EP0166675B1 - Zange und Zangenanordnung - Google Patents

Zange und Zangenanordnung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0166675B1
EP0166675B1 EP85630095A EP85630095A EP0166675B1 EP 0166675 B1 EP0166675 B1 EP 0166675B1 EP 85630095 A EP85630095 A EP 85630095A EP 85630095 A EP85630095 A EP 85630095A EP 0166675 B1 EP0166675 B1 EP 0166675B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
wrench
arm
gate arm
top drive
gate
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP85630095A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0166675A3 (en
EP0166675A2 (de
Inventor
William Roger Hamilton
Karl Arthur Schulz
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Varco International Inc
Original Assignee
Varco International Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Varco International Inc filed Critical Varco International Inc
Publication of EP0166675A2 publication Critical patent/EP0166675A2/de
Publication of EP0166675A3 publication Critical patent/EP0166675A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0166675B1 publication Critical patent/EP0166675B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B19/00—Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables
    • E21B19/16—Connecting or disconnecting pipe couplings or joints

Definitions

  • This invention relates in general to wrenches and wrench assemblies and in particular to a wrench assembly for use with a top drive well drilling apparatus.
  • a top drive drilling system rotates a drill string from the top, rather than using a rotary table, a kelly, and a kelly bushing.
  • An electric drilling motor is suspended from the drilling rig's conventional swivel and is attached to the top of the drill string.
  • the drilling motor may also be attached to a carriage, which is guided by a pair of vertical tracks.
  • the drilling motor is connected to the drill string by a cylindrical stem, which extends downward from the motor.
  • a top drive sub is the bottom unit of the cylindrical stem, and is the unit to which the drill string is threaded.
  • a wrench assembly is also suspended from the drilling motor, in order to make or break connections between the top drive sub and the drill string. In some prior art top drive drilling systems, the wrench assembly rotates with the drill string and is not removable therefrom. However, there are some top drive well drilling apparatus in which the wrench assembly may be retracted away from the drill string.
  • US-A-2,495,834 discloses a prior art wrench as described in the preamble of claim 1.
  • the object of the invention is a wrench and wrench assembly which may be used, without adjustment, on tubular members having a wide range of diameters.
  • the wrench may have a curved gate arm and a curved latch arm, which are pivotally connected to the frame of the wrench.
  • the gate arm has a plurality of teeth on its outer surface
  • the latch arm has a plurality of teeth on its inner surface.
  • a wrench assembly comprises a lower wrench and an upper wrench.
  • the upper wrench of the wrench assembly has a semicircular plate having at least one vertical spline.
  • the spline which may be beveled on the upper end, are adapted to engage at least one spline on the top drive sub in a top drive drilling system.
  • the wrench assembly is capable of connecting and disconnecting connections between a top drive sub and a tool joint on a drill string regardless of the diameter of the tool joint.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a top drive well drilling apparatus.
  • a conventional traveling block 11 and a conventional hook 13 are suspended by cables 15 above the floor 17 of an oil well drilling rig.
  • a top drive unit 19, which is a drilling motor of a conventional type, is suspended from the hook 13.
  • a carriage 21 guides the top drive unit 19 up and down along a pair of vertical guide tracks 23.
  • a tubular member, or stem 25, extends downward from the top drive unit 19.
  • the upper end of a drill string 27 is threaded to a top drive sub 29, which is the lowest unit of the stem 25.
  • the drill string 27 consists of a series of tubular members, called pipe sections, and has a rotary rock bit attached at the lower end for drilling a well bore.
  • FIG 2 shows the lower wrench 33 in the closed position.
  • the lower wrench 33 has a curved gate arm 41 and a curved latch arm 43, pivotally connected to a frame 45 at pivot points 47 and 49, respectively.
  • the gate arm 41 and the latch arm 43 are pivotable between the closed position, as shown in Fig. 2, and an open position wherein the wrench can be applied to or removed from the tool joint 35.
  • a fluid cylinder 51, 53 is connected to each arm 41, 43 to provide means for pivoting the arms between the open and closed positions.
  • the gate arm 41 has a plurality of latching teeth 55 on its outer surface
  • the latch arm 43 has a plurality of latching teeth 57 on its inner surface for locking engagement with the teeth 55 on the gate arm 41.
  • a die block 59 having tong dies 58, is mounted on the frame 45 opposite the gate arm 41 and latch arm 43.
  • a clamping cylinder 61 moves the die block 59 reciprocally between a retracted position away from the drill string 27 and an extended position against the drill string 27.
  • the clamping cylinder 61 and die block 59 are a means for forcing the tool joint 35 against the gate arm 41.
