Drilling rig assembly method and apparatus

• US 8,555,564 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2009
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fairmont, LLC
• Original Assignee: Integrated Drilling Equipment Company Holdings LLC
• Inventors: Wasterval, Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): KWIECINSKI, RYAN D
• Application Number:
  US12/492,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20100326734A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 521/11, 521/12, 521/14, 521/15, 521/231, 521/691.3, 527/450.3, 527/451.7, 527/451.8, 405/196, 405/202, 405/221, 405/220
• US Class Current: 52/123.1
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 12/344 Arrangements for lifting tower sections for placing additional sections under them
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 15/00 Supports for the drilling machine, e.g. derricks or masts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A method to assemble a drilling rig includes providing a base structure of the drilling rig, stacking a rig floor including a derrick on the base structure, actuating lifting cylinders to lift the rig floor above the base structure, inserting at least one first upper box between the base structure and the rig floor, and retracting the lifting cylinders to set the rig floor atop the at least one first upper box.

Claims

1. A method of incrementally raising a rig floor, the method comprising:

contacting one or more lifting cylinders, the one or more lifting cylinders attached to a base structure, with one or more rig floor load points on the rig floor positioned above the base structure;

extending one or more arms of the one or more lifting cylinders against the one or more rig floor load points and raising the rig floor above the base structure a specified increment;

inserting a first box between the base structure and the rig floor, wherein the rig floor is raised to a specified height;

contacting one or more first box load points on the first box with the one or more lifting cylinders;

extending the one or more arms of the one or more lifting cylinders and raising the rig floor above the base structure by a specified increment; and

inserting one or more additional boxes between the base structure and the rig floor, wherein the rig floor is raised to a specified height.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more first box load points on the first box comprise one or more collapsible load points.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising installing a derrick structure on the rig floor prior to raising the rig floor.