US2005955A - Well packer - Google Patents

Description

R. R. RENOUF June 25, 1935.

WELL PACKER Filed Nov. 28, 1933 Patented June 25, 1935 UNITED y STATES PATENT OFFICE Y t WELL PACKER Roy R. Renouf, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Olympic Engineering Corporation, Los Angeles, l Calif., a corporation of California Application Novemterzs, 1933, serial Nq. '100,088

` 9 Claims.

This invention relates broadly to packing de" vices for oil wells, and particularly to -what are known as by-pass packers, adapted to be set at any desired point within a well. Such packers are open to permit iiuid to pass` through the packer while the packer is being raised or lowered but completely "seal the space between the oil tubingand casingwhenthe packer is set.

An object of the invention is to provide a sim-r ple and practical structure for positively maintaining the by-pass valve of the packer open during raising orlowering of the packer.

Another object is to provide a packing structure that is positive in operation and cannot easily be damaged as the` result of careless manipulation.

Another object is to provide a packer the parts of which can be manufactured and assembled at low cost. i y ,l

Another object is to provide a packer having a slip mechanism that is particularly positive in operation and is not readily damaged or rendered inoperativeiin use.

stm another object is tcprovide a snp setting f mechanism that is positive in operation and can be readily set `or released within the` well.

Other more specific objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description which refers to the drawing.v

In the drawing:

Fig. l is an elevation view of my packer in condition ready to be lowered into a well;

Fig. 2 is a detail vertical section showing the construction of the packer proper and the slip mechanism; l

Fig. 3 is a cross section inv theplane III-III of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a cross section in the pla of Fig. 1; 'l

Fig. 5 is a cross section inthe planel V-V of Fig. 1; and u l Fig. 6 is a detail section view of one of the bolts and guides for retaining the by-pass valve in open position while the packer is being raised 'or lowered. l 0

Mypacker comprisesas its main component parts a hollow mandrel I, which extends completely through the packer and slip assembly, a packer member 2 and the an anchor. spring assembly 3, both the packer member and anchor spring assembly being slidably mounted upon the mandrel I. 1

The mandrel I is connected at its upper end, as byscrew threads, to a valve member 4 which in `turn is adapted to be screwed onto` the lower end of a string of tubing. 'Ihe valve I is of solid e vIv---Iv (ci. 16s- 12) construction except for a central passage therethrough, which connects the passage through the mandrel to the well tubing, and is provided `with a beveled valve face 5 on its lower edge adapted to cooperate with a beveled valve seat 6 on the 5 upper end of the packer member 2.

The packer member 2 comprises an upper collar 1 to which a. hollow packer ring supporting sleeve 8 is attached, as by threads 9. 4The sleeve 8 is provided with a plurality of inwardly ex- 10 tending spacer lugs I0 which maintain the upper end of the packer member 2 in concentric relation with the mandrel I.

A slip expander or cone II is positioned below. thev sleeve 8 and is extended up around and is 15 in sliding engagement with the lower end of sleeve 8. A lower packer ring compression collar I2 is secured by screw threads I3`to the upper end of the cone II. This collar I2 is in sliding engagement with the outer surface of 2o the sleeve 8 to permit the'sleeve 8 to telescope l within the collar I2 when pressure is applied to expand the packer rings I4 which fit around the i sleeve 8 and are retained in position thereon by the lower collar I2 and the upper collar "I, To 25 .of the latter through a predetermined distance. 35

To maintainthe lower end of the cone II in `concentric relation with the mandrel I, the cone is provided at its lower end with a.` plurality of inwardly projecting'lugs I'I (Fig. 3), which lugs guide the cone II as it slides along the mandrel 40 but permit `free iluid flow from top to bottom through the sleeve 8 and cone II around the mandrel.

kIn operation. upward movement of the packer member 2 with respect to the mandrel I is lim- 45 ited by the engagement of the valve 5 with the valve seat 6 (Fig. l). To limit downward movement of the packer member 2 with respect to the mandrel, a shoulder or collar I8 is provided on the mandrel which engages with the lower edges 5,0 o! the lugs I1 on cone II when the latter is in lowermost position with respect to the mandrel.

