US2194066A

US2194066A - Drilling apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2194066A
Application number: US240236A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walter T Caldwell
Original assignee: GEORGE E FALLING SUPPLY COMPAN
Current assignee: GEORGE E FALLING SUPPLY Co; GEORGE E FALLING SUPPLY COMPAN
Priority date: 1938-11-14
Filing date: 1938-11-14
Publication date: 1940-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 1957-03-19

Description

W.'T. CALDWELL DRILLIHG APPARATUS Pneu Nov. l14, '1938 2 sheets-sheet 1 VNvENToR 'ATTORNEY w. T. CALDWELL. 2,194,066 DRI'LLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 14, 195e 2 sheets-sheep 2 INVENTOR v Wa/ e Ta/dwe/ BY v ATTO R N EY mechanism to and from drilling position.

Petemed Mer. 19, y19.40

UNITE-DRSTATES lernte ammo Damme rrAnAros 1 Wolter r. calderon, noie, ons., minor to The George E. Falling Supply Company, Enid, Okla., a, corporationl of Oklahoma Appuooaon November 14, 1sss,-ser|a1 No. 240,236

11 claims.

This invention relates to drillingapparatus pare ticularly of the portable type and primarily intended for use in drilling boreeholes in the prospecting for oil, gas and the like.

Drillingl appar ,tus'of this character is equipped. with a poweraugmenting' device comprising one or more hydraulic cylinders which are supported over the bore-holeand adapted to be connected 'with the kelly. rod of the drilling string for controllingand Aapplying vpressure thereto during drilling operation. The power augmenting mechanism, `being located over' the center -of the drilling operations, interferes with manipulation' of the 'drilling string as when adding sections of drill'pipe, running'in and pulling of the drilling string iso-change bits or per-form other Lsimilar' operations.

n 1s, therefore, apnnoipal object of the pr'eef ent invention to Aprovide the drilling apparatus with means for moving the power augmenting eOther objects 'of the invention are to providel a shifting mechanism for the'power augmenting means-.which is of simple and inexpensive construction to provide a shifting'mechanism that is readily actuated by suitable power such as a hydraulic cylinder; te provide a shifting mechr anism wherein the kelly rod maybe retained in the power augmentingmechanismv; to provide a shifting varrangement which rfacilitatesconnection and disconnection from the swivel head; and

to providela shifting mechanism which leaves the center of drilling operationsi'ree and clear for use by the driller.,

1n accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, as hereinafter pointed out, I have' provided improved details of structure, the preferre'd form of which is illustrated in .the accom- A panying drawings, wherein: I

, augmenting apparatus.

. Fig. 1 is a side elevational view'of a drilling apparatus embodyingthe features of the present in-V ventionl and showing tle poweraugmenting device in drilling position in fullelines. and out of' drilling position in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the power augmenting device. 1

y Fig. 3 is a side elevational view similar toPlg. 1, "showing the power augmenting device -being moved 4from drilling position.

Fig. iis an end elevational view the drawings:

Vof I the power Referring more in detail to' I designates a/platform which may be mounted upon the chassis of a motor vehicle 2 and on which the drilling mechanism is mounted ,so

that it is readily transported from one drilling location to another. The rear, central portion of the platform has4 a substantially rectangular shaped opening 3, and on which is mounted lon` table 0, the turntable 8 being adapted to rotate a kelly rod 1 that ,is connected to the upper end of va drilling string 8 carrying a drill bit 9, as in conventional practice. i

Mounted in the turntable 6 is a drive sleeve vIl having anopening therein corresponding to the cross-sectional area of the kelly rod so that when the. sleeve is rotated by the conventional gear mechanism of the turntable (not shown), the kelly rod is vrotated but is slidably movable therethrough progressively with the drilling operation.' Also carried on theplatform, and preferebiy oonneoted therewith so' marit 1s movable from a perpendicular position as shown toa rel clining position relatively to the platform- I, is a tower or derrick- II carrying crown pulleys I2 for suspending the drilling string. Attached to the upper end of the kelly rod 1 is a'swivel I3 wherethrough a. drilling iluid-is delivered to the interior i of the drilling string as in lstandard rotary drilling practice. 'I 'he swivel head I 3 has the-usual -bail Ilwhich is engaged by a hook "I5 on the 'end of a drill cable IB, by which the kelly rod and drilling string are raised and lowered in the Atower II, the drill cable being wound upon the reel of a conventional hoisting drum (not shown), but which is ordinarily mounted on the platform I.l

