Apparatus and method for puncturing a pipe
AssigneeSpeciality Earth Sciences
InventorsJason Swearingen, Lindsay Swearingen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for puncturing a pipe in-situ is presently disclosed. The apparatus has an actuator in communication with a remote controller. A firing assembly has a firing chamber and a firing pin, wherein the firing pin is in communication with the actuator. The firing chamber is configured to hold and fire a bullet radially toward the pipe, upon the firing pin being actuated with the actuator. The method includes the steps of inserting a pipe puncturing apparatus into a pipe, activating an actuator, communicating the activation of the actuator to a hammer and moving a firing pin in the hammer to impinge a cartridge and fire a bullet.
Claims20
A pneumatically activated apparatus for puncturing a pipe in-situ comprising:
- a pneumatic actuator;
- a firing assembly having a firing pin in pneumatic communication with the actuator;
- a firing chamber configured and disposed to hold a cartridge and fire a bullet radially toward the pipe, upon the firing pin pneumatically moving and impinging upon the cartridge;
- the actuator, the firing assembly, and the firing chamber each being secured to form the pneumatically activated apparatus;
- and
- the pneumatically activated apparatus having a width at least as great as a length of the firing chamber and less than an inner diameter of the pipe to be punctured.
A method for puncturing a pipe in-situ comprising the steps of:
- loading a pneumatic pipe puncturing apparatus with a bullet:
- inserting the pipe puncturing apparatus into the pipe to be punctured and aligning the bullet to have a direction of fire substantially perpendicular to a wall of the pipe to be punctured;
- activating an actuator;
- pneumatically moving a firing pin, in response to the activation of the actuator, and impinging a cartridge holding the bullet;
- and
- firing the bullet and puncturing the pipe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.