Device for transmitting data and / or power

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for transmitting data and / or power from a rotating part, for example a drive shaft (3) of a top drive (2), to a non-rotating part, for example the top drive (2) of a drilling rig, a drilling system for horizontal drilling, or a cleanout winch, said device comprising an annular rotary coupling (14) which has a first ring (15) and a second ring (16) to which cables and / or wireless data transmission devices for transmitting data and / or power are connected. One of the two rings (15, 16) is connected to the rotating part and the other of the two rings (15, 16) is connected to the non-rotating part. Transmission means for transmitting data and / or power from one ring (15) to the other ring (16) are provided on the rings (15, 16). The rotary coupling (14) is provided with a clamping device (22) which securely connects the rotary coupling (14) to the rotating part.

Description

[0001] DEVICE FOR DATA AND POWER TRANSMISSION

[0002] The invention relates to a device for data and / or power transmission from a rotating part, for example a drive shaft of a power rotary head, to a non-rotating part, for example the power rotary head of a drilling rig, a drilling rig for horizontal drilling or a treatment winch.

[0003] The invention further relates to a drive train of a drilling rig, a drilling rig for horizontal drilling or a treatment winch with a power rotary head and a rotating drive shaft on which an annular rotary coupling for transmitting data and / or power from a non-rotating part to the drive shaft is mounted.

[0004] Drilling rigs and drilling towers are used, for example, to drill for oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, or water. Such drilling rigs and drilling rigs for horizontal drilling (HDD - "Horizontal Directional Drilling") usually have a tower on which a power rotary head (also known as a "top drive") is mounted on a carriage on a vertical guide of the tower. The drill rod is mounted on this power rotary head, with the drill head or drill bit at its lower end. The drill rod consists of a large number of drill pipes, with further drill pipes being screwed onto the upper end of the drill pipe as the depth of the borehole increases. The topmost drill pipe is screwed to a drive shaft of the power rotary head. Drive motors in the power rotary head drive the drive shaft, which in turn drives the drill rod with the drill head to rotate.

[0005] To mount or screw an additional drill pipe onto the drive shaft, a device commonly referred to as a "pipe handler" is used. This device is attached to an adapter on the power rotary head and can be pivoted out of the axis of rotation relative to the power rotary head and rotated about the axis of rotation. The pipe handler grips an additional drill pipe to be screwed onto the drill rod, brings it to the drive shaft, holds it during mounting or screwing to the drive shaft and, if necessary, also rotates it relative to the power rotary head. When dismantling a drill pipe, the process is similar but in reverse order using the pipe handler.

[0006] Workover rigs are used for maintenance work on existing conveyor systems, for example, to carry out maintenance or repairs. They can also have a fixed and a rotating part, between which data and / or power transmission should be possible.

[0007] The device according to the invention can therefore be used not only in drilling rigs, but also in treatment winches or similar devices, without this requiring further special mention, even if the following description only refers to drilling rigs.

[0008] A key element in modern oil, natural gas, and geothermal drilling is data acquisition during the drilling process. Furthermore, it is a great advantage if electrical loads in the pipe system can be controlled and continuously supplied with power via the drill rod.

[0009] One possibility of establishing a galvanic connection between the individual drill pipes, which on the one hand enables data transmission and control and on the other hand a high-performance power supply, is known from WO 2010 / 141969 A. However, efficient power and / or data transmission requires that the pipe system is also galvanically or inductively connected to the corresponding system devices or controls of the drilling rig on the surface. In order to enable data transmission and / or power supply from and into the borehole via a cabled pipe system, a device (rotary coupling) known for example from WO 2021 / 213798 A1 is required, via which data transmission can take place during the rotation of the pipe system, for example a drill string or a production tubing string, and on the other hand consumers can be supplied with power underground.This rotary joint is installed in the pipe handler area. Data is transmitted from the wired pipe system to the rotating part of the rotary joint, and from there via the non-rotating part and a cable to the drilling rig's control system. It is also possible to transmit data wirelessly from the rotary joint to the control system. The electrical energy is transmitted to the pipe system or its consumers, and their control, in the opposite direction.

