DEVICE FOR HANDLING LONG ELEMENTS SUCH AS PIPES OR DRILLING PIPES

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for handling long elements. It is in particular adapted for the extraction or positioning of drilling pipes or pipes. It comprises an upper frame (10) carried by a machine (1) capable of raising this upper frame and connected by a power take-off to the machine (1). An intermediate frame (20) is mounted on the upper frame (10) so that this intermediate frame (20) can perform a movement of inclination with respect to the upper frame (10). The intermediate frame (20) supports in its turn a lower frame (30) capable of performing a longitudinal movement with respect to the intermediate frame (20), and the lower frame (30) is provided with grips (40) capable of lifting said long elements and of holding them. The power take-off is preferably a hydraulic power take-off and the mobile machine is a machine of the wheeled loader, bulldozer, forklift truck or crane type.

Description: DEVICE FOR HANDLING LONG ELEMENTS SUCH AS PIPES OR DRILLING PIPES Subject of the invention The present invention relates to a device for handling long elements such as pipes or drilling pipes. This device is adapted to be carried by a mobile machine of the type of the civil engineering machines generally used on sites and is designed so as broadly to facilitate the work of drilling and/or positioning of pipes in drilling operations. Technological background of the invention In order to position pipes of any category, for example in town under the public highway or for the execution of civil engineering works, it is usual to open a trench into which said pipes are set, after which the trench is filled in. Many cases exist where this procedure is not possible particularly for dimensional reasons or for reasons of unacceptable traffic disturbance or for reasons of the dangers of landslip resulting from earthworks. It is usual in this case to drill below the ground level by fitting, as the drilling operation progresses, successively a section of drilling pipe or of pipe connected to the preceding section. Generally, this connection is performed by screwing, each section being provided at one end with a male thread and at the other end with a female thread. Existing drilling machines, of course, must at least at the start of the drilling cause the pipe to enter the ground at an angle (slope) with respect to the horizontal, for example in order to pass under a road or a canal. Consequently, if it is desired to connect a new section of drilling pipe or of pipe to the preceding section, which has arrived at the end of the travel of a drilling or pipe laying stage, it is necessary to present the new section at the same angle and along the same axis as the preceding section. Furthermore, this new section must be capable of performing, in this angular position, a movement of longitudinal displacement along the same axis in order to be connected to the preceding section. Similarly, if it is desired to perform the reverse operation and to extract the various sections of drilling pipe or of pipe, a similar angular position and the same movement of longitudinal displacement must be respected. At the present time, on sites, the successive sections of pipes in particular are lifted with the help of a crane. To the latter, the pipe is hooked at the middle of its length, and the crane operator, with the assistance of a second operator, brings the pipe to be connected as near as possible to , the required slope. This is performed by pivoting the crane and by bringing the end of the new pipe to be connected to the rear end of the preceding pipe, and the connection is attempted. It should be noted that by pivoting of the crane alone it is not possible to ensure longitudinal movement of the inclined pipe along its axis. The crane operator must therefore simultaneously permit a downward movement of the pipe and, with the assistance of the second operator, he guides as far as possible the new pipe to be connected to the preceding pipe. It will be understood that this operation is long and complicated and involves a number of risks of breakage, of misconnection with destruction of the threads and even of dangers to the operator assisting the crane driver. From Patent US-4,834,604 (Brittain) the use is also known, on drilled wells, of a device permitting the longitudinal displacement along its axis of a pipe held by a single point of support, at the end of a fixed crane. However, such a device does not permit the holding and connection of pipes in a position of determined and controlled inclination. The Patent Applications EP-A-0,345,650 (Bauer Spezialtiefbau, GmbH), DE-A-3,608,511 (Schmidt, Kranz & Co., GmbH) and AT-A-382,428 (Vor≤pann-Technik, GmbH) describe mountings fitted onto mobile drilling machines and supporting slides permitting the insertion of