Blowout preventer

Claim 2

A ram and seal combination for use in a blowout Preventer, having a body provided with a bore and a pair of opposing ram guideways intersecting said bore and in which cooperating sets of opposing rams are provided with face seals which cooperate to contain pressure upstream of said rams and body seals which cooperate to form a continuous path about the upstream end of the bore, said ram and seal combination formed of: a ram body having a blocklike configuration, said body having an inner face for contact with the inner face of an opposing ram and an upstream surface; a face seal projecting from said inner face, said face seal formed of a transversely extending portion and two longitudinally extending portions, one of which extends from each end of the transversely extending portion to the upstream edge of the inner face, and a body seal formed of two rearwardly extending portions, one of which is connected to each longitudinally extending portion, the rearwardly extending portions extending along the upstream surface of the ram terminating adjacent the rear face of the ram and a circumferential portion extending around the sides and top of the ram from the end of one of the rearwardly extending portions to the end of the other.

Claim 3

The ram and seal combination specified in claim 1, wherein the face and body seals are a unitary member and the ram is formed of two detachable body sections between which portions of the unitary members are sandwiched.

Claim 4

A blowout preventer ram, comprising a body having front and rear ends, a top, a flat bottom, opposite sides, and a passageway therein connecting the opposite ends, the lateral cross section of said body being uniform from end to end, and seal means on the body including a first generally U-shaped seal strip portion on the front end of the body terminating at its opposite ends with the bottom of the body and enclosing the intersection of the passageway with said front end of the body, a second seal strip portion extending over the top and both sides of the body and terminating at its opposite ends with the bottom of the body toward the rear end thereof, and additional seal strip portions on the bottom of the body connecting with the terminating ends of the first and second seal strip portions to provide continuations thereof which confine the passage of fluid from the front end to the rear end of said body to said passageway.

Claim 5

A blowout preventer ram, comprising a body having front and rear ends, a top, a flat bottom, opposite sides, and a passageway therein connecting the opposite ends, the lateral cross section of said body being uniform from end to end, and seal means on the body including a first generally U-shaped seal strip portion on the front end of the body terminating at its opposite ends with the bottom of the body and enclosing the intersection of the passageway with said front end of the body, a second seal strip portion extending over the top and both sides of the body and terminating at its opposite ends with the bottom of the body toward the rear end thereof, and additional seal strip portions on the bottom of the body connecting with the terminating ends of the first and second seal strip portions to provide continuations thereof which confine the passage of fluid from the front end to the rear end of said body to said passageway.

Claim 6

A ram of the character defined in claim 3, wherein said additional seal strip portions include a portion connecting the terminating ends of the first seal strip portion and another portion connecting the terminating ends of the second seal strip portion, said passageway extending through the body intermediate its top and bottom.

Claim 7

A ram of the character defined in claim 3, wherein said additional seal strip portions connect the terminating ends of the first seal strip with the terminating ends of the second seal strip portion, and said passageway is on the bottom of the body laterally intermediate said additional seal strip portions.

Claim 8

A blowout preventer, comprising a body having a bore therethrough with an upstream portion, a plurality of ram guideways radiating from the bore and circumferentially spaced thereabout with outer closed ends and lateral bounding surfaces terminating inwardly at portions spaced radially outwardly from said bore, said guideways having a common upstream body surface between the terminals of said lateral surfaces and said bore and continuous about and intersecting said bore to form an open end of said upstream portion, and said guideways comprising a plurality of sets, each made up of opposed guideways; a set of rams in each of said sets of guideways, the rams of each set being complementary to one another whereby when closest to the bore axis they will engage each other and close said open end of the bore and each will have a part extending into and restrained by its guideway against movement axially of the bore away from said end of the bore; and seal means on each ram formed of a transversely exteNding face portion which extends across the face of the ram and two longitudinally extending portions, one extending upstream from each end of the transversely extending portion to contact the common upstream surface, and a body portion formed of portions that extend rearwardly from each of the upstream ends of the longitudinally extending portions, the rearwardly extending portions terminating adjacent the rear end of the ram, and a circumferential portion extending from the end of one of the rearwardly extending portions around the sides and top of the ram to connect with the end of the other rearwardly extending portion.

Claim 9

A blowout preventer, comprising a body having a bore therethrough with an upstream portion, a plurality of ram guideways radiating from the bore and circumferentially spaced thereabout with outer closed ends and lateral bounding surfaces terminating inwardly at portions spaced radially outwardly from said bore, said guideways having a common upstream body surface between the terminals of said lateral surfaces and said bore and continuous about and intersecting said bore to form an open end of said upstream portion, and said guideways comprising a plurality of sets, each made up of opposed guideways; a set of rams in each of said sets of guideways, the rams of each set being complementary to one another whereby when closest to the bore axis they will engage each other and close said open end of the bore and each will have a part extending into and restrained by its guideway against movement axially of the bore away from said end of the bore; and seal means on each ram formed of a transversely exteNding face portion which extends across the face of the ram and two longitudinally extending portions, one extending upstream from each end of the transversely extending portion to contact the common upstream surface, and a body portion formed of portions that extend rearwardly from each of the upstream ends of the longitudinally extending portions, the rearwardly extending portions terminating adjacent the rear end of the ram, and a circumferential portion extending from the end of one of the rearwardly extending portions around the sides and top of the ram to connect with the end of the other rearwardly extending portion.

