US Patent 11486209 Robotic pipe handler systems

A tubular handling system can include a bridge disposed in a horizontal orientation above a horizontal storage area, a tubular lift system that can transport a tubular in a horizontal orientation between the horizontal storage area and an intermediate storage location, and a pipe handler, moveably coupled to the bridge, that can transport the tubular between the intermediate storage location and a rig floor. Also provided is a method for handling tubulars that can include operations of delivering or retrieving a tubular in a vertical orientation to or from a rig floor, transporting the tubular between the rig floor and a bridge, rotating the tubular between vertical and horizontal, retrieving or delivering the tubular to an intermediate storage location, and raising or lowering the tubular between the intermediate storage location and a horizontal storage area while maintaining the tubular in the horizontal orientation.