US2332479A - Mast structure - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 19, 1943. H, J WOOLISLAIYER ET AL 2,332,479

MAST STRUCTURE Filed April 10, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 271758858. BY Hf nrrmmsrs.

t 3- H. J. WCIJOHLSLAYER ET AL 2,332,479

MAST STRUCTURE Filed April 10, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 N W I Patented Oct. 19, 1943 MAST STRUCTURE Homer J. Woolslayer, Erwin A. Campbell, and Cecil Jenkins, Tulsa, Okla., assignors to Lee C. Moore & Company, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.,. a cor-.

poration of Pennsylvania Application April 10, 1943, Serial No. 482,554

- 11 Claims.

This invention relates to oil well masts or derricks that are adapted to be assembled in sections along the ground and then swung upwardly into upright position.

In accordance with this'invention, a mast" is mounted on top of a substructure which is open inwardly from. its front end so that it can straddle a well. The mast and substructure are located a It now is not uncommon to erect oil well masts so that the center-line of the well is adjacent or by assembling them in prone position along the in the front plane of the mast the rear legs; of ground from large prefabricated sections, and which straddle the draw-works'm'ounted on the then swinging them up into upright position substructure behind the well. The rear legs are over th wells. For this purpose the lower ends pivotally connected to the -substructure while the of the front legs are hinged to supporting means, front legs are detachably connected to supportand cables attached to the masts are passed over ing means mounted on the substructure. T'o'pro gin poles to the draw-works by which the masts vide adequate working space between the well and I are raised from the ground. These masts genthe front legs of the mast, the members that form erally are let down and separated into sections the lower end portions-of the front legs are inagain after they have served their purpose, and clined forwardly and/or laterally so that their the sections are trucked to new locations where feet are connected to the substructure a considthe masts are again erected the same as before. erable distance in front of 'the front plane of the It will be seen that to save time and labor it is mast and/or beyond its sides. The lower end por desirable to make the mast from as few 'prefabritions of the front legs preferably are pivoted to cated sections as possible, but state highway and their upper portions. Thus, by disconnecting the railroad clearance regulations limit the height front legs from the substructure and swinging and width of loads that can be carried over the f them either up against their upper portions or highways and railroads. Also, there are the ecoback toward the rear legs, the mast is freeto be nomical limitations of ocean shipments of masts, swung forward and 'down until it extends sub because the cost of such shipments is determined stantially horizontally along the ground. The by volume. It follows that if a mast is to be open or slottedfront endof the substructure per- -assemblec l from only a few sections, the width of mits the lower portion of themast to move down the mast must be as small as possible so that in into the substructure and therebylie close to the v shipment those sections will not be too wide nor ground. The mast may be lowered by a cable suptoo 'high for the highways, railroads, or ocean ported by a gin pole mounted on the substructure shipments. However, in a mast having a small above the draw-works. The mastis erected by base the customary practice is to hang the travelreversing the procedure. ing block'close to th front of the mast, so the The invention is illustrated in the accompanywell, which should be directly below the block, is ing line drawings in which Fig. l is a side view of located much closer to the front than the rear our mast structure in operative position; Fig. 2 of the mast where the draw-works is located. is a rear view thereof; Fig. 3 is a side view show- Although this leaves sufiicient working space being the mast in its lowered position extending hind the well, it does not leave as much clearance along'the ground; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan in front as desired. As it is the front legs that view of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken are hinged to the supporting structure, their 40 on the line VV of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a fraglower portions can not be swung forward away mentary side view of a modified embodiment of from the well after the mast has been swung up the invention. into upright position to increase that clearance. Referring to the drawingsya structural steel Such a mast is less suitable for use with a subsubstructure I rests on the ground over the well 2 structure which raises its base several feet above that is to be worked upon. Such a substructure the ground because, when the mast is in prone generally is several feet in height. As shown in position extending substantially horizontally out Fig. 4, the substructure has an open area 3 near from th rsubstructure, it requires the men who its front ,that surrounds the welland extends out are assembling or disassembling the mast to stand through the front end of the substructure. The on scaffolding in order to reach it, and it also bifurcated substructure thus formed therefore I requires larger or longer hoisting equipment for straddles the well, but its open front end may be handling the sections. closed temporarily by braces when the mast 4 is It is among the objects ofthis invention to proin operating position. vide an oil well mast structure of the character Mounted on the substructure directly behind referred to above which includes a substructure; th well is the usual draw-works 6 (Figs. 1 and 3) in which-the mast can be assembled close to the by which the cable 1 (shown in broken lines) that ground and then swung up into upright position; supports the traveling block 8 in the mast is reeled in which the mast is relatively small in transverse in and out. The mast itself ismounted on top section; and which has adequate clearance within of the substructure and is onlywide enouglnatits its base allaround the well.