Claim 10

A blowout preventer, comprising a body having a bore therethrough and first and second pairs of opposed guideways extending laterally from the bore, both pairs being on the same level longitudinally of said bore, a pair of rams reciprocable in each pair of guideways, means for reciprocating the rams of each pair of rams between positions in which their inner ends are engaged across the bore and in which their inner ends are withdrawn from the bore, and means on the rams of each pair of rams for sealing with respect to one another and said body so as to contain pressure within one end of the bore when the inner ends of the rams of said pair of rams are engaged across the bore and the inner ends of the rams of the other pair of rams are withdrawn from the bore.

Claim 11

A blowout preventer, comprising a body having a bore therethrough and first and second pairs of opposed guideways extending laterally from the bore, both pairs being on the same level longitudinally of said bore, a pair of rams reciprocable in each pair of guideways, means for reciprocating the rams of each pair of rams between positions in which their inner ends are engaged across the bore and in which their inner ends are withdrawn from the bore, and means on the rams of each pair of rams for sealing with respect to one another and said body so as to contain pressure within one end of the bore when the inner ends of the rams of said pair of rams are engaged across the bore and the inner ends of the rams of the other pair of rams are withdrawn from the bore.

Claim 12

A blowout preventer of the character defined in claim 7, wherein each of the guideways has lateral bounding surfaces which terminate short of the one end of the bore, and the annular surface of the body intermediate said one end of the bore and the inner ends of the bounding surfaces of the guideways is flat.

Claim 13

In a blowout preventer having a first pair of opposite guideways radially intersecting its bore between its upstream and downstream portions, and a second pair of guideways lying on the same level as the first pair and also intersecting the bore, each of said pair of guideways being substantially uniform from its inner to its outer end, a ram for each guideway comprising a body having inner and outer ends and a cross section which is substantially uniform from end to end for reciprocation in one of said guideways, and means on the body for sealing fluid in the upstream portion of the bore from the downstream portion and from one pair of guideways, when said ram is in a guideway of the other pair and engages a ram in the opposite guideway of the other pair and the rams in the one pair of guideways are withdrawn from the bore, said body also having a passageway connecting its ends so that fluid in the upstream portion of the bore may pass therethrough to act on the outer end of the ram.

Claim 14

In a blowout preventer having a first pair of opposite guideways radially intersecting its bore between its upstream and downstream portions, and a second pair of guideways lying on the same level as the first pair and also intersecting the bore, each of said pair of guideways being substantially uniform from its inner to its outer end, a ram for each guideway comprising a body having inner and outer ends and a cross section which is substantially uniform from end to end for reciprocation in one of said guideways, and means on the body for sealing fluid in the upstream portion of the bore from the downstream portion and from one pair of guideways, when said ram is in a guideway of the other pair and engages a ram in the opposite guideway of the other pair and the rams in the one pair of guideways are withdrawn from the bore, said body also having a passageway connecting its ends so that fluid in the upstream portion of the bore may pass therethrough to act on the outer end of the ram.

Claim 15

In a blowout preventer having a first pair of opposite guideways radially intersecting its bore between its upstream and downstream portions, and a second pair of guideways lying on the same level as the first pair and also intersecting the bore, each of said pair of guideways being substantially uniform from its inner to its outer end, a ram for each guideway comprising a body having inner and outer ends and a top, a bottom and sides intermediate its ends, the cross section of said body being substantially uniform from end to end for reciprocation in one of said guideways, means on the body for sealing fluid in the upstream portion of the bore from the downstream portion and from one pair of guideways, when said ram is in a guideway of the other pair and engages a ram in the opposite guideway of the other pair and the rams in the one pair of guideways are withdrawn from the bore, said sealing means including a sealing part across the inner end of the body continuing downwardly to the bottom thereof, and additional sealing parts on the bottom, top and sides of the body, said body also having a passageway connecting its ends so that fluid in the upstream portion of the bore may pass therethrough to act on the outer end of the ram.

Claim 16

In a blowout preventer having a first pair of opposite guideways radially intersecting its bore between its upstream and downstream portions, and a second pair of guideways lying on the same level as the first pair and also intersecting the bore, each of said pair of guideways being substantially uniform from its inner to its outer end, a ram for each guideway comprising a body having inner and outer ends and a top, a bottom and sides intermediate its ends, the cross section of said body being substantially uniform from end to end for reciprocation in one of said guideways, means on the body for sealing fluid in the upstream portion of the bore from the downstream portion and from one pair of guideways, when said ram is in a guideway of the other pair and engages a ram in the opposite guideway of the other pair and the rams in the one pair of guideways are withdrawn from the bore, said sealing means including a sealing part across the inner end of the body continuing downwardly to the bottom thereof, and additional sealing parts on the bottom, top and sides of the body, said body also having a passageway connecting its ends so that fluid in the upstream portion of the bore may pass therethrough to act on the outer end of the ram.