US2556536A - Power-driven, gear-operated, member-holding wrench - Google Patents

Description

N. c. HARRIS POWER DRIVEN, GEAR OPERATED, MEMBER-HOLDING WRENCH June 12, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 7. 6

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June 12, 1951 N. c. HARRIS 2,556,536

POWER DRIVEN, GEAR OPERATED, MEMBER-HOLDING WRENCH Filed Dec. 1'? 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 12, 1951 D STATES POWER-DRIVEN, GEAR-OPERATED, MEMBER-HOLDING WRENCH Norman C. Harris, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Hillman-Kelley, Los Angeles, Calif., a partnership Application Dccember 17, 1946, Serial No. 716,759

10 Claims.

'the surface. These rods are manufactured in sections of convenient standard length and usually have a threaded pin forged at eachend which engages threaded bores at the opposite ends of intermediate couplings.

In producing an-oil well it is necessary to pull or remove the rods from the well from time to tim in order to make repairs to the pump, clean out the tubing, and other forms of servicing. It is obvious that the string of pump rods is quite long and that a considerable amount of time is required to make and break the rod joints in order to handle the rods in convenient lengths. This is partially due to the fact that one manual rod wrench is placed in engagement with the upper member of the rod joint while another is placed on the lower member of the rod joint. The lower wrench is held stationary while the upper is rotated, thus producing relative motion between the upper and lower rods and thus screwing or unscrewing the joint. It is desirable to provide simple and effective means to make and break rod joints which will eliminate the use of two manual rod holding and turning means or wrenches. It is the principal object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a unitized power driven rod wrench having a power driven rotatable head and being fitted with. separate rod holding means whereby the lower section of the rod string may be held against rotation while the upper section is being rotated.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a frame structure including a wrench lever and a housing for a rotating head, said frame structure carrying power drivenmeans for rotating the head in either direction. and also carrying adaptable rod holding means acting to hold one rod section against rotation while the other rod section is rotated by the power driven head.

The invention is illustrated by Way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing the complete wrench and indicating by dotted lines arod joint associated therewith.

Fig. 2 is a view in central vertical section as seen on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and shows a yieldable supporting member for the wrench.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in plan as seen on the line 33 of Fig. 6 and shows the lower wrench holding fork.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in ver- 2 tical section as seen on the line 4-4 of'Fig. 6 and shows the wrench engaging means carried by the rotary head.

Fig. 5 is a view in plan showing the complete power wrench.

Fig. 6 is a side view in sideelevation withparts broken away and in section showing the construction of the completepower wrench aswell as the details of the rotary head and the holding means.

Referring more particularly to-the drawings, Ill indicates a wrench frame comprising a'lever arm H and a rotary head housing '52. The lever arm and housing lie in the same plane and are suspended by a supporting bracket [3 carrying arms I4 to which a balance plate 15 is secured. The supporting bracket l3 also servesto mount the driving motor. The plate I5 is formed with a slotted opening it having a'plurality of serrations H along the upper edge of the slot. A 'hook- 18 seats within one of the serrations. This hook, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, is connected to a rod 59 extending longitudinally within a tubular shell 20. Theopposite end of the rod is fitted with a washer 2| while a compression spring 22 is disposed between the washer anda threaded cap 23 at the end of the shell 28. The opposite end of the shell 20 is closed by an end wall 24 carrying a hook 25. This hook engages a suspending cable 26. It will be understood that by this mechanism the wrench will be horizontally balanced and will be supported yieldably so that the wrench can be manipulated easily to be aligned with the joint which is to be tightened or unscrewed. A shackle 21 may be secured to the end of the lever ll to receive a safety line 28, if desired.

The housing 92 has a substantially circular vertical side wall 29 provided with a bottom wall 30. A cover plate 3! is secured to the side wall 29 by suitable fastening means. The bottom wall 30 is cut away to form a radial throat 32 which is centrally and longitudinally aligned with the handle 5 I. This throat is of a width greater than that of the rod joint to beacted upon and is of a radial length a sufiicient distance greater than the radius of the housing. The throat 32 is designed to accommodate the joint of a pump rod, which rod is indicated in dotted lines. in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Here it will be seen that an upper rod length 33 is provided having a squared end portion 34 formed integral therewith. Attached by a threaded connection is acoupling 35. This is here shown as being round in section and. having a threaded bore 36 therethrough. This bore receives the threaded pin 3'! of a lower rod length 38 and the threaded pin 3'! of the upper rod length 33. Adjacent to the pin 31 the lower rod length 38 is formed with a squared portion 39. It will be obvious that when the 3 squared portions 34 and 39 are axially rotated with relation to each other that the threaded connection will be tightened or released. The width of the throat 32 is sufficient to accommodate the coupling 3'5 even though the coupling is rotating.

