Patent ID: 11891864
Assignee: NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO, L.P.
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC E  B | IPC B  E

Claim 0:
1. A lift arm for handling a drilling pipe, the lift arm comprising:
a boom secured to a mast of a drilling rig at a pivotable coupling, arranged at a first end of the boom, and at a location above a racking board of the drilling rig, the boom extending laterally, relative to the mast, from the first end to a second end;
a pipe engaging element coupled to the boom at the second end and configured to engage with a box end of the drilling pipe; and
a lift line configured to raise and lower the pipe engaging element along the mast to lift and carry the drilling pipe;
wherein the pivotable coupling is configured to allow the boom to pivot about a vertical axis generally parallel to the mast;
wherein the boom is configured to pivotally swing the second end about the pivotable coupling while carrying the drilling pipe between a position at well center and a position in a setback area.