Wells – Above ground apparatus – Moving tubing or cable into an existing well
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-03
2001-08-14
Suchfield, George (Department: 3672)
Wells
Above ground apparatus
Moving tubing or cable into an existing well
C166S085500, C242S397200, C242S403000, C280S656000, C280S789000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273188
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to coiled tubing for injection and removal from a well bore, and more particularly to a trailer mounted coiled tubing unit or rig. The coiled tubing unit includes a coiled tubing reel, gooseneck, and injector mounted on a mast for movement between an upright operable position and a stored position on the trailer for transport without removal of the elements of the coiled tubing unit.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Heretofore, coiled tubing has been wound on a reel and pushed into a bore hole by an injector head after the coiled tubing has traveled over a gooseneck between the reel and the injector head. The injector head is normally suspended from the end of a boom which may be extended or retracted and movable in a horizontal direction such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,081 dated May 2, 1995. In some instances, the injector head has been mounted for vertical movement along a mast. However, the injector head and mast have not been easily stored for transport at a minimum height on a transport platform, such as a trailer.
For an over the road vehicle such as a trailer, a maximum height of about 13½ feet cannot be exceeded and be within existing height limitations. Thus, in some instances, the separate elements of a coiled tubing unit are separated after being utilized in a downhole operation for storage and transport to another site. In some instances, more than one trailer may be utilized in the transport of certain elements of the coiled tubing unit. A typical coiled tubing unit for a trailer includes a coiled tubing reel, a gooseneck, an injector head, and a foldable mast mounted on the trailer. Coiled tubing reels are provided with different diameters depending primarily on the length and size of coiled tubing wound on the reel and a trailer should be capable of carrying coiled tubing reels of various diameters. Heretofore, the coiled tubing reels have normally been mounted on the upper surface of a trailer deck or platform for transport. The mast is normally carried by the trailer at a location above the reel.
It is an object of this invention to provide a trailer mounted coiled tubing rig or unit which in a stored position for over the road transport has a minimal height for meeting existing height limitation for over the road travel.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a trailer mounted coiled tubing rig or unit which is foldable between an upright operating position and a retracted stored position for over the road transport without the removal of elements of the coiled tubing rig.
Another object is to provide such a trailer having a well between front and rear wheels of the trailer to receive a coiled tubing reel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A trailer mounted coiled tubing unit or rig typically consists of a coiled tubing reel, an injector head, a gooseneck for directing the coiled tubing between the tubing reel and an injector head, and a mast on which the injector head is mounted. The trailer of the present invention is particularly designed for mounting of the coiled tubing unit or rig in a stored position for transport by the trailer at a height under 13½ feet. The rig is easily moved from the transport position to an upright position for injecting and removing coiled tubing from a borehole. The compact coiled tubing unit is moved in a minimum of time between an operable upright position and an inoperable stored position without the removal of any elements of coiled tubing unit.
The specially designed trailer has a pair of parallel side frames or webs extending the length of the trailer and including a dropped center section between front and rear wheels of the trailer defining a well extending substantially below the upper surface of the wheels supporting the trailer. A generally vertical strut or support extends upwardly from each side frame at the well and the coiled tubing reel is mounted for rotation within the well on the struts.
The mast includes a pair of parallel posts connected by cross members and mounted for pivotal movement adjacent an end of the trailer. A trolley or carriage is mounted on the posts for movement along the posts and the injector head is pivotally carried by a horizontal support extending between the carriage members on the posts. The injector head is hinged to the carriage members for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and is movable horizontally along the horizontal support between the carriage members. The gooseneck also has a pair of hinges for pivoting of gooseneck sections. For movement to a stored position, the carriage members carrying the injector head are moved to a lowered portion along the posts and the posts are folded downwardly onto the side frames of the trailer alongside the ends of the coiled tubing reel with the injector head adjacent the reel. The upper surface of the injector head and the upper surface of a levelwind mechanism for winding of the coiled tubing onto the reel project slightly above the upper surface of the reel to define the uppermost surfaces for a compact stored coiled tubing unit of a height above the roadway surface less than 13½ feet without the removal of any elements of the unitized coiled tubing unit.
Application Ser. No. 09/409,113 relating to a levelwind mechanism for winding of coiled tubing is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3658270 (1972-04-01), Slator et al.
patent: 4249600 (1981-02-01), Bailey
patent: 4553590 (1985-11-01), Phillips
patent: 4673035 (1987-06-01), Gipson
patent: 4945938 (1990-08-01), Ponsford et al.
patent: 5660235 (1997-08-01), Sola
patent: 5765643 (1998-06-01), Shaaban et al.
patent: 5839514 (1998-11-01), Gipson
patent: 5937943 (1999-08-01), Butler
patent: 6003598 (1999-12-01), Andreychuk
Flowers Joseph K.
McCafferty Terry L.
Shampine Rod W.
Welch Larry D.
Wilson Matthew E.
Mitchell Thomas O.
Nava Robin C.
Schlather Stephen
Schlumberger Technology Corporation
Suchfield George
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