US2790395A - Well flow control apparatus and system - Google Patents

Description

April 30, 1957 H. u. GARRETT ET AL WELL FLOW CONTROL APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed March 9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet l .lllllviJ Henry U. Gar/e f1 INVENTORS ATTOR/Vt'VJ April 30, 1957 H. u. GARRETT EI'AL 2,790,395

WELL FLOW CONTROL APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed March 9, 1954 5 shets-sneet 2 Henry U. arr e f f C/lffO/O'M Pefe/J Robe/'2 l V. 0/00/09 I INVENTORS BY 70 7 g r ATTORNEYS April 30, 1957 H. u. GARRETT ETAL 2,790,395

WELL FLOW CONTROL. APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed March 9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Henry M Garret! Chffora M Pei-ersfiaberz 14/. 5/00/07 INVENTORS I M BY M ATTORNEYS Ap 1957 H. u. GARRETT EI'AL 2,790,395

WELL FLOW CONTROL APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed March 9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 AITORNE KS April 30, 1957 H. u. GARRETT ET AL 2,790,395

WELL. FLOW CONTROL. APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed March 9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Henry M Gar/"eff C/fffora M. Pefers ATTORNEYS United States Patent 071cc WELL FLOW CONTROL APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Henry U. Garrett and Clilford M. Peters, Longview, and Robert W. Dinning, Kilgore, Tern, assignors, by assignments, to U. S. Industries, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application March 9, 1954, Serial No. 414,924

28 Claims. (Cl. 103-233) This invention relates to an apparatus and system for controlling flow into or out of a well conduit wherein a valve for controlling such flow is landed at any one of a number of predetermined levels in the well and removed therefrom by wire line operation without pulling the conduit from the well. In one of its aspects, this invention relates to an improved mandrel assembly and also to an improved latching means for releasably securing a control valve in the mandrel assembly.

Until recently, it has been the conventional practice in the production of a well by gas lift procedures to install the gas lift valves exteriorly on mandrels which are made up in and spaced along the length of the well tubing. According to such practice, each time it was desired to change or repair one of the gas lift valves, it was necessary to pull and rerun the tubing. Such an operation was not only expensive and time consuming but frequently involved the hazard of decreasing or even destroying the productive capacity of the well. Specifically, some of the disadvantages attendant upon pulling and rerunning a tubing are: (1) Many wells must be killed with mud or water before the tubing can be pulled. This is necessary to balance out the formation pressure with the hydrostatic head of fluid in the well in order to prevent flow from the formation out of the well. With such procedure, there is always present considerable danger that such water and particularly mud will flow into the producing formation and seal it against further flow of production therefrom when the well is later unloaded. Also, the water or mud may cause cave-ins or other formation faults to develop which may necessitate reworking or even abandonment of the well; (2) To pull the tubing, a pulling rig must be brought in and set up at the well head. This is expensive both in overhead and investment costs; (3) Frequently, the usual well head producing equipment must be removed and blowout preventers inf stalled. This is not only costly but involves a certain amount of danger because the well is open during such installation; (4) After tubing has been in place for any length of time, it is considered good practice to replace the old packer with a new one to assure proper packing; and (5) Pulling of the tubing necessarily is time consuming and involves the services of several workers.

To eliminate or at least minimize these and other disadvantages arising from the pulling and rerunning of tubing, there has recently been developed a permanent type completion. In general, such type of completion involves running of the tubing into the well and setting a packer above the topmost formation which is to be tested or produced. This tubing is permitted to remain permanently in the well thereafter and various perforating, cementing and other completion or production operations are carried out by various tools lowered into the well by a wire line. This avoids removal of the tubing and enables wire line operations to perform essentially all operations which were formerly performed by removal and rerunning of the tubing.

Even though it has always been desirable to avoid 2,790,395 Patented Apr. 30, 1957 pulling the tubing in order to install or change gas lift or other flow control valves, the permanent type of completion discussed above makes this even more desirable. Thus, the installation of such flow control valves in a customary manner, as by screwing into a mandrel on the exterior thereof, would greatly detract from the advantages of the permanent type completion because it would then still be necessary to pull the tubing to install or change such valves. Accordingly, the provision of a system and of satisfactory apparatus for use therein permitting wire line installation of such valves without pulling the tubing and without upsetting well conditions is highly desirable.

Also, in the past, considerable trouble has been experienced with mandrel failure due to corrosion. The mandrels are installed as a part of the production tubing and must bear the weight of the tubing suspended below each individual mandrel. In the construction of the mandrels, it has ordinarily been necessary, at least from a practical viewpoint, to perform certain welding operation on the mandrel body. .This welding causes internal,

stresses to develop in the mandrel body which reduce its ability to satisfactorily withstand the stresses imposed by the weight of the tubing string. Further, the heat of the welding process converts portions of the mandrel body nearest the welds into a type of metal different from that of other portions of the body heated to a different extent, if at all. This difference in metals causes galvanic corrosion to develop which further weakens the mandrel body. As a result of the internal stresses caused by the welding and the propensity of the body to corrode, mandrel failures caused by either perforation of the mandrel body or its complete severance in two have not been infrequent. In fact, one major producing company has reported that of all the failures in its down-hole equipment, more than percent have been mandrel failures. Obviously, failure of a mandrel to an extent that it pulls in two results in an expensive fishing job to recover the portion of the well string which has dropped into the hole and, in the event that such fishing is unsuccessful, the entire well must be abandoned. Accordingly, the risk of mandrel failure implies much more than mere replacement of the mandrel because it can result in the spending of many thousands of dollars replacing the well in operation or even its complete loss.