  • Figure 3 illustrates how the wrench is capable of engaging tubular members of different diameters, without having to be adjusted.
  • the solid lines show tong dies 60 on the gate arm 41 engaging a tubular member 62 of a larger diameter.
  • the teeth 55 on the gate arm 41 engage the teeth 57 on the latch arm 43, and the specific teeth 57 which are engaged are near the outer end 63 of the latch arm 43.
  • the gate arm 41 engages a tubular member 64 of a smaller diameter, as shown in shadow in Fig. 3
  • the teeth 55 on the gate arm 41 engage a different set of teeth 57 on the latch arm 43.
  • the engaged teeth 57 on the latch arm 43 are closer to the pivot point 49.
  • the gate arm teeth 55 will engage different latch arm teeth 57.
  • the gate arm 41 is capable of engaging tubular members having a wide range of diameters, without having to be adjusted.
  • Figure 4 shows the entire wrench assembly 31, which consists of the lower wrench 33 and an upper wrench 37.
  • the upper wrench 37 does. not completely encircle the top drive sub 29 but rather has a semicircular plate 65.
  • a plurality of vertical splines 67 are mounted on the interior surface of the semi-circular plate 65, for engaging the splines 39 on the top drive sub 29.
  • the splines 67 on the upper wrench 37 are spaced apart so as to fit between the splines 39 on the top drive sub 29.
  • the upper end of each spline 67 is beveled to facilitate engagement with the splines 39 on the top drive sub 29.
  • a fluid cylinder 71 is attached to the lower wrench 33, and the piston rod 73 is connected to the upper wrench 37.
  • the piston rod 73 When the piston rod 73 is extended, the upper wrench is rotated counterclockwise, relative to the lower wrench 33.
  • the fluid cylinder 71 and piston rod 73 are thus means for applying torque to the wrenches 33, 37 to rotate one of the wrenches with respect to the other wrench.
  • the wrench assembly 31 is first retracted away from the stem, and then lowered to a position below the connection between the tool joint 35 and the top drive sub 29.
  • the wrench assembly 31 is then extended back to the center line of the drill. string 27.
  • the wrench assembly 31 is raised to engage the splines 67 on the upper wrench 37 and the splines 39 on the top drive sub 29. Interrotational capability is provided to align the splines 39, 67, aided by the bevels 69 at the top of the wrench splines 67.
  • the splines 37 on the top drive sub 29 are beveled at the lower end.
  • the lower wrench 33 When the upper wrench 37 is aligned with the top drive sub 29, the lower wrench 33 will be aligned with the tool joint 35 at the top of the drill string 27.
  • the fluid cylinder 51 is actuated to pivot the gate arm 41 to its closed position, in which the inner surface of the gate arm 41 contacts the tool joint 35.
  • Fluid cylinder 53 is then actuated to pivot the latch arm 43 to close onto the gate arm 41.
  • the latching teeth 57 on the latch arm 43 may or may not mesh with the teeth 55 on the gate arm 41 at this point.
  • the clamping cylinder 61 is then actuated to extend the die block 59.
  • the die block 59 pushes the tool joint 35 against the gate arm 41.
  • the clamping cylinder 61 exerts substantial pressure and overcomes the gate arm cylinder 51, causing the gate arm 41 to be pushed back.
  • the gate arm 41 will continue to be pushed back until the teeth 55, 57 on the arms 41, 43 become interlocked.
  • the pressure in the clamping cylinder 61 is increased until the desired clamping pressure is achieved.
  • the torquing cylinder 71 is then actuated to rotate the upper wrench 37 in relation to the lower wrench 33, thus making or breaking the connection between the top drive sub 29 and the tool joint 35 on the drill string 27.
  • the lower wrench 33 is first released.
  • the clamping cylinder 61 retracts the die block 59 from the tool joint 35.
  • Fluid cylinder 53 then pivots the latch arm 43 to the open position, and fluid cylinder 51 pivots the gate arm to the open position.
  • the wrench assembly 31 is then lowered to disengage the splines 39, 67 on the top drive sub 29 and the top wrench 37.
  • the wrench assembly 31 is retracted away from the connection, raised, and returned to its storage position beneath the top drive unit 19.
  • the wrench assembly of the invention has several advantages over the prior art. Because of the various teeth 57 on the latch arm 43 which may be engaged by the gate arm teeth 55, the wrench assembly 31 may be used on a large variety of tubular members without having to be adjusted.
  • the spline connection between the upper wrench 37 and the top drive sub 29 eliminates the need to repeatably grip the top drive sub with tong dies. Repeated gripping with tong dies would damage the sub 29, which must then be replaced.
  • the wrench assembly 31 of the invention can be retracted away from the stem 25 and the drill string 27. This capability allows the wrench assembly 31 to remain stationary rather than to rotate with the drill string 27.
  • the ability of the wrench assembly 31 to be raised to the storage position, shown in Fig. 1, allows the top drive drilling apparatus to drill the drill string to a deeper depth before additional pipe sections must be added to the drill string 27.
  • the wrench assembly may have an upper wrench of the same design as the lower wrench 33 described above.

