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US 4,869,137 AGranted
Jaws for power tongs and bucking units
OwnerDamon T. Slatorinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to an improved jaw construction for power tongs and bucking units wherein the jaws include a pair of gripping pads which are mounted to the jaws with a resilient insert so that loads applied through the jaw to the pipe are distributed over the gripping pads to minimize scoring the pipe or deformation thereof.
Claims12
An improvement to a jaw apparatus for use in a machine to apply or resist torque applied to a pipe to thread or unthread one segment of pipe relative to an adjacent segment, the improvement comprising:
- a plurality of jaws;
- pivot means mounting each of said jaws for pivotal movement relative to the pipe to be gripped;
- a pair of gripping pads mounted to each of said jaws, each gripping pad having an outer gripping face formed to substantially conform with and adapted to engage the outside diameter of the pipe to be torqued;
- each of said gripping pads also having an inner surface;
- each of said jaws having a pair of recesses for receiving said pair of gripping pads, each of said recessed having a recess wall and adapted to receive one of said gripping pads with its said inner surface disposed therein;
- and
- an elastically deformable elastomer insert means disposed within and filling each of said recesses inwardly of each of said gripping pads for providing a substantially even distribution of forces, equivalent to force distribution in a confined hydraulic medium, along the entire length of each of said gripping pads upon an uneven force being applied on each of said gripping pads when there is contact between said gripping pads and the pipe;
- whereupon the pressure applied by each of said gripping pads is resultantly substantially uniform over said outer gripping face of each of said gripping pads.
5 more elements
A machine for applying or resisting a turning force to a pipe comprising:
- a frame;
- an actuating member mounted to said frame;
- drive means connected to said frame for selective movement of said actuating member;
- a drag ring supported by said frame;
- a plurality of jaws pivotally mounted to said drag ring and operably connected to said actuating member;
- means mounting said actuating member for permitting relative movement of said actuating member with respect to said drag ring to cause said jaws to pivot and move toward and into contact with the pipe;
- each jaw further comprising:
- a pair of gripping pads mounted to each of the jaws, each of said gripping pads having a gripping face formed to substantially conform with and adapted to the outside diameter of the pipe to be torqued;
- each of said gripping pads also having an inner surface;
- each of said jaws having a pair of recesses for receiving said pair of gripping pads, each of said recesses having a recess wall and adapted to receive one of said gripping pads with its said inner surface disposed therein;
- and
- an elastically deformable elastomer insert means disposed within and filling each of said recesses inwardly of each of said gripping pads for providing a substantially even distribution of forces, equivalent to force distribution in a confined hydraulic medium, along the entire length of each of said gripping pads upon an uneven force being applied on each of said gripping pads when there is contact between said gripping pads and the pipe;
- whereupon the pressure applied by each of said gripping pads is resultantly substantially uniform over said outer gripping face of each of said gripping pads.
10 more elements
A machine for applying or resisting a turning force to a pipe comprising:
- a frame;
- an actuating member mounted to said frame;
- drive means mounted to said frame for selective movement of said actuating member;
- a drag ring supported by said frame;
- a plurality of jaws movably mounted to said drag ring and operably connected to said actuating member;
- means mounting said actuating member for permitting relative movement of said actuating member with respect to said drag ring to cause said jaws to move toward the pipe;
- each jaw further comprising:
- a pair of gripping pads mounted to each of the jaws, each of said gripping pads having a gripping face formed to substantially conform to the outside diameter of the pipe to be torqued;
- each of said jaws having a plurality of recesses, each recess having a recess wall and adapted to receive one of said gripping pads;
- an elastically deformable elastomer insert means disposed within and filling each of said recesses inwardly of each of said gripping pads for providing a substantially even distribution of forces, equivalent to force distribution in a confined hydraulic medium, along the entire length of each of said gripping pads upon an uneven force being applied on each of said gripping pads when there is contact between said gripping pads and the pipe;
- whereupon the pressure applied by each of said gripping pads is resultantly substantially uniform over said outer gripping face of each of said gripping pad;
- each of said jaws connected by a pivot pin mounted therewith;
- a plurality of links, one of which is pivotally mounted to each of said jaws and to said drag ring;
- said actuator member having a plurality of gear teeth;
- each of said links having a plurality of gear teeth meshing with said gear teeth on said actuating member;
- whereby, upon relative rotation between said actuating member and said drag ring, each of said links pivots about its pivot pin so that each of said jaws is moved toward or away from the pipe;
- means to retard the pivotal movement of each of said jaws relative to the corresponding one of said links to which it is pivotally mounted;
- each of said jaws having a reversing shoulder disposed substantially between said gripping pads and said pivotal mounting between each of said links and each of said jaws;
- said drag ring further having a plurality of reversing pins, each of which is disposed to engage one of said reversing shoulders on one of said jaws upon actuation of said actuating member in the absence of a pipe, to reorient each of said jaws thereby allowing each of said plurality of said gripping pads to engage a pipe from an alternate position to allow the machine to apply or resist turning forces in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.