U.S. patent application number 14/857243 was filed with the patent office on 2016-02-04 for packer bridge plug with slips.
This patent application is currently assigned to TARGET COMPLETIONS, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Michael Sommers. Invention is credited to Michael Sommers.
Application Number | 20160032682 14/857243 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55179512 |
Filed Date | 2016-02-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160032682 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sommers; Michael |
February 4, 2016 |
Packer Bridge Plug with Slips
Abstract
The present invention is to a packer plug that can be tripped
into a particular location in a well bore and set using slips rings
and packer elements. The plug presents little flow resistance
because of its wide inner diameter throat through the mandrel. A
ball seat at an upper end allows for the sealing of the interior
passage. The ball can be flowed upward or dissolved to remove the
seal and allow flow through the plug. A slip ring can be used in
place of slips to reduce the overall length of the packer plug.
Inventors: |
Sommers; Michael; (Broken
Arrow, OK) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sommers; Michael |
Broken Arrow |
OK |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
TARGET COMPLETIONS, LLC
Broken Arrow
OK
|
Family ID: |
55179512 |
Appl. No.: |
14/857243 |
Filed: |
September 17, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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14552142 |
Nov 24, 2014 |
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14857243 |
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62051694 |
Sep 17, 2014 |
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61907447 |
Nov 22, 2013 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
166/135 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B 33/1295 20130101;
E21B 33/134 20130101; E21B 23/06 20130101; E21B 33/129 20130101;
E21B 33/1293 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E21B 33/129 20060101
E21B033/129; E21B 33/134 20060101 E21B033/134 |
Claims
1. A bridge plug for sealing a well bore comprising: a mandrel
having a tubular body and a collet; a ball seat at an upper end for
receiving a ball to seal flow through the mandrel body; a packer
element mounted to the mandrel for selectively sealing flow outside
the mandrel body; an upper conical body slidably mounted on the
mandrel and a lower conical body mounted on the mandrel; at least
one slip ring mounted between the upper conical body and lower sub
causing the slip to expand away the mandrel when the slip slides
over the upper conical body.
2. The bridge plug of claim 1 wherein the slip ring is a narrow
band of material having a precut section to allow the band to
expand radially.
3. The bridge plug of claim 1 wherein the slip ring is a narrow
band of material having an expandable section to allow the band to
expand radially.
4. The bridge plug of claim 1 wherein the slip ring is a C shaped
hoop of material having frictional elements mounted about an outer
circumference of the hoop.
5. The bridge plug of claim 1 wherein the slip ring is a C shaped
hoop of material having frictional elements mounted about an outer
circumference of the hoop, wherein the frictional elements are made
of carbide.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 14/552,142, filed Nov. 24, 2014, which claims
the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/907,447, filed Nov.
22, 2013, entitled "Packer Bridge Plug with Slips," which is
incorporated herein by reference. This application also claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/051,694, filed Sep. 17,
2014, entitled "Improved Packer Bridge Plug with Slips," which is
incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a bridge plug packer having
a ball seat and packer element for sealing one zone of a well from
another.
[0003] In the process of fracking, it is expensive to run tools
into and out of the well. It is therefore desirable to run in tools
that can serve multiple purposes during the fracking process. The
present invention in at least one embodiment is to a packer tool
that can be used to seal a well bore and when the ball is removed
presents only a small resistance to the production flow up through
the plug.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Accordingly, it is a principal object of a preferred
embodiment of the invention to provide a packer plug that can be
tripped into a particular location in a well bore and set using
slips or expansion rings and packer elements. The plug presents
little flow resistance because of its wide inner diameter throat
through the mandrel. A ball seat at an upper end allows for the
sealing of the interior passage. The ball can be flowed upward or
dissolved to remove the seal and allow flow through the plug.
[0005] It is another object of the invention to provide a
selectively sealable down hole tool that can be sealed and unsealed
during the facking process without having to trip the entire tool
back up the well bore.
[0006] It is a further object of the invention to a bridge plug for
use with a removable ball or with a dissolvable ball to allow
production flow through the tool without requiring removal of the
tool.
[0007] Still another object of the invention is to provide a down
hole tool that can be set with a setting tool to set one or more
bridge plugs in series to isolate a number of zones in a well bore
which can be selectively unsealed to allow production flow through
the tool.
[0008] It is a further object of the invention to a bridge plug for
use having a slip ring instead of slips to lock the packer in place
in a well bore.
[0009] It is an object of the invention to provide improved
elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes
described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in
accomplishing its intended purposes.
