US2790501A - Well flow control apparatus and system - Google Patents

Description

April 30, 1957 H. u. GARRETT ETAL 1 2,790,501

man. now CONTROL APPARATUS m SYSTEM 4 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Aug. 14, 1953 s. TRm M ET 1w REW- RPN IT A 9 G w um ATTORNEYS April 0, 1957 H. u. GARRETT ETAL 2,790,501

WELL FLOW CONTROL APPARATUSYAND SYSTEM Filed Aug. 14, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 HENRY U. GARRETT CLIFF 0RD M. PETERS ATTORNEYS April 30, 1957 H. u. GARRETT EIAL 2,790,501

- WELL FLOW. CONTROL APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Filed Aug. 14, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 A v IIIIIIII/IWI" INVENT R.

HENRY u. GARRETT CLIFFORDM. PETERS .i I f 5/ /00 BY flMw1.5MW

' W 55 R 1'70. 3. hi 1 1 10. 6. r

ATTORNEYS V April 30, 1957 Filed Aug. 14. 1953 H. U. GARRETT ETAL WELL FLOW CONTROL APPARATUS AND SYSTEM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 'ATTORNEYS United States Patent F WELL FLOW CONTROL APPARATUS AND SYSTEM Henry U. Garrett and Clifford M. Peters, Houston, Tex., assignors, by mesne assignments, to U. S. Industries, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application August 14, 1953, Serial No. 374,296

32 Claims. (Cl. 166-224) 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 can be 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 a mandrel assembly for a well conduit and adapted to have a flow control valve landed therein to control flow between the interior and exterior of the assembly and wherein the valve can be removed without equalizing pressures on the inside and outside of the assembly.

In the past, the completion and producing of a well, has frequently involved pulling and rerunning the flow tubing several times, particularly where several separate formations were to be tested or produced. In order to eliminate the pulling and rerunning of tubing, there has recently been developed a permanent type" completion. In this type of completion, the tubing is permitted to remain permanently in the well and various perforating, cementing, and other completion or production operations are carried out by wire line tools lowered into the well by a wire line. In this manner, removal of the tubing is avoided and essentially all operations which were formerly performed by removal and rerunning of tubing can now be performed by wire line operation. This type of operation avoids (l) killing the well, (2) setting up a pulling rig, (3) rig time in pulling and remnning tubing as well as the hazards thereof, (4) replacement of packers, (5) installation of blowout preventers.

While it is always desirable to avoid pulling tubing to install or change gas lift or other flow control valves, the employment of the permanent type completion discussed above makes it even more desirable. Thus, the installation of such flow control valves in a customary manner, as by screwing into a mandrel, would greatly detract from the advantages of the permanent type completion because it would still be necessary to pull the tubing to install or change such valves.

While attempts have been made in the past to provide a solution to the problem of wire line installation of gas lift valves, these have not been productive of entirely satisfactory results for several reasons. For example, it has been necessary heretofore to equalize pressures between the casing and tubing before such valves could be landed or removed from the tubing; otherwise, the pressure in the casing would bleed in beneath the valve and blow it out of the tubing. Somewhat related to this, it has been necessary to retain a valve in each mandrel in the well or else casing fluid would flow into the tubing to upset the gas lift operations. Also, it has not been possible to install a plurality of mandrels in a tubing and then to land a given valve in any one of such mandrels at the operators selection and to satisfactorily latch the valve in place in the desired mandrel, thereby permitting the use of a universal type mandrel and latching mechanism for the valve. Other shortcomings of the prior at- 2,790,501 Patented Apr. 30, 1957 tempts to solve this problem are existent but will not be discussed further.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a flow control apparatus and system permitting of wire line operation and in which a flow control valve can be landed in or removed from a receiver or mandrel without equalizing pressure between the inside and outside of a well conduit on which the valve is to be landed.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit including a flow control valve which can be landed in a mandrel or housing by a wire line operation, the mandrel or housing including a valve member adapted to open and close a flow passage providing communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel or housing whereby upon removal of the flow control valve, such communication can be closed off.

Another object is to provide such an apparatus and system wherein a passageway or port permitting flow be tween the interior and exterior of a well conduit is opened and closed upon respectively landing andremoving a valve for controlling flow through such passageway so that flow through the passageway is always under control.

Another object of this invention is to provide such an apparatus and system in which a flow control valve or wire line tool employed to land such valve in a housing or mandrel moves a valve member to open a passageway between the interior and exterior of the mandrel so that the flow valve can control flow through the passageway, and each time the flow valve is withdrawn from the housing or mandrel, such valve member is automatically moved to closed position thereby assuring that the flow valve cannot be removed from the mandrel without closing the passageway.

Another object is to provide an apparatus and system wherein a mandrel or landing device and a flow control valve 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.

