US1764488A

US1764488A - Floating supporter for drill pipe

Info

Publication number: US1764488A
Application number: US357009A
Authority: US
Inventors: John A Zublin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1929-04-22
Filing date: 1929-04-22
Publication date: 1930-06-17
Anticipated expiration: 1947-06-17

Description

June 17, 1930.

J. A. zUBmN FLOATING SUPPORTER FOR DRILL PIPE Filed Apiil" 22, 1929 [/v l/E v Toe; (/05)? Zub'n,

Patented June-17, 1930- UNITED: STATES PATENT OFF-ICE JOHN LZUBLI'N, LOS AKGELES, CALIFORNIA FLOATING SUPPORTER FOB DBILI. PIPE application med A ril 22,

which drill pipe is rotated bya rotary machine in the derrick of the well. The drill pipe consists of stands of pipe approximately eighty feet in length, which are connected together by-tool joints. It is common practice at the present time to support the drill pipe by means of a swivel head at the surface of the ground. It is not unusual at the present time to drill wells 'to a depth of five or six thousand feet. In view of the enormous weight of the drill pipe, there is a; marked tendency for the tool joints to be pulled apart and the drill pipe to separate.

' It is an object of my invention to provide the drill pipe with one or a plurality of floats or buoys attached. thereto which support a portion or all of the-weight of the drill pipe, zsthus reducing the liability of the drill pipe being separated at the tool joints. My invention consists of a buoy which sur-. rounds the drill pipe and which may be rigidly attached to the drill pipe or maybe held in position by engagement with a shoulder of one of the tool joints on the drill pipe. It is the usual practice in drilling a well by the rotary system to pump rotary mud downward through the drill pipe, this mud issuing from the bit and passing upward through the well around the drill pipe.- This rotary mud at a depth of about six thousand feet is at a pressure around three thousand pounds per square inch. It is therefore necessary to construct the buoys so that they will not be collapsedby this high pressure.

It'is an object of my invention to provide a buoy having a closed chamber which may be filled with a gas under pressure. Byapproximating the depth at which the buoy is to operate, the pressure at which the gas should be compressed can be determined. Gas is then compressed to this certain pressure in the chamber of the buoy and lowere into place. The pressure of the rotary mud 1929. Serial No. $57,009;

is therefore opposed by the gas pressure withm the bu'oy, and the tendency for the buoy to collapse 1s reduced so that collapsing is not liable to occur. These results may also be accomplished by fillingthe float with a non-compressible fluid having a lesser specific gravity than the rotary mud.

It is the present practice to provide adrill p1pe with wear preventers in order to prevent the drill pipe from engaging the walls of the hole and wearing away the pipe or tool joints or the well casing which has been installed in the well.

It is anobject of myinvention to provide a buoy for the purpose hereinbefore mentioned, which is useful also in the capacity of a wear preventer.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a buoy for supporting at least a part of the weight ofthe drill pipe, this buoy being rotatable on the drill pipe.

Referring to the drawing in which my inventionis illustrated: a a Fig. 1 is a utility view.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing the buoy of my invention m section.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 of Fig. 2. j Fig. 4 is a view illustrating another form of my invention. 1

Referring to the drawlng n deta l, the numeral '11 represents a well which is being drilled by a bit 12 secured to the lower end of a drill pipe sists of stands of pipe 15 connected together by tool joints 16. The drill pipe is rotated by a rotary machine 18. The upper end of the drill pipe, 14 is connected to a swlvel head 19 by which a portion of the weight of thedrill pipe may be supported. Rotary mud, is supplied to the drill pipe by a pump 20 connected to the swivel by a conduit 21.

In this view (Fig. 1) the numeral 25 .desig nates a buoy incorporating the features of my invention The details of the buoy are shown: in Fi 2 and 3. Referring to these figures, the iuoy 25 consists of a shell 26 havmg shell 26 provides an annular fluid chamber 14. This drill pipe 14 cona central cylindrical opening 27 d through which the drill pipe 14 extends. The

28. Fluid or gas under pressure may be introduced into the chamber 28 through a valveclqsed pipe 29. The outer cylindrical wall provided in shallow Wells.

In the operation of the invention, the buoys being filled with the ,gas are of a less .specific gravity than the rotary mud which fills the well. For this-reason the bhioys tend to support the drill pipe. Sufiicient buoys are providedso that the weight which must be supported by the swivel head.19 is not great enough to create thedanger of the drill pipe separating at any of the tool joints 16. The

' rubber wall 32 reduces the friction between therefore,

, atmosph the buoy and the wall of the well, and any wear which occurs will be on this rubber wall 32. The outerdiameter of the buoy is great er than the outer diameter of the tool joints; the buoys act as wear preventers, preventing the, tool joints or any portion of the tool joints from engaging the side of the well.

It is possible to determine at approximately what level the buoys will operate, and this being known, it is possible to determine the,

pressure of the rotary mud at that level. Let us assume that a buoy is intended to operate v From'the foregoingdescription it will be seen that b using myinventmn the liability of the dri pipe separating due toits own weight will be eliminated. My invention is designed so that it is not necessary to reconstruct the drill pipe, but on the other hand, it may be applied to any drill pipe now in use. The buoy not only acts as a flotation means .for the drill pi e but also acts as a wear .preventer and W111. protect the drill pipe and well casing able extent.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus for use in a well, the combination of: a column for extension into the well; and a buoy rotatable on said column for supporting said column.

2. In apparatus'for use in a well, the combination of: a column for extension into the from be ng worn to any appreci- -well; anda plurality of buoys rotatable on said column for supporting said column at different places. a

3. In apparatus for use in a well, the combination of: a column for extension into the well; and a buoy rotatable on said column for supportin said column, the interior of said buoy being filled with a fluid under pressure. x

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand atLos Angeles, California, this 16th day of April, 1929.

JOHN A. ZUBLIN' at aflevel of six thousand feet. The rotary mu pressure at this point is three thousand pounds per square inch. If there were only eric pressure in the chamber '28,

the collapsing forces on the buoy would be very great and the buoy might collapse. By placing the gas in the chamber 28 under a pressure so as to reduce the difference in pressure of the interior and exterior, the pressure of the rotar mud is op osed andthere is no danger of/he buoy collapsing.

The collapsing orces on the buoy-are in proportion to the difi'erence in pressure'in the chamber and around the buoy-therefore the collapsing rotatably supported at each en 10, so that the buoy is rotatable on the drill forces may be reduced to a safe margin b at of the 'pressure of the rotary mud. a

Fig. 4 I illustrate a buoy 25' of substantia ly the same construction as that shown 1 in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This buoy, however, is

by a bearing pipe.- In this form of the invention, when the buoy engages the wall of the well, the buoy remains stationary and the drill v placing a ressure in the; chamber 28 which is below t ipe ro- .tates, the frict on being consumed in t e bearlugs 40. U J