Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
MEANS FOR ACCOMMODATING CABLES IN TUBING ANCHORING TOOLS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to means for accommodating cables within and
along
tubing anchoring tools.
BACKGROUND
Tubing anchors are used for various purposes but mainly to hold strings of
tubing in
cased wellbores and more specifically to assist in maintaining tubing in
tension. They are
typically used in conjunction with well equipment particularly reciprocating
rod pumps.
The tubing anchor sets one or more slips against the well conduit usually well
casing to
grip the well conduit. The tubing may then be held in tension limiting its
movement.
Tubing anchor catchers perform these functions but also, should tubing string
above the
anchor catcher unthread or break the tubing anchor catcher provides a means to
grip
against the well conduit. For the purposes of the present invention these two
general
categories of tools are herein referred to collectively as "tubing anchoring
tools".
As it is run into the well the tubing string often also has to carry different
types of lines
and cables downhole, including capillary lines and cables and other lines
known to
persons of skill in the art typically down to an intake section of the pump.
For the
purposes of the present invention such lines and cables can be referred to as
"cable" or
"cables". Once set, cable must remain positioned along the tubing string
including
running past tubing anchoring tools.
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Running cables along such tubing strings past tubing anchoring tools may be
difficult as
there may be very little annular space between the tubing string and the
wellbore
casing. This is particularly true in casings with smaller inside diameters
(ID's).
Furthermore, most prior art tubing anchoring tools often require multiple full
(i.e.
several 360 degree) rotations of the mandrel to either set or unset the tubing
catcher.
These are often called multi-rotation tools. Multi-rotation tools may either
be threaded
for multiple rotations, such as for example US 3,077,933 to Bigelow, or may
comprise a
helical bearing track to provide multiple rotations, such as for example US
5,771,969 to
Garay. For purposes of the present invention such tools can be referred to as
"multi-
rotation anchoring tools".
In using multi-rotation anchoring tools where cable is installed in the well,
extra cable
has to be provided which cable is there to be used up in the setting of the
multi-rotation
tool (as the mandrel of the tool is rotated via rotating the tubing string
from surface the
extra cable becomes wrapped around the tubing string). Alternately the extra
cable is
originally pre-wrapped in an opposite direction to the direction of mandrel
rotation and
then when the tubing string and mandrel are rotated such extra cable unwinds
leaving
loose cable around the tubing string. In addition to the preceding
difficulties with cable
in using multi-rotation tools, multi-rotation tools are sometimes not
preferred for
narrow or deviated well conduits in which there is no room to accommodate
multiple
rotations of the tubing string to set or unset a tubing anchoring tool, and
there are the
additional, preceding concerns with the use of cables with multi-rotation
anchoring
tools.
More recently tubing anchor catchers and tubing anchors that are set by
turning their
mandrels only a portion of a full rotation preferably by only a quarter or one
third
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rotation or turn of their mandrels, by means including a pin and slot
arrangement within
the drag body and mandrel respectively, have been invented and employed for
this
purpose. The only known such quarter turn anchoring tools are described in
Applicant's
Canadian application number 2,890,533 or US patent publication number
2015/0233199A1, or Applicant's Canadian application number 2,798,833. For the
purposes of the present invention such tools can be referred to collectively
as "quarter
turn anchoring tools". The actuation of quarter turn anchoring tools obviously
does
away with certain of the challenges of multi-rotation anchoring tools that
were
described preceding.
Quarter turn anchoring tools (and multi-rotation anchoring tools) comprise a
slip
retainer or slip cage for housing slips to grip the well conduit. These slip
cages are made
of a single integral pipe or tube of metal with windows formed therein to
accommodate
the slips. Similarly, the drag bodies holding the drag blocks are also made
from a
separate, single integral piece of pipe or tubular metal.