Another object is to provide such an apparatus and system wherein not only can the flow control valve be lowered through such mandrels but, with the flow control valve removed, other conventional wire line tools can also be lowered through the mandrel so that diverse wire line operations can be performed without upsetting the well and without such tools interfering with the mandrel or valve.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus and system for the gas lift production of wells through which a plurality of gas lift valves can be landed in the well to unload the same of mud or the like and then the unloading valves removed leaving only the working valve in the well to produce the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a flow control valve mechanism which can be landed and positively latched in position in a mandrel assembly and yet which can be readily removed therefrom by a wire line tool, the assembly including a valve member movable to open and close a passageway between the interior and exterior of the well tubing flow through which the flow valve is to control, there also being provided means for moving the valve member to open position upon latching the flow valve in position and for moving the valve member to closed position upon unlatching the flow valve whereby flow through the passageway is of such mandrels can be incorporatedin the tubing string at the time the same is made up and run into the well and thereafter a given gas lift valve or other flow control valve can be landed'in any one of such mandrels.

Another object of this invention is toprovide'asystem for controllingflow offluid into or outof arwell conduit wherein a plurality of mandrels. are incorporated in a tubing string and wherein a given flow control valve can be landed in any oneof such mandrels to control flow of fluid into or out of thetubing string.

Another-object is to provide awire line tooladapted to land a flow control valvein a mandrel assembly and to cause the valve tobe positively latched kin-position inthe mandrel assembly and further facilitating lowering of such valve through one of :suchmandrel assemblies should it be-desired to land the 'valvein other than'the topmostassembly.

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

Fig. lis a vertical'view, partially in section,-schem-atically illustrating a well having apparatus for permanent typecompletion installed therein and also illustrating thepinstallation of -=apparatus embodying this invention;

"Fig. Z iIIust ratesan embodiment-of part-of the iapparatus of this invention and shows a mandrel assembly having-a lateral fiow-port orpassageway-closed by a valve memberand also a flow control valve inserted in the mandrel assembly hut-not as yet completelyrlatched or landed in 'operating position;

'Fig. 3' illustrates an embodiment of a landingto'ol adapted to be used as a part of the apparatus of" this invention to land a flow control valve in-a mandrel assembly-and shows the upper portion of theflowcontrol valve illustrated in Fig. 2 with such portion latched to the landing tool and ready for completion of the landing into the mandrel assembly;

Fig. 4 is a-view-similar-to Fig. '2 except that it shows the-fiow control valve-completely landed in operating position in the mandrel assembly,- the wire line tool having not as yet been completely removed;

Fig.5 is a view of a section of the mandrel assembly and of the flow control valve as shown in Fig. 4 but withthe apparatus rotated 90 degrees'from its'Fig. 4 position-to betterillustrate-further details of construction;

"Fig. 6'-is aQview similar to that of 3"butwith the landing: tool unlatched from the how control valve and in a position to'be withdrawn from the well;

'Fig.- 7- is a view takenon-the line 7-7 of Fig.4; and

Figs. -8 and-9'are' half-section views taken onthe lines 8-8 and 9-9-of Fig. 4.

'Like characters of reference are used throughontjtbe severalviewsto designate like parts.

Before turning to a specific description .of the illustrated embodiment of-t he apparatus of this invention, a more detailed discussion will be had with regard to the-permanent'type completionof a Well referred to above. in'Fig. l, the well has a casing 10 set therein in conventional manner. It will be noted. that the well is illustrated-ashaving been drilled through three potential producing formations, A, B, and C. After the casing has -been set, a tubing string '11 is run into the well and packers 12 are set above formation A. "The well head is equipped with conventional structure 13 including a 'conduit 1-4 connecting with the tubing-casing annulus and a conventional wire line stufling box 15. The stufiing box is connected to the upper end of tubing 11 through ,a union and block valve (not shown) and permits a wire line 16 'tobe passed downwardly through the tubingin order to perform wire line operations. and services while the tubing is under an elevated pressure; The tubing is equipped with one or-more landing nipples 17 adapted .toreceive wire line tools employedin the completionnf the well as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It will be noted that tubing 11 terminates below packer 12 and above the upper producing formation A. With this arrangement, it is possible to lower a casing perforator through the tubing by a wire line to perforate the casing adjacent any one of the producing formations A through C. For example, let it be assumed that formation A is to be produced and perforations 10a have been made in the casing. The perforator is withdrawn from the well and production from this formation tested. Suitable chokes, pressure regulators, or the like can be run into the hole by wire line and landed in nipple 17 to control flow of production from the formation. However, should it prove that the production from formation A is unsatisfactory, any tools landed in the well can be removed and then a suitable cementing sleeve landed in nipple-17. Cement can then be injected through the tubing and-squeezed through perforations ltia into formation A to seal off the perforations. Then, upon washing out of the-excess cement, as through azcirculating'valve situated above-packer 12 and below nipple 17, formation 'B-can' be perforated and tested in the manner described for formation A. If it too proves to be unproductive, it canbe squeeze cemented and formation C tested. In this manner, various formations can betestedandproduced without pulling the tubing and the well is said -to' be permanently completed.

However, assume that formation A has been determined as'productive-and is to be produced. While it may orig inally have sufficient formation pressure to produce without any artificial producing means, it is likely that even- T tually the formation pressure will ultimately drop to such" a point thatsome means must be provided to lift the formation fluid to the surface of the well.

Inaccordance with this invention, aplurality ofmandrel assemblies-18 embodying the invention'are made i up-as apart-of the tubing string 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 theanticipated spacing requirements for gas lift production of the particular well and preferably a sufiicient number are made up in the tubing string to allow considerable flexibility and latitude in the spacing of gaslift valves to be landed in the mandrel assemblies.