'I'he packer is anchored to the casing at any, desired elevation in the well by means of slips I8 which are mounted in dovetail slip guides on 5 2- the cone-II, as shown in Fig. 3, the slips being restrained from movement outwardly by the overvhanging walls of the dovetail guides but being free to slide longitudinally along the slip seats. 'I'he vertical positions of the slips I8 with respect to the cone II is ordinarily determined by the setting mechanism which will be described later, but to prevent any possibility oi the slips escaping from their guides each 'slip is provided with a screw 20 which projects into a longitudinal groove 2| in the bottom of its associated slip seat. Should a slipvfor any cause tend to move out of its slip seat, either at its upper or lower end, the inwardly projecting end of screw 28 engages with the end of the slot 2| in the slip seat associated with that slip and prevents further movement of the slip.

The slip setting mechanism comprises the anchor spring assembly 3, together with a slip collar 22 and slip reins 23. The anchor spring assembly 3 .includes a sleeve 24 slidably mounted upon the mandrel I below the packer member 2, which supports bow springs 25 for frictionally engaging the well casing. The bow springs 25 are rigidly secured at their lower ends to the sleeve 24. but are secured at their upper ends to 9, ring or collar 26 which is slidable longitudinally on the sleeve 24 to permit contraction and expansion of the bow springs 25. 'Ihe portion of the sleeve 24, upon which the collar 26 slides, is of slightly smaller exterior diameter than the main portion of the-sleeve to limit downward movement of the collar 26.

The sleeve 24 is free to, rotate upon the man-f,-

drei I except as limited by a lock pin 21 which projects outwardly from the mandrel and engages with a vertical slot 28 in sleeve 24, which slot is provided with a lateral recess 28a-at its upper end. l 'I'he slips 23 are set and released in response to vertical movement of the sleeve 28 with respect to the conek I I. To this end, each slip I8 is connected by its associated rein 23 to the slip collar 22 which is rotatably lmounted in an annular recess provided therefor on lthe upper end of sleeve 24. By virtue of the fact that the slip collar 22 is rotatably mounted on the sleeve 24, the reins 23 always remain in perfect alignment with the slips and ring regardless of the position of rotation of the sleeve 24 with respect to the packer member 2. f

To maintain the valve 5 in open position with respect to the valve seat 5 in the upper end of the packer member 2, bolts 28 threaded into slip collar 22 are provided for connecting the slip body II to the slip collar 22, thereby positively holding the packer member 2 in its lower or open position while the slip collar 22 is in lower position as shown in the drawing. However, to permit the slip collar 22 to move upwardly with respect to the cone II, which is necessary in order to set the slips I 9, the bolts 29 are permitted to telescope into the cone II. Thus. as shown in detail in' Fig. 6, each bolt 29 is provided with a head 30,adapted to move vertically in a recess 3l in the 'slip body, which recess is closed prevents the head 30 on the at its lower end by a threaded bushing 32, which bolt from being withdrawn from the cone II.

Although various types of packing rings may be employed with the assembly described, I' have found that :packer rings of the lshape shown in Fig. 2 are particularly effective. Thus,'referring to Fig. 2, each packing ring I4 comprises a rubber core 33 of rectangular cross section surrounded with a wrapping 34 of heavy canvas, the whcie being compressed into the shown.

The device "described functions as follows: When the packer-is to be inserted into a well, the valve member 4 is screwed onto the lower end of the well tubing and the anchor spring cage or sleeve 24 is moved into 'lower position and turned to engage the pin 21 on the mandrel I in the recess 28a as shown in Fig. 1. This retains the sleeve 24 in lowermost position with respect to the mandrel, in which position the slips I9 are held in contracted position on the cone I I and in which cone II is also held down, by the bolts 29, against the collar I8 on the mandrel. This maintains the valve seat 6 clear of the valve face 5 so that as the device is lowered into the well a free fluid passage is provided through the packer about the mandrel I.

