Rotational Lock for Fluid Sleeve Surrounding a Tubular String from Fixed Portion of a Top Drive

Abstract

In the preferred mode of the present invention, the bottom end of a connector sleeve couples the non-rotating sleeve to the top drive swivel. The top end of the connector sleeve rotatably impinges on a non-rotating member of the top drive directly, the top drive longitudinal carriage, or a combination of the two. Rotation of the top drive out put shaft will transmit a force to the non-rotating sleeve through seal friction until the top end of the connector sleeve contacts a non-rotating body of the top drive's longitudinal carriage or the top drive directly or both. Upon contact, the non-rotating sleeve will resist the torque aided by the connector sleeve and overcome the seal friction transmitted to the non-rotating sleeve. The top drive and connector move axially in tandem and even have some capability of relative axial movement while resisting further relative rotation while facilitating assembly of the components.

Claims

1. An apparatus for securing a sleeve against relative rotation with respect to a stationary component associated with a supporting device that rotates or translates a tubular string, comprising: a non-rotating sleeve having at least one passage with a tool string extending through said at least one passage and a connection for fluid communication into said passage; a supporting device comprising an elongated body assembly at least a part of said elongated body non-rotationally supporting the tool string and another part of said elongated body assembly selectively rotating with the tool string in said passage relatively to said non-rotating sleeve; a connecting member engaged to said non-rotating sleeve for weight support while limiting relative rotation between said non-rotating sleeve and the tool string in opposed directions to under 300 degrees, said connecting member comprising an upper end positioned in an initial spaced relation to said non-rotating part of said supporting device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: said supporting device comprises a top drive.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connecting member rotationally locked to said non-rotating sleeve with a spline.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connecting member rotationally locked to said non-rotating sleeve with at least one axially extending rod.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connecting member comprises at least one piece.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein: said connecting member comprises two pieces hinged together to facilitate creation of said passage over the tool string with the tool string supported from said elongated body.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connecting member comprises at least one protrusion to selectively engage said portion of said elongated body that non-rotationally supports the tool string.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein: said at least one protrusion comprises a flat surface to selectively engage an opposing flat surface on said portion of said elongated body that non-rotationally supports the tool string.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein: said flat surface and opposing flat surface defining an initial clearance in between to facilitate assembly of said connecting member to said portion of said elongated body that non-rotationally supports the tool string.

10. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: spaced bails supported by said elongated bodies, said connecting member being out of contact with said bails.

11. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said connecting member comprises a sleeve.

12. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said top drive further comprises a non-rotating tool handler having first opposed flat surfaces; said connecting member further comprising second opposed flat surfaces having a distance in between equal or greater than a distance between said first opposed flat surfaces.

13. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said non-rotating sleeve further comprises spaced seals straddling said connection thereon, whereupon contact between said first and second opposed flat surfaces generated by rotation of the tool string in said spaced seals, seal friction is overcome allowing said non-rotating sleeve to avoid rotation.

14. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said at least a part of said elongated body that non-rotationally supports the tool string and said connection member are a single piece.

15. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: said at least a part of said elongated body that non-rotationally supports the tool string and said connection member are multiple pieces.

16. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein: relative rotation between said non-rotating sleeve and the tool string in opposed directions is limited to under 300 degrees.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: relative rotation between said non-rotating sleeve and the tool string in opposed directions is limited to under 10 degrees.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein: relative rotation between said non-rotating sleeve and the tool string in opposed directions is eliminated by removal of said spaced relation of said connecting member upper end to said non-rotating part of said supporting device with an adjustment device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector sleeve showing an optional lower end spline and at least one flat that contacts a top drive;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the at least one flat of FIG. 1 in contact with a non-rotating portion of the top drive;

[0017] FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation view of the components in FIG. 2;

[0018] FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the components in a drilling rig; and

[0019] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing and alternative way to rotationally lock the non-rotating sleeve to the connector sleeve and further illustrating the vertical split in the connector sleeve;

[0020] FIG. 6 is a prior art design requiring removal of bolts from an underside of a top drive to secure an arm that abutted a nozzle on a sleeve to keep that sleeve from rotating in a single direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0021] Referring to FIG. 4 a rig 10 supports a crown block 9 from which a travelling block 8 is supported in a known manner. The top drive 12 is supported off the travelling block 8. It has a powered output shaft 6 to which the tool string 11 is attached, via a mandrel 4 that is part of the top drive 12. A non-rotating sleeve 5 is mounted over shaft 6 and mandrel 4 with a nozzle 20 that provides fluid communication to passage 22 through output shaft 6 and mandrel 4 and into the tool string 11. Non-rotating sleeve 5 is a known component that has spaced bearings and seals against mandrel 4 that are not shown so that fluid under pressure delivered through nozzle 20 is directed into the tool string 11 as the tool string 11 rotates while non rotating sleeve 5 does not rotate. In that manner a fluid line that is not shown can be connected to nozzle 20 to add material to the tool string 11 while bypassing the top drive 12. The seals between the non-rotating sleeve 5 and the rotating mandrel 4 tend to induce rotation of the non-rotating sleeve 5 unless the friction force is overcome. That occurs in the present invention with the use of connecting sleeve 1. Connecting sleeve 1 can be rotationally locked to the non-rotating sleeve 5 with a spline 2 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 or with standoffs 13 that abut or extend through connecting sleeve 1 and find support on landing flange 14 while secured with pins 15.

