Gear and rack type L-T cantilever beam sliding system

Abstract

The invention discloses a gear and rack type L-T cantilever beam sliding system, and relates to the technical field of offshore self-elevating drilling platforms, the gear and rack type L-T cantilever beam sliding system comprises a lower guide assembly, an upper guide assembly and a sliding device, and the lower guide assembly is installed on a main deck; the upper guide assembly is mounted on the cantilever beam; the upper portion and the lower portion of the sliding device are matched with the upper guiding assembly and the lower guiding assembly correspondingly. The sliding device is provided with an upper sliding mechanism corresponding to the upper guide assembly, the sliding device is provided with a lower sliding mechanism corresponding to the lower guide assembly, each of the upper sliding mechanism and the lower sliding mechanism comprises a driving assembly and a transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanisms adopt a gear-rack transmission mode; the device has the beneficial effects that longitudinal and transverse continuous sliding and precise fine adjustment of the cantilever beam are achieved, and a wellhead area is fully covered; gear and rack meshing transmission improves sliding stability, a lubricating device reduces friction resistance, and a limiting block and a brake guarantee operation safety; the motor can be adopted for direct driving, cost and maintenance amount are reduced, the structure is compact, and overhaul is convenient.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of offshore jack-up drilling platforms, and in particular to a rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system. Background Art

[0002] After arriving at a drilling location, the offshore drilling platform needs to stand on piles and lift the ship to carry out drilling operations. Usually, drilling operations need to be carried out at multiple wellheads at one drilling location. The cantilever beam is set above the main hull deck, and the drilling platform is set away from the main hull deck and above the cantilever beam. In addition, during operation, the cantilever beam and the drilling platform are required to slide longitudinally and transversely to cover multiple pre-designed wellhead positions, that is, the overlapping area of ​​the cantilever beam and the drilling platform after sliding needs to cover multiple wellheads.

[0003] Conventional offshore drilling platforms achieve wellhead coverage by sliding the cantilever beam and drill floor separately. After the platform is hoisted, the main hull deck is fixed, and the first sliding drive system pushes the cantilever beam module to slide transversely (port and starboard) after the previous row of wellheads is drilled. This means that after drilling the first row of wellheads, the platform moves to the second row of wellheads to continue drilling. The second sliding drive system pushes the drill floor above the cantilever beam to slide longitudinally (fore and aft of the main hull deck) to cover all wellhead positions in each row and facilitate drilling. Later-built integrated sliding systems are mostly step-by-step (i.e., driven by hydraulic cylinders), which cannot continuously slide and fine-tune to fully cover the wellhead area. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system in order to solve the above problems.

[0005] The present invention achieves the above-mentioned purpose through the following technical solutions:

[0006] A rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system, comprising:

[0007] a lower guide assembly, which is installed on the main deck and is used for guiding the cantilever beam in longitudinal movement;

[0008] an upper guide assembly, mounted on the cantilever beam and used for guiding the cantilever beam in lateral movement; and

[0009] A sliding device, the upper and lower parts of which are respectively adapted to the lower guide assembly and the upper guide assembly;

[0010] Among them, the sliding device is provided with an upper sliding mechanism corresponding to the upper guide assembly, and the sliding device is provided with a lower sliding mechanism corresponding to the lower guide assembly. The upper sliding mechanism and the lower sliding mechanism each include at least one driving assembly and at least one transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism adopts a gear rack transmission method.

[0011] Preferably: the sliding device includes a sliding box, and the upper and lower ends of the sliding box are respectively provided with an upper mounting frame and a lower mounting frame, the upper mounting frame is provided with an upper guide groove adapted to the upper guide assembly, and the lower mounting frame is provided with a lower guide groove adapted to the lower guide assembly.

[0012] Preferably, the driving assembly includes a driving motor and a brake adapted to the driving motor.

[0013] Preferably: the transmission mechanism of the upper sliding mechanism includes an upper output gear installed on the upper mounting frame and an upper rack on the upper guide assembly, the upper output gear and the upper rack are meshed with each other, and the core shaft of the upper output gear passes through the upper mounting frame and is driven by the drive motor to drive the upper transmission box to rotate.