Rotatably mounted within the housing [2 is a revolving head 43. This head has an outer annular ring portion 4|, the periphery of which carries a series of spur gear teeth 42. The inner circumference of the ring portion 4! has an annular inwardly projecting flange 43 which extends into grooves 44 in a series of supporting rollers 45. The rollers 45 are mounted upon stub shafts 46 secured to the bottom wall 39 of the housing l2. Interposed between the rollers and the shafts are anti-friction bearings 41 to facilitate in the free rotation of the rollers. As shown in Fig. of the drawings, five of the rollers are provided and are equally spaced around the axis of the rotary head from one side of the throat 32 to the other side. An upper end wall 48 is formed integral with the ring portion 4| of the rotary head and projects through a substantially circular opening 49 in the cover plate 3!. This end wall is formed with a radial slotted throat 32 which may register with and does agree in dimensions with the slotted throat 32 in the bottom wall 30 of the housing.

Formed as a part of the end wall 93 and extending upwardly therefrom is a substantially circular portion 53 through which the throat 32' also extends. The portion 53 thus provides a pair of spaced jaws 5! at opposite sides of the throat 32. between the jaws 51 is a sliding block 52. This block rests upon a ledge 53 and is restrained from vertical movement by a plate 54. The block is formed with a central throat 55 having opposite flat side walls agreeing substantially with the opposite fiat faces of the portion 34 of the rod length 33. It will be evident that when the portion 34 of the rod length is properly positioned within the throat 55 the parts will be held against relative rotation. A lug 56 is formed upon the upper face of the sliding block and receives a pin 51. This pin passes through the arms of a latch member 33. The member has a handle 59 at its free end which may be swung downwardly to assume an abutting position with relation to lugs 60 projecting upwardly from the plate 54. This permits the block 52 to be moved forwardly so that the jaws forming the throat 55 will straddle the squared portion 34 of the rod length 33 and will insure that the block 52 will be held against retraction so long as the handle 59 is in abutment with the lugs 63. A stop plate 6! limits the forward movement of the block 52.

The spur gear teeth 42 carried on the outer circumference of the ring portion 4| engage pinions or idler gears 62, which in turn engage a gear pinion 62 which is mounted upon drive shaft 63. The purpose of idler gears 62 is to bridge throat 32' while ring portion 4! is rotating, and thus to enable the ring portion 4! to be driven regardless of the position of throat 32. The drive shaft 33 is carried in suitable bearings in the housing and is here shown as being disposed vertically. The upper end of the shaft extends into a driving mechanism, which may be pneumatic, hydraulic, electrical or other drivmg means, as indicated in structure 34. This driving mechanism must be able to drive in both a forward and reverse direction and it is controlled by lever 65. The details of this d l Mounted within the throat 32 and l mechanism are not a part of the present invention and will not be further described.

Disposed beneath the rotary head structure enclosed within the housing 12 is a holding fork 61. This fork carries jaws 63 between which a throat 69 occurs. The throat 69 is of a width substantially equal to the width of the squared portion 39 of the lower rod section 38. The fork 6'! is formed with an arcuate slotted opening 79 which is concentric with the center of the throat 69 and theapproximate axis of the lower rod length 38 when seated therein. The slot I0 is formed in a tongued portion H of the fork Bi and this tongued portion fits between spaced members 12 and 73 where it is articulately held by pin 14 and an arcuate shoulder on either side of jaws 63. This arcuate shoulder is concentric with the slot 19. This permits the fork 67 to rotate about the imaginary center in throat 99. This rotation is limited by the action of pin TM in arcuate slot it. This mechanism permits the fork to adapt itself to the squared portion 39 of the rod length 38 regardless of its angular position, and therefore, slot 30 must have at least degrees of arc. The members l2 and 13 are a part of an arm 16 which extends beneath the rotary head structure and is suitably spaced therefrom to engage the squared portion 39 of the lower rod length 38 while the squared portion 34 of the upper rod length is engaged in the throat 55. The arm 75 is mounted upon a horizontal pivot pin ll carried by a bracket E3. The bracket 78 extends downwardly from beneath the bottom wall 33 of the housing 52 and thus provides a support which will allow the fork 91 to adjust itself vertically. A spring '59 is connected with the arm l3 and the bracket '58 tending to support the fork 6! in a substantially horizontal position while yieldably holding it in place. A handle 89 is secured to the fork to permit the manipulation of the fork around the imaginary center of throat 39 and the pivot T, and suitable handles 8| are provided at opposite sides of the rotary head structure to facilitate moving the wrench.

