US3913754A

US3913754A - Portable drill pipe magazine

Info

Publication number: US3913754A
Application number: US504937A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard H Swartz; Richard J Pearce; James M Bowe
Original assignee: Driltech Inc
Current assignee: Driltech Inc
Priority date: 1974-09-11
Filing date: 1974-09-11
Publication date: 1975-10-21
Anticipated expiration: 1992-10-21
Also published as: AU471787B2; JPS5415243B2; CA1018147A; JPS5154804A; BR7505781A; AU8383175A; ZA755126B

Abstract

An apparatus for handling and storing a plurality of drill pipe sections which are used to drill a well in the earth. The apparatus includes a magazine associated with a drill rig and having structure for engaging the drill pipe sections adjacent the upper and lower ends in a manner to non-rotatably support such sections until the sections are removed by the drill rig.

Description

U.S. Patent 0a. 21, 1975 Sheet 10f2 3,913,754

U.S. Patent 0a. 21, 1975 Sheet2of2 3,913,754

PORTABLE DRILL PIPE MAGAZINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to drilling apparatus for boring a hole into the earth and relates specifically to handling and storing mechanisms for drill pipe sections utilized in drilling operations.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore many efforts have been made to provide a portable magazine or rack for use with a drill rig having an upright mast with a drill table at the lower end and a rotary drive mechanism reciprocably mounted on the mast for movement in a generally vertical direction. Normally a drill pipe is carried by the rotary drive mechanism and such drill pipe has a cutter head or drill bit mounted on the lower end so that when the drill pipe is rotated and a downward force is applied to the rotary drive mechanism, the cutter head penetrates the earth and drills a bore hole. When most of the drill pipe has penetrated the earth, the rotary driving member is disconnected and raised to an elevated position after which such drive member is connected to one end of an extender or drill pipe section and the other end of such drill pipe section is connected to the end of the drill pipe already in the ground to form a drill string and permit continued penetration of the earth. This operation continues until a desired depth has been reached at which time the process is reversed to remove the drill string from the bore hole.

Some efforts have been made to provide one or more racks or magazines located on or adjacent to the drill mast to provide a convenient storage and handling mechanism for the supplemental drill pipe sections. These prior art structures have included mechanisms for handling and storing drill pipe sections and for moving such sections one at a time into alignment with the drill string. Some examples of prior art structures are the US. Pat. Nos. to Thornberg 2,869,826, and 2,972,388; Leven 3,025,918; Gyongyosi 3,157,286 and 3,493,061; and Klem 3,185,310.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is embodied in a portable drill pipe magazine which is swingably mounted on a drill most and movable from a retracted position to an operative position substantially in alignment with the drill string. The magazine is rotatably supported so that a selected drill pipe section can be added to or removed from the drill string. Each of the drill pipe sections is provided with upper and lower non-circular portions in which the upper portions are substantially longer than the lower portions and such portions are arranged in such a manner that the drill pipe sections cooperate with the fixed structure of the magazine to prevent removal of the drill pipe sections until after such sections have been connected to the rotary drive member of the drill rig.

It is an object of the invention to provide a portable drill pipe handling and storing magazine having apparatus for engaging and holding opposite ends of a plurality of drill pipe sections until the drill pipe sections are connected to or disconnected from the drive mechanism of the drill rig.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation illustrating one application of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section on the line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective illustrating the magazine per se.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4 illustrating a drill pipe section in a first position.

FIG. 7 is a section similar to FIG. 6 illustrating the drill pipe section in a second position.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged section on the line 8-8 of FIG. 5.

FIG. .9 is a perspective of one of the drill pipe sections.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With continued reference to the drawings, a truck or vehicle 10 is provided having an upstanding frame 11 on which a mast 12 is swingably mounted by pivots 13. A fluid cylinder 14 is swingably mounted on the truck 10 and such cylinder has a piston rod 15 swingably connected to the mast 12 so that the fluid cylinder may raise the mast from a generally horizontal position, in which it is stored on the truck, to a substantially vertical position, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The mast 12 includes a drill table 16 at its lower end and preferably has two or more conventional leveling devices, such as adjustable legs 17, for maintaining the mast in fixed position during operation.

A reversible rotary drive mechanism 18 having a bull shaft 19 is mounted on a support frame (not shown) and such support frame is slidably carried by the mast and is movable up and down by any conventional means, as by cables, chains, rack and pinion, or the like driven by a power plant. Normally a drill pipe 20 is threadedly connected at one end to the bull shaft 19 and extends downwardly through an opening 21 in the drill table. The lower end of the drill pipe has a drill bit or cutter head 22 for causing penetration of the earth when the rotary drive mechanism is operating and the support frame therefor is being moved downwardly.

