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US 7,921,750 B2Granted
Power tong frames
AssigneeWeatherford/Lamb, Inc.
InventorBernd-Georg Pietras
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for securing a joint between two lengths of tubular. The apparatus has a tong arrangement comprising a rotary tong and a back-up tong. The apparatus also includes a frame having a seat for supporting the tong arrangement from beneath, the tong arrangement resting upon the seat such that the tong arrangement can be oriented in use at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the frame. A support member is provided for securing the tong arrangement to the frame at a chosen orientation.
Claims46
A frame for supporting a tong assembly for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit disposed on the seat, wherein the support unit comprises a base member supported on a bearing, wherein the bearing is adapted to engage a spherical recess of the base member, the spherical recess having a radius greater than a radius of the bearing, wherein the tong assembly is disposed on and in contact with the support unit, wherein the support unit is adapted to allow the tong assembly to move relative to the seat in a substantially transverse plane relative to a longitudinal axis of the tubular.
A frame for supporting a tong assembly for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit disposed on the seat, wherein a base of the tong assembly includes a concave surface that is in contact with a convex surface of the support unit to allow the tong assembly to move in a substantially transverse plane relative to a longitudinal axis of the tubular, and wherein the support unit includes a resilient member configured to provide a reaction force to the tong assembly to return the concave surface of the tong assembly to a central position on top of the convex surface of the support unit.
A tong positioning apparatus for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a tong;
- and
- a frame for supporting the tong, the frame comprising:
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit disposed on the seat, wherein the tong is supported on and in contact with the support unit and having an initial position with respect to the seat, wherein the support unit is adapted to allow the tong to move relative to the seat in a substantially transverse plane relative to a longitudinal axis of the tubular and is adapted to generate a reaction force to return the tong to the initial position in response to the relative movement of the seat, wherein the support unit comprises a base member supported on a bearing, wherein the bearing engages a spherical recess of the base member and wherein a radius of the spherical recess is greater than a radius of the bearing.
3 more elements
A frame for supporting a tong assembly for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit disposed on the seat, wherein the support unit comprises a base member supported on a bearing, wherein the bearing is adapted to engage a spherical recess of the base member, the spherical recess having a radius greater than a radius of the bearing to allow movement of the tong assembly in a transverse plane, wherein the tong assembly is supported on the seat and the support unit.
A tong positioning apparatus for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a tong;
- and
- a frame for supporting the tong, the frame comprising:
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit disposed on the seat, wherein the support unit comprises a base member supported on a bearing, wherein the bearing is adapted to engage a spherical recess of the base member, the spherical recess having a radius greater than a radius of the bearing to allow movement of the tong in a transverse plane;
- wherein the tong is supported on the seat and the support unit.
4 more elements
A frame for supporting a tong assembly for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a seat coupled at its proximate end to an upright section, wherein the seat is movable at its proximate end along a longitudinal axis of the upright section;
- and
- a support unit disposed on a distal end of the seat, wherein the tong assembly includes a spherical bottom surface that engages a spherical upper surface of the support unit to allow the tong assembly to move in a transverse plane relative to a longitudinal axis of the tubular, and wherein the support unit includes an elastic member configured to reactively move the tong assembly to a central position on top of the support unit.
A frame for supporting a tong assembly for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit disposed on the seat and operable to support the tong assembly, wherein the support unit comprises a bearing having a convex portion adapted to engage a concave surface to allow movement of the tong assembly in a transverse plane, and wherein the support unit further comprises a resilient member that applies a reaction force to return the tong assembly to a central position on the support unit following deflection of the tong assembly from the central position in the transverse plane.
A frame for supporting a tong assembly for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a base member coupled to the tong assembly and having a concave surface;
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit fixed to the seat and having a convex surface, wherein the base member is disposed on the support unit such that the concave surface is in contact with the convex surface to allow lateral movement of the tong assembly relative to the seat, and wherein the support unit further includes a resilient member surrounding the convex surface and configured to provide a reaction force in response to movement of the tong assembly.
1 more element
A frame for supporting a tong assembly for handling a tubular, comprising:
- a seat coupled to an upright section;
- and
- a support unit having a bearing coupled to the seat, wherein the bearing includes an upper convex surface for supporting the tong assembly from beneath, wherein the upper convex surface is in contact with a concave surface that is positioned on top of the upper convex surface to allow movement of the tong assembly in a transverse plane, and wherein the concave surface is movable with the tong assembly in the transverse plane relative to the bearing and the seat, and wherein the support unit further includes a resilient member coupled to the bearing that provides a reaction force in response to transverse movement of the tong assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.