Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L19/00—Joints in which sealing surfaces are pressed together by means of a member, e.g. a swivel nut, screwed on or into one of the joint parts
  • F16L19/08—Joints in which sealing surfaces are pressed together by means of a member, e.g. a swivel nut, screwed on or into one of the joint parts with metal rings which bite into the wall of the pipe
  • F16L19/10—Joints in which sealing surfaces are pressed together by means of a member, e.g. a swivel nut, screwed on or into one of the joint parts with metal rings which bite into the wall of the pipe the profile of the ring being altered
  • F16L19/103—Joints in which sealing surfaces are pressed together by means of a member, e.g. a swivel nut, screwed on or into one of the joint parts with metal rings which bite into the wall of the pipe the profile of the ring being altered with more than one ring per pipe end being used
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16L19/00—Joints in which sealing surfaces are pressed together by means of a member, e.g. a swivel nut, screwed on or into one of the joint parts
  • F16L19/08—Joints in which sealing surfaces are pressed together by means of a member, e.g. a swivel nut, screwed on or into one of the joint parts with metal rings which bite into the wall of the pipe
  • F16L19/10—Joints in which sealing surfaces are pressed together by means of a member, e.g. a swivel nut, screwed on or into one of the joint parts with metal rings which bite into the wall of the pipe the profile of the ring being altered

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a connector device for connecting substantially tubular elements.
• NO 2007 1304, filed March 9, 2007 by the present applicant, relates to a sealing and anchoring device for use in pipelines, the sealing and anchoring device including at least one helical member arranged around a string section, wherein the helical member is designed to be able to be expanded radially outwardly against an inner wall of the pipeline by increasing the circumferential diameter thereof.
• NO 2007 1304 is based on the good expansion and compression properties of helical members, and provides particularly suited metal-to-metal seals, elastomer seals, anchoring devices, or any combination of one of more thereof.
• the present invention further exploits the special properties of helical members, with the present invention aiming, in particular, to provide a connector device for connecting substantially tubular elements.
• NO 2007 1304 is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
• Figs. 1a and 1b show an embodiment of the present invention before the final connection has been engaged
• Figs. 2a and 2a show the same embodiment after the final connection has been engaged
• Figs. 3a and 3d show a helical member in an unloaded condition before the final connection has been engaged
• Figs. 3c and 3d show a helical member in a loaded condition after the final connection has been engaged.
• Fig. 1a shows a pipe 6 about to be connected to a tool (not shown) attached to a connector body 2.
• the connector body 2 comprises a connector sleeve 1 surrounding sealing elements 3a, 3b, as well as an anchoring element 4.
• Connector sleeve 1 has a threaded connection 9 to connector body 2.
• a sealing element 9 is provided on connector body 2, so that the body seals against connector sleeve 1 when connector body 2 and connector sleeve 1 are threadingly fully engaged.
• connector sleeve 1 and connector body 2 has spiral/helical end faces 7, 8 in order to accommodate the helical shape of sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring elements 4 in such a manner that a rotational locking of these elements are achieved, as well an axial locking.
• connector sleeve 1 When pipe 6 is to be connected to the tool, connector sleeve 1 , together with sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring element 4, are guided onto pipe 6.
• Connector sleeve 1 has a sufficient clearance to the outer diameter of pipe 6, so that connector sleeve 1 may easily be entered onto the end of pipe 6.
• Sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring element 4 include helical members with windings having a relatively large slope in the unloaded condition, i.e. before the connection is set by screwing together the threaded connection 9, with the helical members expanding radially inwardly against pipe 6 when being axially com- pressed, i.e. when the threaded connection 9 is screwed together.
• This is shown in figs. 3a and 3b.
• the unloaded inner circumferences of the helical members are adapted so as to provide a sufficient clearance to the outer diameter of pipe 6. When the helical members are loaded (figs. 3c and 3d), the inner circumferences of the helical members are reduced, causing the elements to engage pipe 6 sur- rounded thereby.
• the ratio between the axial compression, the radial expansion of the helical members, and the diameters/dimensions of the elements involved is chosen so that a certain penetration into the surface of pipe 6 occurs on maximum axial compression, i.e. when the threaded connection 9 has been fully tightened.
• the present invention provides a strong anchoring between the tool and pipe 6 by means of anchoring element 4, as well as a complete seal by means of sealing elements 3a, 3b.
• seal 5 When pipe 6 is hydraulically pressurized, seal 5, together with sealing elements 3a, 3b, will keep the connection sealed, while at the same time the hydraulic force acting on the connection will increase the tension on sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring element 4, so that a connection is formed that is able to react dynamic pressure loads of varying size. Likewise, when an axial mechanical tensile load is applied, sealing elements 3a, 3b as well as anchoring element 4 will be further tensioned. Axial compressive loads are handled in that at installation time, the connection is compacted, and any axial movement is stored in connector body 2 by landing pipe 6 thereon.
• sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring element 4 When an axial compressive force is applied to sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring element 4 by screwing together the threaded connection 9 and pressing contact surfaces 7, 8 on each side of sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring element 4 against each other, the slope of the helical members will change so that the preferably substantially rectangular, slightly sloping windings of the helical members are caused to rise to thereby adapt to the reduced available volume.
• the sealing material 3b will be squeezed and partially deformed against pipe 6 and the inside of connector sleeve 1 due to an upscaling of the radial compressive forces.
• the slopes and ability to rise of the helical members ensure that any volume variations in the annular space defined between pipe 6 and connector sleeve 1 , with the volume variations resulting from ovalities, for example, are filled by sealing elements 3a, 3b and anchoring element 4 in such a manner that such volume variations have no significant impact on the ability of the connector device to provide an adequate sealing and anchoring.
• a helical member having “substantially rectangular, slightly 5 sloping windings” relates to the wire cross section of the helical member, with rectangular referring to that the wire cross section has a height that is larger than the width so that a lever effect can be achieved, and with the wire cross section generally having a shape optimizing the seal against the inner wall of pipe 6.
• “slightly sloping” or “sloping” relates to an angle that may vary io and is optimized based on the actual applications and on experience.
• anchoring elements 4 As mentioned above, the same lever effect will be achieved for anchoring elements 4, but in this case it is desirable that the spiral material of anchoring elements 4 penetrates into the outer wall of pipe 6 to get a firm grip thereon. It is not i5 desirable, however, for the anchoring elements 4 to get stuck in the inner surface of connector sleeve 1 , as this may cause problems on the axial setting of sealing elements 3a, 3b, and also on a subsequent release.
• Sealing elements 3a, 3b and/or anchoring elements 4 are released by unscrewing 20 the threaded connection 9. With that, the spiral windings will assume their original shape, and sealing elements 3a, 3b and/or anchoring elements 4 will let go of pipe 6. The connector device will then be ready for the next use.
• a functional sealing according to the present invention should 25 also include sealing material providing a seal between each winding of the helical members as well as against the inside of compression sleeve 1.
• Any sealing material 3b provided on the helical members should be properly attached, and the surfaces of the helical members may typically be grooved or otherwise provide a good grip for the sealing material 3b.
• end stops may also be provided 30 on the helical members, so that the sealing material 3b has a strong abutment to set against should it start sliding along the helical members.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Mutual Connection Of Rods And Tubes (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=39831167

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (1)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (1)

• 2007
  • 2007-04-04 NO NO20071778A patent/NO330760B1/no not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2008
  • 2008-04-04 WO PCT/NO2008/000126 patent/WO2008123780A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (4)

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