In operation of the present invention, the revolving head 33 is set so that the throat 32 will be clear and so that the throat 55 of the block 52 will be in line therewith. The block 52 will be iri the forward position with handle 58 in front of lugs 63 on plate 54 as shown in Fig. l. The wrench, as supported from the cable 29, may be then swung horizontally to position it astride the squared end portion 3:1 of the rod length 33. At this same time the fork 6? will move to a position astride the squared portion 39 of the lower rod section 33. This will cause the throat 69 to partially embrace and hold the squared portion 39, and in the event the squared portions 34 and 3-9 are not in exact axial alignment the fork 61 may adjust itself as tongued portion 1! slides between members 52 and F3 being limited by the action of pin 74 in slot "Ill. When thewrench has come to rest properly with the portions 34 and 39 both engaged, the motive power can then be applied causing the rotation of head 40 and block 52 with its jaws holding the squared end portion 34 and thus imparting this rotation to rod length 33. At this point any tendency for rod length 33 to rotate is limited by its being held on squared portion 39 by fork 6'1. The direction of rotation is controlled by the driving mechanism and is determined by whether the rod joints are being screwed together or unscrewed. In making up the rods, or screwing them together,

eassacse throat32. In order to effectthis alignment it is necessary to release the block 52 from engagementwith squared portion 34. This is done by retracting the block 52 by lifting handle 58 to ,move cross member 59 fromcontact'with lugs Bil. The block 52 may then beretraeted by means of string. In breaking out or unscrewing rod length 33-retraction of block 52, as described; is not necessary since rodlength once screwed, is free torevolve with rotatable head ifluntil throats 32 and 32 are in alignment. The power wrench is then swung clear of the rod string. When the power'wrench is applied to a joint of a rod string, as hereinbeforedescribed, it will be evident that no other holding means are required than those incorporated in the wrench structure. This eliminates the use of a second wrench or holdback on "the lower rod length and insures that the operation of .making and breaking the rod joints in the string of rods can be performed rapidly and by a relatively :few members of the well crew, and also eliminates the necessity of hammering the rod joints, which is injurious to the rod joints.

It will thus be seen that the wrench here disclosed is comparatively simple in construction, that it maybe operated rapidly to engage the parts of a rod joint, and that the joint may be quickly broken or set up by a power action and without the use of any other holding means save those incorporated in the wrench structure.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known-to me, it will be understood that various changes may bemade .in the combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, -.what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A power wrench comprising a main frame structure providing a handle at one end and a housing at the opposite end, a throat formed through the side wall and bottom wall of said housing to accommodate a rod joint to be operated upon, said throat extending radially from the center axis of the housing, a ring gear rotatably mounted in said housing and having a-eutaway channel agreeing with the width of the housing throat, spur gear teeth formed around the outer circumference of said ring gear, a gear pinion rotatably mounted in the housing and in mesh with said teeth, a sliding block mounted in the channel and having a threat portion to engage an upper rod joint section to rotate the same, means for latching said block in its engaging position, a holding fork disposed beneath the housing, said fork having a throat adapted to engage a lower rod joint section and hold it against relative rotation therewith, an arm pivotally mounted upon the housing and therebeneath and carrying said fork, said arm swinging upon an axis normal to the longitudinal axis of the rod joint, and means yieldably holding the arm in. a normal position.

2. The structure of claim 1 including an articulate connection between the free end of the arm and the fork whereby the fork may adapt itself to the lower rod joint section in a plane substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the rod joint.

3. In a power driven wrench, a frame structure, a housin formed as a part thereof; a transverse throat in said housing into which an article to be rotated may pass, a rotary head mounted within said housing and having a transverse throat-adapted to register with the throat in the housing, the width of said throat being greater than the width of the member to be rotated, a forked throat block slidable within the throat of the rotating member and adapted to engage the member to be rotated whereby the rotating mem her and the member to be rotated will revolve in unison around a common axis, and means for retracting the slidable block from its engaging position, whereby the member to be rotatedwill be free from the rotating member.

4. In a wrench, a rotary head structure for positively engaging an element and rotating the element around its central axis, said head structure including a housing and a rotary member within said housing and mounted to rotate around the central axis thereof, radial slots, one formed within the housing and the other formed within the rotary member, said slots forming throats designed to register when axially ad'- justed and being of a width to receive an element to rotated without positively engaging the same, a block slidable within the throat of the rotatable element and form-ed with means designed to positively engage the rotatable element, me ns normally locking said element in its engaging position, and a mounting for said block whereby it may be retracted from its engaging position to free the rotatable element.

