KR20140088143A - Locking mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for shaking compensation of a tool unit (11) suspended from a column (1) mounted on a platform (2) via one or more wire means (6), each wire means comprising a first And each of the wire means 6 is connected to the tool unit at a second end of the second shaking motion compensating unit 4, 5, 12, 20 '' is attached to the wire means 6 at its first end and is attached to its first end 20a ' And is attached to the tool unit 11 at the two end portions. The second shaking motion compensation unit includes releasable locking means (30) by which the actions of the compensation means (31) can be selectively prevented and allowed. The locking means 30 includes a locking bolt 87 having a narrowed portion 87b at the center and a wide shoulder portion 87a at each end of the locking bolt. The link element 33 includes a hole 82 having a first portion 82a and a second portion 82b, the first portion having a larger opening than the second portion 82b.

Description

Locking Mechanism {LOCKING MECHANISM}

The present invention relates to well operations related to the production of hydrocarbons, particularly from underground formations. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for heave compensation of equipment on a mobile bender, as disclosed in the preamble of the independent claims.

During recovery of hydrocarbons from bins in underground layers, the operator must occasionally perform work within bins. This can be maintenance work or other technical work such as drilling, replacing or re-drilling pipes, changing flow controllers, isolating production areas, monitoring production and recording pressure, flow and temperature. The synchronization factor for work is to increase the recovery rate of the borehole. This task, which is referred to by the generic term " bore work "is difficult to perform from conventional surface platforms, particularly when associated with subsea bores. Undersea gutters are less well managed than platform gutters and are thus known to have lower recovery rates. It is therefore desirable to have adequate systems for the maintenance of subsea bogs.

A distinction is made between the lightweight intervention and the heavy intervention. Today, lightweight intervention is carried out with the help of wireline operations from ships. Weighing interventions (including the full range of intervention days) usually involve the use of special moored, semi-submersible rigs connected to the bores through a riser (gas and / or liquid pipe) . The special league fills the gap between the original drilling rigs and the vessels performing the light bore intervention using wireline operations and has substantially lower costs than the original drilling rig.

In order to further optimize costs, it is desirable that these special levers be as flexible as possible to perform, for example, lightweight bore interventions that use wire line work tools besides the implementation of weighted bore interventions.

Known floating interventional rigs have a drilling machine suspended from a tower through a rocking compensation system for compensation for wave motions, which may include a combination hoisting and compensating cylinder. The towers and cylinders are mounted on the deck. In a typical apparatus, the drilling machine hangs from the wire (so-called drill lines) extending over the guide pulleys of the top of the mast to the fixed point of the top of the column through the reversing pulleys at the top of the cylinder. Thus, the drilling machine can be lifted and lowered by moving the cylinder, and the cylinder also compensates for movements of the rig - within certain tolerances, so that the drilling machine remains as stable as possible when performing interventional tasks. This type of compensating cylinder and combined hoisting can handle large loads, typically about 250 tons.

Such a device can be used in manual or active compensation mode, for example, when landing large weights on the undersea or inside the drilling riser, as well as during drilling and when there is a need for greater accuracy and control of compensation have.

The prior art includes WO 2007/145503 Al, which discloses an apparatus and method for shaking compensation. A first compensating means is attached via a wire means on one side of the column and the other end of the wire means is connected to a second shaking motion compensation means attached to the tool unit for performing drilling operations Also connected. The second shaking motion compensating means and the tool unit are moved along the guide rails in the column by the aid of dolly / lever arms.

There are strict requirements regarding the ability of the bogey intervention leagues to compensate for movements of the league - very accurately. Shake compensation requirements are often embodied as the ability to compensate for weight changes, positioning accuracy and speed limitations. However, in the known intervening rigs, the size of the combined hoisting and compensating cylinders and friction in the guide pulleys and reversing pulleys make it difficult to satisfy one or more of these requirements. There is therefore a need for a device that is able to obtain greater accuracy in shake compensation than in the case of known intervening rigs. The present invention meets this need and further has other advantages.

