The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 29, 2019
Filed:
Jun. 21, 2016
Mark S. Sankey, Washington, PA (US);
James F. Stewart, Lafayette, AL (US);
Andrew J. Pounds, Macon, GA (US);
Scott Stalnaker, Butler, GA (US);
John R. Walker, Macon, GA (US);
Aubrey Walker, Macon, GA (US);
James R. Collins, Jackson's Gap, AL (US);
Mark S. Sankey, Washington, PA (US);
James F. Stewart, Lafayette, AL (US);
Andrew J. Pounds, Macon, GA (US);
Scott Stalnaker, Butler, GA (US);
John R. Walker, Macon, GA (US);
Aubrey Walker, Macon, GA (US);
James R. Collins, Jackson's Gap, AL (US);
SPT Group LLC, Washington, PA (US);
Abstract
The present disclosure provides for a novel pig design and method of retrieval based on thermal ablation. The pig comprises an external layer and an inner core, where the inner core further comprises at least one incendiary charge comprising at least one exothermic material. When ignited via an ignition source, the incendiary charge releases the exothermic material into one or more thermal dispersion channels. The exothermic material melts the interior of these thermal dispersion channels thereby distributing the exothermic material throughout the pig device causing its destruction via thermal ablation. The destroyed pig can then be easily retrieved from its location in a pipe, as detected via radio signals, without the need for costly excavation of large sections of the pipe.