As described in the preceding-mentioned patent applications and above, such
quarter
turn tubing anchoring tools are preferably used in wellbores where the annular
space
between the outside of the slip cage and drag block on the one hand, and the
inside of
the well conduit on the other, is small. Such space may be too small for usual
cables to
fit in between particularly slip cage outer diameters (OD's) and casing ID's.
But such
tools are not seemingly adaptable to accommodating a gap or break in the slip
cage and
drag body to locate a place for accommodating cable to be run past them, given
the
respective problems namely the slip cages and drag bodies are unitary in
nature and
should remain so to better enable them to withstand multiple significant
forces
particularly when the slips are actuated, and given the smaller spaces for
such cable
between slips and blocks.
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Running cables inside of portions of tubing anchoring tools has been tried but
has led to
problems including the expected movement and function interference where
cables
come into contact with portions of slips drag blocks or other internal parts.
Therefore the need to accommodate running cable past tubing anchoring tools of
both a
multi-rotational anchoring tool kind, and in particular for quarter turn
anchoring tools,
still arises. For the purposes of the present invention such anchoring tools
may be
collectively referred to as "tubing anchoring tools".
SUMMARY
An improvement to tubing anchoring tools has been invented which provides a
means
for passing cable by a tubing anchoring tool. The tubing anchoring tool
comprises a
groove running axially along the slip cage and drag body portions, and along
any other
portions of any tubing anchoring tool which may provide a large outer diameter
of the
tool, into which cable may be placed.
Further, an improvement to a tubing anchor catcher type of tubing anchoring
tool that
is set by a quarter turn of its mandrel, preferably by a quarter or one third
turn of its
mandrel by means including a pin and slot arrangement within the drag body and
mandrel respectively, along with such tool having a groove aforesaid for
accommodating running cable past the tool, has been invented.
Still further, an improvement to a tubing anchor type of tubing anchoring tool
that is set
by a quarter turn of its mandrel, preferably by a quarter or one third turn of
its mandrel,
by means including a pin and slot arrangement with the drag body and mandrel
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respectively, along with such tool having a groove aforesaid for accommodating
running
cable past the tool, has been invented.
In a tubing anchoring tool connectable to a tubing string and positionable
within a well
conduit for preventing movement of a tubing string in both directions axially
and
radially, and the tool comprises one or more axial grooves formed along a
length of an
outer surface of the tool for accommodating cable placed therein.
Further, a tubing anchor catcher positionable within a well conduit is
provided, for
preventing movement of a tubing string. The tubing anchor catcher comprises a
mandrel connectible within the tubing string, the mandrel comprising an
externally
facing slot; a slip cage slidably mountable about the mandrel, the slip cage
comprising a
slip or slips that are adapted for engaging an inner surface of the well
conduit; a first
cone element that is slidably mountable about the mandrel, adjacent the slip
cage and
comprising a first conical surface; a drag body slidably mountable about the
mandrel,
adjacent the slip cage, the drag body comprising a drag member sized for
frictionally
engaging an inner surface of the well conduit, a pin for engaging the
externally facing
slot, and a second conical surface; a biasing member slidably mountable about
the
mandrel adjacent the first cone element for engaging the first cone element
when the
biasing member is compressed; and one or more axial grooves formed on along
the
length of an outer surface of the drag body and the slip cage, for
accommodating cable
placed therein. .
A tension tubing anchor for anchoring well equipment in a well conduit for
maintaining
tension. The tubing anchor comprises a mandrel connected to tubing or the well
equipment; a cone element mounted to the mandrel and having a first conical
surface; a
drag body mounted on the mandrel, housing a drag means for contacting the well
conduit, and having a second conical surface; a slip cage mounted on the
mandrel
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adjacent to the drag body, housing a slip or slips, each of the slip or slips
having an
inner surface, and an opposed outer surface for gripping the well conduit, the
slip or
slips, or the slip cage comprising biasing means for urging the slip inwardly
toward the
mandrel and away from the well conduit; the drag body having at least one
drive pin
and a portion of the drive pin protruding toward the mandrel; the mandrel
having at
least one groove for each drive pin for slideably receiving the protruding
portion of the
drive pin; and one or more axial grooves formed on along the length of an
outer surface
of the drag body and the slip cage, for accommodating cable placed therein.
