Patent Publication Number: US-8985496-B2

Title: Expandable drum assembly for deploying coiled pipe

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/587,588, filed Jan. 17, 2012, and which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to flexible pipe, and more particularly to reels used to store, ship and deploy flexible pipe. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Currently, flexible pipe that can accommodate fluids at relatively high pressures (e.g. for use in the oil and gas industry) is typically coiled on reels (after manufacture), stored on reels, shipped on reels, and many times deployed directly from reels. A conventional reel  2  is illustrated in  FIGS. 1A-1C , which includes a cylindrical drum  4  (about which the flexible pipe  6  is wound), and flanges  8  extending from the edges of the drum to retain the pipe wound around the drum  4 . A conventional reel loaded with flexible pipe is illustrated in  FIG. 1D . 
     Typically, pipe suppliers must have a large fleet of reels to handle pipe production and shipping processes, which can be costly. In addition, shipping pipe on reels incurs larger shipping costs, as there are weight limits on shipments on trucks. With a double drop trailer (which is normally used), a truck can pull a load that is roughly 38,000 lb. Two reels of flexible pipe for the oil/gas industry are all that can fit onto a double drop trailer. The reels themselves can weigh approximately 3200 lb each. Thus, only about 31,600 lb of pipe can be shipped on a single truck. 
     Once reels of pipe are shipped out to customers, the customers typically have to rent the reels in their possession (i.e. until the pipe thereon is deployed). Once the customer has deployed the pipe, the empty reels (which are expensive) must be shipped back to the pipe supplier, incurring additional shipping costs. Additional costs are further incurred to maintain the reels. 
     There is a need for a more economical solution in deploying coils of pipe without the expense and other drawbacks of conventional reels. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforementioned problems and needs are addressed by a drum assembly that includes a post, first and second spoke frames mounted to the post, a plurality of drum segments, and a plurality of mechanical actuators. Each of the first and second spoke frames includes a plurality of expandable spokes, wherein each of the expandable spokes extends away from the post and has a distal end movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The plurality of drum segments are each mounted to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the first spoke frame and to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein the drum segments extend parallel to the post. The plurality of mechanical actuators each extend between the post and one of the expandable spokes or one of the drum segments, for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, a drum assembly includes a post, first and second spoke frames mounted to the post, a plurality of first drum segments, a plurality of second drum segments, and a plurality of mechanical actuators. Each of the first and second spoke frames includes a plurality of expandable spokes and a plurality of immovable spokes which extend away from the post, wherein each of the expandable spokes includes a distal end movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The plurality of first drum segments are each mounted to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the first spoke frame and to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the plurality of first drum segments extends parallel to the post. The plurality of second drum segments are each mounted to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the first spoke frame and to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the plurality of second drum segments extends parallel to the post. The plurality of mechanical actuators each extend between the post and one of the expandable spokes or one of the plurality of first drum segments, for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions. 
     In yet another aspect of the present invention, a drum assembly includes a post, first and second spoke frames mounted to the post, a pair of first drum segments, a pair of second drum segments, and a plurality of mechanical actuators. Each of the first and second spoke frames includes a pair of expandable spokes and a pair of immovable spokes which extend away from the post, wherein each of the expandable spokes includes a distal end movable between a retracted position and an extended position. The pair of first drum segments are each mounted to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the first spoke frame and to the distal end of one of the expandable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the first drum segments extends parallel to the post. The pair of second drum segments are each mounted to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the first spoke frame and to an end of one of the immovable spokes of the second spoke frame, wherein each of the second drum segments extends parallel to the post. The plurality of mechanical actuators each extend between the post and one of the expandable spokes or one of the first drum segments, for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions. 
     Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent by a review of the specification, claims and appended figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a side view of a conventional pipe reel. 
         FIG. 1B  is an end view of a conventional pipe reel. 
         FIG. 1C  is a perspective view of a conventional pipe reel. 
         FIG. 1D  is a perspective view of a conventional pipe reel, with flexible pipe wound thereon. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the drum assembly of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a drum frame of the drum assembly. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a drum segment of the drum assembly. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a drum segment of the drum assembly. 
         FIG. 6A  is a side view of the drum assembly, in its retracted position, inserted in a coil of pipe. 
         FIG. 6B  is a side view of the drum assembly, in its extended position, inserted in a coil of pipe. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the drum assembly, in its extended position, inserted in a coil of pipe. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is an expandable coil deployment drum assembly  10  that enables coils of pipe that would normally require reels for deployment to be deployed in a very similar manner, but without reels. With the coil deployment drum assembly  10 , the necessity of reels is essentially eliminated as reels will not be required for pipe deployment (or for shipment of coils due to shipping coils with no reels). A substantial cost savings can be achieved with the elimination of reels. 
