US3545313A - Combined grapple and back-up tong - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 8, 1970 B. F. KELLEY- COMBINED GRAPPLE AND BACK-UR T ONG 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 30, 1969 l m nl i i 1| h 4 A Nd W m WF 0 m M n/w & ,0. m

ATTORNEYS Dec. 8, 1970 B. F. KELLEY COMBINED GRAPPLE AND BACK-UP TONG 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct 50, 1969 K 0 m 52 K m ma w .m+7 m 4 .a

0 w 6 u B mv ATTORNEYS United States Patent Cffice 3,545,313 Patented Dec. 8, 1970 US. Cl. 81-57.34 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In gas and oil field practice, a combined grapple for rotating a drill pipe or tubing and a back-up tong for holding a coupling on the tubing against rotation. The frame that carries the grapple also prevents the back-up tong. from rotating about the axis of' rotation of the grapple, but the back-up tong and grapple frame are movable relative to each other along that axis, and the back-up tong is slidable toward and away from that axis. The tong has specially articulated and hydraulically actuated gripping jaws to engage and grip in principal portion of the periphery of coupling.

The present invention relates to grapples and backup tongs for use in gas and oil well drilling operations. In such an environment, a rotatable grapple is provided for rotating a length of drill pipe or tubing so as to screw it into or unscrew it from a drill stem coupling or the like; while a back-up tong is provided which holds the coupling against rotation.

In my earlier Pat. No. 3,371,562, issued Mar. 5, 1968, there is disclosed a grapple construction which rotates within a frame that can be held stationary while a length of tubing is gripped and rotated. Such a grapple, or another form of grapple rotatable within a stationary frame or casing, is to be used in the present invention; and accordingly, reference is made to the grapple of my aboveidentified earlier patent for a fuller disclosure in this regard. It will accordingly be unnecessary to disclose further details of the grapple, and these are omitted so as to simplify the disclosure of the present application.

In the past, back-up tongs which are used in connection with grapples, for the purpose of holding one portion of a screw-threaded connection stationary while the grapple rotates another portion of the screw-threaded connection, have conventionally taken the form of a hand tong, suspended from above, and anchored by a line to an end of the handle of the tong, the line in turn being anchored to a rigid portion of the derrick which supports the assembly. The tong is thus held in one direction against rotation when the grapple is rotated. However, if the grapple is to be rotated in the opposite direction, then the line has to be detached and extended in the opposite direction and again anchored.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a combination grapple and back-up tong which is torque free in the sense that it does not require external anchoring in order for the grapple and tong to exert great torque relative to each other.

Anoher object of the present invention is the provision of;:a combined grapple and back-up tong which are conveniently vertically adjustable relative to each other.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of such a combination in which the back-up tong is of simplified construction and operation thanks to its relationship to the rest of the assembly.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a combined grapple and back-up tong which will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble, position, operate, maintain and repair, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combined grapple and back-up tong according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view principally of the tong portion of the assembly, with the tong engaged and the tong and grapple relatively spaced apart;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the tong retracted;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the tong portion of the assembly, in the position of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the tong partly retracted; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 but showing the tong fully retracted.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIG. 1 a frame 1 including a housing 3 in which is disposed a grapple as in my above-identified patent, which surrounds and grasps and rotates a length of tubing 5 relative to a drill stem coupling 6. Frame 1 is supported by a standard 7 having a plurality of holes 9 through a plate at its upper end, in a selected one of which is disposed the pin 11 carried at the lower end of a piston rod 13 whose piston is disposed in a cylinder which is not shown but which is above the top of FIG. 1. Hydraulic fluid under pressure operates this cylinder and piston assembly and is also conveyed by conduits 15 to a control bank 16 from which the elevation of frame 1 may be controlled and also the operation of the grapple and back-up tong.

Suspended from frame 1 is a back-up tong illustrated generally at 17, whose body is in the from of a sleeve 19 slidable on a horizontal shaft 21 which is secured to and extends radially from a vertical sleeve 23. Sleeve 23, in turn, is vertically slidably disposed on a downwardly ex tending shaft 25 which is fixedly secured to frame 1. Sleeve 23 and shaft 25 are parallel to the axis of rotation of the grapple. The weight of the tong is supported by parallel vertical rods 27 that are secured to sleeve 19 and that are surrounded and urged upwardly by coil compression springs 29 that in turn are supported at their lower ends on ears 31 that extend outwadly from straps 33 that depend fom opposite sides of an axle that carries trolley rollers 35 that ride on a horizontal track 37 supported at its opposite ends between brackets 39 that are in turn fixedly secured to the underside of frame 1. Springs 29 are fully collapsed when they support only a portion of the weight of tong 17.

