US2170354A

US2170354A - Bailer

Info

Publication number: US2170354A
Application number: US173466A
Authority: US
Inventors: James P Stephens; Thomas J Hamilton
Original assignee: Phillips Petroleum Co
Current assignee: Phillips Petroleum Co
Priority date: 1937-11-08
Filing date: 1937-11-08
Publication date: 1939-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1956-08-22

Description

Aug. 22, 1'939. J. P. STEPHENS |51'` Al. 2,170,354

BAILER Filed Nov. 8, -1957` INVENTOR. J4 P. STEPHENS T. J. HAMILTON BE-r III- A TT ORNE YS.

Patented Aug. 22, 1939 BAILER James P. Stephens and Thomas J. Hamilton. Oklahoma City, Okla., assignors to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware AppucanmNovmur s, la'z, serial No. 113.466

Claims.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in bailers which have been primarily designed for bailing oil wells. More specically it relatesto mechanical equipment for hailing and removing sand or other particles from oil Wells.

Heretofore' bailers have been provided where-v in the interior chamberoi the bailer was kept under a vacuum which chamber upon the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the well hole l was Lopened toy cause an inow into the chamber of Well liquid having in suspension sand and slit. Such bailers, while having certain advantages are disadvantageous in that no provision is made for washing away the particles and debris which are clogging the sand-particles around the well hole. With the above mentioned type of bailer, as well as in the conventional type of bailer, the bailer lands in thedebris in thebottom of the well without having cleanedl the well hole above the bottom of the well. The debris that is caused to enter the barrel of the bailer is only that debris ,which is ahead of or beneath the bailer. The debris which is opposite the sides of the bailer remains-in close contact therewith and should n there be any material settling or caving, such types of bailers may become stuck in the well. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved bailer and oil sand washer wherein the bailer carries with it a supply of fluid under high pressure which iiuid is released on the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the well and causes a washing and agitation of the sand particles forming the wall of the well. By releasing iiuid pressure in the well, the discharged fluid will enlarge the cavity in the debris which is penetrated and formed by the bailer so that there is less danger of the bailer sticking or becoming frozen in the well.

A further object of-this invention is to prof vide an-improved bailerwhich will loosen tightly packed cavings, sand, silt, wax and other residues collecteddn the bottom of the well or accumulated along the sides oit-the well or on the sand faces. f

A further object of this invention is to provide afpumping action to fill the bailer with the loosened material that is to be removed from the well hole when the pressure iluid has been exhausted. I

.l `A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved bailer which has a simple and eiiicient means for dumping or removing the material from the bailer when removed from the well hole. I

i A still further object oi' the invention is to (Cl. 16B-19) provide an improved bailer which has a simple and effective means for releasing the pressure uid from the chamber when the bailer strikes the bottom of the well hole.

A still further object oi the invention is to provide an improved bailer in which considerable jarring'action can be effected within the bailer to jar the bmler loose in the hole if it should bel come stuck-therein.

With the foregoing and other objectsv in view,

which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawing for auiliustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view through the lower end portion ofthe improved bailer showing the same in a well hole and before the pressure uid has been released.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the improved bailer showing the same in the well hole and the position of the parts when thev nula pressure is` being released.

Referring to the accompanying ,drawing wherein similar reference characters designatel similar parts throughout. in Fig. l the improved bailer is shown as comprising a lower barrel portion 3 having reciprocally mounted therein the upper barrel portion l. The bailer may be constructed of two sections oi seamless steel tubing, each about thirty feet in length with the lower section or barrel being of a larger diameter than the upper section 4 as to allow for the reciprocat-- ing action between the respective members. In the drawing the bailer is shown as passing down through the casing 2 into the well hole I and as represented the bailer has not as yet struckthe bottom of the well hole.

The lower end of the bailer has mounted therein a sleeve member 5 which along with the sliding valve member i acts as a closure means tor the bottom end of the lower barrel member 3.