[0014] Preferably: the transmission mechanism of the lower sliding mechanism includes a lower output gear installed on the lower mounting frame and a lower rack on the lower guide assembly, the lower output gear and the lower rack are meshed, and the core shaft of the lower output gear passes through the lower mounting frame and is driven by the driving motor to drive the lower transmission box to rotate.

[0015] Preferably: the upper guide assembly includes an upper guide plate fixedly mounted on the cantilever beam, and the upper guide plate slides in the upper guide groove; the starting and ending positions of the upper guide plate are both provided with limit blocks for preventing the sliding device from sliding away; at least one upper rack is provided on the upper guide plate.

[0016] Preferably: the lower guide assembly includes a lower guide plate fixedly mounted on the main deck, and the lower guide plate slides in the lower guide groove; the starting and ending positions of the lower guide plate are both provided with limit blocks for preventing the sliding device from sliding away; at least one lower rack is provided on the lower guide plate.

[0017] Preferably, lubrication devices are provided in both the upper guide groove and the lower guide groove.

[0018] Preferably: the upper sliding mechanism has two drive components and two transmission mechanisms, one drive component and one transmission mechanism form a group, which are divided into two groups and respectively arranged on both sides of the upper end of the sliding box; the transmission mechanism includes an upper output gear and an upper transmission box that drives it to rotate.

[0019] Preferably: the driving assembly and transmission mechanism of the lower sliding mechanism are two each, one driving assembly and one transmission mechanism form a group, which are divided into two groups and respectively arranged on both sides of the lower end of the sliding box; the transmission mechanism includes a lower output gear and a lower transmission box that drives it to rotate.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] 1. The use of rack and pinion transmission enables continuous longitudinal and lateral sliding of the cantilever beam compared to the traditional step-by-step (hydraulic cylinder driven) sliding system, fully covering the wellhead area. Combined with the drive assembly consisting of a drive motor and brake, and the regulation of the control system, precise fine-tuning of the cantilever beam and the drilling platform can be achieved to meet the operational requirements of multiple wellhead locations.

[0022] 2. The meshing transmission between the gear and the rack has high transmission accuracy and stability, reducing shaking and deviation during the sliding process; the upper and lower sliding mechanisms can be equipped with multiple transmission mechanisms according to needs (for example, four transmission mechanisms are used for positioning at four corners in Example 2), which enhances the meshing stability between the output gear and the rack and makes the movement smoother;

[0023] 3. Lubrication devices (such as lubrication grooves) are provided in the upper and lower guide grooves. After injecting grease, the friction resistance during the transmission process can be effectively reduced, the wear of components can be reduced, and the service life of the system can be extended. The mounting frame of the sliding device and the sliding box are detachably connected or welded, with a compact structure, small space occupation, and easy installation and maintenance.

[0024] 4. Limit blocks are provided at the starting and ending positions of the upper and lower guide plates to prevent the sliding device from slipping and provide safety protection. A brake is provided on the transmission mechanism to quickly stop the transmission mechanism and accurately position the sliding device at the predetermined position, thus improving operation safety.

[0025] 5. If a variable frequency motor drive is used, the hydraulic system can be completely eliminated, reducing the costs and complicated maintenance work associated with the hydraulic system; the drilling platform, cantilever beam, drive motor, etc. in the system mostly use universal standard parts, whose structure and principles are mature, and are easy to purchase, replace and maintain. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 It is a schematic layout diagram (front view) of a rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the layout of a rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to the present invention (top view, excluding the drilling platform and cantilever beam).

[0029] Figure 3It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of Example 1 of a rack and pinion type LT cantilever beam sliding system described in the present invention.

[0030] Figure 4 It is a schematic three-dimensional structural diagram from another perspective of Example 1 of a rack and pinion type LT cantilever beam sliding system described in the present invention.

[0031] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of Example 2 of a rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system described in the present invention.