Claims (4)

1. Zange zum Herstellen und Trennen von Verbindungen zwischen rohrförmigen Teilen, mit
einem Rahmen (45);
einem Torarm (41), der Arretierzähne (55) hat, wobei der Torarm an dem Rahmen schwenkbar befestigt und zwischen einer offenen Position und einer geschlossenen Position schwenkbar ist; und
einem Arretierarm (43), der an dem Rahmen (45) schwenkbar befestigt und zwischen einer offenen Position und einer geschlossenen Position schwenkbar ist, gekennzeichnet durch Arretierzähne (57), die an der inneren Oberfläche zum Eingriff in die Arretierzähne (55) an dem Torarm (41) vorgesehen sind;
eine Einrichtung (59, 61 ) zum Pressen eines der rohrförmigen Teile gegen den Torarm (41);
eine Einrichtung (51) zum Schwenken des Torarms (41) zwischen der offenen Position und der geschlossenen Position; und eine Einrichtung (53) zum Schwenken des Arretierarms (43) zwischen der offenen Position und der geschlossenen Position.
2. Zange nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Torarm ein gekrümmter Torarm ist, wobei die innere Obefläche des Torarms eines der rohrförmigen Teile berührt und wobei eine Vielzahl der Arretierzähne (55) an der äußeren Oberfläche des Torarms vorgesehen ist, und daß der Arretierarm (43) ein gekrümmter Arretierarm ist, wobei die innere Oberfläche des Arretierarms die äußere Oberfläche des Torarms berührt und wobei eine Vielzahl der Arretierzähne (57) zum Arretiereingriff in die Arretierzähne an dem Torarm vorgesehen ist.
3. Zange nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, gekennzeichnet durch eine halbkreisförmige Platte (65), die über dem Rahmen (45) befestigt ist;
eine Einrichtung (71) zum Ausüben von Drehmoment auf die halbkreisförmige Platte (65) und auf die durch den Rahmen, den Torarm, den Arretierarm und die Preßeinrichtung gebildete Baugruppe zum Drehen der halbkreisförmigen Platte in bezug auf die Baugruppe; und wenigstens eine Keilnutverzahnung (67) auf der inneren Oberfläche der halbkreisförmigen Platte (65) zum Erfassen wenigstens einer Keilnutverzahnung an dem oberen Antriebsübergangsstück.
4. Zange nach Anspruch 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das obere Ende (69) wenigstens einer Keilnutverzahnung (67) abgeschrägt ist, um den Eingriff in die Keilnutverzahnung an dem oberen Antriebsübergangsstück zu erleichtern.
EP85630095A 1984-06-29 1985-06-20 Zange und Zangenanordnung Expired - Lifetime EP0166675B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US62618684A 1984-06-29 1984-06-29
US626186 1984-06-29

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0166675A2 EP0166675A2 (de) 1986-01-02
EP0166675A3 EP0166675A3 (en) 1986-12-10
EP0166675B1 true EP0166675B1 (de) 1990-01-17

Family

ID=24509326

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP85630095A Expired - Lifetime EP0166675B1 (de) 1984-06-29 1985-06-20 Zange und Zangenanordnung

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0166675B1 (de)
CA (1) CA1232537A (de)
DE (1) DE3575448D1 (de)
NO (1) NO852466L (de)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FI854120L (fi) * 1985-10-22 1987-04-23 Tampella Oy Ab Oeppningsanordning foer borrstaenger foer en skarvstaongsborrningsutrustning.
GB2321867A (en) * 1997-02-07 1998-08-12 Weatherford Lamb Apparatus for gripping a tubular
WO2002037015A1 (en) * 2000-10-16 2002-05-10 Weatherford/Lamb, Inc. Coupling apparatus
NO342260B1 (en) * 2016-03-02 2018-04-30 Mhwirth As Top drive for a drilling rig
DE102016111122A1 (de) 2016-06-17 2017-12-21 Hoerbiger Antriebstechnik Holding Gmbh Gesinterter Reibwerkstoff für einen Reibbelag

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2495834A (en) * 1946-10-04 1950-01-31 Patents Inc Casing tongs
US2649283A (en) * 1947-12-30 1953-08-18 Byron Jackson Co Spinning and make-up tong
US3799009A (en) * 1972-02-10 1974-03-26 W Guier Apparatus for threading and unthreading vertical lengths of drill pipe
US4200010A (en) * 1978-08-07 1980-04-29 Hewitt Burton L Power-operated drill pipe spinner and pipe tongs

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE3575448D1 (de) 1990-02-22
CA1232537A (en) 1988-02-09
EP0166675A3 (en) 1986-12-10
NO852466L (no) 1985-12-30
EP0166675A2 (de) 1986-01-02

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