Fracture sand silo system and methods of deployment and retraction of same
AssigneeSolaris Oilfield Site Services Operating LLC
InventorsTerry McIver, John Cunningham
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to novel transportable silo systems for storage of materials. The invention relates to self-erecting silo storage systems for use in the oil and natural gas mining and drilling industries. The silo storage systems of embodiments of the instant invention are uniquely designed to improve storage capabilities and mobility while at the same time reducing space requirements at well sites.
Claims75
A storage system comprising:
- a) a trailer, the trailer including:
- (1) a trailer bed;
- (2) a flipper mechanism coupled to said trailer bed;
- (3) a rocker arm coupled to said trailer bed and said flipper mechanism;
- (4) a first hook plate and a second hook plate attached to said flipper mechanism, wherein said first hook plate and said second hook plate are laterally opposed to each other on said flipper mechanism and wherein said first hook plate and said second hook plate are oriented at a first non-zero angle with respect to each other;
- b) a storage bin, the storage bin including:
- (1) a plurality of support legs;
- (2) a first pin and a second pin attached to said plurality of support legs, said first pin coupleable to said first hook plate and said second pin coupleable to said second hook plate.
The storage system of claim, 1 wherein said first pin and said second pin are oriented at approximately 90 degrees with respect to one another.
A method of raising a storage bin to a vertical position comprising:
- a) positioning a trailer onto the surface of a base platform;
- b) activating independent hydraulic jacks to elevate the rear end of said trailer;
- c) wherein said trailer includes:
- (1) a flipper mechanism coupled to said trailer;
- (2) a rocker arm coupled to said trailer and said flipper mechanism;
- (3) a first hook plate and a second hook plate attached to said flipper mechanism, wherein said first hook plate and said second hook plate are laterally opposed to each other on said flipper mechanism and oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to each other;
- d) wherein said first hook plate and said second hook plate are coupled to pins attached to support legs on said storage bin;
- e) activating an actuator coupled to said rocker arm to raise said storage bin to a vertical position;
- f) releasing said hydraulic jacks to lower said rear end of said trailer to thereby disengage said storage bin from said hook plates and vertically position said storage bin on the surface of said base platform.
The method of claim, 56 wherein said first pin and said second pin are oriented at approximately 90 degrees with respect to one another.
A method of lowering a storage bin to a horizontal position on a trailer comprising:
- a) positioning a trailer onto the surface of a base platform;
- b) activating independent hydraulic jacks to elevate the rear end of said trailer to engage pins attached to support legs of the storage bin;
- c) wherein said trailer includes:
- 1) a flipper mechanism coupled to said trailer;
- 2) a rocker arm coupled to said trailer and said flipper mechanism;
- 3) a first hook plate and a second hook plate attached to said flipper mechanism, wherein said first and second hook plate are laterally opposed to each other on said flipper mechanism and oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to each other, said first and second hook plates are coupled to first and second pins attached to support legs on said storage bin;
- d) activating an actuator coupled to said rocker arm to lower said storage bin to a horizontal position;
- e) releasing said hydraulic jacks to lower said rear end of said trailer.
The method of claim, 65 wherein said first pin and said second pin are oriented at approximately 90 degrees with respect to one another.
A trailer comprising:
- a) a trailer bed;
- b) a flipper mechanism rotatably coupled to said trailer bed;
- c) a rocker arm coupled to said trailer bed and said flipper mechanism;
- d) a first hook plate and a second hook plate attached to said flipper mechanism, wherein said first hook plate and said second hook plate are laterally opposed to each other on said flipper mechanism and wherein said first hook plate and said second hook plate are oriented at a first non-zero angle with respect to each other;
- e) an actuator coupled to said rocker arm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.