The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 02, 2015
Filed:
May. 13, 2011
Dietmar J. Neidhardt, The Woodland, TX (US);
Kevin J. Nikiforuk, Cypress, TX (US);
Dietmar J. Neidhardt, The Woodland, TX (US);
Kevin J. Nikiforuk, Cypress, TX (US);
Other;
Abstract
A drilling rig having a top drive has a pipe gripper with a mandrel having an upper end for connection to and rotation with a drive string extending downward from the top drive. The pipe gripper has gripping elements that move radially into engagement with a string of pipe. A pull-down mechanism is mounted to the rig and secured to a non-rotating portion of the pipe gripper for exerting a downward force on the mandrel. A sensor is operatively coupled to the top drive to sense weight being supported by the top drive. A controller is linked to the sensor and the pull-down mechanism for controlling the downward force exerted on the mandrel by the pull-down mechanism in response to the weight sensed by the sensor.