The mandrel assemblies are provided with a passage- I way affording fluid communication between the interior constructed, as will be made more apparent hereinafter,

that when it is desired to gas lift the well, a valve 19 can be lowered'through any number of mandrel assemhlies and'landed by wire line16 in a selected mandrel assembly irrespective of where it is situated in the well. Also, a plurality of valves can he landed in a corresponding-number ofmandrel assemblies-so thatt'he tubingcasingannulus can be U-tubed or dumped to remove fluid-therefrom. Then, upon passing lifting gas through pipe14 into the tubingcasing-annulus, such gas can be injected intothe tubing under control of-one or more ofthegas lift-valves landed in mandrel assemblies 18. Sincensuallyonly .one valve is employed as a working valve to-inject gasinto the tubin'g, all .other or. dumping yalvescan be removed from the tubing thereby eliminat: ingdhgnecessity for leaving a plurality ofvalves in the well where they are not only subject to failure but in-. crease .the investment in the well. Also, any valve so lauded can be removed as desired and either landed in 3612 can be provided to seal this telescope joint.

another mandrel at a different depth or replaced by avalve having difierent control characteristics. Even further, all valves can be removed and the well surveyed, reworked or treated after which the valve 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 this invention has been particularly described in conjunction with permanent type completion, it will be apparent that it has great utility in any well because it eliminates the necessity for pulling tubing no matter how the well is completed and the advantages described above will likewise be achieved.

Referring now to the other figures, the illustrated embodiment of this invention generally comprises a housing or mandrel assembly 25 provided with a flow passageway 26 permitting fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel assembly. The assembly includes a valve member or sleeve 27 which is movable to open and close passageway 26. A flow control valve means, designated generally by the numeral 28, is adapted to be passed through or to be landed in the mandrel assembly, as desired, by wire line 16 and upon being so landed, valve member 27 is moved to open position to establish communication between passageway 26 and a port in the control valve 28 so that fluid flowing into or out of passageway 26 can be controlled by the control valve thereby controlling the injection of fluid into the tubing or into the casing as the case may be. Upon removal of control valve 28 from the mandrel assembly, valve member 27 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 he landed by a wire line operation and such flow is blocked whenever the control valve is removed.

Referring first to the mandrel assembly 25, there is provided a housing or mandrel body 30 threaded at its ends for connection into the tubing string, such as by reducing connectors aflording a connection with the tubing.

Means are provided on mandrel body 30 for insertably receiving or passing therethrough, as desired, a flow control valve means 28 or other desired tool. Such means can comprise a tubular conduit designated generally by the numeral 31, made up of tubes 32 and 33 which are preferably arranged concentrically within mandrel body 30 and spaced inwardly from the body to provide a bypass passage 30a affording fluid communication between ends of the mandrel assembly so that well fluids can flow upwardly through the tubing even when the flow control valve means is landed in the mandrel assembly. To support the outer ends of tubes 32 and 33, they can be provided with slots 34 to receive spacer and supporting blocks 35, the latter having their outer endsin abutment with an internal shoulder formed on the ends of adjacent tubing connectors. 32 and 33 are arranged to telescope within or to be otherwise connected to a crossover coupling 36 which has portions 36a for receiving these ends. Suitable seals The crossover coupling can comprise a tubular portion 360 having spaced annular inturned flanges 36d defining an annular fluid passageway 36c. Passageway 36a is connected by means of washer 36 to mandrel body 30 thereby completing passageway 26 between the exterior of the mandrel body and the interior of the valve receiving means and yet leaving open by-pass 30a.

As mentioned above, valve member 27 is arranged to be moved between open and closed positions with respect to passageway 26 so that the latter can be closed upon removal of flow valve '28 to prevent flow of fluid through The inner ends of tubespassageway 26 except when valve 28 is present tocontrol. such flow. Valve member 27 is preferably in the form of a sleeve, as illustrated, having an imperforate portion 27a adapted. to be moved across passageway 26 and surmounted by a support and sealing portion 27b whose function will be made moreapparent below. Between such portions, a plurality of openings 270 are disposed so as to be brought into register with passageway 26 with the valve member in open position. To limit movement of the valve member at the extremes of its open and closed positions, stop parts are provlded between the valve member and the mandrel. The stop parts can comprise shoulders 38 and 39 arranged respectively on tubes 32 and 33 and adapted to be alternately abutted by opposite ends 27d and 272 of the valve member. With end 27d in abutment with shoulder 38, imperforate portion 27a will be positioned across passageway 26 to close the latter while with end 27e in abutment with shoulder 39, passageway 26 will be opened through ports 270 into the interior of the mandrel assembly. Suitable sealing means, such as O- rings 40 and 41, can be provided around passageway 26 to confine flow from this passageway to be through ports 27c. Also, a releasable detentin the form of a snap ring 42 is carried by the sleeve and is engageable with annular grooves 43 and 44 in tube 33 in order to releasably retain the valve member in its open and closed positions. Thisarrangement is particularly desirable when a tool is to be run into the mandrel assembly which does not provide parts for holding the sleeve in open or closed position and also when it might be desired to move the sleeve to open and closed position by a tool, other than a flow control valve, which is not to be landed and left in the mandrel assembly while the passageway is open.

