Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
-~ This invention relates to safety valves and more particu~
30larly to subsurface safety valves utilized to protect a well
from some catastrophic occurrence at the surface. As is well
known, these valves are utilized to automatically shut-in the
~t~
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well upon the occurrence of any undesired condition at the
wellhead, such as loss of pressure resulting from a ship
colliding with the wellhead. Upon some undesirable occurrence
happeniny at the wellhead, the subsurface safety valve is
automatically closed to shut-in the well and prevent flow
therefrom until the causative occurrence can be corrected. It
is customary to position -these valves at a level a few hundred
feet below the wellhead or mudline. Desirably, these valves
may also be placed at varying depths in the well, but many
problems are encountered when the safety valve is placed at
greater than the conventional depthO
To provide a safety valve which may be placed at any
desired depth in ~he well, this invention provides an external
reciprocating motor to control the safety valve. The recipro-
cating motor is operated by fluid on opposite sides of an
operating piston to provide for safe dependable operation by
controlling the differential pressure in the two lines which
lead from the valve to the surface. The pressure in these
lines may be controlled in any desired way to shut-in the well
at will and to automatically shut-in the well in the event of
some catastrophic occurrence at the wellhead.
The provision of an external reciprocating motor for
operating the safety valve presents many unique problems which
may not be present in conventional safety valves ancl these
problems are solved by the instant invention.
An object of th~s invention is to provide a subsurface
safet~l valve which may be combined with an externally mounted
reciprocating motor in which the connecting ro~ from the
reciprocating motor is protected against an excessive bendiny
force.
Another object is to provide a subsurface safety valve
which may be used with an external reciprocating motor in
which the connectiny rod of the motor is attached to the
actuator of the safety valve by a crosshead and force is
applied from the crosshead to the actuator through resilient
means in both directions to prevent the application of force
in excess of a selected value to protect the connecting rod
against any excessive forces and particularly to prevent it
from being bent by excess force applied between the connecting
rod and the valve actuator.
Another object is to provide a subsurface safety valve
which is operated by a crosshead in which the valve when in
open position is positively latched in open position and
cannot be moved to closed position except by movement of the
crossheadl thus protecting against closing the safety valve on
any TFL tools moving through the valve.
;~ Another object is to provide a subsurface safe-ty valve
for use with an external reciprocating motor in which the
safety valve may be positively locked in its open position and
thereafter a secondary valve run in and landed in the valve
housing and ~he actuator for the secondary valve attached to
the actuator of the subsurface safety valve and the valve
operated by reciprocation of the actuator of the safety valve.
Another object is to provide a subsurface safety valve in
which by moving the valve actuator beyond its normal travel in
moving the valve member between open and closed position auto-
rnatically results in locking of the safety valve in open
position while leaving the actuator free to reciprocate,
together with suitable landing means in the actuator and in
the valve body thus providing ~or landing of a secondary valve
in the valve body and landing of the actuator of the secondary
valve in the actuator of the safety valve to perrnit control of
the secondary valve by reciprocation of the safety valve
actuator.
Another object is to provide a sa:Eety valve in which the
actuator when moved beyond the normal range of reciprocation
for operating the valve is automaticall~ latched to a sleeve
in which the safety val~e member is carried and further
reciprocation of the actuator reciproca-tes both the actuator
and the sleeve which carries the valve while maintainin~ the
valve member in full open position.
Another ob~ect is to provide a safet~ valve in the
preceding object with an automatic release of the sleeve from
the valve body when the actuator is moved the extra distance
to latch the actuator and sleeve together.
~nother ob~ect is to provide for a subsurface safety
valve, a valve sleeve and stop and valve member assembly in
which the relationship of the valve member and its pivot
structure to the actuator and sleeve is dimensioned relative
to a stop in the valve carrying sleeve such that when the
actuator is in its full down position the ball of the valve
member has the bore therethrough in exact alignment with the
bore through the valve carrying sleeve to protect against
hanging up of tools passing through the open valve.
Other objects, features and advantages of this invention
will be apparent from the drawing, the specification and the
claims.
