WO2022072396A1

WO2022072396A1 - System and method for wireless detection of drilling elevator head status

Info

Publication number: WO2022072396A1
Application number: PCT/US2021/052511
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shane MCCLAUGHERTY; Mat DAVIS
Original assignee: Mcclaugherty Shane; Davis Mat
Priority date: 2020-09-29
Filing date: 2021-09-29
Publication date: 2022-04-07

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the use of wireless sensors for determining the status of a drilling elevator head.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS DETECTION OF DRILLING ELEVATOR HEAD STATUS

RE LA TED APPLICA TIONS

[1001] This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/084,813, filed on September 29, 2020, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/177,632, filed on April 21, 2021, the contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Field of the Invention

[1002] The present disclosure relates generally to the detection of the status of a drilling elevator head.

Background

[1003] Determining accurate drilling elevator status (open or close) is important for maximizing efficiency in unproductive time of drilling / tripping operations and provide direct feedback to automated safety interlock system in preventing Health & Safety Executive (HSE) dropped object events. Due to the lack of direct drilling elevator status into to the drilling control system, human intervention is often necessary and becomes an impediment to maximum efficiency and safety. When the drilling elevator status is accurately determined, the drilling control system can be autonomously actuated to the appropriate position, and human interference is minimized. In addition, in providing drilling elevator head direct feedback into the automated safety system will provide a means to provide “closed-loop” feedback to interlocks to prevent HSE dropped object events. This has impact in the overall time of the process, as well as minimizing the possibility of personnel time that would otherwise have to be involved. To date, offerings from industry leaders either not have a solution, use a pressure sensing system that is hardwired to the drilling control system, or “open-loop” control feedback based on timers programmed in the drilling control system that do not possess either the accuracy or repeatability to make automatic detection a viable option in the drilling process and automated safety systems. Summary

[1004] The present disclosure relates to the use of wireless technologies to determine the status of a drilling elevator head, which provides a means for ease of integration to the drilling control system. The systems and methods described herein can be used in determining elevator feedback status, interlocks closed-loop control, and drilling automation.

[1005] One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a system for determining a status of a drilling elevator head, the system comprising: a first wireless sensor disposed on the drilling elevator head and configured to: (a) sense a motion of the drilling elevator head, (b) detect the status of the drilling elevator head after the sensed motion, and (c) based on the detected status, transmit a signal indicating whether the drilling elevator head is open or fully closed; and a wireless sensing system operably coupled to a drilling control system and configured to receive the signal from the first wireless sensor and relay information based on the signal to the drilling control system.

[1006] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of determining a status of a drilling elevator head, the method comprising: sensing a motion of the drilling elevator head by a wireless sensor disposed thereon; detecting a target by the wireless sensor, wherein the presence or absence of the target indicates the status of the drilling elevator head; transmitting a signal from the wireless sensor to a wireless sensing system that is operably coupled to a drilling control system, wherein the drilling control system is configured to control the drilling elevator head; processing the signal by the wireless sensing system to determine the status of the drilling elevator head; and transmitting the status from the wireless sensing system to the drilling control system.

Brief Description of the Figures

[1007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fully closed position of a drilling elevator head 100, according to an embodiment.

[1008] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of system 200 for determining the status of a drilling elevator head, according to an embodiment.

[1009] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of system 300 for determining the status of a drilling elevator head, according to an embodiment. [1010] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration showing a wireless sensor disposed on a drilling elevator head, according to an embodiment.

[1011] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the wireless sensor of FIG. 4, according to an embodiment.

[1012] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a normal operation of system 300 of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment.

[1013] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a normal operation of system 300 of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

[1014] A drilling elevator head is configured to open and close to accept and retain a drill pipe. In some embodiments, the drilling elevator head includes a latch at the front which provides a visual indication that the jaws are open or fully closed. In accordance with existing technologies, the position of this latch is observed by a spotter on the drilling floor.

