WO2024076746A1 - Bridge racker with retractable gripper - Google Patents

Abstract

A bridge racker includes a bridge crane, a vertical column connected to the bridge crane, an extender connected to the vertical column, and a tool connected to the extender. The tool is configured to hold a tubular and the extender is configured to adjust a horizontal offset between the vertical column and the tool.

Description

BRIDGE RACKER WITH RETRACTABLE GRIPPER

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present document is based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/378692, filed October 7, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admission of prior art.

[0003] Natural resources, such as oil and gas, are used as fuel to power vehicles, heat homes, and generate electricity, in addition to various other uses. Once a desired resource is discovered below a surface of the earth, drilling systems are often employed to access the desired resource (e.g., drilling operations). The drilling systems may be located onshore or offshore depending on a location of the desired resource. Further, the drilling systems may include a wide variety of components, such as a hoisting system, a crane, fluid conduits, valves, pumps, and the like. In drilling systems, the crane may be utilized to move components (e.g., tubulars) relative to a well. The crane may be supported on a derrick or mast that extends vertically above the well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0004] A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Indeed, this disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. [0005] In some embodiments, a bridge racker includes a bridge crane, a vertical column connected to the bridge crane, an extender connected to the vertical column, and a tool connected to the extender. The tool is configured to hold a tubular, and the extender is configured to adjust a horizontal offset between the vertical column and the tool.

[0006] In some embodiments, a bridge racker includes a bridge crane with at least one beam supported on rails and a vertical lifting assembly slidingly connected to the at least one beam. The vertical lifting assembly includes a vertical column, a tool configured to hold a tubular, and an extender connected to the vertical column and the tool, wherein the extender is configured to adjust the tool between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration.

[0007] In some embodiments, a method of operating a bridge racker includes adjusting a horizontal offset between a pipe-holding tool and a vertical column of a bridge crane as the bridge crane transfers a tubular between a racking board and a well center.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

[0009] FIG. l is a perspective view of a bridge racker supported at a drilling derrick that may be utilized as part of a drilling rig, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a top view of the bridge racker of FIG. 1, wherein an adjustable horizontal offset provides an increased setback area, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0011] FIG. 3 is a side view of a bridge crane that may be utilized as part of the bridge racker of FIG. 1, wherein a gripper is in a retracted configuration, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; [0012] FIG. 4 is a side view of the bridge crane of FIG. 3, wherein the gripper is in an extended configuration, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0013] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of operating a bridge racker, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the system and/or methodology may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments are possible. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather made merely for the purpose of describing general principles of the implementations. The scope of the described implementations should be ascertained with reference to the issued claims.

[0015] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present disclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements. Additionally, it should be understood that references to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features.

[0016] As used herein, the terms “connect,” “connection,” “connected,” “in connection with,” and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements.” The term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element.” Further, the terms “couple,” “coupling,” “coupled,” “coupled together,” and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements.” As used herein, the terms "up" and "down," "upper" and "lower," "top" and "bottom," and other like terms indicating relative positions to a given point or element are utilized to more clearly describe some elements. Commonly, these terms relate to a reference point at a surface from which drilling operations are initiated as being a top point and a total depth being a lowest point, wherein a well (e.g., wellbore, borehole) is vertical, horizontal, or slanted relative to the surface.

[0017] Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” “substantially,” and “significantly” as used herein represent a value, amount, or characteristic close to the stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” “substantially,” and “significantly,” may refer to an amount that is within less than 10 percent of, within less than 5 percent of, within less than 1 percent of, within less than 0.1 percent of, and/or within less than 0.01 percent of the stated amount. As another example, in certain embodiments, the terms “generally parallel” and “substantially parallel” or “generally perpendicular” and “substantially perpendicular” refer to a value, amount, or characteristic that departs from exactly parallel or perpendicular, respectively, by less than or equal to 15 degrees, 10 degrees, 5 degrees, 3 degrees, 1 degree, or 0.1 degree.