In drilling certain formations it is desirable to apply pressure in a'downward direction onthe drill bit to promotev cutting action thereof, however, when-the depth of the hole increases, the

. weight of the drilling string becomes greater. due

to the necessarily greater length thereof, and it r,is desirable to partially relieve the pressure thereof on the drill bit. This is effected by a power augmenting mechanism, generally designated I1,

and `which includes apair of cylinders I8 and I9 lsuitably spaced4 apart on the opposite sides oi 4the turntable and which have pistons 20 slidabley therein and connected by rods 2I with a cross head 22. The'cross head 22 extends over the turntable and has a ring-like portion 23 through which the kellyrod is extended and which rot'atably carries a chuck or suitable gripping `device 24 adapted to srippinly engage the kelly rod. The cylinders" and I9 are suppliedI with a piston actuating uid through conduits 25 and 2i that are connected with a fuir-way valve '21 controlling supply of the uid to and from the respective ends of the cylinders and a. source of supply (no t shown). pressure Vfluid is admitted to the upper ends of the cylinders to act on the pistons in a downward direction, vpressure is applied through the chuck 24, kelly rod 1, and drilling string 8 on the Y kelly rod follows through the chuck 24 until thev chuck has approached the upper end' thereof. It then becomes necessary to insert another drill pipe section in the drilling string. To apply a drill pipe section it is necessary to remove the power augmenting mechanism away from the turntable. shifting the power mechanism, including the kelly y rod, away from the turntable and depositi'rig-therr'iin an out-of-the-way position, as now tobe described.

In the illustrated instance the lower heads of the cylinders are shown as provided with spaced pairs-of

ears

28 and 29, preferably connecting shift arms or links 30 and 3| which have their rear ends xed to a shaft-22 that is mounted in suitable' bearings 33 on the platform, and which extends transversely thereof as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The forward'ends of the arms are engaged between the ears and are connected therewith by pivot members 34 which extend through the ears and through the arms as shown in Fig. 4. The arms are of sufhcient length so that the shaft 32 and its supporting bearings are spaced from the turntable to give sufficient room for the driller during work on the drilling string.

Mounted on the platform, with their lower ends in alignment with the ends of the shaft 32. are.

tubular posts

35 and 36 inclined in the direction of the turntable to cause inclination of the kelly. rod in the direction of the crown pulley when the power device is in inoperative position. The upper ends of the posts are rigidly retained in position by-brace legs 31. Srlidably mounted in the upper ends of the posts are the stems 38 of dollies 29. The dollies #lhs/.ve heads 40 to which are pivoted the endsfof'shift arms 4i and` 42 having their other ends pivotally connected with the heads of the respective hydraulic cylinders, the dolly heads being connected to the arms by suitable pivot members 43 and to the heads of the cylinders by pivot members 44.

Since the power augmenting mechanism must be supported perpendicular when in drilling position, the shift arms ll'and 42 are therefore shorter than -the shift arms 20 and 3i so that when the power augmenting mechanism is moved to inoperative position it is 'inclined as above noted and the axis of the ,kelly rod substantially` aligns with the crown pulley l2 as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. l. In order to accommodate the kelly rod, the platform is provided with an opening 45 registering `with a rat-hole Vthat ls drilled into the earth and cased by a suitable pipe of 'suflicient diameter to freely receive the -kelly rod. Y

In order to shift the power augmenting mechanism to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1,

For example, when the v I therefore provide means for bodily v the rat-hole. mechanism Vhas been moved to the dotted line the shaft l2 carries a sprocket 48 that is fixed thereon and whichis actuated from a larger sprocket 41 through a chain belt 4l operating thereover. 'I'he sprocket 41 is rotatably mounted on a supporting shaft 49 carried in suitable bearings 5l on the platform to the rear of the post 35 and at one side of the opening 45, so that the mechanism does not interfere with movement of the power augmenting mechanism and the kelly rod. The sprocket 45 is of smaller diameter than the sprocket 41 so that the sprocket 41 need make only a partial revolution in effecting sullicient rotation of the sprocket 4B to carry the shlftarms 30 and 2l from the full line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position.

