CN114585798A

CN114585798A - Torque tong with modular integrated spinner rollers and tong teeth

Info

Publication number: CN114585798A
Application number: CN202080055619.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 葛致远
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2019-08-09
Filing date: 2020-08-09
Publication date: 2022-06-03
Also published as: WO2021041009A3; WO2021041009A2

Abstract

The present invention introduces a torque tong 1 with a number of modules 25 integrating the rotator roller and the tong teeth into an upper tong 3, which can directly grip the tool joint area of a tubular drill string or other threaded equipment. The rotator roller has a drive shaft with a jaw therebetween, the jaw being movable inwardly or outwardly relative to the rotator roller such that the rotator roller and jaw may engage the same tool joint but are sequentially independent. The present invention eliminates the extra rotator unit that is normally suspended above the upper tong 3, simplifies the tripping operation, and provides sufficient gripping capability for all sizes of tool joints. The design strength of the jaw holder is sufficient to clamp any size tool joint required in field operations, except for the plurality of modules 25 that integrate the rotator and jaws.

Description

Torque tong with modular integrated spinner rollers and tong teeth

Background

Tongs or iron roughnecks are commonly used to run a drill string of drill pipe or other tubular into or out of a well, commonly referred to as "tripping". Drillers typically consist of torque tongs having lower and upper tongs that rotate relative to each other and rotator tongs that are used to connect and disconnect various drilling components (e.g., drill pipe and drill collars). Typically, the upper tong holds an upper tool joint called a "pin" and the lower tong holds a lower tool joint called a "box". The rotator roller typically engages only the column of the drill string and not the tool joint.

U.S. patent No. 4,023,449, U.S. patent No. 4,348,920 and U.S. patent No. 4,765,401 issued to Boyadjieff et al, and U.S. patent No. 7,313,986 issued to West et al on 1.1.2008, all show torque tongs and a separate rotator tong suspended above the torque tongs. The above prior art basically has torque tongs and spinning tongs that are disconnected from the torque tongs, mounted higher on the carriage, not engaged with the tool joint but with the column above the joint of the drill pipe, and spin the upper joint of the drill pipe until it is disconnected from the lower joint. Because the spinning tongs are not close enough to the torque tongs, the prior art iron roughnecks are not useful for connecting and disconnecting some types of drill rod assemblies. For example, the auger collar has an external stabilizer along the column that may be damaged by the rollers of the spinner. Other components have other variations in surface and shape that make them unsuitable for contact with spinning rollers along their cylinder.

U.S. patent No. 6,776,070 issued to Mason et al on 8/17 2004 shows a torque tong having a pair of integrated rotator rollers with a pawl formed in the restricted recess area between two sets of side rollers. While it does disclose an integrated pair of spinner and torque tong, the clamping jaws are formed in a very limited recessed area, which limits their clamping capability and does not provide the required torque capability for different sized tool joints. Second, the tool joint cannot be centered when the spinner is closed because the torque tong cannot maintain the same position when engaged with the tool joint without repositioning the entire torque tong itself. Another problem with us 6,776,070 is that because the spinner rollers are limited in size and do not provide sufficient spin torque to tighten the tool joints, the top tong needs to perform repeated back and forth rotation cycles to tighten the tool joint connections of the drill string, resulting in extended tipping times in the field.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a plurality of modules integrating rotator rollers and jaws into a torque tong to connect or disconnect all types of drill strings by spinning and clamping directly on the tool joint and not on the column of the drill string, and to connect or disconnect drill strings of all sizes with sufficient torque capacity required by the industry. The preferred embodiment has a triple module, but a double module is also a simplified embodiment.

It is another object of the present invention to eliminate separate spinner tongs that hang above the torque tongs and make tripping operations simpler, faster and more efficient.

Another object of the invention is to center the drill string by moving the modules in a substantially straight line simultaneously towards the center of the drill string without repositioning the entire torque tong itself.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide sufficient spin torque so that the rotator roller can spin the tool joint connection quickly, making it tight enough so that the torque tong can then only make a single rotation cycle to make the connection with the required torque, thus saving significant tripping time.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means of actuating the movement of the rotator roller and the jaws in an orderly manner so that the roller and jaws may engage the same tool joint but in a sequential order as desired.

Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stand-alone spin and torque device that engages other existing backup devices to hold a box on a drill rig to connect or disconnect with a drill string or other threaded equipment.

The present invention introduces a torque tong having a plurality of modules that integrate a spinner and tong teeth into an upper tong capable of directly gripping an upper tool joint area of a drill string or other threaded equipment. Preferably, two rotator rollers at the top and bottom with a common drive shaft are used, between which one or more jawsets and jawset holders are present, which can be moved inwards or outwards with respect to the rotator rollers so that the rotator rollers and the jawsets can engage with the same upper tool joint but are sequentially independent. The present invention eliminates the extra rotator unit that is normally suspended above the upper tong, simplifies the tripping operation, and provides sufficient gripping capability for all sizes of tool joints not possible in the prior art. The vertical arrangement of the jaws and jaw holder sandwiched between the top and bottom rollers in the vertical direction of the drill string, in addition to the multiple modules of the integrated rotator and jaws, makes it possible to make the design of the jaw holder robust enough to clamp any size and type of tool joint widely used in field operations. In addition, the integrated rotator and tong provides a self-centering capability to hold the tool joint in a well-centered position.

