Patent Application
20200362648
None.
The present invention relates to oil field drill rig equipment and in particular to an improved drillpipe spinner.
A drillpipe spinner is a device that is used for making up or spinning out drillpipe on a drilling rig. The drillpipe spinner is hung from the drill floor by a steel cable and is operated by a hydraulic valve to be closed around the drillpipe. When the drillpipe spinner is needed for drillpipe operations the drillpipe spinner is moved into position. The drillpipe spinner arms are closed around the drillpipe by a hydraulic valve. Another hydraulic valve is used to activate a single hydraulic motor to spin the drillpipe.
By using the pressure settings on the hydraulic valve an optimum pressure setting can be reached to achieve the best results of the effectiveness of the spinup or spinout operation of the drillpipe. The angle of the two drillpipe spinner cylinders are engineered into the drillpipe spinner body at an angle to allow the best effective gripping around the drillpipe. This allows proper pressure settings to allow proper gripping action around the drillpipe.
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention. The term “invention” is not intended to refer to any particular embodiment or otherwise limit the scope of the disclosure. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.
In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to.” Also, the term “connect” or “connected” or “attach” or “attached,” where used if at all is intended to mean either an indirect or direct connection or attachment. Thus, if a first component connects or attaches to a second component, that connection or attachment may be through a direct connection or attachment or through an indirect connection or attachment via other components and connections or attachments.
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components and method steps. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different companies may refer to a component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function.
Note that pressure roller assembly 8 provides a pair of rollers 110, 120 and drive roller shaft assembly 4 provides a pair of knurled rollers 310, 320 (
Reference number 1 designates the drillpipe spinner frame that contains the single hydraulic motor assembly 5 complete with a hydraulic motor gear that drives the idler shaft assembly 3. The idler shaft assembly 3 drives the Steel Knurled Roller assembly.
Pressure roller assembly 8 provides pressure rollers 110, 120 connected to spinner arm assembly 6. The pressure rollers 110, 120 are attached to the spinner arm assembly 6 by one or more pressure roller pins 9. The pressure rollers 110, 120 are attached to spinner arm frame assembly 2. Hydraulic cylinders 13 actuate rollers 110, 120 to grip a drillpipe and bring the drillpipe into contact with knurled rollers 310, 320, which in turn are caused to turn by motor 5. Drillpipe is gripped to knurled rollers 310, 320 by pressure rollers 110, 120 with sufficient force to break and spin the drillpipe without deforming the drillpipe.
Drillpipe spinners are used for making up and breakout out a string of drillpipe used in drilling operations, having a single hydraulic motor 5 to a drive motor gear that drives two idler step gears 3 to then drive two gears attached to two drive shafts 6. The two drive shafts each have two heat treated knurled rollers 310, 320 that are set in place by a key stock.
The drillpipe spinner of the present invention also has two hydraulic cylinders 47, 48 attached to two arms of the spinner arm assembly 6 that when hydraulically activated will close pressure rollers 110, 120 around the drillpipe with improved, even optimum, gripping force. This improved clamping force leads to the efficient gripping force from the heat treated knurled rollers, that then leads to the efficient quick spin up and break out of the drillpipe. The single hydraulic motor is engaged causing the two special heat treated knurled rollers to turn engaging the drillpipe to spinup or by engaging the single hydraulic motor in reverse to spin out. With an operational range of 3000 pounds per square inch (psi) to 3200 psi for the spinner's inlet pressure, the single motor spinner is able to achieve improved, up to optimal, clamping force and rotation of the drillpipe. One or more torque arrestors 29 prevent the spinner assembly from spinning around the drillpipe.
The use of a drillpipe spinner of the present disclosure provides many advantages over the prior art including a simplified assembly structure and the ability to fine tune the pressure and angle at which the drillpipe is gripped by the spinner for improved performance. With a critical angle in the range between 18 degrees to 24 degrees (108 degrees to 115 degrees) that can be measured variently from either of the two center point locations where hydraulic arm cylinders 47, 48 are pinned to the spinner's frame housing 1. From a vertical symmetrical axis between the two hydraulic arms cylinders, the critical angle range is 36 degrees to 48 degrees. Heat treatment of the pressure and knurled rollers bestows the rollers with improve performance over non-heated rollers.
Drillpipe spinner assembly 1 is mounted to hanging tree assembly 22. The hanging tree assembly is a torque resistor and further includes a first hanger plate 29, a second hanger plate 30, spinner guard 31, hanger slide plate 32, and spinner hanger tree pins 49.
Idler shaft assembly 3 is mounted in the hanging tree assembly so as to almost be housed within it. A Hawe valve manifold 39 is revealed mounted between first hanger plate 29 and second hanger plate 30.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the drillpipe spinner described herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
