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US-12618297-B2 - Racking board systems and methods

US12618297B2US 12618297 B2US12618297 B2US 12618297B2US-12618297-B2

Abstract

A drilling rig assembly and methods of assembling a drilling rig are described. The drilling rig assembly can include a mast, a traveling assembly coupled to the mast, and a racking board configured to be removably coupled to the traveling assembly and removably coupled to the mast.

Inventors

  • Andrew ROSE
  • Michael Brzezniak
  • Patrick L. Gustafson
  • Todd Ryan Woods
  • Rick E. Barrett
  • Christopher Alan Major
  • Dean Boyaci

Assignees

  • HELMERICH & PAYNE, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20240523

Claims (17)

  1. 1 . A drilling rig assembly, comprising: a mast; a traveling assembly coupled to the mast, the traveling assembly includes a dolly movably coupled to the mast, wherein the dolly is removably coupled to the travelling assembly, wherein the dolly is coupled to a top drive and configured to be lifted up and down a length of the mast with the top drive such that the dolly and the top drive are substantially within the mast; and a racking board configured to be removably coupled to the traveling assembly and removably coupled to the mast, wherein the racking board is configured to removably couple to the dolly such that upon raising the racking board to a specified height, the racking board is decoupled from the dolly and the dolly can be returned to a rig floor to be removed from the travelling assembly, wherein the dolly is removably pinned to the racking board.
  2. 2 . The drilling rig assembly of claim 1 , wherein the dolly comprises a pair of movable arms coupled to the mast.
  3. 3 . The drilling rig assembly of claim 1 , wherein the dolly is coupled to a top drive and configured to be lifted up and down a length of the mast.
  4. 4 . The drilling rig assembly of claim 2 , wherein the dolly comprises a cross beam extending between the pair of movable arms.
  5. 5 . The drilling rig assembly of claim 1 , further comprising one or more fastener systems for removably coupling the racking board to the mast.
  6. 6 . The drilling rig assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of fastener systems for removably coupling the racking board to the mast at a plurality of heights on the mast, wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of fastener systems is located at a different height on the mast.
  7. 7 . The drilling rig assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a control system for controlling movement of the travelling assembly.
  8. 8 . The drilling rig assembly of claim 7 , wherein the control system is configured to automatically cease movement of the travelling assembly when the racking board has reached a specified position.
  9. 9 . A method of assembling a drilling rig assembly, comprising: raising a mast; removably coupling a racking board to a traveling assembly proximate a floor of a drilling rig, wherein the traveling assembly is movably coupled to the raised mast, the travelling assembly comprising a dolly coupled to a top drive and configured to movably couple to the mast and removably couple to the racking board such that the dolly and the top drive are substantially within the mast; aligning the racking board with the travelling assembly; removably pinning the racking board to the dolly; raising the dolly to a specified height; removably coupling the racking board to the raised mast at the specified height; and decoupling the racking board from the travelling assembly by decoupling the racking board from the dolly.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein a control system controls movement of the travelling assembly.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the control system comprises a computer system programmed to automatically stop movement of the racking board once it has reached the specified height.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the racking board is removably coupled to the raised mast with one or more fastener systems.
  13. 13 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: adjusting the raised racking board to a second specified height via the travelling assembly.
  14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the adjusting of the raised racking board comprises: coupling the raised racking board to the travelling assembly; and decoupling the raised racking board from the mast.
  15. 15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the adjusting of the raised racking board further comprises: moving the raised racking board from the specified height to the second specified height; coupling the raised racking board to the mast at the second specified height; and decoupling the raised racking board from the travelling assembly.
  16. 16 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: replacing the raised racking board.
  17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the replacing comprises: lowering the raised racking board with the travelling assembly; decoupling the lowered racking board from the travelling assembly; coupling a new racking board to the travelling assembly; and raising the new racking board to the specified height.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This present application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisional patent application Nos. 63/503,900 filed May 23, 2023 titled “Removable Racking Board Systems And Methods”; 63/516,365 filed Jul. 28, 2023 titled “Detachable Diving Board For Drilling Rig”; 63/519,773 filed Aug. 15, 2023 titled “Detachable Diving Board For Drilling Rig”; and 63/516,387 filed Jul. 28, 2023 titled “Methods Of Using A Detachable Diving Board”, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE There is a demand for improving the efficiency of drilling operations and drilling rig assemblies. Such efficiencies allow wells to be drilled faster, cheaper, and with less impact on the environment. One means of improving drilling efficiency may include increasing the amount of time a drilling rig assembly is actively drilling for oil in a given day, such as by reducing the time required to install a drilling rig and related equipment at a drilling rig site and get everything ready for commencing drilling operations (sometimes referred to as “rigging up”). However, the process of mobilizing a drilling rig assembly (e.g., assembling the rig before drilling begins and taking down the drilling rig assembly once the well has been drilled) may take up a considerable amount of time. Accordingly, a need exists to minimize the drilling rig assembly mobilization time. In addition, in some situations it may be helpful to minimize the size of the pieces of the drilling rig that need to be transported to and from a drilling rig site. In addition, drilling efficiency may be improved by reducing the amount of time a drilling rig is paused from drilling operations due to equipment repairs or changes that may be for example, but not limited to, repairs or changes related to diving boards and/or racking boards. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A further understanding of the nature and advantages of various embodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label. FIG. 1A depicts a drilling rig assembly that includes a racking board coupled to a mast in a lowered position, according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 1B depicts the drilling rig assembly of FIG. 1A with the racking board coupled with mast, in a raised position. FIG. 1C depicts the drilling rig assembly with a diving board decoupled from the racking board, according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 2A depicts a racking board with a diving board coupled thereto according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 2B depicts a partial view of the coupling between the diving board and a portion of the racking board of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C depicts a partial view of the diving board and a portion of the racking board of FIG. 2A detached from each other. FIG. 3 depicts a dolly used in some embodiments of the present disclosure coupled to a mast. FIG. 4A depicts an isometric view of a diving board according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 4B depicts a side view of the diving board of FIG. 4A. FIG. 5 depicts a side view of a drilling rig assembly according to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 6 depicts a non-limiting exemplary method of using a racking board, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 depicts another non-limiting exemplary method of raising and coupling the detachable diving board to a racking board, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE During typical drilling operations, multiple drill pipes are usually coupled together to form stands and the stands are added to a drill string located in the wellbore as drilling occurs. The drill pipes (or stands) may be stored vertically when not being actively utilized. For example, stands may be coupled together and racked before being added to the drill string. In addition, during tripping out, stands removed from the drill string as it is raised out of the wellbore may be racked. By racking the stands (or pipe) close to the wellbore, the time needed to move them to be coupled to the drill string can be minimized, thus allowing the well to be drilled faster. Typically, a drilling rig includes a racking board coupled to a mast to hold the pipes or stands. However, ensuring that the racking board is set to an appropriate height to hold the pipes may be challenging. For example, where the racking board is coupled to the mast prior to the mast being raised, such as by a fixed