Top Drive Torque Restraint Quick-Release Hinge Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing top drive torque restraint systems on drilling rigs are inefficient and hazardous to remove from guide tracks for maintenance, requiring tools and posing safety risks due to the need for ladder-based operations.
Innovation Solution
A quick-release torque restraint device with a hinge and lock pin arrangement allows for manual, tool-free engagement and disengagement from guide tracks, utilizing a pair of lockable jaws with a pivot mechanism and interchangeable pins for secure attachment and detachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional torque restraint systems are used, then secure attachment to guide tracks is achieved, but removal requires tools and poses safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The torque restraint device employs a dynamic locking mechanism where a movable jaw can be positioned in either a locked position (secured by lock pin to guide track) or an unlocked position (pivotable away from guide track). This dynamic capability allows the system to transition between secure attachment and easy removal states, resolving the contradiction between reliable attachment and operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock pin acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the movable jaw and the guide track. When inserted, it provides secure mechanical engagement; when removed, it allows rapid disengagement. This intermediary component enables the system to achieve both secure attachment during operation and tool-free removal during maintenance.
2Reliability
If traditional torque restraint systems are used, then torque transfer prevention is achieved, but maintenance efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The torque restraint device is segmented into distinct functional components: a fixed jaw, a movable jaw, a hinge body, and a lock pin. This segmentation allows the maintenance operation to be simplified to merely removing the lock pin and pivoting the movable jaw, rather than disassembling the entire device. The segmented design maintains torque transfer prevention during operation while dramatically improving maintenance efficiency.
3Productivity
If quick-release mechanism is implemented, then maintenance efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge body merges the pivot connection function with the structural support function into a single integrated component. The movable jaw combines the torque restraint function with the quick-release capability through its dual-position design. This merging reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall device structure while maintaining the quick-release capability that improves maintenance efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A torque restraint device for connection to a top drive or to a travelling block of a drilling rig. The device is reversibly connectable to a guide track connected to a mast of the drilling rig. The device includes a main body supporting a pair of lockable jaws connected with a hinge body. The jaws are configured to form a closed and locked bracket for engaging the guide track and configured to pivot on the hinge body to provide an open bracket to facilitate disengagement of the device from the guide track. The hinge body forms a connection between at least one of the jaws and the main body.