In constructing the mandrel assembly, it is preferable that the minimum inside diameter of sleeve 27, as well as that of the receiving means, beapproximately at least as great as the inside diameter of the tubing. This permits,

ordinary wire line tools which will pass through the tubing to also pass through the mandrel assembly without interfering therewith. Also, the cross-sectional area of bypass passageway 30a is preferably made at least as large as that of the tubing so that with a flow control valve landed in the mandrel assembly, well fluids can still flow up the well and through passageway 30a with relatively little restriction. With such sizing, it will be obvious that the diameter of mandrel body 30 will be larger than that of the tubing but it can be connected thereto by suitable swage or reducing fittings.

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 control valve can pass in order to be lowered to a position entirely below the mandrel assembly. Thus, the valve receiving means and valve member 27 are, in the preferred embodiment, generally annular in shape with their internal or central bores substantially coaxially aligned with that of the tubing so that a wire line tool or a flow control valve can be lowered straight down through the tubing into' valves situated externally of the tubing. As an example,

the valve mechanism can be of the type shown in United States Letters Patent Nos. 2,519,242, 2,620,740 and 2,620,741. The valve mechanism illustrated in the drawing is of the balanced pressure type and includes a pressure dome 48 (Fig. 3) adapted to be charged with a I resilient fluid and with a back-up liquid, if desired, as

disclosed in the prior patents mentioned above. A .bel-v lows 49 has one end. connected to the valve housing and alnrovable' an connected as valii'stem s2; ose sides: the bellows is exposed to the pressure within dome 48" add theo'ther to the pressure of the casing via passage,-

waysr provided by clearance between the valve housing and valve stem 52." The valve stem" isbdnneetedwith a valve member 53 sothat the dome or. charge: pressure urges the valve member toward a-seatj 5,4 while casing pressure acts tourge the. valve member towardunseated position.- With this arrangement,- opening-and closingof valve member 53 controls flow of :fliiid through passageway 26, ports 27c, ports 46 and 47 iii the valve housing; In order to balance out the cited of: tubing pressure on the valve member,- piston 55: is connected to seat 54' by,

piston rod 56 the piston havinga sliding seal within cyl irider 57 Tformed'internally of valve member 53.' The side of piston 55 remote from the valve seat is exposed 53within seat 54 the tendency of tubing pressure to move:

the valve member is cancelled out and opening and closing of the valve is dependent solely upon the casing pressure acting in opposition to the charge pressure in dome 48;

With this arrangement, it will be apparent that when the casingpressure becomes sufliciently great relative to the charge pressure, valve member 53 will be unseated so that fluid from the casing can flow through ports 46, seat 54 andlport 47 to be discharged through a check valve,

designated generally by the numeral 59 into the tubing. 7

The discharge fluid can then pass, along with any well fluid-in a tubing, upwardly through the by-pass passageway 30dto the upper end of the mandrel assembly and thence upwardly through the tubing.

Ports 46 are solocated in the flow control valve housingthat when the latter is landed properly in the mandrelassernbly, the ports are in fluid communication with openings 270 in valve member 27. Sealing means, such as O-rings 60 are disposed to either side of ports 46 to effect a seal with sealing portion 27b and imperforate portion 27d ofvalve member 27 so as to confine fiow through passageway 26 to be through ports 46 and the flow control valve.-

Means are provided for moving valve member 27 to openposition upon landing of fiowcontrol valve means 23 in the mandrel assembly and toy move the valve member to closed position upon removal of the valve means from" the assembly. Such means can includedogs 65 (Figs 2 and carried by How controlvalve housing-45- and having one end biased outwardly of the housing by a spring 67 to presenhwhenextended, engaging portions 68 for abutment with end 27d of valve member 27. Upon such abutment and movement of housing-45 down wardly, itwillbe apparent'that valve member 27 will be moved to open position. Outward movement of the engaging end of the dogs is limitedby retaining parts 69 lying within a rim 7% on the valve housing. The other ends-69a of the dogs 65 are pivotally connected to the valvehousing by being loosely retained within a sleeve or sk-i'rt 72', thelength of the dogs being only slightly less than that of recess 73 in which they reside. With this arrangement, it will be apparent'thatdogs 65 are free to move outwardly of the valve housing for abutting engagement with valve member27 so that upon subsequent downward'movement of the fiow control valve housing, the sleeve is moved to open position.