[0018] A drilling system may carry out drilling operations at a wellsite to form a well within or into a subterranean formation to recover hydrocarbons trapped within the subterranean formation. The present disclosure generally relates to a bridge racker that may be utilized as part of the drilling system. More specifically, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to a bridge racker that implements an extender (e.g., an extend/retract device; adjustable linkage assembly) for a tool (e.g., gripper or elevator; pipe-holding tool) to provide an adjustable horizontal offset for the tool.

[0019] A bridge racker is a crane installed in a derrick or mast above a setback. The bridge racker is capable of lifting stands (e.g., tubulars) in and out of the setback, as well as handing over the stands to a well center (e.g., without manual assistance from an operator). In particular, the bridge racker includes a bridge crane with a beam supported by rails at both ends of the beam, as well as a trolley configured to move along the beam. A vertical lifting assembly is supported by (e.g., suspended from) the trolley, and the vertical lifting assembly includes a vertical column and a tool (e.g., gripper or elevator; pipe-holding tool). In operation, the beam may move along the rails and the trolley may move along the beam to move the vertical lifting assembly. Further, the vertical column may rotate (e.g., swivel) relative to the trolley to move the tool, and the tool may also move along the vertical column. Accordingly, the tool may be positioned to hold (e.g., grip, support, and/or lift) a particular stand, move the particular stand to a target location (e.g., into or out of the setback; to or from the well center), and then release the particular stand. For example, the tool may retrieve the particular stand from the setback and then hand over the particular stand to a top drive at the well center. As described herein, the tool may be a gripper that is configured to actuate (e.g., open and close) to grip a pipe section of the tubular, such as by applying a gripping force about a circumference of the pipe section. As alternative to the gripper, the tool may be a pipe elevator, which is a device designed to fit below a tool joint of a certain pipe dimension and allow lifting of the tubular. Accordingly, while certain examples provided below describe the gripper to facilitate discussion, it should be appreciated that the bridge crane may implement and include the pipe elevator in place of the gripper to carry out techniques disclosed herein.

[0020] To facilitate the drilling operations, the bridge racker should be capable of handing over the stands to the top drive. Thus, the bridge racker is constructed to accommodate and account for a size of the top drive. Without embodiments disclosed herein, a typical bridge racker (e.g., an existing bridge racker; a prior bridge racker) may include a typical vertical column and a typical gripper, wherein the typical gripper is offset at a fixed horizontal offset from the typical vertical column in order to avoid contact with the top drive. This configuration enables the typical gripper to reach under the top drive to receive and/or to hand over the stands at the well center without contact with the top drive.

[0021] In operation, the typical bridge racker may position the typical gripper to face toward and retrieve a particular stand from a setback, then the typical bridge racker may rotate the typical gripper to face toward the well center (e.g., 90 degrees), then the typical bridge racker may move the typical gripper toward the well center, then the typical bridge racker may stop the typical gripper at a hand off distance from the well center to avoid contact with the top drive. Due to a motion pattern (e.g., rotation; turning circle to adjust between facing the setback and facing the well center), the fixed horizontal offset between the typical vertical column and the gripper that is provided to accommodate the size of the top drive also results in or necessitates a similar offset at the setback. In turn, this results in a limited space available for the setback and a limited setback capacity (e.g., reduced space and/or capacity relative to embodiments disclosed herein; reduced space relative to a surface area of a floor available to support the stands; reduced capacity relative to a capacity provided by the surface area of the floor available to support the stands).

[0022] Further, the fixed horizontal offset between the typical vertical column and the typical gripper may create challenges with respect to upgrading a manual pipe handling system with a narrow gap at the setback to an automatic pipe handling system with a typical bridge racker (e.g., the typical gripper is not able to fit and/or rotate within the narrow gap; implementation of a large gap to allow the motion pattern of the typical gripper results in a reduction in the space available for the setback and the setback capacity). Additionally, the fixed horizontal offset between the typical vertical column and the typical gripper may result in high internal forces (e.g., relative to embodiments disclosed herein), which calls for a more robust structure and/or a higher weight structure (e.g., relative to embodiments disclosed herein). The high internal forces may also lead to wear on various components of the typical bridge racker, such as wear on bearings, wheels, and/or surfaces of the typical bridge racker.