pipes into drilled holes. In all of these devices, there are no independent controls for the taking and the gripping of the objects to be handled, for the inclination of the latter and for the longitudinal displacement of the latter at the determined angle of inclination which is required. Moreover, such machines are limited in their drilling work by the fixed stock of the objects to be handled which they can transport. This procedure does not permit the "handling" of tubes of great length. Objectives of the present invention The present invention aims to avoid the dis¬ advantages mentioned and to provide a simple device requiring only a single operator for the putting in place of tubular and other objects which may be as long as 1 to 10 m at an angle of inclination with respect to the horizontal. The device is preferably designed so as to fit civil engineering machines usually present on sites. Characteristic elements of the device of the invention The device for handling long elements, in particular for the extraction and positioning of drilling pipes and of pipes, is essentially constituted by an upper frame, adapted to be carried by a mobile machine capable of raising this upper frame, which frame is connected by a power take-off to the machine, and is characterised in that an intermediate frame is mounted under the upper frame so that the intermediate frame can perform a movement of inclination with respect to the upper frame, whereas the intermediate frame supporting in its turn a lower frame capable of performing a longi¬ tudinal movement with respect to the intermediate frame and the lower frame is provided with at least one grip capable of lifting said long elements and of holding them. Advantageously, the power take-off is a hydraulic power take-off and jacks ensure the following movements: - inclination of the intermediate frame and of the lower frame which it supports with respect to the upper frame; - longitudinal displacement of the lower frame with respect to the intermediate frame; and - movement of opening and of closing the grip or grips. The mobile machine is preferably a civil engineering machine of the wheeled loader, bulldozer or forklift truck type or any machine with lifting equip¬ ment. The blade or the loading hopper which are usually fixed onto the mobile machine by a rapid mounting device are replaced by the device according to the invention. The movements which the device according to the invention performs, namely the movement of inclination and the longitudinal movement, are performed along an axis perpendicular to the plane of the two attachment points of the rapid mounting device. The additional movements which are performed by the rapid mounting device (to which is usually fixed the blade or the loading hopper) may be utilised if so wished. The mobile machine may equally be a crane which comprises at the end of its jib an assembly which permits a rotation, on a substantially vertical axis, and to which the device of the invention is fixed. The device according to the invention may comprise improvements or accessories such as electrical protection of the hydraulic control valves, end-of-travel switches or stops preventing dangerous operation or the exceeding of stable equilibrium positions, etc. Other details and characteristics of the invention will become apparent upon reading of the following detailed description. This description is given by way of illustration of a form of embodiment of the invention and must not be considered as limiting the latter. Brief description of the drawings In the drawings : - Figure 1 is a diagrammatic head-on view of the device which shows the movement of inclination of the intermediate frame with respect to the upper frame; - Figure 2 is a head-on view of the device which shows the movement of longitudinal displacement of the lower frame with respect to the intermediate frame; - Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the gripping movement; - Figure 4 is a more detailed head-on view of the device according to the invention; - Figure 5 is a detail (surrounded by the circle "C") in Figure 4; - Figure 6 is a view on line A-A of Figure 4 (plan view) ; - Figure 7 is a section on line B-B of Figure 4; - - FFiigguurree 88 is a side elevation showing diagrammatically a mobile machine carrying the device of the invention; and - Figure 9 is a head-on diagrammatic view of a variant embodiment of the device of the invention. Descripton of a preferred embodiment of the invention Identical reference numbers are used in the various figures for identical or similar elements. The device according to the invention is carried by a machine 1, of the wheeled loading hopper or bulldozer type, the blade or the loading hopper of which has been replaced by a device according to the invention which has received the general reference 3. The device comprises essentially three frames, an upper frame 10, an intermediate frame 20 and a lower frame 30. The upper frame is controlled in similar manner to a loading hopper in that it can perform a movement of inclination and of raising. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the intermediate frame 20 is connected to the upper frame 10 by a pivot point 15. The inclination is preferably controlled by means of a hydraulic jack 25. Provision can be made, as shown, for the jack 25 to be optionally movable from the position shown in solid lines to the position shown (as 25') in broken lines. It is also possible to control (provided that sufficient space and travel of the jack are available) an inclination from the position of the lower frame 20 in solid lines to the position (20') in broken lines using a single jack. The second movement is a longitudinal movement of the lower frame from the position in solid lines 30 to the position in broken lines 30' or vice versa (see Figure 2) . This movement is rendered possible, in the form of embodiment shown, by rollers (not shown in Figure 2) . The intermediate frame may for example be constituted by two longitudinal I-sections connected by spacers. The lower frame 30 is suspended by these rollers which rest and move on the frame 20. A hydraulic j ck 33 housed in the intermediate frame 20 performs the movement of the lower frame from the position shown as 30 to the position 30'. The lower frame 30 bears at least one grip and, in a particularly advantageous manner, two grips each arranged towards an end of the lower frame 30. These grips must be capable, under the effect of a hydraulic control, of gripping the pipes and of holding them between the jaws of the grip. Consequently, it is advisable for the jaws to be first of all of a shape adapted to the long elements (pipes) to be handled. This may imply that the grips or at least their jaws are removable and that several types are available adapted to the shape (generally circular but sometimes square) and to the dimension of the long element, generally a pipe. It should however be noted that the organisation of a site implies that the pipes which have successively to be connected and put in place are arranged on the ground or on a similar surface (for example a rack of a store) . It is consequently advantageous for a jaw to be of rounded shape (in the shape of approximately a quarter circle for example) so that the machine operator can, by moving the machine towards the pipe arranged on the ground or another surface, insert the jaw under the pipe to be lifted and raised, in the manner in which he is accustomed to load the pipe with a loading hopper, by imparting to it a movement of tilting towards the machine. Simultaneously or successively, the other jaw, which may be of complementary shape (for example a semi¬ circle) or of different shape, can then hold the pipe thus disengaged from the neighbouring pipes resting on the ground or on another surface. Figure 3 shows a grip 40 constituted by a jaw 41 in the form of a quarter circle and by a jaw 43 function¬ ing under the effect of a jack 45 in order to grip a pipe 39. In practice, the machine 1 is brought to face the pipes arranged usually on the ground. The operator slides the jaw 41, imparting a backward tilting movement to the upper frame 10, under the closest pipe and lifts the latter. The jaw 43 performs a movement from the position shown in solid lines to that shown in broken lines 43' . The machine then moves and brings the pipe close to the drilling machine. The upper frame 10 is raised by the machine by a sufficient height, the pivoting of the intermediate frame 20 with respect to the upper frame 10 brings the pipe to a suitable angle and the pipe is put into place by displacement of the frame 30 with respect to the frame 20 along the longitudinal direction of the pipe 39. It should be noted that it is thus possible to bring the pipe accurately by a longitudinal movement at a precise and constant angle to the end of the preceding pipe to which it must be connected. An electro-hydraulic locking by means of an electrovalve of the various successive positions of the movement is desirable, in particular in order to ensure safety. It is for example essential to lock the gripping of the pipe between the jaws before inclining the intermediate frame. Constructional details of the invention are shown in Figures 4 to 7. The principles already described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 are not recapitulated. It should be noted that in these figures certain elements are not strictly identical to those shown in the diagrammatic Figures 1 to 3. Moreover, certain elements (for example the jack 25 - which in any case is not shown in Figure 2 either) do not reappear in Figure 4 for reasons of clarity. As shown in particular in Figures 3 and 7, the upper frame 10 is constituted by