[0010] In the prior art, the rotary joint is mounted on the power rotary head in the area of ​​the pipe handler. This can either be done on an adapter as described in WO 2021 / 213798 A1, or a coupling piece with the rotary joint is installed in the drive shaft in the area of ​​the pipe handler. This, however, requires an extension of the drill rod in the area of ​​the upper drive and corresponding modifications to the pipe handler. These modifications lead to a less stable arrangement of the upper drive system, changed drilling sequences and more complex logistics for the provision and handling of the pipes, which results in higher operating costs. In particular, the subsequent installation of a rotary joint is disadvantageous, with a long installation time and a corresponding downtime of the system and the associated costs.

[0011] The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a simple possibility for mounting the rotary coupling.

[0012] This object is achieved with a device having the features of claim 1 and with a drive train having the features of claim 8.

[0013] Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0014] According to the invention, a clamping device is arranged on the rotary coupling, which firmly connects the rotary coupling to the rotating part. Using the clamping device according to the invention, the rotary coupling can be clamped at any location on the output of the power rotary head, for example, on the drive shaft ("drill star") of the power rotary head for the pipe string, thus allowing for very simple and quick assembly.

[0015] If a blowout preventer is arranged on the drive shaft of the power rotary head, one possible assembly option according to the invention is to clamp the clamping device directly onto the blowout preventer.

[0016] A further inventive possibility for fastening the clamping device consists in clamping it to a coupling and wearing part (“Saver Sub”), which can also be regarded as a component of the drive shaft after assembly. This Saver Sub is screwed onto the lower end of the drive shaft of the power rotary head. If the pipe string is lengthened or shortened by a drill pipe, the thread of the Saver Sub is used and not that on the drive shaft. This means that the connection between the drive shaft of the power rotary head and the Saver Sub is only rarely used (e.g. when replacing the Saver Sub) and is only subject to minimal wear, whereas the connection between the Saver Sub and the drill pipes is used in almost all cases and is subject to the greatest wear.

[0017] The different locations where the rotary joint can be clamped to the drive shaft have different outer diameters. The blowout preventers that can be used can also have different outer diameters.

[0018] According to the invention, the clamping device is therefore easily interchangeably mounted on the rotary joint, the simplest, although not the only possible, form of mounting being for the clamping device to be screwed onto the rotary joint. This makes it possible to suffice with a single standard size of rotary joint, which is technically more complex and selected to be suitable for most, preferably all, common mounting locations, and only the technically simpler clamping device needs to be adapted to the different diameters.

[0019] It is therefore particularly preferred in the invention if two or more clamping devices, which are preferably constructed essentially the same and have different inner diameters, are present or kept ready, of which the respective suitable clamping device is then screwed onto the rotary coupling.

[0020] In principle, however, it is also possible with the invention that, although preferably only one standard size of a rotary coupling is used, clamping devices with a different design are provided in order to be able to adapt the rotary coupling to installation locations with different geometric or structural designs.

[0021] In a simple and therefore preferred embodiment of the invention , the clamping device is attached directly to the ring which is connected to the rotating part because this represents a very simple constructive solution .

[0022] Since the rotating parts to which the rotary coupling can be mounted generally have a circular outer diameter, it is further preferred in the invention that the rotary coupling has a first inner diameter, that the clamping device has a second inner diameter when clamped, and that the second inner diameter is smaller than the first inner diameter. In this way, deviations in the outer diameter of the rotating part to which the rotary coupling is to be mounted can be compensated for in a simple manner and there remains a sufficiently large amount of play to tighten the clamping device and fasten it to the rotating part. It is also possible to use one and the same clamping device for rotating parts to which the rotary coupling is to be mounted whose outer diameters do not differ too greatly from one another.

[0023] A further possibility according to the invention for taking account of deviations in the outer diameter or generally of non-circular or profiled outer surfaces of the rotating part to which the rotary coupling is to be mounted is that the clamping device has radially inward-pointing projections with contact surfaces with which it rests on the rotating part and which - in the case of contact surfaces lying on a circle - define the second inner diameter. A particularly simple and effective construction of the clamping device consists in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention in that the clamping device has two preferably semicircular clamping ring halves which are clamped against one another by means of screws during assembly on the rotating part to which the rotary coupling is to be mounted.