[0023] Advantageously, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the bridge racker includes the gripper that is coupled to the vertical column via an extender (e.g., extend/retract device; adjustable linkage assembly). In particular, the extender operates to extend and retract the gripper relative to the vertical column, such that the gripper is offset at an adjustable horizontal offset from the vertical column. The adjustable horizontal offset allows the gripper to handle and hold the stands close to the vertical column (e.g., when positioned at the setback; during rotation), and also allows the gripper to handle and hold the stands away from the vertical column (e.g., to hand off to the top drive; to reach under the top drive to retrieve and/or hand off the stands at the well center without contact with the top drive). [0024] In operation, the bridge racker may position the gripper to face toward and retrieve a particular stand from the setback. Then, while the gripper is retracted via the extender, the bridge racker may rotate the gripper to face toward the well center (e.g., 90 degrees), then the bridge racker may move the gripper toward the well center, and then the bridge racker may stop the gripper at a hand off distance from the well center to avoid contact with the top drive. Then, the extender may extend the gripper to place the particular stand under the top drive and at the well center to hand off the particular stand to the top drive.

[0025] While the gripper is retracted via the extender, the turning circle to adjust between facing the setback and facing the well center is relatively small (e.g., compared to the typical bridge packer; without the extender). Thus, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the bridge racker is able to effectively and efficiently handle the stands in a narrow gap at the setback. Hence, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure allows a larger space available for the setback and a larger setback capacity (e.g., increased space and/or capacity relative to the typical bridge racker; corresponding to a surface area of a floor available to support the stands). Further, this also provides more flexibility and potential with respect to upgrading the manual pipe handling system to an automatic pipe handling system with the bridge racker due to ability of the bridge racker to operate in the narrow gap at the setback. It should also be appreciated that, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the bridge racker also leads to lower internal forces (e.g., relative to the typical bridge racker; without the extender), which allows for a lower weight structure (e.g., relative to the typical bridge racker; without the extender) and/or results in less wear (e.g., relative to the typical bridge racker; without the extender).

[0026] With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a bridge racker 10 (e.g., racking assembly) supported at a drilling derrick 12, which may be utilized at part of a drilling rig. As shown, the bridge racker 10 includes or is provided within a frame 14 that supports a racking board 16 and a bridge crane 18. The frame 14 is integrated into and/or mounted on the drilling derrick 12 (e.g., via fasteners). The racking board 16 may define a setback area with multiple slots or rows to receive tubulars (e.g., drill pipe stands), such that the tubulars are stored in a vertical orientation at the drilling rig. [0027] The bridge crane 18 includes a beam 20 supported by rails 22 (e.g., the rails 22 may form part of the frame 14). A vertical lifting assembly 24 is slidingly supported on the beam 20 (e.g., via a trolley), and the vertical lifting assembly 24 includes a vertical column 26 and a gripper 28 (e.g., retractable gripper; extendable gripper; adjustable gripper). The bridge crane 18 may operate to move tubulars to and from the racking board 16, such as to move tubulars from the racking board 16 to a well center 30 (e.g., aligned with an axis at the well center 30) to hand off the tubulars to a top drive 32.

[0028] As an example, in order to move the tubulars from the racking board 16 to the well center 30, the bridge crane 18 may align the vertical lifting assembly 24 with a particular slot or row of the racking board 16, such as by driving the beam 20 along the rails 22. Then, the bridge crane 18 may position the gripper 28 to receive a particular tubular within the particular slot or row of the racking board 16, such as by driving the vertical lifting assembly 24 along the beam 20 and/or by rotating the gripper 28 (e.g., via a swivel, which may be located between the vertical column 26 and the beam 20) to face toward the particular tubular within the particular slot or row of the racking board 16. Then, the bridge crane 18 may control (e.g., actuate) the gripper 28 to grip the particular tubular.

