US1771556A

US1771556A - Packer for well-testing devices

Info

Publication number: US1771556A
Application number: US196758A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ernest H Cox
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1927-06-06
Filing date: 1927-06-06
Publication date: 1930-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 1947-07-29

Description

July 29, 1930. E. H. cox

PACKER FOR WELL TESTING DEVICES Filed June e, 1927 aww Patented July 29, 1930 UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE i ERNEST H. COX, OF DUNCAN, OKLAHOMA PACKER FOR WELL-TESTING DEVICES Application led .Tune 6, 1927. Serial No. 198,758.

pending application #165,984, filed February 4, 1927. In the use of such testin devices it is usual to provide a small ho e at the bottom of the Well shaft, usually termed a rat hole, and it is from this hole that the 10 sample of oil to be tested is taken. Obviously, the upper end of the rat hole must be sealed off from the main portion of the well so as to permit of a proper sample being taken.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a packer which will serve to effectively seal off communication between the bottom of the well and/the rat hole irrespective of the particular nature ofthe formation in which the device is being used.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings; in which,

igure 1 is a perspective view of the device in operation; and f Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal Section therethrough.

Referring to the drawings more specifically the numeral 1 designates the drill stem or pipe generally used in oil wells and attached' to the lower end thereof is the oil Well testing device generally indicated by the numeral 2 and firmly united to ,the drill stem by means of a conventional type of coupling.

The testing device whose purpose is to secure a sample of the liquid at the bottom of the well, consists of an inner tube 4 on the exterior of which is slidably mounted an eX- ternal sleeve 5. The tube and sleeve are provided with a plurality of

perforations

6 and 7 respectively which are normally held out of registration by means of a coil spring 8. 'I his coil spring has its upper end bearing against a shoulder 9 formed on the tube 4, and its lower end bearing on a packing secured to the sleeve 5. A pin and slot connection 10 is formed on the sleeve and tube to provide a limit forthe relative movement between the tube and sleeve.

, In using oil well testing devices it is usual y to provide at the bottom of thewell shaft and 1n alignment therewith a hole of slightly smaller diameter than the main shaft, and this hole is generally termed a rat hole, the purpose being to direct the testing device into the rat hole and seal off the upper end of the rat hole from the pressure of liquids in the main shaft. To this end I have provided a packer 11 which consists of va solid steel collar of relatively large diameter and necessarily of greater diameter than the diameter of the rat hole. This collar 11 has its outer wall tapered from its middle section upwardly and downwardly toward the axis of the tube somewhat in the shape of a barrel. The packer 11 is threaded to the upper end of the sleeve 5 as indicated by numeral 12 and, as hereinbefore stated forms a seat for the lower end of the spring 8.

As indicated in Figures 1 and 2, the packer 11 seats on the uper end ofthe rat hole and thereby serves as a stop to limit downward movement of the sleeve 4; it bein understood that when the tube 1 is release the Weight thereof will cause the compression of the spring 8 with the result that the tube 4 will slide downwardly with respect to the sleeve 5 thereby bringing the opening 6 in the tube into registration with the opening 7 of the sleeve so as to permit the ingress of liquid contained in the rat hole.

Where the ground being operated upon is soft and pliable the packer 11 will of itself forma suflicient seal at the top of the rat hole to shut off communication between the main shaft and the rat hole. Where the Ground is hard, however, the upper end of the rat hole will be more or less jagged and perhaps contain cracks; under such circumstances, the packer 11 would not form a tight seal and it is therefore necessary to provide a supplemental seal or packer which will effectively cooperate with the wall of the rat hole7 to seal off the pressure from above.

To this end I have provided a plurality of flexible rings 13 preferably .of fibre. These rings are spaced apart in a series along a portion ofthe length of the sleeve 5 and metal washers 14 are interposed between the rings to retain them in properly spaced relation. The series of alternate rings and washers abut at their upper end against the lower end of the packer 11 und a coupling 15 is threaded onto a reduced end of' the packer l1 to fixedly secure the series of rings and washers in place.