'Ihe sleeve 5 may be attached to the barrel 3 but the connection used should be easy to dis-` assemble because when the bailer has been filled with sand and silt-and is lifted to the ground level, the

membersv

5 and 6 are removed from the lower barrel portion in order to empty the contents of the bailery and prepare the same for another trip into the well. The sleeve member 5 presents aseat portion 8 at .the top thereof and the sliding valve member 6 has ajfledge p0rtion B which portions have a very ei'ose ground vby either screw threads or lugs as shown at l,

joint iit in order to form a seal at this point,-.55

The member 6 has mounted in the top thereof a iiapper valve I0 which operates to admit sand and silt from the well hole to the chamber II of the lower barrel, but will close from the weight of the 4material in the chamber when the bailer is lifted out of the well hole. The sliding member 6 is concentric with the sleeve member 5 and spaced therefrom, leaving the channel or space I2 between the two

members

5 and 6. The member 6 extends somewhatl below the end of the member 5 so that it is the rst portion of the bailer to strike the bottom of the well hole, and being slidable will telescope in the member 5 until the end of member 5 strikes the bottom of the well hole and all motion of the bailer downwardly in the well hole is halted. 0n the down- 'ward travel of the bailer in the casing, the ledge 9 on the slidable valve member is in sealing engagemexit withA the seat t on the sleeve 5, thu's closing off the channel I2. When the sleeve 6 v strikes the bottom of the well hole, the ledge 9 is lifted off the seat 8 thus putting the channel I2 in communication with the chamber II.

The upper end of the barrel 3 has a head portion I3 which has a shoulder portion I 4 within the barrel and an opening I5 through which the upper barrel 4 has a sliding or reciprocating movement. Within the chamber II of the lower barrel 3, the upper barrel has a shoulder or flange I6 which contacts the shoulder I4 on the outer barrel to hold the two barrels assembled when in fully extended position. Mounted within the chamber and on the lower end of the barrel 4 is a. ange I3 which presents a seat 20. Mounted between the shoulders or anges I6 and I9 is a piston member I1 having a sliding t with the inner wall of the lower barrel 3 and piston I1 has mounted therein piston rings to seal the piston with the wall of the lower barrel 3. The piston has a seat portion 2| on the bottom thereof which forms a ground joint seal with the seat 2li when the barrel 4 is in fully extended position to thus seal the chamber II from the exterior. The bottom of the barrel 4 has a seat 24 and a valve 22 mounted in the barrel 4 and presenting a surface 23 to rest on the seat 24 and thus act as a closure for the bottom of the barrel 4. The barrel '4 has an opening 25 in the bottom thereof which the valve 22 closes oi. The valve 22 has a stem 26 which projects through the opening 25 and is slidable therein. Mounted 'on theA bottom of the steam 26 isla spider 21 to limit the upward move- .ment of the valve stem. -It is noted that the valve stem 26 does not completely iill the opening,25 but a considerable space is left between the stem 26 and the wall of opening 25 so as to make a iiow channel.

Mounted in the side wall of the barrel 4 is a. gas fill valve 28 which is exposed when the barrel 4 extends from the barrel 3, its greatest distance.

Mounted at the top of the barrel 4 is the valve structure 23 which is opened to allow air to exhaust from the chamber of barrel 4 when the same is being charged with gas. A bail 30 is welded to the upper end of the bailer and attached to the sand line .or cable 3| for raising and lowering the bailer in. the well and also for the pumping and jarring action of the barrel 4.

To operate the bailer it is necessary to fasten the sand lineor cable 3| to the bail 3|) or rope socket attached to the upper end of the inner section or barrel 4. The inner section of tubing or barrel 4 is withdrawn from the outer section of tubing or lower barrel@A until the gas pressure tlll valve 28 is exposed andin a position so that .of the well.

a man standing on the derrick door may attach a high pressure gas line to this ll valve and ll the gas chamber which is the inner chamber of the inner section of tubing or the upper barrel 4 with high pressure gas. The gas employed is the volatile gas which comes from the crude oil in the oil well or anyv other hydrocarbon gas available. If the pressure of this gas'is not sufficient as it comes from the well, the pressure of the same is raised suiiiciently by pump means before being placed in the bailer. The pressure of the gas will depend upon the well conditions and will diier for most wells. During this iilling operation the top air exhaust valve 29 is opened so that any air within the gas chamber is forced out by the incoming high pressure gas. Gas and air make an explosive mixture so it is very necessary that all the air be exhausted from the chamber of barrel 4 before placing the bailer in the well. When all the air is expelled the air exhaust valve 29 is closed and the gas allowed to build up Within the gas chamber until the desired pressure is obtained. The lower ll valve is then closed and the bailer is ready to lower into the well.

In the lowering position the inner section of tubing or barrel 4 is Withdrawn from .the outer section or lower barrel 3 until the piston I1 on the lower end of the inner section of tubing 4 is in the upper end of the outer section of tubing and the shoulder I6 is in contact with the head I3 forming the upper end of the outer section of tubing. This is readily accomplished because the Weight of the outer section of tubing and the loose t about the inner section of tub- 'ing will cause the outer section to slide to the lowest point.

