Inflation shape control system for inflatable packers
US5605195A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 11, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 25, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 11, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE21B33/127
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
An inflatable packer used in a well and having a mandrel carrying upper and lower heads, a normally retracted inflatable packer element including an inner elastomer bladder and an outer expansible armor or carcass, the ends of the packer element being anchored to respective heads, and in one embodiment a hydraulically operable system that applies restraining force to the heads which controls the shape and deployment of the packer element during inflation and prevents entrapment of fluid bubbles outside the element and the formation of Z-folds in the bladder. In other embodiments the restraining force is supplied by a stack of disc springs, by frictional engagement between parts, by a shearing action of materials, by swaging a sleeve member, and by axially crushing a sleeve member.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.