Optical tool joint assist for iron roughneck

Abstract

A tool joint assist system for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, the tool joint assist system comprising: a roughneck with upper and lower tongs; a camera positioned relative to the roughneck to be capable of capturing an image of tubular and the roughneck; a computer comprising a processor, a non-transitory storage medium, a display, a transmitter/receiver, and a set of computer readable instructions stored in the non-transitory storage medium and when executed by the processor: (i) present a captured image of the tubular, roughneck and an indicator of a proposed height of the roughneck relative to the tubular; receive an instruction from an operator to adjust the indicated proposed height relative to the tubular in the captured image; and (ii) command the roughneck to move to the adjusted height.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tool joint assist system for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, the tool joint assist system comprising:
 a roughneck with upper and lower tongs;   a camera positioned relative to the roughneck to be capable of capturing an image of tubular and the roughneck;   a computer comprising a processor, a non-transitory storage medium, a display, a transmitter/receiver, and a set of computer readable instructions stored in the non-transitory storage medium and when executed by the processor: (i) present a captured image of the tubular, roughneck and an indicator of a proposed height of the roughneck relative to the tubular; receive an instruction from an operator to adjust the indicated proposed height relative to the tubular in the captured image;   and (ii) command the roughneck to move to the adjusted height.   
     
     
         2 . The tool joint assist system for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the camera comprises a digital camera capable of capturing digital images of tubular and the roughneck in real time. 
     
     
         3 . The tool joint assist system for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further present a graphic user interface via the display, wherein the graphic user interface is capable of presenting a captured image of the tubular, roughneck and an indicator of a proposed height of the roughneck relative to the tubular, wherein the graphic user interface is capable of receiving an instruction from an operator to adjust the indicated proposed height relative to the tubular in the captured image. 
     
     
         4 . The tool joint assist system for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further adjust, in the presented image, a position of the indicator of the proposed height of the roughneck relative to the tubular. 
     
     
         5 . The tool joint assist system for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further adjusts the position of the indicator in response to a received instruction from an operator to adjust the indicated proposed height relative to the tubular in the captured image. 
     
     
         6 . The tool joint assist system for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions further comprises a roughneck auto sequence for commanding the roughneck to perform a make-up or break-out operation. 
     
     
         7 . A tool joint assist method for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, the tool joint assist method comprising:
 capturing an image of a tubular and a roughneck;   presenting the captured image on a display to a drilling rig operator;   presenting, in the captured image, an indicator of a proposed height of the roughneck relative to the tubular; and   receiving an acknowledgment from the drilling rig operator that the proposed height of the roughneck is approved.   
     
     
         8 . A tool joint assist method for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the capturing an image comprises capturing a real-time video stream. 
     
     
         9 . A tool joint assist method for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein presenting the captured image and the indicator of a proposed height comprises presenting a graphic user interface via the display, and wherein receiving an acknowledgment from the drilling rig operator comprises receiving the acknowledgment through the graphic user interface. 
     
     
         10 . A tool joint assist method for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, as claimed in  claim 7 , further comprising: receiving an instruction from the drilling rig operator to adjust the indicated proposed height relative to the tubular in the captured image. 
     
     
         11 . A tool joint assist method for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, as claimed in  claim 10 , further comprising: adjusting the position of the indicator in the image in response to a received instruction from the drilling rig operator to adjust the indicated proposed height relative to the tubular. 
     
     
         12 . A tool joint assist method for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising: commanding the roughneck to move to the height of adjusted position of the indicator in the image. 
     
     
         13 . A tool joint assist method for making and breaking pipe joints of tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising: instructing the roughneck to execute a roughneck auto sequence for a make-up or break-out operation. 
     
     
         14 . A tool joint assist system for joining tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig, the tool joint assist system comprising:
 a pipe handling device;   a camera positioned relative to the pipe handling device to be capable of capturing an image of a tubular being handled by the pipe handling device;   a computer comprising a processor, a non-transitory storage medium, a display, a transmitter/receiver, and a set of computer readable instructions stored in the non-transitory storage medium and when executed by the processor:
 capture an image of a tubular; 
 present the captured image on a display to a drilling rig operator; 
 present, in the captured image, an indicator of a proposed height of the pipe handling device; and 
 receive an acknowledgment from the drilling rig operator that the proposed height of the pipe handling device is approved. 
   
     
     
         15 . The tool joint assist system for joining tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further: capture a real-time video stream. 
     
     
         16 . The tool joint assist system for joining tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further: present a graphic user interface via the display, and receive the acknowledgment from the drilling rig operator through the graphic user interface. 
     
     
         17 . The tool joint assist system for joining tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further: receive an instruction from the drilling rig operator to adjust the indicated proposed height in the captured image. 
     
     
         18 . The tool joint assist system for joining tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further: adjust the position of the indicator in the image in response to a received instruction from the drilling rig operator to adjust the indicated proposed height. 
     
     
         19 . The tool joint assist system for joining tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further: command the pipe handling device to move to the height of adjusted position of the indicator in the image. 
     
     
         20 . The tool joint assist system for joining tubulars in a drill string relative to a drilling rig as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the set of computer readable instructions when executed by the processor further: instructs the pipe handling device to execute an auto sequence for a make-up or break-out operation.