CN112196480A

CN112196480A - Open type elevator suitable for various pipe diameter specifications

Info

Publication number: CN112196480A
Application number: CN202011030609.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王新明; 范竹刚; 朱可; 吴敬华; 田亚楠; 陶志影
Original assignee: Wuxi Zhihan Energy Technology Equipment And Service Co ltd
Current assignee: Wuxi Zhihan Energy Technology Equipment And Service Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-27
Filing date: 2020-09-27
Publication date: 2021-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-27
Also published as: CN112196480B

Abstract

The invention relates to an open elevator, which comprises a shell and a clamping mechanism for clamping an oil pipe, wherein the clamping mechanism comprises a first clamping block and a second clamping block, the first clamping block and the second clamping block jointly define an orifice through which an oil supply pipe passes, the first clamping block and the second clamping block are respectively and detachably fixed on a first sliding block and a second sliding block, the first sliding block and the second sliding block can respectively perform translational motion in opposite directions on sliding surfaces through an actuating mechanism, and the first clamping block and the second clamping block are enabled to move away from each other to open the orifice or approach each other to close the orifice. By adopting the open elevator, the oil pipes with different pipe diameters can be lifted and lowered by simple and reliable automatic operation without replacing the whole elevator, and the elevator has a simple structure and higher reliability.

Description

Open type elevator suitable for various pipe diameter specifications

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of petroleum well repairing operation equipment, in particular to an open type elevator for lifting (or lowering) an oil pipe.

Background

It is well known that an elevator is an important component in well servicing operations. In workover operations, it is often necessary to effect tripping of the tubing with the aid of an elevator system. However, due to the difference in the specifications (diameter sizes) of the oil pipes, a series of elevators with different specifications are usually designed to be matched to accommodate the oil pipes with different specifications. Research shows that most of the elevators used in the market can only adapt to the diameter of a single-specification oil pipe. Therefore, when the workover operation is carried out, an operator needs to carry the elevators with various specifications at one time so as to adapt to oil pipes with different diameters by replacing the elevators with different specifications in the operation process, the automation degree of the whole operation is low, the manual operation intensity is high, the operation efficiency is low, and meanwhile, the field operation environment has certain risks, and the safety of the oilfield operation is affected.

Improved elevator systems are known in the art. For example, chinese patent application CN104563915A discloses a hydraulic elevator with open/close indication, which proposes to adapt to the clamping and lifting of oil pipes with different pipe diameters by replacing the type of the complementary core located in the elevator, which realizes the holding of the closed state by the locking mechanism.

Chinese patent application CN203035129U discloses an oil pipe elevator which realizes the adaptation to oil pipes of different pipe diameter specifications by being provided with replaceable movable crescents having different inner diameters to reduce the trouble of replacing the whole elevator. The movable crescent needs to be manually operated by means of a rotating handle to realize the opening and closing of the elevator.

In addition, U.S. patent application No. 4035012A discloses a dual elevator that accommodates tubing of different pipe sizes by mating a series of variable bore liners.

On the one hand, however, although the elevator system in the prior art proposes to eliminate the trouble of replacing the elevator as a whole by replacing the movable part with a simple structure, the complicated locking mechanism and the matching driving device are introduced, so that the structure is complicated; on the other hand, when the known elevator system in the prior art is used for taking off and taking off different oil pipes, the automation and intelligentization level is still low, and especially, the full automation and intelligentization of the whole process from the time when the oil pipe enters the elevator to the time when the elevator is used for clamping the oil pipe and finally lifting the oil pipe by the elevator cannot be realized.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is made under such a background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an open elevator which can perform a trip operation of oil pipes of various pipe diameters without replacing the entire elevator by simple and reliable automated operations, and which has a simple structure and high reliability by omitting a complicated locking mechanism.

The invention provides an open elevator, which comprises a shell and a clamping mechanism for clamping an oil pipe, wherein the clamping mechanism comprises a first clamping block and a second clamping block, the first clamping block and the second clamping block jointly define an orifice through which an oil supply pipe passes, the first clamping block and the second clamping block are respectively and detachably fixed on a first sliding block and a second sliding block, and the first sliding block and the second sliding block can respectively perform translational motion in opposite directions on a sliding surface through an actuating mechanism, so that the first clamping block and the second clamping block move away from each other to open the orifice or approach each other to close the orifice.

Advantageously, the open elevator further comprises a detection mechanism for detecting and confirming entry of tubing into the housing, the actuation mechanism actuating the first and second dogs to move closer to each other in response to a confirmation signal issued by the detection mechanism; the open elevator is further provided with a first proximity sensor to detect the approach of a moving part to confirm that the first and second dogs have moved to a state where the aperture is fully closed.