[1015] As shown in FIG. 1, the drilling elevator head 100 is in a fully closed position. The drilling elevator head 100 includes a latch 102 and a jaw 104. The latch 102 has an exterior surface 106. The jaw 104 has an exterior surface 108. To fully close the drilling elevator head 100, the latch 102 is engaged with the jaw 104 in a locked position. In some embodiments, the surfaces 106 and 108 are on substantially the same plane when the drilling elevator head 100 is in a fully closed position.

[1016] When the drilling elevator head 100 is in an open position, the latch 102 and the jaw 104 are disengaged, and the surfaces 106 and 108 are not on the same plane. As the drilling elevator head 100 is open, it can accept and retain a drill pipe. Alternatively, a drill pipe can be removed from the drilling elevator head 100 when the drilling elevator head is open.

[1017] The motion of the latch to open or close the drilling elevator head can be utilized to determine the status of the drilling elevator head. Accordingly, some embodiments of the present disclosure include a system for accurate determination of the status of a drilling elevator head. During drilling / tripping operations, a command is issued from the drilling control system to open or close the drilling elevator head, and the system can provide direct feedback to the drilling control system in visual format on the human-machine interface (HMI). In addition, the status can be available on the drilling control system to be utilized in various operation optimization and safety interlocks within said control system programming logic.

[1018] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of system 200 for determining the status of a drilling elevator head, according to an embodiment. The system 200 includes a drilling elevator head 210, a first wireless sensor 220, a wireless sensing system 230, and a drilling control system 240.

[1019] The first wireless sensor 220 is disposed on the drilling elevator head 210 and configured to: (a) sense a motion of the drilling elevator head 210, (b) detect the status of the drilling elevator head 210 after the sensed motion, and (c) based on the detected status, transmit a signal indicating whether or not the drilling elevator head 210 is fully closed. In some embodiments, the first wireless sensor 220 is configured to further sense an angular position of the drilling elevator head 210.

[1020] The wireless sensing system 230 is operably coupled to the drilling control system 240 and configured to receive the signal from the first wireless sensor 220 and relay information based on the signal to the drilling control system 240.

[1021] In some embodiments, the system 200 further comprises a second wireless sensor (not shown) disposed on the drilling elevator head 210 and configured to: (a) sense an angular position of the drilling elevator head 210 and (b) transmit the angular position to the wireless sensing system 230.

[1022] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of system 300 for determining the status of a drilling elevator head, according to an embodiment. The system 300 includes a drilling elevator head 310, a first wireless sensor 320, a wireless sensing system 330, and a drilling control system 340.

[1023] FIG. 3 shows two positions of the drilling elevator head 310: the first position being the closed position, and the second position being the open position.

[1024] The first wireless sensor 320 is disposed on the drilling elevator head 310 and configured to: (a) sense a motion of the drilling elevator head 310, (b) detect the status of the drilling elevator head 310 after the sensed motion, and (c) based on the detected status, transmit a signal 350 indicating whether or not the drilling elevator head 310 is fully closed. In some embodiments, the first wireless sensor 320 is configured to further sense an angular position of the drilling elevator head 310 and transmitting a signal indicating the angular position to the wireless sensing system 330. Alternatively, a second wireless sensor (not shown) is disposed on a fixed body of the drilling elevator head 310 and configured to sense an angular position of the drilling elevator head 310. The second wireless sensor also transmits a signal indicating the angular position to the wireless sensing system 330.

[1025] The wireless sensing system 330 includes a wireless access point 332 and a wireless sensor interface processor 334. The wireless access point 332 is configured to receive the signal 350. The wireless sensor interface processor 334 is coupled to the wireless access point 332. The wireless sensor interface processor 334 is configured to process the signal 350 and transmit a corresponding input to the drilling control system 340.

