US2523159A

US2523159A - Pipe spinner

Info

Publication number: US2523159A
Application number: US765303A
Authority: US
Inventors: Albert L Stone
Original assignee: Standard Oil Development Co
Current assignee: Standard Oil Development Co
Priority date: 1947-08-01
Filing date: 1947-08-01
Publication date: 1950-09-19
Anticipated expiration: 1967-09-19

Description

A. L. STONE Sept. 19, 1950 PIPE SPINNER Filed Aug. 1, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 |NvENToR /WLZM/ ATTORNEY.

Sept. 19, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 1, 1947 FIG.

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IZQ/Wl/w f ATTORNEY.

FIG.

Patented Sept. 19, 1950 PIPE SPINN ER Albert L. Stone, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, lto Standard Oil Development Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application August 1, 1947, SerialN 0. 765,303

4 Claims.

'Ihe present invention is directed to a device for spinning cylindrical structural members.

When using structural members having a cylindrical surface in commercial operations, it is ofttimes desirable ,or necessary to rotate such lmembers. An example of a commercial operation of this type is in the drilling of wells using sections -oi `pipe as the drill stem carrying the drill bit .with` the sections of pipe yconnected together by screw threads. In such an operation it is conventional to make up the pipe joints first by spinning the section to be added while holding the remainderof the drill stem against rotation and subsequently tonging by holding the pipe on one side of the joint and giving the pipe on the other side of the yjoint arcuate motion by means of the tong engaged therewith. Likewise, when i disconnecting a `section of pipe from the remainder of the drill stem, it is conventional to break the joint by rst .using a tong and then spinning. In such operations it is desirable to provide a means adapted to be readily engaged with and disengaged from a section of pipe and which is capable of rotating or spinning the pipe when engaged therewith.

It is an object oi the present invention to devise a means adaptedl for rotating or spinning cylindrical structural members.

It is another object of the present invention tov provide a device which may be readily engaged with and disengaged from a section of pipe by moving the device in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pipe and which is capable of rotating the `pipe about its longitudinal axis when engaged therewith.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be seen from a reading of the following description taken in conjunction with the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a modification of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, of the embodiment of Fig. 1 but showing the parts in position to engage a pipe for spinning a section of pipe; n

Fig. 3 is a View taken along line III-III of Fig.. 1;

Fig. 4` isa view taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a view taken along line V-V of Fig. 1.

Before describing in detail the embodiment shown in the dra-wing, it is to be noted that the frame portion is indicated as terminating in a broken line. It will be understood that the frame may be extended for engagement with a suitable supporting means,.such as a column, but suchk supporting means in itself does not constitute a part of the present invention'. `In order to simplify the drawing nofshowing of an additional portion of the frame is made. l

Turning now specifically to the drawing, `a frame A has mounted thereon crank arm assemblies B `and C. A cylinder assembly D is arranged to motivate crank arm assemblies B and C. A prime mover F is mounted on the frame. A plurality of spinning belts G are `carried by sheaves, said spinning-belts being adapted to engage `with a section of drill pipe and `being adapted to spin said section when so engaged.

Crank arm assembly B includes arm II which is mounted on a stub axle I2 for angular movement about the axis thereof. For convenience in describing the operation of arm `I-I one end will be designated as the free and the other end as the restrained end. The restrained end of crank arm assembly A `is restrained by piston assembly D.

`Piston assembly D includes cylinder t5 having piston I6 slidably vmounted therein. Piston rod II has one end connected to the piston and the other end secured to the restrained end of arm II through piston rod pinv I8. The free end vof armv I I has mounted thereon stub axle I3 parallel with axle I2 with a sheave I4 mounted thereon for rotation.

Crank arm assembly C is similar to crank arm assembly B and includes an arm member 2| mounted for angular movement about stub axle 2-21and having a restrained end and a free end.` Mounted on the free end is stub -axle 23 with a sheave 24 mounted thereon for rotation about an axis parallel to that of axle 22. The restrained end of arm 2l is restrained by attachment to cylinder I5 of assembly D.

