US 5,347,929 A · Firing system for a perforating gun including an exploding foil initiator and an outer housing for conducting wireline current and EFI current

Abstract

A firing head for a firing system adapted for use in a perforating gun includes an outer pressure bulkhead housing which simultaneously conducts two separate and independent currents: a wireline current from a wireline and a return current from an initiator embodied in the firing head. A fire set circuit provides a discharge pulse to the firing head, and a wireline conductor cable provides a wireline current to the fire set circuit. The firing head includes an outer pressure bulkhead housing adapted for conducting the wireline current from the wireline conductor cable to the fire set circuit, and an exploding foil initiator (EFI) responsive to the discharge pulse from the fire set circuit for initiating the detonation of a secondary explosive. The discharge pulse energizing the firing head passes through the exploding foil initiator (EFI) and emerges from the EFI as an EFI return current. As a result, the outer pressure bulkhead housing of the firing head conducts two separate and independent currents: the EFI return current from the EFI to a ground potential, and the wireline current from the wireline conductor cable to the fire set circuit.

Claims22

Dependent claims

A firing system adapted to be disposed in a wellbore tool for detonating an apparatus, said wellbore tool adapted to be disposed in a wellbore, comprising:

discharge signal generating means responsive to a first energizing signal for generating a second discharge signal;
firing means responsive to the second discharge signal for generating a return signal and detonating an explosive, said firing means including outer housing means for conducting said first energizing signal to said discharge signal generating means and for conducting said return signal to a ground potential;
and
detonation means responsive to the detonation of said explosive for detonating said apparatus.

1 more element

A firing system adapted to be disposed in a wellbore and responsive to a wireline signal conducted by a wireline from a surface of said wellbore when said firing system is disposed in said wellbore for detonating a wellbore apparatus, comprising:

discharge signal generating means responsive to said wireline signal for generating a discharge pulse;
firing head means connected to said discharge signal generating means for detonating an explosive, said firing head means including,
initiator means responsive to the discharge pulse for generating a return signal, and
an outer pressure bulkhead housing adapted for conducting said wireline signal from said wireline to said discharge signal generating means and for simultaneously conducting said return signal from said initiator means to a ground potential;
and
detonation means responsive to the detonation of said explosive for detonating said wellbore apparatus.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Firing system for a perforating gun including an exploding foil initiator and an outer housing for conducting wireline current and EFI current

Life of this patent

Firing system for a perforating gun including an exploding foil initiator and an outer housing for conducting wireline current and EFI current

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims22