System and method for aligning a pipe with a well
OwnerKent R. Madisoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for aligning a pipe with a well includes a laser receiver and a laser transmitter, where one of the laser receiver and laser transmitter is positionable adjacent the well and the other of the laser receiver and laser transmitter is mounted to a first end portion of a mast extending from a vehicle and configured to lift the pipe. The laser transmitter is configured to emit a laser beam in a direction of the laser receiver. One or more actuators are coupled to the vehicle and are configured to receive a control signal from a controller to tilt the vehicle for pipe alignment. Also disclosed herein are systems for aligning a pipe with a well including more than one laser receiver each with a respective laser transmitter.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a laser receiver;
- a laser transmitter configured to emit a laser beam in a direction of the laser receiver, wherein one of the laser receiver and the laser transmitter is positionable adjacent a well and the other of the laser receiver and the laser transmitter is mounted to a first end portion of a mast extending from a vehicle and configured to lift a pipe;
- an actuator coupled to the vehicle and configured to tilt the vehicle;
- and
- a controller in communication with the actuator and the laser receiver and configured to control the actuator to tilt the vehicle based at least in part on a location of the laser beam on the laser receiver.
A system for aligning a pipe for insertion into a well, the system comprising:
- a laser receiver;
- a laser transmitter configured to emit a laser beam in a direction of the laser receiver, wherein one of the laser receiver and the laser transmitter is positionable adjacent a well and the other of the laser receiver and the laser transmitter is mounted to a first end portion of a mast extending from a vehicle and configured to lift the pipe;
- an actuator coupled to the vehicle;
- and
- a control system configured to:
- receive laser beam position data from the laser receiver;
- determine a position error of the laser beam on the laser receiver relative to a target position on the laser receiver based at least in part on the laser beam position data;
- calculate a vehicle angle to reduce the position error;
- and
- transmit a control signal to the actuator to move the vehicle to the calculated vehicle angle.
A method comprising:
- emitting a laser beam from a laser transmitter;
- detecting a position of the laser beam on a laser receiver, wherein one of the laser receiver and the laser transmitter is positionable adjacent a well and the other of the laser receiver and the laser transmitter is mounted to a mast extending from a vehicle and configured to lift a pipe;
- determining a position error of the laser beam based on the position of the laser beam on the laser receiver and a target position on the laser receiver;
- and
- with one or more actuators mounted in relation to the vehicle, tilting the vehicle to reduce the position error between the laser beam and the target position on the laser receiver to align the pipe with the well.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.