US2131868A - Well measuring - Google Patents

Description

K. BOLTON ET AL,

WELL MEASURING Filed/Jan. '7, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l l INVENTOR. Kewneh Bolton By John E. Wi lef @ct 4, 1938. y' K. BOLTON ET AL 131,88

WELL MEASURING Filed Jan. '7, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

. Kenneth Bolton.

By -JO7n Weiler.

' Patented Oct. 4, 1938 PATENT; OFFICEy WELL MEAsUaiNG Kenneth Bolton, Pittsburgh, Pa., and John'E.

Weiler, Duncan, Okla., assignors to Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company, Duncan,

Okla.

Application January 7, 1938, Serial No. 183,758

8 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for measuring the depthoi.' oil wells or the like and more particularly to apparatus for automatically controlling the unreeling of a measuring line from a drum in response to movement of the line into an oil well.

Apparatus for measuring the depth of awell or for determining the position of an object moving in an oil well is well known. An example of apparatus suitable for this purpose is found in the United States patent to Halliburton 1,692,037 granted November 20, 1928, for Well sounding device. f

It is a particular object of the present invention to devise improvements in apparatus of the type referred to in the above-mentioned patent and in which movement of the line into the well will be automatically controlled or governed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide automatic means for measuring the movement of a plug or other object traveling downwardly into an oil-well, which plug may be for example of the type used in the cementing of oil wells, as shown and described in United States 25 patent to Halliburton 1,369,891, granted March 1, 1928, for Method and means for cementing oil wells.

It is still another object of the invention to provide automatic means for controlling the unreeling of a flexible member from a reel or drum upon which it is wound.

Other objects and advantages reside in certain novel features of the arrangement andconstruction of parts as will be more apparent from 35 a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

'Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic representation of an oil well having apparatus con 40 structed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention associated therewith, a portion of the well being shown in cross-section; f Figure 2 is a plan view, partly cut away, of the reel and control means shown ln Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic representation of an oil well with another embodiment of the invention shown in connection therewith, a portion of the well being shown in cross-section;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the reel and control means employed inthe arrangement of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of 55 the apparatus shown in Figures 3 and 4, part of the apparatus being cut away to show the internal construction.

In cementing an oil well it is common practice to keep track of the movement of a plug which follows a quantity of iiuid cement as it is being pumped into the well, apparatus for this purpose consisting of a measuring line having a weight connected to its lower end and which weight follows the plug. The line is spooled upon a reel and controlled by a hand-operated brake. The operator releases the brake to permit the line and weight to move until the weight strikes the plug, this being determined by feeling of the line. Such measuring apparatus has gone into extensive commercial use. However, the operating of the line is tedious and not always accurate, especially in very deep wells, or where the wells are not straight.

In accordance with the present invention it is proposed to provide apparatus which will enable the operator to determine the position of a ceinenting plug without feeling of the line and without manually controlling the brake on the reel. Although the apparatus is thus primarily designed for use in connection with the cementing of an oil well, lt will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the arrangement may be used for purposes other than cementing operations and wherever it is desirable to measure the position of an object in a Well or to determine the depth of a well.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that an oil well is there illustrated as consisting of a bore hole II provided with a casing I2 which for purpose of illustrating the invention may be regarded as about to be cemented in the well. Within the casing I2 is located a cementing plug I3 which may consist of a wooden body provided with a rubber cup I4 at its upper end. The plug I3 diiers from those commonly employed heretofore in that it is provided with means for latching it to a measuring line I5 which extends upwardly through the casing I2 and out through a stuffing box I6 on the casing head I1.

The latching means referred to above may consist of a. pair of members I8 pivoted to each other at the top, and connected to the measuring receiving member 20 which may consist merely 0f a cylindrical member having an inwardly extending flange adapted to overlie the laterally projecting portions of the latch members I 9.

