Casing stop collar to mount a well tool

Nov. 20, 1962 J. _E. hall, ?r„ etal 3,065,005

CASING STOP COLLAR TO MOUNT A WET J. TOOL

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ttorney:

Nov. 20, 1962

J. E. HALL, SR., ET AL

3,065,005

CASING STOP COLLAR TO MOUNT A WELL TOOL

Filed July 27, 1959

Sheets-Sheet 2

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Nov. 20, 1962 j. _E. hall, sr., etal 3,065,005

CASING STOP COLLAR TO MOUNT A WELL TOOL

Filed July 27, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 /0'

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United States Patent Office

3,865,005

Patented Nov. 20, 1962

3,065,005

CASING STOP COLLAR TO MOUNT A WELL TOOL Jesse E. Hall, Sr., 1011 W. Spring St, and John A. Hall, 815 S. Jefferson, both of Weatherford, Tex.

Filed July 27,1959, Ser. No. 829,623

Claims. (CL 287—52)

This invention relates to improvements in tool mountings and refers more particularly to pipe gripping devices and stop collar constructions used on the exterior of pipe or casing to locate and mount well tools thereone.

This application is a continuation-in-part of our application Serial No. 438,504, filed June 22, 1954, “Casing Stop Collar To Mount a Well Tool,” issued August 4, 1959, as Patent No. 2,898,136.

In the mounting of well tools, and particularly scratchers, cement baskets and centralizers, it is important to locate the tools at a predetermined position on the casing or pipe. Since the tools must operate within a designated and limited area of the well bore in order to accomplish the results for which they were intended, they must be located properly on the pipe. If it is desired to fixedly attach the tools of the pipe, it has been the usual practice to fasten the tools by welding directly to the exterior surface of the pipe. If it is desired to permit the tools to have a limited longitudinal movement and free rotative movement, it is conventional to weld lugs or stops above and below the tools and in some cases in mounting centralizers to place a stop collar within the device between collars. The mounting of tools by welding is objectionable not only because of the expense of the labor involved and the necessity of having welding equipment available, but also because it is time consuming and tends to weaken and deteriorate the pipe at and adjacent to the welds. By the present invention, there is provided a gripping device which may form an integral part of the tool itself or constitute a separate collar or abutment for mounting the tool at the desired location on the pipe.

An object, therefore, of the present invention is to provide a pipe gripping stop collar construction, which is simple, rugged, inexpensive to manufacture and extremely easy to install by the operators on the job.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction for use as a stop collar which is extremely strong and designed to withstand over long periods of time the abuse to which it is subjected in deep well operations without slipping, destruction or failure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pipe gripping stop collar construction which has great versatility in ways of mounting and attaching to the pipe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pipe gripping stop collar construction which entirely eliminates the necessity of welding operations and insures a satisfactory operational mounting of the collar on the pipe by the use of one or more wedge rings of wire or coil form which are squeezed and jammed between the tapered interior surfaces of a collar and the cylindrical outer surface of the pipe.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear in the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the instant specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith, embodiments of the invention are shown and, in the various views, like numerals are employed to indicate like parts.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first form of the inventive stop collar showing the pipe in section and with parts of the collar broken away revealing the assembly after insertion of the wedge and pusher rings.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the construction of FIG. 1 with parts cut away and in section to show the position of the wedge and pusher rings before insertion of the spreader screw. FIGS. 1 and 2 show the assembly before screwing in of the spreader screw.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 after setting of the spreader screw and with the other side of the casing and collar in section to illustrate the position of the parts without a spreader screw in the immediate vicinity.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the construction of FIGS. 1-3. before insertion of the wedge and pusher rings illustrating the manner of insertion of the latter.

'FIG. 5 is a detail of one of the pusher rings shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a detail of one of the coil-wrapped wedge rings shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a view of a stop collar as in the previous figures wherein a pair of nails extending in the same direction are utilized as spreading means for wedge rings, parts cut away and in section to better illustrate the construction.

