GB2264734A

GB2264734A - Pipe handling apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2264734A
Application number: GB9204642A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Kloumann; Graham Evans
Original assignee: James Howden and Co Ltd
Current assignee: James Howden and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1992-03-04
Filing date: 1992-03-04
Publication date: 1993-09-08
Also published as: NO930758D0; GB9204642D0; NO930758L

Abstract

A pipe handling apparatus has a track 14 which extends along an axis between a pipedeck in which the pipe 30 is stored with their axes horizontal and a vertical axis 12 of a point of use. A carriage 16 is movable along the track and has mounted thereon a pivotal boom 20 which has, at its outboard end, a gripper head beam 24 carrying gripper heads 28 which are adapted to grip a pipe 30 in the pipe rack. A foot 34 at the end of the beam 24 engages the end of the pipe and supports it as the pipe is lifted by pivoting movement of the boom 16 and of the beam 24 as the carriage 16 moves towards the axis 12. <IMAGE>

Description

PIPE HANDLING APPARATUS The present invention relates to a pipe handling apparatus and in particular apparatus for reorienting pipes in a pipe rack, in which the pipes are stored with their axes horizontal, and a vertical axis point of use.

One known form of apparatus involves the use of a telescopic boom, which is pivotal at one end, this having pivotally mounted on it a gripper head beam having usually two or more gripper means thereon for gripping a pipe. The operation of such an apparatus is rather cumbersome, making the apparatus itself expensive both to manufacture and to operate.

An alternative arrangement is one in which a boom is pivotable about a fixed horizontal axis and this too has a pivotally mounted beam at its outboard end carrying two or more gripper means. The use of such a structure is rather limited.

According to the present invention there is provided a pipe handling apparatus comprising a track adapted to extend along an axis between a pipedeck in which pipes are stored with their axes horizontal and a vertical axis point of use; a carriage movable along said track; a boom pivotally mounted at its inboard end about a generally horizontal axis on said carriage; means to effect pivotal movement of said beam relative to the carriage; a gripper head beam pivotally mounted at the outboard end of said boom; means to effect pivotal movement of said beam relative to said boom; and gripper means mounted on said beam adapted to grip a pipe, whereby a gripped pipe may be moved from the pipedeck by the carriage moving along the track and may be pivoted to have its axis vertical at said point of use by pivotal movement of the boom relative to the carriage and pivotal movement of the beam relative to the boom.

With such a structure the whole arrangement can be made relatively simply and inexpensively and the apparatus can be adapted to a number of different uses, particularly a number of different uses in the oil field area.

In a preferred construction the gripper head beam has, at one end thereof, a laterally extending foot engageable with the end of a pipe to assist in providing a support for the pipe as it is moved towards a position in which its axis is vertical. Such a structure provides a very considerable advantage, in that, during the lifting of the pipe to a condition in which its axis is vertical, the weight of the pipe is essentially taken by the foot. This has very considerable safety advantages over the prior art in which the pipe is always gripped solely by the gripper means and it is quite possible for the pipe to slip longitudinally, particularly when it is approaching or at the vertical and this is highly dangerous to the operatives.

With the structure of the present invention, in fact, the gripper means may in fact only grip the pipe relatively lightly because there is no need for these gripper means to be adapted to prevent axial movement of the pipe.

The invention also contemplates gripper means comprising a gripper head beam pivotally mounted in a pipe handling apparatus, said beam comprising a beam body; gripper means mounted on said body and adapted to grip a pipe; and a laterally extending foot at one end of said beam body, said foot being engageable with the end of a pipe to assist in providing a support for the pipe as it is moved towards a position in which its axis is vertical.

In either arrangement, the gripper beam body may be telescopic to adapt for differences in pipe lengths. It is also preferable to provide the foot with an end cap having a peripheral skirt and/or a central spike with which the end of the pipe is adapted to engage.

One would need to provide a number of different end caps to suit different pipe sizes, but in normal operation, particularly in producing a drill string, one would be using for an extended period pipes of the same diameter so this does not pose any real problem.

Additionally, or alternatively, one could provide a central spike, which could be tapered, to engage the interior of a pipe end.

In order that the present invention may more readily be understood, the following description is given, merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which the sole figure is a schematic side elevation of one embodiment of apparatus according to the invention shown used for mounting a pipe on a oil rig.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that a pipe rack 10 is mounted at a spaced location from the vertical axis 12 of an oil rig which is shown schematically at 14. Extending longitudinally between the pipe rack 10 and the axis 12 is a track 14 usually in the form of a pair of rails. Axially movable along this track 14 is a carriage 16. The movement of the carriage is under the action of any suitable means (not shown) which may, for example, be in the form of a variable speed rack and pinion drive, powered by a self-contained hydraulic power pack mounted on the carriage.

Other methods of drive include a chain or winch or a simple electric motor drive.

Pivotally mounted at 18 on the carriage is a boom 20 which is capable of being raised and lowered about the pivot point 18 by a hydraulic ram arrangement 22. The boom 20 is pivotally mounted at its inboard end 18 and has, at its outboard end 23 a pivotally mounted gripper head beam 24, pivoting of which is brought about by a hydraulic cylinder 26 or other means, such as a rotary actuator.