In accordance with the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide a flow control apparatus and system for wells which alfords a minimum tendency for corrosion of parts stressed by the weight of the well conduit, which is relatively simple in construction and operation, and which can be easily manipulated by conventional wire line tools.

Another object of this invention, is to provide a flow control apparatus and system for wells in which a mandrel or housing assembly is provided to be made up as a part of a well conduit and to receive a wire line flow control valve assembly therein, such mandrel or housing assembly being arranged so that welding need not be employed in fabricating any parts thereof which are to be stressed by the weight of the well conduit suspended therefrom whereby the tendency of such stressed parts to corrode is reduced to a minimum.

Another object is to provide an apparatus and system wherein a mandrel or landing device and a flow control valve assembly are so constructed and arranged that any number of such mandrels can be installed in a well and one of such valves landed in any mandrel at the operators selection, there being provided an improved latching mechanism for selectively and releasably securingthe valve assembly in the selected mandrel through manipulation of the valve assembly by conventional wire line tools.

Another'object is 'to provide an apparatus and system for controlling flow of fluid into orout of'a well conduit, including a flow control valve assembly which can be landed in a mandrel or housing assembly by wire line operation, the mandrel or housing assembly including a valve member adapted to open and close a flow passage providing communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel or housing body whereby upon removal of the flow control valve assembly, such communication can be closed off; the valve member also providing therein a bypass passageway permitting flow of fluid through the mandrel-assembly with a flow control valve assembly landed therein, and thence up through the well conduit. i

Another object is to provide such, anapparatus and system wherein a crossover device is shiftably mounted in the conduit to control'flow through lateral ports in the conduit and also providing'a bypassfpassageway therein permitting flow up the Well conduit when a flow control valve is landed in the crossover device whereby the well conduit can be constructed without necessarily resorting to welding of stressed pants thereof so as to thereby reduce the tendency of such parts to corrode.

Another object is to provide such an apparatus and system including a mandrel assembly having a valve member therein shiftable to open and close a lateral flow port in the mandrel assembly upon landing and removing a flow control valve assembly therefrom, the flow control valve assembly including parts of a latching mechanism for releasably and selectively retaining the flow control valve in the mandrel assembly and wherein such parts are arranged so that they can be connected to a conventional gas lift valve with a minimum of or even no modification of the valve itself whereby conventional gas lift valves are easily interchangeable on the latching mechanism.

Another object is to provide an apparatus and system for controlling flow into and out of the well conduit in which a wire line flow control valve and mandrel assernbly is provided with an improved latching mechanism for releasably securing the valve in the mandrel, the latching mechanism being actuated to be placed in latching position merely by exerting a force in one direction on a part thereof whereby a simple upward pull on the wire line, for example, positively locks the control valve in the mandrel.

Another object is to provide an improved latching mechanism for releasably securing a wire line flow control valve in a mandrel in a well, the mechanism being actuated to be placed in latching position by a first up ward pull on a wire line and also being released from latching position bya second upward pull on the wire line of greater force than the first pull, the latching mechanism being essentially self-contained and not requiring special wire line tools to either latch or unlatch the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a system for controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit wherein a plurality of mandrels are spaced along the well conduit and wherein a given flow control valve can be landed in any one of such mandrels to control fluid flow into or out of the conduit, each mandrel including a crossover device shiftably mounted therein and adapted to receive a flow control valve assembly therein or to permit the same to pass therethrough, as desired, the shiftable crossover device providing therein a bypass passageway around the flow control valve landed therein to permit well fluids to flow up the well conduit and also providing another passageway confining flow into or out of the conduit to be through the flow control valve, the two passageways being separate.

Other objects, advantages'and features of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the written specification, the appended claims, and the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an illustration showing a well having an em- I 4 bodiment of the apparatus of this invention installed therein;

Figs. 2A and 2B together constitute an enlarged view of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of this invention including a gas lift valve assembly just after it has been positioned in a mandrel assembly but before it has been manipulated to latch it in position and to open the mandrel assembly for flow between the interior and exterior thereof;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2B except it illustrates the position of the parts after the gas lift valve has been latched in position and the mandrel assembly opened for flow;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a preferred form of the latching mechanism and adjacent parts of the flow valve and mandrel assembly of this invention showing the latching mechanism in position to be extended to latching position;

Fig. 5 is similar to Fig. 4 except that it shows. the latching mechanism after it has beenreleased to permit the gas lift valve to be pulled from the well;

Figs; 6, 7 and 8 are views taken on the lines 6-6,

7-7 and 8-8 of Figs. 2B and 3; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of a spring employed to detain the crossover device in a preselected position.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the several views to designate like parts.

In accordance with this invention, a plurality of mandrel assemblies 10 are made up as a part of a well conduit, such as tubing string 11, at the time the tubing is run into the well. The number and placement of these mandrel assemblies in the tubing string is dependent upon the anticipated spacing requirements for gas lift production of the particular well and preferably a sufficient number are made up in the tubing string to allow considerable flexibility and latitude in the spacing of gas lift valves to be landed in the mandrel assemblies without having to pull and rerun the tubing to add new mandrel assemblies at different spacing locations.

