Pig system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10315210-B2
Application number	US-201515521998-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 13, 2015
Priority date	Oct 30, 2014
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

A pig system for transporting liquid or pasty substances two pig stations which are connected to one another by way of a pig line. The pig system includes a number of pigs. Accordingly, the two pig stations have a number of parking positions, to which a controllable media connection is respectively assigned. Appropriate activation of the media connections allows the effect to be achieved that only some of the pigs at a time shuttle back and forth between the two pig stations. Defective pigs or operational pigs that are being kept on standby in this case remain in corresponding parking positions of the two pig stations.

First claim

I claim:

1. A pig system for transporting liquid or pasty substances comprising:
a) a first pig station which possesses a first pig channel which can receive a pig in a parking position, wherein the parking position is assigned a controllable media connection via which pushing medium can be introduced into the pig channel such that the pig is pushed out of the pig channel;
b) a second pig station which possesses a second pig channel which can receive a pig in a second parking position, wherein to the second parking position is assigned a controllable media connection via which pushing medium can be introduced into the second pig channel such that the pig is pushed out of the second pig channel;
c) a pig line which connects the first pig channel to the second pig channel;
wherein
d) both the first and second pig stations have a plurality of parking positions in the respective first and second pig channel, each parking position from the plurality of parking positions having an independently controllable media connection which supplies pushing medium to its parking position to move a pig from the parking position; and
e) a plurality of pigs is provided in the pig system, each pig having an assigned parking position from the plurality of parking positions in each of the first and second pig stations;
wherein
f) the independently controllable media connections are controllable such that only a first portion of the plurality of pigs moves between the first and second pig stations when pushing medium is supplied by at least one of the independently controllable media connections, while a second portion of the plurality of pigs remain in their parking position.

2. The pig system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of pigs have on an end face a projection, such that, between the end faces of adjacent pigs in the first or second pig channel, there remains an interspace into which a hole assigned to a media connection opens out.

3. The pig system as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least in one of the first or second pig stations, the media connections are controllable such that, selectively via one of them, the liquid or pasty substance can be led out of the pig station.

4. The pig system as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the independently controllable media connections are positioned between adjacent pigs from the plurality of pigs when the plurality of pigs are parked in their assigned parking positions.

Assignees

• Eisenmann Se

Inventors

• Nowroth Sven

Classifications

• F16L55/26

  Pigs or moles, i.e. devices movable in a pipe or conduit with or without self-contained propulsion means · CPC title

• F16L2101/40

  Separating transported fluids · CPC title

• B05B15/18

  for improving resistance to wear, e.g. inserts or coatings; for indicating wear; for handling or replacing worn parts · CPC title

• B05B12/1481 Primary

  comprising pigs, i.e. movable elements sealingly received in supply pipes, for separating different fluids, e.g. liquid coating materials from solvent or air (cleaning pipes with pigs B08B9/0557, pigs per se F16L55/26) · CPC title

• F16L2101/12

  Cleaning · CPC title