Located within the casing head, and held by means of a manually operable pin 2l, is a godevil 22, this member having the measuring line threaded therethrough. When -it is desired to release the measuring line from the plug I3 the pin 2l may be pulled, allowing the go-devil 22 to travel downwardly and strike the latch members I8. The lower portion of the go-devil 22 is provided with la conical recess 23 so as to enable it to readily collapse the latch members I8 and release the same from the plug upon the go-devil striking these members.

The upper end of the casing. I2 beneath the casing head I1 is shown provided with a laterally extending pipe 24 through which mud or other fiuid may be pumped in forcing the body of iluid cement upon which the plug I3 is presumed to rest downwardly into the well. It will readily be seen that as long as the latch members I8 are connected to the plug I3, movement of the plug downwardly will pull the measuring line I5 with it into the well.

The casing head I1, in addition to being provided with a stuiling box I6 mentioned above, is provided with a stall 25 on which a pulley 26 is mounted, the measuring line I5 extending over this pulley and from there to a reel 21 which has associated with it a measuring device and an automatic brake, which will now be, described.

The reel 21 may be mounted on a suitable means, such as the post 28, by means of a shaft 29. In order to determine how much line has been fed into the well, a measuring device is provided. This device per se may be identical with that shown and described in the Halliburton Patent 1,692,037 mentioned above. It consists of a measuring wheel 30 around which the measuring line passes, the wheel 30 being supported on suitable arms 3| which are maintained in an approximate balance by means of the weight 32. Between the measuring wheel 30 and the reel 21, a brake control pulley 33 is provided, this pulley being mounted upon a shaft 34 in such a way that it can travel back and forth in front of the.

reel in parallel to the axis thereto as the line on the reel is spooled or unspooled. The shaft 34 is carried by two lever arms 35, one on each side of the reel, as shown in Figure 2. These lever arms are pivotally mounted upon the shaft 29 and are connected by means of links 36 to brake bands 31 adapted to cooperate with a brake drum 38 integral with the anges on the reel. The lever arms 35 may be biased in such a direction as to normally cause the setting of the brakes by means of a weight or spring. In the arrangement illustrated, a weight 39, together with associated link and lever mechanism, is shown for this purpose. The weight 39 may be adjustably mounted upon Va lever 40, one end oi which is connected to` a=`flxed fulcrum 4I. N ear the fulcrum the lever 40 is connected by a link 42 to a bar 43 integral with the lever arms 35. The lever mechanism 39 may exert such a bias upon the lever arms 35 as to prevent releasing of the brakes until a predetermined tension is placed upon the line. For example, if the entire measuring line suspended in the oil well would exert a tension, in addition to its own weight, at the well head, oi around 300 pounds, the weight 39 may be so adjusted as to prevent unwinding of the line from the reel until more than 300 pounds lifting force is exerted on the pulley 33. Thus, the arrangement may be so adjusted that the line will never unreel due to its own weight but can be moved only in response to movement of the cementing plug I3 or other device to which the line may be connected, such as would result when fluid is being pumped into the well above such a plug.

It is to be noted that the brake arrangement is such that when the initial tension referred to above, say 300 pounds, is overcome, any further increase in tension acts to release the brakes further and enable the reel to revolve faster and the line to be unwound at a greater speed. On the other hand, the minute that the tension is lowered, the brakes tend to set and prevent further unreeling of the line. In this way the operation of the line is rendered wholly automatic and no particular attention by the operator need be paid thereto.

It is within the purview of the invention to carry out the principles illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 in a variety of ways. One additional way is by means of the apparatus illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5. Referring to these figures in detail, and first to Figure 3, it will be seen that a well identical with that illustrated in Figure l is there shown and the parts which correspond to the arrangement of Figure 1 have been similarly designated.

The main difference in the apparatus of Figures 3, 4 and 5 from that of Figures 1 and 2 involves the particular mechanism for controlling the operation of the reel upon which the measuring line I 5 is wound. In Figures 3, 4 and 5 the reel is designated 4 4. It is mounted upon a shaft 45 which may be controlled by a brake operated by means of the hand lever 46, if desired. In addition to the hand-operated brake, a hydraulic brake is associated with the reel 44. The hydraulic brake may be of a known form and comprising a small gear pump 41, the gears 48 in which are caused to rotate by being connected through a suitable gear train to a gear wheel 49 integral with the reel. These features particularly are shown in detail in Figure 5.

