Single acting snap ring guide
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorsDaniel Luther Patterson, William Ewing
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A string guide comprising an upper mandrel, a lower muleshoe guide concentric to a lower portion of the upper mandrel, and an annular fastener internal to the lower muleshoe guide that fastens the lower muleshoe guide to the upper mandrel. When the guide encounters an obstruction (e.g., a packer bore or liner top), the weight of equipment above the lower muleshoe guide elastically deforms the annular fastener which drives the lower muleshoe guide up the upper mandrel. As the lower muleshoe guide travels up the upper mandrel, internal lugs of the muleshoe guide ride a spiral groove on the upper mandrel to rotate the lower muleshoe guide around the upper mandrel.
Claims14
A muleshoe guide assembly comprising:
- an upper mandrel having a first end adapted to couple to a string and having a plurality of grooves in an external surface of the upper mandrel, wherein the plurality of grooves comprises a helical groove and a set of ring grooves;
- a lower muleshoe guide concentric to at least a lower portion of the upper mandrel;
- and
- a snap ring located within the lower muleshoe guide and attaching the lower muleshoe guide to the upper mandrel.
A guide assembly for running string into a wellbore, the guide assembly comprising:
- a mandrel having a first end that is a coupling end and a second end, and having an external set of ring grooves and an external helical groove;
- an annular fastener capable of elastic deformation, the annular fastener fastening a guide shoe to the mandrel;
- and
- the guide shoe comprising an internal cutout to house the annular fastener when elastically deformed and internal lugs that ride within the external helical groove of the mandrel when the guide shoe rotates about the mandrel, the guide shoe being concentric to at least a lower portion of the mandrel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.