Spectacle blind swinging devices and related methods
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorsAli A. Aliwi, Ridha A. Alhassan, Shadi M. Hazmi, Mohammad H. Abutalib
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A swinging device and related methods; the swinging device includes a first housing mountable to a first pipe on a first side of a pipe flange joint, a second housing mountable to a second pipe on a second side of a pipe flange joint, a shaft rotatably mounted to and extending between the first and second housings, and a spectacle blind mounted to the shaft such that rotating the shaft correspondingly rotates the spectacle blind between an open position, where the spectacle blind allows flow through the pipe flange joint, and a closed positon, where the spectacle blind prevents flow through the pipe flange joint.
Claims20
A swinging device, comprising:
- a first housing mountable to a first pipe on a first side of a pipe flange joint;
- a second housing mountable to a second pipe on a second side of a pipe flange joint;
- a shaft rotatably mounted to and extending between the first and second housings;
- a gear train operatively coupled to the shaft such that driving the gear train correspondingly rotates the shaft;
- and
- a spectacle blind mounted to the shaft such that rotating the shaft correspondingly rotates the spectacle blind between an open position, whereby the spectacle blind allows flow through the pipe flange joint, and a closed position positon, whereby the spectacle blind prevents flow through the pipe flange joint.
A method of operating a swinging device, comprising:
- removing a plurality of fasteners that secure a first flange of a first pipe to a second flange of a second pipe at a pipe flange joint, wherein the swinging device includes:
- a first housing mounted to the first pipe on a first side of the pipe flange joint;
- a second housing mounted to the second pipe on a second side of the pipe flange joint;
- a shaft rotatably mounted to and extending between the first and second housings;
- a gear train operatively coupled to the shaft such that driving the gear train correspondingly rotates the shaft;
- and
- a spectacle blind mounted to the shaft;
- driving the gear train to thereby rotate the shaft and the spectacle blind to either an open position, where the spectacle blind allows flow through the pipe flange joint, or a closed position positon, where the spectacle blind prevents flow through the pipe flange joint;
- and
- reinstalling the plurality of fasteners once the spectacle blind is moved to the open position or the closed position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.