Thus, in the permanent type completion, sufficient mandrel assemblies are made up in the tubing string to meet spacing requirements which are anticipated throughout the life of the well. The tubing is then set with a packer 11a above the topmost formation. to be tested or produced and the well completed in a normal manner.

Each of the mandrel assemblies is provided with a passageway affording fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the tubing and such passageway is closed by a valve member until the flow or gas lift valve is landed in the mandrel at which time the valve member is moved to open position so that the landed valve can control flow through the passageway. Thus, mandrel assemblies 10 normally prevent fluid communication be tween the tubing interior and the tubing-casing annulus except when a flow control valve is positioned therein or when otherwise purposely opened to permit certain well operations to be conducted; The mandrel assemblies are so constructed, as will be made more apparent hereinafter, that when it is desired'to gas lift thewell, a wire line flow control valve assembly 12 canbe lowered through any number of mandrel assemblies and lauded by a wire line 13 having a pulling or running tool 14 connecting the wire line to valve assembly 12. The valve can he landed in a selected mandrel assembly irrespective of where it is situated in the well. Also, a plurality of valves can be landed in a corresponding number of mandrel assemblies so that the tubing-casing annulus can be U- tubed or dumped to remove fluid therefrom. Then, upon passing lifting gas through the tubing-casing annulus 15, such gas can be injected into the tubing under control of one or more of the gas lift valves landed in mandrel assemblies 10. Since usually only one valve is employed as a working valve to inject gas into the tubing, all other or dumping valves can be removed from the tubing therebyeliminating the necessity for leaving a plurality ofvalves in the well where .they are not only subject to failure but increase the investment in the well. Also, any valve so landed can be removed as desired and either landed in another mandrel at a different depth or replaced by a .valve having different control characteristics. Even further, all valves can be removed and the well surveyed, reworked or treated after which the'jvalve or valves can be again landed in the well. Thus, the permanent type completion is not disturbed and the gas lift valves are installed only in a desired number and at the time required.

While particular reference has been made herein to the permanent type completion, it will be apparent that this invention has great utility in anywell because it eliminates the necessity' for pulling tubing .no matter how the well is completed.

Turning now to a specificv description of a preferred embodiment ofthe invention as shown. in the drawings, mandrel assembly includes a mandrel body or housing 16 provided with a lateral flow passageway-or port 17 in one wall thereof permitting fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel assembly.

can'comprise one or more U-blade springs 33 received in a recess in sleeve 18 and having'a portion 35 adapted to alternately engage grooves 36 and 37 when the sleeve is shifted from one of its positions to another. In this manner, the sleeve can be shifted positively from one position to another and when it reaches such position, it will he stopped by engagement of the stop parts and then retained in such position by spring 33 engaging one of grooves 36 and 37 until a positive force is applied to move the sleeve to the other position.

To prevent foreign matter from accumulating in spring space 34, a seal 38 can be provided to act with sealing The assembly includes a valve member or sleeve 18 which 7 is shiftableto open and close passageway 17. A flow control valveassembly 12 is adapted to be passed through or to belan'ded in the mandrel assembly, as desired, by the wire line13, and upon being so landed, valve member 18 is moved to'open position to establish communication between passageway 17 and a port in the control valve assembly 12 so that fluid flowing into or out of passageway 17 can be controlled by the control valve thereby controlling the injectionof fluid into the tubing or into the casing as the case may be. Upon removal of control valve assembly '12 from themandrel assembly, valve member 18 is moved to closed position thereby preventing further flow of fluid through the passageway. in this manner, flow of fluid into or out of the tubing is always controlled by a control valve adapted to be landed by wire line operation and such flow is blocked whenever the control valve is removed. I

Referring first to the mandrel assembly 10, housing or mandrel body 16 is threaded at its ends as at 19 and 20 for connection with the tubing string, such as by swedges 21.

Means are provided in mandrel body 16 for inse'rtably receiving or passing therethrough, as desired, a flow control valve assembly 12 or other desired tool. In this instance, such means include sleeve 18 which is constructed to function as a crossover device. As shown in the drawings, the crossover device is formed of an outer sleeve 22 slidably mounted in a bore 23 of mandrelbody 16. An inner sleeve 24 is carried by the outer sleeve by means of a web or spar 25. Web 25 extends only partially around the annulus between the inner and outer sleeves so that there is provided an annular bypass port 17 when the sleeve is in one of its shifted positions (Fig. 3). Outer sleeve 22 has an imperforate portion 28 positioned so that when sleeve 18 is shifted to a second position, the imperforate portion is disposed across port 17 toblock flow therethrough (Fig. 2B). Sealing means, such as chevron packing 29, can be disposed to either side of port 17 to effect a sliding seal between the mandrel body and the sleeve. Stop parts are provided to limit movement of the sleeve to be between its open and closed positions and can comprise a ring 30 having an inwardly projecting shoulder 31 and another shoulder 32 on the mandrel body, each adapted to respectively abut opposite ends of sleeve 18.

In order to positively maintain the sleeve in either one of its two positions, releasable detent means are provided between the sleeve and the mandrel body. Such means means 29 to isolate this space from well fluids.

As part of the receiving means for flow control valve 12, a tubular extension 40 of inner sleeve 24 can be pro-.

vided to be a part ofa latching mechanism for securing the flow control valve'assembly within the mandrel. It,

will be noted that extension 40 is spaced from the inner wall ofmandrel body- 16 to provide an extension 26a of the bypass passage.