Accordingly, the apparatus is provided for compensating the shaking of the tool unit suspended through one or more than two wire means in the column mounted on the platform, each first means being attached to the post through the attachment at the first end, Each wire means being attached to a second rocking compensation unit connected to the tool unit at its other end, said second rocking compensation unit comprising movable compensating means, Wherein the second shaking motion compensation unit comprises a releasable locking means which is attached to the wire means at its first end and attached to the tool unit at its second end, And can be accepted.

In an embodiment, the compensating means is attached to the wire means via a connecting unit and attached to the tool unit via a linking element, the connecting unit and the linking element being movable relative to each other, To selectively and releasably limit motions.

In an embodiment, the locking means comprises a locking bolt with a narrow central portion and wide shoulder portions at each end of the bolt.

In an embodiment, the link element includes a through hole having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion having an opening larger than the second portion. The first portion has a dimension allowing the passage of the shoulder portions while the second portion has a dimension that does not allow the passage of the shoulder portions, but allows passage of the central portion. In an embodiment, the first portion has a circular transverse section and the second portion is tapered.

In an embodiment, the wire means extends between the first shaking motion compensating unit and the second shaking motion compensating unit through guide pulleys mounted on the upper portion of the column, and a first shaking motion compensating unit Lt; / RTI >

In an embodiment, the first shaking motion compensation unit is connected to the platform at the first end and is movably attached to the wire means through the reversing pulleys and cylinder at the second end.

In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises a locking means by which movements of the compensation units can be selectively prevented and the compensation units transfer loads between the tool unit and the wire unit as substantially rigid bodies.

In the embodiment, the first shaking motion compensation unit functions as an active shaking motion compensator while the second shaking motion compensation unit functions as a manual shake motion compensator.

In an embodiment, the second shaking motion compensation unit is an integral part of the tool unit. The first and second shaking motion compensation units are preferably operated hydraulically.

The second shaking motion compensation unit can be quickly and simply installed on any drilling machine without structural modifications of the drilling machine.

These and other characteristic features of the present invention will be described in detail in the following description of preferred, non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

1 is a view showing a column having a compensation system viewed from the side,
Figure 2 is a view showing a column having a compensating means according to the present invention viewed from the front,
Figure 3 is a view of the column and compensating means shown in Figure 2, but viewed from the other side,
4A is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention seen from the side, wherein the cylinder of the second rocking compensation unit is in the retracted position,
4B is a view showing the cross section shown in FIG. 4A seen from the front,
Fig. 4C is a view showing the cylinders of the second rocking compensation unit corresponding to Fig. 4B but in a fully extended position,
Fig. 4D is a view showing the cylinders of the second shaking motion compensation unit corresponding to Fig. 4B but in the middle position,
5A is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention viewed from the side, wherein the cylinder of the second shaking motion compensation unit is in the retracted position,
Fig. 5B is a view showing the section shown in Fig. 5A viewed from the front,
Fig. 5C is a view showing the cylinders of the second shaking motion compensation unit corresponding to Fig. 5B but in a fully extended position,
Fig. 5D is a view showing the cylinders of the second shaking motion compensation unit in the middle position corresponding to Fig. 5B,
6A is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention seen from the side, wherein the cylinder of the second shaking motion compensation unit is in the retracted position,
Fig. 6B is a view showing a cross section shown in Fig. 6A viewed from the front,
7A and 7B are views showing a third embodiment of the rocking compensation unit in the unlocked state viewed from the front and side, respectively,
Figs. 7C and 7D are enlarged cross-sectional views of Figs. 7A and 7B, respectively, Fig. 7E is a cross-
Figures 8a and 8b show a locked condition wherein the motion damper is not activated,
Figs. 8c and 8d are respectively views showing enlarged cross-sections of Figs. 8a and 8b, Fig. 8e is a cross-sectional view of what is shown in Fig. 8d,
9A and 9B are views showing a state in which the lock bolt can be taken out of a keyhole, FIG. 9C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 9B,
10A and 10B are views showing positions for weight reduction by screwing together a drilling machine and a drill string which are so-called "thread-saver" functions, and FIG. 10C is an enlarged cross-sectional view to be.

