PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15864203
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-01
Publication Date: 2018-08
Patent Classification: ["166", "291000"]

Abstract:
An improved method and apparatus for dropping a ball, plug or dart during oil and gas well operations (e.g., cementing operations) employs a specially configured valving member with curved and flat portions that alternatively direct fluid flow through a bore or opening in the valving member via an inner channel or around the periphery of the valving member in an outer channel. In one embodiment, the ball(s), dart(s) or plug(s) are contained in a sliding sleeve that shifts position responsive to valve rotation. An optional indicator indicates to a user or operator that a ball or plug has passed a selected one of the valving members.

Claim (Index 21):
A method of transmitting a cementitious mass into a well casing, comprising the steps of:\n a) providing a housing having an inlet at its upper end adapted to be fluidly connected in line with the lower end of a top drive, an outlet generally aligned with the inlet, a flow channel that connects the inlet and the outlet, said channel including an inner channel and an outer channel, one or more valving members spaced between the inlet and the outlet, each valving member having a flow bore, and being movable between open and closed positions; b) enabling fluid to bypass the one or more valving members via the outer channel when said valving member is in the closed position; c) flowing fluid in the outer channel and around said valving member when said valving member is in the closed position and through said valving member via the inner channel when said valving member is in the open position; d) supporting a dart with said valving member when closed; e) permitting the dart to pass said valving member when open; f) connecting the housing to a section of casing below the one or more valving members, the casing having a casing bore; g) placing one or more casing plugs in the casing bore, each plug having a casing plug opening; h) launching a first of said darts downward from the housing into the casing until it interlocks with a first of the casing plugs at said casing plug opening; i) pumping a fluid into the casing to force the first casing plug and dart downwardly, said fluid including cement; and j) launching a second of said darts from the housing into the casing down until it connects with a second of the casing plugs; and k) pumping the second casing plug and dart downwardly with the fluid.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 71.0
- Percentile: 86.0
- Lexical Diversity: 1.69863
- Patent Class: 166.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15205881', '13603144', '12548577', '14149243', '12956331']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.8251586276694651
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5655939751450314
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7992021624170218
- Mean Citation Score: 447.904634
- Max Citation Score: 453.79532
- Similarity Product: 446.3112152312422

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