[0029] Then, the bridge crane 18 may position the gripper 28 to deliver or hand off the particular tubular to the top drive 32. To accomplish this, while the gripper 28 holds the particular tubular, the bridge crane 18 may drive the vertical lifting assembly 24 along the beam 20 to position the gripper 28 with the particular tubular in a gap 34 defined between portions of the racking board 16 and then drive the beam 20 along the rails 22 to move the gripper 28 with the particular tubular through the gap 34 defined between the portions of the racking board 16. The bridge crane 18 may also rotate the gripper 28 with the particular tubular to face toward the top drive 32 to enable the gripper 28 to hand off the particular tubular to the top drive 32.

[0030] As described herein, the gripper 28 is coupled to an extender 38 (e.g., extend/retract device; adjustable linkage assembly) that operates to extend and retract the gripper 28 relative to the vertical column 26 (and relative to other structures of the bridge racker 10 and/or the bridge crane 18, such as the frame 14, the beam 20, and so forth) to provide an adjustable horizontal offset (e.g., adjustable lateral offset) for the gripper 28. It should be appreciated that the gripper 28 may be considered to be part of the extender 38 or coupled to the extender 38. Advantageously, the bridge crane 18 may slide and/or rotate the gripper 28 within the gap 34 while the gripper 28 is retracted via the extender 38 (e.g., in a retracted position), which may enable a construction or configuration with the portions of the racking board 16 separated by a corresponding distance across the gap 34 (e.g., relatively small or narrow gap compared to typical bridge rackers without the extender 38 or the adjustable horizontal offset).

[0031] While the gripper 28 is retracted via the extender 38, the turning circle to adjust between facing the racking board 16 and facing the top drive 32 is relatively small (e.g., compared to the prior bridge rackers; without the extender 38 or the adjustable horizontal offset). Accordingly, the racking board 16 may provide a larger setback area with a larger capacity (e.g., as compared to the typical bridge rackers without the extender 38 or the adjustable horizontal offset). As described herein, the extender 38 may extend the gripper 28 to place the particular stand under the top drive 32 and to align with the well center 30 to hand off the particular stand to the top drive 32. To facilitate discussion, the bridge racker 10 and its components may be described with reference to a vertical axis or direction 42, a first lateral axis or direction 44, a second lateral axis or direction 46, and a circumferential axis or direction 48.

[0032] FIG. 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the bridge crane 18. To facilitate discussion and to illustrate operation of the bridge crane 18, the bridge crane 18 is shown with the gripper 28 in a retracted configuration 50 on one side of FIG. 2 (e.g., distal from the well center 30, such as after retrieval of a particular tubular from the racking board 16; at a first time) and with the gripper 28 in an extended configuration 52 on another side of FIG. 2 (e.g., proximate to the well center 30, such as prior to hand off of the particular tubular to the top drive 32; at a second time).

[0033] As shown, the bridge crane 18 may operate the extender 38 to position the gripper 28 in the retracted configuration 50 at certain locations and/or during certain stages of operation. For example, the gripper 28 may be in the retracted configuration 50 when the gripper 28 is located in the gap 34 between the portions of the racking board 16. Thus, the bridge crane 18 may move the vertical lifting assembly 24 with the gripper 28 holding the particular tubular through the gap 34 (e.g., slide toward and/or away from the well center 30; rotate to face toward the racking board 16 or toward the well center 30). In the retracted configuration 50, the gripper 28 is positioned with a first horizontal offset 70, which enables the gripper 28 to have a first turning circle 80 (e.g., with a first radius). Thus, the gap 34 may be sized to accommodate the first turning circle 80 (e.g., the gap 34 may be relatively narrow compared to the prior bridge rackers without the extender 38 or the adjustable horizontal offset, which enables the racking board 16 to have a larger size and/or larger capacity). That is, the gap 34 may have a width 84 (e.g., along the first lateral axis 44) that corresponds to and accommodates the first radius of the first turning circle 80 (e.g., is slightly larger that the first radius of the first turning circle 80, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 percent larger; 0.25, 0.5, or 1 meter larger to provide clearance for the first turning circle 80).

