Adjustable rotating guides for spider or elevator
AssigneeWeatherford/Lamb, Inc.
InventorsDavid Shahin, Karsten Heidecke
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for gripping one or more tubulars, which may include casing, during a tubular handling operation, drilling operation, and/or drilling with casing operation. The gripping apparatus comprises a housing having a bore extending therethrough and one or more gripping members which extend radially within the bore to grippingly engage a tubular or casing when activated. Adjustable guides attached to a portion of the gripping apparatus facilitate rotational movement of the casing during the drilling operation when the gripping members of the gripping apparatus are deactivated.
Claims32
A gripping apparatus for supporting a tubular comprising:
- a housing having a bore extending therethrough;
- one or more gripping members moveable radially within the bore to grippingly engage the tubular;
- and
- one or more guide rolling members to facilitate movement of the tubular within the housing, wherein the one or more guide rolling members are radially movable into engagement with the tubular.
A method of drilling with casing into a formation, comprising:
- providing a gripping apparatus having an opening therethrough and one or more gripping members disposed therein, the gripping apparatus comprising one or more guide rolling members disposed within the opening;
- adjusting the one or more guide rolling members radially within the opening;
- lowering a first casing having an earth removal member operatively attached to its lower end into the formation while rotating the first casing;
- and
- contacting the first casing with the one or more guide rolling members while lowering the first casing.
A gripping apparatus for supporting a tubular comprising:
- a housing having a bore extending therethrough;
- one or more gripping members moveable radially within the bore to grippingly engage the tubular;
- and
- one or more guide rolling members to facilitate movement of the tubular within the housing, wherein the one or more guide rolling members are adjustable from a first position wherein an axis of the one or more guide rolling members is substantially parallel to an axis of the tubular to a second position wherein the axis of the one or more guide rolling members is not substantially parallel to the axis of the tubular.
A gripping apparatus for supporting a tubular comprising:
- a housing having a bore extending therethrough;
- one or more gripping members moveable radially within the bore to grippingly engage the tubular;
- and
- one or more guide rolling members to facilitate movement of the tubular within the housing, wherein the one or more guide rolling members are oriented radially inward toward the tubular with respect to the housing.
A gripping apparatus for supporting a tubular comprising:
- a housing having a bore extending therethrough;
- one or more gripping members moveable radially within the bore to grippingly engage the tubular;
- and
- one or more guide rolling members to facilitate movement of the tubular within the housing, wherein the one or more guide rolling members are extendable further radially inward toward the tubular than the one or more gripping members.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.