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US 12,222,059 B2Granted
Isolation tool and methods of isolating a section of pipe or a vessel
AssigneeEnReach Hot Tap Services Inc.
InventorsDavid Naber, Amanjeet Dhaliwal, Alexander Skiba
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure provides an isolation tool for isolating a section of pipe or a vessel and methods for isolating a section of a pipe or a vessel. In particular, the present disclosure provides a double isolation and bleed (DIB) isolation tool, for use in line-stopping operations and methods of line isolation employing the isolation tool.
Claims23
An isolation tool for isolating a section of a pipe or a vessel, the isolation tool comprising:
- a head unit configured for location in a section of a pipe or a vessel, the head unit comprising:
- one or more grooves around a circumference of the head unit, each of the one or more grooves comprising a first end within the head unit, a second end open to the exterior of the head unit, and a curvature therebetween, the curvature being a bend formed by opposing and complementarily oriented walls of the groove, with one of the walls having a larger radius of curvature than the other to form the bend;
- and
- a circumferential seal element disposed within each of the one or more grooves and spanning at least a portion of the curvature;
- wherein the circumferential seal element is configured within the groove such that a force at or near the first end of the groove imparts radial expansion of the circumferential seal element at the second end of the groove via the curvature in the groove, and
- wherein the circumferential seal element is slidably moved along or pushed through the curvature by the force to impart the radial expansion.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.