Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02855105 2014-06-25
SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System
ABSTRACT:
Method and system for transferring pipe (drill pipe, drill collar) or stands
of pipes on the drilling rig
from well centre, or from other position defined by top drive tilting links
and elevator, to locations
between racking board fingers as needed, and vice versa, using SCARA robotic
system.
BACKAROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of invention is handling pipes and pipe stands on the drilling rig for
oil and gas
In the oil and gas industry, when a drilling rig drills oil and gas wells,
pipes (drill pipes, drill collars)
are repeatedly inserted and removed from the well. When removed from the well,
pipe stands are
stacked, vertically, on the rig floor and horizontally restrained in the
Racking Board located on the
drilling rig mast (derrick), 50 or 80 feet above the rig floor. Within the
drilling team personnel, the
Racking Board stacker (derrick man) has one of the most dangerous and
demanding position.
The existing solutions to replace derrick man, currently in place on the
drilling rigs are based on
electric, hydraulic and mechanical equipment remotely controlled or controlled
by PLC. These
rarely fulfill expectations regarding reliability, motion dynamic and safety
and must be combined
with manual operations.
A wide variety of racking systems, apparatus, and methods for drilling rigs
are known, and many of
them shown in US Patents: 4013178, 4042123, 4044895, 4128135, 4269554,
4274778,
4345864,4462733, 4647100, 4715761, 4725179, 4738321, 4744710, 4765401,
4862973, 5451129,
5465799, 5711382, 5988299, 6003400, 6779614, 6821071, 6976540, 6997265,
7083007, 7140453,
7178612, 7249639, 7293607, 7510028,
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
An aspect of invention provides system for transferring pipe (drill pipe,
drill collar) or stands of
pipes on the drilling rig from well centre, or from other position defined by
top drive tilting links
and elevator, to locations between racking board fingers as needed, and vice
versa, thus providing
efficient tripping operations without the need for a man on the racking board,
and ads to safety
and efficiency of the drilling operations.
1
CA 02855105 2014-06-25
SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System utilizes compact and light, but still robust
design consisting
from: a track assembly mounted on or bellow diving board of the racking board,
a carriage driven
with hydraulic or electric motor moving alongside the track assembly, a
carriage mounted SCARA
robot driven by hydraulic or electric motors, a jaw hydraulically or
electrically actuated to grab the
pipe, and a computer system with software and hardware for control and close
loop servo system.
System provides computer controlled one touch trip in, or trip out cycle with
sequential activation,
and manual over raid with joy stick and CTV supervision.
DRAWING DESCRIPTION
FIG 1 is isometric view of SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System mounted above
diving board of the
drilling rig racking board.
FIG 2 is isometric view of SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System mounted bellow
diving board of the
drilling rig racking board.
FIG 3 is top view of SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System mounted above diving
board of the
drilling rig racking board.
FIG 4 is detail view of SCARA Robotics Pipe Racking System
FIG 5 is detail view of jaw assembly embedded in second SCARA arm ( jaw arms
closed, jaw finger
in horizontal position).
FIG 6 is detail view of jaw assembly embedded in second SCARA arm (jaw arms
open, jaw finger in
vertical position).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
SACRA Robotic Pipe Racking System is mounted on the diving board (2) of the
racking board (1),
either on the top (FIG 1) or bellow the diving board (FIG 2). It transfers
pipe (drill pipe, drill collar)
or stands of pipes on the drilling rig from well centre, or from other
position defined by top drive
tilting links and elevator, to locations between racking board fingers (3) as
needed, and vice versa.
Track assembly (4) with chain or rack (5) is mounted on or bellow the diving
board (2). Carriage (6)
runs on track assembly using roller chain or racks by gearbox drive (8) with
encoder which provide
exact position of the carriage to computer (9). SCARA robot system (7) is
mounted on the carriage.
It comprises slew ring with gearbox (10) and hydraulic or electric motor (11)
with encoder, first
arm (12) with gearbox (14) and hydraulic or electric motor (15) with encoder,
and second arm (13)
with jaw (16).
2
CA 02855105 2014-06-25
Jaw (16) embedded in second arm (13) has a body (17), two jaw arms (18) that
moves outward and
inward to adjust to pipe size (FIG 5 and FIG 6), two jaw fingers (19) that
rotates from horizontal to
vertical position and vice versa to engage and disengage the pipe (FIG 5 and
FIG 6). Movement of
jaw arms and jaw fingers is provided by hydraulic or electric actuators (20).
Sensors (21) provide
signals to computer (9) to track exact pipe position before engagement.
Sensors (22) embedded in
body (17) and jaw arms (18) confirm jaw engagement and disengagement to and
from pipe.
Pipe handler is operated from the console in driller cabin by computer
controlled one touch trip in,
or trip out cycle with sequential activation, and manual over raid with joy
stick and CTV
supervision.
