US2167739A - Cut indicator for casing cutters - Google Patents

Description

Aug 1, 1939 J. s. BECK CUT INDICATOR FOB CSING CUTTEHS Filed April 27, 1957 .Julius AS Be ck...

fnvenor:

Patented Aug. 1, 1939 UNITED STATES Z,lt7,739

FATENT OFFQIE Julius S. Beck, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to John Grant, Los` Angeles, Calif.

Application April 27, 1937, Serial No. 139,134

5 Claims.

'Ihis invention has to do in a general way with tools for cutting or perforating well casings, while in place in the Well, and has as its primary object the provision of a means and a method for indicating when the cutter or cutters of such a tool have been extended a predetermined amount suflicient to complete a cutting operation.

As is Well known to those familiar with the art, the so-called inside casing cutter is a tool designed to be lowered into a well casing to a predetermined point by means of a drill pipe or the like, where it may be operated to sever the wall of the casing.

These devices, as usually constructed, comprise a body member formed of two relatively movable sections, and having a cutter or a plurality of cutters interposed between the body sections so that the cutters are laterally extended from the body during relative movement of the body sections, Releasable means are provided for supporting one of the sections against vertical movement within the casing, and after the one section has been supported against vertical movement the other section is moved by the suspending member such as a drill pipe, to effect the extension or projection of the cutter. In the event the cutter is used as an annular cutter, in which the wall of the pipe is completely severed, it is necessary that the body be adapted for a rotary movement which will rotate the cutter in the casing as well as the relative movement which is necessary to extend the cutter into engagement with the casing wall. In the event the device is used as a perforator, this rotary movement of the tool is not necessary.

Since considerable time and labor is consumed in removing the drill pipe and tools from the well, and since it may some times be desired to cut the casing at several different points without removing the tool from the well, there is a need for some means for giving a sensible indication at the surface of the ground when the cutter or cutters are fully extended to the point where the operator knows penetration through the casing wall is co-mplete. It is the satisfaction of this need which forms the underlying object of my invention. i

In accomplishing the foregoing object, my invention contemplates a tool provided with means for circulating a uid such as water or oil therethrough, such fluid being pumped through the supporting tubing and passing outwardly through suitable discharge openings in the tool itself. The tool is provided with a circulating passage and a valve, such valve being arranged so that it is positively closed to shut off the circulation of fluid when the cutters have been extended by a predetermined relative movement of the body sections.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tool with valve means of the class described which may be adjusted to take care of casings of different size and wall thickness. As soon as the circulation has been cut off in a tool of the type contemplated by this invention, the operator knows, from the action of the pump or from a suitable gage on the delivery line, that the cutters have been fully extended and he may then remove the tool from the well or advance it to a different position therein Incident to the general object pointed out above, my invention contemplates, as an additional object to the preferred form thereof, a tool in which the discharge of the circulating liquid takes place at a point below the cutting blade or blades. In this way the upward circulation of the uid past the cutter tends to carry the cuttings out of the Well. f

The details in the construction of a preferred form of my invention, together with other objects attending its production, will be best understood from the following description of the accompanying drawing which is chosen for illustrative purposes only, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation showing an inside casing cutter equipped with a preferred embodiment of my invention, the casing cutter being shown in its extended position for lowering into a well with the cutters and the holding means retracted;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation similar to Fig. 1

but showing the casing cutter in the position which it occupies after having been lowered into a casing and collapsed to fully extend the cutters to sever the casing;

Fig. 3 is a plan section taken in a plane represented by the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan section taken in a plane represented by the line 4--4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a plan section taken in a plane represented by the line 5-5 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation illustrating a portion of the device shown in Fig. l and taken along the line 6 5 of that figure.

Referring now to the drawing for a more detailed description of the invention, the cutting tool is shown as comprising a telescoping body which is generally indicated by the reference letter B. The body B is shown as comprising an upper body section U and a lower body section L. A portion of the lower body section L carries a releasable mechanism for engaging the interior of a casing to support the lower body section against vertical downward movement, such mechanism being generally indicated by the reference letter H. The upper body section is adapted to receive a suspending and operating member in the form of a drill pipe or operating tube, indicated at P.

The upper body section U is shown as comprising a top tting I I which has a passage I2 therethrough, and is chambered in its lower portion as indicated at I3, the lower edge of the chambered section being threaded as indicated at I4 to engage a cutter supporting block I5.

The cutter supporting block I5 is provided with a recess or a plurality of recesses I6 to receive a cutter or cutters I1 pivotally supported on a pin I8.

The lower body section L is shown as comprising what I may term a cutter actuating block 20 which has an upwardly extending stem 2I slidably contained within a passage 22 in the block I5, such stem being threaded at its upper end as indicated at 23 to receive a stop nut 24, which engages the top of the block I5 and holds the upper and lower body sections in assembed relation. In addition to the block member 20, the lower body section L includesa downwardly extending hollow mandrel 25, which is threaded into the lower end of the block 20 as indicated at 26.