A multi-rotation tubing anchoring tool is further provided, connectable to a
tubing string
and positionable within a well conduit, for preventing movement of the tubing
string,
said tool comprising one or more slips that are set by multiple full rotations
of a mandrel
of the tool; and one or more axial grooves formed along a length of an outer
surface of
the tool for accommodating cable placed therein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only,
with
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figures la is a side perspective side view of an example embodiment of a
quarter turn
tubing anchor catcher having an axial groove formed thereon;
Figure lb is a front end view of the tubing anchor catcher of Figure la;
= 20 Figure 2 is a detailed side perspective view of Figure la showing
one example of the slip
cage and one example of the drag body with the groove formed thereon;
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Figure 3 is a detailed side perspective view of Figure la showing one example
of the slip
cage and one example of the drag body with the groove formed thereon;
Figure 4 is an end view of the tubing anchor catcher of Figure la, in the set
position,
with a cable running in the axial groove;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional elevation view of the tubing anchor catcher of
Figure la;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a mandrel of the tubing anchor catcher of
Figure la,
showing the externally facing slot;
Figure 7 is a side elevation view of a second embodiment tubing anchor catcher
which
can incorporate an axial groove of the present invention,
Figure 8 is a mid-line, sectional view of the tubing anchor catcher of Figure
7;
Figure 9 is a side view of a quarter turn tension tubing anchor which can
incorporate an
axial groove of the present invention; and
Figure 10 is a perspective view of a mandrel of the tubing anchor of Figure 7,
showing
the externally facing slot.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present disclosure relates to a substantially axial groove 98 formed along
the body
of an anchor or anchor catcher tool 10 to accommodate cables that run through
a
wellbore. While more than one axial groove 98 can be formed, there is
preferably one
axial groove along the tubing anchoring tool.
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For the purposes of the present invention, the terms 'substantially
axially,"axially',
'substantially axial' and 'axial' are all understood to incorporate grooves
that can be
axial, diagonal, linear, curved, mildly S-shaped, or any combination thereof.
Figures 1 to 6 depict one example embodiment of a quarter turn tubing anchor
catcher
10 having an axial groove 98. The tubing anchor catcher 10 may be inserted
within a
well conduit 12 (see Figure 4), such as a wellbore casing. Details of one
example of such
a quarter turn tubing anchor catcher can be seen in Applicant's Canadian
application
number 2,890,533 or US patent publication number 2015/0233199A1.
Figures 7 and 8 depict one example embodiment of a quarter turn tubing anchor
in
which the linear groove of the present invention could also be used. One
example of
such a quarter turn tubing anchor can be seen in Applicant's Canadian
application
number 2,798,833.
Generally, while the present invention may be applied for use in all tubing
anchoring
tools it is preferably used with any tubing anchor or anchor catcher that can
be set and
unset with none to minimal rotation. More preferably, the present invention
can be
used with any tubing anchor or anchor catcher that can be set and unset with
between
1/4 to just under a full rotation of the tool. Most preferably the rotation
comprises from
1/4 to 1/2 a turn of the tool. For the purposes of the present invention these
ranges of
rotation is herein referred to throughout as "quarter turn".
Specifically the present invention includes allowing cables to be accommodated
along
the tubing anchoring tool 10.
It is possible to incorporate the axial groove of the present invention in
quarter turn
anchoring tools and in multi-rotation tubing anchoring tools.
