HK1155787B - Grip extension linkage to provide gripping tool with improved operational range, and method of use of the same - Google Patents

Description

Clamp extension linkage and method of use providing improved operating range for a gripping tool

Technical Field

The present invention is intended to relate to applications where tubulars or pipe strings must be gripped, operated and lifted with tools that are connected to a drive head or reaction frame to be able to transfer axial and torsional loads to and from the gripped pipe section. The present invention relates to slips (slips) in the field of earth boring, well construction, and well servicing with drilling and workover rigs, and more particularly slips on rigs that use top drives (top drives), and is applied to tubular running tools that are connected to top drives for gripping a proximal section of a tubular string being fitted into, used in, or removed from a wellbore. Such a tubular running tool supports various functions necessary or beneficial for these operations including: quick-engage and release, lift, propel, rotate, and pressurized fluid flows into and out of the tubing string. The present invention provides a linkage (linkage) for extending or improving the grip range of such a tubular running tool.

Background

Until recently, power tongs (power tongs) were a permanent method for running casing strings or pipe strings into and out of oil wells in conjunction with a drill rig hoist system. This power tong method allows such a pipe string, consisting of pipe segments or joints having mating threaded ends, to be made up relatively efficiently by bolting the mating threaded ends together (make-up), forming a threaded connection between successive pipe segments as they are added to the pipe string being installed in the wellbore or, conversely, being removed or disassembled (breakout). However, this power tong method cannot simultaneously support other beneficial functions, such as rotating, pushing, or fluid filling after a pipe segment is added to or removed from the pipe string and while the pipe string is being lowered or raised within the wellbore. The typical deployment of tubulars with tongs also requires personnel deployment at relatively high risk locations, such as on the drill floor or even above the drill floor, on so-called "stabbing tables".

The advent of drilling rigs equipped with top drives has enabled a new method of laying tubulars, particularly casing tubulars, in which the top drive is equipped with a so-called "top drive tubular running tool" to grip and possibly seal between adjacent pipe sections and a top drive drill shaft. (it should be understood that the term top drive drill shaft is generally referred to herein as including such drive string components that may be attached thereto, effectively acting as the distal end of the drill shaft extension) various devices have therefore been developed that generally accomplish the purpose of "top drive casing running". The use of these devices in combination with a top drive allows the casing string to be lifted, rotated, advanced and filled with drilling fluid while being laid, thus eliminating the limitations associated with power tongs. At the same time, the automated operation of the gripping mechanism combined with the inherent advantages of the top drive reduces the level of human intervention required for the process of laying with power tongs and thus improves safety.

In addition, in order to operate and run casing using a top drive tubular running tool, the weight of the pipe string must be transferred from the top drive to the support when an adjacent or active pipe section is added to or removed from an otherwise assembled pipe string. Typically, this function is provided by a "ring wedge clamp" axial load actuated gripping device which utilizes "slips" or jaws which are placed within a hollow "slip bowl" through which the casing is laid, wherein the slip bowl has a frustoconical bore of decreasing diameter in the downward direction and is supported within or on the rig floor. The slips, which act as annular wedges between the pipe segment at the proximal end of the pipe string and the frustoconical inner surface of the slip bowl, then tractively grip the pipe, but slide or move downwardly and radially inwardly on the inner surface of the slip bowl as the weight of the pipe string is transferred to the gripper. Thus, the radial force between the slips and the pipe body is self-excited or self-energized axial load, i.e., there is a positive feedback loop taking into account the independent variable of tractive capacity and the independent variable of string gravity, where the string gravity independent variable is actively fed back to control the radial gripping force, which acts monotonically to control the dependent variable of tractive capacity or resistance to slip. Similarly, make-up and break-out torques applied to the live pipe sections must also be reacted out of the near end of the pipe string being made-up. This function is typically provided by tongs having a gripper that engages the adjacent pipe segment and an arm that is connected to the rig structure by a link, such as a chain or cable, to prevent rotation and thus react torque that is not otherwise reacted by the slips in the slip bowl. Also, the clamping force of such pliers is typically self-energizing or "self-powered" by positive feedback from the applied torque load.

