Breakaway coupling device

A breakaway coupling device is provided having a male and female valve body. The female valve body, a plurality of boltholes extending therethrough, and a plurality of boreholes extending therethrough. The female valve body further defines a first cavity traversing the female valve body. The male valve body has a plurality of flange pairs and a plurality of boreholes aligned with the boreholes in the female valve body. There are a plurality of tie bolts attached to the female valve body through the plurality of boltholes. The tie bolts are received by the plurality of tinge pairs on the male valve body. There are a plurality of shear pins. Each one of the plurality of shear pins intersects each flange pair and each one of the plurality of tie bolts at an angle perpendicular to the tie bolts thereby connecting the male valve body to the female valve body. There are plurality of guide pins closely received by the boreholes in the male valve body and the female valve body. A method for disconnecting a hydraulic disconnect is also provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a breakaway coupling device. More 
specifically, the invention relates to a breakaway coupling device 
designed for remote or manual separation in any situation. 
Offshore production operations require vessels to deliver and retrieve 
different fluids required in the course of production. These fluids pass 
through flexible pipe designed to carry fluids under high pressure. Water, 
oil, acid and sand are some of the fluids pumped through these pipes 
depending on the type of work being done. 
The operation of these offshore facilities are subject to several emergency 
conditions. Under certain circumstances, a vessel may have to leave 
quickly due to a fire or hazardous conditions occurring on the vessel or 
the production rig. For example, when fluids are withdrawn from the site, 
they are frequently burned off, this presents a potentially dangerous 
situation if the fire gets out of control, making it necessary to quickly 
move the service vessel out of danger. These types of emergencies can 
occur instantly, giving no warning and leaving very little time to 
disconnect the service vessel and move it to a safe location. A service 
unit that can be quickly and easily removed from the riser would be highly 
desirable and cost effective. 
Toward minimizing the time consumed to detach the vessel, and to minimize 
the amount of potentially toxic material exposed to the environment, the 
present invention provides a system wherein a production vessel is 
equipped with a breakaway coupling device that can be remotely or manually 
operated and releases a minimal amount of fluid upon disconnection. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a breakaway coupling 
device that can be separated remotely with minimal fluid loss. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a breakaway 
coupling device that can be separated manually with minimal fluid loss. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a breakaway 
coupling device. The breakaway coupling device comprises a male and female 
valve body. The female valve body, a plurality of boltholes extending 
therethrough, and a plurality of boreholes extending therethrough. The 
female valve body further defines a first cavity traversing the female 
valve body. The male valve body has a plurality of flange pairs and a 
plurality of boreholes aligned with the boreholes in the female valve 
body. There are a plurality of tie bolts attached to the female valve body 
through the plurality of boltholes. The tie bolts are received by the 
plurality of flange pairs on the male valve body. There are a plurality of 
shear pins. Each one of the plurality of shear pins intersects each flange 
pair and each one of the plurality of tie bolts at an angle perpendicular 
to the tie bolts thereby connecting the male valve body to the female 
valve body. There are plurality of guide pins closely received by the 
boreholes in the male valve body and the female valve body. 
The male valve body further defines a second cavity traversing the male 
valve. The first cavity and the second cavity are aligned with one another 
so as to form a path through the breakaway coupling device. A check valve 
is positioned within the first cavity and the second cavity. There is also 
a channel defined by the female valve body. 
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method 
for separating a breakaway coupling device. The method comprises providing 
a coupling device having male valve body and a female valve body being 
complementary to the male valve body. The male and female valve bodies 
form a cavity for receiving a check valve. The female valve body further 
defines a hydraulic port. A check valve is provided for stopping fluid 
flow when the two valve bodies are separated. The male valve body and the 
female valve body are aligned using guide pins that intersect the male 
valve body and the female valve body. The male valve body is attached to 
the female valve body using tie bolts as described previously. Shear pins 
are positioned through the tie bolts to hold the bolts on the male valve 
body. The male valve body is separated from the female valve body and the 
check valve is engaged so that fluid flow is stopped.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In one embodiment of the present invention there is provided, a breakaway 
coupling device 2 as illustrated by FIG. 1. The breakaway coupling device 
2 comprises a male valve body 6 and female valve body 4. The female valve 
body 4 has, a plurality of boltholes 8 extending therethrough, and a 
plurality of boreholes 9 extending therethrough as shown in FIG. 2 and 3 
The female valve body 4 further defines a first cavity 10 traversing the 
female valve body 4. The male valve body 6 has a plurality of flange pairs 
7, and a plurality of boreholes 11 aligned with the boreholes 9 in the 
female valve body 4. There are a plurality of tie bolts 14 attached to the 
female valve body 4 through the plurality of boltholes 8. The tie bolts 14 
are received by the plurality of flange pairs 7 on the male valve body 6. 
There are a plurality of shear pins 16. Each one of the plurality of shear 
pins 16 intersects each flange pair and each one of the plurality of tie 
bolts 14 at an angle perpendicular to the tie bolts 14 thereby connecting 
the male valve body 6 to the female valve body 4. There are plurality of 
guide pins 20 closely received by the boreholes 11 in the male valve body 
6 and the female valve body 4. Preferably, the guide pins 20 are covered 
by a Teflon.RTM. sleeve. 
The male valve body 6 further defines a second cavity 12 traversing the 
male valve body 6. The first cavity 10 and the second cavity 12 are 
aligned with one another so as to form a flow path through the breakaway 
coupling device 2. Flexible tubing is attached to each valve body and 
fluids flow through the first cavity 10 and the second cavity 12. A check 
valve 18 is positioned within the fast cavity and the second cavity. There 
is also a channel 22 traversing the female valve body 4. 