When the bailer reaches the bottom of the Well as shown in Fig. 2, the lower sliding valve member 6 which is mounted in the sleeve 5 and within-the outer section oi tubing 3. As the spider 21 connected to the sliding valve 22 which is mounted in the lower end of the inner section of tubing 4, comes in contact with the top of the sliding sleeve valve member 8 located in the bottom of theouter section of tubing 3, valve 22 closing the gas chamber of the inner section of tubing 4 will be lifted from the seat 24 thus placing the channel 25 in communication with the interior of the gas chamber. This lin turn will allow the high pressure gas within the chamber to escape through the channel 25, thence through the spider 21 and iinally through the channel I2 into the sand and silt in the bottom of the well.

The gas will stir up the sand and break up caked and compacted particlesof sand and silt and go into suspension with the oil in the bottom When the pressure gas has been completely exhausted from the inner section of tubing 4, the inner section of tubing may be Vdrawn upward by the cable 3|. By drawing the innerl section of tubing upward, the ledge 2U is mage to seal on the seat 2| and the valve 22' drops downwardly by gravity thus sealing on the seats '23 and 24. Continued upward movement of the inner section of tubing 4 inthe outer tubing 3 sectiony 'of tubing may be reciprocated several times to insure complete iilling of the chamber In case the bailer becomes so rmly embedded in the sand that it cannot be freed readily after lit is filled, there will be sufficient space left between the inner and outer sections that they may be used as a set of jars to free the bailer from the sand and silt. Considerable jarring action weight and force of the sand within the chamber,

I I.. To remove the contents of the bailer after the same has reached the surface of the well, it is only necessary to raise the bottom sleeve valve 6- which will allow the contents of the bailer to be discharged through the passage I2. As the lower sleeve valve is held in the outer section oi.' tubing 3 by athreaded or lugged coupling, the entirev bottom of the bailer including the sleeve valve C may be removed from the bailer and discharge the contents by this method.

It is to be understood that the form of our invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of 'the same, and that various changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of our invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubular'section mounted in they outer tubular section and reciprocable therein, a piston member surrounding the inner tubular section having a sliding t with the inner wall of the outer tubular section and reciprocable with the inner tubular section, said inner tubular member being closed at both ends to form a gas tight chamber for holding fluid under pressure and means for releasing the pressure fluid upon the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the well hole.

2. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubular section mounted in the outer Itubular section and reciprocable therein, a piston member surrounding the inner tubular sec- ,tion having a sliding t with the inner wall of thel outer tubular section and reclprocable with the inner tubular section, the lower end o! the innerv tubular section having a ledge which seats onl the bottom end of the piston to thus form a seal, said inner tubularmember being closed at both ends to form a gas tight chamber for holding fluid under pressure and means for releasing the pressure fluid upon .the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the well hole.

3. A bailer'comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubular section mounted in the outer tubular section to reciprocate therein, said inner tubular member being closed at both ends to form a gas tight chamber for holding uid under pressure, and means comprising a sliding valve mounted o n a seat portion in the lower end of the inner -tubular section and held in sealing engagement with the seat by the pressure of the uid in the chamber, and said valve being unseated for releasing the pressure fluid upon the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the well hole. 4. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubular section mounted in the outer tubular section to reciprocate therein, said outer tubular section being closed at the bottom thereof by a slidingy sleeve valve member and closed at the top by the inner tubular section forming thereby a closed chamber, said inner tubular member being closed at both ends to form argas vtight chamber for holding fluid under pressure,

and means comprising a sliding valve mounted on a seat portion in the lower end of the inner tubular section and held in sealing engagement with the seat by the pressure of the iluid in the chamber, and said valve being unseated for releasing the pressure fluid upon the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the well hole.

5. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubular vsection mounted in the outer tubular section to reciprocate therein, said outer tubular section being closed at the bottom thereof by a sliding sleeve valve member and closed at the top by the inner tubular section forming thereby a closed chamber, said sliding valve member being raised upon the bailer striking the well bottom to thereby establish' communication between the chamber in the outer tubular section and the well hole, said inner tubular member being closed at both ends to form a gas tight chamber for holding fluid under pressure, and means comprising a sliding valve mounted on a seat portion in the lower end of the inner tubular sectionand held in sealing engagement with the seat by the pressure of the uid in the chamber and said valve being unseated for releasing the pressure iluid upon the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the well hole.

JALES P. STEPHENS. THOS. J. HAMILTON.