US1514978A

US1514978A - Well stopper

Info

Publication number: US1514978A
Application number: US641199A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mclean George Henry
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1923-05-24
Filing date: 1923-05-24
Publication date: 1924-11-11
Anticipated expiration: 1941-11-11

Description

Nw. u .1924. 1,514,978

G. H. MCLEAN WELL STOPPER' r'lledMay 24, `19225 J7 BY 36 0MM ATTORNEYS PatentedNoiv. 11, 1924.

I WELL srorrER. j

Application :tiled May 24, 1923. `Serial No. 641,199.

To all whom t may eo/noem:

-Be-it known that I, GEORGE H. MCLEAN,

a ycitizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Tampico, .Province of Tamps, Mexico, '5 have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Well Stoppers, o-f which the -.following is a specification-F71, n

My inventionrelates to improvements in well Stoppers, and consists in the combinations, constructions'and arrangements herein described and claimed- An object of the present invention is to provide a well stopper orF plug y, which is Vadapted to be lowered in a well bore to a desirable position and which includes means adapted to =be first manipulated by a connection extendingfto the upper end of the well bore to cause the stopper to engage with the well bore in such manner as to be releasably held against movement along Vthe well bore withoutv preventing the' passage of Huid therethrough and to be further manipulated at any desired time to engage with the well bore in such a manner as to completely close the well ,bore and be permanently held against movement along the latter.

A furtherlobject of the invention is to provide a well stopper of the character described which comprises relatively few parts and which is thoroughly eEectiVe for the purpose intended.

Other objects and advantages will apparent from the following description, con-4 sidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in whichl igure 1 is a verticaLsectiqn through a well bore having a well stopperI embodying the invention disposedD therein with the sp-ect to the well bore, and l Figure 2 isa view similar to Figure 1,

showing the closure body in fully expanded or bore-closing position.

Referring n owto the drawings, 1 designates a wellbore and 2 isanuelongated lower end of the stem section 3. The socket 4 is counterb'ored at 6 at the lower end 55 of the stem, thereby defining an annular' shoulder 7 which is intersected by the port-s 5 and is located below the'level of the upper end of the latter.

A tubular body or barrel 8 is adapted atits 60 upper end to interit the counterbore 6 and is held in abutting relation to the shoulder 7 by a frangible suspension cable 9 by means of which the barrel 8 lis suspended from the stem. 2. A sleeve 10 which slidably 65 overfits the barrel 8 and is considerablya shorter than the latter is threadedly engaged adjacent to its upper end by a nut e 11v resting upon an annular lower head portion 12 of a rsuspension framel which 70- surrounds ther upper portion of the barrel 8, whereby the sleeve 10 'will Ibe supported in position to depend through the annularl'.; lower head 12. The suspension frame 13`v includes in addition to the annular lower. head l2 a substantially frusto-conical intermediate portion 14 which is integral at its lower end with the outer edge portion ofl the lower head 12` and is integral at its upper end with the inner edge portion vof an annular upper head 15 which encircles the barrel 8. With the "organization just described, the annular internal shoulder 16 uponfwhich the nut 11 rests as hereinbefore closure body in non-closing position in re-`v described is defined at the juncture of the S5 lower head 12 and the intermediatey portion 14 and an annular external shoulder 17 is defined at the juncture of the inter-l mediate portion 14 and the upperhead 15. The suspension frame 13-'is suspended' fromfno the steml 2 through the agency ofa frangible 'f suspension' element 18 which -extendsthrough v a transverse bore 19 in the lower end portion 3 of theY stem and is attached atfits ends 'to screw eyes 20 which are threadedly er1-95 l gaged with sockets in theupper face of the 1 upper head. 15. The lengthy of the frangible 1" suspension element 18 is such that thesusypension frame 13 will supportedwith the upper end j, thereof lying -in a horizontal'loo plane substantially coincident with v4theV plane of the lowerend ofthe stem2 andthe vlower end of the sleeve 10 will be positioned 4above a lateral port 21^ vin the fbarrel. '8