As part of the means for moving valve member 27 to closed position when it is desired to remove flow control vzilve-ZS-from the well, there is provided a dog75 having an engaging portion-76 for abutment with end 272015 the valve member so that upward movement of the valve housingmoves the valve member to closed position. D'og'"75"is' in extended position during lowering or the fldiv co fit'rol valve" througu the tubirig or dii'r'ing' rai s'ifig", it to landing: position in thejmandr-l' assembly; As, a

result; the dog rides on the nibingdnri'ng seen more: merit. With downward ,niovement ofrtlre' control valve,

'the dog willho 't cat'chon any shoulder'or projeczionin the tubing, such as are tubifi'gjoiht, but could engage 1 sum shoulder when the controlvalve' is being raised to be landed in the mandrel assembly; To prevent th'isia seissdrs-type-mhuhtihg for the dogyis rovided as by pivoting it intermediate its ends by pivot 77 to lever 78,

carrier'pa'it 82' which in turhji connected-to the valve housing by,a,shear pin 83'." Slide 34 is carried by the the interior wan Of-tlltubingstting or that of the man;

be biased toward extended position but that inward and outward movement-oi" shoe 84 willre's'ultin corresponding I movement of engaging portion76: By making the di's-" ta'n'ce between sl'ioe"84 and engaging portion 76' greater than the width of any re'ce'ss'e'sf inrmhih joints or the like within 'thftubirig, the"valvefhousing jcctn'be moved upwardly in the tubing Without'dog :a'buttin'g any shoulders" in the tubing." Thus;-as' the valve housing is raised in the tuhin'gforie of shoe 84 and engaging portion 76will always be sliding on the inner wall of the tubing even whenfla recesstherein is encountered. Asa result, neither shoe 84" nor portio'n76 can move outwardly into any such'recess because" bothmust move outwardly together. l

However, topermifbo'th engagingportion 76and shoe 84 to'so move outwardly so that the former can engage end 27a of valve member 27, an annular recess 85 is provided in. tube 33. Such recess is, of course, of sulfici'ent length as to allow both portion 76 and shoe 84 'to expand into the recess so that upward movement of the valve housing moves valve member 27 to closed position.

Means are provided for retracting dog 75 to release it from engagement with the sleeve after the latter has been'moved to closed position sotha't the flow valve can be removed fromthe well.

to the"valv'eghousing by a shear pin 83. Disposed be tween carrier 82 and the valve housing are spriri'gsISS and guide 1'O'ds88t'l adapted to keep the springs in proper alignment. It willbe noted that the lower end of shoe 84 overlies-"a recess 89 in the valve housing and has its extent of outward movement limited by a skirt 89a 'on the valve housing.

permitsprings 88 to urge carrier 82 downwardly and hence to move 'shoe 84 into recess 89. With such movement, lever-'78 will'be moved to retracted position and this in'turii will retract dog 75. As a result, both the dog and lever ar e'flco'll'a'psed to an out-'of-w'ay position where neither are engage'able withany shoulder on the flow controlvalve housing by pivot pin 91 which is in the form-'of a shear pin. This dog has an enga'gingportion 92' adapted: to abut, but the dog urged to extended position by spring- 92d, shoulder 93 on the valve receiving means and thereby, latch the control valve against upward ,moveme'ntoutof the mandrel:assembly.- With this arrangement, it will be apparent that upon movement of the valve-housing into operative position in the receiv ing ,means asin Fig 4 dog 910 engages should- 1193 to; retain the valve housing against upward movement As stated above, the dog and lever are connected to a carrier 82 and this in turn With this arrangement, an upward pull on the v'alvefhousing sufiicient to shear pin 83 will through the tubing and, in combination with dogs 65, to also hold valve member 27 in open position if such is required. However, when it is desired to remove the valve housing from the mandrel assembly, an upward pull on the wire line will shear pin 91, thereby permitting the dog to drop into space 95 provided within skirt 96 of the valve housing.

Since both dogs 90 and 75 are released by an upward pull on the control valve and since valve member 27 is to be closed by upward movement of the control valve, shear pin 91 is made smaller than pin 33 so that an upward pull on the control valve will first shear pin 91 to retract dog 90 and release control valve 28 for upward movement to move valve member 27 to closed position after which an increased pull on the control valve will shear pin 83 to free the valve of all restraining connections with the mandrel assembly. Of course, pin 83 is made sufficiently large that the force required to shear it is greater than that to move valve member 27.

With the above described arrangement, any suitable wire line tool can be employed to withdraw the control valve from the well, the principal requirement being that such tool be connectable to the valve by a wire line manipulation. However, since dogs 65 and 90 are to be held in retracted position until the control valve is positioned approximately within a mandrel assembly in order to prevent their catching on projections or shoulders in the tubing, a wire line tool constructed for this purpose is employed. Such tool includes means for maintaining dogs 65 and 90 in retracted position until the control valve is landed in a position such that the dogs can be safely extended without catching at an undesired point in the tubing. Thus, retaining sleeve 100 slidingly telescopes over the end of control valve 28 a sufiicient distance as to contain dogs 65 and 90 in retracted position. To hold the retaining sleeve in such telescoped position during movement of the control valve through the tubing and then to permit its movement to release the dogs, a rod 102 is disposed slidably in the retaining sleeve and connected thereto by a resilient means, such as spring 103 bearing one end on latching part 104 of the retainer sleeve and its other end on flanged retainer 105 on rod 102. The rod abuts head 106 of the control valve and carries a pair of latching dogs 107 pivoted to the rod head 108 for engagement with valve head 106. It is apparent that the retainer sleeve will thus be biased to telescoped position but that upon pulling the sleeve in a direction away from the control valve, it will move relative to rod 102 to release dogs 65 and 90 since the rod is held in a relatively fixed position by its connection with the flow control valve which in turn is latched to the mandrel assembly by dog 75. To retain the sleeve, upon such releasing movement, in a position free from dogs 65 and 90, spring arms 109, carrying latching parts 110, are afiixed to rod 102 so that upon sufiicient movement of the retainer sleeve to position part 104 above parts 110, such parts will engage and prevent movement of the sleeve back into telescoped position.

