US3290063A - Power-operated pipe coupling - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 6, 1966 J. A. HAEBER 3,290,063

POWER-OPERATED PIPE COUPLING Filed Sept. 12, 1963 Fl G. I F I G. 2

INVENTOR:

JOHN A. HAEBER HIS AGENT 3,290,063 POWER-OPERATED PIPE COUPLING John A. Haeber, Houston, Tex., assignor to Shell Oil Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Dela- Filed Sept. 12, 1963, Ser. No. 308,530 4 Claims. (Cl. 285--18) The present invention relates to pipe couplings and pertains more particularly to a coupling for use in high pressure flow lines, such for example, as those utilized on oil and gas producing wells.

Heretofore, offshore wells have been drilled either from stationary platforms anchored to the ocean floor, movable barges temporarily positioned on the ocean floor, or from movable barges floating on the body of water in which drilling operations are being carried out. Regardless of the manner in which the wells are drilled, most wells were completed in a manner such that the outermost tubular member of the well extends upwardly from the ocean floor to a point above the surface of the water where a wellhead assembly or Christmas tree is mounted thereon for controlling the production of the well.

Wellheads extending above the surface of the water constitute a hazard to the navigation of vessels in the area as well as constituting a structure which is readily attacked by wave action, it being well known that the corrosive action of sea water and air readily attack the normal steel wellheads unless they are protected in a suitable manner by corrosive resistance material. However, when the wellhead and/ or casinghead extend above the surface of the water, the flow-controlling component of the wellhead may be readily adjusted by an operator working from a platform adjacent the wellhead structure above the sur face of the water. Additionally, any workover or reconditioning operations carried out on the well may be readily accomplished as all of the portions of the wellhead structure which must be disassembled in order to carry out these operations, are above the surface of the water where they may be reached by maintenance crews. Thus, pipe couplings of any suitable design may be employed in the flowline positioned above the surface of the water since they may be readily connected and disconnected by maintenance men employing normal tools used for working on pipe lines on land.

Recently, however, methods and apparatus have been developed for drilling and completing oil and gas wells on the ocean floor in a manner such that after completion of the well, the wellhead assembly, including various components such as'flow control valves and pipe couplings, is positioned beneath the surface of the water, preferably on the ocean floor. These facilities are often positioned in water depths greater than the depth at which a diver can safely and readily Work. It may therefore be seen that the adjustment of any wellhead component from time to time, or the task of disconnecting or connecting pipe couplings during maintenance or reconditioning Work on the well, presents a considerable problem when the wellhead assembly is positioned below the surface of the water.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a power-operable pipe coupling adapted to connect underwater pipe lines together or to connect an underwater pipe line to an underwater well or other installations below diver depth in a body of water.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a power-operated pipe coupling adapted to connect two ends of a pipe together which are positioned in register one with the other in fixed spaced-apart relationship.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pipe coupling adapted to be actuated by suitable prime mover means, preferably in the form of a power wrench, that is lowerable through a body of water and engageable United States Patent with the pipe coupling to actuate said pipe coupling to either connect or disconnect the coupling from an adjacent pipe end.

These and other objects of this invention will be understood from the following description taken with reference to the drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal view, taken partially in cross section, showing the pipe coupling of the present invention in its extended form so as to engage the end of a mating section of pipe;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of a pipe coupling of FIG- URE 1, partially cut away to show the interaction of the gear mechanism of the coupling; and,

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating an underwater wellhead positioned near the ocean floor where the wellhead is connected to an underwater pipe line by means of the power actuated coupling of the present invention.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawing, a pair ofpipe sections 10 and 11 are shown as being positioned in axial register and connected together by means of a power-operated pipe coupling in accordance with the present invention.

The pipe coupling includes a concentrically mountedtubular sleeve 12 carried at one end ofpipe section 10 and being slidably mounted thereon for limited axial movement to a position extending beyond the normal end of thepipe section 10. Thus, in its extended position, as shown, about half of the extendabletubular sleeve 12 is positioned adjacent and in sealing contact with the outer surface of the end of pipe line 11. Preferably a raised contact or sealing surface 13'is provided on the end of pipe section 11.

Suitable sealing means, such as O-ring seals 14, are provided and are carried on the inner surface of the extendabletubular sleeve 12 for sealing against the sealingsurface 13 of the pipe section 11. It is to be readily understood, however, that theseals 14 are to seal the space between thetubular sleeve 12 and thelanding surface 13 at the end of pipe section 11 and may just as readily be carried in a recessed manner on the other surface of pipe section 11 in a manner identical with that illustrated with regard to thesleeve 12. Thus, with theseals 14 being carried by the end of pipe section 11, new seals could be installed each time the pipe section 11 was replaced.