[1026] The drilling control system 340 includes drilling control system equipment controllers 342, a drilling control system network 344, and a drilling control system HMI 346. The drilling control system network 344 is coupled in either a wired or wireless manner to the wireless sensor interface processor 334 and configured to receive the input from the wireless sensor interface processor 334. Both the drilling control system equipment controllers 342 and the drilling control system HMI 346 are coupled to the drilling control system network 344. The drilling control system equipment controllers 342 are configured to control one or more drilling equipment, such as the drilling elevator head 310, a drill pipe, etc. The drilling control system HMI 346 includes a display configured to display the status of the drilling elevator head 310.

[1027] Any known wireless network technologies can be used for signal transmission in the system 300. In some embodiments, the Latch Hawk® Wireless (LHW) network is used for signal transmission.

[1028] FIG. 4 shows a first wireless sensor 420 disposed on a latch 402, according to an embodiment. Since this embodiment can be the same or similar to, in form and/or function, as previous embodiments, so some details are not repeated for the sake of brevity. The latch 402 is configured to be at a first position when the latch 402 is closed and the drilling elevator head is fully closed, and at a second position when the latch 402 is not closed and the drilling elevator head is open. The first wireless sensor 420 is disposed on the latch 402 and configured to sense whether the latch 402 is at the first position or the second position. The first wireless sensor 420 can be calibrated to determine at which point the latch 402 is considered fully closed. In some embodiments, the measurement of the first wireless sensor 420 includes detecting a target (e.g., the jaw 404 or a surface thereof), wherein the presence or absence of the target is indicative of the status of the drilling elevator head and/or the latch status. For example, when the latch 402 is fully closed, the first wireless sensor 420 is in close proximity to the jaw 404; and when the latch 402 is opened, the first wireless sensor 420 is moved away from the jaw 404. The first wireless sensor 420 can thus be configured to provide a signal indicating its proximity to the jaw 404. In some embodiments, the embodiment of FIG. 4 can have surfaces similar to 106 and 108 shown in FIG. 1, so the first wireless sensor 420 can measure the relative distance between these two surfaces, which is the same or substantially the same as the distance between the first wireless sensor 420 and the jaw 404.

[1029] FIG. 5 shows the first wireless sensor 420 of FIG 4. The first wireless sensor 420 is configured to be mounted onto a latch (e.g., latch 402 in FIG. 4) through a sensor carrier. In some embodiments, the sensor carrier can be a plate (e.g., a metal plate) suitable for mounting onto a latch. The sensor carrier is configured to be secured to the latch through any suitable coupler, such as, for example, adhesives, welding, and/or bolting. In addition, the first wireless sensor 420 or the sensor carrier is connected to a secondary retention wire, which is connected to an attachment point. The attachment point is configured to be secured to the latch through any suitable coupler, such as, for example, adhesives, welding, and/or bolting.

[1030] The wireless sensors described herein have one or more of the following characteristics:

- the wireless sensor can endure the harsh offshore environment for at least three months;

- the wireless sensor weighs no more than about 2.0 kg;

- the wireless sensor can communicate with a wireless network such as the LHW network;

- the wireless sensor can detect the presence of the target within a range of zero mm to about 12 mm; upon sensing the motion, the wireless sensor is configured to transmit the signal in five seconds or less;

- the motion triggers the wireless sensor to perform a measurement on the status of the drilling elevator head about every 0.5 seconds for a period of about 10 seconds; - the wireless sensor senses the motion by inductive, magnetic, and/or accelerometer means; and

- the wireless sensor remains in a power-saving mode until the wireless sensor is triggered by the motion or a command from the drilling control system.

[1031] For sensing the angular position of the drilling elevator head, the first or second wireless sensor has a sensing resolution of about one degree to about 15°, e.g., about one degree to about 10°, or about 5° to about 10°.

