Snap latch seal locator for sealingly latching tubing to a packer in a wellbore

A latch adapted to be disposed in a debris filled wellbore for interconnecting a first wellbore apparatus to a second wellbore apparatus in said wellbore, said latch enabling said first wellbore apparatus to be removed from said second wellbore apparatus in response to a predetermined amount of force applied to said first wellbore apparatus, comprising:

• a base;
• a plurality of flanges connected to the base, the plurality of flanges defining a plurality of gaps disposed, respectively, between the plurality of flanges;
• and
• a plurality of external threads disposed around an external periphery of said plurality of flanges, each of said external threads having an engaging surface and a disengaging surface with debris having a tendency to accumulate on said disengaging surface, an angle between said disengaging surface and a vertical lying in a range between approximately twenty (20 ) degrees and approximately twenty eight (28) degrees, said angle within said range minimizing collection of debris on said disengaging surface so that a predetermined amount of force is effective to remove said first wellbore apparatus from said second wellbore apparatus.

A latch for positioning in a debris filed wellbore for interconnecting a first wellbore apparatus to a second wellbore apparatus in said wellbore, said latch enabling said first wellbore apparatus to be removed from said second wellbore apparatus in response to a predetermined amount of force applied to said first wellbore apparatus, comprising:

• a base;
• a plurality of flanges connected to the base, the plurality of flanges defining a plurality of gaps disposed, respectively, between the plurality of flanges;
• and
• a snap latch body disposed adjacent to said plurality of flanges, a space being defined by said flanges and said snap latch body having a radial thickness "d" with said space positioned for collecting debris, said axially extending resilient flanges being mounted for bending a particular distance "x" across said space, said radial thickness "d" being substantially greater than said distance "x" to prevent debris which may enter and locate in said space, from changing said predetermined amount of force required to remove said-first wellbore apparatus from said second wellbore apparatus.

A latch for positioning in a debris filled wellbore for interconnecting a first wellbore apparatus to a second wellbore in said wellbore, comprising:

• a base;
• a plurality of flanges connected to the base, the plurality of flanges defining a plurality of gaps disposed, respectively, between the plurality of flanges;
• and
• a plurality of external threads disposed around an external periphery of said plurality of flanges, an axial force for application axially along a surface of said flanges to said plurality of external threads, said axial force applying an undesired auxiliary bending moment to a base of said flanges when said axial force is applied to said external threads, said flanges each having a center of gravity, a transverse distance between said center of gravity and said axial force being approximately equal to zero, said undesired auxiliary bending moment being approximately equal to zero as said transverse distance between said center of gravity and said axial force is approximately equal to zero.

A snap latch for interconnecting a tubing string to a wellbore apparatus in a wellbore, the wellbore apparatus including a mandrel having internal threads, comprising:

• a plurality of spaced axially extending resilient flanges having external threads for mating with the internal threads of said mandrel of said wellbore when said tubing string is interconnected to said wellbore apparatus in said wellbore,
• said flanges of said snap latch each have an outer diameter, said mandrel of said wellbore apparatus having an inner diameter,
• said outer diameter of each of said flanges being greater than said inner diameter of said mandrel of said wellbore apparatus plus a tolerance stackup before said snap latch interconnects said tubing string to said wellbore apparatus in said wellbore, said tolerance stackup representing an error differential resulting from a machining of said flanges of said snap latch;
• said resilient flanges bending radially inwardly for release of said latch and tubing string from said mandrel upon an upward pulling force on said tubing string.