Statement o~ Invention
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In accordance with this invention there is provided a
valve comprl~ing, a tubular housing, a tubular valve actuator
in said housing~ means for reciprocating said valve actuator,
a valve member and cooperative seat moving between open and
closed positions with reciprocation of said valve actuator,
means for latching said valve member in open position while
leaving said actuator free to reciprocate in response to
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movement of said actuator beyond its normal travel range in
moving the valve member between open and closed positions.
In accordance with this invention there is further
provided a valve compr.ising, a tubular housing, a tubular
valve actuator in said housing, means for reciprocating said
valve actuator, a valve member and cooperative seat moviny
between open and closed positions with reciprocation of said
valve actuator, means for latching said valve member in open
position while leaving said actuator free to reciprocate in
response to movement of said actuator beyond its normal
travel range in moving the valve member between open and
closed positions, means in said housing for securing a
secondary valve in said housing, and means in said actuator
for securing a secondary actuator of a secondary valve to
said actuator whereby flow through said housing may be
. controlled by said secondary valve with reciprocation of said
actuator.
In accordance with this invention there is further
provided a valve comprising, a tubular housing, a -tubular
valve actuator in said housing, means for reciprocating said
valve actuator, a sleeve releasably secured in said howsing,
a valve member carried by said sleeve and movable between
open and closed positions relative to a seat with reciproca-
tion of said actuator, means for latching said actuator to
said sleeve with the valve in open posi.tion in re.sponse to
movement of saicl actuator be~ond its usual range of recipro-
cation.
~n accordance with this invention the:re is further
provided a valve comprising, a housing, a valve member and
valve seat controlling 10w through said housing, an actuator
movin~ said valve member between open and closed positions
with reciprocation of said actuator, a crosshead slidably
. - ~a -
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mounted on said actuator and adapted for attachment to the
reciprocating rod of a reciprocating motor, spaced stops on
said actuator, resilient means on said actuator on opposite
sides of said crosshead confined by said stops and transmit-
ting movement of said crosshead in opposite directions to
said actuator, latch means between said housing and said
actuator which is moved to latched position by movement of
said actuator to valve open position to positively latch the
valve in open position and prevent inadvertent closing of the
valve by an upward force applied to the actuator other than
by the crosshead, means on said crosshead -for unlatching said
latch means upon initial movement of said crosshead in said
other direction from valve open position, a second latch
means for latching said valve member in open position while
leaving said valve actuator free to reciprocate in response
to movement of said actuator beyond its normal travel range
in moving the valve member between open and closed positions,
; means in said housing for securing a secondary valve in said
housing, and means in said actuator for securing a secondary
actuator of a secondary valve to said actuator whereby flow
through said housing may be controlled by said secondary
valve with reciprocation of said actuator.
In the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like
parts and wherein an illustrative embodiment of this :inven-
tion Z.5 shown:
E'igure 1 is a schematic view of an offshore well e~uip-
ped with the safety valve of this invention with the well
stxi.ng and safet~ valve shown in elevation;
E'igures 2~, 2B and 2C are continuation views with the
reciprocating motor shown in elevation and with the safety
valve of this invention shown in section;
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2~
E'iyure 3 is a sectional view alonq the lines 3-3 of
Figure 2C;
Figure ~ is an elevational view of the sleeve forming a
portion of -the valve seat and valve memher assembly;
Figure 5 is a fraymentary view on an enlarged scale of
the valve actuator and the upper end o the sleeve of Figure 4
latched together to p~rmanently latch the valve in open
position; and
Figure 6 is a vi~w similar to Figure 2C shvwing the valve
to have been permanently latched in open posi-tion and a
secondary valve to have been placed in the safety valve and
latched to the actuator so that the safety valve actuator
operates the actuator of a secondary valve.
Referring first to Figure 1, an offshore well has a
conventional casing lOo The details of the platform in which
the casing terminates are not shown. Also, the controls,
hydraulic pressure source and the like which will be incorpo-
rated with the system employing this va~lve are not shown. It
is conventionally known to protect a well against happenings
at the surface by uti1izing a subsurEace safety valve, and
this conventional knowledge may be applied at the surface to
actuate the safety valve in the event of any occurrence which
endangers the well, such as collision of a vessel with the
~ well.
