GB2137261A

GB2137261A - Pipe handling assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2137261A
Application number: GB08405391A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Per G Iversen
Original assignee: Total Transportation Systems International AS; Moss Rosenberg Verft AS
Current assignee: Total Transportation Systems International AS; Moss Rosenberg Verft AS
Priority date: 1983-03-28
Filing date: 1984-03-01
Publication date: 1984-10-03
Also published as: GB8405391D0; NO152984C; NO152984B; NO831115L; GB2137261B

Abstract

A pipe handling assembly for transporting pipe between a pipe storage facility and a derrick, comprises a stationary, substantially horizontal rail (8) located at a level (3) below the rig floor (1) and a carriage (9) for carrying a pipe (41) that runs on the rail (8). A pivotable rail (10), in one pivot position, forms an extension of the stationary rail (8) leading upwardly toward the rig floor (1). The pivotable rail (10) is pivotally mounted (24, 25, 26) such that it can be pivoted from said one pivot position into an almost vertical position near the center (12) of the rig floor for utilization as a structure in a so-called "mousehole". <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Pipe handling assembly The invention relates to a pipe handling assembly for the transporting pipe between a storage facility and an oil derrick, comprising a stationary, substantially horizontal rail located at a level beneath the rig floor, and a carriage for transporting pipe that runs on the rail.

The invention has been developed with the object of providing a novel and simple way of introducing drill pipe, drill collars and casings into the center of the rig floor, and vice-versa.

At the center of the rig floor, the pipe can be handled according to ordinary routines, utilizing the hoist equipment found on the derrick.

Conventional prior art methods comprise various arrangements for introducing the pipe material by means of hoists and slide troughs that enter the derrick at the outer edge of the rig floor. The methods currently in use require a great deal of time and labor, and involve danger to the operators.

The so-called "mousehole" used in connection with the conventional prior art systems is a pipe having a bottom wall, which is fastened at the level of the rig floor and extends vertically downward about 4" out of plumb near the center of the rig floor. The "mousehole" is used today as a temporary storage hole for drill pipe which is to be screwed onto the drill string during drilling operations, or as an intermediate station for drill pipe that is being returned to storage. Drill pipe is deposited in or retrieved from the househole by means of the conventional winches for hoisting pipes to and from the storage facility, through the derrick.In the mousehole, the pipes are accessible for the conventional hoisting equipment on the derrick, and the object of the invention is to make use of this fact by having the hole participate in the handling system for transporting pipe between a storage facility and the derrick. This is obtained according to the invention in that the "mousehole" structure is pivotally mounted (like a pendulum) so that it can be pivoted into a position wherein it becomes part of the pipe handling system.

Specifically, in accordance with the invention, a pipe handling assembly is provided between a pipe storage facility and a derrick, comprising a stationary, substantially horizontal rail situated at a level beneath the rig floor, and a carriage running on the rail for transporting pipe, wherein the assembly is characterized by a pivotable rail which in one pivot position forms an extension of the stationary rail and leads upwardly toward the rig floor, an upper end of said pivotable rail being pivotally mounted at the rig floor, such that the rail can be pivoted from said one pivot position into an almost vertical position near the center of the rig floor and there be utilized as a structure in a so-called "mousehole".

The handling of the various pipe members between the storage facility and the derrick is thereby simplified, and the handling can be mechanized/automated to a high degree. By means of suitable crane equipment, a pipe is brought from the storage facility to the aforesaid carriage that is located on the stationary rail. The pivotable rail that serves as a "mousehole" structure is pivoted into a position wherein it forms an integral extension of the stationary rail. As soon as the pipe has been placed on the carriage, the carriage is moved with the aid of suitable means, being transferred onto the pivotable rail and subsequently moved into an apex position beneath the floor structure. The pivotable rail is thereafter pivoted with the aid of suitable means into an approximately vertical position (4"), where the pivotable rail will function as a "mousehole".Orientated and placed in this manner, the pipe can now be handled with the aid of the hoist equipment found on the derrick. To return a pipe to the storage facility, the above steps are followed in reverse sequence.

Preferably, in accordance with the invention, the pivotable rail is provided over at least a portion of its length with a tunnel-like roofed structure into which the carriage and the pipe carried thereon are driven. This means increased safety, because the pivotable rail, over a substantial portion of its length, is actually formed as a pipe structure.

A practical arrangement is to utilize a cable drawwork for the carriage, comprising a cable guide sheave that is rotatably mounted about the pivot bearing of the pivotable rail, together with guides for the cable in the transition area between the two rails. It is also practical to arrange the stationary rail on a downward incline toward the end station for the carriage. This ensures that the carriage will return to the end station by gravity alone.

