US2262364A - Cable feeding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 11, `1941.` H. HGEL mL 2,262,364

` CABLE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Figur Patented Nov. 11,l 1941 UNITED. STATE s PATENT OFFICE CABLE FEEDING MECHANTSM` Helmut Hgel, Campina, Rumania, and Clarence R.Dale, Beverly Hills, Calii'., assignors of onchalf to Shell Development Company, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Delaware, and

one-half to Dale Service Corporation, Culver City, Calif., a corporation of California .I

Application February 15, 1940, semi No. 319,088

s claims. (ci. 1661-14) The present invention .relates to oil well tools and pertains more particularly to a device for feeding cable intoa well casing or tubing under y pressure.=

, It is often desirable during the, operation of a flowing well under pressure ,to introduce thereinto on a cable various tools or devices such as Figurel 2 is a vertical sectional view along the Figure 3 is a cross sectional view along the line II'I-III of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view along the line IV-IV of Figure 3. l

pressure or temperature recorders, level indicators, etc. This is generally accomplished by first installing a lubricator, which consists of a pipe nipple placed above the gate valve on the Christ-v mas tree or on theywell head and packer on top of the nipple. 'I'he desired tool is then introduced into the nipple, the packerl closed about the cable, the gate valve opened, and the tool .lowered into the well.

In order to overcome the .well pressure. which p reachessometimesvery high values and tends to force the cable out of the well, itis generally necessary to attach weights ,or "sinkers to the n lower end ofthe cable either below or above the vtool.4 When a wire line or. a small diameter cable is used, tools can be successfully introduced into a Well by this means. kAHowever, when it is necessary or desirable to use a relatively large diameter cable, it is not practical in "most cases to use a sufficient amountof "sinkers to overcome the well pressure and the friction of the packerv on the cable. For example, in a,y wellwith apressure' of 1000 pounds a one-half inch y cable having a cross sectional area of about onefifth of a square inch would have a pressure against it of 2 00 pounds. Added to this would be the frlcton'of the packerV against the calrle which is usually greater than 200 pounds for a 1000 pound pressure in a well. Thus to insert a tool or apparatus Von a one-haltinch cable into a well with `a`l000 pound pressure, enough' Asinkers would have to be attached to the cable to make the total weight of the tool land sinkers more than 400 pounds.

line V--V of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of still'vr another modification.

Briefly, the present invention comprises two parallel sets of vertically arranged wheels within a. housing, means for moving the sets of wheels horizontally. toward each other and thus `for clamping about the cable, and means foi-positively rotating at least one of said wheels. where- -byb the cable Lis forced into the well without the aid of sinkers."

Referring to Figure l1 a preferred embodiment comprises a'housing I fitted between the packer 2 and pipe nipple 3 of a conventional lubricator, thepipe 3 being provided with a gatevalve (not shown in the drawings) below the housing I. The housing generally designated as I may as shownI comprise'an intermediate tubular portion Ia threadably or suitably attached between two bell reducers In. A hydraulic motor 4 supplied with pressure fluid fromthe well through va conduit Bis preferably used as a source of .motive power through a shaft B-to ythe driving mechanism within the housing I, although any other suitable means, such as an electric motor or hand power,'may.be used to rotate the shaft 6.

Referring to Figures 2 to 5 which show` a pre` ferred arrangement of the cablefeeding mech- .anism within the housing I`, a set of driving It is, therefore, the purpose of ...the present inp vention to provide a cable feeding mechanism which eliminates the necessity of using weights or sinkers.

It is a further object tol provide adevice inV which power derived from the well pressure is utilized to `feed the cable into the well.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description Vtaken in reference to the drawings, wherein;

Figure 1 is a sid elevation showing a preferred embodiment of the cable lfeeding mecha' nism and a packer above it.'

`I3 are parallel to etch other and disposed wheels II and a set of pressure wheelsl I2 and either side of the cable I4.

The pressure or -i'dler wheels^i2 and AI3 are carried on a movable yoke I5, which is adapted to move horizontally along the guides Il by meansof a hand .screw I1. The hand screw l1 passes through a threaded opening I8 `in the housing I and packing gland I9 and nut 20 and j terminates in a hand'wheel 2|.` -In a preferredY -arrangement there areA four pressure wheels, of

which the upper and lower ones are guiding rolllers I2 and the intermediate ones are sheaves 55 I3. It is also preferable that the axial pointsof selected that said sheaves I3 come in contact with the cable Il slightly ahead of the roller wheels I2, for a subsequently described purpose. The driving wheels may be pivoted in a fixed Aposition within the housing, as shown, or, if desired, may be. carried by a. horizontally movable yoke fitted with a handscrew and similar to yoke I5. The driving wheels II are preferably sheaves and may be provided with fine teeth, for example, of the order of sz of inch deep and of inch apart, in order to grip the cable more firmly, although in ordinary cases a satisfactory gripping or frictional engagement may be obtained with atfaced wheels orv sheaves. 'I'he terms gripping engagement or frictional engagement are, therefore, used in this specification to describe the action of either the toothed or the flat-faced wheels or sheaves on the cable. In a preferred arrangement, two driving lwheels Il are spaced so that the horizontal plane of the axis of the upper driving wheel II is between the horizontal planes of the axes of the upper two pressure wheels I2 and I3, while the plane of the axis of the lowerwheel II is between that of the axes of the two lower pressure wheels I2 and I3. By this arrangement, and due to the staggered. points of Ycontact of the elements I2 and I3 with the cable, the latter is deflected slightly about the driving wheels II, thus increasing the length of contact of the cable Il with/the driving Wheels II, and improving the grip of said wheels on the cable.