The gripper head beam 24 is shown as having two hydraulically operated gripper heads 28 which are adapted to grip the any of the pipes 30 in the pipe rack 10. In the drawing the lowest of the pipes 30 is shown in full line as being gripped.

It will be noted that the gripper head beam 24 has a telescopic end portion 32 which again may be hydraulically controllable and at the free end of the telescopic end 32 there is provided a foot 34 which extends laterally from the end of the beam and is adapted to engage the end of the pipe 30 being gripped. Preferably an end cap (not shown) is mounted on the foot, this having a peripheral skirt and/or a central spike with which the end of the pipe is engaged.

The end cap may be replaceable by other end caps having peripheral skirts of a different diameter to accommodate pipes of a different diameter.

Finally, the pipe rack 10 is shown as being mounted on a transversely movable shuttle system 36 which enables each pipe in the pipe rack 10 to be positioned immediately below the gripper beam 24 and its grippers 28.

The drawing illustrates how the apparatus operates.

In practice, with the carriage 16 in its fully retracted position, that is to say as shown slightly to the left of the full line position, and indicated by the reference numeral 38, a cassette 10 of pipes 30 is positioned underneath the track 14 by the shuttle 36. The gripper heads 28 are opened and the gripper head beam 24 is lowered, by operation of the hydraulic rams 22 and 26.

Sensors (not shown) mounted within the gripper head contact the pipe and this contact stops the lowering movement produced by the rams 22,26.

The carriage 16 is then moved forwardly, that is to say to the right, until the foot 34 engages the end of the pipe. A sensor (not shown) on the foot 34 stops the carriage movement and initiates closure of the gripper heads 28.

Once the pipe is gripped, it is lifted by means of operation of the rams 22,26, and the carriage is moved to the right. Various positions of the pivot 18 are indicated in the drawing and it will be appreciated that as the pivot 18 moves to the right and the boom 20 and gripper head beam 24 are pivoted upwardly, so the pipe gripped is moved to a more vertical position. Finally, it will arrive so that the axis of the pipe is on the axis 12 of the rig 14.

During this lifting motion, the foot 34 provides a significant support for the weight of the pipe 30 and the gripper heads do not have to prevent axial movement of the pipe, but only serve to retain the pipe.

Once the pipe is in the correct vertical position, the pipe is attached to, and the weight taken by, the top drive system of the rig. This is facilitated by the presence of the foot 34. The top drive system raises the pipe to clear the foot 34 and the grippers 28 are then released. The carriage 16 is then moved back towards the left and the boom 20 and gripper head beam 24 are lowered and returned back to the start position 38 on the track 14.

It will be appreciated that the structure of the present invention is a relatively safe structure, there being little chance of the pipes being dropped, because of the simplicity of operation, this being a simple reciprocating motion of the carriage and the operation, e.g., hydraulically, of a boom and a beam, the pipe being supported all the time by the foot 34.

As an alternative, instead of the track 14 being fixed, it could be mounted on a wheeled gantry which will permit the gantry, complete with the tracks and carriage and all its component parts either to traverse the pipedeck or to traverse the width of the pipe rack. If the apparatus traverses the pipedeck, then the apparatus becomes a "stand alone" system and will not require any feeder device, such as the shuttle system 36. If the traverse is limited roughly to the width of the pipe rack, then the apparatus can deal with the indexing operation to pick up the pipes from the rack, thereby reducing the shuttle system to that of a simple conveyor arrangement.

Claims

1. A pipe handling apparatus comprising: a) a track adapted to extend along an axis between a pipedeck in which pipes are stored with their axes horizontal and a vertical axis point of use; b) a carriage movable along said track; c) a boom pivotally mounted at its inboard end about a generally horizontal axis on said carriage; d) means to effect pivotal movement of said beam relative to the carriage; e) a gripper head beam pivotally mounted at the outboard end of said boom; f) means to effect pivotal movement of said beam relative to said boom; and g) gripper means mounted on said beam adapted to grip a pipe, whereby a gripped pipe may be moved from the pipedeck by the carriage moving along the track and may be pivoted to have its axis vertical at said point of use by pivotal movement of the boom relative to the carriage and pivotal movement of the beam relative to the boom.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said gripper head beam has, at one end thereof, a laterally extending foot engageable with the end of a pipe to assist in providing a support for the pipe as it is moved towards a position in which its axis is vertical.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 and further comprising a sensor on said foot, sensing engagement of the foot with the end of the pipe whereupon forward movement of the carriage may be arrested while the gripper means grip the pipe.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said gripper head beam is telescopic.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2, 3 or 4 and further comprising a replaceable end cap on said foot, said cap having a skirt and/or a central spike adapted to engage the end of a pipe.

6. A gripper head beam pivotally mounted in a pipe handling apparatus, said beam comprising: a) a beam body; b) gripper means mounted on said body and adapted to grip a pipe; and c) a laterally extending foot at one end of said beam body, said foot being engageable with the end of a pipe to assist in providing a support for the pipe as it is moved towards a position in which its axis is vertical.

7. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein said tracks are mounted on a transversely movable gantry.

8. A gripper head beam according to claim 7, and further comprising a replaceable end cap on said foot, said cap having a skirt and/or a central spike adapted to engage the end of a pipe.

9. A pipe handling apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.