The block 20 is provided with a recess (or a plurality of recesses) 21, situated in alinement with the recess (or recesses) I6. The recess 21 has a curved inner face 28 which is adapted to engage the rear face of the cutter |11 to project the same laterally from the body when the two body sections are collapsed. The two body sections U and L are held against relative rotation so that the recesses I6 and 21 are always in alinement by means of a tongue and slot con necton or a plurality of tongue and slot connections, shown as comprising a tongue 30 on the upper block I5 and a slot 3| in the lower block 20.

The two body sections are normally held in fully extended position by means of a heavy compression spring 33, which is situated in the chamber I3 between the nut 24 and the shoulder I3 in the top of the chamber.

The holding mechanism I-I is comprised of pipe engaging slips 40, supported in ways 4I on a slip expanding collar 42 which is rotatably mounted on the mandrel section 25 below a bearing shoulder 25. Friction rings of any suitable type may be interposed between the collar 42 and the shoulder 25', such rings being indicated by ref erence numeral 45 and the collar 42 may be provided with a stop plate indicated by reference numeral 41.

The slips 4I) are actuated by means of links 40 having their lower ends pivotally attached to a slip actuating collar 43, slidably mounted on the lower end of the mandrel section 25. The collar 43 is held within the casing, to eiect actuation of the slips by downward movement of the mandrel 25 with respect tothe collar 43, by means of conventional bow springs 48 having their lower ends attached to the collar 43 as indicated at 49, and having their upper ends attached to a second collar 50, which Pis slidably mounted on the upper portion of the mandrel member 25. Suitable releasable means, which will be later described, are provided for the purpose of holding the collar and the bow springs 48 in extended relation with respect to the mandrel 25, but it will be seen that when the collar 43 is released with the tool suspended in a casing, the friction of the spring members 48 against the inside of the casing will hold the collar 43 against the movement. Upon further downward movement of the body member, which includes downward movement of the mandrel section 25, the slip expanding collar 42 travels downwardly with respect to the slips 40 and forces them out into engagement with the iasinzg where they occupy the position shown in It was previously pointed out as the principal object of this invention to provide a tool of the class described which would give a sensible indication to the operator at the surface of the ground as soon as the cutters I1 had been fully extended so that the operator would know when the cutting operation had been completed. It was also pointed out that this object in the present embodiment of my invention is accomplished by pumping a circulating liquid such as water or oil or the like into the operating pipe P at the surface of the ground and passing such uid through the body of the tool during such time as the cutters were being extended and providing means for positively shutting oitV this circulating fluid as soon as the cutters had been extended the desired amount to give a sensible indication through the rise in pressure in the circulating system.

In the present embodiment of my invention the object just discussed above is accomplished by providing the top tting I I of the upper body section U, with a fluid circulating conduit indicated by reference numeral 51. This fluid circulating conduit slidably extends through the elements in the lower body section L so that its lower end 51 projects below the lower end of the mandrel member 25. The lower end of the conduit or tubing member 51 is provided with a collar or seat member 58 having a valve seating surface 59 surrounding the outlet of a passage 60 therein, which communicates with the bore of the conduit member 51. Mounted on the collar member 43 and surrounding the valve seat tting 58 is what I may term a box 62. The chamber 63 of this box contains the tting 58 and the discharge portion of the conduit 51, and the circulating system for fluid through a tool of the type of this character is completed by providing the box 62 with a plurality of outlet ports, indicated generally by reference numeral 64.

Since the fitting 58 is attached to the upper body section U and since the box member 32 constitutes a portion of the holding mechanism which, when the tool is in cutting operation supports the lower body section L against downward movement, it will be seen that during a cutting operation the upper body section U and the tting 58 will travel downwardly with respect to the box member 62. In the present embodiment of my invention I take advantage of this fact to provide valve means for positively closing or cutting off the fluid circulating system at a predetermined point in the collapsing movement of the two body sections. The point at which the valve is closed also determines the extent to which the body section may be collapsed and as a consequence, the extent to which the cutter is projected. This action is accomplished by providing an upwardly tapered plug or valve member 61 in the bottom of the box 62 and in axial alinement with the passage through the conduit 51. 'I'he plug 61 and the seat 59 constitute a valve for closing the fluid circulating passage.

This plug Amember 6Fl -is shown as 'being threaded into an o-pening 68 inthe `bottom of the box member 62, and is shown having .a socket 65 whereby it may be vertically adjusted. For the purpose of locking the plug member in various positions of vertical adjustment, I Vmay employ a llocking screw indicated fat 1li.

As I have .previously pointed out, some means must `be `provided for freleasably locking the holdn ing member and the 'two body sections in extended relation so that the fslips and the cutters are normally held in retracted position. In this embodiment of my invention, this is accomplished by providing the .tting 58 with external threads 'l2 adapted to engage the threads in the opening through the collar member 43. These threads are preferably left-hand or opposite in direction to the threads used in the connections making up the remainder of the assembly. Also the threads 'l2 are preferably of relatively high pitch so that they can be easily released by rotating the supporting pipe P.

