The present disclosure is related in general to cable handling, and specifically to a drilling rig cable tray apparatus.
Traditionally on land-based drilling rigs, electrical power generation and hydraulic equipment is located adjacent to or nearby the rig, rather than on the rig itself. A cable-tray, often known in the industry as a “grasshopper”, includes electrical cables and hydraulic lines designed to transport electrical power and hydraulic fluid to the drilling rig floor from equipment adjacent or near the rig. The traditional grasshopper is fixed in that the grasshopper must be disassembled and reinstalled each time the drilling rig is moved.
An articulating grasshopper arm is disclosed. The articulating grasshopper arm includes a cable tray. The cable tray is pivotably coupled to a drilling rig by at least one pivot point. The pivot point is adapted to allow the cable tray to pivot upward and downward as well as laterally right and left relative to the drilling rig.
The present disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It is emphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.
It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.
In some embodiments, such as depicted in
Likewise, upper pivot point 105 may allow pivoting of cable tray 103 by as much as 120°, by as much as 90° or by as much as 60° or by as much as 40°. Any suitable actuator may be used to pivot cable tray 103 about upper pivot point 105. For instance, a winch or drawworks may be used to raise and lower cable tray 103. In other embodiments, such as depicted in
Pivoting of cable tray 103 about upper pivot point 105 as well as upper and lower frame pivot points 109, 111 may allow bottom end 121 of cable tray 103 to move in three dimensions relative to drilling rig 20. In some embodiments, this articulation may allow cable tray 103 to couple between drilling rig 20 and, for example, hydraulic and electrical power generation equipment near or adjacent to drilling rig 20. In some embodiments, this articulation may allow cable tray 103 to be moved to, for example, to avoid interference between cable tray 103 and other ground fixtures or equipment such as wellhead christmas trees as drilling rig 20 is moved from one wellbore to another at a drillsite.
In some embodiments, cable tray 103 may be extendible to, for example, extend the range of articulating grasshopper arm 101 and allow drilling rig 20 to move to a point farther away from hydraulic and electrical power generation equipment. In some embodiments, cable tray 103 may include multiple cable tray segments, allowing cable tray 103 to telescopically increase in length. As depicted in
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, hydraulic lines and electrical cables 131 may be coupled directly to cable tray 103. In some embodiments, the hydraulic lines and electrical cables 131 may be housed within drag chain 129, as depicted in
In some embodiments, articulating arm 101 is positioned such that when cable tray 103 is completely retracted and parallel to secondary frame 107, articulating grasshopper arm 101 may be removed from drilling rig 20, and secured in the retracted configuration. In this retracted configuration, articulating grasshopper arm 101 may be transported, for example by truck, to another drilling rig.
The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that a person of ordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of the present disclosure. Such features may be replaced by any one of numerous equivalent alternatives, only some of which are disclosed herein. One of ordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. One of ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and that they may make various changes, substitutions, and alterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
This application is a non-provisional application which claims priority from U.S. provisional application No. 61/763,070, filed Feb. 11, 2013.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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61763070 | Feb 2013 | US |