; The installation includes the conventional tubing 11
-khrouyh whlch ~luid ~:rom the ~ormation is delivered to the
~urface. A suitable safet~ valve housiny, indicated generally
at 12, is connected in tubing 11. The housing includes an
enlargement to which the reciprocating motor indicated
generally at 13 is attached. The motor may additionally be
strapped to the valve body by suitable strap 1~. Hydraulic
fluid for operating the motor is supplied through the two
~s~
concluits 15 and 16. The motor 13 will have a piston and
connecting rod therein and b~ control of the differential
applied to the reciprocating motor through lines 15 and 16,
the piston with its attached connecting rod may be
reciprocated vertically up and down to control opening and
closing of the safety valve of this invention. While the
safety valve is shown to be positioned at approximately the
mud line of an offshore completion, it will be appreciated
that it may be positioned above or below this point. Also,
the use of the reciprocating motor with its substantially
equal heads of hydrostatic pressure exerted by the hydraulic
fluids in lines 15 and 16 permits the safety valve to be
positioned at any desired depth in the well and it is contem-
plated that the safety valve may be so positioned as well
design dictates. It is also apparent that more than one
safety valve could be utilized in a well design, if desired,
and that the valve of this invention might be positioned at
considerable depth in the well and a conventional safety valve
employed adjacent the mud line. With the valve positioned
adjacent the formation it is apparent that in addition to
operating the safety valve upon the occurrence ~f some un-
desired phenomena the operator may readily open or close the
safety valve by manipulation of the pressure of fluids in
lines 15 and 16 and shut-in the well adjacent the producing
~orma-tion. It will be understood by those skilled in the art
that there is considerable advantage in heing able to shut-in
the well adjacent the ~ormation at wlll.
The valve of this invention includes a housing which may
be made up of several parts for convenience in manufacture and
assembly. The housing includes the upper sub 17 threaded onto
an upper tubular sectioII 18 which includes the boss 19. A
nipple 21 connects the intermediate tubular section 18 with a
lower sub 22. At the upper end of the upper sub 17 and the
lower end o~ the lower sub 22 threacls are provided for connec-
ting the valve in a tubing string in the conventional manner.
A valve member and valve seat indicated generally at 23
(Figure 2C) controls flow through the tubular housing. The
detail construction of this portion of the valve will be
explained hereinbelow.
A valve actuator is provided ~or rnoving the valve member
between open and closed position. This actuator in the illus-
trated valve is provided b~ a reciprocating member made up of
upper sub 24 secured to two intermediate tubular sections 25
and 25a which carries at the lower end of section 25a a lower
sub 26. The lower sub 26 has an external groove 27 which
cooperates with the valve member and seat in a manner to be
hereinafter explained. Also on the lower end of the lower
actuator sub 26 the valve seat 28 is provided.
As will appear more fully hereinafter, the valve is
provided with a lock-open feature and for this purpose a
suitable tool receiving groove section indicated generally at
29 is provided in the lower end of the upper actuator sub 24.
When the valve is in closed position a seal is preferably
provided between the actuator and the body. This may be
provided by the upper surface 26a of lower sub 26 engaging a
downwardly facing seat 21a on sub 21 (Figure 2B). With these
seat surfaces engaged flow between the housing and actuator ls
no~ permi-tted and by closing the flow passacJeway throucJh the
actuator the safety valve completely closes off flow from the
well. Additionally, the resilient ~eal 31 between the nipple
21 and the actuator prevents such flow.
Suitable felt wipers 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d wipe the
surfaces between the exterior of the actuator and the interior
of the housing at appropriate locations.
Cj~j~ 7~
Centrali~ing bearing 30 is provided on the upper sub 24.
As indicated above, the motor 13 is of the reciprocating
type and may take any desired form in which a fluid motor con-
trolled by fluids in conduits 15 and 16, reciprocates the con-
necting rod 33.
The housing is provided with the side boss 19 to which
the motor has its lower housing 3~ connected by suitable studs
35. The connecting rod 33 extends into the boss 19 and
packing 36 seals between the boss a~d the reciprocating rod
32.