In constructing the mandrel assembly, it is preferable that the minimum inside diameter of sleeve 18, or, in other words, the minimum inside diameter of inner sleeve 24 and extension 40, be approximately at least as great as the. inside diameter of the well tubing. This permits ordinarywire line tools which will pass through the tubing to also pass through the mandrel assembly without interference. therewith. Also, the cross-sectional area of bypass passageway 26 and extension 26a is preferably made at least as large as that of the tubing so that with a flow controlvalve landed in the mandrel assembly, well fluids can still flow up the well and through passageway 26 and extension 26a with relatively little restriction.

It should also be noted that the mandrel assembly is constructed and arranged so that it provides a central bore through which a wire line tool or a flow controlvalve assembly can pass in order to be lowered to a position entirely below the mandrel assembly. Thus, the sleeve and extension40 thereof are, in the preferred embodiment, generally annular in shape with their internal or central bore substantially coaxially aligned with that of the tubing so that a wire line tool or a flow control valve assembly can be lowered straight down through the tubing into the mandrel assembly.

The flow control valve assembly includes generally a flow control valve 41 and parts for an essentially self contained latching mechanism 42. The flow control valve can be of any type known to those skilled in the art, such as, for example, those shown in United States Letters Patent Nos. 2,519,242, 2,620,740 and 2,620,741. The valve mechanism shown in the drawings includes a pressure dome 43 adapted to be charged with the resilient fluid and a back-up'liquid, if desired. A bellows 43a has one end connected to the valve housing 41a and a movable end connected to valve stem 44. One side of the bellows is exposed to the pressure within dome 43 and the other to the pressure of the casing via passageway 45 and ports 46, which in this case constitutes inlet ports. The valve stem carries a valve element 47 adapted to seat upon seat 48 so as to control flow between inlet ports 46 and outlet port 49.

With this arrangement, it will be apparent that when the casing pressure becomes sufficiently great relative to the charge pressure in dome 43, valve member 47 will be unseated so that fluid from the casing can flow through ports 46, seat 48, and outlet port 49 to be discharged through a check valve, designated generally bythe numeral 50, into the tubing. The discharge fluid can then pass,along with any well fluid in the tubing, upwardly through bypass passageway extension 26a and passageway 26 to the upper end of the mandrel assembly'and thence upwardly through the tubing.

Ports 46 are so located in the flow control valve housing that when the latter is landed properly in the mandrel assembly, the ports are in fluid communication with ports 27in sleeve. 18. Sealing means,:.such;as,O-ringsr5.1; are disposed to either side of ports 46 'tQeEectia-sealwi h' amass-e a, .z '71!) :..l. Two positionreleasabledetent means are providedto prevent relative -longitudinal movement between latch the mandrel assembly and for releasably, securing ,the

56 and having one end biased outwardly by a spring 57.

to present an abutment surface 58 which, when extended, engages a shoulder 59 on extension 40. Upon such abutment and applying an upward force to the wire line connected to flow control valve 41, the sleevewill'be moved from open to closed position. Dog 55 is pivoted to housing part 56 by means of a shear pin .60.so that it is free to have its abutting surface 58 urged outwardly by spring 57 and yet to be moved inwardly when any obstruction is encountered while lowering the control valve assembly into the well. It will thus be apparent that as .the control valve assembly is lowered through theftubing, dog 55 can ride against the tubing but.when properly positioned within sleeve 18,-it will engage shoulder 59. and limit upward movement of the control valve with respect to the sleeve as shown in Fig. 2B. Since it may happen that the valve assembly will be lowered so that dog 55 is positioned below extension 40, thelower end of the latter is formed with a chamfered portion 61 which moves dog 55 inwardly as the valve assembly is moved upward.

Another dog 62 is provided as a part of the latching mechanism and is pivotally connected to a reduced diameter portion 63a of latch support part 63 as by extending one end of the dog within a space 64 formed by a depending lip 65 and maintaining it therein by a ring 66 engaging a groove 67 in the dog. Dog 62 is urged outwardly, as by spring 68, to present an abutment surface 69 for engagement with a shoulder 70 on extension 40, as shown in Fig. 3. With this construction, dog 62 can pivot on latch support portion 63a to swing abutment surface 69 inwardly and outwardly of the latch support part. With the dog in its extended position, it will be clear that upon downward movement of the control valve assembly, sleeve 18 will be moved from closed to open position.

Means are provided for maintaining dog 62 in retracted position to prevent it from engaging any shoulders or other obstructions in the tubing during downward travel of the flow valve assembly and to release this dog after dog 55 has engaged shoulder 59 thereby ensuring that the flow valve assembly is properly positioned within the mandrel assembly. Such means can be provided by making latch housing part 56 in the form of a sleeve and slidable longitudinally on reduced diameter portion 63a of latch support part 63; part 56 here being illustrated as comprising two portions, 56a and 73, which facilitates assembly. The movable end of dog 62 is provided with an extension 71 adapted to be inserted, when the dog is to be retained in retracted position, in a socket 72 in a retainer or lock part 73 carried by latch housing part 56. A larger diameter socket 74 is provided adjacent socket 72 so that upon relative movement apart of lock part 73 and extension 71 of dog 62, the extension moves outwardly into socket 74 under the influence of spring 68 so as to position surface 69 for abutment with shoulder 70. Thus, upon dog 55 engaging shoulder 59 and upon assembly through the ,well conduit.

body parts 56 and 63'unti l a predetermined force has been exerted to efiect ;su c h ,movement. Such detent means be provided byextending reduced diameter portion 63:; of the latchsppport part 63,to be connected with check valve housing 75 which has a portion 76 telescoping with inner portion 77 of latch housing part 56a. Portion 76 is formed with longitudinally spaced annular ,grooves,78, and 79;and a spring means, suchas Q-ring 80, is c arrigd hyjn er portion 77 of latch housing part 56 to releasably engage these grooves.

