US2674316A - By-pass packer - Google Patents

Description

April 6, 1954 M. o. JOHNSTON BY-PASS PACKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 18, 1948 3nventor Gflorneg April 6, 1954 M. o. JOHNSTON BY-PASS PACKER Filed Sept. 18, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 6, i954 BY-PASS PACKER Mordica 0. Johnston, Glendale, Calif., assignor, by mcsne assignments, to Johnston Testers, Inc., Houston, Tex., a corporation of Delaware Application September 18, 1948, Serial No. 49,892

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an oil well tool and particularly pertains to a by-pass packer.

In performing various operations incident to the drilling of an oil well and preparing it for production, it is necessary to use a well packer of the sleeve type which may be set at a selected level within the well and which will form a fluid seal with a surrounding casin In view of the fact that the well casing is filled with liquid which is often of high specific gravity, it is necessary for the liquid to be displaced as the packer is lowered into the well. This resists a rapid movement of the packer since there is relatively small clearance between the packer and the surrounding wall of the well casing. Rapid movement of the packer to the level at which it is to be set and when it is Withdrawn therefrom is essential, particularly when the packer is associated with a formation testing tool. In order to withdraw the set packer from the well it is obvious that the iiuid seal between the Packer and the well casing must be broken so that the lifting operation of the packer will not be made against the weight of the entire hydrostatic head of fluid which is imposed upon the packer when it is set. In order to meet these conditions various types of packers have been provided to permit a by-pass of well fluid through the packer when the packer is being lowered to its set position and to break the fluid seal after the packer is set so that the hydrostatic head of fluid may equalize in pressure above and below the packer to facilitate rapid withdrawal of the packer from the well. In structures of this type there has often been difficulty in breaking the fluid seal 1% and in unseating the packer. Under such conditions an excessive strain has been imposed upon the supporting string of pipe and it is desirable to reduce this strain to a minimum so that the supporting string and the packer are not liable to be damaged. It is the principal object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a, packer structure of the by-pass type, which packer is compact and rugged in its construction and is so designed as to insure that the packer may be rapidly lowered through the well casing to a desired level, easily set and rapidly withdrawn from the Well casing without imposing excessive strain upon the parts involved.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a packer including a tubular mandrel upon which a sleeve is mounted to carry a deformable packer, said sleeve being positively secured to a slip bowl at one end and movably connected with a by-pass valve seat at its opposite end to limit upward movement of the seat and to permit the seat to move downwardly when engaged by a by-pass valve carried by the mandrel.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a view in central longitudinal section showing the upper part of the packer structure in its open position.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the upper part of the packer structure as set.

Fig. 3 is a view in transverse section through the slip bowl as seen on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view in transverse section through the packer as seen on the line -t of Fig. l and shows the arrangement for fluid passage through the valve seat.

Fig. 5 is a view in transvers section through the slip cone and slips as seen on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a View in central longitudinal section showing the lower part of the packer structure in its open position.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the lower part of the packer structure as set.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing an alternate form of connection between the slips and the spring cage from that shown in Fig. '7.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, It indicates a supportin string of pipe fitted with a pin ll. The pin II is threaded into the box portion 12 of a packer head H3. The member It has a central fluid passageway It formed through it, the lower end of which terminates in an enlarged threaded bore [5. The threaded bore l5 receives the upper threaded end of a tubular mandrel It. This mandrel has a "central fluid circulating passageway I! through it. The lower end of the mandrel I6 is threaded and extends into the threaded bore I8 of a lower sub l9 which is formed with a box portion 20 to receive the pin of any suitable tool to be connected therewith.

