GB2147336A

GB2147336A - Wire line running and/or pulling tool

Info

Publication number: GB2147336A
Application number: GB08421990A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Neil Hoover Akkerman
Original assignee: AVA International Corp
Current assignee: AVA International Corp
Priority date: 1983-09-27
Filing date: 1984-08-31
Publication date: 1985-05-09
Also published as: GB8421990D0; FR2560631B1; CA1214990A; NO843859L; FR2560631A1; GB2147336B; NL8402692A; NO172141C; NO172141B

Abstract

There is disclosed a wire line tool 10 for use in running and/or pulling a well tool 15 within a well bore. Latches 20 are carried within slots 19 about a body 11 of the running tool 10 which is adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line WL. The latches 20 are yieldably urged from inner positions, in which their outer ends are adapted to move into the well tool, to outer positions in which their outer ends extend into a groove 16 in the well tool 15 when opposite thereto. The outer ends of the upper sides of the latches 20 have bearing surfaces which, when their outer ends extend into the groove 16, are engageable with the upper end 25 of the groove 16 to support the well tool from the wire line tool, and which are so related to bearing surfaces on the lower sides of the latches which are slidable over guide surfaces on the lower sides of the slots as to prevent inward movement of the latches when the well tool is raised or lowered with the wire tool. The latches 20 are forced inwardly to remove their outer ends from the groove, and then retained against outward movement, in response to downward jarring of the body and subsequent lifting of the body with the wire line to permit the tool to be retrieved from the well tool. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Wire line running and/or pulling tool This invention relates to improvements in a wire line tool of the type which is adapted to be latched within a groove of a well tool and which may be manipulated by the wire line for the purpose of running the well tool into and/or pulling the well tool from a well conduit. In one of its aspects, this invention relates to an improved wire line tool of this type having latches which are adapted to be latched within an internal groove of the well tool and which are retracted from the groove in response to movement of the wire line tool with respect to the well tool in order to permit the wire line tool to be lifted from the well tool.In another of its aspects, it relates to an improved wire line tool of this type in which the latches are released and the tool retrieved in response to shearing of pins which connect parts of the wire line tool to one another as it is moved into latching relation with the well tool.

One such tool of this latter type, which is known as the Otis Type GS Running/Pulling Tool, includes collet fingers which are carried about a body adapted to be lowered on a wire line and which are movable axially with respect to the body between positions in which lugs on their ends may be moved through one end of the the well tool into and out of positions opposite the groove thereon, and positions in which the lugs are forced into and held within the groove as conical and cylindrical the inner sides of the lugs are caused to slide sequentially over conical and cylindrical surfaces, respectively, on the body.

The collet fingers are urged toward latching position by springs which are compressible to permit the lugs to move with the fingers above the conical surface, as the lugs move through the one end of the well tool, but expandible when the lugs are opposite the groove to urge the lugs downwardly along the conical and cylindrical surface on the body to hold them into latching positions within the groove.

A shoulder on the running tool engages a seat on the well tool to prevent further movement of the tool body and collet fingers into the well tool and thus locate the lugs opposite the groove, whereby upon movement of the body to force the lugs into positions beneath the upper end of the groove in the well tool, the well conduit may be supported by the body for running or lowering with the wire line into the well conduit. Alternatively, of course, with well tool in place with the well bore, the running tool may be lowered on the wire line and into the one end of the well tool and then latched thereto in essentially the same manner above noted with respect to latching of the running tool to the well tool for the purpose of running the well tool into the conduit.

The above-described spring is compressed between the collet fingers and a sleeve which surrounds the body of the running tool and is releasably connected thereto by one or more shear pins. More particularly, the support shoulder for the running tool is formed on the sleeve so that, when the sleeve is landed on the seat of the well tool, a downward jar imparted to the body of the running tool will shear the pins and permit the body to be lowered a distance sufficient to permit the lugs to be moved inwardly out of the groove in response to subsequent raising of the body on the wire line.