Valve latching dogs 107 are biased to released position by a spring 111 and are held in latched position by a skirted part 112 fitting between the free ends of the dogs. Skirted part 112 is slidably mounted on rod 102 and has a lost motion connection with retainer sleeve 100 so that dogs 107 are not released until detent parts 104 and 110 have been positioned for engagement. Such lost motion connection can comprise studs 113 on skirted part 112 and slidable in slots 114 in the retaining sleeve. The length of these slots is such that their lower ends engage studs 113 to move skirted part 112 to releasing,

position only after part 104 is positioned to engage part 110. To assure that latching dogs 107 will always be released, slots 107a are fashioned in sleeve 100' in such' The upper end of sleeve 100 is connected to wire line 16 through a jar arrangement including hammer 114 With sleeve 100 in dog releasing position, hammer, 114 t is free to move therein and strike a blow on the end of rod 102 to jar the flow valve and sleeve downwardly to operative position. In many wells, the well fluid contains sand or other foreign material having a tendency to accumulate and to clog well equipment. To guard against clogging ofthe dogs and valve member 27, there is provided an expansible seal means, including an expanding spring 116 covered by a seal ring 117, adapted 'to be held retracted by sleeve 100 until the wire line tool is withdrawn and then to be expanded to form a seal with tube 32 above the uppermost dogs.

While the operation of the illustrated apparatus is believed apparent from the foregoing, a brief description will be given to ensure an adequate disclosure.

With mandrel assemblies made up in the tubing string at desired levels, the flow control valve to be landed in one of them is inserted into the landing tool until dogs 107 latch with valve head 106 as in Fig. 3. When so inserted, the control valve has dogs 65 and 90 retracted as shown in Fig. 2 and is ready to be lowered through the tubing by wire line 16. The valve and tool can be lowered through any desired number of mandrel assemblies until the mandrel where the control valve is to be landed has been reached or even passed. When proper depth has been reached by the tool and control valve, dog and lever 78, which have been riding on the tubing wall, move outwardly together into recess thereby permitting the dog to engage the lower end of valve member 27 as shown in Fig. 2. A continued upward pull on the wire line moves retainer sleeve to releasing position and releases dogs 65 and 90. Dogs 65 then move outward into annular recess 118 and engage the top end of valve member 27. By this time, sleeve 100 has moved sufiiciently so that skirted part 112 has released dogs 107 and parts 104 have been moved above parts 110. Also, dogs 107 have been moved to released position, either by spring 111 or by engagement with the ends of slots 1070. Upon release of dogs 107, parts 104 and 110 engage and the tool is in retracted position and free to be withdrawn from the control valve as shown in Fig. 6.

However, before withdrawing the tool, the flow control valve is jarred or pressed downwardly to move valve member 27 to open position and to permit dog 90 to move out andv engage shoulder 93 as shown in Fig. 4 thereby restraining the How control valve against movement out of the mandrel assembly. The wire line tool is now removed from the well and can be again employed to land a flow control valve in any mandrel assembly above the one where the last flow control valve was lauded.

When it is desired to remove a control valve for any reason, a wire line tool adapted to engage the valve is lowered into the well and an upward pull exerted on the control valve. Upon suflicient pull being exerted, pin 91 is first sheared thereby permitting dog 90 to be retracted into recess 95. The control valve then moves upwardly and, in so doing, valve member 27 is moved upwardly to closed position and against shoulder 38. A continued upward pull then shears pin 83 causing dog 75 and lever 78 to be retracted. The control valve is then free to be withdrawn from the well with dog 65 sliding along the tubing during theupward journey out of the well.

ratus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without 13 flow control valve for landing the flow control valve in and removing it from said receiving means while the conduit is in place in a well, said flow control valve when landed in said receiving means controlling flow through a passageway communicating between the interior and exterior of the conduit, the improvement which comprises the combination therewith of a valve member carried by said conduit and movable with respect to the conduit to open and close said passageway, means forming a releasable connection between said valve member and one of said flow control valve and landing means to move the control valve to open position upon landing said control valve in said receiving means to closed position upon withdrawal of said flow control valve from said receiving means, and means for maintaining the valve member in open position when said control valve is landed and said means for landing is disconnected from the landed control valve.

10. An apparatus for controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a housing, landing means in said housing for insertably receiving a flow control valve means, a flow passageway communicating between the interior and exterior of the housing, a valve member carried by the housing and movable to open and close said flow passageway, flow control valve means separate from said valve member and movable through the well conduit into and out of said landing means and housing, a wire line tool for so moving the flow control valve means and means forming a releasable connection between said valve member and at least one of said tool and flow control valve means to move the valve member between open and closed positions.