'I'he gear pump 48 is connected by means of suitable conduits 50 to a balanced control valve the housing of which is shown at 5I. The gear pump 41, the conduits 5U and the housing 5I for the control valve may be illled with oil or other fluid so that when the gears in the pump are rotated oil will be caused to iiow in a circuit through the conduits 50 and the housing 5I of the control valve. The arrangement may be such that the valves within the housing 5I may be closed, or so nearly closed as to create considerable resistance to movement of the fluid therethrough and thus operate as an effective brake upon the reel 44. As shown in Figure 5, the valves 52 within the housing 5I may be of the balanced type so that movement of iluid through the housing 5I will not tend to either seat or unseat the same. The valves 52 may be mounted upon a stem 53 and controlled by means of a spring 54 the tension in which may be adjustable as by means of the adjusting nut 55. The spring 54 bears upon a plate 53' integrally secured to the valve stem 53. 'I'he stem passes through suitable stuiling boxes 56 and 51 and terminates at its lower end in a piston 58 within a cylinder 59 connected by means of a flexible tubing 60 to a tension responsive device 6I carried by the frame 62 of the measuring apparatus.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the measuring apparatus is similar to that mentioned above in connection with Figures l and 2 and is also similar to that described in the Halliburton Patent -trol valve 11.

1,692,037 mentioned above, except that means is provided for causing a member thereon to move relative to the frame 62 in accordance with the tension in the line I5 as it passes through the frame 62 from the reel 44 into the well.

'I'hus the measuring frame 62 is supported by` means of arms 63 pivoted upon a shaft 64 connected to the post 65 upon-which the reel 44 is mounted. One of the arms 63 may be provided,

with a balancing weight 66 which may be adjusted if desired. The measuring wheel itself is shown at 61 and may be the same as that described in the Halliburton patent mentioned and provided with a suitable counter 68 for indicating how much line is removed from the reel.

In addition to the measuring wheel 61, the frame 62 carries an idler pulley 69. Both the measuring wheel 61 and the idler pulley 69 may be provided with suitable rollers 16 which hold the line in proper contact therewith.

Between the measuring wheel 61 and the idler pulley 69 a tension responsive wheel l'l is mounted. This wheel is connected through a suitable yoke 12 to a piston rod 13 which carries a suitable piston 14 mounted within a cylinder 15 to which the flexible tubing 60 referred to above is connected.

It will thus be seen that the arrangement isV such that the spring 54 in the control valve housing 5| (see Figure 5) transmits pressure through iiuid Within the cylinders 59 and 15 and the conduit 63 in such 'a way as to normally urge the piston 14 upwardly, thus tending to place a bend within the measuring line l5 at the point of contact of the tension responsive wheel 1I. As the tension in the measuring line increases the line adjacent the wheel 'Il tends to straighten out,

`causing the piston 14 to move downwardly and thus causing the valves 52 to open wider and cause the load upon the gear pump 41 to diminish, thus permitting the reel 44 to rotate faster.

In addition to the parts mentioned above, a bypass conduit 1'6 may be connected around the pump t1 and this by-pass is provided with a con- It is also preferable toprovide a surge tank somewhere within the system, and such a tank is illustrated at 18.

Thus it will be seen that the operation of the arrangement of Figures 3, 4 and 5 is similar to that of the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2. If desired, the arrangement may be so adjusted that the valves 52 remain closed until a predetermined pressure is exerted upon the wheel 1l. This may be accomplished by pre-loading the spring 54 as by turning the nut 55I downwardly until a predetermined tension is placed therein which will have to be overcome before the valve stem 53 can move or by substituting a weight for the spring 54 or by otherwise suitably loading the valve stem 53.

