US2640681A

US2640681A - Hydraulic pipe pulling device

Info

Publication number: US2640681A
Application number: US89325A
Authority: US
Inventors: Johnston Blaine
Original assignee: M O JOHNSTON
Current assignee: M O JOHNSTON
Priority date: 1949-04-23
Filing date: 1949-04-23
Publication date: 1953-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 1970-06-02

Description

June 2, 1953 B. JOHNSTON 2,640,631

HYDRAULIC PIPE PULLING DEVICE Filed April 25, 1949 INVENTOR. ELM/1E Johnna/1 Patented June 2, 1953 UNITED S'l'ATES TENT ' OFFICE Blaine JohnstomPasadena, Callfi, assignor'to M. O. Johnston, Glendale, Calif.

Application April 23, 1949; Serial No. 89,325

(Cl. 254--I39) 3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a device for pulling pipe or tubing from an oil well and for other similar pulling operations.

In pulling pipe or tubing from an oil well, it is necessary, of course, to pull a full length or section of, pipe from the well, and it is desirable to pull a stand of two or more sections of pipe from the well before halting the pulling operation. and uncoupling adjoining sections of pipe.

In prior practice, in pulling pipe or tubing from a well where there is no derrick, usually a gin pole is employed capable of elevating the pipe by only one length or section. This procedure is expensive and slows down operations considerably.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pipe pulling unit for pulling pipe from oil wells and for other, similar operations.

' It is a further object of the invention to provide a pipe pulling unit for pulling pipefrom an oil well which is portable, which is simple and compact in its construction, and which is operable to pull a stand of several sections of pipe from a well before. halting the pulling operation and uncoupling adjoining sections of pipe.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claims.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation of the pipe pulling unit, partly broken away to reveal certain interior parts.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in front elevation.

Referring now to the drawings,v there is shown an oil well designated as NJ having the usual surface fittings designated as H. The pipe or tubing [2 is shown as being pulled from the well by an hydraulically operable unit; designated as I3. The unit l3 comprises a pair of upright cylinders [4, within each of which a piston 15 is reciprocable. The cylinders l and associated elements are of identical construction, hence a description of one cylinder is sufficient.

The cylinder i4 is supported by a derrick No. A top cable It is fixed to the upper end of the piston l5, and it extends upwardly through the upper end of the cylinder 14. Also shown are a plurality of nestable tubes generally designated as 11, including an innermost tube 18 which is fixed to th piston and an outermost tube 19 which is fixed to the upper end of the cylinder.

These nestable tubes are of generally known type, being described, for example, in Mason United States Patent No. 2,2 l0,794, granted May 6, 1941, entitled Drilling Lift. As there described, their chief purpose and function is to provide a sheathing for the cable so as to seal it from the hydraulic fluid and prevent escape thereof and. loss of pressure from the cylinder.

A bottom cable 25 is similarly fixed to the lower end of the piston, andit extends downwardly through the lower end of the cylinder. A duplicate group of nestable tubes 26 are shown as connecting the piston with the lower end of the cylinder, such tubes comprising an innermost tube 21 fixed to the piston and an outermost tube 28 fixed to the bottom of the cylinder.

A bottom sheave 29 is journaled in brackets 30, and top sheaves 3i and32 are journaled in brackets 33, which are fixed to the derrick.

The bottom cable 25 is led over bottom sheave 29 and over top sheave 3|, and it is connected at its other end to a gripping member or "elevator 3?, which is of known construction. The top cable I5 is led over the top sheave 32, and at its other end it is connected to a grip-ping member or elevator 3-8 similar to theelevator 31. It will be noted that the top sheaves 3t and 32 are displaced axially with respect to one another and transversell of the unit, so that the cables [6 and 25 are spaced equally and on opposite sides of the center line of the well.

As also illustrated, the cylinder 14 is provided with a'conduit 45 serving as an inlet and outlet below piston I5 and a conduit 48 serving as an inlet and outlet above piston IS, with an operating platform 4'! and with a pipe platform 48.

In operation, thepulling'unit thus described functions as follows: After it has been brought to the site of the well, and assuming that the piston I5 is in its lowermost position, the gripping member or elevator 31 will occupy its lowermost position. An operator standing on the ground will engage the elevator 331 with the pipe I2 beneath and adjacent a shoulder [2a. Fluid pressure is admitted to the lower end of the cylinder l4 through the bottom conduit 45, thus causing the piston l5 to move upwardly and thereby elevating the elevator 31, which will, of course, pull or elevate the pipe [2 with it. When the piston 15 has reached the limit of its up stroke, an operator standing on the ground will engage the elevator 38, which by this time will occupy its lowermost position, with the pipe, beneath a shoulder I21 and then an operator on the 'platform 41 will disengage the elevator 31.