When the packer has been lowered to the level of the well at which it is to be set, the pin 21 is released from the recess 29 by rotating the tubing string to the left. This action takes place because of the fact that the sleeve 24 is restrained from turning by the friction of the bow springs 25 against the casing, whereas the mandrel rotates with the string of tubing to which it is solidly atparticular shape tached. After the pin 21 has been released from the recess 29, the tubing is again lowered, moving the mandrel down. The sleeve l24, however, now no longer moves downward with the mandrel since the pin 211s free to move independently of.

the sleeve through the slot 28 and the sleeve 24 is maintained stationary by friction of the bow springs 21 against the casing. If the packer.l

the mandrel continues until the valve face 5 rests i against the valve seat 6 in the upper end of the packer member which seals the passage through the packersurrounding the mandrel. Further downward movement of the tubing string thereafter forces the upper packing collar 1 and sleeve 8 down with respect to the lower packing collar I 2,4 squeezing thepacker rings I4 and expanding them against the casing to form a seal therewith.

In case theepacking member 2 is frictionally engaging the casingi it stops as soon as the pin 21 is disengaged from the'recess 29, whereupon the mandrel moves down to engage the valve face 5 against the valve seat 6 and thereafter forces the cone II down' until the slips I9 are set, after which the packing' rings I4 are expanded as already described.

'Ihe shoulder I 6 in the cone I I is spaced a suillcient distance below the sleeve 8 to permit proper expansion of the packing rings I4 under normal conditions. However, should the casing be damaged or be of excessive diameter so that normal compression of the packing rings did not produce a solid seal, then the downward movement of the sleeve and upper packing collar 1 is limited by contact of the lower end of the sleeve 8 with the shoulder I6 t prevent damage to the packing rings. e 'I'he packer is released by merely lifting up on the tubing string. This carries the mandrel I upwardly, flrst disengaging the valve 5 from the valve seat 6 and thereafter lifting the slip cone II through the shoulder" I8 engaging with the accepts leases the slips il into their normalpositionI as shown `in the drawing, Awhereupon the ,entire packer maybe'withdrawn tothe surface. Itis possible, however. to reset'jthevpacker at another point in the well without withdrawing it. `To do this, the tubing string, after' being raised` sunlciently `to^release' thepacker'a'nd bring the pin 21 into the upper end o! the slotll, is vrotated to the right to return the pini21 into therecess 29. Thereafter the packer may be again lowered or raised into any desired position in the well since the slips 23 are then lockediin4 disengaged posimany possible variations and the invention is to be limited only as set forth in the appended claims.

-I claim:

1. A well packer comprising in combination a mandrel adapted to be secured to the lower end of a string of tubing, a hollow packing member slidably mounted upon said mandrel and defining a fluid space between said packingmember and mandrel, slip means including elements for frictionally engaging a casing slidably supported on said mandrel below said packing member for anchoring said packing member to a casing in 4response to downward movement of the packing member with respect to said slip means; means for normally locking said slip means in lowermost released position with respect to said mandrel, said locking means being releasable to permit downward movement ci said mandrel with respect to said slip means, a valve seat in the upper end of the lpacking member, a valve on the 4 packing member with respect to said slip means comprising a plurality of rods extending upwardly from said slip means, said packing member being provided with passages to slidably receive said rods, the rods having enlarged heads on the upper ends thereof, and the orinces in the lower ends of said passages being provided with shoulders'to engage said heads and limit downward movement of the rods with respect to the packing member.