Turning now to the particular structure of tong 17, it will be noted that sleeve 19 thereof has oppositely outwardly extending ears 41 thereon, between each vertically spaced pair of which is pivotally mounted an arm 43 intermediate its lentgh. At each forward end of each arm 43, a jaw 45 is pivotally mounted, each jaw 45 in turn being pivotally connected to a jaw 47, the two jaws 47 in turn being pivotally interconnected with each other. When the forward ends of arms 43 are swung toward each other, as in FIG. 4, then the jaws 45 and 47 assume a substantially circular configuration in gripping arrangement about the coupling 6. When the arms 43 are somewhat swung apart at their forward ends, then the jaws 5 and 47 have the configuration shown in FIG. 5. But when the arms 43 are fully swung apart at their forward ends, then not only are the jaws 45 swung still farther apart, but also the jaws 47 are opened somewhat, thereby to provide for full release of the jaws from the tubing.

Power means are provided for swinging the arms 43 about their pivots on ears 41, comprising a pair of horizontal cylinders 49 disposed one above and one below the sleeve 19, perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the grapple, and also perpendicular to sleeve 19. Both cylinders '49 are pivotally interconnected to the rear end of one arm 43 by means of an upright bracket 51 by which the closed ends of cylinders 49 are rigidly interconnected. Each cyclinder 49 has a piston and piston rod 53 slidable therein, the free ends of the piston rods 53 being rigidly interconnected by an upright bracket 55 which in turn is pivotally interconnected with the rear end of the other arm 43.

Hydraulic fluid under pressure is supplied from bank 16 through conduit 57 to cylinders 49 to urge the rear ends of anns 43 apart, and through conduit 59 to cylinders 49 to urge the rear ends of the arms 43 together, thereby to effect the opening and closing of the jaws 45 and 47. A manually controlled valve 61 thus controls the flow of fluid through conduits 57 and 59 and hence the operation of the tong 17.

A handgrip 63 is provided on the rear end of sleeve 19, to permit manual sliding of the tong horizontally between the FIGS. 4 and 6 positions.

The operation of the device will now be clear: with the parts in the FIG. 1 position, the tong 17 can be slid to the right and the jaws thereof close, to reach the FIG. 4 position. The grapple can then be rotated in either direction and there will be no relative turning movement between frame 1 and tong 17. If the rotation of the grapple is in a direction to unscrew tubing 5 from collar 6, frame 1 can be raised by the originally described hydraulic cylinder and piston rod 13 so as to relieve the pressure on the screw threads, until the full line position in FIG. 2 is achieved. The tong jaws can then be opened, from the FIG. 4 to the FIG. 6 position and the tong slid manually back along shaft 21, with its weight largely supported by the brackets 39 as rollers 35 roll along track 37. Of course, the operation can proceed in reverse for interconnecting tubing 5 and collar 6, it being noted that tong 17 is equally easily usable regardless of the direction of rotation of the grapple.

From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will be evident that all of the initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and 4 illustrated in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A combined grapple and back-up tong, comprising a frame, a grapple mounted on the frame for rotation about a vertical axis, a back-up tong, means mounting the back-up tong on the frame for movement relative to the frame radially of said axis, means for opening and closing said back-up tong, and means on said frame holding said back-up tong against rotation in either direction about said axis, the back-up tong comprising a pair of arms swingable in opposite directions in a plane perpendicular to said axis, power means for swinging said arms in opposite directions, and jaws carried by the forward end of said arms, said jaws comprising a pair of first jaws pivotally connected to the forward ends of said arms, and a pair of second jaws pivotally connected to said first jaws and pivotally connected to each other.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said arms being pivotally mounted on a sleeve, and means slidably supporting said sleeve for sliding movement toward and away from said axis.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said power means comprising a cylinder and piston assembly above said sleeve and a cylinder and piston assembly below said sleeve, the cylinders of said assemblies being pivotally connected to one said arm and the pistons of said assemblies being pivotally connected to the other said arm, and means for supplying fluid under pressure to said cylinders to move said arms.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,380,323 4/1968 Campbell 8l-57.16 1,478,020 12/1923 Butler 8157.l9 3,392,609 7/1968 Bartos 8l57.19 2,544,639 3/1951 Calhoun 8157.16

JAMES L. JONES, JR., Primary Examiner

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