In a like manner a series of O-ring seals 15 are provided in recessed portions of the inner surface of thetubular sleeve 12 and positioned thereon so as to contact a sealing'surface 16 carried near the end ofpipe section 10. Preferably, suitable stop means or movement-limiting means are provided between the slidabletubular sleeve 12 and the end of thepipe section 10 so that thetubular sleeve 12 is not extended sufficiently to fall off the end of thepipe section 10 or to disengagerack 20, withpinion 21. One form of movement-limiting means or stop means may be ashoulder 17 formed on the inner surface of thesleeve 12 so as to cooperate with an outwardly extendingshoulder 18 carried on the outer surface of a portion of thepipe section 10. While stopshoulders 17 and 18 prevent thesleeve 12 from being driven sufliciently far so as to become disengaged from thepipe section 10, it is to be noted that prior to such an occurrence, therack 20 disengages thepinion 21 even ifshoulders 17 and 18 are not present. Once such disengagement had occurred, further driving ofsleeve 12 is not possible. Thus, it is seen that an important purpose ofshoulders 17 and 18 is to limit the travel ofsleeve 12 to a position where therack 20 andpinion 21 are still engaged, thesleeve 12 has traveled far enough to seal effectively on thesurface 13, and thesleeve 12 is still engaged on pipe end 10a and sealed againstsurface 16. It is equally important that precautions be taken to insure that therack 20 andpinion 21 are not disengaged when thesleeve 12 is driven to the open, or released, position.Numeral designations 34 and 35 in FIGUREI illustrate one means which are employed by the tool design to guard against this possibility. When the connector is driven to the released position, theend 34 ofsleeve 12 lands on theshoulder 35 ofhousing cylinder 23, limiting the travel ofsleeve 12; and, again, pre venting disengagement ofrack 20 withpinion 21.

Suitable power-operated actuating means are provided on the end of the pipe section to which theextendable sleeve 12 is attached in order to extend or retract thesleeve 12 from engagement with a cooperating pipe section 11, as needed. One form of actuating means is provided by arack 20 which is fixedly secured, as by welding, to the outer surface of the tubularslidable sleeve 12. Mounted on thepipe section 10 in operative engagement with therack 20 is a suitable gear means such as apinion 21 having adrive shaft 22 extending outwardly therefrom for engagement with any suitable form of prime mover means, such for example as a power wrench. Thus, in rotating theshaft 22 andpinion 21, therack 20 and thesleeve 12 attached thereto is moved in one direction or the other. While a rack and pinion arrangement has been illustrated, it is to be understood that a worm gear or lead screw or any other suitable type of actuating means may be employed just as readily. While thesleeve 12 may be mounted directly on the outside of thepipe section 10, it is preferably enclosed in ahousing cylinder 23 which surrounds the end 1011 of thepipe section 10 in a manner so as to be spaced therefrom to form theannular space 24 into which thesleeve 12 may be retracted. As shown in FIGURE 2, thecylindrical housing 23 is provided with alongitudinal slot 25 of a length sufficient to receive therack 20 therein when thesleeve 12 is in its retracted position.

In using the pipe coupling of the present invention it may be seen that after the twopipe sections 10 and 11 are positioned in axial register one with the other, a wrench is connected to theshaft 22 of thepinion 21 which is then rotated so as to drive therack 20 and thesleeve 12 to an extended position with theseals 14 on the inner surface of thesleeve 12 forming a fluidtight seal against the sealingsurface 13 of the pipe section 11.

Referring to FIGURE 3 of the drawing, anunderwater wellhead 26 is diagrammatically shown as being positioned on theocean floor 27, the upper end of theproduction wellhead 26 being closed by suitable closure means 28. Abracket 30 may be fixedly secured at its lower end to thewellhead 26 while its outer end is provided with aU-shaped saddle 31 in which an underwater pipe line section 11 may rest. If desired, the sides of theU-shaped saddle 31 may slope upwardly and inwardly thus serving as aligning means for a pair of sloping flanges or guide means fixedly secured to the outer surface of the pipe 11, as by welding. With the pipe 11 in thesaddle 31 in theflanges 32 and 33 on opposite sides of thesaddle 31, it is known that the end of the pipe line 11 is in fixed space relationship and axial alignment with thepipe section 10, as shown in FIGURE 1. With the twopipe sections 10 and 11 arranged in this manner, suitable means may be employed to operate the gear mechanism of the present pipeline coupling so as to extend theslidable sleeve 12 outwardly to engage the end of the pipeline 11 in a fiuidtight manner, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. One suitable form of apparatus for accomplishing this operation is described and illustrated in U.S. Patent 3,099,316 which is directed to an underwater manipulator' device having a power wrench thereon for carrying 4 out operations of this type underwater. The manipulator device is provided with suitable means for lowering through the water as well as propulsion means for moving it through the water to a predetermined position on or adjacent a wellhead or other underwater installation.

