US1766766A - Well packer - Google Patents

Description

June 24, 1930. L.. E. SHEPARD ET Ax.

WELL PACKER Filed Sept. 7, 1926 'LE ne fit' S 9 2 4 9 f/ 82 UAQQMWZWWM, 22% nu 0 0 0 u mw 0 c u o o o o 0 0 0 mw 0 Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE'.

LAWRENGE E. SHEPABD AND HUBERT L. SHEPARD, OF LOS ANGELES, ALIFORNIA.

WELL PACKER Application led September 7, 1926. Serial No. 133,844.

Our invention is a well packer to enable testing of a well such as an oil well, to determine the fiow of oil or water` at different depths in the well.

An object of our invention is the construction of a well packer which maybe utilized to form upper and lower packings at different depths in the well so that the flow through a perforated casing or the like may be tested 1o and the packer being constructed that it may be shifted todifferent depths-without withdrawing same from thewell.

In the construction of our invention, the packer may be inserted to the greatest depth it is desired to test and may then be utilized to shut off the well above and below the packer in order to test the flow from such greatest depth and may subsequently be raised to higher elevations without with- 2o drawing the packer from the well and test the flow successively at different higher depths.

A more speciiic object of our invention is the formation of a packer with upper and lower packing units and a frictional engagement with the casing below the lowest ring and with slips operating on a wedge to grip the casing at the desired depth. The construction of the packer permits the wedges 3o to be contracted to elevate the packer above lits first used position and to use same successively at higher positions in the well.

In constructing our invention we connect the packer to a flow pipe and have a perforated tube extending downwardly from the iowpipe into a perforated cage, this cage separating the upper and lower rubber expansion rings.

The perforated tube is provided with an enlarged closure cap and a downwardly extending central wedge with slips thereon slidably mounted on the perforated tube, this wedge having a socket in its upper end. The slidable stem is fitted to the lower end of the wedge and extends downwardly into a casing and has a trigger adjacent its lower end, this trigger being held in locked position when the packer is being lowered into a well by friction springs which engage the well casing, the trigger being released on a slight upward pull of the low pipe and the wedge. In the vdownward movement the friction springs are forced down, the downward pressure being transmitted through the rubber packing rings, but this being insufficient to expand same against the ,casing until the slips have, been engaged, first by a slight upward movement engaging the trigger on the stem with the springs clamping the casing and then a downward movement wedging the slips tightly against the casing and compressing the rubber packing. The packing may be released by an upward pull on the fiow -pipe and then expanded at a different position in the well.

Our invention is illustrated in the accom` panying drawings, in which;

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section showing the packer in the position when being lowered into a well casing;

Fig. 2 is a section through the casing, showing in elevation the packer partly broken away, illustrating the first step of engaging the trigger on the stem with the expansion springs;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, showing a further step with the packing rings expanded against the casing.`

In the drawings, a well casing is indicated by the numeral 1, having a series of aper- 80 tures 2 or the like through which oil or water may flow into the casing. The flow pipe 3 extends downwardly intothe well and supports and carries the packer as well as carrying the upflow of the water or oil. A coupling 85 4 is screw threaded on the lower end of the iiow pipe, the lower surface of the coupling forming an abutment 5. A perforated tube 6 is screw threaded into the coupling, this having perforations 7 and extends down- 90 wardly having an enlarged closure cap 8 screw threaded on its lower end.

An upper expandible packing ring 9 preferably formed of rubber is positioned immediately below the coupling 4, bearing against 95 the abutment face 5, there being a slip ring l0 inside of the rubber surrounding the perforated tube. An upper ring plate 11 also slidable on the perforated tube, forms a lower support for the upper packing ring.

A perforated tubular cage 12 fits against the ring plate 11, there being flanges 13 on said plate engaging the upper end. This cage has perforations 14 to allow the flow of oil or water'and passing through the casing into the perforated tube 6. A lower ring plate 15 having van upwardly extending flange engages the lower end of the cage. The lower packing ring 16, also formed o-f rubber, lits against the lower ring plate and has a slip ring 17 inside of same bearing against the perforated tube. The flat ring 18 forms the lower support for the lower packing ring and this has a-threaded flange 19 secured to the ring 18 by screws 20 or the like.

A wedge block designated generally by the numeral 21 has an upper flange 22, this being threaded on the flange 19 leaving a socket `or recess 23 in the upper part of the wedge block. The wedge block is provided with lon` gitudinal dove-tailed grooves 24 in which are slidably mounted the toothed slips 25. The teeth of these slips are inclined downwardly as indicated in the drawings.

Cross slots 26 are formed in the lower end of the wedge block, there being also a central bore 27 through which a slidable stem 28 extends, this stem having a spider 29 secured to its upper end, the spider being formed of cross bars fitting in the cross slots 26. These l slots 26 have an upper abutment face 30 and a lower abutment face 31 allowing the spider tohave slight up and down movement. A heavy collar 32 is secured on the lower end of the wedge block.