When the drill pipe 20 has penetrated the earth for substantially its full length, a conventional clamping mechanism carried by the drill table 16 is operated to engage the drill pipe and clamp the same in fixed position after which the bull shaft 19 is disconnected from the upper end of the drill pipe 20 and the rotary drive mechanism is raised to an elevated position. Thereafter, a drill pipe section 25 is vertically aligned with the rotary drive mechanism 18 and the drill pipe 20 so that the rotary drive mechanism 18 may be connected to the upper end thereof and then the lower end of the drill pipe section is connected to the drill pipe 20 to form a drill string.

As illustrated best in FIG. 9, each of the drill pipe sections 25 includes an elongated tubular cylindrical body having a reduced portion 26 with external threads located at the upper end and the lower end of each drill pipe section is provided with internal threads (not shown) which cooperatively receive the external threads of the next adjacent drill pipe section. The lower end of each drill pipe section is provided with a pair of generally parallel flattened portions 27 which extend upwardly a short distance from the bottom of the drill pipe section. Adjacent the upper end of each drill pipe section, a pair of upper flattened portions 28 are provided which are substantially longer than the lower flattened portions and are arranged at an angle generally perpendicular to the plane thereof for a purpose which will be described later.

In order to support a plurality of drill pipe sections and to move one drill pipe section at a time into alignment with the rotary drive mechanism and the drill string, a pair of generally parallel upper and

lower arms

29 and 30 are provided and each arm has one end anchored to the mast 12. The other ends of the

arms

29 and 30 rotatably support a hanger shaft 31 by means of

bearings

32 and 33, respectively. If desired, the lower end of the hanger shaft may be rotatably supported within a thrust bearing 34 supported by the drill table 16. In order to rotate the hanger shaft 31 within the

bearings

32 and 33, a lug 35 is fixed to such shaft and the outer end of such lug is connected by a pivot 36 to one end of a piston rod 37. Such piston rod is carried by a fluid cylinder 38 the butt end of which is swingably connected to the mast by a pivot 39.

An upper support arm 40 and a generally parallel lower support arm 41 are welded or otherwise attached to the hanger shaft 31 and the outer ends of such arms are provided with

bearings

42 and 43, respectively. A magazine 44 for removably supporting a plurality of drill pipe sections 25 is located between the

support arms

40 and 41 and such magazine includes a magazine shaft 45 having opposite ends rotatably journaled in the

bearings

42 and 43.

With particular reference to FIG. 3, the magazine 44 is adapted to be rotated in either direction so that a selected drill pipe section is located substantially in vertical alignment with the rotary drive mechanism 18. In order to rotate the magazine, a sleeve or collar 46 is rotatably mounted on the lower end of the magazine shaft 45 and such collar has an outwardly extending lug (not shown) connected to the piston rod of a fluid operated cylinder 47 the opposite end of which is swingably connected to a lug 48 flxed to the hanger shaft 31. The collar 46 has an enlargement 49 in which a fluid operated pin (not shown) is telescopically mounted for movement in a generally vertical direction by a fluid cylinder 50.

An index plate 53 having a plurality of openings 54 is welded or otherwise fixed to the magazine shaft 45 in a manner such that the pin carried by the fluid cylinder can be rotated into registration with the openings 54. Preferably the stroke of the piston rod of the cylinder 47 is substantially equal to the distance between the openings 54 of the index plate 53 so that when the piston rod is extended and the pin of the enlargement 49 is moved upwardly into the aligned opening 54, retraction of the piston rod into the cylinder 47 rotates the magazine shaft 45 in a clockwise direction. Conversely, when the piston rod of the cylinder 47 is retracted before the pin of the enlargement 49 is extended, the magazine shaft rotates in a counterclockwise direction when the cylinder 47 is operated.

A seat plate 55 is welded or otherwise fixed to the magazine shaft 45 in proximity to the index plate 53 and such seat plate has a plurality of equally spaced non-circular openings 56 extending therethrough along vertical axes. Each of such openings is of a configuration to cooperatively receive the lower end of one of the drill pipe sections 25 and therefore each opening has a pair of generally flat parallel portions 57 corresponding to the lower flattened portions 27. A stop ring 58 is secured to the bottom surface of the seat plate 55 and extends across the openings 56 to limit downward movement of the drill pipe sections 25.

