Self sealing hydraulic coupler
AssigneeVetco Gray Inc.
InventorKarl A. Parfrey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hydraulic coupler for providing fluid communication between adjacent members that includes a two way check valve formed from a double headed poppet set in a hollow cylinder with corrugated bellows like walls. Contoured bores are provided in the cylinder ends and the poppet heads are profiled to match the contour of the bores. When the heads are seated in the bores they form a sealing surface to block fluid from flowing through the coupler. Compressively preloading the cylinder before assembly provides a sealing force between the heads and the bores. Axially compressing the cylinder with respect to the poppet unseats the heads from the bores to form a flow path through the coupler.
Claims10
A hydraulic coupler for use in communicating fluid between members used in hydrocarbon production subsea comprising:
- first and second subsea well members, each having a hydraulic fluid port;
- a hollow tubular mounted to the second member and having a resilient corrugated side wall and a longitudinal axis, the interior of the tubular being in fluid communication with the hydraulic fluid port in the second member;
- a second seat in an end of the tubular proximate the second member;
- a first seat on an end of the tubular opposite the second seat and facing away from the second seat;
- and
- a poppet member coaxially disposed in the tubular having first and second ends, so that when the tubular is in a pre-loaded axially compressed configuration, the first end is in sealing engagement with the first seat and the second end is in sealing engagement with the second seat.
A method of hydraulically coupling members used in subsea hydrocarbon production, comprising:
- a. providing on a member used in subsea hydrocarbon production, an axially compliant hollow tubular having seats at its ends, a poppet member coaxially disposed in the tubular with ends extending outside the ends of the tubular and in sealing engagement with the seats, so that an end of the tubular is in pressure communication with a region ambient to the member and the opposite end of the tubular is in pressure communication with a flow line within the member;
- b. compressing the tubular by applying an axial force to opposing ends of the tubular thereby breaching the sealing engagements between the ends of the poppets and the seats;
- c. flowing fluid between the poppet and an end of the tubular, through the tubular, and out the other end of the tubular;
- and
- d. removing the force compressing the tubular so that the resilient tubular returns to the configuration in step (a) and sealing engagement reoccurs between the tubular ends and poppet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.