Fluid will then be caused to enter the cylinder 14 above the piston I5 through the conduit 46, thus causing downward movement of the piston and upward movement of the elevator 38, thus pulling a further length of pipe from the well. Any suitable valve means (not shown) may be used for reversing the fiow of fluid pressure to the cylinder 14, and such valve means may be manually or automatically operable. Inasmuch as such valve means are well known in the art, no further description is necessary.

It will be apparent that this cycle of operation can be continued indefinitely, limited only by the fact that the extracted sections of pipe will eventually become too top heavy to be manageable. The extracted pipe will, of course, receive support from the pipe platform 48. It will also be apparent that the cylinder l4 and the stroke of piston I 5 need not be of any considerable length,

and that the stroke of piston l 5 may be less than a length of pipe provided slips are built into the elevators 37 and 38. Thus, the cylinder may be short enough that a single operator, standing on the ground, can manipulate both of the elevators 37 and 38, thus eliminating the necessity of an operating platform and of a second operator.

It will thus be apparent that a pipe pulling device has been provided which is simple in its construction and operation, which is portable, and which employs reciprocation of a single piston under the influence of fluid pressure as the means of pulling the pipe. The piston stroke need not be of any great length inasmuch as it is operative to pull pipe both on its up stroke and down stroke.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, It i to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pipe pulling device comprising an upright cylinder, a piston reciprocable therein, a top cable fixed to the upper end of said piston and extending through the upper end of said cylinder, a bottom cable fixed to the lower end of said piston and extending through the lower end of said cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing said top cable including a tube fixed to the upper end of said piston and another tube fixed to the upper end of said cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing said bottom cable including a tube fixed to the bottom of said piston and another tube fixed to the lower end of said cylinder, sheaves for guiding said top and bottom cables to operate one or the other thereof for pulling pipe both on the upstroke and downstroke of the piston and a pipe engaging elevator carried by each of said cables.

2. A device of the character described comprising a derrick, a pair of parallel vertical cylinders mounted in said derrick, each cylinder having an aperture formed in its upper portion and in its lower portion, a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder and adapted to move upward or downward under the influence of hydraulic pressure introduced into the cylinder at the lower and upper apertures respectively, a bottom cable fixed to the bottom of each piston and extending downwardly through the lower end of each cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing each bottom cable including a tube fixed to the bottom of each piston and another tube fixed to the bottom of each cylinder, a lower sheave to receive and guide each of said lower cables in an upward direction, an upper cable fixed to the top of each piston and extending upwardly through the upper end of each cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing each upper cable including a tube fixed to the top of each piston and another tube fixed to the top of each cylinder, a pair of top sheaves for each cylinder fixed to the derrick, being displaced axially with respect to one another and transversely of the derrick, the outermost sheaves receiving the upper cables and guiding the same downwardly, the innermost sheaves receiving the lower cables as the same are guided upwardly from the lower sheaves and guiding said cables in a downwardly direction, whereby said cables will be spaced equally and on opposite sides of the center line of the well, and a pipe embracing elevator carried by each of the co-acting pairs of cables.

3. A pipe pulling device comprising an upright cylinder, 2. piston reciprocable therein, a top cable fixed to the upper end of said piston and extending through the upper end of said cylinder, a bottom cable fixed to the lower end of said piston and extending through the lower end of said cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing said top cable including a tube fixed to the upper end of said piston and another tube fixed to the upper end of said cylinder, a plurality of nestable tubes for sheathing said bottom cable including a tube fixed to the bottom of said piston and another tube fixed to the lower end of said cylinder, sheaves for guiding said top and bottom cables to pull pipe from a well both on the upstroke and downstroke of the piston, said sheaves including a pair of top sheaves displaced axially with respect to one another and transversely of the unit so that their respective cables will be spaced equally and on opposite sides of the center line of the well, and a pipe embracing elevator carried by each of said cables.

BLAlNE JOHNSTON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 961,420 Oakes June 14, 1910 1,536,413 Thrift May 5, 1925 1,756,910 Fuller Apr. 29, 1930 2,094,124 Huffman Sept. 28, 193'? 2,226,947 Sheldon Dec. 31, 1940 2,240,794 Mason May 6, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 42,349 Netherlands Dec. 17, 1937