[0024] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which does not limit the scope of protection, with reference to the accompanying drawings. It shows:

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a possible embodiment of a power rotary head of a drilling rig on which a device according to the invention is arranged,

[0026] Fig. 2 shows a detail of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale,

[0027] Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of a clamping ring according to the invention, and

[0028] Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of a rotary coupling without a clamping ring from below.

[0029] Fig. 1 shows a typical drive train of a drilling rig, an HDD drilling rig or a treatment winch, which has a power rotary head (“top drive”) 2 which can be moved up and down on a guide 1 of the drilling rig and which drives a drive shaft (“drill star”) 3. Below the power rotary head 2 there is mounted a so-called “pipe handler” 4, i.e. a device for handling drill pipes 5, the drive shaft 3 passes through the pipe handler 4 and does not rotate it. The pipe handler 4 ensures that the drill pipes 5 are fed from an intermediate storage area to the drive shaft 3 and that the drill pipes 5 are removed into an intermediate storage area and has rod-shaped links 6 and a gripper 7. The pipe handler 4 is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the drive train and has a drive (usually a hydraulic cylinder) 8 for pivoting the links 6.

[0030] A so-called "saver sub" 9, which serves as a wearing part for screwing on the drill pipes 5, can be screwed onto the lower end of the drive shaft 3 of the power rotating head 2. By means of a screwing device ("torque wrench") 10, the drill pipes 5 are screwed onto the saver sub 9 with a defined torque. Furthermore, a blowout preventer (if necessary an upper inner blowout preventer 11 and a lower inner blowout preventer 12) can be arranged on the drive shaft 3, which serves to close the hollow drive shaft 3 in the event of a blowout. The above-mentioned components can, but do not have to, be present on the drive shaft 3.

[0031] To ensure data transmission from and into the borehole and, if necessary, a power supply to consumers in the borehole, the drill pipes are cabled and have a coupling at both ends, as described, for example, in WO 2010 / 141969 A. However, the invention is not limited to such a coupling, but can also have other forms of coupling, in particular inductive couplings.

[0032] The cable connection leads from the upper end 13 of the uppermost drill pipe 5 via such a coupling into the saver sub 9 (if present) and into the rotating drive shaft 3. From there, the connection must be continued to essentially stationary, i.e., non-rotating, system components, for which purpose a rotary coupling 14 is arranged on the drive shaft 3.

[0033] The rotary coupling 14 has a first ring 15 and a second ring 16. The first ring 15 is connected to the rotating drive shaft 3 and rotates with it. The second ring 16 does not rotate and is connected, for example, via chains or rods to the pipe handler 4 or the power rotary head 2. In the embodiment shown, two cables 17 lead from the first ring 15 into the drive shaft 3 and in this to the saver sub 9 and the drill pipe 5. The cables 17 lead via connecting devices 18 into the first ring 15 and to galvanic or inductive transmission means or contact arrangements arranged there.

[0034] The second ring 16, which is mounted so that it cannot rotate or can only rotate slightly relative to the system, also has a connecting device 19, via which a cable 21, which is connected to electrical surface equipment, is connected to the second ring 16 and to the galvanic or inductive counter-contacts in the rotary coupling 14. Instead of a cable 21, a wireless data transmission device could also be used. However, if power is also to be fed into the borehole for consumers, a cable connection is of course necessary.

[0035] Within the scope of this invention, no special requirements are placed on the design of the rotary joint 14, except that it must comply with the safety requirements applicable to drilling and production systems. Accordingly, the rotary joint can be designed as a slip ring known per se and suitable for this purpose, or as a device known from WO 2021 / 213798 A1.

[0036] The essential aspect of the device according to the invention, in contrast, lies in how the rotary coupling 14 is connected to the drive shaft 3 or to rotating parts arranged thereon. According to the invention, a clamping device 22 is arranged on the rotary coupling 14 for this purpose, which clamping device 22 firmly connects the rotating part of the rotary coupling 14 to the drive shaft or to a rotating component arranged thereon. The rotary coupling 14 has a first inner diameter Dl which is larger than the outer diameter of the rotating component to which the rotary coupling 14 is to be fastened. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, the rotary coupling 14 is mounted on the lower blowout preventer 12. The inner diameter Dl is therefore larger than the outer diameter of the blowout preventer 12.