With thisponstruptiom and with latch housing part 56 positioned so;that,ring-80 engages groove 78, extension 71 of dog 62 willhe ma .intained in socket 72 .as the valve assembly islowered ,intoithe well thereby preventing abutment surface 69 from engaging any shoulders, or other obstructions during thedownward movement of the As soon as the valve assembly has been passed through a desired number of mandrels to the preselected mandrel into which it is to be landed, upwardmovement. of, the valve assembly will cause dog, 55 to 'engageshoulder 59. A continued upward pull on head #24 by the wire line will cause latch supporgpart63,:andtelcoping portion 76 of check valve housing ,to,moye upwardly relative to latch housing P w ichis-rr yen edy ro n m v g y dog h i ne fi lislhus moved fr groove to groove .d .fiZ-isl kcw se mqv dnpw y relative to locking or retaining part 73 to permit extension 71 of dog 62 to be released ,f ron socket 72. As a result, spring 68 is free to move, the dogoutwardlyjo permit it to engage n d -.not. 1

.;Since cro s s ove r; device or sleeve 18 is in closed position when first engaged by ,dog 55,- it remains in such position during the release of dog 62. Then, after dog 62 is released, the tapplication of, a downward force to the flow valve assembly, asjbyjarring, causes the sleeve to move to open position. .Upon movement of the sleeve to open position, a lower end thereof engages shoulder 32 to stop such movementand, at the same time, spring 33 engages groove35 to retain the sleeve in open position. The wire line can then be disengaged from head 42a and removed from thejwell.,

When his desired to remove ,the flow valve assembly from the well,a wire line carrying a pulling tool is run into the tubing and engagedwith head 42a of the flow valve assembly. Upon an upward pull being exerted by the wire.line,= ,the valve. assembly .and sleeve 18 are moved upwardly and dog 55 remains in engagement with shoulder 59 during such movement. When the sleeve reaches closed position, the upper end of the sleeve engages shoulder 3 l,and spring 33, engages groove 37. A continued upward pullon the .wire line of increased force causes pin 60'to, shear, thereby permitting spring a, which is maintained in alignmentby guide 81, to urge dog 55 downwardly into recess 82,- thereby effectively retracting thisjdogi (Fig. 5),.- ;The flow valve assembly can thenbe removed :from the :well, dog 62 remaining in extended position but being retractable whenever it meets an obstruction in the well tubing.

The spring 33 comprising, the detent for maintaining sleeve 18 in a preselected position should be of suflicient strength so that upon engagement with one of grooves 36 or 37, it will retain crossover device .18 an d any flow valve assembly landed therein in the preselected position even though flow of fluid through the well or through the valve assembly creates 'a pressure difierential tending to move the device to its other position, Also, since an upward pull on'th'e wire line is to not only move the crossover dviceto" closed position but also to shear pin 60 to retract dog 55, pin 60 should be of such size as to require considerably greater force for shearing than is required to move the crossover device to closed position. For example, pin 60 may be sufl'lcient-ly large as to require doubling the force on the wire line to shear the same as compared with the force required to move the crossover device to closed position. This will assure that the crossover device will always be moved to closed position before dog 55 is retracted.

In further regard to the resistance of pin 60 to shearing, the force required to shear should be substantially greater than that required to move latch housing part 56 when releasing dog 62 so that the dog can always be released without substantial risk of shearing pin 60.

It will be noted that mandrel body 16 can comprise a length of tubing, threaded at each end, and machined to provide the necessary grooves and lateral openings therein. Such operations require no welding at all but only simple machining procedures. The lack of welding on the mandrel body during its fabrication avoids corrosion which normally occurs at welds exposed to well fluids. Thus, the mandrel body which supports the tubing therebelow and hence is the stressed portion of the mandrel assembly, becomes essentially another part of tubing insofar as stress characteristics are concerned. Sleeve 18, since it is not stressed by the weight of the well tubing, can be fabricated by welding if desired. However, it is preferred that it be cast and then finish machined. The casting method of fabrication is quite satisfactory since the crossover device is not stressed by the weight of the well tubing whereas, obviously, casting of mandrel body 16 would not be feasible.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed 1. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a housing adapted to be connected as a part of the well conduit and having a wall with an opening therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and the exterior of said housing, a valve member shiftable between first and second positions to respectively open and close said housing opening to fluid flow therethrough, a passageway through said valve member providing communication between the opposite ends of said housing, a wire line flow controlling valve landable in said housing and having inlet and outlet ports and a valve mechanism for controlling flow through said ports, and means providing a fluid passage between said housing opening, with the valve member in said first position, and one of said ports and constraining flow of fluid through said housing opening to also be through said one of said ports, said passage in the last said means being separate from said passageway through said valve member.

2. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a mandrel body adapted to be connected as a part of the well conduit and having a wall with an opening therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel body, a crossover device having a first fluid passageway providing communication be tween the interior and the exterior of said device and a flow blocking portion adapted when disposed across said mandrel body opening to block flow therethrough, said device being shiftable in said mandrel body between a first position at which said first passageway is in fluid communication with said mandrel body opening and a second position at which said flow blocking portion is disposed across said mandrel body openin' a second passageway in said device separate from the first passageway and providing communication between opposite ends of said mandrel body, a wire line flow controlling valve insertable into said device to control flow into and out of said conduit through said first passageway and said mandrel body opening with the device in said first position, and means for shifting said device between said first and second positions.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said crossover device includes an inner and an outer sleeve, the inner sleeve being mounted within said outer sleeve to provide an annular passage therebetween constituting said second passageway, a part joining said sleeves and having at least a portion of said first passageway therein, said outer sleeve having an imperforate section providing said flow blocking portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said crossover device has a longitudinal bore therethrough, said flow controlling valve being insertable into and movable entirely through said bore so that such flow controlling valve can be passed into one end of the mandrel and out the other, and selectively operable means for restraining movement of said flow controlling valve out of said bore.

5. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a mandrel assembly adapted to be connected as a part of the well conduit and including a mandrel body having a wall withvan opening therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and the exterior of said mandrel body, said assembly also including a crossover sleeve having a first passageway providing communication between the interior and the exterior of the sleeve and including an imperforate portion adapted when placed across said mandrel body opening to limit flow therethrough, said sleeve being shiftable in said mandrel body between a first position at which said first passageway is in communication with said mandrel body opening and a second position at which said imperforate portion is disposed across said mandrel body opening, a longitudinally disposed second passageway through said sleeve separate from said first passageway and providing fluid communication between opposite ends of said mandrel body, a wire line flow controlling valve landable in said sleeve to control flow through said first passageway, and releasably engageable means between said flow controlling valve and said mandrel assembly for releasably retaining said flow controlling valve in landed position in said sleeve.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said releasably engaging means include parts respectively carried by said flow control valve and by said sleeve, said parts being engageable to limit movement of the flow control valve relative to the sleeve whereby shifting of the sleeve between its first and second positions can be accomplished by moving said flow control valve relative to said mandrel body.

7. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of 'fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a mandrel.

body adapted to be connected as a part of said well conduit and having a well, a sleeve mounted in said mandrel body for shifting between a first and a second position, a first passageway extending from the exterior of said mandrel body through the mandrel body wall and the sleeve into the interior of the sleeve, saidfirst pas- 5 sageway' having a portioninsaid mandrelbody wall and another portion in said sleeve. so that shifting of the sleeve to its first positionplaces; said passagewayportions in register and shifting of thesleeve to its second position places the portions out of register to block flow through the first'passageway, a second passageway separate from the first and extending longitudinally through the sleeve to provide fluid communication between the opposite ends of the mandrel body, receiving means in the mandrel body, said sleeve and receiving means providing a con tral longitudinal bore therethrough, a wire line flow control valve with a housing of such size the valve can be passed into and entirely through said central bore, and means carried by the valve to releasablyand selectively engage said receiving means to retain the valve in landed positionrin saidfsleeve' when desired and to permit the valve to pass entirely through theflsleeve when desired, said valve when landed in the sleeve controlling flow through said first passageway.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said receiving means are carried by the sleeve and are shiftable therewith whereby upon landing the valve in said sleeve, the valve can be manipulated to shift said sleeve.

9. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a mandrel body adapted to be made up of the part of said conduit and having a wall with a port therein providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel body, a sleeve slidably mounted in said mandrel body and having a port disposed intermediate its ends and extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of the sleeve, said sleeve having an imperforate portion spaced from the sleeve port and also being shiftable between first and second positions, respectively, to place said sleeve and mandrel ports in fluid communication and to position said imperforate portion across the mandrel port, a longitudinal fluid passageway in said sleeve providing fluid communication between the opposite ends of the mandrel body and separate from said sleeve port, receiving means carried by said sleeve, said sleeve and receiving means providing a central longitudinal bore therethrough, a wire line gas lift valve having a housing smaller in cross section than that of said bore so that the valve is insertable into and movable entirely through said bore, first and second parts carried by the receiving means and said valve for releasable mutual engagement to respectively limit longitudinal movement of the valve in opposite directions with respect to said sleeve, and means for maintaining said second parts out of said mutual engagement until said first parts have been mutually engaged.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said first and second parts comprise respectively first and second dogs carried by the valve and first and second oppositely facing shoulders on said receiving means, said dogs being respectively engaged with said shoulders upon landing the valve in said sleeve, and means for releasing engagement of the first dog with the first shoulder upon movement of the valve in a directionopposite to that which it was inserted into the sleeve.

ll. As a subcombination, a flow control and landing apparatus suit-able for removably receiving a wire line flow control valve therein to control flow into or out of a well conduit, which comprises, in combination, a mandrel body adapted to be connected as a part of the well conduit and having a wall with an opening therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel body, a crossover device having a first fluid passageway providing communication between the interior and the exterior of said device and a flow blocking portion adapted when placed across said mandrel body opening to block flow therethrough, said 12 communication withrsaid mandrel body opening and a secondepositionnat.whichsaid flow blocking portion is disposed across saidmandrel body opening, a second passageway in said device separate from the first passage- 7 way and. providing communication between the opposite ends of said, mandrel body, said crossover device having a central bore therethrough adapted to receive and pass therethrough a wire line flow control valve, and parts in said mandrel body adapted to releasably engage other parts on said valve when the latter is inserted in said device to limit movement of the valve with respect to said device.