The lower end of the packer head I3 is formed with a cylindrical section of reduced diameter, as indicated at 2!. This section receives an ananular deformable packing ring 22 which is here shown as being square in section, and a frustoconical metal packing ring 23 which has an outer cylindrical face 24 and a downwardly inwardly tapering face 25. The lower end of the cylindrical portion 2| of the packing head is externally threaded at 26 to receive a nut 21. The elements 22 and 23 thus provide a by-pass valve member having an enlarged cylindrical portion and a frustoconical end portion. Mounted upon the tubular mandrel l6 below the by-pass valve is a valve seat element or member 28. This valve seat member 28 has a central passageway through it, the lower end of which provides a bore 29 which has a sliding fit on the tubular mandrel. An enlarged portion 30 is formed on the tubular mandrel and provides a shoulder 3| against which the valve seat member may abut and by which the downward movement of the valve seat member 23 is limited with relation to the mandrel l6 upon which it is mounted. The shoulder 3| also assists in unseatin the packer on upward pull. The portion of the valve seat member 28 through which the bore 25 extends is formed with longitudinally extending fluid passageways 32 which permit fluid to pass from a counterbore 33 in the valve seat member to the fluid space beneath the valve seat member and within the packer. The upper end of the counterbore 3 3 communicates with a tapered valve seat 34 which is formed at the base of a cylindrical valve seat portion 35. The tapered valve seat 34 is designed to be engaged by the inclined face 25 of the frustoconical valve member 23, and the cylindrical portion 35. is designed to receive the annular packing ring 22. The lower end of the valve seat member 28 is reduced in diameter and is externally threaded as indicated at 36. This threaded portion extends into the threaded bore of an upper packer collar 3] of a packer barrel structure composed of the by-pass valve seat member 28, the upper packer collar 31, the lower packer collar 49 and the. slip cone 52, and also including thedeformable annular packing 99. The packer collar 31 agrees in external diameter with that of the valve seat member 28 and has a central bore 38 therein which is substantially greater in diameter than the diameter of the mandrel I6 extending therethrough. The lower end of the upper packer collar 31 is formed with a bore of reduced diameter, as. indicated at 39. This provides an upwardly presented shoulder 40. Ex-

tending downwardly through the bore 35 is a 42. will engage the shoulder 40 to limit downward movement of the tubular sleeve 4|. An annular groove43; is formed around the circumference of the portion 42 of the sleeve 4| and receives an o-ring 44 which forms a fluid seal between the portion 42 and the bore 38 of the upper packer collar 3?. Attention isdirected' to the fact that thespace between the shoulder 4|] on th upper packercollar 31: and the lower end face of the valve seat member 28 is sufhcient to allow relative movement between these parts as the packer is set, and at the same time will provide a fluid flow space indicated at 45.

The tubular sleeve 4| has an internal bore-46 of a diameter substantially larger than the outside diameters of :the mandrel l6, thus providing a fluidpassagew-ay 41 entirely through the sleeve 4|. Spacing lugs-48. are formed around the inner face of the bore lfi and engage the outer circumference of the tubular mandrel Hi to center the mandrel-with relation to the sleeve 4 Mounted upon the lower end of the sleeve 4| is a lower packer collar 45; This collar has a downwardly extendin cylindrical portion carrying threads 5 which engage threads within the bore of slip cone 52. The slip cone is also formed with a central bore of lesser diameter than the bore 5|, as indicated at 53. This bore is threaded and receives the threaded end 54 of the tubular sleeve 4 The tubular sleeve 4| is formed with a shoulder 55 which abuts against a shoulder 56 formed within the slip cone 52. The shoulder 56 is at the bottom of an annular fluid distributing channel 51 which is undercut within the bore 53. A series of radially extending ports 58 are formed through the wall of the slip cone and communicate with the annular channel 51. Complementary ports 59 are fornied through the end of the tubular sleeve 4| and establish communication between the channel 57 and the passageway 41 which occurs between the sleeve 4| and the mandrel l6. Extending downwardly from the shoulder 56 within the slip cone 52 is a longitudinal bore 59'. This bore is of smaller diameter than the bore 53, and as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed keyways 60. These keyways accommodate splines 6| of a hold-down sleeve 62. The tubular mandrel I6 extends through the hold-down sleeve 62 and has a sliding fit therewith whereby the sleeve may move longitudinally relative to the slip cone as required. The splines 6| are formed with shoulders 63 which limit the downward movement of the hold-down sleeve 62. A central bore 64 is formed within the slip cone 52. This bore is of reduced diameter as compared with the bore 59 and provides a sliding fit for the circumference of the hold-down sleeve 62.