CLAIMS
The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege
is claimed are
defined as follows:
1. SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System for handling pipe from well center, or
other position
defined by top drive tilting links, to exact spot between the fingers on the
racking board and vice
versa comprising:
a track assembly mounted on or bellow diving board of the racking board
a carriage driven with hydraulic or electric motor moving alongside the track
assembly
mounted on the diving board or hanging and moving along the track assembly
mounted bellow the
diving board of the racking board.
a carriage mounted SCARA robot driven by hydraulic or electric motors with
encoders
a jaw hydraulically or electrically actuated to engage and disengage the pipe
a computer system with software and hardware for remote control and close loop
servo
system.
2. The track assembly according to claim 1 comprising:
a tracks to accommodate carriage wheels, rack or roller chain to engage
carriage drive
system, sensors system to provide exact position of the carriage to the
computer system.
3. The carriage assembly according to claim 1 comprising:
3
CA 02855105 2014-06-25
SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System
BACKAROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of invention is handling pipes and pipe stands on the drilling rig for
oil and gas
In the oil and gas industry, when a drilling rig drills oil and gas wells,
pipes (drill pipes, drill collars) are
repeatedly inserted and removed from the well. When removed from the well,
pipe stands are stacked,
vertically, on the rig floor and horizontally restrained in the Racking Board
located on the drilling rig
mast (derrick), 50 or 80 feet above the rig floor. Within the drilling team
personnel, the Racking Board
stacker (derrick man) has one of the most dangerous and demanding position.
The existing solutions to replace derrick man, currently in place on the
drilling rigs are based on electric,
hydraulic and mechanical equipment remotely controlled or controlled by PLC.
These rarely fulfill
expectations regarding reliability, motion dynamic and safety and must be
combined with manual
operations.
A wide variety of racking systems, apparatus, and methods for drilling rigs
are known, and many of
them shown in US Patents: 4013178, 4042123, 4044895, 4128135, 4269554,
4274778,
4345864,4462733, 4647100, 4715761, 4725179, 4738321, 4744710, 4765401,
4862973, 5451129,
5465799, 5711382, 5988299, 6003400, 6779614, 6821071, 6976540, 6997265,
7083007, 7140453,
7178612, 7249639, 7293607, 7510028,
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
An aspect of invention provides system for transferring pipe (drill pipe,
drill collar) or stands of pipes on
the drilling rig from well centre, or from other position defined by top drive
tilting links and elevator, to
locations between racking board fingers as needed, and vice versa, thus
providing efficient tripping
operations without the need for a man on the racking board, and ads to safety
and efficiency of the
drilling operations.
SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System utilizes compact and light, but still robust
design consisting from: a
track assembly mounted on or bellow diving board of the racking board, a
carriage driven with hydraulic
or electric motor moving alongside the track assembly, a carriage mounted
SCARA robot driven by
hydraulic or electric motors, a jaw hydraulically or electrically actuated to
grab the pipe, and a computer
system with software and hardware for control and close loop servo system.
System provides computer
controlled one touch trip in, or trip out cycle with sequential activation,
and manual over raid with joy
stick and CTV supervision.
CA 02855105 2014-06-25
DRAWING DESCRIPTION
FIG 1 is isometric view of SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System mounted above
diving board of the
drilling rig racking board.
FIG 2 is isometric view of SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System mounted bellow
diving board of the
drilling rig racking board.
FIG 3 is top view of SCARA Robotic Pipe Racking System mounted above diving
board of the drilling rig
racking board.
FIG 4 is detail view of SCARA Robotics Pipe Racking System
FIG 5 is detail view of jaw assembly embedded in second SCARA arm ( jaw arms
closed, jaw finger in
horizontal position).
FIG 6 is detail view of jaw assembly embedded in second SCARA arm (jaw arms
open, jaw finger in
vertical position).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
SACRA Robotic Pipe Racking System is mounted on the diving board (2) of the
racking board (1), either
on the top (FIG 1) or bellow the diving board (FIG 2). It transfers pipe
(drill pipe, drill collar) or stands of
pipes on the drilling rig from well centre, or from other position defined by
top drive tilting links and
elevator, to locations between racking board fingers (3) as needed, and vice
versa.
Track assembly (4) with chain or rack (5) is mounted on or bellow the diving
board (2). Carriage (6) runs
on track assembly using roller chain or racks by gearbox drive (8) with
encoder which provide exact
position of the carriage to computer (9). SCARA robot system (7) is mounted on
the carriage. It
comprises slew ring with gearbox (10) and hydraulic or electric motor (11)
with encoder, first arm (12)
with gearbox (14) and hydraulic or electric motor (15) with encoder, and
second arm (13) with jaw (16).
Jaw (16) embedded in second arm (13) has a body (17), two jaw arms (18) that
moves outward and
inward to adjust to pipe size (FIG 5 and FIG 6), two jaw fingers (19) that
rotates from horizontal to
vertical position and vice versa to engage and disengage the pipe (FIG 5 and
FIG 6). Movement of jaw
arms and jaw fingers is provided by hydraulic or electric actuators (20).
Sensors (21) provide signals to
computer (9) to track exact pipe position before engagement. Sensors (22)
embedded in body (17) and
jaw arms (18) confirm jaw engagement and disengagement to and from pipe.
Pipe handler is operated from the console in driller cabin by computer
controlled one touch trip in, or
trip out cycle with sequential activation, and manual over raid with joy stick
and CTV supervision.