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As with multi-rotational anchoring tools, in the case of quarter turn tubing
anchoring
tools such as those described in more detail below with reference to Figures 1-
8, there
is limited space between the slips and/or drag blocks. Each axial groove of
the present
invention is preferably formed by removing preferably one axial strip of
material from
each of the tubes that comprise the slip cage and the drag body, thus forming
one or
more narrow axial gaps in the slip cage and drag body. While more than one
axial
groove may be desirable and while further such gaps can be formed in different
sections
of the slip cage and drag block tubes, and while such is within the scope of
the present
invention, most applications will require a single axial groove. For
convenience the
description of constructing the axial groove will be described with reference
to the
alternative of having only a single groove.
A pipe or tube of reduced diameter, preferably made of the same metal the slip
cage is
made of, and preferably having an inside diameter to just accommodate
placement of
the cable within it (once axially halved), is installed preferably by being
welded into
place. The pipe may then be axially halved to provide a groove with a rounded
(approximately 180 degrees) inner diameter. Alternately tubes already axially-
halved
may be attached to the narrow axial gaps formed in the slip cage and drag
body. The
inventors have found that in use such axial groove maintain sufficient
strength of the
slip cage and drag body while still providing a means of accommodating cables.
Further
that in practice an axial groove provides the correct depth to accommodate
cable
advantageously partway in the tool and partway between the tubing anchoring
tool and
ID of the casing. However it is noted that the formation of an axial groove by
other
means and the formation of a groove of another shape(s) of inner diameter (for
example and without limiting the generality of the present invention it may be
formed
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of a square "trough" versus a concave "trough" are all within the scope of the
present
invention.
Further the groove may be of another depth and may be larger than the diameter
sufficient for fittingly placing cable within. Further, and as noted above,
the groove may
be other than linear in orientation, and for example and without limiting the
generality
of the present invention, the linear groove may be "s-shaped" instead of
linear in
orientation.
All such variations are, and any variation of a groove is, within the scope of
the present
invention.
The invention includes a novel quarter turn tubing anchor catcher with an
axial groove.
An inventive tubing anchoring tool that is a quarter turn tubing anchor
catcher which
comprises a linear groove will now be described.
Figures 1 to 6 depict one example embodiment of a quarter turn tubing anchor
catcher
10. The tubing anchor catcher 10 may be inserted within a well conduit 12 (see
Figure
4), such as a wellbore casing.
Figure 1 depicts the tubing anchor catcher 10 in an unset, or "run-in",
orientation in
which it can be run inside the well conduit 12, such as that shown in Figure 4
on a tubing
string. A mandrel 20 of the tubing anchor catcher 10 may include attachment
means
such as a threaded lower end 22 and a threaded upper end 24. In this
embodiment, the
tubing anchor catcher 10 may be threadedly connected within the tubing string
and run
down the well conduit 12 while being in the downhole direction indicated by
arrow 17.
Arrow 16 indicates the opposite direction within the well conduit 12, namely
the up-
hole direction. It is noted, however, those terms such as "up", "uphole", "up
hole",
CA 2977037 2017-08-23
"down", "downhole", "down hole", "forward", "backward" and the like are used
to
identify certain features of the tubing anchor catcher 10 when placed in a
well conduit.
These terms are not intended to limit the tubing anchor catcher's use or
orientation.
The tubing anchor catcher 10 may comprise of a drag body 40, a slip cage 60
and a
biasing member 94, all of which are mounted about the external surface of the
mandrel
20. The biasing member 94 can be for example, a coiled spring. The drag body
40
houses a drag means, in the form of one or more drag springs or drag blocks
42, for
spacing the tubing anchor catcher 10 away from the inner wall 13 of the
conduit 12.
The drag blocks 42, for example three or four drag blocks 42, may be generally
evenly
spaced circumferentially about the tubing anchor catcher 10. Each drag block
42 has a
drag spring 44 to urge the outer surface of the drag block 42 against the well
conduit's
inner wall 13. In addition to keeping the tubing anchor catcher 10 spaced from
the well
conduit 12, the contact of the outer surface of the drag block 42 to the well
conduit's 12
inner wall or surface 13 causes friction that urges the drag body 40 to remain
stationary
while the mandrel 20 moves within the rest of the tubing anchor catcher 10.