As will be apparent from an inspection of Figure 2, an essential feature'of the washers 14 is to provide spaced into which the upper edges of the rings, which are of greater diameter than the washers, may be flexed. This flexing or bending of the rin s is, of course, accompanied by contact of t 1e edges of the rings with the wall of the rat hole as the testing device is moved into position, and it will be apparent that this resilient pressure of the rings against the wall of the rat hole will form an exceptionally tight seal against the pressures contained in the main shaft of the well.

In operation, the well being bored and the rat hole formed in the lower end thereof,

the testing device as herein described, is attached to the lower end of the tubing 1 and lowered into the well. As the device reaches the position shown'on the drawing the packer 11., will engage and seat upon the upper end of'the rat hole and ferm a stop to further downward movement of the sleeve 5, and if the grounds sufficiently soft, vwill form a tight seal at the upper end of the rat hole to prevent the entrance thereto of liquids from above.

' The positioning of the testing device into the rat hole will also cause the annular edges of the rings 13 'to be flexed upwardly and held in'tight contact with the wall of the rat hole, as disclosed in Figure 2, and thereby form a tight seal against pressures from above. This latter sealor packer'will thus serve to supplement the sealing effect of the packer 11, being'of especialusefulness where thewell is sunk in hard ground. Asthe tube 1 is released from above its weight will cause the spring 8 to collapse and thus bring the

openings

6 and 7 into'registration so as to permit a sample of the liquid in the bottom of the crat hole to run into'the interior of the tube. The entire apparatus is then withdrawn and the sample examined.

From the foregoing description considered 4in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be observed that I have devised a combination of packers as well as individual packers which are especially well adapted for use in oil well testing devices and which are effective to a high degree in sealing'off f the rat hole from ressures above' such best embodiment of the invention, but I do not wish to be understood thereby as limiting myself or the scope of the invention; as many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention; all such I aim to include within the scope of the appended claims.

- What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an oil well testing device including a perforated tube and a relatively movable perforated sleeve, a packer secured to the upper end of the sleeve and adapted. to serve as a stop to limit downward movement of the sleeve, andan additional packer secured to the sleeve below said first-mentioned packer.

2. In an oil well testing device including a perforated tube and a relatively movable perforated sleeve, a packer comprising a steel.

collar of relatively large diameter secured to said sleeve, said collar having a rounded outer wall and adapted to serve as a stop to limit downward movement of the sleeve, and an additional packer secured to the sleeve below said iirst-mentioned packer.

El. In an oil well testing device including a perforated tube and a .relatively movable perforated sleeve, a packer secured to the upper end of the sleeve -and adapted to serve as a stop to limit downward movement of the sleeve, and an additional packer secured to the sleeve below said first-mentioned packer and comprising a plurality of flexible rings encircling said sleeve. n

4;. In an oil well testing device including a perforated tube and a relatively movable perorated sleeve, a packer secured to the upper end of the sleeve and adapted to serve as a stop to limit downward movement of the sleeve, and an additional packer secured to the sleeve below said first-mentioned packer and comprising a plurality of rings of flexible material spaced apart by metallic washers.

5. In an oil well testing device for rat holes, a sleeve, a packer secured t0 the upper end of the sleeve and of sufficient diameter to engage the upper end of the hole, and a second packer including a plurality of substantially flat, flexible rings of greater diameter than the hole and adapted to be flexed upwardly.

6. In an oil well testing device for rat holes, a sleeve, a packer secured to the upper end of the sleeve and of suiiicient diameter to engagey and seat upon the upper end of the hole, and a second packer including a plurality of substantially iat,` flexible rings of greaterdiameter than the hole, and a plurality of metal washers interposed between said rings whereby the edges of the ringsare adapted to be flexed upwardly.

ERNEST H. COX.

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