Advantageously, the actuating mechanism is a hydraulic cylinder, a piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder being connected to a linkage mechanism, such that a reciprocating linear motion of the piston rod is converted via the linkage mechanism into a translational motion of the first and second cartridges in opposite directions, respectively.

Advantageously, the linkage mechanism comprises a first pivot, a link, a first rotating shaft with a first pivot arm, a second pivot and a second rotating shaft with a second pivot arm, wherein the piston rod is connected to the first pivot, the first rotating shaft is pivotally connected to the first pivot via the first pivot arm, a first end of the link is pivotally connected to the first pivot, a second end of the link is pivotally connected to the second pivot, the second rotating shaft is pivotally connected to the second pivot via the second pivot arm, wherein a first connecting plate is fixedly arranged on the first rotating shaft, a second connecting plate is fixedly arranged on the second rotating shaft, a free end of the first connecting plate is rotatably connected to the first slider, a free end of the second connecting plate is rotatably connected to the second slider, and the reciprocating linear motion of the piston rod is converted into the reciprocating linear motion of the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft in opposite directions And the first sliding block and the second sliding block are driven to respectively move in a translational way along the opposite direction by the first connecting plate and the second connecting plate.

Advantageously, the sliding surface comprises a first surface portion and a second surface portion contiguous to each other, said first and second surface portions extending symmetrically obliquely upwards from the intermediate connection, respectively, said first slider sliding on said first surface portion and said second slider sliding on said second surface portion.

Advantageously, each of the first slider and the second slider is provided with a pair of attachment lugs for receiving therein the first connecting plate and the second connecting plate, respectively, and the first connecting plate and the second connecting plate are provided with oblong holes, respectively, which are aligned with the pin holes of the attachment lugs for the pin shaft to pass through.

Advantageously, the inclination angles of said first surface portion and said second surface portion are designed such that, when the oil pipe is totally acting on one of the spigots, the component of the force borne by this spigots in the direction along the sliding surface towards said intermediate connection is always smaller than the friction force in the opposite direction.

Advantageously, the detection mechanism comprises an induction plate intended to come into contact with and be pushed by the tubing entering the housing until close to the second proximity sensor, a second proximity sensor intended to determine, on the basis of the approach of the induction plate, that the tubing has entered the interior of the housing and simultaneously to send an elevator stop signal, and a return spring intended to return the induction plate to the original position.

Advantageously, the detection mechanism further comprises a damping spring connected to a support plate for supporting the return spring and the second proximity sensor to allow a damping force to be provided for tubing impact if the second proximity sensor does not timely send the elevator stop signal.

Advantageously, the first proximity sensor is arranged on the housing and the moving part is the link.

Advantageously, the open elevator comprises a pilot member having a tapered opening coaxially disposed below the catch mechanism, the tubing passing through the tapered opening and through the aperture collectively defined by the first and second dogs.

Advantageously, the first and second dogs are fixed to the first and second slides via bolts or quick connect mechanisms and can be quickly changed to a dog gauge that fits oil pipes of different pipe diameters.

By adopting the open elevator, the oil pipes with different specifications can be lifted and lowered. The oil pipe detection mechanism can be used for automatically detecting the oil pipe entering the elevator, and meanwhile, the proximity sensor can be used for confirming that the elevator is closed in place so as to automatically control the elevator to lift, so that the automatic operation of the oil pipe lifting is realized. The open elevator is applied to the workover rig, and can greatly improve the automation and intelligence level of the workover rig.

Drawings

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a perspective view of an open elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the linkage for moving the first and second dogs of the catch mechanism relative to each other;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a portion of the configuration of the tubing as it is being captured by the capture mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a partially cut-away schematic view showing the internal structure of an open elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial top view showing an open elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a tubing detection mechanism of an open elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

figure 7 partially illustrates a safety latch structure of a lifting lug for connection with a traveler hook of an open elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the following drawings and specific examples. Descriptions of orientations such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", "radial", "axial", and the like that may be used in the following description are for convenience of description only and are not intended to limit the technical aspects of the invention unless explicitly stated. In addition, terms such as "first," "second," and the like, which are used hereinafter to describe elements of the present application, are used merely to distinguish the elements, and are not intended to limit the nature, sequence, order, or number of the elements.