By reference to Fig. 5 of the drawing it will be seen that the slip cone 52 is formed with a plurality of longitudinally extending slip grooves 65. These grooves have a, flat bottom face 66 which is longitudinally tapered upwardly and outwardly, as indicated in Fi s. 6 and 7 of the drawing. The opposite edges of the grooves 65 are defined by inclined faces 61 which combine with the fiat faces 66 to form a dovetail guideway for wickered slips 58. In the form of the structure shown in Figs. 6' and 7 the wickered slips are connected to links 69 at their lower ends by pins 15; The links in turn are connected by pins H to lugs 12 formed at the upper end of a cage ring 13. The cage ring 13 is shown in Figs. 6 and '7 as being fastened onto the hold-down sleeve 62 by screws 14. These screws also secure the upper ends of bow springs 15 rigidly with relation to the sleeve 62; The lower ends of the bow springs 75 are fastened to a cage ring 16 by cap screws 11. The cage ring it is free to reciprocate along the hold-down sleeve 52. A different form of this construction is shown in Fig. 8 of the drawing and Will be referred to hereinafter.

The hold-down sleeve 62 is formed with a J-slot 13, the lateral portion 19 of which is so turned that unlatching is effected by turning to the left. The portion 19 is formed with a recess parallel to the upper end of the slot. The slot I8 isv designed to receive a cage pin 8|. Thus the slot and the pin provide an inverted J-slot and pin arrangement which makes it possible for the tubular mandrel H5 and the hold-down sleeve 62 to be held or latched against relative longitudinal movement and to be released optionally when desired.

Referring particularly to Fig. 8 another form of hold-down sleeve and slip connection is illustrated. In this structure a hold-down sleeve 82 is provided formed with an upper enlarged end portion 83. This end portion has a central counterbore 34 which receives the lower end of the sleeve section 62. The sleeve section 62' is held in position within the counterbore of the member 82 by cap screws 85. These cap screws also fasten the upper ends of the bow springs in place. Formed on the upper end of the sleeve 32 are lugs i2, as previously described. These lugs in the present instance are provided with lateral slots 86 which receive pins 81. The pins Bl extend through downward rigid fingers 83 formed integral with wickered slips 68. This structure provides a rigid construction and is not liable to become broken when subjected to severe performance.

