Self-aligning pipe gripping assembly and method of making and using the same

A self-aligning piston assembly configured to selectively engage and disengage a pipe segment, the self-aligning piston assembly comprising:

• a splined shaft;
• and
• a piston assembly configured to slide along the splined shaft between an engaged position and a disengaged position, the piston assembly including:
• a piston housing configured to rotate between an aligned position and a misaligned position relative to the pipe segment;
• a plurality of springs coupled to the piston housing;
• a cam defining a cam surface having wells and apices;
• and a roller assembly, the roller assembly including a plurality of rollers configured to roll along the cam surface,
• wherein:
• the plurality of rollers are configured to rest in the wells when the piston housing is in the aligned position;
• the plurality of rollers are configured to roll along the cam surface toward the apices as the piston housing is rotated into the misaligned position;
• and the springs are configured to bias the rollers into the wells to return the piston housing to the aligned position.

A pipe gripping assembly configured to selectively engage and disengage a pipe segment, the pipe gripping assembly including first and second jaws configured to clamp together around the pipe segment, wherein at least one of the first and second jaws comprises:

• a splined shaft fixedly housed in the at least one of the first and second jaws;
• and
• a self-aligning piston housed in the at least one of the first and second jaws and configured to slide along the splined shaft between an engaged position and a disengaged position and to rotate around the splined shaft between an aligned orientation relative to the pipe segment and a misaligned orientation,
• wherein the self-aligning pistons includes a piston body, and a cam and roller assembly coupled to the piston body and to the splined shaft, and
• wherein the cam and roller assembly includes a cam and a plurality of rollers configured to rotate relative to the cam.