FIG. 8 is a view of a construction similar to FIG. 7, with the exception that only a single nail is employed to spread the wedge rings at a given point, nails being driven into the collar in opposite directions, parts cut away and in section to better show the construction.

FIG. 9 is a view taken along the line 9—9 of FIG. 8 in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 10 is a plan sectional view of a stop collar as in the previous figures wherein only a single nail is inserted between the wedge rings at a given point to force them apart, with a plurality of nails employed and with the original nails forced into the collar having sockets at the ends thereof to receive the heads of following nails.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a stop collar as in the previous figures wherein a single enlarged nail is employed to both spread the wedge rings and jam the collar to one side to achieve contact of the wedge rings and collar on the opposite side thereof.

FIG. 12 is a fragmental side sectional view showing a collar as in the previous figures wherein a pair of nails drive apart a pair of wedge rings which do not have coils wrapped therearound.

FIG. 13 is a fragmental side sectional view showing a collar as in the previous figures wherein a single nail deflects a single wedge ring, the nail itself operating to wedge the other direction of motion of the collar.

While the stop collar in the drawings has not been shown in application with any particular tool, such as a scratcher or centralizer, it is contemplated that it may be used as an integral part of a cement basket, a scratcher, or a centralizer or as a separate stop collar mounting with any of the different types of tools which are conventionally mounted on the exterior of pipe or casing in well work.

Referring to the structure shown in FIGS. 1-6, inclusive, there is shown in these figures a stop collar used as an abutment for well tools mounted on a casing or pipe At 10 is indicated the pipe or casing. 11 designates generally a collar arched internally to form a passageway Ila extending circumferentially of the collar and having inner wall surfaces tapered from the midsection of the collar toward the rims. The collar 11 is held fixedly in any preselected location on the pipe by the insertion of wedge rings 12 and pusher wires 14 into the passageway Ila where the wedge rings are squeezed or wedged between the internal tapered surfaces of the collar and the exterior surface of the pipe. The wedge ring assembly in operation is probably best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The wedge rings are designated as a whole (FIG. 6) by the numeral 12 and consists of an open-ended circular core wire 12α surrounded by a helically-wrapped coil of smaller diameter wire 12Z>. Rings 12 are inserted into

3,065,005 the arched passageway 11α within the collar through a slotted aperture 13 shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. After insertion of the wedge rings 12 into the collar, they are separated and moved into preliminary wedging position (FIG. 2) by the insertion of the pusher wires 14, shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 4.

The collar which serves as an abutment for the well tools may be stamped from a hand of heavy sheet metal or machined as shown in the figures from a heavy ring of metal. To facilitate mounting the collar on the pipe, it may be hinged (not shown).

To assemble the construction in FIGS. 1-6, reference to FIG. 4 should be made. In the case of each of the wedge rings 12, one end is inserted in the opening 13 and the collar 11 rotated in the opposite direction as shown by the arrows of FIG. 4. This action is applied also in the case of the pusher rings, although these may have to be inserted into the opening 13 by means of grippers or other devices as they will have, generally speaking, a greater tension on the collar in the position of FIG. 4 so that they may tightly grip the casing 10 when inserted into the collar 11.

To assure proper functioning of the wedge rings 12 within the collar, a spreader member or tapered set screw IS may be screwed radially into internally threaded opening 16 into the collar as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The tapered end of the screw 15 separates the loops of the pusher or spreader wires, thus forcing the pusher wires and wedge rings outwardly to cause the latter to wedge tightly between the tapered inner surfaces of the collar and the exterior of the pipe.