[1032] During normal operation, the system 300 can undergo the steps as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, according to an embodiment. According to step 610, the drilling elevator head is moved, which produces a trigger event. For example, this movement can be that the elevator head is repositioned, raised via the bail arms, opened, or closed. According to step 620, the first and second wireless sensors are triggered by the movement and set to sense mode. According to step 630, the first wireless sensor disposed on the latch detects the presence of the target and then reports the latch status. The latch status is indicative of the status of the drilling elevator head. According to step 640, the first wireless sensor continues to sense and report the latch status for a set period of time before returning to power saving mode. Independently of first wireless sensor, the second wireless sensor disposed on the fixed body of the drilling elevator head detects the angular position of the elevator head and reports the angular position, according to step 650. The second wireless sensor continues to sense and report the angular position for a set period of time before returning to power saving mode, according to step 660. Finally, according to step 670, the first and second wireless sensors return to power saving mode until a further trigger event is detected or a command from the drilling control system is received.

[1033] When a single sensor is used to detect the latch status and the angular position of the elevator head, the system 300 can undergo the steps as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, according to an embodiment. According to step 710, the drilling elevator head is moved, which produces a trigger event. According to step 720, the wireless sensor is triggered by the movement and set to sense mode. According to step 730, the wireless sensor detects: (a) the presence of the target and reports the latch status; and (b) the angular position of the elevator head and reports the angular position. According to step 740, the wireless sensor continues to sense and report the latch status and angular position for a set period of time before returning to power saving mode. Finally, according to step 750, the wireless sensor returns to power saving mode until a further trigger event is detected or a command from the drilling control system is received.

[1034] The system 300 can be configured with regard to sensing durations and the sensitivity of the trigger event. These values will require adjustment in order to ensure that the sensor(s) are triggered during normal use but avoids false triggering.

[1035] The systems described herein can be used in a method of determining a status of a drilling elevator head, the method comprising: sensing a motion of the drilling elevator head by a wireless sensor disposed thereon; detecting a target by the wireless sensor, wherein the presence or absence of the target indicates the status of the drilling elevator head; transmitting a signal from the wireless sensor to a wireless sensing system that is operably coupled to a drilling control system, wherein the drilling control system is configured to control the drilling elevator head; processing the signal by the wireless sensing system to determine the status of the drilling elevator head; and transmitting the status from the wireless sensing system to the drilling control system.

[1036] In some embodiments, based on the status, the method further comprises controlling the drilling elevator head or a drilling equipment by the drilling control system. In some embodiments, the drilling equipment is a drill pipe. In some embodiments, if the status indicates that the drilling elevator head is open, the method further comprises inserting the drill pipe into the drilling elevator. In some embodiments, if the status indicates that the drilling elevator head is open, the method further comprises removing the drill pipe from the drilling elevator.

[1037] While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto; inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

[1038] The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, embodiments of the present technology may be implemented using hardware, firmware, software or a combination thereof. When implemented in firmware and/or software, the firmware and/or software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of logic components, whether provided in a single device or distributed among multiple devices.

[1039] In this respect, various inventive concepts may be embodied as a computer readable storage medium (or multiple computer readable storage media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs, optical discs, magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other non-transitory medium or tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform methods that implement the various embodiments of the invention discussed above. The computer readable medium or media can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other processors to implement various aspects of the present invention as discussed above.

[1040] The terms “program” or “software” are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a computer or other processor to implement various aspects of embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that according to one aspect, one or more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the present invention need not reside on a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of different computers or processors to implement various aspects of the present invention.

[1041] Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

[1042] Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data structures may be shown to have fields that are related through location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a computer-readable medium that convey relationship between the fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a relationship between information in fields of a data structure, including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms that establish relationship between data elements.

[1043] Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

[1044] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

[1045] The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

[1046] The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc. [1047] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

[1048] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

[1049] The terms “substantially,” “approximately,” and “about” used throughout this Specification and the claims generally mean plus or minus 10% of the value stated, e.g., about 100 would include 90 to 110.