Means are provided for connecting the reciprocating rod
33 of motor 13 to the tubular section 25 of the actuator.
This connection is a special connection which protects the
system against the application of excessive forces. For
instance, a substantially large differential may be applied
across the piston in the motor 13 and such differential
utilized in operating the motor. It is desirable, however, to
insure that this large force not be applied to the actuator
; during normal operation. To insure that in the normal opera-
tion of the system the force on the connecting rod 33 is
limited to a desired level, the connection between the connec-
ting rod and the actuator is a yielding connection. Prefer-
ably a resilient connection is employed in which force is
absorbed by the resilient connection and limits the force
which is applied to the actuator. For instance, if a large
differential is pres~nt across the valve membex resisting
opening of the valve member the connecting rod 33 can be moved
by motor 13 to its full valve opening position and the amount
of force applied to the actuator limited so -that damage such
as bending o the connecting rod 33 will not occur.
In the illustrated form of the invention the resilient
connection between the actuator and the connecting rod
--8--
~3~5~3 3~
includes a crosshead indicated yenerally at 37. ~he crosshead
37 has a bore 38 therethrough which has a slidin~ enga~ement
with the outer surface of the intermediate section 25 of the
actuator.
Means are provlded ~etween the actuator and crosshead to
give a resilient connection between these parts during upward
movement of the connecting rod 33 to move the valve between
open and closed position. Preferably, a stop 39 is provided
by a shoulder on the upper end of the intermediate actuator
section 25. A resilien-t means such as spring 41 is held
between the stop 39 and the crosshead 37.
In the preferred form the crosshead indicated generally
at 37 is made up of two parts, one being a sliding sleeve 37a
slidable on the actuator and a block 37b which is fixed to the
connecting rod 33 and extends into a window 37c in the tubular
section 37a of the crosshead. This type of construction is
desired in the illustrated embodiment to permit ease of
assembly.
The resilient means such as spring ~1 which is held
between the crosshead 37 and stop 39 permits upward movement
of the connectiny rod 33 without accompanyiny movement of the
actuator or opening of the valve member. As will be explained
hereinbelow, such initial movement is utilized in another
; safety feature of th:Ls invention. The crosshead 37 may move
up~ardly to its maximum normal operatiny position and in this
position an opening force is stored in the resilient sprin~ ~1
if the valve has not moved to its closed position. This may
occur in the event oE the valve or actuator stickinyO
If desired a means may be providecl to impose all of the
~orce available to move the valve member ~rom open to closed
position in the event such movement is resisted. For instance
if for some reason the actuator does not want to shift
`L~ 3~
upwardly due to the ~ctuator or valve being stuck in position,
it may be desirable to apply additional force from the recip-
rocal motor and if the motor is designed to permit the appli-
cation of additional force, a means can be provided for
transmitting this force directly between the crosshead 37 and
the actuator. For instance, the spring 41 could be designed
to stack and after it has been collapsed by the ordinary range
of movement of the crosshead 37 the collapsed spring would
provide a solid metal-to-metal connection between the cross-
head 37 and the actuator section 25. Thereafter any available
amount of force could be applied through the connecting rod 33
to move the actuator upwardly and close the valve member.
In like manner, a resilient connection is provided
between the crosshead and the actuator below the crosshead to
provide for downward movement of the actuator. For this
purpose the actuator ~5 has an external shoulder 42 and a
resilient member such as spring 43 is positioned between the
crosshead 37 and the shoulder 42. On downward movement of the
actuator, the resilient spring 43 is compressed and the force
stored in the spring 43 is utilized to move the actuator
downwardly and move the valve member from closed to open
position. This spring protects the connecting rod 33 against
the application of excessive force during the normal travel of
the connecting rod. ~t sometimes occurs that a di~ferential
is present across the valve member which will prevent opening
of -the valve member with normal operation of the reciprocating
motor. When -this occurs the sprin~ 43 will collapse and will
be exerting an opening force on the valve member. The valve,
however, will not open due to the differential thereacross
until pressure within the tubing above the safety valve is in-
creased to reduce this differential. When reduced to a
suitable value the spring 43 may then extend to move the valve
--10--
between closed and open positions. The spring also permits
opening of the valve member by fluid pressure above the safety
valve with the crosshead in valve closed position to permit
pumping of fluid into the well through the valve member which
will operate as a check valve.