Turning to FIG. 7, there are a number of identical structural features in this figure to that shown in FIGS. 1-6. Such parts are numbered the same as in FIGS 1-6, but primed. Thus casing 10' mounts a collar 11' which is arched internally to form a passageway 11α' and has an aperture or opening 13' substantially centrally thereof and centrally of the arched passageway. Wedge rings identical in construction to those of FIGS. 1-6, inclusive (having coil 126' and wire core 12α'), are received within the passageway, inserted through aperture 13'. Fig. 7 differs from that construction shown before in that a pair of nails 17 and 18, optionally having heads 17α and 17b, have been driven into the aperture 13' and circumferentially of the casing between the wedge rings 12' to force them apart to wedge the collar on the casing. The nails 17 and 18 do not need to have enlarged heads 17α and 17 b, in which case, the heads of the nails may go into the aperture 13' and not protrude therebeyond as shown. The manner of wedging in FIG. 7 is clear from comparing the two sectioned sides of the figure where the side showing the nails wedging the rings 12 apart has the side of the collar further spaced from the casing providing a gap 19 of relatively great size, while the opposite side where the nails do not extend has a relatively minute gap 20 with the wedge rings 12' wedging closely adjacent the center of the passageway. The diameter of the nails 17 and 18 must be sufficient to cause wedging of the rings circumferentially around the collar.

The use of nails in the manner of FIG. 7 and the following figures permits a high-speed wedging apart of the rings 12', to achieve the results of the invention.

In all of the following figures, the casing and collar are identical in construction to those of the preceding described figures and thus they will be numbered the same, but primed as in the case of FIG. 7. They will not be redescribed in each figure’s description. The aperture in the midsection of the collar is identical in each case and will be numbered 13'. In all cases except FIG. 12, the wedge rings are of the same character as shown in FIGS. 1-6 (particularly FIG. 6) and will be numbered 12' generally and their parts numbered 12α' and 126', respectively.

Referring then to FIGS. 8 and 9, these views differ from FIG. 7 in that only one nail is driven into each side of aperture 13', the nails being numbered 21 and 22. The nails are driven circumferentially around the casing between the wedge rings 12', in this instance the nails being driven in opposite directions from one another. Once again, the nails do not necessarily have to have heads 21α and 22α, respectively, and may entirely pass into the aperture 13'. The nails are preferably of sufficient external diameter to cause a continuous wedging of the rings 12' at least substantially circumferentially of the casing. The length of the nails is also preferably sufficiently great to provide considerable wedging contact with the rings around the casing. Referring to FIG. 9, the extension of the nails around the casing 10' may clearly be seen. If nails 21 and 22 are headless, their heads may be driven past the extremities of aperture 13'. This may be accomplished by a pointed tool or another nail which is later withdrawn from the aperture 13'.

FIG. 10 shows a wedging construction wherein a plurality of nails 23, 24 and 25 are serially driven into the cavity 11α' between the wedge rings 12'. In this case, nails 23 and 24 have sockets 23α and 24α in the heads thereof to receive the tip of the following nail. The final nail 25 is shown having a conventional head 25α thereon.

In FIG. 11, there is shown the use of a single, very large diameter nail 26, optionally having head 26α, which, when driven between the wedge rings 12' on one side of the collar, itself wedges in the passageway 11α' so as to operate to jam the collar against longitudinal movement on the casing 10'. On the other side of the casing, the collar 11' is pulled so tightly to the casing 10' that the wedge rings 12' themselves wedge closely to the center of the passageway 11α'. It should be noted, in this case, as in the modification of FIG. 7, a relatively large gap 27 is provided on the nail side, while a relatively small gap 28 is provided on the opposite side of the casing between the casing and the collar rims.

FIG. 12 is identical in all ways with FIG. 7 except for the fact that solid wire wedge rings 12'' are wedged by the two nails 17' and 18'. The solid wire wedge rings may be substituted in all examples of this invention for the coil-wound wedge rings shown in the other views.

In FIG. 13, there is shown a relatively large diameter nail 29 (optionally having head 30) which is of sufficient diameter to (1) sufficiently deflect a single wedge ring 12' to cause it to wedge in one direction and (2) wedge it'self to prevent motion in the other direction. Thus the objects of the invention in this case are provided by the use of but a single peripheral wedge ring and a single spreader member.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with all the other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all materials hereinabove set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.