One problem with a tool of the type above described is the possible wear on its parts due to the slack or freedom of movement between the lugs and the well tool when latched. Thus, since the collet fingers must move downwardly over the conical and cylindrical surfaces of the running tool body in order to move the lugs into latching position, the distance between the upper bearing surfaces on the outer ends of the lugs and the shoulder on the sleeve of the tool is necessarily substantially larger than that between the seat on the well tool and the upper end of the groove in the well tool. Also, in addition to being of complex and expensive construction, this tool is difficult to assemble and/or reassemble preparatory to latching to the well conduit.

In the use of tools of this type, it is ordinarily necessary, following pulling of the running tool, to shear the pins which connect the sleeve to the body of the running tool in order to prevent release of the lugs from the groove in the well tool. These pins are both difficult to remove to permit release of the running tool from the well tool, and difficult to replace in order to prepare the running tool for relatching to a well bore.

One object of this invention is to provide a wire line tool of this type in which there need be essentially no slack between its latching elements and the upper end of the groove in the well tool against which their outer ends are adapted to bear in order to support the well tool, but in which the configuration of the groove may be the same as that which is adapted to receive the lugs of the aforementioned prior wire line tool, or latches of similar wire line tools, and further in which the wire line tool is of a relatively simple and inexpensive construction which is easy to assembly with or disassemble from the well tool.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wire line tool of this type which and unlatched from the well tool, upon pulling the well tool, may be relatched to a well tool without removal of a shear pin, and thus without replacing the shear pin.

These and other objects are accomplished, in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of the invention, by a tool of this type in which latches are carried by body adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line for sliding along guide surfaces on the body which extend downwardly and outwardly with respect to the axis of the body, as well as means on the body cooperable with a seat on the well tool for locating the outer ends of the latches opposite the groove in the well tool when the body is disposed within the well tool.The latches are yieldably urged from inner positions, in which their outer ends are adapted to move through the well tool into and out of positions opposite the groove, to outer positions in which their outer ends extend into the groove when opposite thereto, and the upper sides of the latches have bearing surfaces which, when the outer ends of the latches extend into the groove, are engageable with the upper end of the groove and adapted, to support the well tool from the wire line, and which are so related to bearing surfaces on the lower sides of the latches engageable with the guide surfaces on the body, when the well tool is so supported, as to prevent inward movement of the latches.

More particularly, the wire line tool includes means which is responsive to vertical movement of the body with respect to the well tool for forcing the latches inwardly to retract their outer ends from the groove and retain in their retracted positions so that the wire line tool may be retrieved from the well tool.

In the illustrated and preferred embodiment of the invention, a sleeve is disposed about and mounted on the body to dispose cam surfaces thereon adjacent the outer ends of the latches, and has a shoulder thereon which, when landed on the seat, locates the outer ends of the latches opposite the groove in the well tool. Upon release of the means mounting the sleeve on the body, and vertical movement of the body with respect to the sleeve, the outer ends of the latches are cammed inwardly and out particularly, means are provided for supporting the sleeve from the body, when the latches are so retained, to permit the sleeve to be raised with the body to retrieve the wire line tool from the well conduit.

In one embodiment of the invention, the sleeve is mounted on the body of the running tool by a pin which is sheared in response to jarring of the body so as to permit the retrieval of the running tool in the manner above described. In the event the tool is instead used to pull a well tool, the latches are removed from latching position to release the running tool from the well tool by removing the shear pin to permit retraction of the latches by movement of the body of the running tool into the sleeve. Then, in order to relatch the running tool to a well tool, the body is again moved to an outer position with respect to the sleeve and another shear pin is installed to connect the body to the sleeve.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention there is provided a wire line tool for running and/or pulling a well tool having a seat thereon and an annular groove about its inner diameter, comprising body means adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line, latches carried by the body means for inward and outward movement with respect thereto, a sleeve disposed about the body means for shifting between upper and lower positions with respect thereto, said sleeve having openings therein disposable opposite the latches in its lower position and a shoulder thereon engageable with the seat to locate the openings and latches opposite the groove, means yieldably urging the latches toward their outer positions and thus beyond the sleeve and into the groove, when the sleeve is its lower portion, means on the sleeve for forcing the latches inwardly and out of the groove upon movement of the sleeve to its upper position, said body means having a groove in a portion thereof, at least one pin extending through the sleeve and within the groove to support the sleeve in its lower position in which the latches extend into the groove, said pin being shearable in response to a downward jar on the body means, and while the latches are in the groove, to permit the sleeve to be moved to its upper position.