In both embodiments of the invention shown, the same means isillustrated for latching the measuring line to a. cementing plug. It is within the purview of the invention to connect the line to the plug by means other than that shown, although the apparatus is not primarily designed for use except where some means is provided for connecting the line to the plug. It is within the purview of the invention, however, to merely provide a connecting link between the lower end of the line and the plug which would have a predetermined parting strength so that when it is desired to disconnect the line from the plug all that will be necessary will be to prevent the reel from rotating and exert pump pressure upon the plug until this link parts. Various other devices could be used for connecting the measuring line to the plug.

While only two embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it is obvious that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus adapted for use in the cementing of an oil well or the like including a plug adapted to be pumped into the well with a batch of uid cement, a measuring line connected to the plug, and automatic means for feeding the line into the well as the plug moves downwardly therein, said automatic means having a brake cooperating with the line and adapted, when set, to retard movement of the line and an arrangement for operating the brake to release the same when the line is subjected to a predetermined tension due to pressure exerted on said plug.

2. Apparatus adapted for use in the cementing of an oil well or the like including a plug adapted to be pumped into the well with a batch of fluid cement, a measuring line connected to the plug, and automatic means for feeding the line into the well as the plug moves downwardly therein, vsaid automatic means including a brake, lever mechanism for setting or releasing the brake, and an arrangement for holding the lever mechanism against movement and hold the brake in set position except when the plug is moving.

3. Apparatus adapted for use in the cementing of an oil well or the like including a plug adapted to be pumped into the well with a batch of fluid cement, a measuring line connected to the plug, and automatic means for feeding the line into the well as the plug moves downwardly therein, said automatic means including a fluid pump and means for controlling the resistance to movement of the pump in response to tension existing in said measuring line.

4. Apparatus adapted for use in measuring depth in an oil Well or the like comprising, in combination, a reel, a measuring line spooled thereon, a device for indicating the amount of line unspooled from the reel, a brake for controlling rotative movement of the reel and automatic mechanism for operating said brake, said mechanism causing theY brake to set when less than a predetermined tension vexists in said measuring line and causing the brake to release when more than a predetermined tension exists in said measuring line. y 5. Apparatus adapted for use in measuring depth in an oil well or the like comprising, in combination, a reel, a measuring line spooled thereon, a device for indicating the amount of line unspooled from. the reel, a brake for controlling rotative movement of the reel and mechanism for operating said brake to set or release the same, said mechanism being operative automatically to diminish the setting pressure on the brake in response to increased tension in the measuring line and automatically to increase the setting pressure on the brake in response to decreased tension in the measuring line.

6. Apparatus adapted for use in measuring depth in an oil well or the like comprising, in combination, a reel, a measuring lineI spooled thereon, a device for indicating the amount of line unspooled from the `reeLa brake for controlling rotative movement of the reel and mechanism for operating said brake, said mechanism including a pulley engaging said line, a lever connected to said brake and pulley and means for holding said lever against movement until a predetermined tension is exerted in said measuring line. f

7. Apparatus adapted for use in measuring depth in an oil Well or the like comprising, in combination, a reel, a measuring line spooled thereon, a device for indicating the amount of line unspooled from the reel, a brake for controlling rotative movement of the reel and mechanism for operating said brake, said mechanism including a pump connected to said reel, a control valve, fluid conduits connecting Said control valve to said pump and an arrangement operable in response to variations in tension in said measuring line for controlling the position of said control valve.

8. Apparatus adapted for use in measuring depth in an oil well or the .like comprising, in combination, a reel, a measuring line spooled thereon, a device for indicating the amount of line unspooled from the reel, a brake for controlling rotative movement oi.' the reel and mechanism for operating said brake, said mechanism including a pump connected to said reel, a control valve, fluid conduits connecting said control valve to said pump and an arrangement operable in response to variations in tension in said measuring line for controlling the position of said control valve, said arrangement including a wheel and means for suspending the wheel for free movement with movement of said measuring line.

KENNETH BOLTON. JOHN E. WEILER.

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