[0034] Further, as shown, the bridge crane 18 may operate the extender 38 to position the gripper 28 in the extended configuration 52 at certain locations and/or during certain stages of operation. For example, the gripper 28 may be in the extended configuration 52 when the gripper 28 faces toward the well center 30 and/or when the gripper 28 reaches a hand off location proximate to the well center 30. Thus, the gripper 28 may deliver or hand off the particular tubular to the top drive 32. However, with the gripper 28 in the extended configuration 52, the bridge crane 18 may not rotate the gripper 28 in the circumferential direction 48. For example, in the extended configuration 52, the gripper 28 has a second turning circle 82 (e.g., with a second radius larger than the first radius of the first turning circle 80), which would overlap (e.g., cause the gripper 28 to contact) other components of the bridge racker 10, such as the racking board 16. Thus, the gap 34 may not accommodate the second turning circle 82. That is, the gap 34 may have the width 84 that is smaller than the second radius of the second turning circle 82.

[0035] Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the bridge crane 18 may include mechanical stops and/or control features that block and/or limit rotation of the gripper 28 in the extended configuration 52. For example, a controller 90 may be programmed to block and/or limit rotation of the gripper 28 in the extended configuration 52 (e.g., permit the gripper 28 to move to the extended configuration 52 only when facing toward the well center 30, toward an opposite direction away from the well center 30, and/or toward the tubulars in the racking board 16; along the first lateral axis 44 or the second lateral axis 46). [0036] The controller 90 includes a processor 92 and a memory device 94. The controller 90 may also include a communication device (e.g., transceiver), an input device (e.g., switch), an output device (e.g., display), and/or other components. The controller 90 may control a hydraulic system 96 (e.g., with a hydraulic fluid source, conduits, and valves) to control movement of components of the bridge racker 10. For example, the controller 90 may control the hydraulic system 96 to adjust the beam 20 along the rails 22, the vertical lifting assembly 24 along the beam 20, the gripper 28 and the extender 38 along the vertical column 26 shown in FIG. 1, and the extension and the retraction of the gripper 28. The controller 90 may control these functions in a coordinated manner to automatically retrieve tubulars from one location and to deliver the tubulars to another location (e.g., from the racking board 16 to the well center 30 or vice versa). In this way, the controller 90 may facilitate automated operations, such as to trip in or trip out the tubulars at the well center 30.

[0037] The processor 92 may be processing circuitry that includes one or more processors configured to execute software, such as software for processing signals (e.g., indicative of a position of the gripper 28 along the axes, 42, 44, 46, 48; indicative of the gripper 28 being in the retracted configuration 50 or the extended configuration 52) and/or controlling components of the bridge crane 18 (e.g., via controlling the hydraulic system 96). The memory device 94 may include one or more memory devices (e.g., a volatile memory, such as random access memory [RAM], and/or a nonvolatile memory, such as read-only memory [ROM]) that may store a variety of information and may be used for various purposes. For example, the memory device 94 may store processorexecutable instructions (e.g., firmware or software) for the processor 92 to execute, such as instructions for processing signals and/or controlling components of the bridge crane 18.

[0038] It should be appreciated that the controller 90 may be a dedicated and/or contained controller with processing circuitry that carries out the various techniques disclosed herein. However, the controller 90 may be part of and/or include a distributed controller with processing circuitry that carries out the various techniques disclosed herein. Thus, while certain operations are described as being performed by the controller 90 to facilitate discussion, it should be appreciated that the various techniques disclosed herein may be performed by any suitable device and/or distributed between any suitable combination of devices.

[0039] FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the bridge crane 18 that may be utilized as part of the bridge racker 10 of FIG. 1, wherein the gripper 28 is in the retracted configuration 50. FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment of the bridge crane 18 that may be utilized as part of the bridge racker 10 of FIG. 1, wherein the gripper 28 is in the extended configuration 52. As shown, the bridge crane 18 may include the beam 20 slidingly supported on the rails 22, as well as the vertical lifting assembly 24 slidingly supported on the beam 20. For example, the beam 20 may slide along the second lateral axis 46 along the rails 22, and a trolley 54 with the vertical lifting assembly 24 may slide along the first lateral axis 44 along the beam 20.