means automatically responsive to movement of the sleeve to its upper position to prevent its return to its lower position, whereby the wire line tool may be raised from the well tool, said groove having a portion into which the shear pin may be moved, when the wire line tool is removed from the well tool, to permit the sleeve to be moved to a position relative to the body means in which the latches are cammed inwardly to their inner positions, and detent means for releasably holding said sleeve from movement to said last-mentioned position.

In accordance with a specific embodiment of the invention, the sleeve is connected to the body of the wire line tool by means which limits relative axial movement while permitting relative rotation between them, and a detent means releasably connects the body and sleeve in a position in which the cam surfaces on the sleeve are in substantial vertical alignment with the outer ends of the latches.

More particularly, the sleeve has additional cam surfaces thereon to one side of the outer ends of each latch for engaging the outer ends of the latches, upon release of the detent means and rotation of the sleeve, to force the latches inwardly to their inner positions and permit the sleeve to be moved over the outer ends of the latches to retain them in retracted positions, whereby the sleeve is free to be removed with the body from the well tool without shearing of the pins connecting the sleeve to the body.

As shown the body has a groove about it, and the connecting means comprises at least one shear pin extending through the sleeve and tangentially within a portion of the groove. Also, the detent means comprises a slot in the outer side of the body, a slot in the inner side of the sleeve axially aligned with the slot in the body when the windows are opposite the latches, and leaf springs mounted on the body and extending into the slots. More particularly, the free ends of the springs are depressible to remove them from the slots in the sleeve and thus permit the necessary rotation of the sleeve with respect to the body.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters are used throughout to designate like parts: Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the running tool constructed in accordance with the first-mentioned embodiment of the present invention, latched within an internal groove in the upper end of a well tool; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the running tool and well tool of Fig. 1, as seen along broken lines 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a partial vertical sectional view of the lower end of the running tool of Fig. 1 during initial movement thereof into the well tool; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but upon further movement of the running tool into the well tool to force the outer ends of the latches inwardly as they move toward the groove in the well tool;; Fig. 5 is a further partial vertical crosssectional view of the running tool and well tool, upon release of the body from connection with the sleeve thereabout and lowering of the body with respect to the sleeve so as to force the latches inwardly out of the groove and to permit the pin carried by the body of the running tool to move outwardly into a position in which its outer end is beneath the sleeve and thus disposed in position to lift the sleeve with the body as the body is raised with the wire line to retrieve the running tool from the well tool; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the running tool constructed in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, removed from the well tool, but with the latches thereof in position for latching within the well tool upon assembly of the tool with the well tool;; Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of one-half of the tool of Fig. 6 as seen along broken lines 7--7 thereof; and Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the tool, as seen along broken lines 8--8 of Fig. 6; With reference now to the details of the above-described drawings, the embodiment of the running tool shown in Figs. 1 to 5, and indicated in its entirety by reference character 10, includes a body 11 having a fishing neck 1 2 at its upper end for connection to the lower end of a wire line WL, and a sleeve 1 3 disposed about and releasably mounted on a lower reduced diameter portion 14 of the body.The outer diameter of the sleeve is adapted to fit closely within the inner diameter of a well tool 1 5 which has a groove 1 6 thereabout beneath a seat 1 7 on its upper end. A shoulder 1 8 is formed on the outer diameter of the sleeve for landing on the seat 1 7 and thus locating the lower portion 1 4 of the body longitudinally with respect to the well tool.

