Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Coil holder or support – Spool or core
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-25
2001-07-17
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 2653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Coil holder or support
Spool or core
C242S605000, C242S606000, C242S607100, C242S608000, C242S594300, C242S597700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260791
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Foldable and stackable device for spooling flexible tubular pipes The present invention relates to a device for spooling flexible tubular pipes.
The pipes in question are, in particular, the pipes for conveying hydrocarbons laid under water from laying vessels. Such pipes are well known and may be continuous or made of sections connected together. Their rigidity varies and the term “flexible pipes” as used here is understood simply as meaning that they can be spooled into large-diameter reels without plastic deformation.
Flexible tubular pipes are produced in long lengths on land and have to then be transported to the laying site either directly on the laying vessel when the distance between the land-based yard and the laying site is not too great, or generally on an intermediate transport barge which takes them out to the laying vessel.
There are two known types of dockside and on-board containers for spooling the pipes, namely reels and carousels. A reel consists of a horizontal spooling axle held between two cheeks, all of a modest size (for example 9×9×5 m
3
) and capacity (190 tons), while a carousel is defined by a large plate with a vertical-axis central spooling column, all of a very large size (for example 16 m radius) and capacity (2000 tons). While reels can be handled individually with relative ease, carousels cannot. Loading a pipe on board from the dockside is done in one of three ways: either by transporting reels (hereafter termed the reel-reel solution), or by transferring the pipe from dockside reels onto an on-board carousel (hereafter termed the reel-carousel solution), or by transferring the pipe from a dockside carousel onto an on-board carousel (hereafter termed the carousel-carousel solution).
The drawbacks of reels are, on the one hand, that their small diameter demands pipes which are fairly flexible (which allow relatively small minimum bend radius), and that their wound-up length not be too long. If the pipe is stored on board on reels (the reel-reel solution), then the total on board length is modest, and the cost of returning empty reels is high, given the amount of space that is lost. By contrast, the reel-reel solution is particularly flexible when loading dockside, and loading can be carried out quickly and safely.
In the reel-carousel solution, the total on-board length is greater, but the process of transferring reels to carousel is lengthy (which leads to boat downtime costs) and incurs risks of twisting the pipe. Furthermore, returning with the boat's carousel empty is expensive.
The carousel-carousel solution makes it possible to load on board pipes which are both considerably longer and possibly less flexible, although not only is the loading operation slow and inflexible, like in the previous instance, but risks of production coming to a complete standstill in the event of problems with spooling are not completely avoided. The problem of returning empty is not solved either.
Reels with two flanges connected by a hub, and of moderate size and partially foldable, are known in the context of the spooling and transporting of cables or the like. For example, patent FR 2 698 623 A discloses a reel with two flanges, the specific feature of which is that the flanges can be folded along a chord. In documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,677 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,147 A, EP 0 745 549 A or DE 35 36555 A, on the other hand, it is the hub which is foldable. These solutions, which at best provide quite a small saving of space in the radial direction of the flanges, cannot be read across to the field of the large-size reels and carousels to which the invention relates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The purpose of the invention is to develop a possibility for transporting pipes using a more suitable spooling device, which avoids most of the drawbacks of the known solutions without losing their advantages.
According to the invention, there is proposed a device for spooling flexible tubular pipe, of the type comprising at least one spooling wheel consisting of a spooling hub and of spokes extending from the hub in a radial plane, wherein the spokes are articulated to the hub so that they can be folded towards the axis of the hub, which makes it possible to considerably reduce the volume of the wheel when empty.
Advantageously, each spoke comprises, along its length, one or more articulations allowing it to be folded up on itself, which further reduces the volume of the wheel when empty.
Advantageously, each spoke comprises two branched articulated parts which, when deployed in the said radial plane, can give a different very large capacity for spooling.
The wheels of the invention can be stacked on an existing ship carousel, but according to a very advantageous aspect of the invention, several wheels are associated with a special-purpose stacking pallet placed on the deck of the boat, which pallet may or may not comprise a column for centering the spooling wheels. The pallet is preferably motorized to allow the flexible pipe to be paid out in the same way as with a conventional carousel.
It is advantageous for the hub of the wheels to be self-stacking. It is also advantageous for the hub of the wheels to have a size which, after the arms have been folded, allows the wheel to be transported in a standard size container. It is also advantageous for there to be at least one inner, preferably radially adjustable, and/or outer spooling stop on the arms.
By virtue of these features it is possible for the spooling wheels to be handled individually using dockside cranes or on-board cranes with the same speed, modularity and flexibility as with conventional reels, but without being in any way limited in terms of flexibility, because the wheels may have a diameter of the order of that of a conventional carousel rather than that of a reel. The wheels with their spooling are stacked on board on the associated pallet and form a carousel with advantages similar to those of a conventional carousel.
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patent: 5649677 (1997-07-01), Barney
patent: 3536555 (1987-04-01), None
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patent: 2698623 (1994-06-01), None
Coflexip
Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen, LLP
Pham Minh-Chau
Walsh Donald P.
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