From the arrangement of crankarm assembly B, cylinder assembly D and crank arm assembly C, it :will `be v'seen that movement of piston I E toward the `crank end of respective piston assembly D `will cause sheaves I4` and 24 to move toward each other while the movement of piston t6` away from the crank end of cylinder assembly D will cause sheaves I4 and 24 to move away from each other.

Frame A denes a slot 30 adapted toY receive the `stand of pipe with which the spinner assembly is to be engaged. For convenience, the eentral line of slot'3ll is shown by line 3l. Frame A is so proportioned that the center of thesection of pipe engaged with the device will coincide with point 32. The longitudinal axis vof frame `A` :is

3 designated as 33 and passes through pipe center 32.

Prime mover F is slidably mounted on frame A. Frame A is provided with a machined surface 34 upon which a corresponding machined surface 35 of prime mover assembly F rests.

Prime mover assembly F is biased away from pipe center 32 by means of springs 3b and 31. Prime mover assembly F has secured thereto

pins

38 and 39 which project through longitudinally extending slots 40 and 4l, respectively, in frame A. Spring 36 has one end secured to pin 33 and the other end secured to frame A by means of pin 42. Similarly, spring 31 has one end attached to pin 39 and the other end attached to frame A by means of pin 43.

It will be understood that any suitable prime mover may be employed for assembly F, but in order to simplify the showing in the drawing, no details of construction of the prime mover assembly are shown. The assembly F is adapted to rotate a shaft M which extends downwardly through a suitable longitudinally extending slot d in frame A and has a sheave 46 mounted thereon for rotation about an axis parallel to axles I3 and 23 upon which sheaves la and 2li, respectively, are mounted.

Axle l2 not only provides the mounting means for arm assembly B but in addition serves as thev mounting means of sheave 4l. Similarly, axle 22 not only serves as a mounting means for arm assembly C but in addition serves as a mounting means for sheave 48. It will be evident that sheaves 4l and 48 are arranged to rotate about axes fixed with respect to frame A.

Sheaves I4, 24, 36, il and 4B are provided with grooves to receive a plurality of belts G. Belts G, which are carried by these sheaves, are individually designated as G9, '50, 5l, 52, 53 and 5d. These belts are of equal lengths and are mounted on the sheaves to define paths of movement identical in configuration. The power for causing movement of the belt is provided by prime mover F and is transmitted through shaft M to sheave 46.

Movement of prime mover F along axis 33 away from point 32 is limited by stop 55 while movement of the prime mover toward point 32 is limited by adjustable stop 55 having ends arranged to t in any pair of notches 5l which may be selected by the operator.

The appearance of belt assembly G when the entire spinning assembly is being moved into position prior to engagement with a section of pipe is shown in Fig. l. It will be seen in this figure that the section of the belt assembly between sheaves I4 and 24 deiines a straight line and sheaves I4 and 24 are extended away from each other. The belt assembly G is engaged with a section of pipe by moving frame A laterally so that pressure will be exerted between belt assembly G and the wall of the pipe in a direction along the line 3| of frame A while either no restraint is imposed by the cylinder assembly D or else a bias is exerted by this assembly to move piston rod pins i8 and 28 away from each other. Under such conditions the belt assembly G will assume the conguration shown in Fig. 2 with a portion of each belt of the assembly engaged with a portion of a periphery of the pipe. When the belt assembly G has assumed the position shown in Fig. 2, additional frictional force may be ex-.

erted between the belt assembly G and the pipe by exerting a hydraulic pressure by suitable means, not shown. in the cylinder assembly D to force the piston I6 toward the crank end of thel cylinder assembly. After suicient force is exerted against the restrained ends of the crank arm assemblies B and C to engage the belt assembly with the pipe, power may be transmitted from prime mover F to power sheave 43 to cause movement of belt assembly G and spinning of pipe engaged by the belt assembly G for the interval of time desired. For example, if a section of pipe is being spun to remove it from another section the spinning will be continued until the threads of the spun section are disengaged. If on the other hand a section of pipe is to be added to another section, the pipe will be spun until the joint is made up tlie desired amount. Usually, if a section of pipe is being spun to make up a joint, the spinning will be continued until the friction of the threads in the joints causes prime mover F to stall. When this occurs, the assembly may be disengaged from the stand of pipe by releasing the pressure exerted against the piston it in piston assembly D, whereupon sheaves la?, and '2li may be moved away from each other by tension of springs 36 and 3l to allow belt assembly G to slip ofi the pipe with which it has been engaged and resume the position shown in Fig. 1.