12. As a subcombination, a flow control and landing apparatus suitable for removably receiving a wire line flow control valve therein to control flow into or out of a well conduit, which comprises, in combination, a housing adapted to be connected as a part of the well conduit and having a wall with an opening therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the housing, a valve member in said housing shiftable between .first and second positions to respectively open and close said housing opening to fluid flow therethrough, a passageway through said valve member providing communication between the opposite ends of said housing, .said valve member providing a longitudinal central bore therethrough adapted to receive and pass therethrough a wire line flow control valve, means providing a fluid passage between said housing opening, with the valve member in said first position, and said bore in said valve member whereby a port in a flow control valve landed in said housing can be placed in fluid communication with said fluid passage to control flow therethrough, and parts in said housing adapted to releasably engage other parts on the flow control valve when the latter is inserted in said bore to limit movement of the valve with respect to the housing.

13. As a subcombination, a flow control and landing apparatus suitable for removably receiving a wire line flow control valve therein to control flow into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a man drel body adapted to be made up as a part of said conduit and having a wall with a port therein providing fluid communication between the interior and the exterior of the mandrel body, a sleeve slidably mounted in said mandrel body and having a port disposed intermediate its ends and extending laterally of the longitudinal axis of the sleeve, said sleeve having an imperforate portion,

spaced from the sleeveport and also being shiftable between first and second positions respectively to place said sleeve and mandrel polts in fluid communication and to position said irnperforate portion across the mandrel port, a longitudinal fluid passageway in said sleeve separate from said sleeve 'port and providing fluid communication between the opposite ends of the mandrel body, receiving means carried by said sleeve, said sleeve and receiving means providing a central longitudinal bore therethrough into and through which a wire line flow control valve can be passed, and parts carried by said receiving means for releasable mutual engagement with parts carried by a flow control valve inserted in said bore to limit longitudinal movement of the valve in opposite directions in said sleeve.

14. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination: a mandrel assembly adapted to be made up as a part of the well conduit and including a mandrel body with a wall having an opening therethrough providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of said mandrel body, a valve member in said mandrel body shiftable between first and second positions to respectively open and close said mandrel body opening to fluid flow therethrough, a passagewaythrough said valve member providing communication between opposite ends of said mandrel body; a wire line flowcontrol valve laudable in said mandrel 13* assembly and having inlet and outlet ports and a'valv' mechanism for controlling flow through said 'port's; means providing a fluid passage between said mandrel opening, with the valve member in its first position, and one of said ports and constraining flow through the mandrel opening to be through said one of said ports; and latching means for selectively allowing the flow control valve to be passed through said mandrel assembly and releasably securing said flow control valve thereinincluding first and second elements carried by one of and extensible to latch with the other of said mandrel assembly and said flow control valve to limit longitudinal movement of the flow control valve in either direction relative to said mandrel assembly, retainer means holding said first element in retracted position and movable to release the first element so that it can extend to latching position, and a force transmitting connection between said second element and said retainer means to move the latter to release the first element upon a force being applied to the second element.

15. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination: a mandrel assembly adapted to be made up as a part of the well conduit and including a mandrel body with a port providing communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel body, a valve member shiftable in said body to open and close said port, said mandrel body and "alve member providing a longitudinal bore therethrou-gh; a wire line flow control valve having a cross-sectional configuration such that the control valve can be passed into and entirely through said bore; and latching means for selectively allowing the control valve to pass through said bore when desired and releasably securing said control valve in the mandrel assembly when desired including first and second parts movable relative to each other, first and second extensible and retractable elements respec tively carried by said first and second parts, a retainer carried by said second part and holding said first element retracted when said first and second parts are in a first position relative to each other and releasing said first element when said first and second parts are moved to a second position, third and fourth elements respectively engageable with said first and second elements when the latter are extended with the first and third elements being disposed to limit movement of the flow valve in one longitudinal direction relative to the mandrel assembly and the second and fourth elements disposed to limit movement in'the other direction.

16. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination: a mandrel assembly adapted to be made up as a part of the well conduit and including a mandrel body with a port providing communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel body, a valve member shiftable in said body to open and close said port, said mandrel body and valve member providing a longitudinal bore therethrough; a wire line flow control valve having a cross-sectional configuration such that the control valve can be passed into and entirely through said bore; and latching means for selectively allowing the control valve to pass through said bore when desired and releasably securing said control valve in the mandrel assembly when desired including first and second parts carried by the control valve and movable between first and second positions relative to each other, first and second dogs carried respectively by said first and second parts and having oppositely fiacing abutment surfaces, each dog being movable outwardly to latching position, a retainer carried by said second part and holding I said first dog in retracted position with said pants in their first position and releasing said first dog when said parts are moved to their second position, said mandrel assembly having oppositely facing abutment surfaces disposed for engagement with the respective abutment surfaces of said dogs when'the latter are lattihing position, and

means for retracting said second dog:

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said retracting means comprises a shear pin connecting said second dog i to said second part.