     The coil deployment drum assembly  10  is illustrated in  FIG. 2 , and includes a drum frame  12  and a plurality of drum segments  14 . As better shown in  FIG. 3 , the drum frame  12  includes a post  16  and a pair of spoke frames  18  each mounted to one end of post  16 . Post  16  can be a solid bar, but is preferably a hollow tube with open ends for providing a place to grab and manipulate the drum assembly  10 . Each spoke frame  18  includes a pair of rigid (i.e. immovable) spokes  20  and a pair of expandable spokes  22 , extending radially away from post  16 . Each rigid spoke  20  is a solid bar or hollow tube having a proximal end at the end of post  16  and a distal end away from post  16 . Each expandable spoke  22  includes a hollow tube  22   a  having a proximal end at the end of post  16  and a distal end away from post  16 , and a rigid member  22   b  (e.g. a solid bar or hollow tube) that telescopically slides in hollow tube  22   a  with the aid of bearing pads  24  (e.g. UHMW polyethylene) mounted to the sides of rigid member  22   b , as best shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . A plurality of struts  23  are each mounted to and extend between post  16  and one of the spokes  20 / 22 , or between one of the spokes  20 / 22  to another of the spokes  20 / 22 . Struts  23  provide mechanical stability, rigidity and support. 
     A plurality of drum segments  14  are each mounted to the ends of corresponding spokes  20 / 22  of spoke frames  18  (parallel to and spaced apart from post  16 ), as best shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  5 . Each drum segment  14  includes a rigid member  26  (e.g. solid bar or hollow tube), an curved plate  28  extending over the rigid member  26 , and a plurality of gussets  30  supporting the curved plate  28  on the rigid member  26 . Preferably, the drum assembly  10  is made of steel or other rigid metal. Spokes/members  20 ,  22  and  26  preferably have a rectangular cross section, for better rigidity and strength. 
     Hydraulic cylinders  34  are connected between the post  16  (via connectors  36 ) and the drum segments  14  of the expandable spokes  22  (via connectors  38 ). Hydraulic cylinders (also commonly called linear hydraulic motors) are mechanical actuators that are well known in the art, and not further described herein. Hydraulic cylinders  34  are used to move the expandable spokes  22  between a retracted position (see  FIG. 6A ) and an extended position (see  FIG. 6B ). In the retracted position, the curved plates  28  define a cylindrical section of a smaller diameter than that when in the extended position, as further explained below. 
     In a preferred non-limiting exemplary embodiment, the drum assembly  10  is configured to be used to manipulate and/or deploy coils of pipe that are approximately  84  inches in inside diameter by approximately  94  inches wide and weigh 20,000 lb. However, the structure is scalable to work with pipe coils of varying sizes and weights. The telescoping action of the expandable spokes  22  allows the drum assembly  10  to contract to approximately a 77 inch diameter. The contraction provides clearance for the drum assembly  10  to be inserted into coiled pipe  40  that is roughly  84  inches in inside diameter, as illustrated in  FIG. 6A . Once the drum assembly  10  is inserted into the coil of pipe  40 , the expandable spokes are expanded to contact the inside diameter of the pipe coil  40  with all four drum segments  14  with enough pressure on the inside of the pipe coil  40  such that the pipe coil  40  is secured to the drum assembly  10 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 6B and 7 . Upon successfully inserting and securing the drum assembly  10  into the coil of pipe  40 , the drum assembly  10  and pipe coil  40  can be lifted by a deployment trailer to deploy the pipe as it would be deployed if the pipe were on a reel. For example, the post  16  can be used to grab and manipulate the drum assembly  10  and thus the pipe coil  40  secured thereto. 
     With the use of drum assembly  10 , reels will no longer be necessary for deploying pipe. Instead, pipe can be coiled (without reels) and stored and shipped using wooden skids. Wooden skids are far lighter than reels and are disposable (i.e. no need to ship back to the pipe supplier). Using wooden skids to support coils of pipe allows for much more pipe to be shipped on a double drop trailer. Wooden skids weigh approximately 400 lb each. Therefore, 37,200 lb of pipe can be shipped using coils disposed on skids. Eliminating reels allows approximately 5600 lb more pipe to be shipped per truck, which reduces costs. Eliminating reels also eliminates the costs of reel maintenance. 
     In many applications, the drum assemblies  10  can simply stay in the field with the deployment trailers. Wherever there is a trailer to deploy pipe on a job site, there can be several drum assemblies  10 . When the coils of pipe  40  are delivered to the job site, they will be unloaded from the truck. It is at this point that the drum assembly  10  is ideally used. Since the pipe is not wrapped on a reel, there is no convenient way to mount the pipe on the deployment trailer by itself. Thus, the drum assembly  10  is inserted into the pipe coil and expanded, and then the deployment trailer can lift the coil of pipe using the post  16  of the drum frame  12 . From there, the pipe can be deployed from the drum assembly  10  in mostly the same manner as it would be deployed using a reel. Once done, the drum assembly  10  can be locally stored in the field for the next delivery of coiled pipe. 
     It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment(s) described above and illustrated herein, but encompasses any and all variations falling within the scope of the appended claims. For example, references to the present invention herein are not intended to limit the scope of any claim or claim term, but instead merely make reference to one or more features that may be covered by one or more of the claims. Materials, processes and numerical examples described above are exemplary only, and should not be deemed to limit the claims. Further, while hydraulic cylinders  34  are shown as the mechanism for moving the expandable spokes between the retracted and extended positions, other mechanical actuators could instead be used (for example, mechanical screw actuators). Hydraulic cylinders  34  could be connected to the rigid members  22   b  instead of the drum segments  14 . Lastly, while two rigid and two expandable spokes are shown and described above, fewer or additional rigid and/or expandable spokes can be used (e.g. all spokes could be expandable, or more than four spokes can be used, etc.).