Patent ID: 8752629
Filing Date: 2014-06-17
Classification: E21B,G05D,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A valve assembly for use in a wellbore, comprising: a housing for coupling to a production tubular; a chamber defined within the housing and in fluid communication with an interior of the production tubular and an exterior of the production tubular; a piston and a biasing member disposed within the chamber, the biasing member being adapted to bias the piston into a first position; and first and second flowpaths defined within the housing and providing paths of fluid communication between the interior of the production tubular and the exterior of the production tubular, the first and second flowpaths each having one or more flow restrictions disposed therein for providing a pressure drop across the one or more flow restrictions, wherein the first and second flowpaths each extend from the exterior of the production tubular, around the piston, and converge to a single flowpath proximate the interior of the production tubular when the piston is in the first position, wherein the piston is configured to move from the first position to a second position when a pressure differential between the interior of the production tubular and the exterior of the production tubular exceeds a predetermined amount at least partially in response to the pressure drop from the one or more flow restrictions, and wherein flow from the exterior of the production tubular to the interior of the production tubular through the valve assembly is increasingly restricted as the piston moves from the first position to the second position.