Swivel Connection Tool

• US 20200131866A1
• Filed: 10/26/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jerry Chitwood
• Original Assignee: Jerry Chitwood
• Inventors: Chitwood, Jerry
• Granted Patent: US 10,851,602 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 19/155 Handling between horizontal and vertical position
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 19/161 using a wrench or a spinner adapted to engage a circular section of pipe E21B19/168 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 19/163 piston-cylinder actuated

Abstract

A swivel connection tool holds a tubular of a work string or a drill string while a swivel connects or disconnects from the tubular. The swivel connection tool has a base mounted to a work floor of a derrick of a workover rig. The swivel connection tool is fixed spaced-apart from a hole in the work floor positioned over the wellhead. The swivel connection tool has a yoke oriented at an incline with respect to horizontal.

Claims

1. A swivel connection tool for use in connecting or disconnecting a tubular of a work string or drill string to a swivel suspended over an elevated work floor of a derrick, the swivel connection tool comprising:

a yoke having a bore therethrough and an opening from a perimeter of the yoke to the bore, the opening sized to receive the tubular through the opening and the bore sized to receive the tubular;

jaws carried by the yoke and movable with respect to the bore between an open position further from the bore to a tight position closer to the bore configured to hold the tubular in the bore and resist rotation of the tubular in the bore;

an actuator carried by the yoke and operatively coupled to the jaws to move the jaws between the open position and the tight position;

a base carrying the yoke and configured to be carried by the work floor; and

the yoke being oriented at an incline on the base with a bore axis oriented at an acute angle with respect to horizontal.

2. The swivel connection tool of claim 1, wherein the bore axis of the yoke is oriented at an angle between 10-30 degrees with respect to horizontal.

3. The swivel connection tool of claim 1, wherein the yoke is movably and pivotally coupled to the base and movable with respect to the base about at least three degrees of freedom, including:

heave, with the yoke moving towards and away from the base,

pitch, with the yoke tilting forward and backward with respect to the base, and

roll, with the yoke tilting side to side with respect to the base.

4. The swivel connection tool of claim 3, wherein the yoke is biased to a rest position.

5. The swivel connection tool of claim 1, wherein the yoke is movable towards and away from the base, and wherein the yoke is biased away from the base.

6. The swivel connection tool of claim 1, further comprising:

a spindle extending from the yoke and coupled to the base.

7. The swivel connection tool of claim 6, further comprising:

a spring extending between the yoke and the base, and carried by the spindle.

8. The swivel connection tool of claim 1, further comprising an arm coupled between the base and the yoke;

and wherein the base further comprises;

a vertical slot receiving the arm therein;

a horizontal slot transverse to the vertical slot;

a pin extending through the horizontal slot, the vertical slot, and the arm;

the pin displacing in the horizontal slot to allow heave movement of the arm and the yoke towards and away from the base; and

the arm and the yoke pivoting about the pin to allow pitch movement of the arm and the yoke tilting forward and backward with respect to the base.

9. The swivel connection tool of claim 1, wherein the base further comprises:

a mount carried by the base and adapted to fix the base to the work floor.

10. The swivel connection tool of claim 9, wherein the mount of the base further comprises:

a hitch receivable in a receiver, with the hitch carried by one of the base or the work floor, and the receiver carried by the other of the base or the work floor.

11. The swivel connection tool of claim 1, wherein base has a footprint larger than the yoke.

12. The swivel connection tool of claim 1 in combination with a workover rig, the combination comprising:

a derrick disposed on a support surface;

a work floor adjacent the derrick and elevated with respect to the support surface and locatable over a wellhead, the work floor having an opening therein capable of receiving the work string therethrough;

a swivel suspended above the work floor, the swivel capable of being selectively and releasably coupled to a tubular of a work string, the swivel capable of rotating the tubular, the swivel being pivotal with respect to the derrick between vertical and inclined with respect to horizontal, the swivel being capable of being raised and lowered by the derrick;

a catwalk on the support surface adjacent to the work floor with a slide extending from the work floor to the catwalk capable of transporting tubulars between the work floor and the catwalk;

the swivel connection tool being located on the work floor with the base of the swivel connection tool being attached to the work floor, and the yoke of the swivel connection tool being located adjacent to an upper end of the slide and between the upper end of the slide and the swivel when the swivel is lowered.