The stem is provided with a collar 33 at its lowerend and has a recess 34 formed therein on one side on which is mounted a pivoted trigger 35, this trigger being normally pressed outwardly by a spring 36 in the recess. Clamping springs 37 have a base 38 with an -aperture therethrough, through which the stem 28 passes and when the packer is being lowered into the well and the collar 32 bearing on the loose ends 40 of the spring, the trigger is retained in the aperture in the position shown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that the loose ends 40 have elongated slots /41 therein to allow a suihcient amount of'play on the stem 28 so that the sides 42 may press tightly against the inner surfaceN of the casing. These springs are tempered so that they have considerable natural outward pressure against the casing. a

The manner of using our well packer is substantially as follows: a

In lowering thepacker into the well the weight of the wedge block is usually suicient to hold same suspended on the cap 8 on the end of the perforated tube, the collar 32 or the lower end of the wedge block forcing the springs 37 downwardly into the casing and in such action there is no compressive stress on the rubber packing. rings. However, sho-uid i the resistance to the springs be considerable,

the wedge block may be shoved upwardly to a certain extent relative to the perforated tube and the weight of the How pipe and such like forcing the packer into the well, in which case the pressure would be transmitted through the coupling 4, the upper packing ring, the perforated cage, the lower packing ring, the wedge block to the springs. The pressure however, would not-be sufficient to expand the packing rings into engagement with the casing.

When the packer is lowered to the depth in which it is desired to test the flow of the well, the iiow pipe is pulled slightly upwardly, this drawing up on the spider 29 and thereby slightly elevating the stem 28 until the trigger 35 is pressed out of the recess 34 by the spring 36 into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Therefore the sten. cannot be forced downwardly without bodily moving the springs 37 against their frictional resistance.

The next step in the operation is the downward movement of the iiow pipe'pwhich carries the wedge block 24 slightly downwardly and as the stem 28 is prevented from downward movement it holds the slips stationary relative to the casing, the wedge 24 sliding downwardly.

The 'spider has a relative rising movement in the cross slots 26. rIhis action brings the slips into engagement with the casing and the further downward movement compresses same tightly against the casingfthese being forced outwardlyby the wedge. The increased pressure then on the flow pipe acting through the coupling 4, compresses the upper packing ring 9 and the pressure ,being continued through the cage 12 compresses the rubber packing ring 16 expanding both of' these outwardly against the casing as'shown in Fig. 3.

It will be noted in this action that the plerforated tube has a sliding movement ownwardly relative to the packing rings and to the wedge block, but the recess or socket 23 is sufficiently deep so that the clos sure cap 8 will not strike the bottom of same.

It will thus be seen that the well is sealed oil' both above and below the perforated cage, this cage being located in the perforated casing at the desired position for testing the well, and the oil, gas or water, should there be any at this depth, will either How upwardly through the perforated tube 6 and the flow pipe or may be pumped up in the usual manner.

If it is desired to test the well at a lesser depth than that above mentioned, the flow pipe is drawn upwardly, thus relieving the pressure -on the rubber packing rings and allowing them to return to their normal or original circumference, clearing the casing. The upper edge of the cap 8 lifts the wedge 34 and the mechanism connected therewith by engagement with the horizontal part of the flange 19. The spider 29 rests on the lower surface 31 of the cross slots 26 and through the medium of the collar 33 on the lower end of the stem, draws the springs 37 upwardly to the next position for testing, then the former action may be repeated, the downward movement of the flow pipe causing the slips to be lifted by the spider, the trigger 35 engaging the base 38 of the springs and the spiders may then be expanded in the above manner.

It will be noted that the slip rings 10 and 17 are shorter than the length of the rubber packers and thereby prevent such packers from being compressed to too great an extent as the ring 11 would engage: the slip ring 10 and prevent too great a compression on the packing ring 9 and the rings 15 and 18 will engage the slip ring 17 and prevent too great a compression of the packing ring 16.

Our invention not only comprises the packer for enabling a well to be tested, but comprises the method of testing a Well in which a packing implement having upper and lower expandible packers is inserted in a well to the desired greatest depth to be tested. The packers are then expanded and the-well tested by pumping out any liquid such as oil or .water which may be therein, passed through the casing, or in case of gas by the gas flowing upwardly. The packing rings may then be contracted and the packer as a whole raised in the well to 'another position and the well again testedby the packers being expanded and any liquid being pumped up or owing up and also any gas being tested. This may be done successively at different decreasing depths from the lowest position tested and an important factor of our invention is that the testing may be done without removing the packer from the well and resetting same.