bottom to permit its rear legs 9 to straddle the I draw-works. By making the mast as narrow as possible it can be divided into fewer sections when disassembled for transportation to a new location, and still stay within the load limits set by'highway regulations.

In accordance with this invention the lower 7,

ends of the rear legs are detachably pivoted in hinge brackets l I mounted on the substructure on'opposite sides of the draw-works in a position that leaves plenty of working space between the well and the ,back of the mast. The result, however, is that the front plane of the mast is located so close to the well that with masts of this type known heretofore there would be but little working space betweenthe well and front legs within the base of the mast. It is therefore an object of this invention to increase this working space by connecting the lower portion' l2 of each front leg to its upper portion by a hingejoint, indicated at l3. This leaves lower portions I2 free to be swung relative to the rigid upper portions of the front legs. The lower ends of the front legs are detachably connected to brackets I4 mounted on the substructure a considerable'distance' in front of the mast and, preferably, somewhat outwardly beyond its sides. If desired, however, the brackets can be located in front of the mast in line with its sides, or beyond the sides but within the front plane of the mast. In any case, by' inclining the lower portions of the front legs outwardly in this manner, as much working space is provided within the base of the mastin front of the well as behind it.

When it is desired to take down the mast and transport it to a new location, the front legs are disconnected'from brackets I4 and pivoted portions I2 may be' swung back against the main diagonal braces l5 at the lower end of the mast. The legs can be temporarily fastened to these braces in any suitable manner tohold them in their rear position. The weight of the mast is then supported entirely from hinge brackets II on which the mast can be swung forward and down to the ground.

Cable and the draw-works are used for raising and lowering the mast. To provide an elevated support for the cable while it is employed for swinging the mast, a gin pole is mounted on the substructure directly behind the mast and it projects above thedraw-works. The gin pole comprises substantially vertical members [6 fastened to hinge brackets H', bracing members '11 fastened to brackets l8 mountedon the substructure near the near end of the draw-works. These members are connected at the top by a cross member l9 (Figs. 2 and 4) which supports a sheave 20 engaged by cable I. If desired, the top of the gin pole can be rigidly connected to the mast by suitable members 2|. (Fig. l) to help steady the mast. In preparation for lowering the mast, the traveling block 8 is hoisted, up in the mast and a cable sling 23 (shown in broken lines in Figs. 1 and 3) is fastened temporarily to the bottom of the block and passed under a sheave 24 mounted in the center of the mast and over to the top of the gin pole to which the sling is anchored. As cable 1 is paid out by the draw-works in order to lower the traveling block, the mast swings forward, its weight being supported in part by the sling on which sheave 24 rests'as shown in the broken line position of the mast in Fig. 1. Continuedlowering of the traveling block tends to increase the slack in the sling which thereby permits the mast to swing down until it reaches and diagonal on temporary blocks the ground or comes to rest in prone position. It

' tions A, B, and C. and transported to a new well site. To erect the mast, the lowering procedure just outlined is reversed In the modification shown in Fig. 6, the lower ends of the rear legs 26 of a mast are hinged to brackets ll on the substructure I, but the front legs 21 do not reach down to the substructure. Instead,'the lower ends of the front legs are detachably connected at 28 to the central portions of the downwardly and forwardly inclined front legs 29 of a gin pole. The vertical rear legs 30 of the gin pole are attached to brackets I I, and the front legs extend down past the opposite sides of the mast with their lower ends connected to supporting brackets l4 mounted on the substructure in front of the mast. Adequate clearance in front of the well is thus provided. By disconnecting the mast from gin pole legs 29 at the connection 28, the mast can be swung forward.

