length difference of the belt between this specific partial state of elongation and its full elongation configuration is equal to the relative increase set for the diameter of the jacket, on this coil, between its rest configuration and its maximum inflation configuration in conformity with the predetermined model form.