PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16089200
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-09
Publication Date: 2019-04
Patent Classification: ["166", "075150"]

Abstract:
A tool for launching wiper plugs into a casing string in a gas or oil well during cementing operations employs a collet-like mechanism carrying radially-movable jaws arranged to retain a plug in a fluid flow path when the tool is in a closed position, and to release the plug into the fluid flow path when the tool is in an open position. Selection of the desired operational position of the plug launcher (i.e., open or closed) is effected by actuation of an axially-movable sliding sleeve. Alternative means for actuating the sliding sleeve include rotary actuation about the tool's longitudinal axis, rotary actuation about a radial axis generally normal to the longitudinal axis, rotary actuation about a generally tangent axis, and pneumatic or hydraulic actuation. The tool may be adapted to carry multiple wiper plugs for sequential launching into a casing string.

Claim (Index 2):
A plug-launching tool comprising:\n (a) a generally axisymmetric housing having a housing bore; (b) a generally cylindrical receiver cage having a main body with upper and lower ends and defining a plug receiver bore, wherein:\n (b.1) the receiver cage is coaxially disposed within the housing; \n (b.2) the housing bore is configured to support the receiver cage at the upper end and/or at the lower end thereof, and defines a housing bore annulus between the housing and the receiver cage's main body; \n (b.3) the housing bore extends through housing and the receiver cage, and is configured to allow downstream passage of a selected plug; and \n (b.4) upper and lower sets of receiver cage ports extend through a wall of the receiver cage's main body, defining an unported receiver cage interval between the upper receiver cage ports and the lower receiver cage ports, and defining a retained plug interval in a middle region of the receiver cage's main body, with the length of the retained plug interval being at least approximately equal to the length of the selected plug; \n (c) a sliding sleeve coaxially and slidably disposed within the housing bore annulus in a region generally corresponding to the upper ports in the receiver cage, wherein the sliding sleeve is movable between:\n (c.1) a closed position in which the upper receiver cage ports are uncovered so as to allow fluid flow into the housing bore annulus through the upper receiver cage ports; and \n (c.2) an open position in which the upper receiver cage ports are at least partially blocked so as to restrict fluid flow into the housing bore annulus, such that at least part of the fluid flow will be diverted through the retained plug interval; \n (d) actuation means, for axially moving the sliding sleeve between a closed position and an open position; (e) a fluid flow path by-passing the retained plug interval, to allow downstream fluid flow within the housing annulus to the lower receiver cage ports; and (f) a collet assembly comprising a plurality of collet jaws linked to the sliding sleeve by collet arms extending axially downward from the sliding sleeve, wherein:\n (f.1) the collet assembly is configured to axially position each collet jaw in an associated lower receiver cage lower port such that the collet jaws will extend radially inward into the plug receiver bore; \n (f.2) the collet arms are engageable with the housing bore through a first cam interface to urge the collet jaws toward their closed position when the sliding sleeve is moved toward its closed position; and \n (f.3) the collet jaws are engageable with the receiver cage through a second cam interface between the jaw segments and surfaces of the receiver cage ports in which they move, so as to urge the collet jaws toward the open position when the sliding sleeve is moved toward its open position.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 31.0
- Percentile: 97.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.96154
- Patent Class: 166.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['14083021', '12469370', '10867960', '12505952', '15805721']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7909507775627374
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4904231231175369
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7608980121182174
- Mean Citation Score: 220.428328
- Max Citation Score: 229.80963
- Similarity Product: 146.46218708061397

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test