In the operation of the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6, and '7 of the drawing it will be understood that the packer structure is attached to a supporting string of pipe It and that another string of pipe may be attached to the sub 49 or other oil tools may be attached to the sub, such for example as a formation tester. The tubular mandrel l6 and the hold-down sleeve 62 are latched against movement relative to each other by positioning the pins 8| within the seat 80 at the upper end of the inverted J slot 78. In this position the shoulders on the hold-down sleeve 62 will engage the shoulder E3 on the slip cone 52. In view of the fact that the slip cone 52 is positively attached to the tubular sleeve 4!, this sleeve will be held down. The upper end portion 42 of the tubular sleeve ii will engage the shoulder on the upper packer collar 31, and thus the valve seat 28 will be held against vertical movement with its lower end abutting against the shoulder 3| on the tubular mandrel it. In this position the packer structure and any tool carried thereby is lowered into the well casing. It will be noted that the entire structure will be held rigidly, and that the valve 23 will be held off of its seat so that there will be a continuous and uninterrupted fluid passageway down through the bores 35 and 33 and into the space 45, after which fluid will be free to flow through the passageway 41 occurring between the tubular sleeve 4| and the mandrel It. While in this latched position the springs i5 will frictionally engage the wall of the casing through which the structure is being lowered. The packer may be set by rotating the supporting string and the mandrel while the hold-down sleeve is held by the springs 15. Attention is directed to the fact that the hold-down sleeve is splined to the slip cone 52 through the keys 6! which slide in the keyways 60. Thus, the slip cone will be held against relative rotation to the hold-down sleeve while the tubular mandrel is being rotated to release the mandrel from its locked engagement with the hold-down sleeve. When the pin iii is rotated to an aligned position with relation to the vertical slot 18 in the hold-down sleeve the mandrel may be lowered. This will permit the valve 22 to move down into its seated position within the bore 35 and the bore 33 with the tapered portion 25 resting upon the tapered portion 3d of the valve seat. Thus the usual tapered valve seat will be provided as well as a cylindrical packing above the tapered seat. When weight is then imposed upon the valve seat by the supporting string of pipe a downward pressure will be imposed upon the valve seat and the deformable annular packing 93 to force the cone downwardly and cause the inclined faces of the grooves to move along the under faces of the slips and to force them outwardly into set positions against the casing. Further imposition of weight on the valve seat and the upper deformable annular packing collar will cause the packer to be compressed longitudinally and ex panded into a set position with relation to the surrounding well casing.

When it is desired to break the packer seal and withdraw the packer this is accomplished by elevating the supporting member and the mandrel I6 while the pins 8| move upwardly along the longitudinal portions 18 of the inverted J slots. This upward movement will break the fluid seal between the valve 22 and the seat member 35, after which the shoulder 3| on the mandrel US will strike the lower face of the valve seat member 28 and will pull upwardly on the upper packer collar 3! to relieve compression upon the deformable annular packing which is mounted upon the tubular sleeve ll and is disposed between the upper packer collar 3? and the lower packer collar Q9. The upper packer collar will then be lifted until its shoulder All engages the corresponding shoulder on the enlarged portion 42 of the tubular sleeve 4!.

Attention is directed to the fact that when the packer is set, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the upper packer collar will move downwardly against the deformable annular packing 9t and will longitudinally compress this packing. Thus there will be a considerable space between the shoulder ll! on the upper packer collar and the portion 42 of the tubular sleeve 4!. After the shoulder (ii on the mandrel enlargement 30 has engaged the lower end face of the valve seat member 23 the upper packer collar 31 will be drawn upwardly and will relieve the weight of the drill string and the collar from the deformable annular packing 90. This will give the annular packing 96 an opportunity to expand longitudinally toward its original shape and thus to contract circumferentially. It is obvious that there will thus be a tendency for the annular packing to break its seal with relation to the wall of the well. As the supporting string of pipe is further elevated the mandrel will lift the upper packer collar until its shoulder 48 engages the portion :22 of the tubular sleeve ll. The sleeve 4!, the lower packer collar 49, and the slip cone 52 will then be lifted. This will take place while the upper packer collar 31 and the lower packer collar 49 are spaced apart a maximum distance. As the entire packer structure is then lifted the annular packing 90 will not be under longitudinal compression and will be free to adapt itself to the tubular sleeve t! and thus to contract. Due to this arrangement there will not be any tendency for the annular packing 9% to be longitudinally compressed as the packer is unseated. The result will be that the packer can be unseated with much less efiort than would be the case if the annular packing were confined between the upper and lower collars as the sleeve is pulled loose from its seat.

It should be pointed out that the longitudinal keyways 6t which are formed within the bore 59 of the slip cone 52 are not only useful in receiving the splines 6! of the hold-down sleeve 62 to prevent relative rotation between the holddown sleeve and the cone but that the splines may also receive a type of wrench for use in rotating the cone and threading it onto the lower end of the tubular sleeve 4|.