a flat or standard section bar 101 attached by fixing means 102, 102' to the carrying machine. A beam 103 fixed onto the element 101, thus making a crosspiece of it, supports two triangular elements 104 and 104' . At the lower end of these triangular elements are pivot points (15 and 15') supporting the intermediate frame 30. The latter is constituted essentially by two I-sections (31 and 31') connected by spacers 32. The lower frame 30 is suspended from the frame 20 by two short beams 35 integral with the lower frame 30 and comprising at their upper ends rollers 37 rolling the lower and upper flange of the I-section 31 and 31'. In order to ensure stability, rollers of vertical axis 38 arranged externally with respect to the I-sections 31 and 31' act on the webs of these I-sections. The longitudinal relative displacement of the lower frame with respect to the intermediate frame is ensured, as indicated above, by a jack 33. Other means may however be used. Recourse to a lubricated sliding of the lower frame 30 with respect to the intermediate frame is in particular possible. Similarly, it can be envisaged that a telescopic frame housed in the intermediate frame 20 be substituted for the frame termed "lower" 30. The same applies to many other constituent elements of the device of the invention. The essential is to ensure jointly in a device the functions of : - capability of angular inclination of the device carrying the element to be handled, - longitudinal displacement while maintaining the angular inclination of the device carrying the element to be handled, - gripping of the element to be handled in simple manner while ensuring the holding of the latter. In Figure 8, a wheeled loader 1 is shown. It comprises a rapid mounting device 2 habitually used for a loading hopper or a blade and replaced by the device carrying the reference 3 (see Figure 3). The latter is mounted by its fixing means 102, 102' to the rapid mounting device 2. The usual movements of the rapid mounting device 2, namely the raising or the lowering (indicated by the reference 4) and the tilting (indicated by the reference 5), remain possible, in addition to the move¬ ments indicated in Figures 1 (inclination) and 2 (longitudinal movement) . According to a variant embodiment of the invention, the mobile machine may equally consist of a crane which comprises at the end of its jib an assembly 70, shown in Figure 9, and which permits a rotation, on a substantially vertical axis 80, of the device of the invention.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Device for handling long elements, particularly for the extraction and positioning of drilling pipes and of pipes comprising an upper frame (10), adapted to be carried by a mobile machine (1) capable of raising this upper frame (10), which frame is connected by a power take-off to the machine (1), characterised in that an intermediate frame (20) is mounted on the upper frame (10) so that the intermediate frame (20) can perform a movement of inclination with respect to the upper frame (10), whereas the intermediate frame (20) supports in its turn a lower frame (30) capable of performing a longi¬ tudinal movement with respect to the intermediate frame (20), and the lower frame (30) is provided with at least one grip (40) capable of lifting said long elements and of holding them. 2. Device according to Claim 1 characterised in that the power take-off is a hydraulic power take-off. 3. Device according to Claim 1 or 2 characterised in that jacks (25, 33, 45) ensure the following move¬ ments : - inclination of the intermediate frame (20) and of the lower frame (30) which it supports with respect to the upper frame (10) ; - longitudinal displacement of the lower frame (30) with respect to the intermediate frame (20); and - movement of opening and of closing of the grip or grips (40). 4. Device according to any of Claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the mobile machine (1) is a civil engineering machine of the wheeled loader, bulldozer or forklift truck type or a machine with lifting equipment. 5. Device according to any of Claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the mobile machine (1) is a crane which comprises at the end of its jib an assembly (70) which permits a rotation on a substantially vertical axis (80). 6. Device according to any of Claims 1 to 5 characterised in that it comprises an electro-hydraulic locking by means of electrovalves of the relative movements of the intermediate frame (20) with respect to the upper frame (10), of the lower frame (30) with respect to the intermediate frame (20) and of the gripping movement of the grip (40).

Inventors: FRANCO ERIC, FRANCO WALTER, FRANCO, ERIC, FRANCO, WALTER
Applicants: FRANCO GERARD & ZONEN B V B A, FRANCO GERARD & ZONEN B.V.B.A.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: E21B19
IPC codes: E21B19