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EP0244068A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ball valve for undersea pipelines
Assignee: Equinor ASA
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Filing: 1987-03-11
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-03-11
Abstract
Abstract A ball valve device for subsea applications, particularly intended to be connected into subsea pipeline systems which lead a flowing medium (gas and/or oil) in subsea condition, capable of being dismantled for inspection and maintenance. The ball arrangement of the valve consists of an upper ball member (3), and a lower ball member (4) the upper ball member (3) includes the main packings of the valve, while the lower ball member (4) includes two axially withdrawable sleeves (13). When the valve is open the sleeves (13) can be withdrawn outwards for intervention with guides in the valve housing (1) and thereby form a tight continuous passageway which extends from one of the openings in the valve housing (1) to the second opening in the valve housing (1). The axial withdrawable sleeves (13) can be moved inwards to a position where they are free from its other guides to allow the ball arrangement to rotate during closing of the valve.
Inventors
- 👤 Knut Horvei
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 11:43
CPC Classifications
F; F16; F16K; F16K27/00; F16K27/06; F16K27/067; F16K5/00; F16K5/06; F16K5/0647; E; E21; E21B; E21B2200/00; E21B2200/03; E21B2200/04; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T137/00; Y10T137/598; Y10T137/6031; Y10T137/6035; Y10T137/6089; Y10T137/6099; Y10T137/7504; Y10T137/7668
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
171 words
A valve for subsea pipeline systems which lead a flowing medium comprising a housing and within the housing, a rotatable valve member having a bore therethrough and means for rotating the rotatable valve member between an open position in which the bore is aligned with the pipeline and a closed position in which the bore is out of alignment with the pipeline, characterised in that the valve member (3) includes an upper ball member (3) and a lower ball member (4), in which the upper ball member (3) includes the main packings (25) of the valve, and the lower ball member (4) includes two sleeves (13), forming part of the bore in the valve member, the sleeves being axially movable between an operational position in which they cooperate with the housing to form a continuous passageway through the housing and prevent rotation of the valve member, and a withdrawn position in which they do not engage the housing thereby allowing rotation of the valve member between the open and closed positions.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
171 words
A valve for subsea pipeline systems which lead a flowing medium comprising a housing and within the housing, a rotatable valve member having a bore therethrough and means for rotating the rotatable valve member between an open position in which the bore is aligned with the pipeline and a closed position in which the bore is out of alignment with the pipeline, characterised in that the valve member (3) includes an upper ball member (3) and a lower ball member (4), in which the upper ball member (3) includes the main packings (25) of the valve, and the lower ball member (4) includes two sleeves (13), forming part of the bore in the valve member, the sleeves being axially movable between an operational position in which they cooperate with the housing to form a continuous passageway through the housing and prevent rotation of the valve member, and a withdrawn position in which they do not engage the housing thereby allowing rotation of the valve member between the open and closed positions.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
61 words
A valve as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the upper ball member (3) has a stem which is mounted in a valve housing bonnet (2) and the upper ball member (3) is connected to the lower ball member (4) by means of a cylindrical control member (5) and guide faces (6) extending generally parallel to the stem axis (7).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
A valve as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterised in that the sleeves (13) of the lower ball member (4) can be moved by means of an axially movable rack (14) engaging gear wheels (15) mounted on the lower ball member (4) which respectively engage a rack (16) on each of the sleeves (13) for movement back and forwards along the sleeve axis.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
A valve as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that the top of the rack (14) threadably engages a screw (17) which is connected to a rotor in a sleeve actuator (19), whereby rotation of the actuator (19) and the screw (17) causes an axial movement of the rack (14).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
A valve as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that the sleeves (13) are tapered in order to achieve at least partial equalisation of the axially directed pressure forces.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
50 words
A valve as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that each sleeve (13) is formed as an annular piston and is movable back and forwards along its own axis by a fluid pressure supplied through conduits (26,27) respectively in the upper ball member (3) and the lower ball member (4).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
42 words
A valve as claimed in Claim 6 characterised in that the conduits (26,27) are provided with locking valves (22) arranged to shut off automatically when the upper ball member (3) is lifted up, thereby securing the sleeves (13) against unintended axial displacement.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
A valve as claimed in any preceding claim characterised by a ball actuator (8) for rotation of the valve member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
65 words
A valve as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that when the valve is in open position the continuous passageway of the sleeves (13) forms a protection for the remaining components of the valve against corrosion and other harmful influence from the flowing medium and permits access to the vital components of the valve without disturbing the current flow of fluid through the valve.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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