Patent Application
20190256327
Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a trolley for use on or as an overhead crane, such as a bridge crane, a cantilevered crane, or other overhead crane utilized to lift, lower, and move objects.
Overhead cranes are utilized extensively in many industries to move objects. A bridge crane, sometime referred to as an offline activity crane (OAC), is one type of overhead crane that is utilized in the oil and gas industry. The bridge crane (or OAC) is mounted on an oil and gas rig above a fingerboard area for overhead lifting of tubulars.
Conventional bridge cranes typically include a bridge that travels along two parallel rails. The bridge supports a trolley that travels along the bridge in a direction normal to the rails. The trolley supports a winch that has a motor and drum, which contains wire rope used to raise and lower a lifting hook coupled to the end of the wire rope. The winch is heavy and adds a significant amount of load that the trolley and ultimately the bridge crane must support, which reduces the overall lifting capacity of the bridge crane.
Therefore, there exists a need for new and improved overhead cranes.
Embodiments of the disclosure relate to an overhead crane comprising a trolley that moves within an X-Y plane relative to a support structure.
In one embodiment, an overhead crane supported by a derrick is provided that includes a frame coupled to the derrick and comprising a pair of rail members and a bridge member coupled between the rail members, and a trolley coupled to the frame and comprising a fairlead assembly and a cable guide movable in an X-Y plane within an inner perimeter of the frame.
In another embodiment, overhead crane supported by a derrick is provided that includes a frame coupled to the derrick and comprising a pair of rail members and a bridge member coupled between the rail members, wherein the bridge member is movable relative to the rail members, a trolley coupled to the frame and comprising a fairlead assembly and a cable guide movable in an X-Y plane within an inner perimeter of the frame, wherein the cable guide is movable relative to the bridge member, and wherein the fairlead assembly comprises one or more arms coupled to one or more sheaves, and a winch coupled to the derrick at a location remote from the trolley, wherein the winch has a cable that is routed along the one or more sheaves of the fairlead assembly from which a hook is suspended.
In another embodiment, overhead crane supported by a derrick is provided that includes a frame coupled to the derrick and comprising a pair of rail members and a bridge member coupled between the rail members, and a trolley coupled to the frame and comprising a fairlead assembly and a cable guide coupled to the bridge member, wherein the cable guide is movable in an X-Y plane within an inner perimeter of the frame, wherein the fairlead assembly comprises a pair of arms, a central pivot point located between the arms, and peripheral pivot points located at opposite ends of the arms, wherein a distance between the central pivot point and each of the peripheral pivot points is equal.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized with other embodiments without specific recitation.
Embodiments of the disclosure relate to an overhead crane comprising a trolley that moves within an X-Y plane relative to a support structure. The trolley is coupled to a remotely located winch in order to reduce the overall weight of the overhead crane. The overhead crane may be utilized to replace any conventional bridge crane, such as an offline activity crane (OAC) utilized for handling tubulars on a land based or offshore oil and gas rig according to one embodiment. The overhead crane disclosed herein may also be utilized to replace other types of cranes that are supported by a support structure.
The trolley 130 is coupled to the frame 115 and comprises a fairlead assembly 135 and a cable guide 150. The fairlead assembly 135 is coupled to the cable guide 150 at one end and follows the cable guide 150 as it moves along the bridge member 125 and as the bridge member 125 moves along the rail members 120. The fairlead assembly 135 includes a pair of arms 148 coupled to four sheaves 145. Although two arms 148 and four sheaves 145 are shown, the fairlead assembly 135 may include any number of arms (e.g. one or more arms) coupled to any number of sheaves (e.g. one or more sheaves). A cable 140, such as a wire rope, extending from the winch 142 to a hook 144 is routed around the sheaves 145 that are coupled between or to one or more of the arms 148. The winch 142 may be coupled to the derrick 110 at a location remote from the trolley 130, such as by being mounted on the floor of the derrick 110. As illustrated, the winch 142 comprises a rotatable drum about which the cable 140 is spooled. The winch 142 however may comprise other types of hoisting devices. The cable guide 150 is movably coupled to the bridge member 125 and guides the cable 140 along the fairlead assembly 135 as it is payed-out and taken-in by operation of the winch 142. According to one example, a single joint elevator may be suspended from the hook 144 to move one or more tubulars on the derrick 110.
The cable guide 150, is capable of being moved in the X direction and the Y direction (e.g., within the X-Y plane) based on articulation of the arms 148 of the fairlead assembly 135. A surface area 155 that is serviced by the overhead crane 100 is defined by the dimensions of the rail members 120 and the bridge member 125. For example, a length of the rail members 120 defines movement of the cable guide 150 in the X direction, and the spacing between the rail members 120 (spanned by the bridge member 125) defines movement of the cable guide 150 in the Y direction. The overhead crane 100 may service a surface area 155 of about 16 feet by about 20 feet in one embodiment, or a surface area 155 of about 36 feet by about 36 feet in another embodiment. The dimensions of the overhead crane 100 may be configured to service a surface area of any size.
One end of the fairlead assembly 135 is coupled to the central support member 210 of the first support structure 200 by a swivel device 225. The swivel device 225 may be a passive bearing device that allows movement of the one end of the fairlead assembly 135 in the direction indicated by arrow 230. The swivel device 225 may be a slewing bearing or other type of bearing.
The bridge member 125 is movable along the rail members 120 by one or more motors 235 coupled between the bridge member 125 and the rail members 120. The cable guide 150 is movable along the bridge member 125 by one or more motors 236 coupled between the cable guide 150 and the bridge member 125. Actuation of the motors 235, 236 allows the cable guide 150 to be positioned within an inner perimeter 240 defined by the rail members 120 and the first and second support structures 200, 205. Additionally, the cable guide 150 is movable relative to the bridge member 125 within the inner perimeter 240. The inner perimeter 240 substantially corresponds to the surface area 155 shown in
Although multiple motors 235, 236 are shown in
The trolley 130 is configured so that a hook height 300 as shown in
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure thus may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