18. An apparatus adapted for 'wire line operation and for use in contnolling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination: a mandrel assembly adapted to be made up as a part of the well conduit and including a mandrel body wtih a port providing communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel body, a valve member shiftable in said body to \open and close said port, said mandrel body and valve member providing a longitudinal bore thcrethrough; awire line flow control valve having a cross-sectional configuration such that the control valve can be passed into and entirely through said bore; and latching means for selectively allowing the control valve to pass through said bore when desired and releasably securing said control valve in the mandrel assembly when desired including a first pait carried by the control valve, a second part telescopically connected to the first part for movement relative to the first from a first position to a second, extensible and retractable first and second dogs respectively .pivotally connected to said first and second parts and having opposing endwise abutment surfaces, a retainer carried by the second part holding the first dog in retracted position with said second part in its first position and releasing the first dog for movement to extended position when said second part is moved to its second position,

first and second opposing shoulders carried by said valve Y member for respectively engagement with said dogs when the latter are extended, the abutment surface :of the second d'og facing upwardly and in the direction from which thecontrol valve is first passed into the mandrel assembly whereby upon engagement of the second dog and second shoulder, an upward pull on the control valve moves said valve is landed in a mandrel made up as a part of a well conduit, the improved latching mechanism for releasably securing the valve in landed position in the mandrel which comprises first and second clogs pivotally carried by the control valve and biased laterally outwardly of the valve so as to be urged from retracted to extended position, said dogs having opposing endwise abutment surfaces, opposing first and second abutment surfaces on the mandrel for respective engagement with said endwise dog surfaces when the dogs are extended, a retaining part holding said first dogin retracted position and movable to release the first dog, a force transmitting connection between said second dog and said retaining part for moving the latter to release the first dog upon a force being exerted on the control valve to urge the second dog into tighter engtagement with said second abutment surface on the mandrel, and means for retracting said second dog.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said second dog is free to move outwardly while the control valve is being inserted in the mandrel and has its abutment surfiace facing in the direction from which the control valve is so inserted and wherein said retracting means comprises a shear pin pivotally connecting the second dog to the control valve, the shear pin being of such size as to require a greater force to be exerted on the control valve to shear the pin than is required to move said retainer part whereby a first upward pull on the control valve releases the first dog and a second upward pull of greater magnitude than the first pull retracts the second dog.

22. In a well system: a well tubing in the well; packing. meanslbetweenthe tubing. and .the wall of the well; .a plurality of mandrel assemblies spaced ,alongthe tubing, eaph ,mandrel. assembly comprising a mandrel body made up as a part of saidtubing, a cross-over device in the mandrel body and having a first flow passageway therein communicating between the ends of the mandrel body, said device having a bore therethrough, a separate second flow passageway. between the exterior of the mandrel body and the interior of .said device with a portion of the second passageway being in said device and a portion inthelwall of the mandrel body, said device being shiftable to a first position to place said second passageway portions .in register and to a second position to place assemblies and releasable to latching position upon a force being applied to urge the control valve to move in an opposite direction through said bores.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein said cross-over devices are sleeves and wherein said latching means when in latching position establishes a connection between the control valve and the one of said sleeves in which the control'valve is to'be landed whereby movement of said control valve also moves such sleeve toplace said passageway portions in and out of register. i

241 The system of claim 23 wherein said latching means includes opposing dogs carried by the control valve and movable outwardly thereof to extended position, means biasing the dogs to extended position, a retainer part holding one dog having a downwardly facing endwise abutment surface in retracted position and movable to release said one dog, a connection between the other dog and said retainer part to move the latter to release said one dog upon engagement of said other dog with an opposing surface, endwise opposing shoulders on said sleeve for engagement with said dogs, and means for retracting said'other dog.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein said retracting means includes a connection between said other dog and said control valve releasable responsive to an upward forceexerted on the control valve of greater magnitude than that required to cause said other dog to move said retainer part to release said one dog.

26. An apparatus adapted for wire line operation and for use in controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a housing 16; adaptedrtoube :connect'ed asvas part of the well conduit andi'haying' a wall with anxopening therethrough providing fluidcommunication between the interior and exterior of=the ;housing,. aavalve'member movable between first eandrsecon'd positions to open and close said housing opening to fluid flow therethrough, a wire line flow controlling valve laudable in said housing andhaving inlet and outlet p or.ts, .and a, valvemechanism .for controlling flow throughlsaid ports, me ans providing a fluid passage be- ,tween said housing;opening, with the valve member in 'thedast said means and prov iding for flow of fluid from oneend of said housing to the other end to thereby constitute apart otthe flow passage through said conduit.

27 Ihe apparatus of claim 26 wherein said passagewayis defined by portions of said valve member.

28. In a well apparatus, a well conduit having a wall an opening therethrough to provide fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the conduit; a sleeve valve shiftable with respect to the conduit to open and close said opening when in first and second positions respectively; a wire line mechanism including a flow control valve laudable in said conduit and upon moving the sleeve valve to its first position, controlling flow through said opening; and a flow passageway interiorly of said sleeve valve and constituting a portion of the flow passage through said conduit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,916,070 Otis June 27, 1933 2,230,107 Garrett Ian. 28, 1941 2,255,648 Bryan Sept. 9, 1941 2,307,983 Barnes Jan. 12, 1943 2,352,612 Boynton July 4, 1944 2,366,175 Boynton Ian. 2, 1945 2,368,406 Boynton Jan. 30, 1945 2,368,407 Boynton Jan. 30, 1945 2,371,220 Boynton Mar. 13, 1945 2,380,022 Burt July 10, 1945 2,431,751 Hayward Dec. 2, 1947 2,664,162 Howard et al. Dec. 29, 1953 2,667,926 Alexander Feb. 2, 1954 2,679,903 McGowen et al. June 1, 1954 2,679,904 Howard et al. June 1, 1954 2,681,014 Bryan June 15, 1954

Images