The drag body 40 and the slip cage 60 both include a groove 98 extending
axially along
their outer surfaces, as seen in Figures 1-4. The axial groove 98 accommodates
cables
or capillary lines to be carried down hole. As seen in Figure 4, the cable 100
can be fit in
the axial groove 98. While only one groove 98 is shown in the Figures, it
would be well
understood by a person of skill in the art that more than one groove 98 can be
present
along the axial length of the drag body 40 and slip cage 60, for example,
between any
number of the drag blocks 42 and slips 62.
The axial groove 98 provides further advantage in that the cable 100 now sits
flush with
the outermost surface of the tool, as seen in Figure 4, with little or no
radial protrusion
towards the well conduit, to ensure that it does not catch in any surface of
the wellbore.
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Furthermore, the axial groove 98 in the present anchor catcher allows for
knowing the
exact location of the cable 100 between the drag blocks 42, which provides an
assurance that the cable 100 will not get caught against a drag block 42 when
the drag
blocks 42 engage with an inside diameter of the wellbore conduit 12. The
present
design further serves to accommodate cable in applications with narrow
wellbore
conduits that have very little annular space between the tubing string and the
wellbore
inside diameter.
As will be discussed further, the drag body 40 is connected to the mandrel 20
by one or
more drive pins 88 that extend inwardly from the inner surface of the drag
body 40 to
engage a slot 80 that is formed on the outer surface of the mandrel 20. In one
example
embodiment, the drive pins 88 are made from a shearable material.
The slip cage 60 is mounted on the mandrel 20 adjacent the drag body 40,
preferably
above the drag body 40 (i.e. in direction 16). The slip cage 60 may house one
or more
movable slip or slips 62. For example, three slips 62 are depicted as being
evenly spaced
about the slip cage 60, although this is not intended to be limiting as the
tubing anchor
catcher 10 described herein may operate with one or more slips 62. Each slip
or slips 62
have an outer surface with teeth 63 for gripping the inner wall 13 upon
contact. The
teeth 63 comprise upward gripping teeth 63B and downward gripping teeth 63A.
One
or more fasteners in the form of a cap pin or cap screw 65 is fastened to the
drag body
40 and each is located within one of a plurality of associated elongate slots
66 that are
defined by the slip cage 60 and spaced circumferentially thereabout,
preferably
between each slip or slips 62. The cap screw 65 is adapted to travel within
associated
slots 66 to permit movement of the slip cage 60 relative to the drag body 40
and to
prevent the slip cage 60, and the drag body 40, from longitudinally
separating.
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An upper cone element 70 is mounted about the mandrel 20 at an upper end of
the slip
cage 60. The upper cone element 70 forms a first conical surface and an upper
edge of
the drag body 40 forms a second conical surface 54. The first and second
conical
surfaces 70, 54 do not actuate the slip or slips 62. A slip spring 76 urges
each slip or slips
62 radially inwardly into the slip cage 60 and away from the well conduit 12
while in the
unset position.
Figure 5 depicts the tubing anchor catcher 10 in the set position with the
slip or slips 62
extended outwardly from the slip cage 60 for engaging the inner surface 13 of
the well
conduit 12. The slip or slips 62 are extended due to the conical surfaces 70,
54 moving
underneath the slip or slips 62.
At least one slot 80 is formed on the outer surface of the mandrel 20. The
slot 80 is
dimensioned (width, depth) to slidingly accommodate a protruding portion of
the drive
pin 88 that extends therein threaded through a hole 56 in the drag body 40.
The tubing
anchor catcher 10 may comprise one or more sets of slots 80 and drive pins 88.
For
example, the tubing anchor catcher 10 may have three or four sets of slots 80
and three
or four sets of associated drive pins 88 that are generally evenly radially
spaced about
the mandrel 20.
