US3094852A - Support for gas and oil strings - Google Patents

Description

June 25, 1963 J. s. TAYLOR 3,094,852

SUPPORT FOR GAS AND OIL STRINGS Filed July 13, 1960 James S. Evy/0r INVEN TOR.

ite Sates The present invention relates to supports for gas and oil well strings, and more particularly to gas and oil well equipment comprising vertically disposed strings of tubular members screw-threadedly interengaged in end-to-end relationship and supported against rotation so that members may be added to or removed from the string without rotating the remainder of the string.

In the past, gas and oil well equipment comprising tubular members such as drill pipe and tubing has been handled in and out of the well by use of toothed, tapered slips in a tapered bowl of a spider or rotary table. These tubular members are screw threaded at both ends and are assembled and disassembled from long strings by holding the lower members in fixed position and rotating the uppermost member about its axis to screw it or unscrew it. The slips, however, do not prevent the rotation of the remainder of the string. Hence, it is a common practice to try to hold the lower portion of the string stationary by grasping it in a large wrench or tongs and fixing the position of the tongs while rotating the uppermost joint. Such an operation requires one man to handle the bottom tongs and two other men to handle the upper tongs and the catline or other device for rotating the uppermost joint. It is a time-consuming and often frustrating operation and is quite costly in terms of labor.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide gas and oil well equipment that will obviate the above and other difiiculties and disadvantages heretofore encountered in this art.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of such equipment that will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to operate, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the upper end of a string of tubular members according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the interengagement of the parts of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a view showing the attachment of the splines of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a view showing a modified form of the present invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a view showing a further modification of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, there is shown a string indicated generally at 1, the string being comprised of tubular members hung vertically in a Well, and in the present instance they are drill pipe joints. Each individual section or joint 3 is screw-threaded at both ends as at 5, a collar 7 being afiixed to the upper end to provide a stop for the lower end of the next joint up.

Another collar 9 is fixedly secured to the exterior of each joint 3 a substantial distance from both ends thereof but nearer the upper end than the lower end. Each collar 9 has a plurality of ribs 11 integral therewith and extending downwardly.

Each collar 9 is comprised of a pair of halves 13 of hemicylindrical contour. Each half 13 carries one rib 1*1 centrally thereof. Each half 13 has a hole 15 through its rib 11, and the halves are secured together about the joint so as completely to encircle the joint, by means of welds 17 filling holes :15 and welds 19 entirely about the upper edge of both halves 13. 'It will of course be under- 3,994,852 Patented June 25, 1963 stood that halves 13 could be thirds or quarters or the like, depending on the desired number of ribs 11.

Removably associated with the ribs assembly is a pair of separable sections 21 which when together have recesses 23 for receiving ribs 11. Separable sections 21 when together have a non-circular outer cross-sectional contour, which is rectangular in the embodiment of FIG- URE 1.

The intended function of sections 21 is that they seat in the recess of a conventional kelly block of the usual rotary table. Alternatively, as shown in FIGURE 4, sections 27 may be provided which are generally round but have external keys so as to fit into a conventional slip bowl 29 which in turn fits into the kelly block recess of a rotary table. Still further, as shown in FIGURE 5, sections 31 may be provided of only quarter circular extent, each provided with a key and half a recess 23 and each adapted to fit into a slip bowl in place of a conventional slip. 'In these latter instances, it will be noted that the keys of the separable sections assure that those sections have a non-circular outer cross-sectional contour.

Ribs ll have a peculiar shape that fits them particularly well for their intended function. At their ends remote from upper collar 7, that is, at their lower ends, ribs 11 terminate in points 33 having oblique surfaces 35 on either side thereof and which terminates in surfaces 67 parallel to the axis of the assembly, the surfaces 37 in turn terminating in further surfaces 39' which meet upwardly to define the uppermost extent of the recesses be tween the ribs. This structure of the ribs is significant because the recesses 23 of separable sections 211. and the portion on the interior of the separable sections between recesses 23 are complementary to the ribs and the recesses 23 are complementary to the ribs and the recesses between the ribs, respectively, of the central assembly. Thus, the portions on the interior of the separable sections between recesses 23 terminate upwardly in points 41 from which extend on either side oblique surfaces 43 terminating in surfaces 45 parallel to the axis of the assembly, which in turn terminate in further oblique surfaces 47 coming in turn terminate in further oblique surfaces 47 coming to a lowermost point at the lowermost portion of recess% 23 and at the line of separation between separable sections 291.

In operation, with the separable sections of the slip bowl seated in the kelly block recess of a rotary table and the table locked, the separable sections and the string of joints are moved relative to each other until the ribs enter into the central recess of the separable sections. No matter what the angular orientation of the separable sections and the ribs relative to each other, the oblique surfaces 35, 39, 43- and 47 will contact each other and cam the string about until the ribs are just aligned with the recesses of the separable sections. In fully seated position, when ribs 11 fully fill recesses 23, surfaces 87 and 4-5 on the ribs and separable sections, respectively, will also be engaged to prevent rotation of the ribs and separable sections relative to each other. It will be appreciated that if surfaces 37 and 45 are not present, and all the interengaging surfaces were oblique, torsion between the string and its support could cause the string to ride up and twist by a camming action; but with surfaces 37 and 45 parallel to the axis of the assembly, relative rotation is prevented and such camming action cannot occur. It is thereafter possible freely and easily to add or subtract joints from the string by screwing them on or oif.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that all of the initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

It is to be understood that the appended claim is to "a a be accorded a range of equivalents commensurate in scope with the advance made over the prior art.

What is claimed is:

In gas and oil well equipment, an elongated tubular member, and a collar encircling and fixedly secured to the exterior of the member a substantial distance from both ends of the member, the member having a uniformly cylindrical outer contour of substantially the same diameter for a substantial distance on both sides of the collar, the collar consisting of a plurality of identical elements encompassing the member, the elements together defining a horizontal circular upper edge of the collar, the elements abutting each other along vertical edges of substantial length parallel to the axis of the member, each element having a downwardly extending rib of an extent peripherally of said member substantially less than the peripheral extent of the upper edge of the element, the side edges of each element defining the rib converging downward from the lower ends of said vertical edges, each elei ment having an opening therethrough disposed a sub stantial distance below the associated upper edge of the element at a lower level than the lower ends of said vertical edges and spaced a substantial distance from both side edges of the rib, each element being welded to said member along said upper edge and within said opening, but said side edges defining the rib and said vertical edges away fromv said horizontal edge being free from weld metal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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