The female valve body 4 preferably has an inner surface 26 and an outer 
surface 28. The inner surface 26 forms ridges 30 and grooves 32 extending 
radially about the female valve body 4. The channel 22 extends from the 
outer surface 28 to the inner surface 26 of the female valve body 4. The 
male valve body 6 likewise, has an inner surface 34 and outer surface 36. 
The inner surface 34 forms ridges 38 and grooves 40 extending radially 
about the male valve body 6 that complement the ridges 30 and grooves 32 
formed by the inner surface 26 of the female valve body 4 so that when the 
male valve body 6 is connected to the female valve body 4 the respective 
inner surfaces are in intimate contact with one another. Preferably, there 
is a first o-ring 56 attached to the inner surface 26 of the female body, 
a second o-ring 58 attached to the inner surface 34 of the male valve body 
6, and a third o-ring 60 attached to the inner surface 34 of the male 
valve body 6. These o-rings extend radially about the respective valve 
bodies and form a seal so that when the two valve bodies are separated 
little to no fluid is lost until the check valve is fully engaged. 
The check valve 18 can be any one of several types. A dual flapper valve, a 
ball valve or a check valve like the one shown in the figures. The check 
valve shown is patented by Hiltap Fittings, Inc. located in Canada. The 
function of the check valve is to seal the opening to each cavity so that 
very little pumped fluid is released when the coupling device is 
separated. The total pumped fluid lost upon separation is approximately 
120 cc. The total amount of hydraulic fluid lost upon separation is 
approximately one quart. The hydraulic fluid used to separate the 
breakaway coupling device is food grade oil thereby posing no threat to 
the environment. 
The plurality of shear pins 16 can be made from a polymer having a tensile 
strength of approximately 22,000 pounds per square inch. The shear value 
of the shear pins 16 is approximately 11,000 pounds per square inch. The 
shear pins 16 can be made from a member of the group comprising 
polypropylene, polyurethane, nylon, or mixtures thereof. Torlon.RTM. 5030 
is an example of such a polymer. Torlon.RTM. has a tensile strength of 
22,850 pounds per square inch and a shear value of 11,000 pounds. 
Torlon.RTM. may be obtained from Cadillac Plastic of Houston, Tex. 
Torlon.RTM. is registered trademark of Amoco Chemicals Corporation. 
The means 24 for disconnecting the male valve body 6 from the female valve 
body 4 preferably, comprises a control system. The control system has an 
accumulator 46 precharged with nitrogen, a pneumatic poppit valve 48 
connected to the accumulator 46, a manually controlled air supply 50 being 
connected to the poppit pneumatic valve 48, a hydraulic pump 45 that 
charges the accumulator 46 with oil, and a hydraulic cylinder 54 that is 
activated by the accumulator 46. Alternatively, the breakaway coupling 
device 2 can be separated manually by applying approximately 88,000 pounds 
of force to the device. The accumulator is pressurized with approximately 
800 pounds of nitrogen and approximately 3,000 pounds of oil. 
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method 
for separating a breakaway coupling device 2. The method comprises 
providing a coupling device 2 having male valve body 6 and a female valve 
body 4 being complementary to the male valve body 6. The male and female 
valve bodies form a cavity for receiving a check valve 18. The female 
valve body 4 further defines a hydraulic port or channel 22 as described 
above. A check valve 18 is provided for stopping fluid flow when the two 
valve bodies are separated. The male valve body 6 and the female valve 
body 4 are aligned using guide pins 20 that intersect the male valve body 
6 and the female valve body 4. The male valve body 6 is attached to the 
female valve body 4 using tie bolts 14 as described previously. Shear pins 
16 are positioned through the tie bolts 14 to hold the bolts on the male 
valve body 6. The male valve body 6 is separated from the female valve 
body 4 and the check valve 18 is engaged so that fluid flow is stopped in 
both directions. During separation, the female valve body 4 and the male 
valve body 6 maintain a seal against pressurized fluids until the check 
valve 18 is sealed. The seal is maintained by the o-rings as described 
previously. 
The step of separating includes injecting hydraulic fluid between the male 
and female valve bodies via a controller. The controller comprises an 
accumulator 46 precharged with nitrogen, a pneumatic poppit valve 48 
connected to the accumulator, a manually controlled air supply 50 
connected to the pneumatic poppit valve, a hydraulic pump 45 that charges 
the accumulator 46 with oil, and a hydraulic cylinder 54 that is activated 
by the accumulator as described previously. Alternatively, the step of 
separating comprises manually applying 88,000 pounds of force to the 
female valve body 4 to separate the female valve body 4 from the male 
valve body 6. 
The pneumatic poppit valve 48 is actuated so that oil is released from the 
accumulator, activating the hydraulic cylinder with the oil released from 
the accumulator so that a measured volume of pressurized oil is delivered 
to the hydraulic port to separate the male valve body 6 from the female 
valve body 4. Preferably, oil is delivered to the hydraulic port at a 
pressure of from about 1800 to 1900 pounds per square inch. 
The breakaway coupling device 2 described herein is designed to be used 
with high pressure hoses. The coupling device 2 has a maximum working 
pressure of 10,000 pounds per square inch and will withstand pressures of 
up to 15,000 pounds per square inch. 
Although the present invention has been characterized in terms of the 
above-described presently preferred embodiment, it will be recognized by 
those skilled in the art who have the benefit of this disclosure that 
certain changes and variations may be made to that embodiment without 
departing from the spirit of the present invention. The present invention 
is not limited to the above-described presently preferred embodiment, and 
it is expected that such variations will be encompassed within the scope 
of the following claims.