In summary, the gripping tool of PCT patent application CA 2006/00710 and us national phase application 11/912,665 may be broadly summarized as a gripping tool comprising a body assembly having a load adapter connected to transfer an axial load to the remainder of the body, or body, the load adapter being adapted to be structurally connected to one of a drive head or reaction frame, and a gripping assembly supported by the body and having a gripper surface, the gripping assembly being provided with actuating means to move or move radially from a retracted position to an engaged position to engage, in response to relative axial movement or axial travel of the body relative to the gripper surface in at least one direction, radially tractively engage either the gripper surface with an inner or outer surface of a workpiece. A linkage is provided to act between the body assembly and the clamp assembly upon relative rotation of the load adapter relative to the clamp surface for at least one stroke, causing relative radial movement of the body relative to the clamp assembly to move the clamp assembly from the retracted position to the engaged position in dependence on the action of the actuating means.

Thus, this clamping tool utilizes a mechanically actuated clamp mechanism to generate a clamping force in response to axial loads or axial stroke actuation of the clamp assembly, which occur with or independent of externally applied axial and torque loads in the form of applied right or left hand torques, which are carried throughout the tool from the load adapter of the body assembly to the clamp surface of the clamp assembly in pulling engagement with the workpiece.

It will be apparent that the utility of this or other similar gripping tools is related to a range of workpiece sizes, typically expressed as the minimum and maximum diameters of the tubular workpiece that can be accommodated between the fully retracted and fully extended clamp surface positions of a given gripping tool, i.e., the radial dimension and radial travel of the gripping surface. The utility of a given gripping tool can be improved if it can accommodate a greater range of workpiece sizes. The present invention is directed to meeting this need for larger radial dimensions and radial travel that are beneficial in applications such as are often encountered when adjusting a gripping tool to lay oilfield tubulars.

Disclosure of Invention

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a grip extension linkage is provided that provides an improved operating range for a gripping tool having radial gripping elements. The clamp extension linkage includes: at least one annular body having a central bore and a peripheral outer surface. Rigid elongated spokes are provided. Spoke guides are provided on the ring body. The spoke guides mate with the spokes to constrain the spokes while allowing the spokes to move radially from a retracted position to an engaged position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided wherein the above-described grip extension linkage is used to improve the operating range of a gripping tool having radial gripping elements. This includes placing one of a workpiece or a cylindrical gripping tool within the central bore of the at least one annular body and placing the other of the workpiece or the cylindrical gripping tool around the peripheral outer surface of the at least one annular body. The spokes are placed in the annular space between the gripping elements of the gripping tool and the workpiece. The first end of each spoke engages the clamping element while the second end of each spoke engages the workpiece either directly or indirectly. When the gripping elements of the gripping tool are moved radially to apply pressure at the first end of each spoke, the spokes move radially from a retracted position to an extended position and act as radial extensions of the gripping elements of the gripping tool.

As mentioned above, the spokes may act on the workpiece either directly or indirectly. The configuration of the spoke to indirectly engage the workpiece will be described further below. In this embodiment, a driven clamping element is disposed at the second end of each spoke. The radial movement of the gripping elements of the gripping tool is transmitted to the driven gripping elements through the spokes.

As described above, either the workpiece or the gripping tool may be placed within the central bore. When the workpiece is positioned within the central bore, the inner surface of the clamping tool is positioned about the periphery of the body, and the second end of each spoke directly or indirectly engages the outer surface of the workpiece. When the clamping tool is positioned within the central bore, the inner surface of the workpiece is positioned around the periphery of the body, and the second end of each spoke directly or indirectly engages the inner surface of the workpiece.

Drawings

These and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way to the specific embodiments or embodiments shown. Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a clamp surface extension linkage located inside a tubular workpiece;

FIG. 2 is an external view of an internal clamp tubular running tool having a clamp surface extension linkage assembly;

FIG. 3 is an external isometric view of the clamp surface extension linkage assembly;

FIG. 4 is an external isometric view of the first guide plate;

FIG. 5 is an external isometric view of a second guide plate;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the clamp surface extension linkage assembly;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the spoke assembly;

FIG. 8 is an axial cross-sectional view of the clamp surface extension linkage assembly shown positioned within and coaxial with a workpiece.