1 is a view showing a column 1 placed on a deck 2, for example, on an intervening rig or drilling rig (not shown). An active rocking compensation cylinder 7 and an accumulator 8 and a combined hoisting and rocking compensation cylinder 4 are mounted on the deck 2. The swing compensation cylinder (4) is provided with reversing pulleys (5) for the hoisting wires (6) at the upper end thereof. It is common to have four or six parallel extending hoisting wires.

Referring to Fig. 2, the combined hoisting and swing compensation cylinder 4 has a stroke length d and the cylinder rod 12 is in a fully extended position. The fully retracted and extended positions of each of the reversing pulleys are indicated by reference numerals 5 and 5 '.

In the illustrated embodiments, the columns are constructed in a lattice structure in a known manner, and therefore will not be described in further detail herein. Similarly, the shake compensation units are driven by fluid reservoirs, regulating valves and systems, gas tanks and hydraulic power units. These components are well known to those skilled in the art and are therefore not referred to herein in more detail.

The columns are provided with guide rails 9 for the drilling machine 11 in a known manner. 2 and 3, the wires 6 are connected to the upper portion of the column via an anchor 10. The wires 6 continue from the anchor 10 through the guide pulley 3 at the top of the column through the reversing pulleys 5 on the cylinder rod 12 of the combined hoisting and rocking compensation cylinder 4, And extends down toward the compensator 20 connected to the post-drilling machine 11. Figure 2 shows the combination drilling machine 11 and compensator 20 in a lower position against the deck 2 while these units in Figure 3 are slightly raised from the deck.

Three embodiments of compensators are described below.

1st Example  :

4A-4D, the compensator 20 includes two cylinders 22a, 22b which are connected directly between the connecting link 24 of the hoisting wires and the drilling machine 11. [ The hoisting wires (not illustrated in Figs. 4A-4C) are connected to the connecting link 24 through suitable attachments 25. Fig. Figure 4a also shows a dolly 21 attached to the drilling machine 11 for engagement with the tower guide rails as described above.

The cylinders 22a, 22b are provided with locking portions 23 which allow the cylinders to be locked in the retracted position when the system is not in use. The load from the drilling machine 11 is transferred to the lifting wires through the cylinders 22a, 22b and the connecting link 24.

Figures 4a and 4b show the cylinders 22a and 22b in the retracted position while Figure 4c shows the cylinders 22a and 22b in the fully extended position while Figure 4d shows the cylinders 22a and 22b in the intermediate position, 22b. Reference numeral 26 denotes the respective cylinder rods of the cylinders.

Control units and fluid reservoirs for the shake compensation cylinders 22a, 22b are in accordance with the prior art and are therefore not discussed in more detail here.

Second Example  :

5a-5d, the compensator 20'includes one cylinder 27 (connected via link 29) between the connecting link 28 for the hoisting wires and the drilling machine 11 (Attachment portions 25 for only wires are shown in Figures 5b-5d). Figure 5a also shows a dolly 21 attached to the drilling machine 11 for engagement with the tower guide rails as described above.

The cylinder 27 is provided with a locking portion 23 by which the cylinders can be locked into a collapsed position when the compensator 20 'is not in use. The load from the drilling machine 11 is transferred to the hoisting wires through the cylinder 27 and the connecting link 28.

Figures 5a and 5b show the cylinder 27 in the retracted position, Figure 5c shows the cylinder 27 in the fully extended position, while Figure 5d shows the cylinder 27 in the intermediate position. Reference numeral 26 denotes a cylinder rod of the cylinder. The control units and fluid reservoirs for the shake compensation cylinder 27 are in the prior art and are therefore not discussed in more detail here.