[0040] The vertical lifting assembly 24 includes the vertical column 26 that extends from the trolley 54 along the vertical axis 42. The vertical lifting assembly 24 also includes a carrier 56 (e.g., dolly) that couples to the vertical column 26 and that carries the gripper 28 and the extender 38 along the vertical column 26 (e.g., to move along the vertical axis 42 along the vertical column 26). For example, an actuator 55 (e.g., hydraulic cylinder) may drive the carrier 56, as well as the gripper 28 and the extender 38 coupled thereto, to slide along the vertical column 26.

[0041] The extender 38 includes a bracket 58 that is pivotally coupled to the carrier 56 and to the gripper 28. The extender 38 also includes an actuator 60 (e.g., hydraulic cylinder) that drives the bracket 58 to pivot relative to the carrier 56. For example, the actuator 60 may be a hydraulic cylinder that extends to drive (e.g., push) the bracket 58 and the gripper 28 away from the carrier 56 to transition the gripper 28 to the retracted configuration 50 and that retracts to drive (e.g., pull) the bracket 58 and the gripper 28 toward the carrier 56 to transition the gripper 28 to the extended configuration 52.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 2, in the retracted configuration 50, the gripper 28 has the first horizontal offset 70 relative to the vertical column 26. Thus, in the retracted configuration 50, the vertical lifting assembly 24 has a narrow shape or configuration along the first lateral axis 44. Further, upon rotation via a swivel connection 72, the vertical lifting assembly 24 has the narrow shape or configuration along the second lateral axis 46. Thus, the narrow shape or configuration provides a narrow or small turning circle (e.g., the first turning circle 80 of FIG. 2) that enables use of the bridge crane 18 with a larger setback area with a larger capacity (e.g., as compared to the prior bridge rackers without the extender 38 or the adjustable horizontal offset).

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4, in the extended configuration 52, the gripper 28 has the second horizontal offset 74 relative to the vertical column 26, wherein the second horizontal offset 74 is greater than the first horizontal offset 70. Thus, the vertical lifting assembly 24 is able to extend the gripper 28 along the first lateral axis 44 and the second lateral axis 46 (e.g., after rotation via the swivel connection 72 to face the gripper 28 toward the second lateral axis 46). Thus, as shown and described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripper 28 is able to extend to the well center 30 and deliver or hand off the tubulars to the top drive 32 at the well center 30 (e.g., without contact between the bridge crane 18 and the top drive 32).

[0044] It should be appreciated that the bridge crane 18 may have any suitable configuration that provides the adjustable horizontal offset, as described herein. For example, the vertical lifting assembly 24 may have different components and/or configurations compared to FIGS. 3 and 4, but may still provide the adjustable horizontal offset to position the gripper 28 with the first horizontal offset 70 (e.g., proximate to the vertical column 26) to fit during rotation within the gap 34 between the portions of the racking board 16 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and also to position the gripper 28 with the second horizontal offset 74 (e.g., set away from the vertical column 26) to extend to the well center 30 or to other areas according to operational conditions.

[0045] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 100 of operating a bridge racker, such as the bridge racker 10 of FIG. 1. It should be appreciated that steps of the method 100 may be performed by a controller, such as the controller 90 of FIG. 4. It should be appreciated that steps may be omitted, steps may be added, and/or steps may be carried out in any suitable order.

[0046] In block 102, the method 100 may begin by retracting a gripper of a bridge crane to provide a first horizontal offset for the gripper. For example, the bridge crane may control an actuator to retract the gripper to a retracted configuration to provide the first horizontal offset for the gripper. [0047] In block 104, the method 100 may continue with moving the gripper through a gap between portions of a racking board to align the gripper with a slot of the racking board. For example, the bridge crane may control a beam to move along rails and/or a vertical lifting assembly with the gripper to move along the beam to move the gripper in this manner.

