Proppant discharge system and a container for use in such a proppant discharge system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9738439-B2
Application number	US-201514943111-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 17, 2015
Priority date	Jul 23, 2012
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

A proppant discharge system has a container with an outlet positioned in a bottom thereof and a gate affixed adjacent the outlet so as to be movable between a first position covering the outlet to a second position opening the outlet, and a support structure having an actuator thereon. The container is removably positioned on the top surface of the support structure. The actuator is engageable with gate so as to move the gate from the first position to the second position. A conveyor underlies the container so as to receive proppant as discharged from the container through the outlet. The container can be a ten foot ISO container.

First claim

That claimed is:

1. A method of providing fracking proppant to a well site for use when hydraulic fracking is to be performed, the method comprising:
removing, by use of a forklift positioned at the well site, a series of a plurality of individual containers that each contains fracking proppant and when each is positioned on a separate trailer of a transport road vehicle, upon arrival to and when positioned adjacent a well site at a location where hydraulic fracking is to be performed, each of the separate trailers having a single one of the plurality of containers positioned thereon, each of the plurality of containers having an outlet positioned at a bottom thereof, a pair of end walls, a pair of side walls, the pair of end walls and the pair of side walls forming a substantially rectangular upper section of the container, a plurality of ramps coupled to the pair of end walls and the pair of side walls and having an elevation lower than the substantially rectangular upper section extending downwardly and inwardly from the pair of end walls and from the pair of side walls toward the outlet, a gate positioned to prevent proppant from flowing from the outlet when in a closed position and to allow proppant to flow from the outlet when in an open position, one or more support bars positioned proximate the plurality of ramps and extending across the walls, and one or more fork receptacles positioned adjacent the bottom of the container to receive forks from the forklift therein thereby to lift the container;
transferring, after removal from each separate trailer of the road vehicle, each of the plurality of containers with the forklift to a support structure positioned at the well site, the support structure having a frame with a pair of spaced apart rails extending substantially in a horizontal plane and continuously from a first end of the support structure to a second end of the support structure so that each of the plurality of containers when positioned on the support structure overlays a conveyor positioned to underlie the pair of spaced apart rails of the frame of the support structure, the pair of spaced apart rails of the frame of the support structure including a plurality of cradles each positioned to receive one of the plurality of containers so that each of the plurality of containers is positioned in a side-by-side relationship along the pair of spaced apart rails of the support structure, the conveyor also being positioned to underlie each of the plurality of cradles;
actuating the gate of each of the plurality of containers to move the gate from the closed position to the open position in a substantially horizontal plane that is substantially parallel to the horizontally extending portions of the frame;
discharging, responsive to actuation of the gate of each of the plurality of containers, by gravity feed the fracking proppant contained within each of the plurality of containers after a respective one of the plurality of containers is positioned on the support structure and within a cradle of the plurality of cradles, the proppant within each of the plurality of containers flowing along the plurality of ramps and through the outlet positioned at the bottom of each container thereby to direct the proppant to the conveyor; and
conveying the fracking proppant received on the conveyor after the fracking proppant is discharged onto the conveyor to a desired location at the well site to be used in the hydraulic fracking operation.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of containers includes a plurality of structural support members positioned at corner junctions between the side walls and the end walls, the plurality of structural support members being operably fixed to the frame and extending between the top and the bottom.

3. The method as defined in claim 2 , wherein the support structure further comprises:
at least one hopper positioned below the plurality of cradles to receive the fracking proppant from the container and to direct the fracking proppant to the conveyor.

4. The method as defined in claim 3 , wherein, the at least one hopper includes an inverted V-shaped gate positioned between the respective cradle and the conveyor to interrupt the flow of fracking proppant between the plurality of cradles and the common conveyor when the fracking proppant passes from the container to the common conveyor.

5. The method as defined in claim 2 , wherein the plurality of structural support members each include a top header and a bottom footer, the top header extending vertically higher than the top and the bottom header extending vertically lower than the bottom, the method further comprising:
positioning a first container adjacent the well site; and
stacking a second container on top of the first container such that the bottom headers of the second container are in contact with the top headers of the first container to thereby define a stacked configuration.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising:
directing the fracking proppant from the conveyor to a desired location with a chute attached to the support structure, the chute receiving the fracking proppant from the conveyor and being arranged at a downward sloping orientation to direct the fracking proppant to the desired location.

7. The method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising:
controlling the flow of fracking proppant onto the conveyor with one or more flow gates positioned adjacent the container when positioned on the support structure, the one or more flow gates configured to move between closed and open positions.

8. The method as defined in claim 7 , further comprising:
controlling the one or more flow gates with one or more actuators attached to the one or more flow gates and configured to move the one or more flow gates between the closed and open positions to allow for selected and controlled discharge of proppant.

9. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein moving the container from the trailer includes lifting the container with the forklift and setting the container on top of the support structure, the method further comprising:
transporting the support structure from one location within the well site to another location within the well site on wheels attached to the support structure, and delivering the fracking proppant from the conveyor to a blender.

10. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the container has an open area adjacent a bottom of the container to allow for visual access into a portion of the container.

11. A method for storing and unloading of fracking proppant at a well site for use when hydraulic fracking is to be performed, comprising:
removing a plurality of containers that contain fracking proppant therein from a trailer of one or more transport vehicles adjacent to a well site, each of the plurality of containers having an outlet positioned at a bottom thereof, an upper substantially rectangular portion formed by a pair of end walls and a pair of side walls, a plurality of structural support members arranged in a substantially vertical orientation to extend between the bottom and a top, and a lower portion coupled to the upper portion having a ramped section proximate the bottom and at an elevation lower than a vertical extent of the pair of end walls and the pair of side walls forming the upper substantially rectangular portion;
arranging a first container of the plurality of containers in a stacked orientation with a second container of the plurality of containers such that the respective structural support members of the first and second containers are aligned and in contact with one another while the first and second containers are stacke

Assignees

• Oren Tech Llc

Inventors

• Oren John
• Oren Joshua

Classifications

• B65D88/12

  specially adapted for transport (associated with vehicles, see the relevant subclasses of B60 - B64) · CPC title

• B65D88/32

  in multiple arrangement · CPC title

• B65G2201/042

  Granular material · CPC title

• B65D7/00

  Containers having bodies formed by interconnecting or uniting two or more rigid, or substantially rigid, components made wholly or mainly of metal (specially constructed to be opened by cutting, piercing, or tearing of wall portions B65D17/00; pallets B65D19/00; tanks for domestic water storage heaters F24H1/181) · CPC title

• B65D2588/12

  specially adapted for transport · CPC title