[0010] These and other objects of the present invention will be
readily apparent upon review of the following detailed description
of the invention and the accompanying drawings. These objects of
the present invention are not exhaustive and are not to be
construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention. Further,
it must be understood that no one embodiment of the present
invention need include all of the aforementioned objects of the
present invention. Rather, a given embodiment may include one or
none of the aforementioned objects. Accordingly, these objects are
not to be used to limit the scope of the claims of the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is cross-sectional view of a bridge plug packer
according to at least one embodiment of the invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the bridge plug according to
the embodiment of FIG. 1.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a setting tool and
bridge plug for running into a well bore.
[0014] FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a setting tool and
bridge plug for running into a well bore in the setting mode.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a front plan view of a bridge plug according to a
further embodiment of the invention.
[0016] FIG. 5 is cross-sectional view of a bridge plug packer
according to a further embodiment of the invention.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a front plan view of a bridge plug shown partially
disassembled.
[0018] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] The present invention relates to a bridge plug packer having
slips.
[0020] A bridge plug is used to isolate a zone below the plug. It
is desirable to make a bridge plug that can be reversed by simply
flowing fluid up from beneath the plug. The current inventions
shows one such plug 10 in the Figures.
[0021] FIG. 1 shows a bridge plug 10. The plug has a central body
12 terminating in a collet 14. The bridge plug 10 has a set of
slips 16 on the bottom end of the packer that when set keep the
frac plug 10 in place. The rubber element/packer 18 is contained
between the expansion rings 20 on the top and the expansion rings
22 above the cone on the bottom. The expansion rings may have a cut
section to allow the rings to contract and expand. A rubber
retainer ring 24 may be provided on either side of the packer to
retain the packer in position on the plug 10. As the expansion
rings are compressed towards each other the rubber packer 18
expands outwardly to lock the plug in place and isolates the zone
upstream of the plug from the downstream zone.
[0022] The slips 16 are located between an upper cone 26 and a
lower cone 28. Upper cone 28 has locknut 30 and lower cone 28
includes a locknut 32. These locknut cooperate with
threading/ridges 34 on the mandrel/central body 12 to selectively
locate the cones at a particular axial location along the mandrel
to for example, retain the slips in a deployed status. Preferably
the mandrel 12 includes threads 34 that allow the lower locknut 32
to be threaded into position, but the threads also cooperate with
the lockring to act as a ratchet so that the mandrel can move
downwardly past the lockring when the setting tool strokes or when
a downward force acts on the mandrel body to further set the slips
16.
[0023] A number of shear pins 36 (FIG. 2) are provided to lock the
upper and lower cones relative to the mandrel before setting. As
described lower under, when the pins shear under downward pressure
from the mandrel, the cones compress the slip, forcing the slip
outward to engage the well bore (not shown). The pressure required
to shear the pins may vary according to the application, but are
preferably set to shear during the stroking of the setting
tool.
[0024] In operation, the plug is run in the well with wireline pump
down, tractor or tubing (not shown). The plug is set with a special
setting kit 50 (FIGS. 3 & 3B) that attaches to the bottom
section of the Packer plug by a setting collet 52. The setting
collet is arranged such that the setting collet arms fall within
the voids between the main mandrel 12 collet arms. The ends of the
setting collet arms extend outwardly to engage with the lower cone.
The setting mandrel 50 body prevents the setting collet arms from
moving inward. A shear ring 54 is provided to release the setting
kit mandrel body at the appropriate time. When the setting mandrel
body is removed, the setting collet 52 arms can move inwardly to
release the kit from the bridge plug 10. The setting mandrel body
has a limited "lost motion" where the setting mandrel body can move
relative to the setting collet before the mandrel body hits a
shoulder 56 of the collet. When the setting mandrel body is thus
positioned, the collet arms can retract. Further movement of the
setting mandrel body upward causes a shoulder of the setting
mandrel body 50 to force the setting collet body upward with the
setting mandrel body so that the setting kit can be removed from
the bridge plug entirely. A cap (not shown) may be provided at the
terminus of the setting mandrel body to keep the sheer ring from
falling off entirely from the setting kit.
[0025] FIG. 3 shows a setting gun 48 inside a setting sleeve
attached to the bridge plug by the setting kit and ready for
insertion into a well bore. The setting gun is connected to the
setting kit mandrel by adapter sleeve 62, which is attached to the
bridge plug by collet 52 which is held in place by shear ring
54.