As mentioned in the background, an elevator is mainly an important component of a workover operation, and can be generally divided into an open elevator and a closed elevator in terms of structural form. The invention relates to an open elevator which can be suitable for oil pipes with various pipe diameters and specifications and can be driven between an open state and a closed state through hydraulic power. The open elevator can be driven to open or close an aperture or a receiving space through which the oil supply pipe passes.

Figure 1 shows an open elevator 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The open elevator 1 comprises a housing 2; lifting lug 4 for connecting with the carriage hook 3-see fig. 7, the carriage hook 3 and the lifting lug 4 are fixed by a safety catch 37, the safety catch 37 comprises two rotating parts which can respectively rotate around an upper pin shaft and a lower pin shaft; and a catching mechanism disposed in the open elevator 1 for catching the oil pipe 6. The clamping mechanism comprises a first clamping block 7 and a second clamping block 8, wherein the first clamping block 7 and the second clamping block 8 can be detachably fixed on a first sliding block 9 and a second sliding block 10 respectively through bolts or quick connection mechanisms known in the art, so that the first clamping block 7 and the second clamping block 8 can be quickly replaced. Specifically, a series of cartridges of different gauges can be fitted, allowing a series of bore diameters to be provided that fit within tubing of different caliber gauges.

The first slider 9 and the second slider 10 can be driven by an actuating mechanism, in particular via a linkage 11, to move closer to each other (i.e. closed position) or away from each other (i.e. open position). In the closed position, the first block 7 and the second block 8 abut each other to form a closed aperture 12 (see fig. 5) having a circular shape to allow a clasping action to be provided to the oil pipe.

As shown in fig. 1, the actuating mechanism is preferably a hydraulic ram 13. The top end of the piston rod 14 of the hydraulic cylinder 13 is connected to the link mechanism 11, so that the reciprocating motion of the piston rod 14 can be finally converted into the translational motion of the first latch 7 and the second latch 8 in the substantially opposite directions via the link mechanism 11. Next, how to achieve opening and closing control of the elevator using the link mechanism 11 will be described in detail.

Referring particularly to fig. 2, the piston rod 14 of the hydraulic ram 13 is connected to a first pivot 15, a first pivot 16 mounted on the housing 2 is pivotally connected to the first pivot 15 via a first pivot arm 17, a first end of a link 18 is pivotally connected to the first pivot 15, a second end of the link 18 is pivotally connected to a second pivot 19, a second pivot 20 mounted on the housing 2 is pivotally connected to the second pivot 19 via a second pivot arm 21, a first connecting plate 22 is fixedly disposed on the first pivot 16, a second connecting plate 23 is fixedly disposed on the second pivot 20, a free end of the first connecting plate 22 is rotatably connected to the first slider 9, and a free end of the second connecting plate 23 is rotatably connected to the second slider 10.

According to a specific embodiment, with reference to fig. 4 and 5, each of the first slider 9 and the second slider 10 is provided with a pair of attachment lugs 24 for receiving therein the first connecting plate 22 and the second connecting plate 23, respectively, and the first connecting plate 22 and the second connecting plate 23 are provided with receiving holes, respectively, aligned with the pin holes of the attachment lugs 24 for the pin shafts 25 to pass through.

Specifically, for example, in the state of the elevator closed as shown in fig. 1, referring to fig. 2, as the piston rod 14 extends from the cylinder, the piston rod 14 will push the first pivot 15 and rotate the first rotating shaft 16 in the clockwise direction via the first pivot arm 17, and rotate the second rotating shaft 20 in the counterclockwise direction via the link 18, the second pivot 19 and the second pivot arm 21, so that the first connecting plate 22 and the second connecting plate 23 swing about the first rotating shaft 16 and the second rotating shaft 20, respectively, and thereby pull the first slider 9 and the second slider 10 to move translationally in substantially opposite directions (substantially to the right and substantially to the left, respectively, in fig. 1), so that the elevator is in the open state. The process of closing the elevator is the reverse of the above process and will not be described further herein.

According to an advantageous embodiment, see in particular fig. 3, the sliding surface on which the first and

second sliders

9, 10 slide comprises a first surface portion 26 and a second surface portion 27 contiguous to each other, said first surface portion 26 and said second surface portion 27 extending symmetrically obliquely upwards from the intermediate connection 28 (i.e. the sliding surface is of a low-middle, high-two configuration). The first slider 9 slides on said first surface portion 26 and the second slider 10 slides on said second surface portion 27. The angles of inclination of the first surface portion 26 and the second surface portion 27 are designed such that the first slider 9 and the second slider 10 can have a self-locking function.