An upstanding generally C-shaped flange 59 is mounted on the upper surface of the seat plate 55 around each of the openings 56 and the inner periphery of each of such flanges is slightly larger than the diameter of the lower end of the drill pipe sections 25. As i1- lustrated best in FIG. 8, the flanges 59 may be chamfered as indicated by the numeral 60 to assist in guiding the drill pipe sections into the sockets formed by the flanges. Each of the openings 56 of the seat plate has a reduced neck 61 providing communication between the opening and the periphery of the seat plate to permit the passage of a bridle (not shown) used in placing the drill pipe sections 25 within the magazine 44.

Spaced upwardly from the seat plate 55 is a holder 62 which is secured to the magazine shaft 45 in any desired manner, as by welding or the like. The holder is provided with a plurality of generally C-shaped openings 63 disposed in generally vertical alignment with the openings 56 of the seat plate. Each of the openings 63 communicates with the periphery of the holder 62 through a relatively wide mouth 64 which is slightly larger than the distance between the upper flattened portions 28 of the drill pipe sections and permits the upper portions of the drill pipe sections to enter the openings 63. The openings 63 are generally of a size corresponding to the diameter of the drill pipe sections 25 so that when the drill pipe sections are inserted through the mouth 64 and then rotated, the drill pipe sections are confined in a lateral direction but can be moved for a limited amount in a vertical direction depending upon the length of the flattened portions 28.

The holder 62 is provided with a pair of upper stop members 65 and a pair of lower stop members 66 adjacent each of the openings 63 with the upper stop members being substantially in alignment with the lower stop members. If desired, each of the openings 63 may have a pair of inwardly extending projections 67 for supporting substantially the entire length of the

stop members

65 and 66 and permitting rotation of the drill pipe sections in one direction only. As illustrated best in FIGS. 6 and 7, an upper stop member and a lower stop member engage each of the upper flattened portions 28 of the drill pipe sections to limit rotary motion of the drill pipe sections and to align the lower flattened portions 27 of such drill pipe sections with the flat portions 57 of the openings 56 in the seat plate 55. Due to the elongated upper flattened portions 28 of the drill pipe sections, such drill pipe sections can be lowered into cooperative engagement with the openings 56 of the seat plate 55 after the drill pipe sections have been rotated into abutting relationship with the

stop members

55 and 56.

In order to prevent lengthwise movement of the drill pipe sections 25, particularly when the apparatus is in horizontal inoperative position, a generally flat circular retainer 68 is welded or otherwise attached to the upper support arm 40 in close proximity to the upper ends of the drill pipe sections 25. A notch or cutout 69 is provided in the retainer 68 in a position to permit the bull shaft 19 of the rotary drive mechanism to engage the upper reduced portion 26 of one of the drill pipe sections so that such section may be removed from the magazine 44.

in the operation of the device, a drill pipe section 25 is loaded into each of the aligned

openings

56 and 63 by first raising the drill pipe section in a vertical direction until the upper flattened portions 28 are in alignment with the mouth 64 and the lower end of the drill pipe section is disposed at a higher elevation than the flanges 59 of the seat plate. The drill pipe section is moved laterally so that the upper flattened portions enter the C-shaped openings 63 of the holder 62 after which the drill pipe section is rotated until the upper flattened portions engage the

stop members

65 and 66. In this position, the lower end of the drill pipe section is substantially in registration with the openings 56 of the seat plate and the lower flattened portions 27 are substantially in alignment with the flattened portions 57 of the seat plate. The drill pipe section then is lowered into the openings 56 of the seat plate until the drill pipe section engages the stop ring 58. When the magazine 44 is rotated by the fluid cylinder 47, the upper ends of most of the drill pipe sections are located in proximity to the retainer 68 to prevent axial movement of the drill pipe sections. It is noted that the upper ends of all of the drill pipe sections could be located in proximity to the retainer 68 by moving the index plate 53 to a position midway of the stroke of the piston rod of the cylinder 47 so that no pipe section is in alignment with the notch 69.

When the drill rig is in operation and the drill pipe 20 has penetrated the earth for substantially its entire length, the bull shaft 19 is separated from the drill pipe 20 and the rotary drive mechanism 18 is raised substantially to the top of the mast 12. In this position, the fluid cylinder 38 is operated to rotate the hanger shaft 31 and move the magazine 44 from a retracted inoperative position shown in full lines in FIG. 2 to an operative position shown in dotted lines. in the operative position, one of the drill pipe sections is in alignment with the notch 69 of the retainer 68 and is substantially in vertical alignment with the bull shaft 19 and the drill pipe 20.