The operation of the form of the invention shown in Fig. 8 is the same as previously described save that the connection between the slips and the hold-down sleeve is slightly different.

Attention is directed to the fact that the packer structure here disclosed provides for the release of the packer by a pull on the parts above the deformable annular packing 90 and does not depend on any upper force applied to the lower end of the annular packing 90, thus insuring that longitudinal compression of the deformable annular packing 90 will be entirely relieved as the structure is being pulled from the well. This makes it possible to break the packer seal easily and in actual practice it has been proved that a packer of this type can be unseated with less effort than most packers of usual design.

It will thus be seen that the packer structure here disclosed is rugged in design, provides adequate bypass and circulation passageways, and acts to form a positive fluid seal by a structure which may be easily unseated when the packer is to be withdrawn from the well.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known to me, it will be understood that various changes may be made in combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A well packer comprising a central tubular mandrel, a packer head fixed at the upper end of the mandrel, a valve element formed at the lower end of the packer head, a packer barrel structure through which the mandrel reciprocably extends, a valve seat member included in said packer barrel structure at the upper end thereof and with respect to which the valve element may seat and unseat upon relative longitudinal movement between the mandrel and the packer barrel structure, engageable annular abutments on the valve seat member and the mandrel for limiting upward movement of the mandrel relative to the valve seat member, an upper packer collar included in said packer barrel structure and secured to the valve seat member, a tubular sleeve reciprocably mounted coaxially within the upper packer collar, engaging means on the collar and sleeve for limiting the downward movement of the sleeve relative to the collar, a lower packer collar included in said packer barrel structure and fixed on said sleeve, a deformable packing interposed between said collars and circumscribing thetubular sleeve, a slip cone fixed to the lower end: of the tubular sleeve, a hold-down sleeve reciprooably mounted within the slip cone and through which the tubular mandrel extends, interengaging means between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve for permitting limited longitudinal movement therebetween while preventing relative rotation therebetween, wickered slips mounted on the exterior of the slip cone and articulately connected to the hold-down sleeve and adapted to be moved outwardly to pipe engaging positions when the slip cone moves downwardly relative to the hold-down sleeve and slips, operable latch means between the tubular mandrel and the hold-down sleeve whereby the packer barrel structure may be latched against longitudinal movement relative to the tubular mandrel to hold the valve member on the packer head and the valve in useated position relative to the valve seat, and a fiuid bypass channel within the packer barrel structure extending from the valve seat to a port formed through a part of the barrel structure below the deformable packing.

2. A by-pass well packer comprising a packer head attached to a supportin string of pipe, a

8 tubular mandrel connected to said head and extending downwardly thereform, a hold-down sleeve through which said mandrel extends, a slip cone mounted upon said hold-down sleeve, means allowing limited longitudinal movement between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve, means between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve for preventing relative rotation therebetween, a spring cage mounted upon the holddown sleeve and adapted to engage a easing into which the packer is lowered, wickered slips in slidable engagement with the slip cone and articulately connected to the spring cage, releasable latch means between the tubular mandrel and the hold-down sleeve for latching the slips in their lowermost and retracted positions and adapted to release the slips upon a predetermined manipulated movement of the tubular mandrel, a tubular sleeve fixed to the upper end of the slip cone, a lower packer collar fixedly connected to the slip cone, a deformable packing mounted on the tubular sleeve and abutting against said lower packer collar, an upper packer collar slidably mounted on the upper end of the tubular sleeve and abutting against the upper end of the deformable packing, mean allowing only limited longitudinal movement between the upper packer collar and the mandrel, a valve seat member fixed at the upper end of said upper packer collar and having a bore through which the mandrel extends and a valve seat in said bore, abutment means on the mandrel and valve seat member for limiting upward movement of the mandrel through said bore of the valve seat member, a

valve member carried by the packer head above the valve seat member for sealing engagement therewith, the valve member being positioned in open relationship to the valve seat when the hold-down sleev is latched against movement relative to the mandrel, and a by-pass channel leading downwardly through the packer structure from the valve seat, between the mandrel and the tubular sleeve and outwardly into the well bore below the deformable packing.