The invention also includes a lower tong having a plurality of gripping jaws for holding a lower tool joint of a drill bit, commonly referred to as a "box," during the tripping operation. The lower jaw is stationary without rotational movement. The upper tong is supported by the lower tong and is rotatable relative to the lower tong about an axis of the drill string. The lower jaw is supported by other members which allow the lower jaw and the upper jaw to be raised and lowered together along the drill string to position the tool joint. Although the lower tong is preferred, it need not be connected or disconnected from the drill string or other threaded equipment, as other components, such as drill floor slips and other backup tongs or gripping devices, may also hold the lower tool joint of the drill string or other threaded equipment.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

In the drawings which form a part of this specification, embodiments which illustrate various features of the invention are set forth below:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a torque tong of a preferred embodiment of the present invention attached to a carrier and positioning device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a torque tong;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of a torque tong;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a module for a torque tong;

fig. 5 is a perspective view of another preferred embodiment of a module for a torque tong.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a torque tong 1 of a preferred embodiment of the invention attached to a carrier 60 and a positioning device 61. The lower jaw of the torque tong is attached to a carrier that can move the entire torque tong vertically up and down. The positioning device may extend and retract the torque tong between a parked position and a well center position.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment torque tong 1 with an upper tong 3 on the top and a lower tong 7 at the bottom. A hydraulic cylinder 4 is attached to the two tongs and applies a torque to the upper tong 3 to rotate the upper tong about the centre of the tongs. At least one hydraulic cylinder 4 is required. Preferably, three modules 25 of integrated rotator rollers and jaws equally spaced 120 degrees apart are used in the upper jaw. These modules can be moved into and out of the caliper housing body by hydraulic cylinders or rotary actuators and engaged or disengaged with the upper tool joint so that the rotator rollers can grip the tool joint. The drill string can also be centered by moving all modules in a substantially straight line towards the centre of the drill string simultaneously without repositioning the entire torque tong itself. In the present invention, the rotator roller with the grooved or knurled surface grips onto the tool joint so that it can exert a large amount of normal gripping force directly on the tool joint, which would otherwise not be possible on the column, since excessive force would pinch the drill string body, and the present invention will thereby be able to generate a large amount of spin torque, as long as the drive motor can provide it. In the present invention, because the rotator roller and the drive motor can generate a sufficiently large torque, they can be used dually to replace conventional casing tongs used to connect or disconnect casing for running casing operations. The lower jaw 7 serves as a back-up means for holding the lower tool joint, typically with two or three clamping actuators. The torque tong carrier 60 is connected such that the torque tong can be raised and lowered along vertical rails or guides and also with the tong teeth, and the carriage, extended or retracted with the positioning means 61. The upper tong rotation is preferably done by using hydraulic cylinders 4 or air cylinders or actuators, but it can also be done by using a gearbox instead to obtain more degrees of rotation.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of another preferred embodiment torque tong 8 with an upper tong 9 on the top and a lower tong 10 at the bottom. Hydraulic cylinders 11 are attached to the two tongs and apply a torque to the upper tong 9 to rotate the upper tong about the centre of the tongs. At least one hydraulic cylinder 11 is required. Preferably, two modules 17 of integrated rotator rollers and jaws are used in the upper jaw. The two modules may be moved in and out of the housing body in opposite directions by hydraulic cylinders or rotary actuators and into and out of engagement with the upper tool joint so that the rotator roller may grip onto the tool joint. The drill string can also be centered by moving all modules in a substantially straight line towards the centre of the drill string simultaneously without repositioning the entire torque tong itself. The lower tong 10 serves as a backup means for holding a lower tool joint, typically having two or three clamping actuators, tongs and a carriage that connect the torque tong carrier 60 so that the torque tong can be raised and lowered along vertical rails or guides and can also be extended or retracted with the positioning means 61. The upper tong rotation is preferably done by using hydraulic cylinders 11 or air cylinders or actuators, but it can also be done by using a gearbox instead to obtain more degrees of rotation.

