Delayed opening ball seat
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsChristiaan D. Krauss, George Givens
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A removable ball seat assembly is disclosed. It features a solid ball seat backed up by segmented dogs pinned to each other and mounted under the ball seat. Upon actuating a downhole tool with fluid pressure applied to a ball on the seat, the pressure is increased and the ball and seat move at a regulated rate. The dogs reach a recess and the ball moves through the seat. Subsequent, larger balls can pass through the seat, with the dogs in the recess, at much smaller pressure drops than the original ball.
Claims20
A seat assembly run in on tubulars to receive an obstructing object to operate a downhole tool, comprising:
- a body, having a bore therethrough, securable to the downhole tool,
- an enlargeable non-segmented seat mounted in said body;
- and
- a support to selectively reinforce said seat, without pre-compression of said seat, for acceptance of an obstructing object, said support, when disabled allowing the obstructing object to enlarge said seat as it passes through.
A seat assembly run in on tubulars to receive an obstructing object to operate a downhole tool, comprising:
- a body, having a bore therethrough, securable to the downhole tool,
- an enlargeable solid seat mounted in said body;
- and
- a support to selectively reinforce said seat for acceptance of an obstructing object, said support, when disabled allowing the obstructing object to enlarge said seat as it passes through;
- said seat moveable between a first and second position, said support becoming disabled as a result of movement of said seat to said second position;
- a speed restrictor to regulate the rate of movement of said seat between said first and said second positions.
A seat assembly run in on tubulars to receive an obstructing object to operate a downhole tool, comprising:
- a body, having a bore therethrough, securable to the downhole tool,
- an enlargeable solid seat mounted in said body;
- and
- a support to selectively reinforce said seat, without pre-compression of said seat, for acceptance of an obstructing object, said support, when disabled allowing the obstructing object to enlarge said seat as it passes through;
- said seat moveable between a first and second position, said support becoming disabled as a result of movement of said seat to said second position;
- said seat is secured to a sliding sleeve mounted in said bore;
- and
- said support is mounted to said sleeve for tandem movement with said seat.
A seat assembly run in on tubulars to receive an obstructing object to operate a downhole tool, comprising:
- a body, having a bore therethrough, securable to the downhole tool,
- an enlargeable solid seat mounted in said body;
- and
- a support to selectively reinforce said seat for acceptance of an obstructing object, said support, when disabled allowing the obstructing object to enlarge said seat as it passes through;
- said seat moveable between a first and second position, said support becoming disabled as a result of movement of said seat to said second position:
- said seat is secured to a sliding sleeve mounted in said bore;
- said support is mounted to said sleeve for tandem movement with said seat;
- said sleeve defines a sealed annular passage in said bore of said body;
- said body further comprises a speed restrictor mounted to said body in said annular passage to regulate the rate of movement of said seat between said first and said second positions as a result of fluid forced therethrough when movement of said sleeve reduces the volume of said annular passage.
A seat assembly run in on tubulars to receive an obstructing object to operate a downhole tool, comprising:
- a body, having a bore therethrough, securable to the downhole tool,
- an enlargeable solid seat mounted in said body;
- and
- a support to selectively reinforce said seat, without pre-compression of said seat, for acceptance of an obstructing object, said support, when disabled allowing the obstructing object to enlarge said seat as it passes through;
- said seat comprises a tapered lower end;
- said tapered lower end of said seat can retain the obstructed object in said first position against substantially higher differential pressures than required to pass another object of a larger dimension than the obstructing member through said seat in its second position and after the obstructing member has extruded and moved through said seat, even if the second object further enlarges said seat;
- a movable mounting of said seat between a first and second position, said support becoming disabled as a result of movement of said seat toward said second position;
- a speed restrictor to regulate the rate of movement of said seat between said first and said second positions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.