It will be obvious thatthe device of the present invention embodies a number of advantages. The device may be readily engaged with and disengaged from a section of pipe by angular movement of the device about an axis parallel to the axis of the pipe to be rotated. This arrangement allows the assembly to be employed advantageously for handling and spinning pipe in making up and removing sections of pipe from a drill stem used in conventional rotary drilling operations. A column may be mounted to one side of the borehole with its axis parallel to the axis of the hole and the spinning assembly may be moved through an arc about this column for engagement with sections of drill pipe to be added to or disengaged from the drill stem. If desired, the belt assembly G may be engaged with a stand of drill pipe at the side of the derrick by exerting friction thereon by means of cylinder assembly D and when so engaged the spinning assembly may be used for supporting the section of pipe from its lower end as it is moved laterally in a derrick. The pipe when so supported by the spinning assembly may be moved either from the axis of the borehole to the side of the derrick or from the side of the derrick to the axis of the borehole. The spinning assembly of the present invention is particularly adapted to be used as a part of the assembly described and claimed in my co-pending application entitled Apparatus for Handling Pipe in a Derrick, Serial No. 692,201, filed August 22, 1946 and for use in handling pipe as described and claimed in my copending application entitled Method for Handling Vertical Sections of Pipe in a Derrick, Serial No. 753,591, led June 9, 1947.

While I have disclosed a specific embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood by a workman skilled in the art that various changes in the sizes, shapes and proportions of the parts thereof may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having fully described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of the present invention, what is desired to be claimed as new and useful and to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A pipe spinner comprising, in combination, a frame, a rst crank arm mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the vvlongitudinal axis of the frame and having a free end and a restrained end, a second crank arm mounted on the frame for rotation about a fixed `axis parallel to and spaced from the axis of rota- 'tion of the rst crank arm and having a free end and a restrained end, a power means comprising a cylinder with a piston slidable therein,

said cylinder beingr operably connected to the restrained end of one of said crank arms and the piston being operably connected to the restrained end of the other crank arm, a first sheave mounted on the free end of the first crank arm for rotation about an axis parallel with the axis of rotation of the crank arm, a second sheave mounted on thefree end of the second crank arm for rota tion about an axis parallel with the axis of rotation of the second crank arm, a prime mover y mounted on said frame, a third sheave mounted said frame `and a spring is arranged to bias said sheave away from the remaining sheaves.

3; A pipe spinner comprising, in combination, a frame, a rst crank arm mounted on the frame for pivoting about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the frame and having a free end and a restrained end, a second crank arm mounted on the frame yfor pivoting about a fixed 6 axis parallel to and spaced from the axis of rotation of the rst crank arm and having a free end and a restrained end, power means operably connected to the restrained ends of said first and 5 second crank arms adapted for moving said restrained ends toward and away from each other,

a rst sheave mounted on the free end of the rst crank arm for rotation about an axis paralilel with the axis of rotation of the crank arm, a

second sheave mounted on the free end of the second crank arm for rotation about an axis parallel with the axis of the rotation of the second crank arm, a prime mover mounted on said frame,

a sheave mounted on the frame for rotation about an axis parallel to the axes oi the iirst and second sheaves and arranged for rotation by said prime mover and a belt mounted on the sheaves adaptm ed to engage with a portion of the periphery of the pipe for spinning said pipe.

4. A device in accordance with claim 3 in which a plurality of additional sheaves are mounted on the frame for rotation about axes parallel with the axes of the rst, second and third sheaves and in which said belt, is carried by all of said 25 sheaves.

ALBERT L. STONE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number