Detailed Description

General principle (General Principles)

Referring now to fig. 1, there is shown a cross-sectional schematic view through a radial plane of a clamp surface extension linkage 50, the clamp surface extension linkage 50 being comprised of spokes 51 and spoke guides 52, which are shown as multiple elements disposed inside a tubular workpiece 53 and understood to act together as a rigid body (connected to each other outside the two-dimensional plane of the figure). The spokes 51 are provided with an extended clamp surface 54 and a clamping tool clamp or interface surface 55 that mate with the tubular workpiece 53. on one spoke 51, the force vectors that can be applied to the clamping tool interface surface 55, typically by a clamping tool, to apply torque to the workpiece through the clamp surface extension linkage 50 and the resultant force on the clamp surface 54 are shown, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, depending on the desired tangential force vector "T_i"and" T_o"typically less than the radial force vector" R in most cases_i"and" R_o", to conform to typical friction clamp/workpiece interface characteristics, and as such, the relatively short radial spokes will tend to stabilize, while the relatively long radial spokes may tend to roll and apply excessive bending loads (buckling loads) as rolling is prevented by the radially uneven load distribution at the interface 56 between the spoke 51 and the workpiece 53 and the interface 55 between the spoke 51 and the clamping tool (not shown). To stabilize and prevent excessive radial bending loads, the expansion linkage 50 is provided with at least one rigid spoke guide 52 arranged to act between adjacent spokes 51 and provide parallel guide contact surfaces 57 on each spoke guide interface 58, the spoke guide interfaces 58 being sufficiently close-fitting to the spokes 51 and also sufficiently rigid such that the spokes 51, by contact with the spoke guide interfaces 58, produce a resulting vector "W" acting on radially inner and outer locations, respectively_i"and" W_oThe bending moment represented by "reacts the contact stresses, preventing any tendency of the spoke 51 to roll, while the guide contact surface 57 is sufficiently smooth to facilitate radial sliding engagement on the spoke guide interface 58 and to allow radial movement of the spoke 51 under load, thus allowing the extended clamp surface 54 to move radially and engage the workpiece 53. It should now be apparent that the clamp surface extension linkage 50 provides a structure that transfers radial and torsional loads from the clamp tool interface 55 to the extended clamp surface 54 and prevents the tendency of the spokes 51 to rotate or exert an influence (impact) on either the spoke guide interface 58 or on the interface of the workpiece 53 and the extended clamp surface 54 under the reaction bending moment.

Clamp surface extension linkage device

Referring to fig. 2 through 8, a preferred embodiment of the present invention, referred to herein as a "clamp surface extension linkage", will now be described, as generally described above with respect to fig. 1. Referring first to FIG. 2, the internally gripping tubular running tool 100 is shown provided with a gripper surface extension linkage assembly 400 adapted to engage and be supported by the lower end 109 of the gripper assembly 120. Assembly 400 is comprised of a plurality of radially oriented spokes 480 (shown here as five, matching the number of pawls 160), first and second spoke guide plates 460 and 470, a segmented snap ring 520, and a threaded snap ring 530. A first spoke guide plate 460 is coaxially disposed at an upper end 481 of spoke 480 and similarly a second spoke guide plate 470 is disposed at a lower end 482 of spoke 480, wherein spoke 480 is engaged with inwardly facing first and second radial slots 465 and 475, respectively, first and second radial slots 465 and 475 being disposed within guide plates 460 and 470, respectively, thereby forming a spoke guide as previously described with respect to fig. 1. Still referring to fig. 2, a groove 497 may be provided for placement of a garter spring (not shown) to facilitate retraction of the spokes 480. Referring now to fig. 3, which shows an isometric exterior view of the clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400 separate from the running tool, the spokes 480 are provided as an assembly of radially inner web elements 490 rigidly connected to radially outer die elements 500, the die elements 500 supporting extended clamp surfaces 504 configured to engage a workpiece (not shown).

Referring now to fig. 4, which shows an external isometric view of the first guide plate 460, the first guide plate 460 has a top end 461, a bottom end 462, an internal bore 463, and an outer surface 464. The first guide plate 460 has a plurality of radial slots 465, five in this example, each defined by load surfaces 466 and 467 on a bottom end 462 extending from the inner bore 463 to an outer surface 464. Adjacent to and concentric with bore 463 and on the bottom end 462 of guide plate 460 is an annular helical spring groove 468 and a travel limit rib 469. Concentric with and adjacent to the bore 463, on the top end 461 of the guide plate 460 is a stop ring positioning slot 459.

Still referring to fig. 3, the clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400 is provided with a stop ring 520, the stop ring 520 being comprised of a plurality of stop ring segments 521, five in this example, the stop ring segments 521 having an upper surface 522, a lower surface 523, an inner surface 524 and an outer surface 525. The stop ring 520 is positioned adjacent the first guide plate 460 such that the lower surface 523 mates with and is rigidly attached to the stop ring positioning slot 459 on the top surface 461 of the guide plate 460 by a bolt (not shown). The inner surface 524 of the stop ring 520 has an internal ridge 526 that is designed to engage the axial retention slot 148, see fig. 2, thereby constraining the relative axial movement of the first guide plate 460 on the gripping tool 100.