A plurality of slots 1 9 are formed on the body to receive latches 20 for guidably sliding therein along paths which extend downwardly and outwardly with respect to the axis of the body, and the slots are so spaced with respect to the shoulder 18 on the sleeve that the outer ends of the latches are opposite the groove 1 6 in the well tool when the shoulder is landed on the seat 1 7. More particularly, latches 20 are adapted to extend through windows 21 formed in the sleeve to permit their outer ends to extend into latching position within well tool groove 16.

The slots 1 9 are of depth as to permit the latches to slide between the outer latched position of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, in which their outer ends extend beyond the outer end of the diameter of the sleeve for latching with the groove 16, the intermediate position of Figure 4 in which the outer ends of the latches are partially retracted to permit them to move within the well tool during assembly or disassembly of the tool, and the inner position shown in Fig. 5 in which their outer ends are within the inner diameter of sleeve 1 3 to permit the retrieval of the tool. More particularly, the latches are yieldably urged toward their outer positions by means of coil springs 22 compressed between the inner ends of the latches and the outer ends of the slots.The latches are retained within the slots during assembly and disassembly of the tool by means of pins 23 extending laterally through holes (not shown) in the body and within flats 24 formed in the upper sides of the latches.

The seat 1 7 at the upper end of the well tool as well as the outer ends of the latches 20 are tapered downwardly and inwardly with respect to the axis of the body, so that, during assembly of the tool into latched position within the well tool prior to running same, or upon lowering of the tool into connection with the well tool for the purpose of pulling the well tool, the latches will be cammed inwardly by the seat 1 7 as they move downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3. When cammed inwardly in this manner, the outer ends of the latches will, upon continued lowering of the body, move downwardly along the inner diameter of the well tool above the groove 16, as shown in Figure 4.Thus, the shoulder 1 8 and the upper bearing surfaces need be spaced apart a distance no greater than that required in order to insure movement of the latches into latching position following seating of shoulder 18 of the sleeve on the seat 1 7 of the well tool, so that, as previously described, just prior to landing of the shoulder 18 on the seat 17, the outer ends of the latches will move outwardly through the windows in the sleeve and into the groove adjacent its upper end.

As previously described, when assembled in latching position with the wire line tool at the wellhead, the well tool may be lowered therewith by means of the wire line into a desired position within the well bore, following which the wire line tool may be released therefrom and retrieved from the well bore, as will be described. Alternatively, in the event the well tool 1 5 is located within the well bore, the wire line tool 10 may be lowered on the wire line 1 3 and caused to latch thereto as its lower end is lowered into the wire line tool, and then raised by the wire line 1 3 for pulling the wire line tool from the well bore.

As shown, guide surfaces on the upper and lower sides of the slot, and thus the bearing surfaces on the upper and lower sides of the latches, are parallel to one another as well as to the upper end 25 of the groove 16, so that, with the running tool latched to the well tool, the outer ends of the latches are prevented from moving inwardly as the well tool is lowered with the wire line tool into a desired position within a well bore, or alternatively as the well tool is raised with the wire line tool for retrieval from the well bore.Thus, the inward component of force acting on the latches due to the support of the upper end of groove 1 6 on the bearing surfaces on the upper sides of the latches is opposed by an opposite and equal outward component of force due to the support of the bearing surfaces on the lower sides of the latches on the guide surfaces of the lower sides of the slots.

Thus, inward movement of the latches is prevented not only by the springs but also frictional resistance due to engagement between the bearing surfaces on the latches and slot and the upper end of the groove 1 6.

The sleeve is releasably mounted on the body 11 of the tool by means of shear pins 26 to locate a downwardly facing shoulder 27 on the body at the upper end of the reduced diameter portion 14 thereof above an upwardly facing shoulder 28 on the upper end of the sleeve. In order to release the tool from the well tool following running of the well tool into the well bore, and thus permit its retrieval from the well bore, a downward jar is imparted to the body through the wire line 1 3 in order to shear the pins 26 and thus permit the body 11 to be lowered with the wire line with respect to the sleeve.As the body is so lowered, the outer ends of the latches are cammed inwardly by cam surfaces on the lower ends 29 of the windows 21 of the sleeve and then slide within the inner diameter of the sleeve, so that, upon landing of the shoulder 27 upon shoulder 28, the outer ends of the latches are retained in their inner positions. To facilitate inward camming of the latches out of latching position, the outer ends of the latches as well as the lower edges 29 of the windows are tapered downwardly and inwarldy with respect to the axis of the body.

