US2002062A

US2002062A - Well production apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2002062A
Authority: US
Inventors: James H Howard
Original assignee: J H Mcevoy & Co
Current assignee: J H Mcevoy & Co
Priority date: 1932-01-23
Filing date: 1932-01-23
Publication date: 1935-05-21
Anticipated expiration: 1952-05-21

Description

May '21, 1935. J. H. HOWARD WELL PRODUCTION APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 21, 1935. J. H. HOWARD WELL PRODUCTION APPARATUS Filed Jan. 23, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I II I I I I I I I I I I I l '/A////Y//////////////// is in m n n T 4 M 5 y 6 H w y 3 y M 5 5 HI- IH" u m a. m y

M 2 z V Patented May 21, 1935 2,002,062 WELL PRODUCTION APPARATUS James H. Howard, Houston, Tex., assignor to J. H.

McEvoy & Company, Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application January 23, 1932, Serial No. 588,254

9 Claims.

This invention relates to deep well production apparatus.

After a'well has been drilled, if the pressure of the fluid in the well is insuflicient to force it out of the casing, a tubing is lowered through the casing head valve and anchored in the easing. The fluid will then flow, or may be pumped, through the tubing and into the assembly of valvedflow lines thereabove, known as the Christmas tree. The tubing extends upwardly from the casing through the valve to the Christmas tree, and while it is in place the valve cannot be closed.

This invention has for its general object the provision of new and improved elements and new and improved combinations of elements to constitute an apparatus of this character in which the valve may be closed without removing the tubing from the casing.

Specific objects will hereinafter appear.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the apparatus; Fig. 2, a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 5; Fig. 3, a partly sectional side elevation showing the valve in its opened position; Fig. 4, a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the valve in its closed position and taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5; Fig. 5, a longitudinal section on the line 55 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6, a detail view of the tubing connecting pipe removably carried by the valve.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, the well casing is indicated at i; the valve body at 2; the housing at 3; and the tubing at 4. The tubing 4 is surrounded by and sealed to the housing 3 by packing means 54 and extends thereabove for connection to the Christmas tree, not shown. Th housing 3 has outlets l3.

The upper section 5 of the tubing is held in place above the valve by an anchor 6 having fluid passageways 6a and connected by threads I to the valve body 2, the section 5 being connected to the anchor 6 by threads 8. The lower section 9 of the tubing is held below the valve by the anchor l0 having fluid passageways I 0a and resting upon an internal annular shoulder H in the valve body 2. The anchor I0 is connected to the lower tubing section 9 by threads l2..

By the means just described, the upper section 5 of the tubing is held immediately above the valve; and the lower section 9 of the tubing is held immediately below the valve. In order to close the casing l, and to open the casing l and connect the

spaced sections

5 and 3 of the tubing so that fluid may flow upwardly from the lower tubing section 9 into the upper tubing section 5, and also from the space between the casing I and the lower tubing section 9 into the space between the housing 3 and the upper tub- 5 ing section 5 and out of the outlets l3, the present invention provides a new and improved valve which will now be described.

The valve herein disclosed contains practically all of the elements of the valve shown by Let- 10 ters Patent of the United States to C. R. Law No. 1,734,866, of November 5, 1929. These elements are not herein claimed per se. The following is a description thereof:

Within the body 2 are upper and lower valve carrying plates 32, the shape of which is shown by Fig. 5 and the arrangement of which is shown by Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. These plates have oppositely disposed elliptical openings 33 therethrough which are in substantial alignment with each other. Within each of the openings 33 is a valve 34, the outer surface of which has a recess 33a (Fig. 1) These valves 34 are carried by the plates 32 into alignment with the fluid passageways 29, and then, by means hereinafter described, they are forced apart into sealing engagement with the seats 3| to close the casing l.

The ends of the valve carrying plates 32 are made in the form of rings 41 and these rings are tapered, as shown clearly by Figs. 1 and 4, the inner surfaces thereof being beveled as indicated at 48. The surfaces 48 are adapted to be engaged by the oppositely beveled surfaces 45 of a ring 44, whereby the rings 41 are moved into engagement with the seats 3| (after the valve has been opened to move the rings into alignment with the seats 3! by means hereinafter described).

The valve body 2 has a suitable stufling box indicated generally by the numeral 24. The valve actuating rod 25 works through this stuffing box and has an annular rib 25 thereon between the end plate 23 of the valve body and the gland 21 to prevent longitudinal movement of the rod when it is rotated. The parts are held together by bolts 28. The rod 25 may be rotated by means of a conventional hand wheel (not shown).