[0032] The following are the descriptions of the reference numerals:

[0033] 1. Drilling platform; 2. Cantilever beam; 21. Upper rack; 22. Upper guide plate; 3. Main deck; 31. Lower rack; 32. Lower guide plate; 4. Slide device; 40. Slide box; 41. Upper mounting frame; 42. Lower mounting frame; 43. Upper guide groove; 44. Lower guide groove; 45. Upper transmission box; 46. Lower transmission box; 47. Upper output gear; 48. Lower output gear; 49. Drive motor; 4A. Brake. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, features defined as "first", "second", etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0035] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected" and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be internal communication between two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood based on specific circumstances.

[0036] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0037] Example 1

[0038] like Figure 1-Figure 4 As shown, a rack and pinion type LT cantilever beam sliding system includes a lower guide assembly, an upper guide assembly and a sliding device 4. The lower guide assembly is installed on the main deck 3 and is used to guide the cantilever beam 2 in longitudinal movement; the upper guide assembly is installed on the cantilever beam 2 and is used to guide the cantilever beam 2 in lateral movement; the sliding device 4 is respectively adapted to the upper guide assembly and the lower guide assembly above and below; the sliding device 4 is provided with an upper sliding mechanism corresponding to the upper guide assembly, and the sliding device 4 is provided with a lower sliding mechanism corresponding to the lower guide assembly. Both the upper sliding mechanism and the lower sliding mechanism include two drive assemblies and two transmission mechanisms, and the transmission mechanism adopts a rack and pinion transmission method.

[0039] The upper guide assembly includes an upper guide plate 22 fixedly mounted on the cantilever beam 2, and the upper guide plate 22 is stuck in the upper guide groove 43 and slides; the upper guide plate 22 is provided with limit blocks at the starting and ending positions to prevent the sliding device 4 from sliding away; an upper rack 21 is fixedly mounted on the upper guide plate 22; the lower guide assembly includes a lower guide plate 32 fixedly mounted on the main deck 3, and the upper guide plate 22 is stuck in the upper guide groove 43 and slides; the upper guide plate 22 is provided with limit blocks at the starting and ending positions to prevent the sliding device 4 from sliding away; a lower rack 31 is fixedly mounted on the lower guide plate 32.

[0040] The sliding device 4 includes a sliding box 40, and an upper mounting frame 41 and a lower mounting frame 42 are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the sliding box 40. The upper mounting frame 41 is provided with an upper guide groove 43 adapted to the upper guide plate 22, and the lower mounting frame 42 is provided with a lower guide groove 44 adapted to the lower guide plate 32; a lubrication device is provided in both the upper guide groove 43 and the lower guide groove 44, and the lubrication device includes a lubrication groove, which can reduce the resistance during the transmission process after injecting grease.

[0041] The drive assembly includes a drive motor 49 and a brake 4A adapted for the drive motor 49; the brake 4A is used for emergency braking of the drive motor 49, so that the sliding device 4 can be accurately positioned at a predetermined position; the drive motor 49 and the brake 4A are connected to a control system, which controls the start and stop of the drive motor 49 and the braking and release of the brake 4A to realize the start and stop of the sliding device 4, thereby controlling the fine-tuning control and safety of the entire cantilever beam 2 and the drilling platform 1 on the cantilever beam 2.

[0042] The transmission mechanism of the upper sliding mechanism includes an upper output gear 47 mounted on the upper mounting frame 41 and an upper rack 21 on the upper guide assembly. The upper output gear 47 and the upper rack 21 are meshed with each other. The core shaft of the upper output gear 47 passes through the upper mounting frame 41 and is driven to rotate by the driving assembly.

[0043] The transmission mechanism of the downward sliding mechanism includes a lower output gear 48 mounted on the lower mounting frame 42 and a lower rack 31 on the lower guide assembly. The lower output gear 48 and the lower rack 31 are engaged with each other, and the core shaft of the lower output gear 48 passes through the lower mounting frame 42 and is driven to rotate by the driving assembly.