With the valve in the open position it is desirable that
the valve be locked in open position so that it cannot close
except upon movement of the crosshead 37. When TFL (through-
the-flow line) tools are pumped through the tubing they can
possibly engage the actuator such as at the grooves 29 and
inadvertently exert an upward Eorce on the actuator. In
accordanc~ with this invention such upward force cannot move
the valve member between open and closed position where it
might close upon the tool string and the actuator will be held
in open position whlle TFL tools are being pumped upwardly
through the valve.
To prevent upward movement of the actuator by any means
other than the crosshead 37, a suitable latch system is
provided. This latch system is one which automatically
engages when the valve moves to full open position and remains
engaged until upward movement of the crosshead 37 releases the
latch.
In the preferred form a collet indicated generally at 44
is carried by the nipple 21. The upstanding collet fingers
44a have downwardly facing shoulders 44b which form a part of
the latch system.
r~he lower end of the intermediate actuator section 25 is
provided wi-th an lnternal recess 45 and upwardly Eacing
shoulders 45a in the recess. rrhe upwardly facing shoulders
45a of the actuator engage the downwardly facing shoulders 44b
of the collet when the valve is in fully open position. Thus,
the actuator is latched to the housing and cannot move
--11~
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upwardly under the influence of TE`L tools being pumped upward-
ly through the valve and inadverten-t closing of the valve upon
an upwardly moving tool string therein is prevente~.
The actuator latch is released by upward movement of the
crosshead 37. F'or this purpose the crosshead carries a
depending sleeve 46 which has an upwardly and outwardly
inclined frusto- conical surface 46a thereon. The collet
fingers carry a release flange 44c having an upwardly and
outwardly inclined frusto-conical section 44d thereon which is
engaged by the release cone 46a carried by the crosshead.
Thus initial upward movement of the crosshead to compress the
upper spring 41 moves the conical section 46a behind the
matching section 44d on the collet fingers and collapses the
~; collet fingers inwardly to release the shoulders 44b from the
upwardly facing shoulders 45a to thus release the latch and
permit the upper spring 41 to drive the actuator upwardly in
- response to upward movement of the crosshead 37 and move the
valve from open to closed position.
While any desired valve member and seat of any desired
form could be utilized, there has been provided a special
valve assembly which may be assembled and adjusted as a
subassembly. This subassembly obviously could be used advan-
tageously with other subsurface safety valves. Conventionally
valves are returned to the factory for replacement of damaged
seats or valve mem~ers. With the assembly of this invention
the subas6embly which includes the valve member may be substi-
tu-ted in the field for another subassembly with assurance that
the valve member will be in exact open position, that is,
alignment with the passageway through the actuator so that
tools cannot hang up on the valve member.
The subassembly (Figure 2C) includes the lower actuator
section 26, the cylindrical sleeve 47, the valve member 48
-12-
which is a ball valve in -the form shown, and control arm means
such as -the pair of control arms 49a and 49b.
The upper ends of the con~rol arms have in-turned projec-
tions 49c thereon which engage in groove 27 on the lower
section 26 of the actuator and are reciprocated vertically by
the actuator. A pivot means is provided between the ball
valve 48 and these arms as by the pivot pins 51 and 52. rrhese
pins are received in suitable holes 53 and-54 in the ball
valve member.
The sleeve 47 is shown in Figure 4 to have a pair o:E
opposed grooves 55 and 56 in which the control arms 49a and
49b reciprocate. Large opposed windows 57 and 58 are provided
and the ball valve 48 extends into these windows. ~s best
; shown in Figure 3 the sleeve 47 carries a pivot system which
preferably is provided by the pivot pin 59 residlng in a slot
61 in the ball valve 48. Thus, reciprocation of the control
arms 49a and 49b causes the ball valve to move vertically
within the housing and to rotate about the pivot pins 51, 52
and 59, as well as a complementary pin 60 (Figure 4) on the
other side of the ball which is identical to 59 positioned in
a slot which is identical to 61. This vertical and rotational
movement of the ball moves it between open and closed posi-
tions.