It will be seen therefore that with our Well packer the well may be tested at a considerable number of different depths and the packer subsequently removed. l

It is apparent that-our .invention may be considerably changed in general construction or in specific details to accomplish the principles set out above. Such changes would be within the spirit of our invention as set forth in the description, drawings and claims.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

1. A packer comprising in combination a flow pipe, a coupling, a perforated tube eX- tending downwardly from the coupling, an upper packing ring bearing against the lower surface of the coupling, a perforated cage, a lower packing ring, plates on the packing rings engaging the cage, a wedge block having a downward taper loosely connected'to the perforated tube, slips slidably mounted on the wedge block friction means loosely connected to the we ge block and extending below same, means interconnected between the friction means and the wedge block and the slips to force the slips into engagement with a well casing, the downward movement of the How pipe causing the gripping of the slips and the casing and compressing the packing. y v

2. A packer as claimed in claim l, means on the lower end of the perforated tube interconnected with the wedge block to elevate same, the interconnecting means between the wedge block and the friction means allowing contraction of the slips, the upward tion means to engage a casing slidably mounted on the stem, means to retain the trigger in inoperative position when lowering the packer into a well, means to raise the stem on a slight upward movement of the How pipe `and wedge, the .trigger engaging the friction means, means on the upper end of the stem to elevate the slips relative to the wedge block, the downward movement of the flow pipev forcing the gripping of the wedge bl-ocks and the casing and causing the expansion of the packing rings.

4. A well packer as claimed in claim 3, a closure cap on the lower end of the perforated tube, means inter-engaging between said cap and the wedge block to elevate said block, and slip rings inside the packing rings to prevent too great expansion of same.

5. A well packer comprising in combination a flow pipe, a perforated tube extending downwardly therefrom, upper and lower packing rings slidably mounted on the tube, a cage spacing the packing rings, a downwardly tapered wedge block slidably connectedto the lower part of the perforated tube, a stem vslidably-mounted in the lower part of the wedge block, a supporting structure on the upper end of said stem, slips slidably mounted on the wedge block to rest thereon, clamping springs slidably mounted on the stem to engage a casing,.a trigger von the stem, the trigger being positioned relative to the clamping springs to be held in inoperative position on the insertion of the packer in a well, a slight upward movement of theflow pipe raising the wedge block, the wedge block raising the ystem and bringing the trigger into engagement with the clamping spring, said trigger preventing the downward movement of the stem, the support for the slips on the upper end of the. stem bringing said slips into engagement with al casing on a slight downward movement of the wed-ge block relative to the stema further downward movement of the flow pipe forcing the slips to engage the casing, and means operative between the flow pipe and the upper packing ring to expand same.

6. A well packer comprising in combination a flow pipe, a coupling secured thereto, a perforated tube extending downwardly from the coupling, upper and lower packing rings slidably mounted on the tube, a perforated cage spacing said packing rings, a downwardly tapered wedge block, means slidably connecting same to the lower end of the perforated tube, slips slidably mounted inv the wedge block, a stem having a spider at its upper end slidably connected to the wedge block, the spider supporting the slips in the downward movement of the packer, clamping springs slidably connected to the stem, a pivotally mounted trigger on the stem, a collar on the lower end of the wedge block thrusting against the clamping spring, there being an aperture in` the clamping spring, the stem in the said slots, clamping springs to engage a casing slidably mounted on the stem, there being an aperture through the clamping springs, means to engage the lower end of the wedge block and the upper part of the clamping springs on the downward movement of the packer, a trigger held in the aperture of the clamping springs on such dowrward movement, and a collar on the lower end of the stem.

Intestimony whereof We have signed our names to this specication.

LAWRENCE E. SHEPARD.

HUBERT L. SHEPARD.

passing therethrough, the trigger being held in said aperture during the insertion of the packer in the well, a slight upward movement of the iow pipe elevating the perforated tube, said tube slightly elevating t e wedge block, the spider slightly elevating the stem and releasing the trigger, the downward movement of the flow pipe allowing downward movement of the wedge block relative to the stem, the spider elevating the slips relative to the wedge block and bringing same into engagement with a easing, the downward pressure of the flow pipe wedging the slips into engagement with the easing and the coupling and cage expanding the packing rings against the casing.

7. A well packer as'claimed in claim 6, a collar on the lower end of the stem, said collar engaging the clamping springs on the upward movement of the low pipe, the perforated tube and the wedge block, the spider being lowered and the slips being disengaged from the casing and lowered relative to ther wedge block, a slight downward movement of the flow pipe, perforated tube and wedge block again causing the gripping of the slips and the easing and expanding the packer.

8. A well packer comprising in combination aiow pipe, a coupling, a perforated tube connected to the coupling, upper and lower packing rings, a perforated cage spacing said rings, a wedge block having a socket, means slidably connecting same to the perforated tube, means on the end of the tube to restrict the downward movement of the wedge block relative to the tube, slips slidably mounted in the wedge block, said block having transverse slots adjacent its lower end, a stem slidably mounted in the wedge block having a spider

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