The invention will be explained in greater detail in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are schematic in nature and show only those elements that are necessary for understanding the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective drawing showing a pipe storage facility, a rig floor, a derrick and the most important elements of a handling system for moving pipe between the storage facility and the derrick, Figure 2 is a vertical projection in the direction of the arrow Il in Fig. 1, Figure 3 is an isometric view of the upper portion of a pivotable rail that constitutes an important element of the invention, Figure 4 is a cross section on the line lV-lV in Fig. 2, Figure 5 is an isometric view of a carriage for transporting pipe, and Figure 6 is a cross-section on the line VI-VI in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 shows in schematic fashion a rig floor 1, a derrick 2 and a deck 3 below the rig floor. A storage facility 4 for horizontal storage of pipes of various types is placed on the deck 3. The storage facility is of a conventional type that will be familiar to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in further detail in this specification. It should be noted, however, that in this case the storage facility includes a traveling crane 5 that is provided with pick-up magnets 6,7.

At the center of the pipe storage means 4, a stationary set of rails 8 is placed, with a carriage 9 that runs on the rail.

As seen in Fig. 1, the stationary guide rail 8 leads directly to a guide rail 10 that extends up to the rig floor 1. The carriage 9 can thus be moved along the rail 8 over onto the rail 10, and a pipe placed on the carriage 9 will then be accessible through an opening 11 in the rig floor 1. This opening 11 is located where the "mousehole" usually is located, and the rail 10 (as will be explained in more detail later) is mounted pendulum-fashion on the rig floor structure, so that the rail 10, from the position shown in Fig. 1, can be pivoted inwardly toward the center of the rig floor, as represented by the casing 1 2 in the Figure.The rail 10 can thus be pivoted from the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown with broken lines in the same drawing, and in the latter position the rail assumes an almost vertical position (4"), as a "mousehole" ordinarily does. In this position, then, the rail functions as a "mousehole" structure. It can easily be seen that the pipe carried on the carriage 9 will now be accessible through the opening 11 in the rig floor for the ordinary hoist equipment (not illustrnted) that is found on the derrick.

In the following discussion, refer to Figs.

2-6 for a more detailed explanation of the most important components in the new pipe handling assemblv for transporting pipe between a storage facility and a derrick.

Fig. 2 shows the same components as discussed in connection with Fig. 1, namely, the stationary rail 8 (drawn schematically in longitudinal section), the carriage 9, the pivotable rail 10 - which is shown in three different positions - the rig floor 1, the lower deck 3, and the center of the rig floor, which is represented by the casing 1 2. The rail 10 is mounted Dendulum-fashion beneath the rig floor 1, and it can be pivoted between a pivot position in which it forms an extension of the rail 8 into a position adjacent to the casing 1 2. In the latter position, the rail 10 forms an angle of about 4" relative to the vertical and serves as a structure in the "mousehole".

The construction of the pivotable rail 10 is shown in more detail in Figs. 3 and 4. As seen there, the rail 10 is constructed of two spaced apart, mutually parallel beams 13, 14 which on their respective facing longitudinal sides are provided with guide rails 15, 16 for the wheels of the carriage. The upper half of the pivotable rail 10 is provided with a tunnellike roofed structure 1 7, constructed essentially of two massive arch-like members 18, 1 9 and a curved semi-circular plate 20 that is supported by the two arches by means of bracket plates 21. In addition, the curved plate 20 is also reinforced and supported by bracket plates 22, 23 at the upper end of the plate (Fig. 3). At the top end, the pivotable rail 10 is provided with a fulcrum pin 24 on the beam 1 3 and a fulcrum pin 25 on the beam 14.By means of the fulcrum pins 24, 25, the rail 10 is mounted pendulum-fashion on bracket plates 26 on the underside of the rig floor 1 (Fig. 2).

Mounted on the underside of the rig floor 1, as may be seen on Fig. 2, is a hydraulic winch 27. A cable 28 from the winch drum passes around a stationary sheave 29 and travels to the rail 10, where in this case it is fastened to the lower arch member 19. As will be clear from Fig. 2, the rail 10 can be pivoted by means of the winch 27 between the two extreme positions illustrated in Fig. 2, i.e., from the almost vertical position at the left in Fig. 2 to a diagonal position in which the rail 10 forms an extension of the stationary rail 8. The rail 10 is moved from the diagonal position shown on the right to the vertical position (the "mousehole" position) by slacking off the cable 28 with the aid of the winch 27.

The construction of the stationary rail 8 is shown in the cross section in Fig. 6. The stationary rail 8 is constructed essentially in the same way as the pivotable rail 10, consisting of two spaced apart, mutually parallel beams 30 and 31 each having a rail 32, 33 and a guide rail 34, 35 for the wheels of the carriage. The rail 8 is provided with an end stop member 36 (Fig. 2). As seen in Fig. 2, the rail slopes in a downward direction toward the end stop 36.