In accordance with this invention the assembly provided
by the lower actuator section 26, the sleeve 47, arms 49a and
b and the pivok sys-tem may be built as an assembly and may be
machined to exactly position the valve in open position when
the valve memheL i8 in engagement with the stop surface 62
provided at the lower ends of the windows 57 and 5~. The
preferred method of ~abricating the assembly is to machine the
downwardly facing surfaces of bosses 49c to a position in
which when in place they hold the valve member 48 relative to
-13-
sea-t 28 with extremely small clearance so -that rotation of the
valve member will wipe the ball against the seat and remove
any undesirable materials thereon. This clearance may be on
the order of less than one thousandth of an inch. With the
ball valve in full open position and held against seat 2~ by
control arms 49a and b the stop surface 62 of sleeve 47 may be
formed or machined to firmly enyage the lower end of the ball
47 when the actuator firmly urges the ball downwardly. In
other words as the ball is moved downwardly in the sleeve 47
the seat will urge the ball against the stop 62. I'he stop 62
will be cut away just enough to permit the ball to be moved
downwardly about its pivot points to a point at ~hich the bore
through the ball valve member 48 is exactly in alignment with
the bore through the actuator and through the sleeve section
~7 to provide a smooth continuation thereof so that tools
passing through the valve will not hang up on the valve.
With this construction it will be apparent that the sub-
assembly can be fabricated separately from the remainder of
the valve and can be replaced in the field with the ball
always moving to exact open pOSitiOII with downward movement of
the actuator. This avoids having to return the entire valve
to the factory for replacement of the valve member or its
seat.
Desirably, the safety valve is capable of being locked in
th~ open position and of receiving a secondary valve which can
be opera-ted by the reciprocal motor 13 so that i~ desired a
secondary valve can be run in place and utili~ed as a substi-
tute for the safety valve in the event of a damaged valve or
seat. This feature is of advantage where it is desirabl~ not
to have to pull the tubing string to replace the valve and
seat of the safety valve.
-14-
In accordance with this invention the main valve member
~8 is locked in open position wi-thout interfering with the
ability of the actuato~ to reciprocate in response to recipro-
cation of the connecting rod 33 by the reciprocating motor 13.
Preferably, the secondary valve is placed below the interface
between the safety valve and the reciprocating motor and where
this preferred form of placement is utilized the actuator arm
is preferably shifted a distance beyond the usual operating
distance to actuate lockout. In the preferred embodiment,
this additional shiftiny distance is utilized to latch the
actuator arm to the valve carrying sleeve 47 and reciprocate
the valve carrying sleeve and actuator as a unit. As the
relative movement between the sleeve 47 and actuator 26 is
then prevented the valve 48 will be maintained in its open
position.
In the preferred form the sleeve is also released from
the housing at the same time so that the latched sleeve and
actuator may move as a unit.
In Figure 2C it will be noted that the sleeve is held in
position by a ring 63 which is secured to the sleeve by pin
64. The ring bears against shoulder 65 in the housing and
- holds the sleeve 47 against downward movement. When the
actuator is foxced to move beyond the normal valve closing
position shear pins 64 are sheared and the sleeve is there-
after Eree to move with the actuator.
The means Eor latching the actuator and sleeve toc~ether
is shown enlarged in Figure 5. The lower section 26 of the
actuator is reciprocal in the upper end o~ the sleeve ~7. As
shown best in Figure ~ the upper end oE sleeve 47 has an
annular yroove 66 therein. Overlying the section of the
sleeve which contains the annular groove is a split ring 67
which in its normal relaxed condition is contracted in the
-15-
position shown in Figure 5. In the ~igure 2C position, the
ring is shown to be held in its expanded position and is
inoperative as a latch. It does function, however, to hold
the sleeve 47 in its down position by bearing against the
shoulder 68 on sleeve 47 and in turn being held a~ainst upward
movement by a cylindrical stop 69 which extends upwardly and
abuts the lower end of the nipple 21.