Third Example  :

6A-10C, the compensator 20 "includes one compensator cylinder 31 (also referred to as a motion damper) mounted to the connecting piece 32 for the hoisting wires. Figure 6b also shows a dolly 21 attached to the drilling machine 11 for engaging the tower guide rails as described above .. The linking piece 32 is provided with a linking element 11, Is actuated by a lock 30 (e.g., hydraulically actuated through an actuator 86) that can connect the connecting piece 33 and the connecting piece 32 together. The lock 30 is in the locked position and is connected to the compensator 20 The load from the drilling machine 11 is transferred to the hoisting wires through the link element 33, the hydraulically actuated locking portion 30 and the connecting piece 32, Take care. 6A and 6B show this locked position, wherein the cylinder 31 is in the retracted position and is inactive.

The control units and fluid reservoirs for the compensation cylinder 31 are in accordance with the prior art and are therefore not discussed in more detail here.

Figures 7a-c also illustrate the connection between the compensator cylinder 31, the connecting piece 32, the link element 33 and these components of different configurations.

The connecting piece 32 to which the compensator cylinder 31 and the wires 6 are fastened is arranged in spaced relation and has two plate elements 32a and 32b which are fastened together by the upper bolts 81 and the lower bolts 83 ). A locking portion 30 with a hydraulic operating mechanism is also attached to the connecting piece (hydraulic connecting lines are not illustrated because they are prior art). The locking portion 30 includes a housing 30 'having a locking bolt 87, a locking bolt cylinder 88 and a position sensor 89 for the locking bolt. The locking bolt 87 has a narrow portion 87b at the center and a wide portion 87a (flanges) at each end.

In this illustrated embodiment, the link element 33 is also in the form of a plate and is disposed between the plate elements 32a, 32b of the connecting piece in such a manner as to be movable. The cylinder rod 26 of the compensator cylinder 31 (whose housing is fastened to the connecting piece) is fastened to the link element 33 via fastening bolts 84. The link element 33 is provided with a penetrating "keyhole" 82, which is adapted to receive the locking bolt 87. The keyhole 82 has a lower portion 82a which is elongated and has an opening larger than the slightly narrower portion 82b, which lies over the keyhole.

The wide end portions 87a of the locking bolt 87 pass through the wide portion 82a of the lower portion of the keyhole and allow passage into the respective support holes 37 in the side plates 32a and 32b, And has a cross sectional dimension that does not allow passage through the lying portion 82b. The middle narrow portion 87b of the locking bolt has a transverse dimension that allows movement of the locking bolt up and down within the keyhole, and also within the slightly narrower portion 82b.

7A to 7E show the unlocked state. The locking bolt 87 is completely withdrawn from the keyhole 82 in the link element 33 so that the link element 33 moves between the two side plates 32a and 32b in the connecting piece 32 Allow. The link element 33 connected to the compensator cylinder 31 through the cylinder rod 26 is restricted by upper shoulders 85 and lower shoulders 90 and lower bolts 83, Can move between a lower position (such as illustrated) and an upper position. The figures show that when the link element 33 is in its fully lowered position, the link element will rest on the two lower bolts 83 through the shoulders 85, which means that if the compensator cylinder 31 fails, It will prevent falling. When the cylinder stroke is reduced to about a half stroke (as compared to that shown in Figs. 7A-7D), the system will be in position for damping motion.

8A to 8E show a locked state in which the motion damper 31 is not used. The system is locked so that all loads pass through the lock bolts without affecting the motion dampers. The load is suspended from the drilling machine (not shown) and transferred to the link element 33. The link element 33 is suspended from the locking bolts 87 that are seated in the holes in the side plates 32a and 32b of the bell mouth piece 32. [ From the locking bolt 87, the load passes through these two side plates to the top bolt 81 which connects the hoisting wires to the connecting piece 32. This is a common construction of a suspension system for lifting / lowering drilling and drilling strings.