[0044] The upper sliding mechanism has two drive components and two transmission mechanisms, one drive component and one transmission mechanism as a group, which are divided into two groups and respectively arranged on both sides of the upper end of the sliding box 40; the transmission mechanism of the upper sliding mechanism includes an upper output gear 47 and an upper transmission box 45 that drives it to rotate; the upper transmission box 45 is a parallel shaft reducer, a planetary reducer or a universal planetary reducer, which has the characteristics of compact structure, small space occupation and light weight.

[0045] The lower sliding mechanism has two drive components and two transmission mechanisms, one drive component and one transmission mechanism forming a group, which are divided into two groups and respectively arranged on both sides of the upper end of the sliding box 40; the transmission mechanism of the lower sliding mechanism includes a lower output gear 48 and a lower transmission box 46 that drives it to rotate; the lower transmission box 46 is a parallel shaft reducer, a planetary reducer or a universal planetary reducer, which has the characteristics of compact structure, small space occupation and light weight.

[0046] Working Principle: During operation, an external power supply activates the two drive motors 49 of the lower sliding mechanism. This drives the lower output gears 48 of the two transmission mechanisms of the sliding mechanism through the lower transmission box 46. The lower output gears 48 mesh with the lower rack 31, pushing the sliding box 40 relative to the lower guide plate 32. Since the lower guide plate 32 is fixed to the main deck 3, the sliding box 40 moves longitudinally along the lower guide plate 32, thereby achieving continuous longitudinal sliding of the cantilever beam. The two drive motors 49 of the upper sliding mechanism are activated, driving the upper output gears 47 of the two transmission mechanisms of the upper sliding mechanism through the upper transmission box 45. The upper output gears 47 mesh with the upper rack 21, pushing the upper guide plate 22 to slide within the upper guide slot 43, driving the cantilever beam, thereby achieving continuous lateral sliding of the cantilever beam. When two or more output gears simultaneously engage the same rack, the torque sensor within the gearbox provides feedback on the load, allowing the load to be balanced through the control system. If fine-tuning is required, the position of the drilling rig can be fine-tuned by jogging the drive motors 49.

[0047] Example 2

[0048] The difference between this embodiment and embodiment 1 is that: Figure 4 As shown, there are two upper racks 21 and two lower racks 31, four driving components and four transmission mechanisms of the upper sliding mechanism, and four driving components and four transmission mechanisms of the lower sliding mechanism.

[0049] The two upper racks 21 are located on both sides of the upper guide plate 22 in the longitudinal direction. The upper racks 21 and the upper guide plate 22 are an integrated structure. The four transmission mechanisms of the upper sliding mechanism are grouped in pairs and arranged on both sides of the sliding box 40 in the transverse direction, and the two transmission mechanisms on the same side are arranged on both sides of the longitudinal direction of the upper guide plate 22; each transmission mechanism is correspondingly installed with a drive assembly, and the drive motor 49 of the drive assembly is a hydraulic motor. The output shaft of the drive motor 49 is coaxially connected to the core shaft of the upper output gear 47, and a brake 4A is installed on the drive motor 49.

[0050] The two lower racks 31 are located on both sides of the longitudinal direction of the lower guide plate 32. The upper rack 21 and the upper guide plate 22 are an integrated structure. The four transmission mechanisms of the lower sliding mechanism are grouped in twos and arranged on both sides of the lateral direction of the sliding box 40, and the two transmission mechanisms on the same side are arranged on both sides of the longitudinal direction of the lower guide plate 32; each transmission mechanism is correspondingly installed with a drive assembly, and the drive motor 49 of the drive assembly is a hydraulic motor. The output shaft of the drive motor 49 is coaxially connected to the core shaft of the lower output gear 48, and a brake 4A is installed on the drive motor 49.

[0051] The four transmission mechanisms of the upper sliding mechanism and the lower sliding mechanism are distributed in four corners, and the stability of the sliding mechanism is further improved by the four output gears engaging with the corresponding racks at the same time.