Between the plates 32. there is a crosshead or actuating nut 35 engaged by the threads 36 of the rod 25. The inner end of the nut 35 extends between the valves 34 and has a beveled face 33 (Fig. 1), and shoulders 38 (Fig. 5), adapted to engage the shoulders 39 projecting from the opposing faces of 'the valves 34. The nut 35 is thereby connected to the valves 34. The inwardly extending end of the nut 35 also has inwardly extending oppositely disposed flanges 40 (Fig. 2) which embrace the wedge member 4| which has a face 42 (Fig. 1), reversely beveled with respect to, and adapted to cooperate with, the beveled face 31 of the nut 35.

The end of the wedge member 4| has a socket 43 (Fig. 1) for the reception of the inner end of the actuating rod 25. The other end of the wedge member 4| is made in the form of the ring 44 above referred to. The ring 44 has oppositely disposed wings 46, whose sides bear against the sides of the valve body 2 thereby forming guides for the ring 44. The end of the wings 23 strike against the end plate 22 of the valve body when the valves 34 are closed. The wedge member 4| isformed with opposing shoulders 49 adapted to engage the shoulders 50 carried by each of the valves 34 (Fig. 5), thus operatively connecting the wedge member 4| and said valves.

Adjacent the outer end of the nut 35 are dogs 5| pivotally connected to the valve carrying plates 32. These dogs serve to operatively connect the nut 35 and the valve carrying plates 32. Adjacent the end plate 23, the valve body is provided with pockets 52 for the-reception of said dogs to permit them to release the nut 35 as hereinafter set forth,

The elements of the valve just described are disclosed by the Letters Patent to C. R. Law above referred to. To this valve, the present invention adds the following parts: As shown particularly by Figs. 1 and 6, apipe 60, to connect the upper and lower sections 5 and 9 of the tubing when the valve is opened, is removably secured within and concentric with the ring 44 by suitable ribs 6|, threaded as indicated by the numeral 62, and beveled to snugly engage the beveled extremities of the anchors 3 and Ill (Fig. l).

The operation of the mechanism will now be described.

Assuming that the valves 34 are seated against the respective seats 3|, 3| and the casing closed,

as shown by Figs. 2 and 4, if it is desired to open the casing and move the valves into their inactive positions, the-rod 25 may be turned to move the nut 35 to separate the beveled face 31 of the nut 35 from the beveled face 42 of the wedge 4|, and this will permit movement of the valves 34 inwardly in the slots 33 of valve carrying plates 32 away from the seats 3|.

When the rod 25 is rotated further, the nut 35 is moved further and into engagement with the ends 53 of the dogs 5| carried by the valve carrying plates 32. The walls of the casing will hold the dogs 5| in engagement with the nut 35 and the nut 35 will, therefore, carry the dogs with it, and the dogs will carry the valve carrying plates 32 so that the valves 44 will be carried by the latter into their inactive positions.

The wedge member 4|, being operatively connected to the valves 34 by the shoulders 49 and 50, will follow the moving valves 34; and so the rings 41 carried by the valve carrying plates 32 and the ring 44 carried by the wedge 4| will move into alignment with the passageway 29 when the valves 34 are moved out of said passageway; and the pipe 60 will, at the same time, be moved into alignment with the upper and

lower sections

5 and 3 of the tubing.

When the rings 41 are in alignment with the valve seats 3|, the opposing ends 55 (Fig. 5) of the valve carrying plates 32 will strike the end plate 23 of the valve body and the movement of said plates 32 in this direction will be stopped. Simultaneously. the free ends of the dogs 5| will recede into their pockets 52 out of engagement with the nut 35, so that the valve carrying plates 32 and the nut 35 are disconnected.

When the rod 25 is rotated further, the nut 35 will be moved further but the plates 32 will not. The rings 41 are then in alignment with the fluid passageway 29. The ring 44, carried by the nut 35, will, therefore, be moved further between the rings 41 that are held stationary by the valve carrying plates 32. When the nut 35 is stopped by the lugs 56, the ring 44 is in alignment with the rings 41, and the pipe 60 is in alignment with the tubing anchors 6 and Ill. The beveled pipe 30 is then in snug engagement with the beveled meeting extremities of the tubing anchors 6 and I0; and the rings 41 are snugly engaged by the rings 44 and seats 3|. Continued movement of the nut 35, after the plates 32 are stopped, is not interfered with by the valves 34 because the openings in plates 32, in which the valves are disposed, are elliptical. v

