US 12,442,478 B2
Pipe isolation device with seal
Brian Michael Gresh, Sugar Land, TX (US); and David Benjamin Aldren, Sugar Land, TX (US)
Assigned to Team Industrial Services, Inc., Sugar Land, TX (US)
Appl. No. 17/784,943
Filed by Team Industrial Services, Inc., Sugar Land, TX (US)
PCT Filed Dec. 16, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/065221
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 13, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/126913, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 24, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/949,089, filed on Dec. 17, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0022125 A1, Jan. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. F16L 55/105 (2006.01)
CPC F16L 55/105 (2013.01) 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A pipe isolation device, comprising:
a control bar head;
a first sealing head having a first sliding engagement, the first sliding engagement permitting the first sealing head to slide relative to the control bar head along a first fixed path and to traverse a right angle to gain access to an interior space of a pipe;
a second sealing head having a second sliding engagement, the second sliding engagement permitting the second sealing head to slide relative to the first sealing head along a second fixed path and to traverse the right angle to gain access to an interior space of the pipe;
a first seal element disposed on the first sealing head, wherein the first seal element has a first axially-offset configuration such that a first top section of the first seal element is axially-offset from a first bottom section of the first seal element when the first sealing head is in a first set and sealed position; and
a second seal element disposed on the second sealing head, wherein the second seal element has a second axially-offset configuration such that a second top section of the second seal element is axially-offset from a second bottom section of the second seal element when the second sealing head is in a second set and sealed position.
 
12. A method of isolating a pipe, the method comprising:
locking a first sealing head and a second sealing head in a fully retracted position with a locking mechanism in a locked state;
conveying the first sealing head and the second sealing head in the fully retracted position and with the locking mechanism in the locked state through a lateral access opening in the pipe, the first sealing head slidably connected to a control bar head and the second sealing head slidably connected to the first sealing head;
releasing the locking mechanism from the locked state to an unlocked state in response to an applied force as the control bar head is conveyed through the lateral access opening so as to permit the first sealing head and the second sealing head to move to a fully set position; and
sliding the first sealing head along a first sliding engagement and sliding the second sealing head along a second sliding engagement to the fully set position as the control bar head continues its travel through the lateral access opening;
wherein a first seal element is disposed on the first sealing head and the first seal element has a first axially-offset configuration such that a first top section of the first seal element is axially-offset from a first bottom section of the first seal element when the first sealing head is in the fully set position; and
wherein a second seal element is disposed on the second sealing head and the second seal element has a second axially-offset configuration such that a second top section of the second seal element is axially-offset from a second bottom section of the second seal element when the second sealing head is in the fully set position;
wherein the first sealing head and the second sealing head each form a seal in the pipe in the fully set position via the first seal element and second seal element respectively.