[0048] In block 106, the method 100 may continue with rotating the gripper to face toward a tubular in the slot of the racking board. As described herein, while the gripper is in the retracted configuration with the first horizontal offset, the gripper is able to rotate with a first turning circle that enables or allows for an increased setback area (e.g., the gripper is able to rotate within a narrow gap between the portions of the racking board, which enables or allows for the increased setback area).

[0049] In block 108, the method 100 may continue with operating the gripper to retrieve the tubular in the slot of the racking board. For example, the bridge crane may move the gripper (e.g., via movement of the vertical lifting assembly along the beam and/or via extension of the gripper) to engage the tubular in the slot of the racking board.

[0050] In block 110, the method 100 may continue with positioning the gripper with the tubular (e.g., while the gripper holds the tubular) in the gap between the portions of the racking board. For example, the bridge crane may control the vertical lifting assembly with the gripper and the tubular to move along the beam to move the gripper with the tubular in this manner.

[0051] In block 112, the method 100 may continue with rotating the gripper with the tubular to face toward a well center. For example, with the gripper holding the tubular within the gap defined between the portions of the racking board and with the gripper in the retracted configuration, the bridge crane may rotate the gripper approximately 90 degrees to rotate the gripper with the tubular to face toward the well center. As described herein, while the gripper is in the retracted configuration with the first horizontal offset, the gripper is able to rotate with the first turning circle that enables or allows for the increased setback area.

[0052] In block 114, the method 100 may continue with moving the gripper with the tubular through the gap between the portions of the racking board to a hand off position proximate to the well center. For example, with the gripper holding the tubular within the gap defined between the portions of the racking board, the bridge crane may drive the beam that supports the vertical lifting assembly with the gripper and the tubular toward the well center to the hand off position located at a hand off distance from the well center.

[0053] In block 116, the method 100 may continue with extending the gripper to provide a second horizontal offset for the gripper to position the tubular at the well center, wherein the second horizontal offset is greater than the first horizontal offset. For example, the bridge crane may control an actuator to extend the gripper to an extended configuration to provide the second horizontal offset for the gripper.

[0054] In block 118, the method 100 may continue with handing off the tubular to the top drive to facilitate tripping operations. Then, the method 100 may return to block 122 to continue retrieving and handing off tubulars during the tripping operations. It should be appreciated that the bridge racker may also operate in a similar manner (e.g., with retraction, extension, and rotation) to transfer tubulars from the well center to the racking board (e.g., tripping out operations), from an off-board storage or delivery system to the racking board (e.g., to load or to fill the racking board), and so forth.

[0055] As described herein, the bridge racker allows for fast and efficient automatic vertical pipe handling and tripping in and out of a well. When the bridge crane delivers tubulars to the well center, it is important that the bridge crane does not contact or interfere with the top drive. Hence, the tubulars are transferred to the well center and handed off to the top drive with a relatively large horizontal offset (e.g., the second horizontal offset; between the vertical column and the tubular). However, it is presently recognized that it would be advantageous to provide an adjustable horizontal offset, which enables the hand off with the relatively large horizontal offset and rotation in the gap between the portions of the racking board with a relatively small horizontal offset (e.g., the first horizontal offset; between the vertical column and the tubular). As a result, the racking board may provide additional available setback space and the bridge crane may experience relatively low internal forces (e.g., as compared to prior bridge rackers with a fixed horizontal offset).

[0056] Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims. It is also contemplated that various combinations or sub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the embodiments described may be made and still fall within the scope of the disclosure. It should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with, or substituted for, one another in order to form varying modes of the embodiments of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the disclosure herein should not be limited by the particular embodiments described above. For example, features described with respect to FIGS. 1-5 may be combined in any suitable manner.

[0057] The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and applied to material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature that demonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are not abstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claims appended to the end of this specification contain one or more elements designated as “means for (perform)ing (a function)...” or “step for (perform)ing (a function)...”, it is intended that such elements are to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claims containing elements designated in any other manner, it is intended that such elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

Claims

1. A bridge racker comprising: a bridge crane; a vertical column connected to the bridge crane; an extender connected to the vertical column; and a tool connected to the extender, wherein the tool is configured to hold a tubular and the extender is configured to adjust a horizontal offset between the vertical column and the tool.

