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:
Nov. 11, 2025
Filed:
May. 25, 2023
Petróleo Brasileiro S.a.—petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, BR;
Universidade Federal DE Itajubá—unifei, Itajubá, BR;
Marcelo Da Cruz Rodrigues, Rio de Janeiro, BR;
Eduardo Teixeira Da Silva, Rio de Janeiro, BR;
Andre Luiz Guedes Maricato, Rio de Janeiro, BR;
Volney Soares Lopes, Rio de Janeiro, BR;
Ricardo Risso Chaves, Itajubá, BR;
Marcos Aurélio De Souza, Itajubá, BR;
Marcelo Tai, Jr., Itajubá, BR;
PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S.A.—PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, BR;
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE ITAJUBÁ—UNIFEI, Itajubá, BR;
Abstract
The present invention discloses a pig with improvement in the suspension and centralization system, allowing it to behave properly in any diameter within a design range. The seals in the shape of petals and overlapping discs, responsible for the pressure differential that causes displacement of the pig inside the pipe, were designed to close gradually when necessary, until reaching the minimum internal diameter of the pipe. In this configuration, the face of the seals normally generates a lot of friction with the inner wall of the pipe, making it difficult to move. Metal wafers () were developed and applied to the seals to reduce friction. A coupling element () was also developed to interconnect the different modules of the pig allowing wide movement of the pig inside the pipe, facilitating its passage by sharp curves and inside the equipment. The pig has petal and disk type seals, mechanical centralization and cleaning module () and interconnecting tubes ().