11. An apparatus for controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a housing, landing means in said housing for insertably receiving a flow control valve means, a flow passageway communicating between the interior and exterior of the housing, a valve member carried by the housing and movable to open and close said flow passageway, flow control valve means separate from said valve member and movable through the well conduit into and out of said landing means, a wire line tool for so moving the flow control valve means, and means carried by one of said tool and said flow control valve means to operatively engage said valve member and move it to open position upon landing said flow control valve means in said landing means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 in combination with means carried by one of said tool and said flow control valve means to operatively engage said valve member and move it to closed position upon moving said flow control valve means out of said landing means.

13. An apparatus for controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a mandrel adapted to be made up as a part of said conduit, said mandrel including means for insertably receiving a flow control valve therein, a flow passageway providing communication between the exterior and interior of said mandrel, a sleeve movable along the interior of said mandrel to open and close said passageway, a flow control' valve insertable through said conduit into said sleeve and receiving means to control flow through said passageway, means carried by the flow control valve to move the sleeve to open position upon landing the flow control valve in said receiving means, means carried by said flow control valve to move the sleeve to closed position upon movement of the flow control valve in a direction to withdraw it from the receiving means, and a releasable detent between the sleeve and mandrel resisting movement of the sleeve from open position.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 whereinsaid receiving means is a tubular member carried internally of and spaced from the inner walls of said mandrel to provide a second passageway by-passing said flow control valve and sleeve and placing opposite ends of said'mandrel.

nected as part of a well tubing and having a landing portion for releasably receiving a valve means, means providing a flow passage communicating between the interior and exterior of said housing, first valve means adapted to be inserted in and removed from said landing portion by a wire line tool to control flow through said passage, second valve means carried by the housing and movable to open and close said passage, and means for moving said second valve means to and maintaining it in open position upon landing said first valve means in said landing portion and disconnection of said wire line tool from said first valve means.

16. An apparatus for controlling flow of fluid into or out of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a mandrel adapted to be made up as a part of the well conduit, a tubular receiving means carried by and within the mandrel, the mandrel and receiving means providing a passage extending between the exterior of the mandrel and the interior of the receiving means, a sleeve carried by said mandrel for limited sliding movement along the interior of the receiving means, said sleeve having a lateral opening therein in fluid communication with said passage with the sleeve in a first position and also having an imperforate portion disposed across said passage with the sleeve in a second position, a flow control valve insertable through the well conduit into said sleeve and receiving means and having a'fiuid port in communication with said sleeve opening when landed in said sleeve and receiving means, first and second dogs carried by said valve and,

extendible outwardly to engage opposing parts of said sleeve and move the sleeve to said first and second positions upon insertion of the valve in said sleeve and movement of thevalve relative to the mandrel, and a by-pass passageway placing opposite ends of the mandrel in fluid communication with each other.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 in combination with a wire line tool releasably engageable with said valve to lower the same into said mandrel and including a retaining sleeveholding said first dog in retracted position until the valve is inserted in said receiving means and being slidable relative to the valve to release said first dog for engagement with said sleeve.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 in combination with a third dog carried by and biased outwardly of the valve and facing oppositely from said first dog, said receiving means having a part engageable with said third dog to retain the valve against upward movement out of said receiving means, said retaining sleeve of said tool likewise holding the third dog in retracted position until the valve is inserted in said receiving means.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said tool includes latching dogs engageable with said valve, a part holding the latching dogs engaged with said valve and movable to release said latching dogs from the valve, and a connection between said part and said retaining sleeve so that movement of the retaining sleeve to release said first and third dogs also moves said part to release said latching dogs.

l 20. The apparatus of claim 16 in combination with a lever pivoted to said valve for movement of one end of the lever outwardly of the valve, said second dog being and lever being such that inward movement of said one end of said lever moves said other end of said second dog inwardly, said receiving means having a recessto permit'said one en'd'ofsaid lever to move outwardly of thevalve whereby said one end of said second dog can move outwardly to engage the first mentioned sleeve.

21. As a subcombination, a mandrel assembly adapted to be made up as a part of a well tubing and comprising, in combination, a mandrel body, means'in's'aid mandrel body for insertably receiving a flow valve and providing opposing bearing surfaces engageable by a latching mechanism carried by a flow valve to retain the flow valve in said receiving means, a passageway providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel body, and a valve member carried by the mandrel body and movable with respect thereto to open and close said passageway.

22. The subcombination of claim 21 in combination with a'second passageway placingopposite ends of the mandrel body in fluid communication with each other, said second passageway crossing over the first mentioned passageway.

23. As a subcombination, a mandrel assembly adapted to be made up as a part of a well tubing and comprising,

in combination, a mandrel body, a tubular valve receiving means carried within said mandrel body and providing a passage between itself and the mandrel body placing opposite ends of the mandrel body in fluid communication with each other, means providing a passageway between the exterior'of the mandrel body and the interior of said receiving means, and a sleeve slidably mounted within said receiving means for longitudinal movement between said first and second positions, said sleeve having an imperforate portion disposed across said passageway when in said second position and also having lateral openings therein in fluid communication with said passageway with the sleeve in said first position.

