Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H75/00—Storing webs, tapes, or filamentary material, e.g. on reels
  • B65H75/02—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks
  • B65H75/34—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables
  • B65H75/38—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables involving the use of a core or former internal to, and supporting, a stored package of material
  • B65H75/44—Constructional details
  • B65H75/4402—Guiding arrangements to control paying-out and re-storing of the material
  • B65H75/4405—Traversing devices; means for orderly arranging the material on the drum
  • B65H75/4407—Traversing devices; means for orderly arranging the material on the drum positively driven, e.g. by a transmission between the drum and the traversing device
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H75/00—Storing webs, tapes, or filamentary material, e.g. on reels
  • B65H75/02—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks
  • B65H75/34—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables
  • B65H75/38—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables involving the use of a core or former internal to, and supporting, a stored package of material
  • B65H75/40—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables involving the use of a core or former internal to, and supporting, a stored package of material mobile or transportable
  • B65H75/42—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables involving the use of a core or former internal to, and supporting, a stored package of material mobile or transportable attached to, or forming part of, mobile tools, machines or vehicles
  • B65H75/425—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks specially adapted or mounted for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of material provided for particular purposes, e.g. anchored hoses, power cables involving the use of a core or former internal to, and supporting, a stored package of material mobile or transportable attached to, or forming part of, mobile tools, machines or vehicles attached to, or forming part of a vehicle, e.g. truck, trailer, vessel
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B19/00—Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables
  • E21B19/22—Handling reeled pipe or rod units, e.g. flexible drilling pipes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
  • B65H2701/30—Handled filamentary material
  • B65H2701/33—Hollow or hose-like material