When it is desired to open the casing, the rotation of the rod 25 will be reversed, which will cause a reverse movement of the nut 35. Upon reverse movement of the nut 35, the entire mechaniSm described will move backward in the valve body, the inwardly extending end of the nut 35 engaging the opposing end of the wedge member 4| to move the ring 44 to release the rings 41 from the seats 4|. Continued rotation of the rod 25 will move the nut 35, the nut 35 will move the wedge 4|, and the wedge will move the ring 44. The valves 34 will be moved by the nut 35 and wedge 4| (the nut 35 and the valves 34 being connected by

shoulders

38 and 39, and the wedge 4| and valves 34 being connected by shoulders 49 and 50) and the valves 34 and valve carrying plates 32 will be moved with the other elements. When the wings 45 strike the end plate 22 (Figs. 4 and 5), the backward movement of the wedge member 4| is stopped, and the valves 34 will then be in alignment with the seats 3|. When the rod 25 is rotated further, the nut 35 is moved further so that the beveled face 31 of the nut 35 engages the beveled face 44 of the wedge 4 and the valves 34 are thereby forced apart into sealing engagement with the valve seats 3 to close the casing.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that when it is desired to close the casing, to repair the Christmas tree, or for any other reason, it is not necessary to remove the tubing from the casingnor is it necessary to move any part of the tubing. The casing may be closed by closing the valve.

And when it is desired to open the casing again and to cause fluid to flow through the tubing, that can be accomplished by opening the valve, because the spaced sections of the tubing are automatically connected when the valve is opened.

Various other advantages of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art. The invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment shown.

I claim: Y

1. The combination of a well casing; a tubing extending into said casing and having spaced upper and lower sections; a valve on said casing; a housing above said valve, about said upper tubing section, and having an outlet; and an anchor to hold said lower tubing section beneath said valve, said anchor having a fluid passageway therethrough: said valve being movable transversely of said casing to close said casing, and to open said casing and connect said tubing sections.

2. The combination of a well casing; a valve on said casing; a housing above said valve and having an outlet; a lower tubing section; an anchor to hold said lower tubing section in said casing beneath said valve, said anchor having a fluid passageway therethrough; an upper tubing section secured within and extending through said housing; said valve serving to stop the flow of fluid from said casing and said lower tubing section to said housing and said upper tubing section; said valve having an opening to permit the flow of fluid from said lower tubing section into said upper tubing section, and an opening to permit the flow of fluid from the space between said lower tubing section and said casing into the space between said upper tubing section and said housing.

3. The combination of a well casing; a valve on said casing; a housing above said valve and having an outlet; a lower tubing section; an anchor to hold said lower tubing section in said casing beneath said valve, said anchor having a fluid passageway therethrough; an upper tubing section within and extending through said housing; and an anchor to hold said upper tubing section in said housing above said valve, said anchor having a fluid passageway therethrough; said valve serving to stop the flow of fluid from said casing and said lower tubing section to said housing and said upper tubing section; said valve having a central opening to permit the flow of fluid from said lower tubing section into said upper tubing section, and an opening to permit the flow of fluid from the space between said lower tubing section and said casing into the space between said upper tubing section and said housing.

4. The combination of a well casing; a valve body connected to said casing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubing extending through said passageway into said casing and having spaced sections; a valve movable between said tubing sections across said passageway to close said casing; and a pipe movable transversely of said passageway to connect said tubing sections when said valve is moved out of said passageway.

5. The combination of a valve casing; a valve body connected to said casing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubing extending through said passageway into said casing and having spaced sections; a valve movable between said tubing sections across said passageway to close said casing; a pipe movable transversely of said passageway to connect said tubing sections when said valve is moved out of said passageway; and a common actuator to move said valve and pipe.

6. The combination of a well casing; a valve body connected to said casing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubing extending through said passageway into said casing and having spaced sections; a valve; a pipe; a plurality of rings; and means to move said valve between said tubing sections across and into sealing engagement with the wall of said passageway to close said casing; and to open said casing by moving said valve out of said passageway, said pipe into connecting engagement with said tubing sections, and said rings to form that portion of the wall of said passageway adjacent the path of said valve.

7. The combination of a. well casing; a valve body connected to said casing and having a fluid passageway communicating therewith; a tubing extending through said passageway into said casing and having spaced sections, the meeting ends of said sections being beveled; a valve; a beveled pipe; a plurality of rings; and means to move said valve between said tubing sections across and then axially into sealing engagement with the wall of said passageway to close said casing; and to open said casing by moving said valve out of said passageway, said pipe into connecting engagement with said tubing sections, and said rings to form that portion of the wall of said passageway adjacent the path of said valve.

8. A valve body having a fluid passageway; a valve movable across said passageway; a member operatively associated with said valve and having a fluid opening therethrough; and a fluid pipe adjacent said opening; said member being movable to cause communication between said opening and said passageway, and to move said pipe into said passageway.

9. A valve body having a fluid passageway; a valve; means to move said valve across and into sealing engagement with the wall of said passageway; a member operatively associated with said valve and having an opening therethrough; a fluid pipe supported in and spaced from the wall of said opening; and means to move said member to align said passageway and said opening.

JAMES H. HOWARD.