9A to 9C show a state in which the lower link element 33 is lifted up to a maximum height in the keyhole 82 such that the wide portion 82a of the keyhole and the locking bolt shoulder 87a are aligned with each other. This is the only position where the locking bolt 87 can be pulled out of the keyhole 82. The lock bolt is horizontally moved (pulled) by a cylinder 88 equipped with a stroke sensor 89 to control whether or not the bolt is in a lockable engagement with the keyhole. This lifting of the link element 33 is completed with the aid of the compensator cylinder 31. As described above, Figs. 9A to 9C also show that the lower dimension (diameter) of the keyhole is so large that the locking bolt can be moved horizontally through the keyhole. In the narrower portion of the upper portion of the keyhole, it is not possible to move the locking bolt horizontally due to the shoulders having increased diameters at the ends. However, the locking bolt is free to move vertically within the keyhole over the length of the keyhole. The cross-sectional view in Figure 9c shows the locking bolt that is half off in engagement. It can be seen that the locking bolt has a shoulder 87b with a larger diameter at both ends than the diameter of the central portion 87b. The diameter of the shoulders fits into the support holes 37 of the connecting piece 32 and the lower portion 82a of the keyhole of the link element.

10A to 10C show that the damping cylinder 31 (not shown in Figs. 10A to 10C) is operated with a small stroke so that the locking bolt 87 is locked but the locking bolt is approximately in the middle of the keyhole 82 State. This is the position for weight reduction when screwing together the so-called "threader" function, the drilling machine and the drill string.

While the task of the compensator 21 "is in progress, with the aid of the combined hoisting and swing compensation cylinder 4, with the main swing compensation associated accumulator tanks and other necessary known equipment (not shown) The compensator 21 "having the compensating cylinder 31 is provided with a main compensator (not shown), which compensator 21 " 4 "of the damping.

The compensator 21 "may thus have at least two functions:

a) controlling / minimizing loads against components inside the borehole from tools capable of lowering the tool into the borehole and damping / minimizing vertical movement; And

b) Reduce the load between the top of the drill pipe and the shaft of the drilling machine when they are threaded together (thread saber).

Although the compensator 21 "has been described here as consisting of the lower link element 33 movably arranged between the two side plates 32a and 32b of the connecting piece 32, This is because the deformation may be an inverted configuration in which the lower link element has two side plates and the connecting piece includes one element movably arranged therebetween. .

In embodiments  Common characteristics:

Combined hoisting and rocking compensation cylinders 4 and associated components (hereinafter also referred to as stage 1) are used when landing large loads on the inside of a drilling elevator or on a seabed, and during drilling. In these situations, the compensator 20 (20 ';20'') need not necessarily be in use, i.e. the cylinders are locked through their respective locking mechanisms 23 (30).

For shake compensation, stage 1 may be operated in the manual compensation mode or in the active compensation mode.

During situations where control of compensation and greater accuracy is required, such as during bump intervention, stage 1 will be operating in active compensation mode. Thus, Stage 1 will be able to achieve reduced shaking compensation to a certain minimum level.

The compensator 20 (hereinafter also referred to as stage 2) is connected to stage 1 to further increase the sensitivity and accuracy and to ensure that the power of the drilling machine does not exceed a prescribed minimum value. The stage 2 compensator, which may have a relatively short stroke length, is held stationary until the cylinder piston is subjected to a load of a predetermined weight. When the predetermined weight is reached, the compensator of stage 2 will compensate by retraction or extension of the cylinder rod 26.

Examples of situations where there is a need for stage 2 include undersea safety valves and landing of lighter equipment within the casing.