The carriage 9 is shown in Fig. 5. The carriage is constructed as a trough-shaped structure, having two longitudinal support beams 37, 38 held together by cross members 39. Between the longitudinal bearing members 37, 38 and resting on the cross members 39, a V-shaped plate 40 is arranged which forms a cradle or trough for receiving the pipe. Fig. 5 shows a drill pipe 41 in the trough. In Fig. 6, several pipe dimensions are indicated, representing drill pipe 41, drill collar 42 and casing 43. The V-shaped cross section of the trough is formed to allow the carriage to carry pipes of different cross sectional dimensions. At the rear end of the carriage there is a stop 44.This stop will form a bottom wall of the "mousehole" structure when the carriage has been driven over nnto the pivotable rail 10 and said rail has been pivoted into its approximately vertical position (Fig. 2).

The carriage is provided with four wheels 45 which roll on the rail members 32, 33 on the stationary rail 8 (Fig. 6) and on the rail members 1 5 on the pivotable rail (Fig. 4).

At the forward end of the carriage, on the underside thereof, two laterally projecting brackets 46, 47 are provided. These brackets serve to anchor two cables 48, 49 which form part of a cable drawwork for moving the carriage 9 along the rails 8 and 10. The two cables 48, 49 extend beneath the respective rails 8, 10 and pass around respective guide sheaves 50 that are mounted about the axis of pivot of the rail 10 (the fulcrum pins 24, 25), traveling further to the winch 27 mentioned earlier (Fig. 2). The winch 27 in this case has one drum for the cable 28 and one (or two) drums for the cables 48, 49, and the cable drums can be driven independently of each other by the winch motor.

The operation of the assembly described above is explained below.

The carriage is in the position shown in Fig.

2 on the stationary rail 8. As seen in the drawing, the stationary rail 8-is mounted on a slight incline, sloping downwardly toward the end stop 36, so that the carriage 9 rolls back by gravity to the end position shown in Fig.

2. Using the traveling crane 5, a pipe is taken from the storage facility 4 and placed on the V-shaped loading bed of the carriage. The pipe may be a section of a drill pipe 41, a drill collar 42 or a casing 43. For purposes of illustration, Fig. 2 shows both a drill pipe 41 and a casing 43, but it should be understood that the carriage transports only one pipe, or one kind of pipe, at a time. The pivotable rail 10 is pivoted into a position in which it forms an extension of the rail 8. By means of the winch 27, the cables 48, 49 are wound in and the carriage 9 is therefore drawn along the rail 8, through the curved transition section onto the pivotable rail 10. The tunnel-like roof structure 1 7 is dimensioned such that the carriage and the pipe it carries can be driven into the tunnel.As soon as the carriage 9 has driven onto the pivotable rail 10, the pivotable rail is pivoted into the almost vertical position shown on the left in Fig. 2. This is done by feeding out cable 28 from the winch 27. As this is occurring, or after the pivotable rail 10 has arrived at the vertical end position, the carriage 9 can be pulled farther up along the rail 10, into the position shown at the left in Fig. 2, where the drill pipe 41 passes up through the hole 11 in the rig floor 1 and can be grasped by the hoist equipment available in the derrick. The rail 10, in the vertical position, thus functions as a "mousehole".

The above-described assembly is of very simple construction and provides safe, reliable handling of pipes between the storage facility and the derrick. The rate of transport is relatively rapid with the cable drawwork described above, which means that the work cycle is desirably short. The respective functions can naturally be automated in sequence.

The invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the cable 28 could be replaced by a hydraulic cylinder, and the cable drawwork with the cables 48, 49 could also be replaced by other suitable drive means.

The tunnel-like housing 1 7 could also be formed in other ways; for example, the plate 20 could be omitted and a cage-like structure provided instead.

Claims

1. A pipe handling assembly for transporting pipe between a pipe storage facility and a derrick, comprising a stationary, substantially horizontal guide extending along the storage facility at a level below the rig floor, a carriage for carrying a pipe, and a winch means for drawing the carriage along the guide, characterized by provision of a pivotable guide which in a first pivot position forms an extension of the stationary guide and extends along an upward incline toward the rig floor, an upper end of said pivotable guide being pivotally mounted at the rig floor such that said guide, as it is guiding the carriage, can be pivoted from said first inclined pivot into a second, almost vertical position near the center of the rig floor and in said second position can be utilized as a structure in a so-called "mousehole".

2. A pipe handling assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the pivotable guide, over at least a portion of its length, is provided with a tunnel-like housing into which the carriage and the pipe carried thereon can be driven.

3. A pipe handling assembly as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein at least one draw cable is fastened to the carriage, characterized by provision of at least one cable guide sheave rotatably mounted about the axis of pivot of the pivotable guide.

4. A pipe handling assembly as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the stationary guide is mounted on a downward incline, sloping toward the end station of the carriage at the pipe storage facility.

5. A pipe handling assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying draw ingest