Connected with the sprocket 41 is an arm 52 which is connected by a link 53 with a piston rod 54 of a 'hydraulic cylinder 55. The hydraulic cylinder 55 contains a piston 56 which is connected with the rod and which is shifted within the cylinderv to effect rocking movement of the arm 52 in moving the power augmenting mechanism to and from its respective positions. The piston 55 is under control of a pressurel fluid that is selectively admitted tothe respective ends of the cylinder 55 through connections 51 and 58 with a four-way control valve 552 VInusing the drilling mechanism constructed and assembled as described, and assuming that the power augmenting mechanism 'is in drilling position as shown by the full lines in Fig. 1, and assuming that the drilling has progressed to the point where it is necessary to introduce an additional section of drill pipe into the drilling string,

may be raised therethrough until the' upper end of the rst. joint of drill pipe projects from the' turntable a sufcient distance to apply the usual slipsin supporting the drilling string while the kelly rod is disconnected. In this position the lower end of the kelly rod is clear and free of the turntable but is carried in the chuck of the power augmenting mechanism. After uncouplng the kelly rod from the supported end of the drilling string, the valve 59 vis opened to admit pressure medium to the rear end of the 'cylinder 55 and to allow discharge of the pressure medium from the forward end of the cylinder. The'piston 6G is therefore moved under pressure of the uid to eect swinging movement of the arm 52 in a. clockwise direction and corresponding movement of the sprocket 41 since it is rigidly connected therewith.

The ,sprocket 41 imparts clockwise movement to the sprocket 46 through the chain connection 45 causing the shift arms 30 and- 2| to move in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 3,-v carrying the lower ends of the power cylinder therewith. A corresponding movement will "be imparted to `the upper' ends of the cylinders through connection thereof with the dolly heads V4Il. Since thevarms 4l and 42 are shorter than device in aninclined position so that the kelly rod may be lowered through the opening 45 into When the power augmenting position, the valve 59 isV closed to, retain pres sure in the respective ends of the 'cylinder II. thereby supporting the power mechanism inthe position shown. In this position the chuck is readily reached by the driller standing on the as in conventional practice.

platform I so that it may be loosened to allow lowering of the kelly rod into the "rat-hole" by the cable i6. When the kelly rod has been completely lowered, the hook I5 is readily disconnected from the swivel head so that the cable may be used in operating the elevators (not shown) in adding another section of drill pipe After the section of drill pipe 'has been added and lowered into the wel1, and supported by the spider on the turntable, the hook I5 is again connected with the bail of the swivel and the kelly rod withdrawn from the rat-hole. The valve -59 is then actuated to reverse inlet and outlet of pressure medium, thereby eiecting reverse movement of the shift arms 30 and 3| so that the power augmenting mechanism carrying the kelly rod is returned to drilling position. When in perpendicular position, as shown in Fig. l, the kelly rod is connected with the projecting section of drill pipe and the spider removed therefrom so that the drilling operation may continue. If it is necessary to use the power augmenting means it is-made effective by tightening the chuck to-the kelly rod and controlling the valve 2l so as to admit pressure medium to the cylinders i8 and I9 in obtaining the desired degree of chuck movement.

From the foregoing it is obvious that I have provided a drilling apparatus of the character described with a shifting mechanism which is of simple construction and which facilitates movement of the power augmenting mechanism to and from drilling position.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters connecting the piston with the'power augmenting device including means for compounding movement of the piston.

2. vIn a. drilling rig of the character described, a platform, a. turntable on theplatform, said platform having an opening spaced from the turntable, a power augmenting device supported over the turntable when in a drilling position, a kelly rod drivingly engaged by the turntable and grippingly engaged with the' power ausmenting device,bracket means fixed to the platform, links of differential length connecting the A power augmenting device with the bracket means for swingingly moving the power augmenting device from over said turntable to an inclined position where the kelly rod is Yadapted to be lowered through said opening, and means compensating for the shorter ofv said links during movement of the power augmenting device.