[0052] The drilling floor 1, cantilever beam 2, main deck 3, skid box 40, drive motor 49 and brake 4A are all universal standard parts or parts known to those skilled in the art. Their structures and principles can be known to those skilled in the art from technical manuals or through conventional experimental methods, so they are not described in detail here.

[0053] The basic principles, main features and advantages of the present invention are shown and described above. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The above embodiments and descriptions are only for explaining the principles of the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the present invention may be subject to various changes and improvements, and these changes and improvements shall fall within the scope of the invention claimed for protection.

Claims

1. A rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system, characterized by: include: A lower guide assembly, which is installed on the main deck (3) and is used to guide the cantilever beam (2) in longitudinal movement; An upper guide assembly, which is mounted on the cantilever beam (2) and is used to guide the cantilever beam (2) in lateral movement; as well as A sliding device (4), the upper and lower parts of which are respectively adapted to the upper guide assembly and the lower guide assembly; The sliding device (4) is provided with an upper sliding mechanism corresponding to the upper guide assembly, and the sliding device (4) is provided with a lower sliding mechanism corresponding to the lower guide assembly. Both the upper sliding mechanism and the lower sliding mechanism include at least one driving assembly and at least one transmission mechanism, and the transmission mechanism adopts a rack and pinion transmission method.

2. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sliding device (4) comprises a sliding box (40), wherein an upper mounting frame (41) and a lower mounting frame (42) are respectively provided at the upper and lower ends of the sliding box (40), an upper guide groove (43) adapted to the upper guide assembly is provided on the upper mounting frame (41), and a lower guide groove (44) adapted to the lower guide assembly is provided on the lower mounting frame (42).

3. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The driving assembly comprises a driving motor (49) and a brake (4A) adapted to the driving motor (49).

4. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The transmission mechanism of the upper sliding mechanism comprises an upper output gear (47) mounted on the upper mounting frame (41) and an upper rack (21) on the upper guide assembly. The upper output gear (47) and the upper rack (21) are meshed with each other. The core shaft of the upper output gear (47) passes through the upper mounting frame (41) and is driven by a driving motor (49) to drive an upper transmission box (45) to rotate.

5. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 3, characterized in that: The transmission mechanism of the lower sliding mechanism includes a lower output gear (48) mounted on the lower mounting frame (42) and a lower rack (31) on the lower guide assembly. The lower output gear (48) and the lower rack (31) are meshed with each other. The core shaft of the lower output gear (48) passes through the lower mounting frame (42) and is driven by a driving motor (49) to drive the lower transmission box (46) to rotate.

6. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The upper guide assembly comprises an upper guide plate (22) fixedly mounted on the cantilever beam (2), wherein the upper guide plate (22) is clamped and slides in the upper guide groove (43); the upper guide plate (22) is provided with a limit block at the starting and ending positions for preventing the sliding device (4) from sliding off; and at least one upper rack (21) is provided on the upper guide plate (22).

7. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The lower guide assembly comprises a lower guide plate (32) fixedly mounted on the main deck (3), wherein the lower guide plate (32) is clamped and slides in the lower guide groove (44); the starting and ending positions of the lower guide plate (32) are both provided with limit blocks for preventing the sliding device (4) from sliding off; and at least one lower rack (31) is provided on the lower guide plate (32).

8. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 2, characterized in that: Lubricating devices are provided in both the upper guide groove (43) and the lower guide groove (44).

9. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The upper sliding mechanism has two drive components and two transmission mechanisms, one drive component and one transmission mechanism forming a group, which are divided into two groups and respectively arranged on both sides of the upper end of the sliding box (40); the transmission mechanism includes an upper output gear (47) and an upper transmission box (45) that drives the upper output gear to rotate.

10. The rack and pinion LT cantilever beam sliding system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The driving assembly and transmission mechanism of the lower sliding mechanism are both two, one driving assembly and one transmission mechanism forming a group, which are divided into two groups and respectively arranged on both sides of the lower end of the sliding box (40); the transmission mechanism includes a lower output gear (48) and a lower transmission box (46) that drives the lower output gear to rotate.

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