and down to the ground in the same manner as the mast first described herein.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle and con-, struction of our invention and have illustrated and described what we now consider torepresent its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a, mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, means detachably connecting the front legs to the substructure, and means for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from the substructure, whereby the mast will extend out through said open front end of the substructure and along the ground.

2. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, the lower ends of the front legs extending outwardly in front of the front plane of the mast to provide increased clearance in front of the well within the derrick base, means detachably connecting the front legs to the substructure, and means for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from the substructure, whereby the mast will extend out through said open front end of the substructure and along the ground.

3. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, the lower ends of the front legs being pivoted to their upper portions and extending outwardly in front of the front plane of the mast to provide increased clearance in front of the well within the derrick base, means detachably connecting the front legsto the substructure, and means for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnectedfrom the substructure and swung back, whereby the mast will extend out. through said open front end of the substructure and along the ground.

4. An oil well mast structure comprising a substrucutre for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, the lower ends of the front legs being hinged to their upper portions and extending outwardly in front of the front plane of the mast and laterally beyond the side planes of the mast to provide increased clearance in front of the well within the derrick base, means detachably connecting the front legs to the substructure, and means for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from the substructure, whereby the mast will extend out through said open front end of the substructure and along the ground.

5. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, draw-works mounted on the substructure behind the well, a mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure on opposite sides of the draw-works, the lower ends of the front legs extending outwardly in front of 'the front plane of the mast to provide increased clearance in front of the well within the derrick base, means detachably connecting the front legs to the substructure, and means including a gin pole mounted on the substructure for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from the substructure, whereby themast will extend out through said open front,

end of the substructureand along the ground.

6. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure adapted to straddle a well and being open from its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mounted on the substructure with its front plane much closer than its rear plane to the well, saidmast having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, the lower ends of the front legs extending outwardly in front of said front plane to increase the clearance between the well and the lower portions of the front legs, means detachably connecting the front legs to the substructure, and means mounted on the substructure for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from the substructure, whereby the mast will extend out through said open front end of the substructure and. along the ground.

'7. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a, mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, the lower ends of the front legs extending outwardly in front of the front plane of the mast to provide increased clearance in front of the well within the derrick base, means detachably connecting detachably connected to the mast to steady it, and means cooperating with said gin pole for swinging the mast forward and down after said front legs have been disconnected from the substructure and the gin pole has been disconnected from the mast, whereby the mast will; extend out through said open front end of the substructure and along the ground.

8. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, supporting means on the substructure, means detachably connecting the front legs to said supporting means, and means for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from said supporting means, whereby the mast will extend out through said open front end of the substructure and along the ground.

9. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, the lower ends of the front legs extendingv outwardly relative to their upper portions to provide increased clearance in front of the well within the derrick base, means detachably connecting the front legs to the substructure and means for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from the substructure, whereby the mast will extend out through said open front end of the substructure and along the ground.

10. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mount-'- ed on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, supporting means attached to the top of the substructure in front of the front plane of the mast, means detachably connecting the front. legs to said supporting means, and means for swinging the mast forward and down when said front legs are disconnected from said supporting means, whereby the mast will extend out through said open front end of the substructure and along the'ground.

11. An oil well mast structure comprising a substructure for straddling a well and open at its front end inwardly to the well, a mast mounted on top of the substructure and having front and rear legs, means hinging the rear legs to the substructure behind the well, the lower ends of the front legs-being spaced from the top of the substructure, rigid members extending downwardly from the rear of'the mast past its opposite sides to points in front of the front plane of the mast, means at said points connecting said members to the substructure, means indethe front legs to the substructure, a gin pole mounted on the substructure behind the mast and

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