The operation of the tubing anchor catcher may now be described with reference
to
figures 1 to 6. To move the mandrel 20 and slot 80 relative to the drive pin
88 to set the
anchor catcher, the tubing string can be manipulated at surface between the
run-in
position and a set position. Due to the drag blocks 42 frictionally engaging
the inner
surface 13 of the well conduit 12, the drag body 40 and the slip cage 60
remain
relatively fixed as the mandrel 20 and the rest of the tubing string are
manipulated from
surface.
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As mandrel 20 pulled, in direction 16, the mandrel 20 slides relative to the
drive pin 88.
Thereafter, the mandrel 20 can be lowered and turned, for example, a quarter
turn (i.e.
about 90 degrees). This motion of the tubing string and, therefore, the
mandrel 20
causes at least the conical surface 70 to move under the slip or slips 62 and
the tubing
anchor catcher 10 is set with the slip or slips 62 extending outwards from the
slip cage
60 to engage the inner surface 13 of the well conduit 12. The turning is about
the
longitudinal axis of the tubing string and, therefore, the tubing anchor
catcher 10. This
manipulation causes the mandrel 20 to move and repositions the drive pin 88 in
the slot
80.
Since the quarter turn tubing anchor catcher is a quarter turn tool, the
turning of the
tubing string to rotate the mandrel 20 is minimal, thereby ensuring that cable
100 held
above and below the tool is not significantly urged to deform or slidingly or
otherwise
move in axial groove 98 and further is not urged to move out of the axial
groove 98.
Furthermore, since cable 100 is housed in axial groove 98 and outside the
tool, the
chance of the cable 100 being caught in the slip or slips 62 or drag blocks 42
is
eliminated.
To release the slip or slips 62, the tubing string and therefore the mandrel
20 can be
manipulated at surface. For example, the mandrel 20 can be pulled up and
turned, for
example, a quarter turn to cause the mandrel 20 to move so that the conical
surface 54
moves out from under the slip or slips 62 and the spring 76 will cause the
slip or slips 62
to retract back into the slip cage 60.
When the tubing anchor catcher 10 is in the set position and in the event of a
break in
the tubing string, etc., which may cause the tubing string to fall down into
the well (i.e.,
in direction 17), the tension in the tubing string is lost. This causes the
weight of the
tubing string to bear on the biasing member 94. The biasing member 94 will
compress
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from the weight of the tubing string above, and act against the upper cone 70.
This
action causes the downwardly gripping upper teeth 63A to more directly engage
and
bite into the inner surface 13 of the well conduit 12 and hold the weight of
the tubing
string above the tubing anchor catcher 10, for example, until such time that
the tubing
string can be recovered at surface.
An alternate means of un-setting the tubing anchor catcher 10 is now
described. If it is
not possible to relocate drive pin 88 in a location in the slot 80 so as to
unset slip or slips
62, for example due to packing of sand or other materials into the slot 80,
the slip or
slips 62 may be unset by applying a sufficient upward tension on the tubing
string and
the mandrel 20. In one embodiment, the upward tension is of sufficient
amplitude to
shear the drive pins 88, which form the primary connection between the drag
body 40
and the mandrel 20. Then the mandrel 20 may then move upward (i.e. in the
direction
of arrow 16), relative to the drag body 40, which causes upper cone 70 to move
up and
out from under the slip or slips 62, which then allows slip or slips 62 to
move inwardly as
they move away from the second conical surface 54 of the drag body 40. This
allows the
slip or slips 62 to retract from contacting the inner surface of the well
conduit.
