Container system for hydraulic fracturing proppants
OwnerTimothy Stefaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein is an improved container for storing, shipping, and dispensing proppant materials used in hydraulic fracturing operations. The container systems incorporate stretchable hopper structures in the container. The hopper expands and contracts responsive to the amount of proppant material held in the container. When the container is filled with a sufficient amount of proppant, the hopper stretches to expand the storage volume. When the sufficient amount of proppant material is dispensed from the container, the hopper contracts to lift and dispense the container contents.
Claims13
A container system for one or more hydraulic fracturing proppants, said container system comprising:
- (a) an expandable and contractable interior storage volume that holds one or more hydraulic fracturing proppants, said interior storage volume expanding and contracting responsive to an amount of the one or more proppants held in the storage volume;
- and
- (b) a stretchable hopper defining at least a portion of the interior storage volume.
A container system for one or more hydraulic fracturing proppants, said container system comprising:
- (a) a support;
- (b) a stretchable membrane coupled to the support in a manner effective to define at least a portion of a changeable storage volume, the size of the storage volume changing responsive to the amount of the one or more proppants held in the storage volume,
- (c) an outlet fluidly coupled to the storage volume in a manner so that the one or more proppants can be dispensed from the storage volume through the outlet on demand;
- and wherein:
- i. the membrane expands to increase the storage volume as the storage volume is filled with more of the one or more proppants;
- and
- ii. the membrane contracts to decrease the storage volume as the storage volume is emptied of the one or more proppants, said membrane contraction causing the storage volume to have an inverted, truncated cone-shape that converges towards the outlet to facilitate dispensing the one or more proppants from the storage volume through the outlet.
A container system for one or more hydraulic fracturing proppants, said container system comprising:
- a housing having an interior volume;
- a stretchable membrane coupled to the housing in a manner effective to define at least a portion of a changeable storage volume, wherein the membrane stretches and contracts to change the size of the storage volume responsive to the amount of the one or more proppants held in the storage volume;
- an outlet fluidly coupled to the storage volume in a manner so that the one or more proppants can be dispensed from the storage volume through the outlet on demand;
- and
- wherein, when the amount of the one or more proppants held in the storage volume is sufficiently low, the membrane has a contracted state in which the storage volume has an inverted, truncated cone shape that converges towards the outlet to form a hopper that facilitates dispensing the one or more proppants from the storage volume through the outlet;
- and
- wherein, when the amount of the one or more proppants held in the storage volume is sufficiently high, the membrane has a stretched state in which the membrane stretches sufficiently so that the one or more proppants held in the storage volume defined by the stretched membrane substantially fill the interior volume of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.