adjacent to thev lowerik end of the latter. 4 V105 VgThe-inner wall of the annular upper'headsj 15 increases in diameter from its lower .to

of the barrel 8. The locking dogs or slide blocks 23 have the inner faces thereof provided with upwardly inclined teeth 24 and are pressed 'downwardly continuously by spring fingers 25 secured on the upper end of the head 15 -by the screw eyes 2O and having. inwardly extending end portions resting upon a washer 26 which in turn is supported upon the upper ends of the locking dogs or slide blocks 23 and to which pressure is transmitted from the spring members 25 -to the locking dogs. The latter thus are held continuously in engagement with the barrel 8 for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

Wedge-shaped slide blocks or locking dogs 27 are held against the outer wall of the frusto-conical intermediate portion 14 by headed pins o-r screws 28 which extend through vertical guide slots 29 in the intermediate portion 14. The pins or screws 28 are adapted to slide along the guide slots 29 so that the slide blocks 27 may move upwardly and inwardly into abutting relation to the shoulder 17 as illustrated in Figure 1 or downwardly and outwardly into en--A gagement with the inner wall of the well bore, as illustrated in Figure 2. The slide.

blocks 27 have upwardly directed teeth 29 on their outer faces.

i stop 30 which may be a nut threadedly engaged with the sleeve 1() adjacent to the lower end ofthe latter supports a laterally expansible closure body designated generally at 3lwhich is annular in form and is adapted to be disposed on the sleeve 10 between the lower head 12 and the nut 30. The laterally expansible closure body 31 preferably comprlses an upper ring section 32 made of a compressible elastic material such as rubber, reinforced and confined at and ad- ]acent to its upper and lower ends by thin caps 33 made of a soft readily bendable material, such as lead. The expansible closure also includes a plurality of superposed ring sections 34 arranged between the section 32 and the nut 30 and each comprising an annular body made of a compressible and ,preferably cementitious mixture, such as oakum, cotto-n or lead wool mixed with cement. Each section 34 is reinforced and` confined at its lower end and at its outer wall-by a lead cap 35.

A llftenhead 36 is carried at the lower end of the barrel 8 and closes the latter,

the lifter head preferably being hemispheri cal in shape and being provided with a central socket 37 in the fiat face thereof threadedly engaged with the barrel 8 sosthat an annular shoulder extending outwardly from the barrel is defined at 38 and upon this annular shoulder is disposed a gasket 39.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. The stem 2with the well stopper attached thereto inthe manner described is lowered into the well bore to a desired position in the latter. The curved face of the lifter head36 is lowermost and therefore very little resistance is interposed to the passage of oil, wa-

.ter or other fluid upwardly about the lifter head through the port 21 intoy the barrel 8. Thence, the fluid passes throughfthe port 5 into the space between the stem 2 and the well bore and is free to Apass upwardly inthe latter. When the stopper has been lowered to a desired position in the well bore, an upward pull on the stem will result in the locking dogs 27 being cammed downwardly and outwardly in respect to the suspension frame 13 until the teeth 29 bite into the wall of the well bore. The suspension frame 13 will then be held against upward movement in the bore v.and continuation of the pull will result in the breakin@ of the frangible suspension element 9. Cbntinuation ofthe upward pull then will result in the barrel 8 moving upwardly in the bore relatively to the suspension frame. The portion of the barrel 8 provided with the port 21 will be received within the sleeve 10 and the gasket 39 will be compressed between the lifter head 36 and the nut 30, thereby preventing the passage of fluid from the space below the lifter head into the barrel 8. Further upward movement of the stem after the lifter head 36 is in engagement with the nut 30 will cause the sleeve 10 to be lifted bodily in the direction of its length, thereby compressing the sections of the expansible closure body 31 and expanding such closure body radially until the closure tightly interfits the bore as illustrated in Figure 2. The teeth 24 of the slide blocks- 23 will engage with the barrel 8 to prevent downward movement of the latter relatively to the suspension frame 13 and 'the frangible suspension element 9 will break when the resistance offered by the expanded closure is sufiicient to overcome the strength of such suspension element. The stem 2 may then be withdrawn bodily from the well bore and the latter will be closed against the pass'age of fluid therethrough from the space below the stopper to the space above the stopper. The cementitious material entering into the composition of the closure section 34 will set when the latter are in expanded position and the stopper thus will be permanently secured in position within the well bore..

