Spin wrench assembly

Abstract

A device is taught for making up or breaking out drill pipe sections. The device comprises one or more roller assemblies. Each roller assembly comprises a support movably attached to the roller assembly by an attachment means, one or more rollers supported on the support and one or more roller motors. The support can be raised and lowered by tightening or loosening the attachment means to allow access to the one or more rollers supported on the support. A mechanical roughneck system is further taught for making up or breaking out drill pipe section comprising the present device. A method is also provided for changing rollers in a spin wrench assembly.

1 . A device for making up or breaking out drill pipe sections, said device comprising:
 a) one or more roller assemblies, each roller assembly comprising;
 i. a support movably attached to the roller assembly by an attachment means; 
 ii. one or more rollers supported on the support and rotatably mounted in the roller assembly; and 
 iii. one or more roller motors, 
   
       wherein the support can be raised and lowered relative to the roller assembly by tightening or loosening the attachment means to allow access to the one or more rollers supported on the support. 
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more rollers are removed from the roller assembly individually. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the roller assemblies are spatially arranged and movable relative to one another to define an opening of variable size for receiving drill pipe sections having varying diameters. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device comprises two roller assemblies. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the roller assemblies each comprise two rollers supported on the support. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the support comprises a base plate and the attachment means comprises a jack screw. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the jack screw is fastened through a locking collar into a bottom surface of the support. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more fully removable mounting bolts to secured through the support into the roller assembly. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the roller assembly further comprises guide pins and the support further comprises corresponding guide pin holes that engage to align the support with the roller assembly. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more rollers are rotatably mounted in the roller assembly by means of a driving connection, said driving connection comprising:
 a) one or more external rotary connections having a toothed surface and extending from the roller assembly; and   b) a corresponding internal rotary connection having a toothed surface and formed on each roller and engageable with the external rotary connection.   
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 10 , further comprising chamfered end profiles on the toothed surfaces of the external rotary connection and the internal rotary connection, to allow the toothed surfaces to rotate into engagement with one another. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 10 , wherein the external rotary connections extend at different lengths from the roller assembly such that the one or more roller key shafts engage the one or more external rotary connections in a non-simultaneous manner. 
     
     
         13 . A mechanical roughneck system for making up or breaking out drill pipe sections, said system comprising:
 a) a clamp assembly movably connected at a lower end of a frame, wherein the clamp assembly comprises a lower clamp for engaging and grasping a first drill pipe section and an upper clamp for engaging and grasping a second drill pipe section;   b) a spin wrench assembly connected to an upper end of the frame, said spin wrench assembly comprising one or more roller assemblies, each roller assembly comprising;
 i. a support movably attached to the roller assembly by an attachment means; 
 ii. one or more rollers supported on the support; and 
 iii. one or more roller motors, 
   
       wherein the support can be raised and lowered relative to the roller assembly by tightening or loosening the attachment means to allow access to the one or more rollers supported on the support,
 c) a hydraulic valving to actuate one or more functions of the spin wrench and clamp assembly; and 
 d) a console to controls the hydraulic valving. 
 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the clamp assembly is movable to engage the first and second drill pipe sections, and wherein the lower clamp and upper clamp are movable to define a first opening of varying size to accommodate varying drill pipe diameters. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the upper clamp is in fixed axial alignment with the lower clamp. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more roller assemblies are spatially arranged and movable relative to one another to define a second opening of variable size for receiving drill pipe sections having varying diameters. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the hydraulic valving operates horizontal movement of the lower clamp and the upper clamp, horizontal movement of the spin wrench assembly, roller motors and rotation of the upper clamp. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the hydraulic console has a configuration selected from the group consisting of fixed at the mechanical roughneck, remote wireless, remote hardwired and non-fixed at the mechanical roughneck. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more rollers are removed from the roller assembly individually. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the device comprises two roller assemblies. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the roller assemblies each comprise two rollers supported on the support. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the support comprises a base plate and the attachment means comprises a jack screw. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the jack screw is fastened through a locking collar into a bottom surface of the support. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising one or more fully removable mounting bolts to secured through the support into the roller assembly. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the roller assembly further comprises guide pins and the support further comprises corresponding guide pin holes that engage to align the support with the roller assembly. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more rollers are rotatably mounted in the roller assembly by means of a driving connection, said driving connection comprising:
 a) one or more external rotary connections having a toothed surface and extending from the roller assembly; and   b) a corresponding internal rotary connection having a toothed surface and formed on each roller and engageable with the external rotary connection.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , further comprising chamfered end profiles on the toothed surfaces of the external rotary connection and the internal rotary connection, to allow the toothed surfaces to rotate into engagement with one another. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the external rotary connections extend at different lengths from the roller assembly such that the one or more roller key shafts engage the one or more external rotary connections in a non-simultaneous manner. 
     
     
         29 . A method for changing rollers in a spin wrench assembly, said method comprising the steps of:
 a) supporting one or more rollers on a support;   b) movably attaching said support to a roller assembly of the spin wrench assembly by attachment means;   c) loosening attachment means to lower the support and the one or more rollers;   d) removing and replacing individual rollers from the support; and   e) tightening the attachment means to raise the support back into engagement with the roller assembly of spin wrench assembly.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising:
 a) removing one or more mounting bolts that affix the support to the roller assembly, prior to loosening the attachment means; and   b) re-fastening the one or more mounting bolts to affix the support to the roller assembly, after tightening the attachment means.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising aligning the support with the roller assembly by aligning guide pins on the roller assembly and guide pin holes in the support, when tightening the attachment means to raise the support back into engagement with the roller assembly. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising rotatably engaging the one are more rollers in the roller assembly by engaging one or more external rotary connections extending from the roller assembly with a internal rotary connection on each of the one or more rollers. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising rotating the external rotary connection into the internal rotary connection by engaging a chamfered profile of the external rotary connection with a chamfered profile of the internal rotary connection. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising the steps of:
 a) rotatably engaging a first roller in the roller assembly by engaging a first longer external rotary connection extending from the roller assembly with an internal rotary connection on the first roller; and   b) rotatably engaging a second roller in the roller assembly by engaging a second shorter external rotary connection extending from the roller assembly with an internal rotary connection on the second roller.