[0022] Connecting sleeve 1 can be a split structure having a split 24 with the pieces connected by a hinge 26 as shown in FIG. 5. A clamp located 180 away holds the components 28 and 30 together after they are mounted over the connected mandrel 4 and top drive output shaft 6. Connecting sleeve 1 has at least one upper flat 3 defined by flat surface 32. Surface 32 is designed to fit adjacent surface 34 to item 7 which can be the tool handler of the top drive 12 or other non-rotating surface of the top drive 12. Some initial gap is preferred for assembly purposes of surface 32 and surface 34. Clearly, if a clamshell design is incorporated into the connecting sleeve as shown in FIG. 5 such a gap can be minimized or eliminated. While opposed upper flats 3 is one solution, the rotational locking even after an optional limited amount of relative rotation preceding the locking can be accomplished in a variety of other ways such as meshing castellation, rods going into recesses or pins abutting an adjacent surface to name a few options contemplated by the invention. As another alternative, the connecting sleeve 1 and the tool handler 7 or its non-rotating equivalent on the top drive 12 can be a single unitary structure or in multiple pieces to be field assembled.

[0023] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the way the rotational locking to the top drive 12 itself or to the tool handler 7 attached to the stationary portion of the top drive 12 takes the surrounding structures out of the picture and avoids issues of the rig belonging to one company while another company brings the top drive to the rig. Since the rigs are differently, configured using the rig structure or the bails that hold the elevator creates a dimensional uncertainty if the torque link has to be connected one end to such structures. Then again, there is the issue of having to accommodate the axial movements of the top drive while still providing a torque reaction member. This need to accommodate a friction force in a plane perpendicular to top drive axial movement has been the reason the prior designs have been complex and heavy structures that take a long time to field assemble and require hoisting equipment in an otherwise confined space that can also present personnel safety issues. Where the present invention diverges is that the torque reaction is provided from the body of the top drive itself rather than adjacent rig equipment such as the rig structure or the parallel support members for the elevator as described in CA2759139. Instead the connecting sleeve 1 has no moving parts after assembly, to the top drive itself or the tool handler or both such that the non-rotating sleeve seal friction is overcome upon initial rotation of the mandrel 4. The connecting sleeve can be easy to fabricate and transport and if provided in a clamshell design can be assembled over the mandrel 4 with the tool string 11 assembled to the top drive output shaft 6. Connection to the non-rotating sleeve 5 by the connecting sleeve 1 can be by splines as in FIG. 2 or with rods 13 as in FIG. 5 or by any other way that can provide a quick rotational lock.

[0024] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the gap between opposed surfaces 32 can also be varied on one or on opposed sides using an adjustment pad 33 schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. In that manner different gaps can be straddled and rotational play can be removed to eliminate any rotational movement of sleeve 5. Typically even with a small gap between the tool handler 7 or the non-rotating part of top drive 12 the amount of rotation of nozzle 20 can be kept to under 10 degrees in opposed directions whereas the prior design of FIG. 6 has over 300 degrees of allowed rotation in one direction. As best seen in FIG. 2 there are no fasteners needed to operatively connect the U-shaped portion of the connecting member 1 formed by opposed flats 32 and the tool handler 7 or another non-rotating part of the top drive 12. In essence the parts simply nest with a small or no gap to provide the rotational lock to the sleeve 5. In essence the present invention preferably has the connecting member 1 weight supported off the non-rotating sleeve 5 and a top end that is initially spaced from the supporting device such as tool handler 7 or the top drive 12. That initial gap or spacing allows some relative rotation between the tool string 11 and the sleeve 5 of preferably no more than 10 degrees in opposed directions while facilitating assembly. Supporting weight from below rather than from above as in FIG. 6 also makes for a faster and safer installation process. A flexible connection to nozzle 20 can comfortably tolerate 10 degree angular movement. That amount of angular movement can be reduced or eliminated with adjustment of the adjustment pad 33 after initial assembly. The design of FIG. 6 allows almost a full revolution of relative rotation of the sleeve with the nozzle in one direction while minimizing relative rotation in the opposite direction.

[0025] The above description is illustrative of the preferred embodiment and many, modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention whose scope is to be determined from the literal and equivalent scope of the claims below: