Abstract:
A wrench including an elongated body with a pair of primary socket members attached to the opposed ends thereof. Each of the primary socket members has a driven socket for holding and turning a nut. A sliding sleeve is slidably and rotatably positioned on the body. A retaining arm extends outwardly from the sliding sleeve and carries an extensible backup assembly. The backup assembly has a support bracket releasably secured to the retaining arm and carrier bracket suspended from the support bracket by at least one spring. The carrier bracket has a threaded aperture with which a threaded rod is engaged. A secondary socket member is attached to the threaded rod and has a backup socket for holding a nut in axial alignment with one in the driven socket.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to tools and, more particularly, to bolt holders. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Removing the oversized, threaded fasteners from the flanges found on wellheads in oilfield environments is especially difficult. Not only is the work backbreaking, often requiring that a sledgehammer be swung repeatedly at a specialized wrench to turn the fasteners, but it is dangerous since done in the presence of pressurized and highly flammable fluids. Unfortunately, many individuals have suffered physical injury performing this particular task. A need, therefore, presently exists for a tool that permits flange fasteners to be removed with ease and safety. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In light of the problems associated with the prior art, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a wrench for use in oilfield settings that will grip, say, nuts on opposite ends of a bolt and turn one of the nuts while holding the other motionless. The wrench works in conjunction with the hydraulic tongs on a workover rig. The tongs supply torque to the wrench to either tighten or loosen a selected nut or other threaded fastener. It is believed that such a wrench will save time and reduce injuries. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a wrench for the purposes described which is lightweight in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and dependable in use. 
     Briefly, the wrench in accordance with this invention achieves the intended objects by featuring an elongated body with a pair of drive dogs affixed to its opposed ends. A pair of primary socket members is releasably attached to the drive dogs for holding and turning a first nut. A pair of spaced-apart collars encircles the body and a sliding sleeve is slidably and rotatably positioned on the body therebetween. A retaining arm extends from the sliding sleeve and carries an extensible backup assembly. The backup assembly has a support bracket releasably secured to the retaining arm and a carrier bracket attached to the support bracket by means of a spring. The carrier bracket has a threaded aperture from which a threaded rod extends. A secondary socket member is attached to the threaded rod and has a pair of backup sockets for selectively holding a second nut in axial alignment with the first nut. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention may be more readily described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side view of a wrench in accordance with the present invention and with portions broken away to reveal details thereof shown holding a threaded fastener on a wellhead flange and being grasped by hydraulic tongs for rotation of the wrench. 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a front portion of the wrench taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a bottom portion of the wrench taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the accompanying drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the FIGS., a wrench in accordance with the present invention is shown at  10 . Wrench  10  includes an elongated body  12  carrying primary socket members  14  and  16  at its opposite ends for engaging threaded fasteners like nut  18  atop bolt  20 . Collars  22  and  24  are provided on body  12  adjacent socket members  14  and  16  for grasping by hydraulic tongs  26 . A sliding sleeve  28  is positioned on body  12  between collars  22  and  24 . A retaining arm  30  extends outwardly from sleeve  28  and releasably holds an extensible backup assembly  32  having at its bottom a secondary socket member  34  for engaging a nut  36  on the bottom of bolt  20 . When tongs  26  turn body  12 , nut  18  may be rapidly and easily unscrewed with socket member  34  serving as a backup to prevent rotation of bolt  20 . 
     Body  12  includes a piece of stiff, metallic pipe  38  about 50 inches (127 cm) long and 2.25 inches (5.7 cm) in diameter. Drive dogs  40  and  42  are welded to the opposite ends of pipe  38  and are adapted for snug yet releasable insertion into complementary drive sockets  44  and  46  in primary socket members  14  and  16 . About 6 inches (15 cm) from each end of pipe  38  collars  22  and  24 , measuring 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) in length and 2.875 inches (7.3 cm) in diameter, are welded in place for the reinforcement of pipe  38 . Welded to pipe  38  between collars  22  and  24  and about 25 inches (64 cm) apart is a pair of stop rings  48  and  50 . Each of the stop rings  48  and  50  measures about 0.375 inches (1 cm) in length and 2.875 inches (7.3 cm) in diameter and serves as an abutment for sliding sleeve  28 . 
     Primary socket members  14  and  16  include cylindrical bodies  52  and  54  having driven sockets  56  and  58  in their ends opposite those having drive sockets  44  and  46 . In the preferred embodiment, driven sockets  56  and  58  are hexagonal in outline and measure, respectively, 1.625 inches (4.1 cm) and 1.8125 inches (4.6 cm) across their flats. Of course, the configurations and dimensions of sockets  56  and  58  may be varied in accordance with need. 
     Sliding sleeve  28  travels freely on body  12  between stop rings  48  and  50 . Preferably, sleeve  28  is 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in length and has a 2.875-inch (7.3-cm) outer diameter. The inner diameter of sleeve  28  is larger than that of pipe  38  yet smaller than that of the stop rings  48  and  50 . 
     Retaining arm  30  is a metallic plate measuring about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) in length, 2 inches (5 cm) in width and 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) in thickness. Arm  30  is welded at its inner end to the side of sleeve  28 . In the outer end of arm  30  is provided a keyhole slot  60 . As shown, slot  60  has an outer portion  62  with a length and width of about 0.56 inches (1.4 cm) and a circular inner portion  64  with a diameter of 0.875 inches (2.2 cm). 
