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:
Apr. 10, 2012
Filed:
Jul. 06, 2010
Charles Culver Gidden Cooper, Arvada, CO (US);
Mark Russell Henault, Westminster, CO (US);
Robert F. Strong, Collinsville, OK (US);
Eric N. Freeman, Kiefer, OK (US);
Charles Culver Gidden Cooper, Arvada, CO (US);
Mark Russell Henault, Westminster, CO (US);
Robert F. Strong, Collinsville, OK (US);
Eric N. Freeman, Kiefer, OK (US);
TDW Delaware, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A method for progressively dewatering a pipe or pipeline includes the use of a loose-fitting spherical- or quasi-spherical shaped pig body which rolls forward through the interior space of the pipe and temporarily captures and redistributes a portion of the volume of liquids available for capture and redistribution as the pig body rolls on past. Preferably, the portion captured is less than the volume available for capture. A part of the captured liquid may be redistributed to an upper quadrant of the pipe. Capture and redistribution are accomplished by way of a first bypass pathway and a second bypass pathway. One of the pathways may be a through-body pathway. The pig body may be a hollow pig body with a plurality of spaced-apart ports, a solid pig body with a plurality of paddle-like structures, or a cube-sphere type pig body with recessed external wall surfaces.