One or more pins 30 are slidable inwardly and outwardly within a slot 31 formed within the body beneath the latches for movement between an inner position within the sleeve, prior to release and lowering of the body, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, and an outer position in which the upper side of the pin is beneath the lower end of the sleeve, following lowering of the body, as shown in Fig. 5.

More particularly, each such pin 30 is yieldably urged to its outer position by means of a spring 32 disposed between its inner end and the outer end of the slot 31, and the pin is so located that the upper side of the pin 30 will move below the lower end of the sleeve before shoulder 18 lands on seat 1 7. Thus, upon lifting of the body with the wire line, the pin will engage the sleeve 1 3 while the inner ends of the latches are still retained within the inner diameter of the sleeve.

As previously described in order to unlatch the wire line tool from the well conduit it is first necessary to remove the shear pin 26, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to permit the body to be lowered into the sleeve thereof and the well tool. As previously described in connection with the retrieval of the well tool upon downward jarring to shear the pin 26, upon movement of the body into the lower position shown in Fig. 5, the latches 20 will be retained within the sleeve 1 3 so as to permit the wire line tool to be lifted from within the well conduit. Then, of course, in order to relatch the wire line tool a well tool, the pin 30 is depressed to permit the sleeve to be moved to its lower position with respect to the body. As the sleeve is so moved, the latches 20 are urged outwardly through the windows in the sleeve, and thus into their outer latching position. Then, upon alignment of holes provided in the body and the sleeve, another shear pin may be inserted therein so as to reconnect the sleeve to the body of the wire line tool.

As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the alternative embodiment of the wire line tool, which is indicated in its entirety by reference character 1 0A is similar in many respects to the tool 10. Hence many of the parts of the tool 1 OA are provided with reference characters which differ from those applied to corresponding parts of the tool 10 only by the suffix A.

Thus, the tool includes body 11A adapted to be connected to the wire line, and a sleeve 1 3A which surrounds a reduced lower dia meter portion 1 4A of the body 11 A for relative vertical movement with respect to it.

More particularly, the sleeve is mounted on the body of the wire line tool by shearable means, which will be described in detail to follow, so as to dispose windows 21A in the sleeve opposite latches 20A guidably slidable within slots 19A in the portion 14A of the body of the wire line tool. More particularly, the sleeve is so mounted as to dispose a shoulder 1 8A thereabout in position for engaging a shoulder of the well tool, such as that shown at 1 7 in Fig. 1, when the windows and latches are opposite the groove in the well tool, as indicated at 1 6 in Fig. 1.

Also, the latches are yieldably urged to their outer latching positions by means of springs 22A, all in a manner described in connection with the tool 10.

As was also true of the running tool 10, latches 20A of tool 1 0A have flats 24A on their upper sides, and the outer ends of the flats provide bearing surfaces adapted to be disposed closely adjacent the upper end of the groove of the well bore, when the tool is latched within the well tool. As described in connection with the prior embodiment, these bearing surfaces are so arranged with respect to the bearing surfaces on the lower sides of the latches engageable with the lower sides of the slots 1 9A as to prevent movement of the latches out of latching position as the well tool is raised and lowered by means of the wire line tool. The latches are retained within the slots by means of lateral pins 23A.

In order to release the wire line tool from the well tool upon running of the well tool, the body of the wire line tool is jarred downwardly to shear the shearable means connecting the sleeve to the body, and thus permit the body 11 A to be lowered with respect to the sleeve and thus with respect to the well tool. As described in connection with running tool 10, the lower edges of the windows 21 A will cam the latches inwardly and the outer ends of the latches will then slide downwardly within the sleeve as the body moves downwardly to land a shoulder 27A thereabout upon a shoulder 28A on the upper end of the sleeve.At this time, of course, the pin 30A radially slidable within slot 31A in the body of the running tool is urged outwardly by the spring 32A into a position in which it is beneath the lower edge of the sleeve 1 3A, whereby the upward movement of the body with respect to the sleeve is limited so that the latches remain retained within the sleeve 1 3A so as to permit the wire line tool to be retrieved from the well tool.