[1050] In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of’ and “consisting essentially of’ shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

Claims

1. A system for determining a status of a drilling elevator head, the system comprising: a first wireless sensor disposed on the drilling elevator head and configured to: (a) sense a motion of the drilling elevator head, (b) detect the status of the drilling elevator head after the sensed motion, and (c) based on the detected status, transmit a signal indicating whether the drilling elevator head is open or fully closed; and a wireless sensing system operably coupled to a drilling control system and configured to receive the signal from the first wireless sensor and relay information based on the signal to the drilling control system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the drilling elevator head includes a latch disposed on an exterior surface of the drilling elevator head, the latch being configured to be at a first position when the latch is closed and the drilling elevator head is fully closed, and at a second position when the latch is not closed and the drilling elevator head is open.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the first wireless sensor is disposed on the latch and configured to sense whether the latch is at the first position or the second position, thereby permitting the first wireless sensor to detect the status of the drilling elevator head.

4. The system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the first wireless sensor is configured to further sense an angular position of the drilling elevator head.

5. The system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the system further comprises a second wireless sensor disposed on the drilling elevator head and configured to: (a) sense an angular position of the drilling elevator head and (b) transmit the angular position to the wireless sensing system.

6. The system of any one of claims 1-5, wherein upon sensing the motion, the first wireless sensor is configured to transmit the signal in 5 seconds or less.

7. The system of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the motion triggers the first wireless sensor to perform a measurement on the status of the drilling elevator head about every 0.5 seconds for a period of about 10 seconds.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the measurement comprises detecting a target, wherein the presence or absence of the target is indicative of the status of the drilling elevator head.

9. The system of any one of claims 2-8, wherein the motion includes a movement of the latch.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the movement of the latch includes the latch moving away from the first position or the second position.

11. The system of any one of claims 4-5, wherein sensing the angular position has a sensing resolution of about 15°.

12. The system of any one of claims 1-11, wherein the first wireless sensor senses the motion by inductive, magnetic, and/or accelerometer means.

13. The system of any one of claims 1-12, wherein the first wireless sensor remains in a power-saving mode until the first wireless sensor is triggered by the motion or a command from the drilling control system.

14. The system of any one of claims 1-13, wherein the wireless sensing system includes a wireless access point configured to receive the signal from the first wireless sensor, and a wireless sensor interface processer coupled to the wireless access point and configured to process the signal.

15. The system of any one of claims 1-14, wherein the drilling control system is operatively coupled to the drilling elevator head and configured to control the drilling elevator head.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the drilling control system includes a controller configured to control the drilling elevator head.

17. The system of any one of claims 1-16, wherein the drilling control system includes a wireless network configured to provide an interface for wireless transmission.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the wireless network is a Latch Hawk® wireless network.

19. The system of any one of claims 1-18, wherein the drilling control system includes a display configured to display the status of the drilling elevator head.

20. The system of claim 8, wherein the target is a jaw or a surface thereof of the drilling elevator head.

21. A method of determining a status of a drilling elevator head, the method comprising: sensing a motion of the drilling elevator head by a wireless sensor disposed thereon; detecting a target by the wireless sensor, wherein the presence or absence of the target indicates the status of the drilling elevator head; transmitting a signal from the wireless sensor to a wireless sensing system that is operably coupled to a drilling control system, wherein the drilling control system is configured to control the drilling elevator head; processing the signal by the wireless sensing system to determine the status of the drilling elevator head; and transmitting the status from the wireless sensing system to the drilling control system.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising controlling the drilling elevator head by the drilling control system, based on the status.

23. The method of claim 21 or 22, further comprising controlling a drilling equipment by the drilling control system, based on the status.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the drilling equipment is a drill pipe.

25 The method of claim 24, wherein if the status indicates that the drilling elevator head is open, the method further comprises inserting the drill pipe into the drilling elevator.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein if the status indicates that the drilling elevator head is open, the method further comprises removing the drill pipe from the drilling elevator.

27. The method of any one of claims 21-26, wherein the target is a jaw or a surface thereof of the drilling elevator head.

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