[0037] The clamping device 22 consists, in the embodiment shown in particular in Fig. 3, of two approximately semicircular clamping ring halves 23 which can be pulled and tensioned against each other by means of clamping screws 24 which are guided through bores in projections 25.

[0038] Radially inwardly pointing projections with contact surfaces 26 are arranged on the clamping ring halves 23, with which they can rest on the rotating part, e.g. the blowout preventer 12, and define a second, inner diameter D2, which is variable depending on how far the clamping screws 24 are tightened.

[0039] Furthermore, holes 27 are provided in the clamping ring halves 23, through which screws 28 are passed, which are fastened to the first ring 15. The holes have a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the screws 28.

[0040] When the clamping screws 24 are tightened, the clamping ring halves 23 can move radially inward due to the play between the bores 27 and the screws 28 in order to be clamped onto the blowout preventer 12, while the inner diameter Dl of the rotary coupling 14 is so large that a gap remains between it and the outer circumference of the blowout preventer 12. After the clamping device 22 has been clamped onto the blowout preventer 12, the nuts 29 of the screws 28 are tightened and the clamping device 22 is firmly connected to the rotary coupling 14.

[0041] If interchangeable clamping devices 22 with different inner diameters D2 are kept ready, it is possible to attach only one rotary coupling 14 with a single, standardized size to rotating parts with relatively widely different outer diameters, whereby the manufacturing and storage costs of the technically more complex rotary coupling 14 can be kept low.

Claims

Claims:

1. Device for data and / or power transmission from a rotating part, for example a drive shaft (3) of a power rotary head (2), to a non-rotating part, for example the power rotary head (2) of a drilling rig, a drilling rig for horizontal drilling or a treatment winch, with an annular rotary coupling (14) having a first ring (15) and a second ring (16), to which cables and / or wireless data transmission devices for data and / or power transmission are connected, wherein one of the two rings (15, 16) is connected to the rotating part and the other of the two rings (15, 16) is connected to the non-rotating part, and wherein transmission means for transmitting the data and / or power from one ring (15) to the other ring (16) are arranged on the rings (15, 16), characterized in that a clamping device (22) is arranged on the rotary coupling (14), which clamping device firmly connects the rotary coupling (14) to the rotating part connects.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping device (22) is replaceably screwed to the rotary coupling (14).

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized by two or more clamping devices (22) which have different inner diameters (D2), and of which only one clamping device (22) is screwed to the rotary coupling (14).

4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the clamping device (22) is directly the ring (15) which is connected to the rotating part.

5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the rotary coupling (14) has a first inner diameter (Dl), that the clamping device (22) has a second inner diameter (D2) in the clamped state, and that the second inner diameter (D2) is smaller than the first inner diameter (Dl).

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the clamping device (22) has radially inwardly pointing projections with contact surfaces (26) with which it rests on the rotating part and which define the second inner diameter (D2).

7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the clamping device (22) has two preferably semicircular clamping ring halves (23) which are clamped against each other by means of screws (24).

8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that bores (27) are provided in the clamping ring halves (23), through which screws (28) are guided, which are fastened to the first ring (15), and that the bores (27) have a diameter which is larger than the diameter of the screws (28).

9. Drive train of a drilling rig, a drilling rig for horizontal drilling or a treatment winch with a power rotary head (2) and a rotating drive shaft (3) on which an annular rotary coupling (14) for transmitting data and / or power from a non-rotating part to the drive shaft (3) is mounted, characterized in that the drive train comprises a device according to one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Drive train according to claim 9, characterized in that the clamping device (22) is clamped to the drive shaft (3) of the power rotary head (2), in particular a saver sub (9) of the drive shaft (3).

11. Drive train according to claim 9, characterized in that a blowout preventer, in particular a lower inner blowout preventer (12), is arranged on the drive shaft (3) of the power rotary head (2), and that the clamping device (22) is clamped to the blowout preventer (11).

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