Definitions

• the present invention relates in general to coil tubing systems and in particular to a level- wind system for coil tubing units.
• Level-wind systems have been provided for spooling coiled tubing onto a reel when removing the tubing from a well and guiding the tubing off of the reel when injecting the tubing in a well.
• the level-wind system is positioned by the reel's drive mechanism.
• a level- wind head and level-wind system for coiled tubing including a coiled tubing reel mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, a level-wind head comprising only one pair rollers mounted in spaced relation to one another to form a throat sized to pass various outside diameter coiled tubing, without replacement or repositioning of the pair of rollers, to or from the reel, and a positioning system in connection with the level-wind head for selectively positioning the level-wind head proximate the reel.
• Figure 1 is a side-view of an embodiment of a level-wind system of the present invention mounted on a trailer;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a skid-mounted coiled tubing system of the present invention
• Figure 3 is a perspective view of a level-wind system, as illustrated in Figure 2, in isolation;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a skid-mounted coiled tubing system of the present invention in isolation;
• Figure 5 is a front view of the coiled tubing system of Figure 5.
• Figure 6 is a view of a level-wind head of the present invention illustrating the passing of coiled tubing.
• FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a trailer mounted coiled tubing unit of the present invention, generally designated by the numeral 10.
• a reel 12 for spooling coiled tubing T is mounted on a trailer.
• Coiled tubing T is spooled from reel 12 to injector 14 for injecting coiled tubing T into a well, and spooled onto reel 12 when removing coiled tubing T from the well.
• Reel 12 having an axle 16 is rotatably mounted on struts 18.
• Axle 16 defines the longitudinal axis of reel 12.
• a hydraulic motor 20 is connected to reel 12 for rotating reel 12. Hydraulic motor 20 and the drive connections, not shown, to reel 12 are generally referred to as the reel's drive mechanism.
• a level-wind system 22 having an arm 24 and a level-wind head, or roller head, 26 is positioned proximate reel 12.
• Level-wind head 26 serves to hold and guide coiled tubing T to and from reel 12.
• Arm 24 of the present embodiment includes an elongated member 28 having a first end 30 pivotedly connected to a support structure 32 and a free end 34.
• Level-wind head 26 is connected to free end 34.
• a positioning system comprising a vertical positioning mechanism 36 and a horizontal positioning mechanism 38 in connection with arm 24 may be provided.
• the positioning system facilitates precise positioning of level- wind head 26 relative to reel 12.
• a positioning system is provided in co-owned US Patent 6,264,138 which is incorporated herein by reference.
• the positioning system may be operated independently of the rotation of reel 12. Desirably, the positioning system maintains a force on coiled tubing T.
• Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a skid-mounted coiled tubing system 10 of the present invention in isolation.
• Reel 12 and axle 16 are rotatably mounted on struts 18 of support structure 32.
• arm 24 is an elongated member 28 having a first end 30 and a free end 34.
• First end 30 is pivotedly connected to support structure 32 permitting both vertical and horizontal movement of arm 24 in relation to the longitudinal axis (axle 16) of reel 12.
• Level- wind head 26 is rigidly connected to free end 34 of arm 24 preventing rotating, pivoting, and translating movement of level-wind head 26 in relation to arm 24.
• Positioning mechanisms 36, 38 are shown connected between arm 24 and support structure 32 for positioning level-wind head 26 relative to reel 26.
• positioning mechanisms 36, 38 are hydraulic cylinders. Again, the positioning system and hydraulic circuits are described in US Patent 6,264,128 which is incorporated herein. Other positioning systems may be utilized and fall within the scope of the present invention.
• FIG 3 is a perspective view of a level-wind system 22, as illustrated in Figure 2, in isolation.
• Level-wind head 26 includes a frame 40 holding a single pair of rotating rollers 42a and 42b.
• Rollers 42a and 42b are each substantially one-sheet hyperboloid shaped.
• Rollers 42a and 42b are spaced apart for each other in a manner to form a throat 44 of sufficient size to pass coiled tubing of varying outside diameters, without repositioning or replacing rollers 42.
• the operation and positioning of rollers 42 is described further in relation to Figure 6.
• FIG 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a skid-mounted coiled tubing system 10 of the present invention in isolation.
• Reel 12 and axle 16 are rotatably mounted on struts 18 of structure 32.
• Level-wind head 26 is connected to arm 24.
• Level-wind system 22 is connected within an arm assembly 46 to facilitate the positioning of level-wind head 26 relative to reel 12.
• Arm assembly 46 is described with reference to Figures 4 and 5.
• Arm assembly 46 includes a pair of extensions 48a and 48b, a cross-bar 50, and horizontal positioning mechanism 38 comprising a leadscrew 52 and an actuator 54.
• Extensions 48a, 48b are elongated members each having a first end 56 and a distal end 58. First ends 56 are hingedly connected to support structure 32.
• a cross-bar 50 may be connected between the distal ends 58a, 58b to provide structural support.
• Leadscrew 52 includes threads and is rotatably mounted between distal ends 58a, 58b.
• An actuator 54 is functionally connected to leadscrew 52 to provide controlled rotational movement.
• Actuator 54 may be an electric motor or hydraulic driving mechanisms. Actuator 54 may be operationally connected to the drive mechanism of reel 12 or may be controlled independent of reel's 12 drive mechanism.
• Horizontal positioning mechanism 38 is a leadscrew system for converting rotary to linear motion.
• Horizontal position mechanism 38 includes leadscrew 52, actuator 54 and arm 24.
• Arm 24 is a nut that is slidingly mounted on leadscrew 52 in a manner such that arm 24 and level-wind head 26 move substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of reel 12 in response to the rotation of leadscrew 52 as illustrated by the arrow in Figure 5.
• the leadscrew system may include, but is not limited to, acme screws and ballscrews.
• vertical position mechanism 36 is shown connected between support structure 32 and arm assembly 46.
• Vertical position mechanism 36 operates as described above an in U.S. Patent 6,264,128.
• FIG. 6 is a view of a level-wind head 26 of the present invention showing coiled tubing passing through the head at various angles.
• Rollers 42a and 42b are one-sheet hyperboloid shaped members spaced apart in a manner to form a throat 44 of sufficient size to pass coil tubing T of various diameters, without requiring the repositioning or replacement of rollers 42a and 42b.
• throat 44 is sized to pass coiled tubing T having an outside diameter substantially from 1 inch to 2.5 inches.
• the throat is desired to accommodate coiled tubing T having an outside diameter of 1.25 inches to 2.375 inches.
• Rollers 42 may be constructed of various material, including, but not limited to, Nylatron, stainless steel, or polyurethane. The utilization of a material having self-lubricating properties, such as Nylatron, eliminates the requirement of bearing thus reducing a point of failure and an element of additional cost.
• level-wind head 26 may be rigidly or non- moveably connected to arm 24. By eliminating the pivoting requirement and connection of the prior level-wind heads another point of failure and cost is eliminated. The pivoting requirement of level-wind head 26 in relation to arm 24 is eliminated by facilitating the passing of coiled tubing T through level-wind head 26 at various angles.
• the single pair of rollers 42 having a one-sheet hyperboloid shape facilitate the passing of multiple diameter coiled tubing T at various angles through throat 44.
• Various strings of coiled tubing are shown superimposed upon one-another to illustrate various angles of travel through throat 44. The various coiled tubing strings are identified as Tl, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7. and T8.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
• Winding, Rewinding, Material Storage Devices (AREA)
• Excavating Of Shafts Or Tunnels (AREA)
• Lining Or Joining Of Plastics Or The Like (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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Cited By (2)

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• 2005
  • 2005-06-06 US US11/145,881 patent/US20060273213A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2006
  • 2006-06-01 CA CA002607729A patent/CA2607729A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2006-06-01 WO PCT/IB2006/051766 patent/WO2006131864A2/en active Application Filing
  • 2006-06-01 RU RU2007145201/03A patent/RU2007145201A/ru unknown

Patent Citations (7)

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