2. The bridge racker of claim 1, wherein the extender is configured to retract and extend the tool relative to the vertical column to adjust the horizontal offset between the vertical column and the tool.

3. The bridge racker of claim 1, wherein the extender is configured to retract the tool to provide a first horizontal offset between the vertical column and the tool and to extend the tool to provide a second horizontal offset between the vertical column and the tool, wherein the first horizontal offset is smaller than the second horizontal offset.

4. The bridge racker of claim 3, wherein the first horizontal offset is less than a width of a gap defined between portions of a racking board to enable rotation of the vertical column with the extender, the tool, and the tubular in the gap between the portions of the racking board.

5. The bridge racker of claim 4, wherein the second horizontal offset is greater than the width of the gap defined between the portions of the racking board.

6. The bridge racker of claim 3, wherein the second horizontal offset corresponds to a hand off distance to enable hand off of the tubular from the tool to a top drive.

7. The bridge racker of claim 1, comprising a controller configured to control an actuator to drive the extender to adjust the tool between a retracted configuration with a first horizontal offset and an extended configuration with a second horizontal offset, wherein the first horizontal offset is less than the second horizontal offset.

8. The bridge racker of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to control a swivel to block rotation of the vertical column with the extender, the tool, and the tubular while the tool is in the extended configuration.

9. The bridge racker of claim 1, wherein the tool comprises a gripper or an elevator.

10. A bridge racker comprising: a bridge crane comprising at least one beam supported on rails; and a vertical lifting assembly slidingly connected to the at least one beam, wherein the vertical lifting assembly comprises: a vertical column; a tool configured to hold a tubular; and an extender connected to the vertical column and the tool, wherein the extender is configured to adjust the tool between a retracted configuration and an extended configuration.

11. The bridge racker of claim 10, wherein in the retracted configuration the tool is positioned with a first horizontal offset from the vertical column, in the extended configuration the tool is positioned with a second horizontal offset from the vertical column, and the first horizontal offset is less than the second horizontal offset.

12. The bridge racker of claim 11, wherein the first horizontal offset is less than a width of a gap defined between portions of a racking board to enable rotation of the vertical lifting assembly in the gap between the portions of the racking board.

13. The bridge racker of claim 10, wherein the retracted configuration enables rotation of the vertical lifting assembly in a gap between portions of a racking board.

14. The bridge racker of claim 10, wherein the extended configuration enables the tool to hand off of the tubular from the tool to a top drive.

15. The bridge racker of claim 10, comprising a controller configured to: control an actuator to drive the extender to adjust the tool between the retracted configuration and the extended configuration; and control a swivel to block rotation of the vertical lifting assembly while the tool is in the extended configuration.

16. A method of operating a bridge racker, the method comprising: adjusting a horizontal offset between a pipe-holding tool and a vertical column of a bridge crane as the bridge crane transfers a tubular between a racking board and a well center.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein adjusting the horizontal offset comprises: retracting the pipe-holding tool toward the vertical column of the bridge crane to provide a first horizontal offset between the pipe-holding tool and the vertical column of the bridge crane; and extending the pipe-holding tool toward the vertical column of the bridge crane to provide a second horizontal offset between the pipe-holding tool and the vertical column of the bridge crane, wherein the first horizontal offset is less than the second horizontal offset.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein retracting and extending the pipe-holding tool comprises: controlling an actuator of an extender to retract the pipe-holding tool toward the vertical column of the bridge crane; and controlling the actuator of the extender to extend the pipe-holding tool from the vertical column of the bridge crane.

19. The method of claim 16, comprising rotating the pipe-holding tool within a gap between portions of the racking board while the pipe-holding tool is in a retracted configuration to provide a first horizontal offset.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising releasing the tubular from the pipe-holding tool to hand off the tubular to a top drive while the pipe-holding tool is in an extended configuration to provide a second horizontal offset.