3.. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntable carried by the platform, a power augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced from the turntable, a pair of spaced posts supported on the platform and inclining `in the direction of thev turntable, dolly heads slidably movable on said posts, a pair of shifting arms pivotally connecting an upper portion of the power augmenting device with the dolly heads,

a second pair of shifting arms pivotally coning device from a position over'the turntable to a position in registry with said opening.

4. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntable carried ,by the platform, a power augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced from the turntable, a pair of spaced supports mounted on the platform-and inclining in the direction of the turntable, dolly heads slidably movable on said supports, a pair ofshifting arms pivotally connecting an upperportion of the power augmenting device with the dolly heads, a second pair. of shifting arms pivotally connected with lower portions of the power augmenting device, a shaft mounting said last named arms, means journalling the shaft at the-base of said supports, and means for rotating the shaft to effect movement of the power augmenting device from .a position over the turntable to a position in registry with said opening.

5. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntable carried by the platform, a power augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced from the turntable, a pair of spaced posts supported on the platform and inclining in the direction of the turntable, dollyheads slidably movable on said posts, a pair of shifting arms pivotally connecting an upper portion of the power augmenting device with the dolly heads, a second pair of shifting arms pivotally connected with lower portions of the,power augmenting device, a shaft mounting said last named arms, means journalling the shaft at the base of said posts, 'a hydraulic cylinder carried by the platform, a piston slidable in the cylinder, a. piston rod carried from a position over said turntable to a position in registry with said opening'. Y,

s. In a drilling rig, a platform, a turntame carried by the platform, a power augmenting device, said platform having an opening spaced from the turntable, supports on said platform,-

a pair of shifting arms pivotally connecting an upper portion of the power augmenting device with the supports, a second pair of shifting armsj pivotallyy connected with lower portions of the power augmenting device, a shaft mounting said last named arms, means journalling the shaft at the base of said supports, a hydraulic cylinder carried bythe platform, a piston slidable in the cylinder, a piston rod carried by the piston, a

sprocket on said shaft, a larger sprocket rotatably mounted on the platform, achain operating over saidv sprockets, a crank arm connected with the last4 sprocket, means connecting the crank arm with the piston rod, and means for admitting pressure medium to said cylinder for effecting movement ofthe power augmenting device from a position over said turntable to a position in registry withsaid opening.

7. In a drilling` apparatus, a supporting platform, a power augmenting device, bracket means on said platform, Ymeans having pivotal' connection with the power augmenting device and said bracket'means, an oscillatory actuator having driving connection with one of said plv'- driving connection with one of said pivotal connections, a reciprocatory actuator, and means connecting the reciprocatory actuator with said oscillatory actuator including a transmission mechanism for increasing relative movement of said actuators;

9. In a drilling apparatus, a supporting platform, a power augmenting device, bracket means on said platform, means having pivotal connection with the power augmenting vdevice and said bracket means, a sprocket having driving connection with one of said pivotal connections, a larger sprocket rotatably mounted on the platform, a chain operating over said sprockets, a

crank connected with the larger of said sprockets, and a reciprocatory hydraulic actuator connected with said crank for effecting movement of the power augmenting device.

10. In a drilling apparatus, a power augmenting device, means pivotally supporting the power augmenting device for movement into and out of a drilling position, an oscillatory actuator having connection with said power augmenting device to effect movement of the power augmenting device to and from said drilling position, a reciprocatory actuator, and a driving connection between the reciprocatory actuator and the oscillatory actuator.

11. In a drilling apparatus including drill rotating means, a power augmenting device, means pivotally supporting the power augmenting device for swinging movement to and from a drilling position relatively to the drill rotating means, a driven member having connection with the power augmenting device, a driving member, a connection between the driving and driven members, an arm connected with the driving member,

and'areciprocatory actuator having driving connection with the driving member.

WALTER T. CALDWELL.