[0026] When setting, the tools are tripped into a well bore to a
desired location. The slips are partially set as the tool is
tripped in to provide some resistance. This resistance causes the
packer elements to partially set. The setting tool then strokes and
the bridge plug mandrel moves downward relative to the cones
setting the slips, compressing the packer element and expanding the
rubber expansion rings while the shear pins on the cones shear
allowing the mandrel to move relative to the cones. The locknuts
30,32 ratchet along the threads 34 and are locked in place against
returning to their pre-setting position by the threads 34 in a
one-way ratchet. When the force reaches a sufficient pressure to
shear the shear pins on the setting mandrel, the pin(s) shear on
the lock ring and the setting collets on the bottom of the setting
kit collapse allowing the setting kit to be released from the
Packer Plug. The shear ring collects at a lower portion of the
shear kit so that it can be retrieved with the tool. The setting
tool is the tripped up leaving the bridge plug set in place.
Because the bridge plug is hollow, fluid can still flow
unobstructed through the well bore. The cylindrical shape of the
tool allows for the flow to bridge plug to only have a minor impact
on flow through the well bore.
[0027] The next operation is to isolate the zones below the plug by
pumping a ball on to the top of the Packer Plug. A ball 70 is
pumped down from surface and lands on the top of the Packer Plug
blocking flow through the interior of the bridge plug as the packer
element blocks flow around the bridge plug. The additional feature
of the ball landing on the top of the Packer plug is that this
pushes additional force on the mandrel though the lock nut and down
to the low slips. This force energizes the element more and puts
more energy into the slips of the Packer tool.
[0028] The final operation is the flow back and production. With
the mandrel being a large cast iron Mandrel, the fluids and gasses
in the well will not break down the tool like a composite plug.
Because the Bottom of the Packer mandrel has a collet style design
with arms having ample voids between the arms, the well fluids will
flow around any ball that comes in contact with the bottom of the
Packer mandrel and will flow through the voids in the collet and
through the interior of the bridge plug.
ADDITIONAL EMBODIMENTS
[0029] FIGS. 4-6 show a further embodiment of the invention having
expansion rings ("slip rings") instead of slips. The arrangement of
this embodiment allows for a simplified design and a reduced
overall length of the tool.
[0030] The tool 110 has a central mandrel 112 having a packer
element 118 mounted thereon. The mandrel includes a ball seat 113
for the ball 170 to seal the inner passageway through the mandrel.
The lower end of mandrel body includes collet fingers 114 for
attaching additional elements to the mandrel. A frustoconical ring
125 takes the place of upper cone 26. The lower cone 128 has a
conical surface to enclosed a number of slip rings 115 between the
lower cone and the 26 and to force the expansion rings to expand
when compressed between the lower cone and the ring 125. The slip
rings 115 may have a weakened area or cut through to allow the
rings to expand when compressed between the conical surfaces like a
C clip. The expansion ring may have additional friction elements
117 to provide a secure bite between the bridge plug and the well
casing when it is desired to set the plug in place. The frictional
elements could be made of carbide or may be wickers similar to the
slip design of the first embodiment. Other materials including
metals and ceramics could be used for the construction of the
frictional elements 117 depending on the application. For the
purposes of this patent, a "slip ring" shall mean a circular band
or hoop of material mounted on a bridge plug that can expand
radially for the purpose of frictionally engaging a surrounding
casing of a well bore or the like to fix the bridge relative to the
casing, wherein the slip ring is expandable or has a cut to allow
the slip ring to expand its effective radius.
[0031] In practice, the lower cone is threaded onto the mandrel
body and shear pinned into place. A setting tool similar to FIG. 3
is used to bottom set the bridge plug in place. During setting, the
lower cone shears the pin 129 and moves upwardly along the mandrel
body to compress the slip rings between the cone of the lower cone
128 and the ring 125 forcing the slip rings outward. The slip rings
engage the inner wall of the casing as they expand forcing the slip
rings and/or the frictional elements 117 into frictional engagement
with the casing to affix the bridge plug into place. Further
compression expands the packer element 118 outward to prevent any
flow around the outside of the bridge plug. A ball 170 is then
dropped into place to selectively seal the bridge plug. If
required, the ball can be dissolved or removed to reopen the flow
through the tool to allow production or other flow therethrough
without requiring the removal of the tool.
[0032] While this invention has been described as having a
preferred design, it is understood that it is capable of further
modifications, uses and/or adaptations of the invention following
in general the principle of the invention and including such
departures from the present disclosure as come within the known or
customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and
as maybe applied to the central features hereinbefore set forth,
and fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the
appended claims. It is therefore to be understood that the present
invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above,
but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the
following claims.
* * * * *