The lower section 26 of the actuator is provided with an
upwardly facing shoulder 71 and this shoulder, together with
the downwardly facing shoulder provided by the groove 66, is
utili~ed in latching the actuator and sleeve together. It
will be noted that the ring 67 is U~shaped in cross-section
with the concave portion of the U facing inwardly. Thus,
opposed shoulders 67a and b are provided on ring 67 and are
dimensioned to cooperate with shoulder 71 on the lower section
of the actuator and the shoulder provided by the groove 66 on
the sleeve to latch these two parts together. Thus, when the
actuator 26 is moved downwardly by shearing of pin 64, the
snap ring 67 moves into a position in which its internally
protruding flanges at its upper and lower position are spaced
one within the groove 66 and one above the shoulder 77, thus
permitting the snap ring to contract out ~rom under the sleeve
69 into the position shown in Figures 5 and 6 to latch the
actuator and sleeve 47 to each other. Thereafter recipro-
cation of the actuator by the crosshead 37 will reciprocate
the actuator sleeve and ball as a unit with the ball valve in
full open position. Any desirecl means can be provi.cled for
shifting the actuator sleeve downwardly past its normal
operatin~ position to shear the pins 64. For example, a tool
may be run into the well and landed in the grooves in the
upper section 24 of the actuator. This tool can then be
forced down by fluid pressure to force the actuator downwardly
-16-
~ ~.3~
and shear plns 6~ to latch the actuator and valve carrying
sleeve in a position in which the valve is locked in the open
position.
In accordance with this invention provisions are made for
a secondary valve to be run into the well and to be operated
by reciprocation of the crosshead 37 and the actuator. For
this purpose the lower sub 22 is provided with a suitable
: locking groove configuration 72 and the lower section of the
sleeve 47 is provided with a locking groove 73.
After the actuator and sleeve have been latched together
and the operative tools removed from the well a secondary
valve indicatecl generally at 74 is run into the well and is
latched into the housing grooves 72. This secondary valve
will include a ball valve indicated generally at 75 which is
moved between open and closed position by reciprocation of the
secondary valve actuator 76.
; The secondary valve actuator will be landed in the groove
73 by suitable dogs 77 and thus reciprocation of the crosshead
37 will. be transmitted through the actuator and the sleeve 47
to the actuator 76 of the secondary valve and reciprocation of
the actuator 76 will thus move the secondary valve between
open and closed position to control flow from the well.
Suitable seals, not shown, will be provided between the
secondary valve and the housing 22 so that all flow must
channel throuyh the secondary valve.
In operat,lon the safe~y valve will be made up on the
tubiny striny in the usual manner and will normal].y be in the
open position shown during normal production o~ the well.
: Upon the happen.ing of some occurrence at the sur~ace or at the
will of the operator the reciprocatiny motor 13 will be
shifted by control o~ the di~ferential in pressure :Ln lines 15
and 16 to raise connecting rod 33 and move the crosshead 37
-17-
i2'~
upwardly. Force will be transmitted through the spring 41 to
the actuator which will in turn move the valve member from
open to cl.osed position. The spring will prevent the occur-
rence of excessive force on the connecting rod 33. When
desired -the valve can be reopened by operating the motor 13 to
move the crosshead 37 downwardly to open the valve.
If damage occurs to the valve and it is desired to land
an auxiliary or secondary valve to control flow through the
well, a tool i9 run in and landed in the actuator in the
landing sec-tion 29 and a downward force applied to the actua-
tor to shear pins 64 and to move the actuator down relative to
the sleeve 47 to permit the sp].it ring 67 to collapse inwardly
and secure the sleeve 47 and the actuator section 26 together
as best. shown in Figures 5 and 6.
Thereafter a secondary valve is run in and the valve is
landed in landing grooves 72 in the housing and the actuator
is landed in grooves 73 in the valve actuator. Thereafter,
reciprocatiorl of the crosshead and valve actuator will
reciprocate the actuator of the secondary valve and move it
between open and closed positions to control flow through the
well.
The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention
are illustrative and e~planatory thereof and various changes
; in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of
the illustrated construction, may be made within the scope o~
the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the
invention.
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