In operation, the unit, assembled and set in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1, is lowered into the well casing to the desired point where it is rotated to release the threads T2. The disengagement of the threads 'l2 is effective to draw the conduit member 51 downwardly with respect to the holding means I-I. In this regard it should be pointed out that the compression spring 33 is of suihcient strength to hold the two body sections in extended relation unless a considerable force is applied to the fitting Il with the lower body section L held stationary. The downward movement of the conduit member 51 and its associated upper body section U is therefore effective, through the action of the upper body section upon the compression spring, to impart corresponding movement to the lower body section L, which, through the action of the shoulder 25' forces the slip expanding collar i2 downwardly between the slips 40 and expands them out into gripping engagement with the inner surface of the casing.

When the threads 12 are disengaged, it will be seen that the member 58 drops down to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, and through such action the lower body section, with its expanding collar 42, is effective to force the slip out to its expanded position. When the unit is suspended in a casing indicated at C in Fig. 2, the extension of the slips is effective to grip the casing and thereby form a support for the lower body section L. When the tool has been set, in the casing in this way, the weight of the pipe P is permitted to bear upon the upper body section U, and at the same time the pipe P is rotated. This is eifective to collapse the upper and lower body sections U and L against the compressive action of the spring 33. This relative movement of the two body sections forces the cutter l? downwardly along the curved surface 28, so that it is projected laterally from the body into cutting engagement with the casing as the body is rotated.

During all of this operation, a suitable iiuid such as oil or water is being pumped through the pipe P, such fluid passing outwardly through the opening 63 in the shoe 62 and flowing upwardly around the cutting tool. When the unit has been collapsed to its fullest extent, it will be observed that the seat 59 in the seating member 53 engages the valve surface on the plug 67 and shuts off the continued circulation, such action being registered by a sudden increase in pressure in the circulating system at the surface of the ground. The plug 6I is set by the operator so that it is engaged by the member B when the cutter l1 has been exten-ded the required amount to sever the particular casing being worked upon. It will thus be seen that the closure of the circulating passage in this manner gives, and the attending rise in pressure in the circulating system gives, a positive indication to the operator that .the cut has been completed.

For the purpose of limiting the relative movement of the holding means H with respect toits supporting mandrel member 25, I may provide this mandrel member with stop rings or 4lugs .in-

dicated by `reference numerals 'l5 and 16, such y lugs being adapted for engagement with the collar members 5b and 43 respectively at the two limits of movement.

It is to be understood that while I have herein described and illustrated one preferred form. of my invention, the invention is not limited to the precise construction described above but includes within its scope whatever changes fairly come within the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A casing cutting tool embodying: a body comprised of upper and lower body sections telescopically connected; a cutter interposed between said body sections and adapted to be projected laterally from said body when said body sections are collapsed, means for supporting said lower body section in a casing to be cut; a fluid circulating pipe mounted in said upper body section and slidably extending through said lower body section; and valve means at the lower end of said pipe adapted to be closed when said body is collapsed to project said cutter.

2. A casing cutting tool embodying: a body comprised of upper and lower body sections telescopically connected; a cutter interposed between sai-d body sections and adapted to be projected laterally from said body when said sections are collapsed; a fluid circulating conduit mounted in said upper body section and extending through said lower body section; means including a box slidably supported on the bottom of said lower body section for supporting said lower body section in a casing to be out, said box receiving the lower end of said circulating conduit and having fluid outlets therein; and valve means associated with the bottom of said conduit and said box for closing said conduit when said body is collapsed.

3. A casing cutting tool embodying: a body comprised of upper and lower body sections telescopically connected; a cutter interposed between said body sections and adapted to be projected laterally from said body when said sections are collapsed; a uid circulating conduit mounted in said upper body section and extending through said lower body section; means including a box slidably supported on the bottom of said lower body section for supporting said lower body section in a casing to be out, said box receiving the lower end of said circulating conduit and having uid outlets therein; valve means associated with the bottom of said conduit and said box for closing said conduit when said body is collapsed, and means for releasably locking said body sections in extended relation.

4. A casing cutting tool embodying: a body comprised of upper and lower body sections telescopically connected; a cutter interposed between said body sections and adapted to be projected laterally from said body when said sections are collapsed; a fluid circulating conduit mounted in said upper body section and extending through said lower body section; means including a box slidably supported on the bottom of said lower body section for supporting said lower body section in a casing to be cut, said box receiving the lower end of said circulating conduit and having uid outlets therein; a seat member mounted on the bottom of said conduit; and a valve plug in said box adapted to engage said seat and close said circulating conduit when said body is collapsed.

5. A casing cutting tool embodying: a body comprised of upper and lower body sections telescopically connected; a cutter interposed between said body sections and adapted to be projected laterally from said body when said sections are collapsed; a fluid circulating conduit mounted in said upper body section and extending through said lower body section; means including a box slidably supported on the bottom of said lower body section for supporting said lower body section in a casing to be cut, said box receiving the lower end of said circulating conduit and having fluid outlets therein; a seat member mounted on the bottom of said conduit; a valve plug in said box adapted to engage said seat and close said circulating conduit when said body is collapsed, and threads on said seat member adapted for engagement with said box to hold said sections and said box against relative longitudinal movement.

JULIUS S. BECK.

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