In this position, the rotary drive mechanism 18 is lowered until the bull shaft 19 engages the threaded reduced portion 26 of the drill pipe section 25, after which the bull shaft is rotated by the rotary drive mechanism to connect the bull shaft to the drill pipe section. While this connection is being made, the drill pipe section is prevented from being rotated by the cooperative engagement between the lower flattened portions 27 of the drill pipe section and the flattened portions 57 of the seat plate openings 56.

After the bull shaft has been connected to the drill pipe section in the magazine 44, the rotary drive mechanism 18 is raised slightly to remove the lower flattened portions 27 from the seat plate openings 56 and to locate the lower end of the drill pipe section above the flange 59. After the drill pipe section has been raised from the position illustrated in FIG. 7 to the position illustrated in FIG. 6, the rotary drive mechanism is rotated slightly to align the upper flattened portions 28 of the drill pipe section with the mouth 64 of the holder opening and then the fluid cylinder 38 is operated to cause the hanger shaft 31 to rotate the magazine 44 to a retracted position while leaving the drill pipe section suspended from the rotary drive mechanism. After the magazine has been retracted, the rotary drive mechanism is lowered until the lower end of the drill pipe section carried thereby engages the upper end of the drill pipe 20 and the rotary drive mechanism is rotated to connect the drill pipe section 25 to the drill pipe 20 and form a drill string. Thereafter, the clamping mechanism of the drill table 16 is released and the rotary drive mechanism is operated to cause continued penetration of the earth.

After the desired depth has been reached, the drill pipe sections are removed one at a time from the drill string and are replaced within the magazine 44. This is accomplished in steps, first by applying the clamping mechanism of the drill table to the upper end of the drill string immediately below the uppermost drill pipe section 20 and reversing the rotation of the rotary drive mechanism until the uppennost section is separated from the next section below of the drill string. Then the section which is connected to the rotary head is raised to a point above the flanges 59 of the seat plate and the pipe is turned until the upper flattened portions 28 are in alignment with the mouth 64 of the upper plate 62. The fluid cylinder 38 is operated to move the magazine into position to engage the pipe section. Then the rotary drive mechanism is rapidly reversed, abruptly abutting or slamming the upper flattened portions 28 of the pipe into engagement with the

stops

65 and 66 on the upper plate, causing the threaded joint to loosen or break. The rotary head continues to rotate in reverse and as the threads unscrew the pipe is automatically lowered to a position such that its lower end is safely confined by flange 59 and the seat plate. When the threads are completely disconnected, the pipe drops into the opening 56 of the seat plate until it is supported by the stop ring 58.

Such operation facilitates the disconnection of the pipe sections and avoids the necessity of any additional vertical travel of the rotary drive mechanism after the loader is in position.

The rotary head is then lowered and rotated to engage the upper end of the drill string which is then raised to the necessary level and the described sequence of operations is continued until all the pipe has been removed.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for removably supporting a plurality of elongated generally cylindrical articles each of which has a relatively short non-circular portion at one end and a relatively long non-circular portion adjacent to the other end comprising a magazine having a rotatably mounted shaft, means for rotating said magazine shaft, said magazine shaft having a seat plate fixed adjacent to one end and a holder fixed adjacent to the other end, said seat plate having a plurality of openings extending therethrough along axes generally parallel to the axis of said magazine shaft, each of said seat plate openings having at least one noncircular portion disposed at a predetermined angle of rotation relative to the axis of said opening and being complementary to the short non-circular portion of one of said elongated articles, said holder having a plurality of openings extending therethrough substantially in alignment with the axes of the openings in said seat plate, each of the openings of said holder communicating with the periphery of the holder through a relatively wide mouth, said mouth being of a width to permit the long non-circular portion only of an article to pass therethrough, stop means on said holder adapted to abut the long non-circular por tion of the article when the article is rotated within said opening, and said stop means being in predetermined relationship to the non-circular portion of the seat plate openings, whereby the long non-circular portion of an article is inserted through the mouth of said holder and the article is rotated so that the long non-circular portion abuts said stop means to align the short noncircular portion with the opening in said seat plate and thereafter the article is moved axially so that the short non-circular portion is received within the opening of the seat plate.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which each of the noncircular portions of each of said articles includes a pair of generally parallel flat portions.