While a pipe line connector of the present invention has been described hereinabove as being normally fixedly mounted on the Wellhead 26 (FIGURE 3), it is to be understood that in many cases.it may be preferred to mount the coupling device on the section of flow line 11 which is to be installed and connected to theunderwater wellhead 26. Thus, any time the underwater pipe line 11 has to be replaced, the power actuated coupling carried at the end of the line could be inspected, repaired and new seals installed, if necessary, before being used on a new section of pipe line to be lowered to the ocean floor.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pipe connector carried at one end of a pipe section and adapted to be extended axially to connect to a second pipe section, said pipe connector comprising:

an outer concentrically mounted tubular sleeve sealingly carried outwardly at the end of said pipe sec-" tion and slidably mounted for limited axial movement to a position extending beyond the normal end of said pipe section, said pipe section end having an axially-extending slot therein,

a first gear carried outwardly on said sliding tubular sleeve, said first gear comprising a rack fixedly secured to and arranged longitudinally of said sleeve and slidable insaid pipe section slot to thereby restrain said sleeve to axial movement,

a second gear carried near the end of said pipe section in engagement with said first gear, said second gear including a pinion fixedly mounted on said pipe section and in rotatable engagement with said rack, and

drive shaft means operatively connected to one of said gears and extending outwardly therefrom for engagement with means for actuating said one gear to move said sliding tubular sleeve axially, the outer end of said sleeve being adapted to sealingly mate telescopically with the terminal end of a second pipe.

2. The pipe connector of claim 1 including seal means carried on the surface of said tubular sleeve near the outer end thereof for sealing against a cooperating sealing surface near one end of a second pipe section.

3. The pipe connector of claim 1 including sleeve stop means formed on said pipe section near the end thereof and engageable with a portion of said sleeve for limiting the axial movement of said sleeve.

4. The pipe connector of claim 1 wherein said pipe section is provided with a longitudinal annular recess extending in from one end and being of a size to contain said sleeve therein with a wall portion of said pipe section extending axially on the inside and on the outside of said sleeve.

References ited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 430,721 6/1890 Winkler 285309 581,936 5/1897 Kester 285364 X 1 2,180,720 11/1939 Kaedle 285-320 2,593,491 4/1952 Saunders 285-31 X 3,053,553. 9/1962 Browning 28531 3,174,806 3/1965 Barber 285-31 X.

CARL W. TOMLIN, Primary Examiner.

S. R. MILLER, D. W. AROLA, Assistant Examiners.

Claims (1)

1. A PIPE CONNECTOR CARRIED AT ONE END OF A PIPE SECTION AND ADAPTED TO BE EXTENDED AXIALLY TO CONNECT TO A SECOND PIPE SECTION, SAID PIPE CONNECTOR COMPRISING: AN OUTER CONCENTRICALLY MOUNTED TUBULAR SLEEVE SEALINGLY CARRIED OUTWARDLY AT THE END OF SAID PIPE SECTION AND SLIDABLY MOUNTED FOR LIMITED AXIAL MOVEMENT TO A POSITION EXTENDING BEYOND THE NORMAL END OF SAID PIPE SECTION, SAID PIPE SECTION END HAVING AN AXIALLY-EXTENDING SLOT THEREIN, A FIRST GEAR CARRIED OUTWARDLY ON SAID SLIDING TUBULAR SLEEVE, SAID FIRST GEAR COMPRISING A RACK FIXEDLY SECURED TO AND ARRANGED LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID SLEEVE AND SLIDABLE IN SAID PIPE SECTION SLOT TO THEREBY RESTRAIN SAID SLEEVE TO AXIAL MOVEMENT, A SECOND GEAR CARRIED NEAR THE END OF SAID PIPE SECTION IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FIRST GEAR, SAID SECOND GEAR INCLUDING A PINION FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON SAID PIPE SECTION AND IN ROTATABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RACK, AND DRIVE SHAFT MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID GEARS AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID ONE GEAR TO MOVE SAID SLIDING TUBULAR SLEEVE AXIALLY, THE OUTER END OF SAID SLEEVE BEING ADAPTED TO SEALINGLY MATE TELESCOPICALLY WITH THE TERMINAL END OF A SECOND PIPE.

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