     Extensible backup assembly  34  includes a support bracket  66  for positioning atop retaining arm  30 . Suspended from support bracket  66  by a pair of springs  68  is a carrier bracket  70  having a threaded aperture  72  in its center. The upper end of a threaded rod  74  extends through aperture  72  and may be adjustably positioned therein. Onto the lower end of rod  74  is threaded the secondary socket member  34 . 
     Support bracket  66  is a metallic plate measuring about 3.25 inches (8.3 cm) in length, 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) in width and 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) in thickness. A principal opening  76  having a diameter of about 0.875 inches (2.2 cm) in diameter is provided in the center of bracket  66  and a pair of secondary openings  78  having diameters of 0.125 inch (0.32 cm) is provided on the opposite sides of opening  76 . A tubular guide sleeve  80  having an outer diameter of 0.875 inches (2.2 cm) and a length of 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) is pressed into opening  76  and welded in place so as to extend downwardly from bracket  66 . The inner diameter of guide sleeve  80  is sufficiently large so that rod  74  may pass freely through guide sleeve  80 . 
     Suspended from secondary openings  78  are eye bolts  82  or cotter pins (not shown) from the looped, lower ends of which springs  68  are suspended. Each spring  68  is about 5 inches (12.7 cm) in length and 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) in diameter in its unstretched state. When placed under a light tension as will be described below, springs  68  may elongate by several inches. 
     Carrier bracket  70  is a metal plate having substantially the same overall dimensions as support bracket  66 . Bracket  70  has a threaded aperture  72  with a diameter of 0.5625 inches (1.43 cm) at its center and a pair of secondary openings  84  having diameters of 0.125 inch (0.32 cm) is provided on the opposite sides of aperture  72 . In openings  84  are eye bolts  86  or other fasteners attaching bracket  70  to the bottoms of springs  68 . 
     Threaded rod  74  is 25 inches (64 cm) in length and 0.5625 inches (1.43 cm) in diameter. The upper end of rod  74  is threaded into aperture  72  of bracket  70 . In fact, when threaded into aperture  72  to a great enough extent, rod  74  penetrates principal opening  76  of bracket  66 . 
     Secondary socket member  34  is threaded onto the lower end of rod  74 . Socket member  34  includes an attachment portion  88  welded at right angles to the center of a backup portion  90 . Attachment portion  88  is a tube 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) long and 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter with a threaded interior passageway  92  0.5625 inches (1.43 cm) in diameter for threaded engagement with rod  74 . Backup portion  90 , however, is a plate measuring about 7.5 inches (19 cm) long, 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) wide and  1  inch (2.5 cm) thick. The opposite ends of backup portion  90  are provided with backup sockets  94  and  96  that may be selectively axially aligned with either socket  56  or socket  58 . Sockets  94  and  96  are hexagonal in outline and measure, respectively, 1.625 inches (4.1 cm) and 1.8125 inches (4.6 cm) across their flats. Like sockets  56  and  58 , the configurations and dimensions of sockets  94  and  96  may be varied. 
     Use of wrench  10  is straightforward. First, primary socket member  42  on one end of body  12  is positioned atop nut  18  joining wellhead pipe flanges  98  and  100  together. Then, support bracket  66  is set atop retaining arm  30  with guide sleeve  80  inserted within portion  64  of slot  60  to join extensible backup assembly  32  to body  12 . Next, secondary socket member  34  is pulled downwardly against the force of springs  68  to locate socket member  34  at the broken line position of FIG.  1 . Upon releasing socket member  34 , springs  68  will elevate such into abutment with the bottom of flange  100  thereby fixing nut  36  within socket  94  of backup portion  90 . Tongs  26  suspended from a conventional workover rig (not shown) are, now, engaged in the usual manner with collar  22  and caused to rotate body  12  counterclockwise to unscrew nut  18  from bolt  20 . Secondary socket member  34  prevents bolt  20  and nut  36  from turning with nut  18 . Thus, all threaded fasteners joining flanges  98  and  100  together can be removed quickly, safely, and with great ease. 
     It should be apparent that tightening a nut such as  18  is accomplished with equal ease. The steps outlined above are performed in the same manner. Tongs  26  are caused to rotate in the opposite direction. Should tongs  26  not be available, a pipe wrench or other torque generating tool may be applied to either of collars  22  or  24  to rotate body  12  with good results in turning nuts  18 . 
     If socket  58  were too large to grip nut  18 , body  12  may be inverted to engage socket  56  with nut  18 . Similarly, secondary socket member  34  can be rotated to bring socket  96  into engagement with nut  36  for a better fit. Thus, the two nut sizes most frequently encountered by a user can always be accommodated by wrench  10 . Substitutes for socket members  14 ,  16 , and  34  with sockets of less commonly used sizes can be carried separately in a toolbox and selectively attached to drive dogs  40  or  42  or rod  74  when needed. 
     While the invention has been described with a high degree of particularity, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto. For example, tabs may be provided to the underside of backup portion  90  to prevent threaded fasteners like nut—from falling through sockets  94  and  96  and onto the ground. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.