3. The structure of claim 1 including an upwardly extending guide flange disposed about each of the openings of said seat plate.

4. The structure of claim 1 including a stop member fixed to said seat plate to limit vertical movement of said articles through the openings thereof.

5. The combination of a plurality of drill pipe sections and a magazine for removably supporting the same, each of said drill pipe sections comprising an elongated generally cylindrical body having upper and lower ends, said body having at least one relatively short non-circular portion extending upwardly from said lower end and having at least one relatively long non-circular portion located in spaced relationship to said upper end, the plane of said upper non-circular portion being disposed at a predetermined angle relative to the plane of said lower non-circular portion, said magazine comprising an elongated generally vertical shaft, a seat plate fixed to said shaft adjacent one end and a holder fixed to said shaft adjacent the other end, said seat plate having a plurality of openings of a configuration corresponding to the lower non-circular portion of the drill pipe sections, said holder having a plurality of openings substantially in vertical alignment with the openings of said seat plate, each of the holder openings communicating with the periphery of the holder through a relatively wide mouth, said mouth being of a width to receive the long non-circular portion of a drill pipe section, stop means carried by said holder in a position to engage the long non-circular portion of said drill pipe section when the drill pipe section is rotated within a holder opening, and said stop means being located in a position such that the short non-circular portion at the lower end of said body is aligned with the non-circular opening in said seat plate when the long non-circular portion is in abutting relationship with said stop means, whereby a drill pipe section is inserted into an opening in the holder and rotated so that the long non-circular portion is in abutting relationship with the stop means and thereafter the drill pipe section is moved axially so that the lower end of the drill pipe section is received within an opening in said seat plate.

* l l I!

Claims

1. Apparatus for removably supporting a plurality of elongated generally cylindrical articles each of which has a relatively short non-circular portion at one end and a relatively long non-circular portion adjacent to the other end comprising a magazine having a rotatably mounted shaft, means for rotating said magazine shaft, said magazine shaft having a seat plate fixed adjacent to one end and a holder fixed adjacent to the other end, said seat plate having a plurality of openings extending therethrough along axes generally parallel to the axis of said magazine shaft, each of said seat plate openings having at least one non-circular portion disposed at a predetermined angle of rotation relative to the axis of said opening and being complementary to the short non-circular portion of one of said elongated articles, said holder having a plurality of openings extending therethrough substantially in alignment with the axes of the openings in said seat plate, each of the openings of said holder communicating with the periphery of the holder through a relatively wide mouth, said mouth being of a width to permit the long non-circular portion only of an article to pass therethrough, stop means on said holder adapted to abut the long non-circular portion of the article when the article is rotated within said opening, and said stop means being in predetermined relationship to the non-circular portion of the seat plate openings, whereby the long non-circular portion of an article is inserted through the mouth of said holder and the article is rotated so that the long non-circular portion abuts said stop means to align the short non-circular portion with the opening in said seat plate and thereafter the article is moved axially so that the short non-circular portion is received within the opening of the seat plate.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which each of the non-circular portions of each of said articles includes a pair of generally parallel flat portions.

5. The combination of a plurality of drill pipe sections and a magazine for removably supporting the same, each of said drill pipe sections comprising an elongated generally cylindrical body having upper and lower ends, said body having at least one relatively short non-circular portion extending upwardly from said lower end and having at least one relatively long noncircular portion located in spaced relationship to said upper end, the plane of said upper non-circular portion being disposed at a predetermined angle relative to the plane of said lower noncircular portion, said magazine comprising an elongated generally vertical shaft, a seat plate fixed to said shaft adjacent one end and a holder fixed to said shaft adjacent the other end, said seat plate having a plurality of openings of a configuration corresponding to the lower non-circular portion of the drill pipe sections, said holder having a plurality of openings substantially in vertical alignment with the openings of said seat plate, each of the holder openings communicating with the periphery of the holder through a relatively wide mouth, said mouth being of a width to receive the long non-circular portion of a drill pipe section, stop means carried by said holder in a position to engage the long non-circular portion of said drill pipe section when the drill pipe section is rotated within a holder opening, aNd said stop means being located in a position such that the short non-circular portion at the lower end of said body is aligned with the non-circular opening in said seat plate when the long non-circular portion is in abutting relationship with said stop means, whereby a drill pipe section is inserted into an opening in the holder and rotated so that the long noncircular portion is in abutting relationship with the stop means and thereafter the drill pipe section is moved axially so that the lower end of the drill pipe section is received within an opening in said seat plate.