The wheels I I are driven by the spur wheels 2E mounted on the shafts 2'I of the driving wheels I I and actuated by the driving spur wheell 25 mounted on the shaft 6 of the hydraulic motor 4 as shownin Figure 5. The conduit 5 provided with a regulating valve 28 communicates between the motor I and the lower portion of the housing I, whereby the motive` power for rotating the motor 4 is supplied by the well pressure. The

motor 4 may be of any suitable type of hydraulic motor operated by iluid pressure.

It is, however, obvious that the present invention is in no way limited to the above-described preferred embodiment, since excellent results may be obtained with an arrangement involving only one driving wheel and two pressure wheels, or two driving lwheels and one pressure wheel, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, respectively. In some cases, the use of one driving wheel and one pressure wheel or sheave, as shown in Figure 8, gives satisfactory results.

In operation, the gate valve below the housing I is closed, the packer 2 is opened or removed, and the set of pressure wheels I2 and I3 carried by the yoke I5 is moved outward along its guides IS by rotating the hand .screwfII lby means of the hand wheel 2|. The instrument or device which it is desired to introduce into the well is then lowered through the housing and between the sets of wheels and into the pipe nipple 3 below the housing I and above the gate valve at the well head. 'Ihe packer 2 is then closedabout the cable I4. The pressure wheels are moved inward against the cable to force it against the driving wheels II. The gate valve may then be opened and the regulating valve 28 opened, allow- .ing the well pressure through the pipe nipple 3 and the conduit 5. to cause the rotation of the motor l andits shaft 8. The revolution of the shaft 8 causes the rotation of the spur wheel 25 which engages and in tiu'n rotates the spur I3 A and the roller wheels I2 are soplaced and/or wheels 2s and the driving wheels on the shaft 21. By clockwise rotation of the driving wheels II as shown in Figure 2, the cable with the desired device attached to the lower end thereof pressure well casings, a housing in communication with the well, packer means for passing a cable into the well through said housing while maintaining said housing at the well pressure, wheels rotatably supported within the housing, said wheels being in gripping engagement with said cable at dametrically opposite sides thereof, and means to rotate at least one of said wheels whereby the cable is drawn into the well against the pressure therein.

2. In a mechanism for drawing a cable into pressure well casings, a housing in communication with the well, packer means for passing a cable into the well through said housing while maintaining said housing at the Well pressure, wheels rotatably supported within the housing at diametrically opposite sides of said cable, means for moving said wheels horizontally with regard to each other until said cable is frictionally-engaged between said opposite wheels, and means to rotate at least one of said wheels Whereby the `cable is drawn into the well against th pressure therein.

3. Ina mechanism for drawing a cable into pressure well casings, a housing in communication with the well, packer means for passing a cable into the well through said housing while maintaining said housing at the well pressure, at least one driver Wheel rotatably supported within said housing `at one side of said cable, a plurality of pressure wheels rotatably supported within said casing at the diametrically opposite side of said cable, the rotation axes of said driver and said pressure wheels being staggered with regard to each other in a vertical plane, means for moving said opposite wheels horizontally with regard to each other until said cable is frictionally engaged therebetween, and means to rotateat least one driver wheel whereby the cable is drawn into the well against the pressure therein.

4. In a mechanism for drawing a cable into, pressure well casings, a housing in communication with the well, packer means for passing a cable into the well through said housing while maintaining said housing at the well pressure, at least one driver wheel rotatably supported within said housing at one side of said cable, a plurality of pressure wheels of unequal diameter rotatably supported within said casing at the diametrically opposite side of said cable, the rotation axes of said driver and said pressure wheels being staggered with regard to each other in a vertical plane, means for moving said opposite wheels horizontally with regard to each other until said cable is pressed intoa sinuous position by frictional engagement between said staggered driver andpressure wheels, and means to rotate at least one of said driver wheels whereby the cable is' drawn into the well against lthe pressure therein. l

5. In a mechanism for drawing ya cable into pressure well casings, a housing in communication with the well, packer means for passing a y 2,2oa,se4 a y 3 cable into the weil through said housing while maintaining said housing at the well pressure, wheels rotatably supported withinv said housing, said wheels being in gripping engagement with said cable at diametrically opposite sides thereof, a pressure driven motor, a pressure conduit between salti5 motor and the well, and transmission means between said motor and at least one of said -wheelsior rotating said wheels whereby the cable is drawninto the well against the pressure lo therein. 1

6.' In amechanism for drawing acabie into pressure wells,v a housing in communication with the well, packer means for passing th'e cable into the well through said housing while maintaining said housing at the well pressure, a plurality of rotatable friction elements mounted within said housing, said elements being positioned to grip said cable therebetween, and means to rotate at least one of said elements whereby the cable is drawn into the well against the pressure therein.

,HELMUT HGEL. n CLARENCE R.DALE.

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