Cementing head
AssigneeBaker Hughes Incorporated
InventorsDavid A. Arce, John L. Baugh, Sidney K. Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tool for dropping one or more balls and then one or more darts features a closable ball drop opening that works automatically after the ball release to minimize damage to the subsequently released dart. A retainer keeps the darts from coming back up above the dart launcher in the event of a pressure surge in the well. The dart launcher features a dedicated movable barrel for each dart that can be locked in a fully misaligned and fully aligned position with the casing or tubular. A handle is retained to the dart housing and can be manipulated to defeat the lock and rotate a given barrel. The darts may be inspected in their respective barrels before launch and the launch order is variable.
Claims21
A device for dropping at least one object into a wellbore, comprising:
- a housing having a through passage that can be connected to the wellbore, said passage defined by a peripheral wall that defines its length;
- at least one object storage space outside said passage and in said housing for storage of an said object out of alignment with said passage before release into said passage;
- at least one opening from said object storage space though said wall that defines said passage, said at least one opening being selectively and fully closed at said wall in a manner that avoids pinch points for a subsequent passing object by at least one door having a periphery that extends across the entire at least one wall opening conforming to the shape and curvature of said at least one wall opening and positioned in said at least one opening adjacent the curvature of said wall after release of the object into said passage.
A device for dropping at least one object into a wellbore, comprising:
- a housing having a longitudinal axis and a passage aligned with a lower end outlet that can be connected to the wellbore;
- a plurality of barrels within said housing, each barrel adapted to retain said object outside said passage, each said barrel having an open lower end that is closed by a lower end of said housing when the barrel is outside said passage and each barrel independently able to swivel with respect to another barrel that can remain stationary for alignment of said lower open end of said barrel with said passage and said lower end outlet of said housing in more than a single order, said alignment removing a closure at said lower end of said barrel previously provided by said lower end of said housing to provide an open path to the wellbore for said object through the lower end outlet of said housing.
A device for dropping at least one object into a wellbore, comprising:
- a housing having a passage that can be connected to the wellbore;
- a plurality of barrels within said housing, each barrel adapted to retain said object outside said passage and each barrel independently movable with respect to another barrel that can remain stationary for alignment with said passage in more than a single order for launching said object through said passage into the wellbore;
- said passage further comprising an obstructing member near an end thereof that allows flow therethrough but prevents said object released from one of said barrels from passing if a pressure surge from the wellbore drives it in a direction going out of the wellbore.
A device for dropping at least one object into a wellbore, comprising:
- a housing having a passage that can be connected to the wellbore;
- a plurality of barrels within said housing, each barrel adapted to retain said object outside said passage and each barrel independently movable with respect to another barrel that can remain stationary for alignment with said passage in more than a single order for launching said object through said passage into the wellbore;
- an operator for moving at least one of said barrels into and out of substantial alignment with said passage;
- said operator comprises a handle that can be stowed substantially within said operator.
A method of dropping a second object from a second device into a wellbore from above a first device that had previously dropped a first object into the wellbore, comprising:
- mounting the second device above the first device to create a common passage defined by a wall;
- dropping said first object through an opening in said wall in said first device into said passage;
- selectively fully closing said opening in said wall in said first device by a door having a periphery that extends across the entire wall opening which conforms to the shape and curvature of said wall opening and positioned in said opening adjacent the curvature of said wall, after release of the first object from said first device into said passage, in a manner that avoids pinch points for a subsequent passing of said second object from said second device, while leaving said passage unobstructed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.