Figures 7 and 8 depict an alternative or second embodiment of a tubing anchor
catcher
100 with an upper end 100A and a lower end 100B. The tubing anchor catcher 100
may
comprise many of the same features as tubing anchor catcher 10. For example,
one
difference between the two tubing anchor catchers 10, 100 is that the drive
pin 88 of
the tubing anchor catcher 10 may be sheared as a secondary release mechanism,
as
described above. In contrast, the tubing anchor catcher 100 may comprise a
drive pin or
drive pins 188 that are not designed to shear as a secondary release
mechanism. The
lower cone 41 is formed as a separate piece to the drag body 40. The tubing
anchor
catcher 100 may comprise one or more shear pins 72 that connect the lower end
of the
CA 2977037 2017-08-23
lower cone 41 to drag body 40. The shear pins 72 are made of a material that
will shear
in response to a lower shearing force than the shear force required to shear
the pin 188.
In this embodiment, the second conical surface 54 is formed on an upper end of
the
lower cone 41 (see Figure 12). Lower cone 41 slidably mounts about the
external
surface of the mandrel 20 so that conical surface 54 in combination with
conical surface
70B on cone 70 compress together along mandrel 20 to force the slip or slips
62 into the
set position, as described above. The shear pins 72 provide a secondary
release of slip
or slips 62 by the application of a sufficient pulling force to the tubing
string so as to
shear the shear pins 72. When the shear pins 72 are sheared, the lower cone 41
is
released from connection with the stationary drag body 40 and can move
downwardly
away from its position under the slip or slips 62. The slip or slips 62 can
then retract
away from the inner surface 13 of the well conduit 12.
An inventive tubing anchoring tool that is a quarter turn tubing anchor which
comprises
a linear groove will now be described.
The quarter turn tension tubing anchor of the example of Figures 9 and 10 has
a tubular
drag body 40 mounted over the mandrel 20 to house a drag means in the form of
multiple drag springs or drag blocks 42. Each drag block 42 has a drag block
spring 44 or
a plurality of drag block springs 44 to bias the outer surface 46 of the drag
blocks 42
against the well conduit's inner wall 13. This in turn spaces the tubing
anchor away from
the inner wall 13 of the well conduit 12 and urges the drag body to remain
stationary
relative to the mandrel as the tension tubing anchor is run in or otherwise
moved within
the inner wall of the well conduit. Upper and lower drag body retaining rings
50, 48
keep the drag blocks 42 removably mounted within the drag body 40. Cap screws
52
attach the upper drag body retaining ring 50 to the drag body 40.
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A tubular slip cage 60, mounted on the mandrel 20 below the drag body 40
houses a
single movable slip 62 or a plurality of movable slips 62. Each slip 62 has an
outer
surface 63 with teeth for gripping the conduit wall 13 upon contact, and an
inner
surface.
The drag body 40 and the slip cage 60 can both include one or more grooves 98
extending axially along their outer surfaces to accommodate cables to be
carried down
hole. Grooves 98 can be present between the drag blocks 42 and slips 62.
The axial groove 98 allows the cable 100 to sit flush with the outermost
surface of the
anchor, with little or no radial protrusion towards the well conduit, to
ensure that it
does not catch in any surface of the wellbore.
Furthermore, the axial groove 98 in the present tension tubing anchor allows
for placing
the cable 100 approximately between the drag blocks 42which provides an
assurance
that the cable 100 will not get caught against a drag block 42 when the drag
blocks 42
engage with an inside diameter of the wellbore conduit 12.
Returning to aspects of the quarter turn tubing tension anchor not the groove,
to hold
the slip cage 60 to the drag body 40, set screws 65 are fastened to the drag
body 40 and
are located within elongate slots 66 spaced circumferentially about the slip
cage 60. The
slots 66 with upper and lower shoulders 68a, 68b permit movement of the slip
cage 60
relative to the drag body 40.
The cone element 70 housed within the slip cage 60 is mounted on the mandrel
20 by a
plurality of circumferentially spaced fasteners in the form of shear screws or
shear pins
72 or any shearable or frangible means of fastening. The edge of the cone 70
opposite
the shear pins 72 forms a first conical surface 74 that faces towards the box
end of the
tension tubing anchor and when the mandrel is moved upwardly, the first
conical
surface 74 wedges under the slips 62, moving the slips towards the well
conduit 12 inner
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wall 13. Likewise, the edge of the drag body 40 forms a second conical surface
54 facing
the first conical surface 74 and in operation in the setting step concurrently
wedges
under the slips 62 and also moves the slips into a set position. However, the
first and
second conical surfaces 74, 54 should not actively contact the slips in the
unset position.