In particular, in practice, if the oil pipe 6 is totally biased against one of the spiders, the above-mentioned inclination angle is designed so that the component of the force (in this case oil pipe gravity) borne by this spider or its corresponding slide in the direction along the sliding surface portion towards said intermediate connection 28 will always be less than the friction force in the opposite direction, so that this slide can always remain stationary, avoiding the risk of the oil pipe 6 falling off as a result of the opening of the elevator by hitting the opposite slide when this slide slides downwards towards the intermediate connection 28. Through the design of the self-locking function, a complex locking mechanism in the prior art can be omitted, and parts are greatly reduced, so that the reliability of the device is improved.

As can be seen in fig. 2 and 4, the receiving holes in the first and second webs are designed in the form of oblong holes 29. The oblong hole 29 is adapted to accommodate the variation in the displacement in the height (i.e. axial) direction and in the radial direction involved in the opening or closing of the first slider 9 and the second slider 10, when the first connecting plate 22 and the second connecting plate 23 respectively carry said first slider 9 and second slider 10 along the respective sliding surfaces, slightly inclined, in substantially opposite directions.

Next, how to realize automated and intelligent pipe tripping work using the open elevator 1 according to the present invention will be explained in detail in conjunction with the above description.

Before the open elevator 1 is used to drive the oil pipe 6 to be lifted, a detection operation is first performed by the detection mechanism 5 to confirm whether the oil pipe 6 has entered the casing 2 of the elevator. As shown in fig. 6, the detection mechanism 5 generally includes a sensing plate 30, a proximity sensor 31 (e.g., a proximity switch), and a return spring 32, wherein the proximity sensor 31 and the return spring 32 may be disposed on the same support plate 33.

Specifically, the open elevator 1 is driven to move downwards by the lifting lug 4 connected with the traveling block hook 3 on the open elevator 1 by using the power provided by the driller module, so as to align the tubing 6, and then the tubing can pass through the tapered opening of the guiding part 34 in the open elevator and pass through the hole jointly limited by the first fixture 7 and the second fixture 8 (especially referring to fig. 1 and 4), and the collar 38 of the tubing can contact the sensing plate 30 and push the sensing plate 30 to be close to the proximity sensor 31 against the acting force of the return spring 32. The proximity sensor 31, upon detecting the sensing plate 30, confirms that the tubing has entered the housing 2 and sends a signal to the system to stop the elevator from running.

At this time, the system stops the lowering of the elevator in response to the elevator stop signal from said detection mechanism 5, and at the same time issues a command to control the hydraulic cylinder 13 to drive the first and

second sliders

9, 10 to move close to each other along the respective sliding surface portions to take the closed position as shown in fig. 5. In this process, the proximity of the moving part (in this embodiment, the link 18 in the linkage mechanism 11) is detected by another proximity sensor 35 provided on the housing 2 of the open elevator, and a signal is sent from the proximity sensor 35 to the system to confirm that the first and second dogs 7 and 8 have moved to a state where the orifices are completely closed, and the system then controls the elevator to move upward a small distance in response to the confirmation signal sent from the proximity sensor 35 until the collar 38 of the tubing 6 can be supported on the first and second dogs 7 and 8 (see fig. 4), so that the tubing can be lifted and lowered together with the open elevator. At the same time, during the short distance of the open elevator moving up relative to the tubing, the tubing will no longer be pressed against the sensing plate 30, so that the sensing plate 30 returns to the initial position due to the urging of the return spring 32.

Advantageously, the detection mechanism 5 may also include a buffer spring 36 connected to the support plate 33, allowing a buffer force to be provided for tubing impact if the proximity sensor 31 does not timely send an elevator stop signal or the system does not timely receive the elevator stop signal.

The elevator can realize full automation and intellectualization of the whole process from the time when the oil pipe enters the elevator to the time when the elevator clamps the oil pipe and finally lifts the oil pipe, reduces manual operation, greatly improves the operation efficiency and improves the operation safety. In addition, through setting up the movable part that can be by quick replacement such as fixture block, can allow the quick adaptation to the oil pipe of different pipe diameter specifications.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiments should be regarded as merely illustrative, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention in view of the contents of this specification. With a true scope of the invention being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An open elevator (1) comprising a housing (2) and a clamping mechanism for clamping an oil pipe (6), the clamping mechanism comprising a first clamping block (7) and a second clamping block (8), the first clamping block (7) and the second clamping block (8) together defining an orifice through which an oil supply pipe (6) passes, characterized in that the first clamping block (7) and the second clamping block (8) are detachably fixed on a first slider (9) and a second slider (10), respectively, the first slider (9) and the second slider (10) are translationally movable on a sliding surface in opposite directions, respectively, by an actuating mechanism, such that the first clamping block (7) and the second clamping block (8) are moved away from each other to open the orifice or close to each other to close the orifice.

