Not applicable.
The present disclosure relates generally to milling, drilling, or otherwise cutting metal using a press machine, sometimes also called a standard press, a drill press, or a mill drill. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a press machine having an end cutter, such as a mill or drill, that is positionable adjacent an oilfield tubular, such as those tubulars sent into a drilled well bore for exploration and production of hydrocarbons.
The drilling and production of earthen well bores for the recovery of hydrocarbons involves many processes, including storing, handling, and tracking drill pipe or other tubulars at the surface and then delivery of those tubulars into the well bore. Because the drilled well bores may be thousands of feet in length, many tubulars must be connected together to drill or otherwise access the well bores. It may be necessary to keep track of the tubulars through identification devices coupled to the tubulars. It may also be necessary to communicate with the tubulars while in the well bore using the identification or other communication devices coupled to the tubulars. An example of such an identification and/or communication device is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. It is preferable to couple the RFID tags and other such devices into precise pockets or voids in the tubulars. Other reasons also exist for creating precise pockets or voids in the tubulars.
Accordingly, there is a need to mill, drill or otherwise cut pockets, voids or openings into a target object such as oilfield tubulars. Though reference is made to oilfield tubulars as the object receiving the milled or drilled pocket, the principles disclosed herein are also applicable to other members requiring similar pockets or voids. Other advantages may be obtained if such a cutting system or device was compact, portable, and/or self-contained, or otherwise suited for use on a drilling rig or other locations where space and power is limited, and the environment may be harsh.
In some embodiments, a cutting system includes a cutting machine to rotate an end mill, a moveable platform, wherein the cutting machine is mounted on the moveable platform, and a mechanical assembly rotatably coupled to the moveable platform to impart a circular motion to the end mill. The system may further include a motor to drive the mechanical assembly. The cutting machine may rotate the end mill and move the end mill vertically apart from the circular motion. The mechanical assembly may include a sprocket coupled to a shaft. The mechanical assembly may include an eccentric bushing coupled to the sprocket and the shaft. The bushing may be off-center from the shared axis of the sprocket and the shaft. The eccentric bushing may be rotatably coupled to the platform to move the platform in the circular motion about the axis. The system may further include a pivot arm system supporting the cutting system. The pivot arm system may be self-adjusting to maintain a relationship between the end mill and a cutting object.
In some embodiments, a cutting system includes a milling machine to rotate an end mill, a stationary platform supporting a drive assembly, a moveable platform supporting the milling machine, and a mechanical assembly coupled between the stationary platform and the drive assembly, and the moveable platform, wherein the drive assembly is operable to actuate the mechanical assembly to move the moveable platform and the milling machine relative to the stationary platform. The mechanical assembly may be rotatably coupled to the drive assembly and the stationary platform, and eccentrically rotatably coupled to the moveable platform. The drive assembly may be coupled to a sprocket, the sprocket is coupled to an eccentric bushing, and the eccentric bushing is rotatably coupled to the moveable platform. The system may further include a self-adjusting pivot arm system supporting the cutting system such that the end mill maintains a substantially perpendicular relationship to a cutting object.
In some embodiments, a method for milling a void in an object includes rotating an end mill with a cutting machine, vertically adjusting the end mill with respect to the object, and circling the end mill while rotating and vertically adjusting with a mechanical assembly to mill the void. The method wherein the void is larger than the end mill. The method further including rotating an eccentric bushing on a shaft in the mechanical assembly to circle the end mill.
Thus, embodiments described herein comprise a combination of features and advantages intended to address various shortcomings associated with certain prior devices, systems, and methods. The various characteristics described above, as well as other features, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
For a more detailed description of the disclosed embodiments, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
In the drawings and description that follow, like parts are typically marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals, respectively. Certain terms are used throughout the description and claims to refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature or component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ in name but not function. The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features and components may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form and some details of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The present invention is susceptible to embodiments of different forms. Specific embodiments are described in detail and are shown in the drawings, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to that illustrated and described herein. It is to be fully recognized that the different teachings of the embodiments discussed below may be employed separately or in any suitable combination to produce desired results.
The terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . . ” Unless otherwise specified, any use of any form of the terms “couple”, “attach”, “connect” or any other term describing an interaction between elements is not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the elements and may also include indirect interaction between the elements described. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection, or through an indirect connection via other devices, components, and connections. In addition, as used herein, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally mean along or parallel to a central axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally mean perpendicular to the central axis. For instance, an axial distance refers to a distance measured along or parallel to the central axis, and a radial distance means a distance measured perpendicular to the central axis. Reference to up or down will be made for purposes of description with “up”, “upper”, “upwardly” or “upstream” meaning toward the surface of the well and with “down”, “lower”, “downwardly” or “downstream” meaning toward the terminal end of the well, regardless of the well bore orientation. The various characteristics mentioned above, as well as other features and characteristics described in more detail below, will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.
For purposes of the following description, the object receiving the pocket or void is an oilfield tubular, though it is understood that other objects may also receive the pocket or void in locations other than the oilfield.
Referring now to
The end mill 12 can be used to mill a void as big as the diameter of the end mill head. However, it may be necessary to mill a very precise circular void or pocket that is larger than the diameter of the end mill, as shown with the milled void 14 and the end mill head 12 in
Still referring to
A sprocket and eccentric bushing assembly 120 is disposed between and among the plates 102, 104, 106, 108 as shown. A sprocket or gear 122 is supported about a shaft 126 and rotatably coupled at coupling 124 in the lower stationary plate 102. The shaft 126 and sprocket 122 also support an eccentric bushing 130 and bushing base plate 128.
Now with reference to
Referring to
Referring now to
The circular motion of the moveable plates 106, 108 then causes the end mill 12 to mill the void 14 as shown in
As is shown, the motor 110 drives a mechanical assembly to move the end mill 12 in a horizontal circle. Further, the system 100 is compact and relatively self-contained for desirable deployment in the field. In further embodiments, the system 100 may be supported by or mounted on another system for moving, retracting, delivering, or otherwise manipulating the system 100 relative to a target object. Referring now to
In
Referring now to
In an additional embodiment of the pivot arm system,
Similar principles apply to the operation of the pivot arm system 400 as compared to the pivot arm system 200. The milling system 300 is refracted from the tubular 16 as shown in
Thus embodiments herein provide a precise milling device for milling voids in tubulars and other objects, and also provide a delivery arm system for moving and adjusting the milling device relative to the tubular or other object. The systems may be compact, portable, and/or self-contained, or otherwise suited for use on a drilling rig or other locations where space and power is limited, and the environment may be harsh. The systems provide a simple, compact, easily managed and maintained machine to mill tubulars in the field, such as on a drilling rig.
While specific embodiments have been shown and described, modifications can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or teachings herein. The embodiments as described are exemplary only and are not limiting. Many variations and modifications of the systems, apparatus, and processes described herein are possible and are within the scope of the invention. For example, the relative dimensions of various parts, the materials from which the various parts are made, and other parameters can be varied. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited to the embodiments described, but is only limited by the claims that follow, the scope of which shall include all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims.
This application is the U.S. National Stage under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2011/035076 filed May 3, 2011, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/330,581, filed May 3, 2010, entitled “Standard Press with End Mill on Moveable Platform.”
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PCT/US2011/035076 | 5/3/2011 | WO | 00 | 10/31/2012 |
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WO2011/140154 | 11/10/2011 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130051950 A1 | Feb 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61330581 | May 2010 | US |