Fig. 4 is a preferred embodiment of the module 25 integrating a rotator roller 33 and a jaw 34 held by a jaw holder 28 having a wedge-shaped groove. Three modules are used and are preferably equally spaced 120 degrees apart. At least one roller 33 is used, but preferably a plurality of rollers are used, as shown in the drawings. The jaw 28, driven by a hydraulic cylinder or piston built into the module, can be moved in and out with respect to said roller 33 so that one or more jaws can be engaged or disengaged with the tool joint. The rotator rollers are driven by shafts which may be driven directly by a hydraulic or electric motor 35 or a rotary actuator or by a gearbox of a suitably configured gear set. In the preferred embodiment, the entire module 25 is driven within or outside the upper caliper housing body by at least one hydraulic cylinder or rotary actuator 26. The ends of the cylinder or actuator 26 are connected to the caliper housing body by one or more pins or bolts or similar members. The structural frame 30 attached to the module body 31 holds a rotator roller assembly consisting of a drive motor, drive shaft and rollers.

Another embodiment of moving the module may be accomplished by using a set of links that pivot about certain points using hydraulic cylinders or rotary actuators.

Fig. 5 is another embodiment of said module 17 integrating a rotator roller 33 and a jaw 34 held by a wedge groove. Two modules are used and move in opposite directions. A piston or cylinder 35, driven by a hydraulic cylinder built into the module, can be moved in and out relative to the roller 33 so that one or more jaws can be engaged or disengaged with the tool joint. There are two sets of drive shafts, each of which may be driven directly by a hydraulic or electric motor 2 or rotary actuator, or by a gearbox of a suitably configured gear set. In the preferred embodiment, the entire module is driven within or outside the caliper housing body by at least one hydraulic cylinder or rotary actuator 26. The ends of the cylinder or actuator 26 are connected to the caliper housing body by one or more pins or bolts or similar members. The structural frame 30 attached to the module body 31 holds a rotator roller assembly consisting of a drive motor, drive shaft and rollers.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, this has been done solely for the purpose of illustrating various aspects of the invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments shown and described are exemplary and that various other substitutions, alterations and modifications may be made in the practice of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, including but not limited to those design alternatives specifically discussed herein.

Claims

1. A module for integrating a rotator roller and a tong die into an upper tong of a torque tong for connection or disconnection with a tool joint of a drill string or other threaded drilling equipment, the module comprising:

at least one rotator roller assembly;

a jaw holder and at least one jaw held by the jaw holder;

means to move at least one said module towards or backwards from said tool joint to enable said roller to engage or disengage with said tool joint;

means to move the jaw holder and jaws relative to the rotator roller to enable engagement or disengagement of the one or more jaws with the tool joint;

means for rotating the rotator roller assembly.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the each rotator roller assembly has at least one roller and a drive shaft.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: said means to move said module backwards and forwards is at least one hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a rotary or electric actuator.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the means to move the jaw holder and jaws is a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a rotary or electrical actuator.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the means to rotate the rotator roller is a hydraulic motor or a rotary actuator or an electric actuator or a gearbox with a set of gear combinations.

6. A torque tong for connection to and disconnection from a tool joint of a drill string or other threaded drilling apparatus, comprising:

an upper clamp having a plurality of said modules;

a housing holding a plurality of said modules;

a lower jaw having a plurality of jaws;

means to move the module towards or backwards from the tool joint to enable the roller to engage or disengage with the tool joint;

means to move the jaw holder and jaws relative to the rotator roller to enable the jaws to engage or disengage with the tool joint;

means to rotate the upper jaw relative to the lower jaw to connect or disconnect with the tool joint;

means for rotating the rotator roller to tighten or loosen the connection of the tool joint.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the each rotator roller has at least one roller that rotates with the drive shaft.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: said means to move said module backwards and forwards is at least one hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a rotary or electric actuator.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the means to move the jaw holder and jaws is a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or a rotary or electrical actuator.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: the means to rotate the rotator roller is a hydraulic motor or a rotary actuator or an electric actuator or a gearbox with a set of gear combinations.

11. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein: said means to rotate said upper jaw with respect to said lower jaw is at least one hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder or rotary or electric actuator or a gearbox with a set of gear combinations.

12. A method of disconnecting a tool joint of a drill string or other threaded device, comprising the steps of:

moving a plurality of modules of rotator rollers and jaw holders integrated in the upper jaw and the jaws towards the upper tool joint; extending said jaw holder and jaws and gripping on said upper tool joint;

moving and gripping a plurality of jaw holders and jaws or other backup devices in a lower jaw towards and onto a lower tool joint;

rotating the upper torque tong to loosen the connection;

retracting the extended jaw holder and jaws in the upper jaw and rotating the roller to fully release the tool joint.

13. A method of connecting a tool joint of a drill string or other threaded device, comprising the steps of:

moving and gripping a plurality of jaw holders and jaws or other back-up devices in a lower jaw towards and onto a lower tool joint;

moving a plurality of modules of integrated rotator rollers and jaws in the upper jaw towards the upper tool joint; clamping the roller to the upper tool joint; rotating the roller to tighten the tool joint;

extending the jaw holder and jaws in the upper jaw to secure the tool joint;

the upper torque tong is rotated to tighten the connection until the desired torque is achieved.