24. As the subcombination, a wire line tool adapted to land a flow control valve in a mandrel made up as a part of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a retaining sleeve, a rod slidable between extended and retracted positions with respect to said sleeve and adapted to engage one end of the valve to he landed, resilient means between the sleeve and rod urging the rod to retracted position, releasable latch means between the retaining sleeve and rod and engageable to retain the rod in extended position, latching dogs carried by said rod for releasable engagement with the valve to be landed, and means for retaining the dogs in latching position with the rod in retracted position and for releasing said dogs upon movement of the rod to extended position.

25. As a subcombination, a wire line tool adapted to land an apparatus in a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a retaining sleeve, a rod movable longitudinally relative to the sleeve, resilient means between the rod and sleeve urging the sleeve in one direction relative to the rod, latching means between the rod and sleeve and engageable upon predetermined movement of the sleeve relative to the rod. in an opposite direction, latching dogs carried by said rod for engagement with said tool to be inserted into a well and means retaining said dogs in one position and movable by the sleeve to permit movement of the dogs to another position.

26'. In a well system: a flow tubing positioned in the well; and a plurality of spaced mandrel assemblies mounted in the tubing, each mandrel assembly comprising a mandrel body made up as a part of said tubing, receiving means in the mandrel body for receiving a flow control valve landed therein by a wire line operation, a flow passageway providing fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel assembly, and a valve member separate from said flow control valve and carried by the mandrel body'and movable to open and close said passageway, said how 'controlv'al've when landed operable of each mandrel assembly and of such size that a flow control valve can be moved through the tubing and said mandrel assemblies to he landed in a selected one of the latter. 7

p 28. In a well system: a well casing; a flow tubing in the casingyand a plurality of mandrel assemblies spaced along the tubing, each mandrel assembly comprisinga mandrel body made up as a part of said tubing, receiving means adapted to have a flow control valve landed therein but also permitting said control valve to pass through the mandrel assembly, a flow passageway providing communication between the interior and exterior of the mandrel assembly, and a valve member movable to open and close said passageway; a flow control valve separate 7 drel assembly and to close such valve member upon' removal of the control valve from said one'mandrel assembly and for limiting movement of the control valve relative to the mandrel body.

' 29. The system" of claim 28 wherein said valve member of said mandrel assemblies comprises a sleeve adapted to permit said control valve to move therethrough and wherein said releasable means includes a dog engageable with a sleeve in any one of said mandrel assemblies upon upward movement of the flow valve in the tubing and a second'dog' enga'g'eable with such sleeve upon downward movement of the flow valve in said tubing, and a mechanism retaining said second dog in retracted position until said first dog has engaged the selected sleeve.

30. An apparatus for controlling flow of fluids between the interior andexterior of a well conduit which comprises, in combination, a mandrel adapted to be connecteil as a part of said conduit and having a passage communicating between the interior and exterior thereof, flow control valve means movable through the conduit into and out of landed position in said mandrel, Wire line means releasably engaging said valve means for so movirig the same, means limiting flow through said passage tobe through said valve means when the valve means is landed in the mandrel, a passageway providing commune cation between the ends of said mandrel when the valve means are landed therein whereby fluid can flow from one end of the mandrel to the other end, said mandrel including a valve member carried thereby separate from said valve means and movable to open andclose said passage, and means for moving and releasably retaining the valve member in open position when said valve means is' landed'in the mandrel and said wire line means released therefrom and for moving the valve member to closed position when said valve means is moved out of the mandrel whereby flow through said passage can be prevented when said valve means is withdrawn from the mandrel by said wire line means.

'51. In a well apparatus wherein a first valve means is landed in a well conduit by a wire line tool to control flow through a lateral passage communicating between the interior and exterior of the conduit and wherein means are provided releasably connecting the tool to the first valve means and releasably retaining the first valve means in landingpos'ition in the conduit so that said tool can be disconnected from the firstvalve means and withdrawn from the Well leaving the first valve means in its landed position, the combination therewith of second valve means carried by's'aid conduit movable to open position to-open said p'as'sage when said first valve means is landed in the conduit and'incliiding a connection with the conduit reproviding an opening there'- through in communication with the interior of thetubing 17 leasably retaining the second valve means in open position upon disconnecting said tool from the first valve means, said second valve means also being movable to closed position across said passage when said first valve means is withdrawn from its landed position and from the well conduit.

32. A flow control apparatus for use in wells which comprises in combination, a housing assembly adapted to be made up as a part of a well conduit and having a landing portion for insertably receiving flow control valve means, a flow passageway providing communication between the interior and the exterior of said housing assembly, flow control valve means adapted to be lowered through said conduit and insertably received in said landing portion by a wire line tool and when so received being positioned to control flow through said passageway, means constraining flow through said passageway to through said valve means, said housing assembly including a valve member portion movable to open and close said passageway, means for moving said valve member portion be tween open and closed position responsive to a manipulation of said wire line tool, and means releasably maintaining the valve means in said landing portion and said valve member portion in passageway-open position upon disconnection of the wire line tool from said valve means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,230,107 Garrett Jan. 28, 1941 2,380,022 Burt July 10, 1945 2,431,751 Hayward Dec. 2, 1947 2,508,285 Otis May 16, 1950 2,620,741 Garrett Dec. 9, 1952 2,667,926 Alexander Feb. 2, 1954

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