Tubular handling apparatus and method

Abstract

A pipe handling system comprising at least one pipe magazine, a pipe conveyor system, and a pipe arm for handling pipes in conjunction with a drill rig for drilling a well bore. The pipe handling system operates to transfer pipe joints from each pipe magazine to a pipe arm via the pipe conveyor system. The pipe arm then moves to transfer each pipe to the drilling rig for connection to drill string. The pipe handling system also operates to remove each pipe from the drill string. The arm engages the pipe to be removed and moves to transfer the pipe to the pipe conveyor system. The pipe conveyor system then transfers the pipes to each pipe magazine. The system is alternatively comprises electronic sensors that measure the location of pipe. The entire system is also alternatively operated with software and a general-purpose computer.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A pipe handling system for use in conjunction with a drilling rig for drilling a well bore comprising: 
 at least one pipe magazine for holding at least one pipe, each pipe magazine comprising at least one pipe rack;    a pipe arm;    a pipe conveyor system for transferring each pipe from each pipe magazine to the pipe arm; and    where the pipe arm transfers each pipe to and from the drilling rig.    
     
     
         2 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  where each pipe magazine comprises more than one pipe rack, each pipe rack comprising at least one slat for holding pipes.  
     
     
         3 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  where the pipe conveyor system comprises a vertical pipe conveyor and more than one horizontal pipe conveyor associated with each pipe magazine and an external pipe conveyor for transferring each pipe to the pipe arm.  
     
     
         4 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  where the pipe conveyor system further comprises shovel arms for handling each pipe.  
     
     
         5 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  wherein the system is capable of transferring pipe from each of the pipe magazines to the drilling rig and also transferring pipe from the drilling rig to each of the pipe magazines.  
     
     
         6 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  further comprising more than one pipe magazine where the pipe conveyor system also transfers pipe between each pipe magazine.  
     
     
         7 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  where the pipe handling system further comprises sensors for sensing pipe information during handling by the system.  
     
     
         8 . The pipe handling system of  claim 7  where a general-purpose computer operates the pipe handling system.  
     
     
         9 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  where each pipe rack is capable of moving between at least two positions to gravitationally bias each pipe.  
     
     
         10 . The pipe handling system of  claim 1  where the pipe arm moves from a first position to a second position to transfer each pipe to the drilling rig.  
     
     
         11 . A method of transferring at least one pipe from a pipe magazine to a drilling rig comprising: 
 rotating at least one pipe rack in the pipe magazine to gravitationally bias each pipe while on each pipe rack;    transferring each pipe from each pipe rack to a pipe arm in a first position using a pipe conveyor system;    moving the pipe arm from the first position to a second position; and    transferring each pipe from the pipe arm to the drilling rig.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  where the pipe conveyor system comprises a vertical pipe conveyor and more than one horizontal pipe conveyor associated with the pipe magazine and an external pipe conveyor located between the pipe magazine and the pipe arm.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising handling each pipe on the pipe conveyor system using shovel arms.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising multiple pipe magazines, with the pipe conveyor system capable of transferring pipe between the pipe magazines, and further comprising transferring pipe from each pipe magazine to the pipe arm for transfer to the drilling rig.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising monitoring information on each pipe during handling by the system.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising controlling the pipe handling system using a general-purpose computer.  
     
     
         17 . A method of transferring at least one pipe from a drilling rig to a pipe magazine comprising: 
 rotating at least one pipe rack in the pipe magazine to gravitationally bias each pipe while on each pipe rack;    transferring each pipe from the drilling rig to a pipe arm in a second position;    moving the pipe arm from the second position to a first position;    transferring each pipe from the pipe arm to each of the pipe racks using a pipe conveyor system.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  where the pipe conveyor system comprises a vertical pipe conveyor and more than one horizontal pipe conveyor associated with the pipe magazine and an external pipe conveyor located between the pipe magazine and the pipe arm.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising handling each pipe on the pipe conveyor system using shovel arms.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising multiple pipe magazines, with the pipe conveyor system capable of transferring pipe between the pipe magazines, and further comprising transferring pipe from the pipe arm to each pipe magazine.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising monitoring information on each pipe during handling by the system.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  further comprising controlling the pipe handling system using a general-purpose computer.