2. The open elevator (1) according to claim 1, wherein the open elevator (1) further comprises a detection mechanism (5) for detecting and confirming that a tubing (6) has entered the housing (2), the actuation mechanism actuating the first and second dogs (7, 8) to move closer to each other in response to a confirmation signal issued by the detection mechanism (5); the open elevator (1) is further provided with a first proximity sensor (35) to detect the approach of a moving part to confirm that the first latch (7) and the second latch (8) have been moved to a state where the apertures are completely closed.

3. An open elevator (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the actuating mechanism is a hydraulic ram (13), the piston rod (14) of the hydraulic ram (13) being connected to a linkage mechanism (11) such that the reciprocating linear motion of the piston rod (14) is converted via the linkage mechanism (11) into translational motion of the first and second cartridges (7, 8) in opposite directions, respectively.

4. An open elevator (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the linkage (11) comprises a first pivot (15), a link (18), a first pivot (16) with a first pivot arm (17), a second pivot (19) and a second pivot (20) with a second pivot arm (21), wherein the piston rod (14) is connected to the first pivot (15), the first pivot (16) is pivotally connected to the first pivot (15) via a first pivot arm (17), a first end of the link (18) is pivotally connected to the first pivot (15), a second end of the link (18) is pivotally connected to the second pivot (19), the second pivot (20) is pivotally connected to the second pivot (19) via a second pivot arm (21), wherein a first connecting plate (22) is fixedly arranged on the first pivot (16), a second connecting plate (23) is fixedly arranged on the second rotating shaft (20), a free end of the first connecting plate (22) is rotatably connected to the first sliding block (9), a free end of the second connecting plate (23) is rotatably connected to the second sliding block (10), and the reciprocating linear motion of the piston rod (14) is converted into the rotation of the first rotating shaft (16) and the second rotating shaft (20) in opposite directions, so that the first sliding block (9) and the second sliding block (10) are driven to respectively move in translation in opposite directions through the first connecting plate (22) and the second connecting plate (23).

5. An open elevator (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sliding surface comprises a first surface portion (26) and a second surface portion (27) bordering on each other, the first surface portion (26) and the second surface portion (27) each extending symmetrically obliquely upwards from an intermediate connection (28), the first slider (9) sliding on the first surface portion (26), the second slider (10) sliding on the second surface portion (27).

6. An open elevator (1) as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of the first and second blocks is provided with a pair of attachment lugs (24) to receive therein a first and second web (22, 23) respectively, the first and second webs being provided with oblong holes (29) respectively aligned with the pin holes of the attachment lugs (24) for the passage of a pin (25).

7. An open elevator (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the inclination angles of the first surface portion (26) and the second surface portion (27) are designed such that, when the oil pipe (6) is fully acting on one of the cartridges, the force component of the force on that cartridge in the direction along the sliding surface towards the intermediate connection (28) is always smaller than the friction force in the opposite direction.

8. An open elevator (1) according to any of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the detection mechanism (5) comprises an induction plate (30), a second proximity sensor (31) and a return spring (32), the induction plate (30) being intended to be in contact with and pushed by the tubing (6) entering into the housing (2) until approaching the second proximity sensor (31), the second proximity sensor determining that the tubing has entered inside the housing based on the approach of the induction plate (30) and simultaneously sending an elevator stop signal, the return spring (32) tending to return the induction plate (30) to the original position.

9. An open elevator (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the detection mechanism (5) further comprises a buffer spring (36) connected to the support plate (33) for supporting the return spring (32) and the second proximity sensor (31) to allow providing a buffer force for the impact action on the tubing (6) when the second proximity sensor (31) does not timely send the elevator stop signal.

10. An open elevator (1) according to any of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that the first proximity sensor (35) is arranged on the housing (2) and the moving part is the link (18).

11. The open elevator (1) according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the open elevator (1) comprises a pilot member (34) having a tapered opening coaxially disposed below the catch mechanism, the tubing (16) passing through the tapered opening and through the aperture collectively defined by the first and second dogs.

12. The open elevator (1) according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first and second cartridges (7, 8) are fixed to the first and second sliders (9, 10) via bolts or quick connect mechanisms and can be quickly changed to a cartridge format to fit oil pipes of different pipe diameters.