Obviously, my invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms. other than that illuslll) 'suspension frame adapted to be lowered in a well bore, locking-means carried by the suspension frame for engaging the wall of the bore to hold the frame against upward movement in the bore, an elongated radially expansible closure carried at the lower end of the suspension frame, means extending vertically through the closure and the suspension frameiwhereby the closure may be expanded radially, and frangible means-connecting said suspension frame with said closure expanding means and normally preventing operation of the latter.

2. A well stopper comprising an annular suspension frame adapted to be lowered in a well bore, locking means carried by the suspension frame for engaging the wall of the bore to hold the frame against upward movement in the bore, an elongated radially expansible closure carried at the lower end of the suspension frame, means extending vertically through the closure and the suspension frame whereby the closure may be expanded radially, a frangible element for suspending the suspension frame from a stem depending in ,the well bore, a second frangible elen'lent having greater strength than the iirst frangible element for suspending said closure expanding means from said stem, and locking means arranged between said suspension frame and said closure expanding means for holding the latter against downward movement relatively to the suspension frame while permitting upward movement of the closure expanding means relatively to the suspension frame.

ln a well stopper, an annular sus-` pension frame, a. barrel depending through said suspension frame, a vertically compressible radially expansible closure body carried by the suspension frame in encircling relation to the barrel adjacent to the lower end of the latter, said barrel having a lateral port in the portion thereof depending below said closure body, a lifter head at the lower end of the barrel, and frangible suspension elements for respectively connecting said suspension frame and said barrel with a source of lifting power and being adapted to break under stress in the order named, means carried by the suspension 'frame for engaging with the wall of the well bore `to hold the Suspension frame against upward movement in the well bore, and means arranged between the suspension frame and the barrel for holding the latter against downward movement relatively to the suspension element and for permitting upward movement of the barrel relatively to the suspension frame.

Ll. In a well`stopper, an annular suspension frame, a barrel depending through said suspension frame, a vertically compressible radially expansible closure body carried by the suspension frame in encircling relation to the barrel adjacent to the lower end of the latter, said barrel having a lateral port in the portion thereof depending below said closure body, a lifter head at the lower end of the. barrel, frangible suspension elements for respectively connecting said suspension frame and said barrel with a source of lifting power and being adapted to break under stress in the order named, means carried by the suspension frame for engaging with the wall of the well bore to hold the suspension frame against upward movementin the well bore, means arranged between the suspension frame and the barrel for holdingl the latter against downward movement relatively to the suspension element and for permitting upward movement of the barrel relatively to the suspension frame, and means carried by the lifter head on the barrel for sealing the joint between the lower end of the barrel and the closure when the barrel is in lifted position.

5. In a well stopper, an annular suspension element adapted to be lowered in a well bore and to be held against upward movement in the well bore, a sleeve supported upon the suspension frame to depend below the lower end of the latter, said sleeve being movable upward, a stop at the lower end of the sleeve, a vertically compresssible radially expansible annular body encircling the sleeve and extending between the stop and the lower end of the suspension frame, a barrelr depending through the suspension frame, and through the sleeve, said barrel being mounted to slide in the direction of its length independently of the suspension frame, said barrel having a lateral port in the depending end portion thereof, means for preventing downward movement of the barrel relatively to the suspension frame, and a head at the lower end of the barrel closing the lower end of the barrel and for engaging with the lower end of the sleeve upon a determined upward movement of the barrel to close the lower end of the sleeve and to cause upward compression and radial expansion of the closure.

GEORGE HENRY MCLEAN.