LOW PROFILE, HIGH CAPACITY BALL INJECTOR

摘要

An injector spool supports a plurality of ball injector assemblies having respective ball cartridges adapted to load one frac ball at a time into a ball chamber of a ball launcher of the respective ball injector assemblies to provide a low profile, high capacity ball injector.

主权项

1. A ball injector, comprising:
an injector spool having a top end, a bottom end and an axial passage that extends from the top end to the bottom end; at least two independently operated ball injector assemblies respectively connected to respective radial ports through a sidewall of the injector spool, each ball injector assembly supporting a ball cartridge that accommodates a plurality of frac balls and comprises a ball launcher with a ball chamber that extends completely through the ball launcher; the ball launcher being reciprocated by a ball launcher drive comprising a cylinder having a piston with a piston rod affixed to a rear end of the ball launcher, the ball launcher drive moving the ball launcher from a ball load position in which a frac ball is loaded from the ball cartridge into the ball chamber, to the ball launch position in which the frac ball is released from the ball chamber after the ball launcher has been moved far enough into the axial passage by the ball launcher drive that the frac ball moves down through a bottom of the ball chamber; and a guide key received in a key way that runs a full length of a bottom of the ball launcher to prevent the ball launcher from rotating within a cylindrical bore that extends from an outer end of a ball launch section of the respective ball injector assemblies to an inner end of a cartridge section of the respective ball injector assemblies.