In accordance with this embodiment of the invention, the sleeve is mounted on the body by tangentially arranged shear pins 34 which not only releasably connect the body and sleeve against relative axial movement, but at the same time permit the sleeve and body to be rotated relative to one another. For this purpose, and as shown in Fig. 8, a groove 35 is formed about the reduced diameter portion 1 4A of the body of the tool 1 OA to receive the shear pins 34 which extend through holes formed in the sleeve in a tangentially of the sleeve about the outer diameter of the body.

The sleeve and body are held in relative rotative positions in which the latches 20A extend through the windows 21A by detent means which includes a slot 36 formed in the outer side of the enlarged diameter portion of the body 11A, a slot 37 formed in the inner diameter of the upper end of the sleeve 13A, and leaf springs 38 which are mounted on the body by means of screws 39 and whose free ends extend upwardly into the aligned slots 36 and 37 in the sleeve and body, respectively. Upon depression of the free ends of the leaf springs 38, they are removed from the slots 37 so as to permit the sleeve to be rotated with respect to the body.

As shown in Fig. 6, a cam 40 is formed on the sleeve to one side of each window 21A so as to rotate into engagement with the outer end of the latch extending through the window and thereby force the latch inwardly, and then, as the cam moves over the outer end of the latch, cause the inner diameter of the sleeve to the right side of the cam to slide over the outer ends of the latches in order to retain them in their inner positions. More particularly, and as will be apparent from the drawings, the lower end of the cam will initially engage and slide over the outer, noncylindrical end of each latch so as to exert an inwardly directed force thereon which retracts the latches as the cam continues to slide over its outer end.

As previously mentioned, this unique arrangement enables the wire line tool to be unlatched from the well tool, upon pulling of the well tool, and then relatched to a well tool, without shearing and then replacing one or more shear pins. Thus, instead, it is merely necessary that the operator depress the free ends of the leaf springs 38 so as to permit the body 11 A to be rotated through an angle sufficient to cam the latches 20A inwardly and then retain them within the inner diameter of the sleeve. At this time, the lower portion of the wire line tool need merely be lifted from the well tool. When the wire line tool is to be relatched to a well tool, its lower end need merely be lowered into the well tool, and the body 1 1A again rotated until such time that leaf spring 38 springs outwardly into slot 37.As the body is moved into this rotative position, the latches 20A will have moved into positions opposite the windows 21A, so that their outer ends will be yieldably urged through the windows and into the latching position of Fig. 7.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

Because many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

1. A wire line tool for running and/or pulling a well tool having a seat thereon and an annular groove about its inner diameter, comprising a body adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line, latches carried by the body for sliding along guide surfaces on the body which extend downwardly and outwardly with respect to the axis of the body, means on the body cooperable with the seat of the well tool for locating the outer ends of the latches opposite the groove when the body is disposed within the well tool, and means yieldably urging the latches from inner positions in which their outer ends are adapted to move through the well tool into and out of positions opposite the groove, to outer positions in which their outer ends extend into the groove when opposite thereto, the upper sides of the latches having bearing surfaces which are engageable with the upper end of the groove, when the outer ends of the latches extend into the groove, to support the well tool from the wire line tool, and which are so related to bearing surfaces on the lower sides of the latches which are engageable with the guide surfaces on the body, when the well tool is so supported, as to prevent inward movement of the latches, and means responsive to vertical movement of the body with respect to the well tool for moving said latches inwardly to retract their outer ends from the groove and retain them in retracted positions, so that the wire line tool may be retrieved from the well tool.

2. A tool of the character defined in claim 1, wherein the bearing surfaces on the upper and lower sides of the latches and the upper end of the groove are essentially parallel.