This kind of two-stage shaking motion compensator can thus compensate for movements of the league - very precisely. Within a given working parameter (e.g., the maximum swing motion of the league), combined Stage 1 and Stage 2 can compensate for relatively small weight changes and achieve main positioning accuracy at a limited speed. As mentioned above, the combined hoisting and compensating cylinders are typically capable of handling loads on the order of 250 tons. In this regard, a relatively small weight change can be on the order of about 500 kg, and the positioning accuracy can be on the order of about 10 cm.

Stage 1 can handle large loads and most oscillations. However, the compensator 20 (stage 20) (stage 2) may be substantially smaller than stage 1 and therefore produces less packing friction. &Quot; 20 ") of the drilling machine 11 so as not to take any other friction and possibly not to take any friction from the borehole.

It is thus possible for the compensator 20 (20 '; 20 ") to reduce the load magnitude from the stage 1 to the load variation within the requirement for weight change compensation.

The apparatus according to the invention functions in this way in a two-stage shaking motion compensator wherein the combined hoisting and shaking motion compensation cylinder (stage 1) handles large loads while the compensator 20 (20 '; 20 " Stage 2, better sensitivity, and greater accuracy) is able to compensate for smaller loads than Stage 1 is adapted to compensate.

In an embodiment, the load designed to compensate the compensator 20 (20 '; 20 ") may be about 8 to 10% of the load capacity of the hoisting system.

It will be appreciated that a device for shaking compensation can be used for other purposes than borehole intervention.

The numerical values set forth above are included to illustrate the application of the present invention and should not be construed as limitations of the present invention.

Claims (10)

An apparatus for shaking compensation of a tool unit (11) suspended from a column (1) mounted on a platform (2) via one or more wire means (6), each wire means comprising a first And each of the wire means 6 is connected to the tool unit at a second end of the second shaking motion compensating unit 4, 5, 12, ; 20 '; 20 "),
Wherein the second shaking motion compensation unit 20 'comprises movable compensating means 31 attached to the wire means 6 at the first end and attached to the tool unit 11 at the second end, The two-stroke compensation unit comprises releasable locking means (30) by means of which the movements of the compensating means (31) can be selectively prevented and allowed.
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
The method according to claim 1,
The compensating means 31 is attached to the wire means 6 through a connecting unit 32 and is attached to the tool unit 11 via a link element 33 and the connecting unit 32 and the link element 33, And the locking means (30) are movable relative to each other to selectively and releasably restrict movements of the linking unit (32) and the link element (33)
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
3. The method of claim 2,
The locking means 30 includes a locking bolt 87 having a narrowed portion 87b at the center and a wide shoulder portion 87a at each end of the bolt.
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
The method according to claim 2 or 3,
The link element 33 includes a through hole 82 having a first portion 82a and a second portion 82b and the first portion has a larger opening than the second portion 82b,
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
5. The method of claim 4,
The first portion 82a has a dimension allowing passage of the shoulder portions 87a while the second portion 82b has a dimension that does not allow the passage of the shoulder portions but allows passage of the central portion 87b ,
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
The method according to claim 4 or 5,
The first portion 82a has a circular cross-section and the second portion 82b has an elongated,
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
The method according to claim 1,
Between the second shaking motion compensation unit and the first shaking motion compensation unit, the wire means extends through the guide pulleys (3) mounted on the upper portion of the column, and through the first shaking motion compensation unit, Extending between,
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The first shaking motion compensation unit is connected to the platform at a first end and is movably attached to the wire means via reversing pulleys 5 and cylinders 4, 12 at a second end.
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
(22a, 22b; 27) can be selectively prevented by the locking means, and the compensation units are capable of transferring loads between the wire means and the tool unit as substantially rigid bodies ,
Apparatus for shaking compensation.
10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
Wherein the first shaking motion compensation unit (4, 5, 12) functions as an active shaking motion compensator while the second shaking motion compensation unit (20; 20 '; 20 "
Apparatus for shaking compensation.

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