...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7475722 | Method and apparatus for restraining tubular members during well servicing A method for restraining tubular members during well servicing. A first step involves monitoring a velocity of tubular members as they are withdrawn from a well. A second step involves activating a tubing restrainer when the velocity of the tubular members exceeds a... | 01/13/2009 |
| 7438126 | Apparatus for controlling a tool having a mandrel that must be stroked into or out of a well An apparatus for controlling vertical movement of a tubular within a wellhead includes an anchor spool connected atop the wellhead, and a detachable superstructure supporting the tubular. The anchor spool provides connectors for detachably connecting bottom ends of ... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7413008 | Tool for fluid filling and circulation during oilfield well tubing A tool for use in wells to maintain a tubed pipe filled with drilling fluid supplied by a well and to circulate the fluid through a well-pipe space, the tool facilitating sliding of tubes and producing cementation of the space. The tool can be intercalated with dril... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7314087 | Heave compensation system for hydraulic workover The present invention relates generally to offshore drilling and production operations, and, more particularly, to marine drilling workover/intervention tensioning and compensating devices and methodologies. A heave compensated hydraulic workover device and/or syste... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7293607 | Automated system for positioning and supporting the work platform of a mobile workover and well-servicing rig A method and apparatus for positioning and supporting the work platform of a mobile workover rig is disclosed. The work platform of the preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes a unique support structure and automated positioning system for positioning... | 11/13/2007 |
| 7284617 | Casing running head Methods and apparatus for drilling with a top drive system. In one aspect, the apparatus provides a tubular gripping member for use with a top drive to handle a tubular comprising a housing operatively connected to the top drive and a plurality of gripping elements ... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7261152 | Cable drawn snubbing apparatus A cable drawn snubbing apparatus includes a first track and a second track in parallel spaced relation. A carriage extends between and engages the first track and the second track. Pipe engaging slips are carried by the carriage. Upper cables extend from the carriag... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7255162 | Methods and apparatus for use in subterranean cementing operations The present invention relates to subterranean cementing operations, and more particularly to an apparatus useful in loading cementing plugs and darts into tubulars, and methods of using such apparatus in subterranean cementing operations. An example of a method of t... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7243733 | Cup tool for a high-pressure mandrel and method of using same A cup tool includes a cup tool tube having a threaded upper end for connection to a high-pressure mandrel. The cup tool has an outer surface over which an elastomeric cup is slidably mounted for movement from an unset position for entry into a wellbore to a set posi... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7228913 | Tubular clamp apparatus for top drives and methods of use An apparatus for releasably clamping and holding a member for wellbore operations, the apparatus having a main body, two opposed clamping apparatuses in the main body, the two opposed clamping apparatuses spaced-apart for selective receipt therebetween of a member t... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7219739 | Heave compensation system for hydraulic workover The present invention relates generally to offshore drilling and production operations, and, more particularly, to marine drilling workover/intervention tensioning and compensating devices and methodologies. A heave compensated hydraulic workover device and/or syste... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7216716 | Control line manipulating arm and method of using same A control line guide and manipulating arm can protect and guide one or more control lines which are desired to be attached and lowered into a wellbore with a tubular string. The control lines may be moved toward a tubular string, can be clamped to the tubular string... | 05/15/2007 |
| 7210525 | Apparatus for controlling a tool having a mandrel that must be stroked into or out of a well An apparatus for controlling vertical movement of a tubular within a wellhead includes an anchor spool connected atop the wellhead, and a detachable superstructure supporting the tubular. The anchor spool provides connectors for detachably connecting bottom ends of ... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7204304 | Removable surface pack-off device for reverse cementing applications A removable surface pack-off device adapted for use in reverse cementing applications is provided. The device includes a housing adapted to be mounted between the ends of an inner casing and an outer casing at or near the surface of a well and at least one fluid pas... | 04/17/2007 |
| 7188683 | Drilling method A system and method is disclosed for continuously supplying drilling fluid down a bore hole while adding or removing tubulars. ... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7168495 | Casing-engaging well tree isolation tool and method of use A casing-engaging wellhead isolation and method of the tool protects wellheads from lifting pressures induced by high fluid pressures and high flow rates used to stimulate low pressure wells. A releasable packer assembly mounted to a bottom end of a mandrel of the t... | 01/30/2007 |
| 7140442 | Tubing injector A tubing injector for injecting tubing (4) into a pipeline or bore or the like comprises: an annular piston for moving the tubing (4); a collet for gripping the tubing on movement of the piston in an injecting direction, the collet (14) and the ... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7117948 | Convertible jack A snubbing unit for running and retrieving a string of tubing into a well under pressure selectively operates in a stand alone mode and a rig assist mode. The unit has a lower frame for mounting during the stand alone mode on a snubber blowout preventer. Stationary ... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7117938 | Drill pipe connecting and disconnecting apparatus Drilling rig apparatus for connecting and disconnecting well pipe at a drilling rig. A remotely controlled power wrench assembly is mounted on a remotely controlled lifting mechanism attached to a base spaced about the well axis on the rig floor. The wrench assembly... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7107875 | Methods and apparatus for connecting tubulars while drilling The present invention provides an apparatus that permits sections of tubulars to be connected to or disconnected from a string of pipe during a drilling operation. The apparatus further permits the sections of drill pipe to be rotated and to be axially translated du... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7077209 | Mast for handling a coiled tubing injector A mast for lifting and suspending over a wellhead a coiled tubing injector and blow out preventer is pivotally mounted on a rear portion of a truck. The mast has two side-by-side telescoping legs that extend and retract synchronously. When in a retracted position, t... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7073592 | Jacking frame for coiled tubing operations A modular work system permits Rig Up time to be substantially reduced by reducing the number of crane lifts required to offload equipment for a transport boat or vehicle. This is achieved by developing transport skids capable of holding multiple system components. T... | 07/11/2006 |
