Horizontal drill pipe racker and delivery system
First Claim
1. A drill pipe storage apparatus comprising:
- a pipe storage bin, horizontal pipe support members disposable in the bin at plural spaced stations along the length of the bin for individually supporting plural horizontal lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced stationary layers and of plural lengths of drill pipe in each layer, and selectively operable drive mechanisms connected to the pipe support members and operable to move the members individually between deployed substantially fixed positions in which the support members are in the array and horizontal retracted positions in which the support members are removed from the array.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Stands (43) of multiple lengths of drill pipe, for oil and gas drilling are individually supported in a storage bin (28, 29) in an array of plural layers of plural numbers of stands. The individual stands are held in cooperating notches (41, 42) in vertically aligned support sleepers (38, 39) so that each stand experiences loads due only to its own weight and motions of a bin frame (13) where, as preferred, the frame is supported on a drillship deck (12). Sleepers between stand layers are indexable between positions in the array and outside the array. A bridge crane (32, 33) spans the length of the bin and is moveable transversely above it. The bridge crane carries vertically movable magnetic lifting heads (47) for lifting, holding and releasing an individual pipe stand. The crane can move a stand between a supported position in the bin array and a supported position on a power-driven carriage (18, 49) which is movable along a path along an upper part of a side of the bin (28, 29). The carriage includes a skate cart (18) for transporting a stand as such, and a pin cart (49) drivable along the skate cart for supporting the pin end of a stand on the skate. The carriage path preferably ends inside the margin of the floor (17) of a drilling rig.
65 Citations
55 Claims
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1. A drill pipe storage apparatus comprising:
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a pipe storage bin, horizontal pipe support members disposable in the bin at plural spaced stations along the length of the bin for individually supporting plural horizontal lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced stationary layers and of plural lengths of drill pipe in each layer, and selectively operable drive mechanisms connected to the pipe support members and operable to move the members individually between deployed substantially fixed positions in which the support members are in the array and horizontal retracted positions in which the support members are removed from the array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A drill pipe storage apparatus comprising:
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a pipe storage bin, horizontal pipe support members disposable in the bin at plural spaced stations along the length of the bin for individually supporting plural horizontal lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced layers and of plural lengths of drill pipe in each layer, the lowermost support member at each station being substantially immovable, and each other support member at the station when disposed in the array being engaged with and supported on the support member below it, each pipe support member defining in an upper part thereof a plurality of upwardly open notches sized in cooperation with the vertically adjacent contour of the support member thereabove in the array to receive in each notch a respective pipe length of selected diameter without contact of the pipe length with the support member directly thereabove, and selectively operable drive mechanisms connected to respective other pipe support members and operable to move the members individually between deployed positions in which the support members are in the array and retracted positions in which the support members are removed from the array. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. A drill pipe storage apparatus comprising:
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a pipe storage bin, horizontal pipe support members disposable in the bin at plural spaced stations along the length of the bin for individually supporting plural horizontal lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced layers and of plural lengths of drill pipe in each layer, and selectively operable drive mechanisms connected to the pipe support members and operable to turn the support members about vertical axes located outside the array to move the members individually between deployed positions in which the support members are in the array and retracted positions in which the support members are removed from the array. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A drill pipe storage apparatus comprising:
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a pipe storage bin stationary relative to a place of pipe use horizontal pipe support members disposable in the bin at plural spaced stations along the length of the bin for individually supporting plural horizontal lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced layers and of plural lengths of drill pipe in each layer, selectively operable drive mechanisms connected to respective pipe support members and operable to move the members individually between deployed positions in which the support members are stationary in the array and retracted positions in which the support members are removed from the array, and a pipe lifter disposable above the array and operable to move individual pipe lengths in a horizontal attitude between the array and a transfer position laterally of the array. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A drill pipe storage and handling apparatus for a well drilling rig comprising:
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a track extending from one end adjacent the drilling rig to an opposite end remote from the rig, an elongate carriage adapted to travel along the track and to receive a length of drill pipe disposed longitudinally with respect to the track and to support a received pipe length at spaced locations therealong, a pipe storage bin disposed laterally of one end of the track including horizontal pipe support members cooperatively configured for individually supporting plural lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced layers of pipe and plural lengths of pipe in each layer, the pipe support members above the bottom layer being indexable between deployed positions in and transversely of the array and retracted positions outside the array, a moveable pipe litter disposable above the bin operable to move individual pipe lengths between the array and the carriage. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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- 42. A method of storing oil and gas well drill pipe comprising the steps of horizontally disposing a selected number of pipe lengths, as a first bottom layer thereof, individually in upwardly open notches in the upper extents of a set of stationary pipe supports disposed transversely of the pipe lengths at stations spaced along the lengths, and horizontally disposing further numbers of pipe lengths in further similarly notched pipe support sets placed at each station atop the supports therebelow to create a stationary array of plural layers of plural numbers of pipe lengths, and raising and lowering individual pipe lengths directly from above from and to receiving notches in the pipe supports.
- 49. A method of storing oil and gas well drill pipe comprising the steps of horizontally disposing a selected number of pipe lengths, as a first bottom layer thereof, individually in upwardly open notches in the upper extents of a set of pipe supports disposed transversely of the pipe lengths at stations spaced along the lengths, and horizontally disposing further numbers of pipe lengths in further similarly notched pipe support sets placed at each station atop the supports therebelow to create an array of plural layers of plural numbers of pipe lengths, and raising and lowering individual pipe lengths directly from and to receiving notches in the pipe supports, raising a pipe length from its pipe supports including moving the pipe length in a horizontal attitude from the array to a state of support on a carriage movable along a path laterally from, adjacent to and parallel to the array, the carriage supporting the pipe length at spaced locations along the pipe length.
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52. A method for storing, handling, and moving drill pipe in association with a well drilling rig having a drilling operations floor, the method comprising the operations of:
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lifting a stand of drill pipe directly from an individual horizontal storage position in an array of stand storage positions, placing the lifted stand on a carriage arranged to support the placed stand at spaced locations along its length, moving the carriage towards the floor to place one end of the carriage at the floor, elevating the one end of the placed stand above its placed position on the carriage as the carriage nears the floor, and hoisting the stand via the one end thereof to a vertical position above the floor while movably supporting the other end of the stand on the carriage. - View Dependent Claims (53)
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54. A drill pipe storage apparatus comprising:
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a pipe storage bin, horizontal pipe support members disposable in the bin at plural spaced stations along the length of the bin for individually supporting plural horizontal lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced layers and of plural lengths of drill pipe in each layer, and selectively operable drive mechanisms connected to the pipe support members and operable to move the members individually only when empty of drill pipe between deployed positions in which the support members are in the array and horizontal retracted positions in which the support members are removed from the array.
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55. A drill pipe storage apparatus comprising:
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a pipe storage bin, horizontal pipe support members disposable in the bin at plural spaced stations along the length of the bin for individually supporting plural horizontal lengths of drill pipe in an array of plural vertically spaced layers and of plural lengths of drill pipe in each layer, the lowermost support member at each station being carried on a bin base, and each other support member at the station when disposed in the array being engaged with and supported on the support member below it, each pipe support member defining in an upper part thereof a plurality of upwardly open notches which have substantially straight sloping sides and which are sized in cooperation with the vertically adjacent contour of the support member thereabove in the array to receive in each notch a respective pipe length of selected diameter without contact of the pipe length with the support member directly thereabove, and selectively operable drive mechanisms connected to the pipe support members and operable to move the members individually between deployed positions in which the support members are in the array and retracted positions in which the support members are removed from the array.
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Specification