A biaser in the form of a slip spring 76 urges each slip 62 radially inwardly
into the slip
cage 60 and away from the well conduit 12 in the unset position.
The tension tubing anchor has at least one slot 80 formed in the mandrel's
outer
cylindrical surface 26, best seen in fig.8. The slots 80 are dimensioned
(width, depth) to
slidingly accommodate the drive pins 88. The arrangement of drive pins 88
connected to
the drag body 40 and protruding into the slots 80 provides a means for the
mandrel 20
to move relative to the drag body 40 as well as a means for securing the drag
body 40 to
the mandrel 20 of the tension tubing anchor. In the embodiment shown
throughout the
figures multiple sets of slots 80 and drive pins 88 are shown generally evenly
spaced
about the mandrel.
The operation of the tension tubing anchor may now be described with reference
to
figures 9 and 10. The first step is to initially pull the mandrel upwardly by
lifting the
tubing string in the direction of arrow 16, then the mandrel 20 is rotated to
the right or
clockwise when viewed from the box end 22 of mandrel 20 a quarter turn. Next,
the
mandrel is lifted to set the slips. As the mandrel 20 is pulled uphole, the
cone element
70 is also lifted. First conical surface 74 of cone elements 70 wedge beneath
and urge
slips 62 outwardly. As the cone element's first conical surface 74 moves
upwardly
towards the box end 22 of the mandrel 20, it moves towards the second conical
surface
54 of the drag body 40 such that the conical surfaces come together. The
second conical
surface 54 also wedges under the slips 62 until the outer surfaces of the
slips 62 grip the
well conduit 12 inner surface 13 anchoring the tubing anchor to the well
conduit 12. The
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tubing string is pulled in tension and may be kept in tension as long as the
set position is
desired including by the use of means for maintaining tension at the surface
of the well
such means being well known to persons of skill in the art.
The tension tubing anchor is released, or unset, by reversing the above
described setting
procedure. The mandrel 20 and first conical surface 74 of cone element 70 are
moved
downwardly. As the conical surfaces 54, 74 are moved away from each other a
means
76 biasing the slips 62 inwardly cause the slips to relocate in their unset
position. This
allows the tension tubing anchor to be moved to a different position in the
well conduit
12 and be set again, or removed from the well.
It will be understood that while the slot design disclosed above is
approximately "J"
shaped, any configuration of the slot 80 is within the ambit of the invention
providing
allows for guiding the mandrel when setting the slips.
An alternate method of unsetting the tension tubing anchor is to pull tension
on the
tubing string to exert sufficient upward force (above the tubing weight) on
the mandrel
20 which will shear the shear pins 72 by exceeding their maximum shear
resistance.
Once the shear pins 72 are sheared, the cone element 70 becomes detached from
the
mandrel 20 and is free to move away.
As noted above, the groove may be of any orientation including a linear
groove, such
groove of any shape or depth, provided that cable may be placed within it, as
described
preceding, formed as described preceding or in any other fashion available or
convenient to persons of skill in the art, in either a quarter turn anchor
catcher, a
quarter turn tension tubing anchor, or in any tubing anchoring tool is able to
be formed
efficiently and will provide a resulting slip cage and drag body that is able
to withstand
the significant forces such components do in actuation and other stages of
their use,
notwithstanding the groove.
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While the above disclosure describes certain examples of the present
disclosure, various
modifications to the described examples will also be apparent to those skilled
in the art.
The scope of the claims should not be limited by the examples provided above;
rather,
the scope of the claims should be given the broadest interpretation that is
consistent
with the disclosure as a whole.
CA 2977037 2017-08-23