2. A packer comprising in combination a mandrel adapted to be secured to the lower end o! a string oi tubing, a packing member surrounding said mandrel, said packing member comprising a sleeve andan upper packing collar. rigidly secured together and a lower packing collar slidably mounted upon said sleeve, packing rings positioned about said sleeve between said packing collars, slip means for anchoring said lower packing collar to a casing, a valve seat on the upper end oi said nrst packing collar, a valve onvsaid mandrel normally positioned in spaced relation above said valve seat and adapted to engage said valve seat in response to downward movement lof said mandrel with respect to said packing member, whereby downward movement of said mandrel with respect to said packing member ilrst forces said valve against said valve seat and It is to vbe 'understood that the embodiment er the invention' described herein 'is only one 0L v 3 thereafter io'rces said upper collar and .sleeve downwardwithirespectto said lower collar to expand saidpacking rings;` Y

L3, Apacker as describedin claim 2 in which said sleeve is ,provided` withV ashoulder to limit downward movement o! said lower packing collar with respectto said sleeve and upper packing c'ollar.. i f i 4. A packer as described in claim 2 in which saidpacker comprises an element secured to said lower packing collar and havinga shoulder in thepath of Vmovement of thel lower end of said sleeve ior limiting `downward movement of the sleeve with respect tothe lower'packing collar. 5.4ln` a packer,\a member having "a cylindrical surface, snapper-packing collar` secured to said member and constituting a shoulder thereon, a lower packing collar slidably mounted on said cylindrical member, and a plurality of packing rings surrounding said cylindrical member and stacked on top oi each other and in direct contact with each other between said collars, each packing ring being of substantially rectangular cross-section with beveled upper and lower edges whereby the beveled edgesot adjacent rings define an annular groove extending about said packer.

6. In a packer, amandrel, a hollow packing member surrounding' said mandrel comprising a sleeve, an upper packing retaining collar attached to said sleeve, a lower packing retaining collar slidably mounted upon said sleeve, a slip cone surrounding said mandrel and positioned below said packing member, said slip cone being recessed to receive the lower end of said sleeve, means forl detachably securing said lower packing retaining collar to the upper end of said slip cone. and a shoulder on the lower end of said sleeve adapted to engage with the lower edge of said lower packing retaining collar to limit'upward movement of said sleeve with respect to said slip cone, a shoulder at the lower edge of said recessed portion of said slip cone for engaging with and limiting downward movement of saidY sleeve, slips on said said slip cone and means attached to said slips for irictionally engaging the casing to force' said slips upwardly and outwardly along said slip cone in response to downward movement oi' said slip cone, a valve seat on the upper end of said packing member and a valve on said mandrel for engaging with said seat in response to downward movement ci' the mandrel with respect to said packing member.

'7. In a packer, a mandrel, a packing member and slip cone assembly slidably and rotatably mounted upon said mandrel, slips `on said slip cone, a slip-anchoring sleeve slidably mounted on said mandrel below said slip cone, spring casing-engaging means on said slip` anchoring sleeve, means: comprising a pin on said mandrel and a' bayonet slot 4onsaid slip-anchoring sleeve for limiting movement of said sleeve-with respect to said mandrel, a slip collar rotatably mounted von said sleeve for longitudinal movement there-- ,with respect to said slip ring;

8. A well packer comprising in combination a mandrel adapted to be secured to the lower end ci a string of tubinnl rst member slidably mounted on said mandrel adjacent the upper end thereof and a second member slidably mounted on said mandrel below said rst member, said nrst member deiining with said mandrel afluid passage surrounding said mandrel and including a packing member andra slip cone. slips slidably mounted on said cone, said second member including spring elements for frictionally engaging a casing, slip links connecting said second member to said slips for actuating the latter, means for normally locking said second member in apredetermined lowermost position on said mandrel, said locking means beingreleasable to permit downward movement of said mandrel with respect to said second member. a valve seat in the upper end of said rst member, a valve on the mandrel adapted to engage with said seat when the mandrel is lowered with respect to said tlrst member. to seal said fluid passage and limit downward movement o! the mandrel with respect to said first member, and a link means independent of said slips and said slip links directly connecting said rst and second members for limiting upward movement of said rst member with respect to said second member whereby when said second member isV locked in said lowermost position on said mandrel said valve is maintained clear ci said seat. 1

9. A well packer, as described in claim 8, in which said link means for directly connecting said first and second members comprises a bolt threadei'l into one of said members at one end and having a head on its other end, said bolt being extended through an oriiice provided therefor on said other member, which orifice is smaller than said bolt head.

ROY R. -RENOUF.

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