AUTOMATED CAROUSEL DRILL PIPE STORING AND HANDLING SYSTEM AND METHOD
A portable drilling rig including a carousel housing several drill pipe sections used in drilling oil, gas, or other wells into the earth. The carousel indexes the drill pipe sections as a mast raises and lowers a kelly, rotated by a top head. The kelly temporarily attaches to a stored drill pipe section and lowers it into the earth where the drill pipe section is connected to an existing drill string. This entire process is automated so that no human interaction with the actual drill pipe section is necessary. The entire carousel rig may be loaded onto a truck bed or other transportation device to be delivered to a site where drilling is to occur.
1 . A drill pipe storing and handling apparatus comprising:
a hydraulically powered drill pipe carousel including a top face, a bottom face, and a plurality of spaced stations around said carousel for housing a plurality of drill pipe sections of varying length and width;
said drill pipe sections comprising a shaft, a male-threaded distal end, and a female-threaded proximal end;
a mast, including a top end and a bottom end, extending through the center of said drill pipe carousel, said bottom end affixed to the bottom face of said carousel;
a top head attached to the top end of said mast;
a drill pipe section (kelly) permanently attached to said top head; and
said top head being adapted for accepting a drill pipe section from said carousel and providing rotation to said drill pipe section, so as to fit the male-threaded distal end of said drill pipe section into the female-threaded proximal end of an existing drill string.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a vehicle;
a mounting bracket located on said vehicle;
said mounting bracket adapted for holding said drill pipe carousel in place on the vehicle;
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein said vehicle is a flatbed truck of sufficient length to allow the drill pipe carousel to lay lengthwise on the truck bed.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising;
a hydraulic lift connected to said drill pipe carousel; and
said hydraulic lift adapted for raising said drill pipe carousel from a laying position lengthwise on said truck bed to a vertical position extending over the end of said truck bed.