Referring now to fig. 5, an external isometric view of the second guide plate 470 is shown having a top end 471, a bottom surface 472, an internal bore 473, and an outer surface 474. The second guide plate 470 has a plurality of radial slots 475, five in this example, each defined by load faces 476 and 477 on the apex 471 extending from the bore 473 to the outer surface 474. Adjacent and concentric to the bore 473 and on the bottom end 472 of the guide plate 470 is a stop spring guide shoulder 478 and a travel limit rib 479.

Referring now to fig. 6, a cross-sectional view of the assembly 400 is shown, the threaded stop ring 530 having a top surface 531, an inner surface 532, and a bottom surface 533, with a sealing element 534 on the top surface 531 and a threaded element 535 on the inner surface 532. A threaded stop ring 530 is arranged concentrically with the second guide plate 470, and a threaded element 535 is designed to threadedly engage the cage 144 of the tubular running tool 100, see fig. 2. Referring again to fig. 6, the top surface 531 of the ring 530 engages the bottom surface 472 of the guide plate 470, thereby axially constraining the relative downward movement of the second guide plate 470 and the clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400.

Referring now to fig. 7, a cross-sectional view of a single spoke assembly 480 is shown, in the present embodiment of the invention, the spoke assembly 480 being comprised of a web 490 and a die 500, however, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to this configuration and that the number of spoke members may be selected as desired to provide ease of manufacture, interchangeability of parts between different sizes, radial elongation and circumferential extension of the die as required and the strength of the components particularly associated therewith. Still referring to fig. 7, generally elongated web 490 has a top end 491, a bottom end 492, an inner surface 493, and an outer surface 494. Outer surface 494 is provided with a plurality of axial load projections 496 disposed generally between top end 491 and bottom end 492, while inner surface 493 is provided with a plurality of axial load grooves 495 disposed between top end 491 and bottom end 492. The web 490 has a plurality of circumferential retaining spring grooves 497, in this example four, one at the top end 491, one at the bottom end 492, which are adapted to receive a garter spring (not shown) that directly holds the web 490, and two disposed along the inner surface 493 to provide clearance for another garter spring (not shown) that directly holds the jaws 160 of the tubular running tool 100, the web 490 having two retaining lips 498, one on each side, which are axially oriented and extend between the top end 491 and the bottom end 492. The thickness of the web 490 is generally dependent upon the thickness of the jaws 160 and the requirement to have a certain non-zero cage thickness between the jaws 160 while maximizing the mandrel contact area.

Still referring to fig. 7, the die 500 has a top end 501, a bottom end 502, an inner surface 503, and an outer clamp surface 504, the die 500 having a plurality of laterally oriented axial stop grooves 505 disposed generally on the inner surface 503 between the top end 501 and the bottom end 502. Referring now to fig. 3, the die 500 is attached to the web 490 by bolts (not shown) disposed in bolt holes 509. Referring now to fig. 7, the inner surface 503 of the die 500 mates with and interlocks with the outer surface 494 of the web 490 such that the axial stop groove 505 of the die 500 engages the axial load projection 496 of the web 490, and referring now to fig. 8, which illustrates an axially oriented cross-sectional view of the clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400, the lateral stop lip 506 of the die 500 projects out of and engages the side surface 511 of the web 490, collectively providing a means for transmitting axial, circumferential and radial loads between the web 490 and the die 500. Referring now to fig. 2, the inner surface 493 of web 490 is designed to mate and interlock with the outer gripping surface 164 (not shown) of the jaws 160 of the tubular running tool 100 to provide a means for transferring loads between the tubular running tool 100 and the web 490 in a manner similar to the load transfer between the web 490 and the die 500.

Still referring to fig. 8, the extended clamp surface 504 of the die 500 is generally provided with a friction enhancing surface (not shown) designed to provide balance between surface penetration and friction characteristics, and to provide a relatively large contact area to distribute radial contact loads and thus minimize deformation of the workpiece 401, while tractively (tractively) engaging the inner surface 402 of the workpiece 401 and providing a means for transferring axial, circumferential, and radial loads between the die 500 and the workpiece 401.

