Patent ID: 8240968

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a rack having a plurality of storage rows suitable for storing drill pipe therein; a moveable structure adjacent a first end of the rack, wherein the moveable structure travels along a guide to be positioned adjacent the first end of any of the storage rows; a control support pivotally and rotationally coupled to an upper portion of the moveable structure, the control support comprising an extension arm comprising a drill pipe capture device, and an extension actuator structured to extend the extension arm; a lifting device coupled to a bottom portion of the moveable structure, the lifting device comprising a lifting actuator structured to raise a stack of drill pipe positioned in one of the storage rows; wherein the extension actuator and the lifting actuator comprise hydraulic actuators engaging scissor bars; and a controller, comprising: a position determination module structured to interpret a control support state comprising positions of the control support; a position recording module structured to record a position description comprising a first position of the control support and a second position of the control support; a position request module structured to interpret a position request signal; and a position control module structured to command actuators to return the control support to one of the first position and the second position in response to the position request signal.