3. A wire line tool for running and/or pulling a well tool having a seat thereon and an annular groove about its inner diameter, comprising a body adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line, latches carried by the body for sliding along guide surfaces on the body which extend downwardly and outwardly with respect to the axis of the body, a sleeve about the body having cam surfaces thereon, means mounting the sleeve on the body to dispose the cam surfaces adjacent the outer ends of the latches, means on the sleeve cooperable with the seat of the well tool for locating the outer ends of the latches opposite the groove, means yieldably urging the latches from inner positions, in which their outer ends are adapted to move through the well tool into and out of positions opposite the groove, to outer positions in which their outer ends extend into the groove when opposite thereto, the upper sides of the latches having bearing surfaces which are engageable with the upper end of the groove, when the outer ends of the latches extend into the groove, to support the well tool from the wire line tool, and which are so related to bearing surfaces on the latches which are engageable with the guide surfaces on the body, when the well tool is so supported, as to prevent inward movement of the latches, said mounting means being releasable to permit the body to be moved vertically with respect to the sleeve, and the outer ends of the latches being cammed inwardly and out of the groove by the cam surfaces and held within the sleeve as the body is so moved, and means for supporting the sleeve from the body, when the latches are so retained, to permit the sleeve to be raised with the body to retrieve the wire line tool from the well tool.

4. A tool of the character defined in claim 3, wherein the body has means thereon providing a downwardly facing shoulder, and the sleeve has an upwardly facing seat spaced beneath the body shoulder and engageable thereby when the body has been lowered to force the outer ends of the latches out of the groove.

5. A tool of the character defined in claim 3, wherein said means for limiting upward movement of the body comprises at least one pin carried by the body for inward and outward movement with respect thereto, and means for yieldably urging the pin to a position to engage a shoulder on the sleeve upon movement of the body to force the latches inwardly out of the groove.

6. A tool of the character defined in claim 4, wherein said means for limiting movement of the body comprises at least one pin carried by the body for inward and outward movement with respect thereto, and means for yieldably urging the pin to a position facing the shoulder on the sleeve upon movement of the body to force the latches inwardly out of the groove.

7. A wire line tool for running and/or pulling a well tool having a seat thereon and an annular groove about its inner diameter, comprising body means adapted to be raised and lowered on a wire line, latches carried by the body means for inward and outward movement with respect thereto, a sleeve disposed about the body means for shifting between upper and lower positions with respect thereto, said sleeve having openings therein disposable opposite the latches in its lower position and a shoulder thereon engageable with the seat to locate the openings and latches opposite the groove, means yieldably urging the latches toward their outer positions and thus beyond the sleeve and into the groove, when the sleeve is its lower portion, means on the sleeve for forcing the latches inwardly and out of the groove upon movement of the sleeve to its upper position, said body means having a groove in a portion thereof, at least one pin extending through the sleeve and within the groove to support the sleeve in its lower position in which the latches extend into the groove, said pin being shearable in response to a downward jar on the body means, and while the latches are in the groove, to permit the sleeve to be moved to its upper position, means automatically responsive to movement of the sleeve to its upper position to prevent its return to its lower position, whereby the wire line tool may be raised from the well tool, said groove having a portion into which the shear pin may be moved, when the wire line tool is removed from the well tool, to permit the sleeve to be moved to a position relative to the body means in which the latches are cammed inwardly to their inner positions, and detent means for releasably holding said sleeve from movement to said last-mentioned position.

8. A tool of the character defined in Claim 1, wherein, said sleeve is rotatable about the body means upon release of said detent means, and has additional cam means thereon for forcing said latches to their inner positions as the sleeve is so rotated, and said detent means is disposed between said body portion and sleeve.

9. A tool of the character defined in Claim 7, wherein the groove is formed in the outer side of the body portion, and the pin extends tangentially through the sleeve and the body portion.

10. A tool of the character defined in Claim 8, wherein the groove is arcuate and formed in the outer diameter of the body portion, and the pin extends tangentially through the sleeve and body portion.