Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK 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
  • E21B19/02—Rod or cable suspensions
  • E21B19/06—Elevators, i.e. rod- or tube-gripping devices
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B17/00—Drilling rods or pipes; Flexible drill strings; Kellies; Drill collars; Sucker rods; Cables; Casings; Tubings
  • E21B17/02—Couplings; joints
  • E21B17/04—Couplings; joints between rod or the like and bit or between rod and rod or the like
  • E21B17/05—Swivel joints

Definitions

• the field of the invention is a lockable swivel that can be used in a drill string for rotation thereof when the swivel is locked and in wireline applications to let the drill string rotate freely when the wireline is operated.
• both right and left-hand torque must be worked down-hole using the rig tongs. This is a procedure has long been recognized to be one of the greatest safety hazards to be encountered during pipe recovery operations.
• pipe tongs were attached to the drill string and secured to the rig to hold torque that had been put into the drill string from the rotary table or top drive unit. With the present invention, this torque can be maintained while continuing circulation and wireline operation.
• FIG. 4 provided an apparatus which would allow the connection of various wireline devices 106 to be placed in the drill string 100 between the top drive unit 102 and the rotary table 114 of a conventional drilling rig throughout wireline operations.
• wireline devices 106 as the Boyd Borehole Drill Pipe Continuous Side Entry or Exit Apparatus (such as described in U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 33,150) or the Top Entry Sub Arrangement (as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,210) may both be utilized for various wireline operations.
• a lockable in-line swivel device 110 which is selectively engaged by the operator to permit or inhibit rotational movement provided by a top drive unit 102 to be transmitted through the swivel 110 to the pipe string 112 and to allow disengagement of the locked swivel 110 so that rotation may be accomplished by the rotary table 114 simultaneously with the wireline operations.
• This design permitted the wireline entry devices 106 to be left in the drill string 100 during all operations involving the wireline operation avoiding the time consuming makeup and disengagement of the entry tools 106 required to safely permit entry of the wireline into the well bore. If rotation and longitudinal movement is desired, the wireline alone was removed from the wellbore, but the entry tool 106 remained in place and the swivel 110 is locked to provide transmission of all rotation through the swivel 110 into the pipe string 112. At other times, the operator using a top-drive unit 102 could pick up the drill string 100 and yet maintain torque which has been put into the pipe string 112 in pipe recovery operations. This was done by engaging the swivel 110 in locked position and picking up with the top drive unit 102. As the torque is worked through the drill string 100, additional wireline operations and the operator would set the drill string 100 down, disengage the swivel 110, continue to rotate with the rotary table 114 and continue the wireline operations.
• FIGS.1-3 of this patent The swivel provided to accomplish the above operations is shown in FIGS.1-3 of this patent.
• the design features a multi-component body with spaced splines with the lower spline juxtaposed in an overlapping relation to a retainer that holds the upper housing assembly of body parts to the lower housing with fairly primitive rotary bearing design and no thrust bearing capability.
• the present invention improves on the shortcomings of this design providing several unique features that reduce the number of housing parts to allow the use of a unitary upper and lower body with an internal retaining ring to secure the actuating piston to the upper housing.
• the design adds thrust bearing capability nested between pairs of tapered surfaces on one side between the housings and on the other between the lower housing and the end cap. Spherical bearings are used to facilitate relative rotation.
• a lockable swivel features a unitary upper housing connected to a unitary lower housing with a connector to hold the housing components together for relative or tandem rotation.
• a hydraulically actuated piston shifts spaced apart splines axially to selectively engage splines on both housings for the locked position and to release the splines in both housing for the unlocked position.
• a thrust bearing in the lower housing is disposed between two pairs of tapered surfaces with the upper pair disposed on the housings and the lower pair between the connector and the lower housing. The thrust bearing is disposed between a pair of spherical bearings with the upper radial bearing retained by the upper housing and the lower radial bearing retained by the connector. An internal ring retains the piston to the upper housing.
• FIG. 1 is a half section half exterior view of the locking swivel in the locked piston down position
• FIG. 2 is the view of FIG. 1 in the piston up or unlocked position.
• upper body 12 is secured to lower body 13 by end cap or connector 15.
• a screw or other fastener 4 retains a threaded connection 30 between the upper body 12 and the connector 15.