| 7036578 | Tubing guide and coiled tubing injector A coiled tubing injector assembly includes a coiled tubing injector and a tubing guide. The tubing guide has an automatic clamping mechanism that includes a pair of clamping slips. The clamping slip will automatically move from an open position in which coiled tubin... | 05/02/2006 |
| 6948565 | Slip spool and method of using same A slip spool for selectively supporting a tubing string suspended in a wellbore can be mounted to a wellhead. The slip spool has an axial passage that is aligned with the wellbore, and at least two radial passages extending through a side wall of the slip spool and ... | 09/27/2005 |
| 6938696 | Backpressure adapter pin and methods of use A tubing assembly including a tubing string and tubing hanger provides a fluid passage with backpressure threads for securing a backpressure plug in a fluid-tight seal below the tubing hanger, so that the tubing hanger can be removed from the tubing string. The back... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6918439 | Backpressure adaptor pin and methods of use A tubing assembly including a tubing string and tubing hanger provides a fluid passage with backpressure threads for securing a backpressure plug in a fluid-tight seal below the tubing hanger, so that the tubing hanger can be removed from the tubing string. The back... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6915868 | Elevator apparatus and method for running well bore tubing An elevator apparatus for manipulating well bore tubing includes a circular body having a top and a central cavity around a body axis. The cavity has a diameter allowing the collar portion of the tubing to pass longitudinally therethrough. A plurality of cavity rest... | 07/12/2005 |
| 6860343 | Drill rod holder Drill rod holder (10) for clamping a pair of jaws against a drill rod (40), by a piston-cylinder arrangement (22). A first of the jaws is fixed and a second jaw (36) is movable by the piston-cylinder arrangement. A medium under pressure i... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6827147 | Reciprocating lubricator A reciprocating lubricator includes a lubricator base, a lubricator tube connected at the top to a lubricator head and inserted through a packing in the lubricator base to provide a sealable chamber adapted to accommodate a downhole tool to be inserted into a wellbo... | 12/07/2004 |
| 6814140 | Apparatus and method for inserting or removing a string of tubulars from a subsea borehole A method and apparatus for inserting or removing a string of tubulars from a subsea borehole. The apparatus includes a first, lower, gripping mechanism locatable subsea in the vicinity of the subsea borehole. The first gripping mechanism is capable of gripping a por... | 11/09/2004 |
| 6814148 | Rotating jack plate assembly The present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for positioning a section of a well string. The apparatus includes a base plate and a turntable supported by the base plate. The turntable is preferably configured to rotate with respect to the base plate. At l... | 11/09/2004 |
| 6595297 | Method and apparatus for inserting a tubing hanger into a live well Apparatus for inserting a tubing hanger into a tubing head spool on a live well includes a landing spool and a landing joint that reciprocates through a top end of the landing spool. The landing joint is connected to the tubing hanger. The landing spool i... | 07/22/2003 |
| 6561269 | Canister, sealing method and composition for sealing a borehole Canister, sealing method and composition for sealing a borehole. The canister includes a container with slurry inside the container, one or more slurry exits at one end of the container, a pump at the other end of the container, and a piston inside that p... | 05/13/2003 |
| 6470965 | Device for introducing a high pressure fluid into well head components A device for introducing high-pressure fluid through a well having a vertical passage with at least one valve and into a well having a well tubing into said vertical passage, has a lower part removably attachable to the well tubing, a hollow mandrel adapt... | 10/29/2002 |
| 6412560 | Tubular injector with snubbing jack and oscillator A tubular injector with snubbing jack and oscillator, which eliminates the need for overhead tubular and oscillator support structure and utilizes resonant vibration to remove tubulars (2) and other objects which are stuck in a well. In a first embodiment... | 07/02/2002 |
| 6386282 | Safety switching system for clamping devices for pipes The invention relates to a safety switching system for a clamping device, provided with clamping wedges and operable by a flowing medium for holding and/or lowering or raising a pipe string, with which a borehole is lined in order to support the rock and ... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6347665 | Snubbing unit tong apparatus A power tong set, with lead and back-up tongs, is mounted on the slip bowl of the traveling jack head of a snubbing unit and rotates with the slip bowl. Service lines (or umbelicals) for the tong set are not connected during string rotation. In an alterna... | 02/19/2002 |
| 6234253 | Method and apparatus for well workover or servicing The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the servicing or workover of a hydrocarbon well. The apparatus includes a pair of hydraulic cylinders pivotally mounted to a pair of base beams connected to each other. The cylinders are moveable... | 05/22/2001 |
| 6145596 | Method and apparatus for dual string well tree isolation A dual string well tree isolation apparatus includes two assemblies each having a high pressure valve and a high pressure tubing which are respectively inserted into the vertical passage of a dual string well tree, and a swedge for connection to the dual ... | 11/14/2000 |
| 6032929 | Arrangement in connection with a yoke in a hoisting system for a derrick A hydraulically-operated hoist is disclosed. The hoist includes a plurality of hydraulic piston/cylinder arrangements, each having an upper end. Two guide rails are disposed in parallel with the hydraulic piston/cylinder arrangements. A self-aligning yoke... | 03/07/2000 |