'In a power wrench for connecting and disconnecting, by use of a driving motor, threaded members having a common axis and respectively providing squared portions, the combination of: a housing; a rotary head rotatably mounted in said housing and providing a first jaw means engaging one of said squared portions in driving relationship; means for operatively connecting said rotary head and said driving motor to turn said head in said housing and about said axis; a second jaw means engaging the other of said squared portions in holding relationship; means for operatively connecting said second jaw means to said housing to swing relative to said housing about said axis; and stop means for limiting the degree of said swinging movement of said second jaw means whereby said second jaw means can be swung to engage said other squared portion and can be thereafter swung by the motor-in duced turning of said head into engagement with said stop means to initiate the holding of said other squared-portion during continued motorinduced rotation of said head.

6. In a power wrench for connecting and disconnecting, by use of a driving motor, threaded members having a common axis and respectively providing squared portions, the combination of a housing; a rotary head rotatably mounted in said housing and providing a first jaw means engaging one or" said squared portions in driving relationship; means for operatively connecting said rotary head and said driving motor to turn said head in said housing and about said axis; an arm; means for pivoting said arm to swing on an axis normal to said common axis and spaced therefrom; a second jaw means of a size to grasp and restrain said other squared portion; and an articulate connection between said arm and said second jaw means and connecting said 7 :second jaw means to turn through a limited angle about said common axis.

7. In a power wrench for connecting and disconnecting, by use of a driving motor, threaded members having a comm-on axis and respectively providing squared portions, the combination of I a housing; a rotary head rotatably mounted in said housing and providin a first jaw means engaging one of said squared portions in driving relation- .ship; means for operatively connecting said rotary head and said driving motor to turn said head in said housing and about said axis; an arm member; a jaw member of a size to grasp and restrain said other squared portion; an arcuate tongue carried by one of said members, the other of said members providing an arcuate channel in which said tongue can swing, said tongue and channel lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to said axis; and means for interconnecting said members for limited movement of.

said jaw member relative to said arm member in said plane and about said axis.

8. A combination as defined in claim 7 in which said connecting means includes an arcuate slot in said tongue formed concentrically with respect to said axis, and a pin carried by said other member and extending through said arcuate slot, engagement between said pin and the ends of said slot limiting the swinging movement of said jaw member.

9. In a power wrench for screwing together and unscrewing, by use of a driving motor, a rod joint composed of a coupling receiving threaded ends of upper and lower rod lengths each providing a squared portion, the combination of t a frame structure providing a housing having an open throat extending inwardly from the periphery of said housing to a position beyond the central axis of said housing; a revolving head rotat ably mounted in said housing to turn about said axis and having a throat alignable with said throat of said housing and of sufficient size to receive said coupling and to permit free rotation of said coupling in said throat of said head; means for driving said head from said driving motor; a first jaw means operatively connected to the upper end of said revolving head for grasping and turning said squared portion of said upper rod length; a second jaw means attached to the bottom of said housing for graspi ing and restraining the turning of said squared portion of said lower rod length, said first and second jaw means being spaced from each other a vertical distance greater than the axial length of said coupling, said coupling being free from rotational restraint in the zone between said first and second jaw means and in said throat of said revolving head; and means for operatively disconnecting one of said jaw means from its squared portion.

10. In a power wrench for screwing together upper and lower threaded members by use of a driving motor, the combination of: a frame structure providing a housing having a throat formed through the side wall and end wall of said housing to accommodate the rod joint, said throat extending inwardly from the periphery of the housing to a position beyond the central axis thereof; a series of rollers rotatably mounted in said housing to turn about respective axes disposed on a circle drawn about said central axis to dispose said rollers as an arcuate series, the end rollers of said series being respectively on opposite sides of said throat; a revolving head providing a ring gear internally rolling on the external surfaces of said rollers and providing external teeth, said ring gear being cut away at one position to provide a throat alignable with said throat of said housing, said throats being of substantially equal width; a pair of gear pinions engaging said teeth and spaced from each other a sufiicient distance to span said throat of said ring gear as said ring gear turns; means for driving each of said gear pinions from said driving motor; and means for operatively connecting said revolving head to one of said threaded members, said last-named means being displaced axially from the mid plane of the teeth of said ring gear.

NORMAN C. HARRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 306,588 7 Cronin -1 Oct. 14, 1884 595,975 Shryock Dec. 21, 1897 1,386,345 McGowan et al Aug. 2, 1921 1,824,300 Rowland Sept. 22, 1931 2,000,221 Dawson May 7, 1935 2,251,309 Watson Aug. 5, 1941 2,305,624 Lange et a1 Dec. 22, 1942

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