• a retainer 14 is secured at thread 32 to the upper body 12 and that threaded connection is maintained by a circlip 11.
• a swivel piston 19 can move down until bottoming on the retainer 14 as shown in FIG. 1 and can move axially in the opposite direction until bottoming out by essentially eliminating the volume of chamber 42 when contacting an end surface that defines that chamber.
• Near the upper end 36 are o-ring 22 and backup ring 25 to retain pressure in the central passage 38.
• a cavity 40 that varies in volume is defined between seals 22 and 23.
• Seal 23 and upper seal 24 define a variable volume cavity 42 into which a fitting 1, 3 is connected for communicating hydraulic pressure that enlarges cavity 42 while pushing down on piston area 44 to move the piston 19 to the FIG. 1 position where it is bottomed on the retainer ring 14.
• Another connection 1, 2 extends into cavity 46 which is shown in FIG. 1 in its smallest volume position.
• Lower seal 24 and seal 23 mounted to the retainer 14 seal this variable volume space. Adding hydraulic pressure into fittings 1, 2 and removing hydraulic pressure from fitting 1, 3 advances the piston 19 up toward and into contact with a top surface that defines chamber 42.
• Piston 19 has an upper spline 48 engaged with a spline 50 on the upper body 12 in the FIG. 1 locked position.
• the piston 19 has a lower spline 54 that engages a mating spline 52 in the FIG. 1 position.
• the piston 19 locks the upper housing 12 to the lower housing 13 for tandem rotation when the two spline pairs are engaged.
• the piston 19 rises and the spline pairs 52, 54 disengage so that the housing components 12 and 13 can relatively rotate.
• Spline pairs 48 and 50 remain engaged.
• the upper and lower preferably spherical bearings 9 which can also include any type of rolling element bearing such as ball, roller or needle among others, that are disposed on opposite sides of the thrust bearing 8.
• the upper bearing 9 is externally retained by the lower end 56 of the upper body 12 on two adjacent sides that are perpendicular to each other and surfaces 60 and 62 on the lower body 13.
• the lower bearing is retained externally by adjacent surfaces 64 and 66 on the connector 15 and surface 68 on the lower body as well as an adjacent surface on the end cap 16 that is retained with screws 6 to the connector 15.
• a grease fitting 7 allows adding grease to the lower spherical bearing 9.
• Thrust bearing 8 is externally retained by adjacent perpendicular surfaces 74 and 76 on the connector 15 and 70 and 72 on the lower body 13. Thrust bearing 8 is straddled by mating sloping surfaces on opposed sides. Above the bearing 8 surface 80 on the lower end 56 of the upper body 12 sits in opposition to surface 82 on the lower body. Below the bearing 8 surface 84 on the lower body 13 is opposed to mating surface 86 on the connector 15. Surfaces 84 and 86 are not intended to contact. In one option the pair of mating sloping surfaces 80 and 82 above bearing 8 can contact and in that variation the upper radial bearing 9 can be replaced with a floating roller bearing to transmit the axial component of a thrust load while the radial component is absorbed by the upper body 12.
• FIG. 2 is identical to FIG.
• the bodies 12 and 13 are each made of a single component.
• the piston 19 is retained by an internal ring 14 located near a thick portion of the upper body 12.
• Spaced apart spherical bearings 9 straddle an even larger thrust bearing 8.
• the upper splines mate adjacent a thick portion of the upper housing 12 where there are no weak points such as threaded body connections.
• the lower splines mate within the retainer ring 14 to lend support to the lower end of the piston 19.
• the bearing assembly 8, 9 is axially spaced from the meshing splines.
• the upper body takes a radial component from thrust loading and transfers the axial component to the thrust bearing 9.
• piston is illustrated as hydraulically externally driven in opposed directions those skilled in the art will appreciate that the piston can be alternatively actuated with flow cycles therethrough that in combination with a j-slot mechanism can put the piston 19 in the splines locked and unlocked positions in situations where hydraulic power systems are not available. In this case the piston is acted on by a spring return to work against the force generated with fluid flow. On the other hand the piston can have unequal piston areas and can be moved against a spring bias with simply applied pressure and removal of the applied pressure.
• the driving force can also be locally available rig air.
• the spacing of the bearing assembly that comprises bearings 8 and 9 axially spaced from the retainer 14 allow the use of larger bearings without adding unduly to the diameter of the housings while at the same time providing additional supporting wall for the bearings.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
• Earth Drilling (AREA)
• Support Of The Bearing (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=47521047

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Family Cites Families (20)

• 2012
  • 2012-12-04 US US14/648,911 patent/US20150322735A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2012-12-04 WO PCT/GB2012/053004 patent/WO2014087117A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2012-12-04 EP EP12812682.8A patent/EP2929120A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events