13. The combination of claim 12, further comprising:

a tubular with an upper end in the bore of the yoke and elevated above a lower end, and extending laterally at an incline with respect to horizontal and the work floor;

the jaws of the yoke engaging the upper end of the tubular; and

the swivel oriented at an inclined and engaging the upper end of the tubular.

14. The swivel connection tool of claim 1 in combination with a work floor, the combination comprising:

the work floor capable of being elevated with respect to a support surface and having an opening locatable over a wellhead; and

the swivel connection tool being locatable on the work floor with the base of the swivel connection tool being attached to the work floor, and the base of the swivel connection tool being locatable in a fixed position spaced-apart from the opening.

15. The combination of claim 14, further comprising:

a receiver carried by the work floor; and

a hitch carried by the base of the swivel connection tool and receivable in the receiver of the work floor to affix the swivel connection tool to the work floor.

16. A method for connecting or disconnecting a threaded connection between the tubular and the swivel with the swivel connection tool in accordance with claim 1, the method comprising:

laying an end of a tubular in the bore of the yoke of the swivel connection tool;

gripping the end of the tubular with the jaws of the yoke of the swivel connection tool;

pivoting the swivel to align with the tubular;

rotating an end connection of the swivel with respect to the end of the tubular with the swivel; and

releasing the end of the tubular from the jaws of the swivel connection tool.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein rotating the end connection of the swivel further comprises breaking a torqued-up a connection between the swivel and the tubular.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein rotating the end connection of the swivel further comprises torqueing-up a connection between the swivel and the tubular to a predetermined torque.

19. A swivel connection tool used for connecting a swivel to a tubular, the swivel connection tool comprising:

a yoke having a bore therethrough and an opening from a perimeter of the yoke to the bore, the opening sized to receive the tubular through the opening and the bore sized to receive the tubular;

jaws carried by the yoke and movable with respect to the bore between a an open position further from the bore to a tight position closer to the bore configured to hold the tubular in the bore and resist rotation of the tubular in the bore;

an actuator carried by the yoke and operatively coupled to the jaws to move the jaws between the open position and the tight position;

a base carrying the yoke and configured to be carried by a work floor;

the yoke being oriented at an incline on the base with a bore axis oriented at an acute angle with respect to horizontal;

an arm coupled between the base and the yoke;

a vertical slot in the base receiving the arm therein;

a horizontal slot in the base transverse to the vertical slot;

a pin extending through the horizontal slot, the vertical slot, and the arm;

the pin displacing in the horizontal slot to allow heave movement of the arm and the yoke towards and away from the base;

the arm and the yoke pivoting about the pin to allow pitch movement of the arm and the yoke tilting forward and backward with respect to the base; and

the arm and the yoke being capable of roll movement with the arm and the yoke tilting side to side with respect to the base.

20. A swivel connection tool in combination with a work floor, the combination comprising:

the work floor capable of being elevated with respect to a support surface and having an opening locatable over a wellhead;

a base locatable on the work floor with the base attached to the work floor;

a yoke carried by the base and having a bore therethrough and an opening from a perimeter of the yoke to the bore configured to receive a tubular through the opening into the bore;

jaws carried by the yoke and movable with respect to the bore between a an open position further from the bore to a tight position closer to the bore configured to hold the tubular in the bore and resist rotation of the tubular in the bore;

an actuator carried by the yoke and operatively coupled to the jaws to move the jaws between the open position and the tight position;

the yoke having a bore axis oriented at an acute incline with respect to horizontal and the work floor; and

the base of the swivel connection tool located in a fixed position spaced-apart from the opening in the work floor.