Still referring to fig. 6, the travel limit ribs 469 and 479 on guide plates 460 and 470 act in conjunction with spring stop slots 497 on the top and bottom ends 491 and 492, respectively, of web 490 and, if the spoke assembly 480 moves radially beyond the design limit of travel, they will act as a positive stop by engagement. Referring now to fig. 3, spokes 480 of clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400 are axially located between first guide plate 460 and second guide plate 470 and are aligned in guide slots 465 and 475, respectively, such that side surfaces 511 of web 490 slidingly engage the guide slots and react lateral forces that are synthesized on spoke assembly 480 due to torque applied to tubular running tool interface 499 on inner surface 493 of web 490 as previously described with respect to fig. 1.

Still referring to fig. 2, clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400 is located outside and coaxial with tubular running tool 100, wherein clamping tool interface surfaces 499 of spokes 480 engage clamping surfaces 164 of jaws 160 of clamp assembly 120, and spokes 480 can be circumferentially aligned with the jaws of tubular running tool 100. It will also be appreciated that the number of spokes 480 may be equal to the number of jaws 160 on the tubular running tool 100. Referring now to fig. 8, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the jig surface extension linkage need not be associated with or connected to a particular tubular running tool, and as such the linkage assembly 400 may be provided with an internal linkage between the first and second guide plates 460 and 470 to prevent relative axial movement but allow some relative rotation of each guide plate about the axis of the linkage assembly 400. In this example, means for axially retaining the assembly 400 within the workpiece 401 may be provided such that first inserting the clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400 into the workpiece and gripping the workpiece, and then inserting a tubular running tool (not shown) into the clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400 and actuating the tubular running tool actuates the clamp surface extension linkage assembly 400. It will be apparent that a configuration such as this may be beneficial in applications where multiple workpieces of different sizes are held in rapid succession.

In this patent application, the word "comprising" is used in a non-limiting sense to mean that something following the word is included, but nothing not specifically mentioned is excluded. The indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims (10)

1. A clamp extension linkage combination comprising:

a gripping tool having an axial load or stroke actuated radial gripping element;

a clamp extension linkage, the clamp extension linkage comprising:

at least one annular body having a central bore and a peripheral outer surface;

a rigid elongated spoke in contact with the radial clamping elements of the clamping tool on a first side and carrying an expanded clamp surface on a second side opposite the first side; and

spoke guides on the at least one annular body that mate with the spokes to constrain the spokes from axial rotation or rolling while allowing the spokes to move radially from a retracted position to an engaged position in response to movement of a radial clamping element of a clamping tool.

2. The grip extension linkage assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one annular body includes an upper annular plate and a lower annular plate.

3. The grip extension linkage assembly of claim 2, wherein the spokes are sandwiched between the upper and lower annular plates.

4. The grip extension linkage assembly of claim 1 wherein a driven clamping element is mounted to one end of each of the spokes.

5. The grip extension linkage assembly of claim 1 wherein a travel limit stop is provided between each of the spokes and the spoke guides.

6. The grip extension linkage assembly of claim 1, wherein the spokes are spring biased into a retracted position.

7. A method of improving the operating range of a gripping tool, comprising:

providing a gripping tool having an axial load or stroke actuated radial gripping element;

providing a clamp extension linkage, the clamp extension linkage comprising:

at least one annular body having a central bore and a peripheral outer surface;

rigid elongated spokes; and

spoke guides on the at least one annular body that mate with the spokes to constrain the spokes while allowing the spokes to move radially from a retracted position to an engaged position;

placing one of a workpiece or a cylindrical gripping tool within a central bore of the at least one annular body, placing the other of the workpiece or the cylindrical gripping tool around a peripheral outer surface of the at least one annular body, the spokes being disposed within an annular space between a gripping element of the gripping tool and the workpiece, a first end of each of the spokes engaging the gripping element and a second end of each of the spokes either directly or indirectly engaging the workpiece;

applying an axial load or stroke to radially move the gripping elements of the gripping tool such that the gripping elements apply pressure at the first end of each of the spokes, the spokes moving radially from a retracted position to an extended position and acting as radial extensions of the gripping elements of the gripping tool.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the spokes indirectly engage the workpiece, a driven clamping element being disposed at the second end of each of the spokes, wherein radial movement of the clamping elements of the clamping tool is transmitted through the spokes to the driven clamping elements.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the workpiece is placed within the central bore of the at least one annular body, the inner surface of the gripping tool is placed around the peripheral outer surface of the at least one annular body, and the second end of each of the spokes directly or indirectly engages the outer surface of the workpiece.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the gripping tool is placed within a central bore of the at least one annular body, an inner surface of the workpiece is placed around a periphery of the at least one annular body, and the second end of each spoke directly or indirectly engages the inner surface of the workpiece.