Coupler with threaded connection for pipe handler
AssigneeWeatherford Technology Holdings, LLC
InventorAicam Zouhair
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A coupler includes a housing having a bore therethrough, a lock member at least partially disposed within the bore of the housing and longitudinally movable relative to the housing between a locked position and an unlocked position, and an actuator at least partially disposed within the housing and configured to move the lock member. In another embodiment, a combined multi-coupler system includes a housing having a bore therethrough, an adapter of a tool dock, and a locking assembly including a lock member at least partially disposed within the bore of the housing and longitudinally movable relative to the housing between a locked position and an unlocked position.
Claims24
A coupler for a top drive, comprising:
- a housing;
- a lock member at least partially disposed within the housing and longitudinally movable relative to the housing between a locked position and an unlocked position, the lock member having a bore, the housing having an axial central bore having an inside diameter in fluid communication with the bore of the lock member;
- and
- an actuator at least partially disposed within the housing and configured to rotate the lock member, thereby longitudinally moving the lock member relative to the housing.
A combined multi-coupler system, comprising:
- a coupler for a top drive having a housing;
- an adapter of a tool, the adapter having a bore;
- and
- a lock member at least partially disposed within the housing and longitudinally movable relative to the housing to connect the housing to the adapter, the lock member having a bore, the housing having an axial central bore having an inside diameter in fluid communication with the bore of the lock member and the bore of the adapter.
A method for coupling a top drive to a tool, comprising:
- inserting an adapter of a tool into a housing of a coupler for a top drive, the adapter having a bore;
- moving a lock member longitudinally relative to the housing;
- and
- connecting the adapter with the lock member to attach the adapter to the housing while moving the lock member longitudinally, whereby a bore of the lock member is placed in fluid communication with an inside diameter of the bore of the adapter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.