3. A by-passwell packer comprising a tubular sleeve, a deformable packing mounted thereon, a fixed packer collar at the lower end of said sleeve, a movable packer collar at the upper end of said sleeve and between which collars the deformable packing is disposed, means limiting upward movement of the upper packer collar relative to the tubular sleeve while permitting said upper collar to have downward movement thereover, a by-pass valve seat member fixed at the upper end of the upper packer collar and having a by-pass valve seat therein, a slip cone fixed upon the lower end of the tubular sleeve, a hold-down sleeve telescopin within the slip cone, means limiting relative longitudinal movement between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve and preventing relative rotational movementtherebetween, a spring cage structure carried by the hold-down sleeve and adapted to frictionally engage the walls of a easing into which the packer is lowered, wickered slips mounted for longitudinal sliding movement upon the slip cone and adapted to move toward and away from gripping positions, said slips being articulately connected to the hold-down sleeve, a mandrel slidable downwardly through the valve seat, the tubular sleeve, the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve and being capable of longitudinal reciprocation, a valve head secured at the upper end of the mandrel and adapted to engage the by-pass valve seat when the mandrel moves downwardly relative to said seat, a fluid by-pass passageway extending downwardly through the valve seat and around the mandrel to a point of communication with the well below the deformable packing, means for positively limiting upward movement of the mandrel in relation to the by-pass valve seat member, and latch means between the holddown sleeve and the mandrel for holding the slip cone, the tubular sleeve, the upper collar, and the valve seat in their lowermost position with relation to the mandrel.

4. A bypass well packer comprising a tubular mandrel, a packer head on the mandrel by which it may be connected to a tubing string, a valve head at the lower end of the packer head, a bypass valve seat member having a bore with a valve seat therein and through which the mandrel coaxially extends and is longitudinally reciprocable, the space between which bore and mandrel forming a passageway, coengageable annular shoulders on the mandrel and the bypass valve seat member limiting the upward movement of the mandrel relative to the by ass valve seat member with relation to the mandrel, an upper packer collar arranged coaxially of the bypass valve seat memher and fixed thereto, a tubular sleeve mounted coaxially 0n the mandrel and extending within said upper packer collar, means on the packer collar and on the sleeve permitting limiting longitudinal movement therebetween, the tubular sleeve having an internal diameter greater than the external diameter of the mandrel to provide a fluid passageway therebetween, a deformable packing circumscribing the tubular sleeve and abutting at its upper end the lower end of the upper packer collar, a lower packer collar mounted on the tubular sleeve and fixed thereto with its upper end abutting the lower end of the deformable packing, a slip cone fixed to the lower end of the tubular sleeve, the walls of said slip cone having ports formed therethrough to com municate with the fluid passageway between the tubular sleeve and the mandrel, wickered slips mounted on the slip cone for operation thereby, a hold-down sleeve extending into the lower end of the slip cone about said mandrel, means enabling a limited amount of longitudinal movement between the hold-down sleeve and the slip cone, 2. splined connection between the slip cone and the hold-down sleeve to prevent relative rotation therebetween, articulate connections between the hold-down sleeve and the slips, and a pin and inverted J-slot connection between the mandrel and the hold-down sleeve for temporarily latching the sleeve and associated parts in their lowermost position relative to the mandrel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,131,274 Crickmer Sept. 27, 1938 2,131,275 Crickmer Sept. 27, 1938 2 227,912 Pranger Jan. 7, 1941 2,326,867 Kinney Aug. 17, 1943 2,389,869 Phipps Nov. 27, 1945 2,409,812 Taylor et al Oct. 22, 1946 2,491,122 Lynn Dec. 13, 1949 2,495,642 Penick Jan. 24, 1950

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