US Patent 7000502 Drillpipe spinner

The invention relates to an improved drill pipe spinner. The improved spinner may be used as a stand-alone piece of pipe handling equipment or may be used in an Iron Roughneck. The spinner comprises a pair of clamping arms that are movable between an open position and a closed position, wherein in the closed position, the arms will clamp about a pipe to be made up or broken out and in the open position, the spinner may be moved away from or towards the pipe. The arms are preferably moved between the open and closed positions by a hydraulically actuated clamping cylinder. Attached to the distal ends of each arm is a roller bracket. The roller brackets are preferably attached to the clamping arms by a roller bracket pin. Each roller bracket includes a pair of drive roller assemblies, which together form the spinning unit. Each drive roller assembly preferably comprises a pair of drive rollers, with each roller rotated by a pair of hydraulic motors. If the rollers of the spinner have to be repaired, serviced or replaced, the arm brackets are easily removed by simply pulling the roller bracket pin and removing the roller bracket. A new roller bracket may then be picked up, aligned with and pinned to the arm by reinserting the roller bracket pin. The spinning unit can easily be removed and replaced on the rig floor by changing out the roller bracket.