Source: http://www.patentgenius.com/patent/4821817.html
Timestamp: 2017-12-15 19:59:10
Document Index: 293639144

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 11', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 16', 'art 16', 'art 12', 'art 23', 'art 11', 'art 11', 'art 16', 'art 17', 'art 31', 'art 10', 'arts 31', 'art 31', 'arts 75', 'art 75', 'art 75', 'art 75', 'arts 94', 'arts 95', 'arts 94', 'arts 95', 'art 94', 'art 95', 'art 75', 'art 75', 'art 95', 'art 95', 'art 94', 'art 95']

Actuator for an appliance associated with a ducted body, especially a drill rod - Patent # 4821817 - PatentGenius
Actuator for an appliance associated with a ducted body, especially a drill rod
4821817 Actuator for an appliance associated with a ducted body, especially a drill rod
Inventor: Cendre, et al.
Application: 06/816,042
Inventors: Boulet; Jean (Paris, FR)
Cendre; Andre (Cosne-sur-Loire, FR)
Assignee: SMF International (Cosne-sur-Loire, FR)
U.S. Class: 175/269; 175/317; 175/324; 175/325.4
Field Of Search: 175/324; 175/325; 175/73; 175/76; 175/232; 175/234; 175/317; 175/25; 175/38; 175/269; 175/99
U.S Patent Documents: 2819040; 3220478; 3301337; 3799269; 3799278; 3967680; 3974886; 4216830; 4471843; 4491187
Foreign Patent Documents: 646129; 0056506; 317663; 2267501; 523168; 1108723; 2029873; 2085055; 2077811
Abstract: The device has, inside a duct (11) through which flows an incompressible fluid, a first profiled throttling element (17), a differential piston (10) subjected on one side to the pressure upstream of the profiled element (17) and on the other side to the pressure reduced by the element (17), a profiled surface (18) on the piston on the side subjected to the reduced pressure and a second profiled element (16) which are intended to interact to reduce the passage of fluid as a result of the movement of the piston in a first direction and increase the loss of head substantially, and a spring (15) returning the piston (10) in its second direction of movement. The device can serve particularly for actuating a stabilizer of a set of drill rods. In this case, the differential piston has inclined slopes.
1. A remote controlled actuation device in combination with a body in which the device is positioned, a stabilizer which is actuated by the device, a drill string to which the body issecured and a monitoring device, the stabilizer being operatively connected to both the body and the actuation device, the drill string having a bore of a substantially constant internal diameter that has an incompressible fluid circulating therein in anaxial direction, the drill string bore comprising a first end through which the incompressible fluid is introduced by a pumping means at an adjustable flow rate and a second end which is distant from the first end and wherein the incompressible fluid isused as a working fluid, the actuation device being positioned within a bore in the body, the body bore being substantially coaxial with the drill string bore, comprising:
a differential piston mounted so as to be movable in the axial direction within the body bore, said piston having a tubular shape and a central bore which is substantially coaxial with the body bore and which piston bore comprises successively,in the direction of circulation of the incompressible fluid:
a protruding profiled element secured to the body and disposed coaxially with the differential piston and having a profiled external surface matching the internal surface of the second profiled portion of the piston and facing said secondprofiled portion wherein a maximum outer diameter of the protruding profiled element is sufficiently smaller than an internal diameter of said first and second piston portions so as to leave an annular space through which working fluid continues to flowat all positions of said piston;
at least one bearing blade mounted on an outer periphery of the body so as to be radially movable in relation to the body, wherein the differential piston is mounted in the body bore so as to be movable not only axially, but also rotationallyabout an axis of the body;
longitudinal grooves having bottom surfaces inclined in a radial direction relative to the axis of the drill string, said grooves being provided on an outer surface of the differential piston and arranged in a spaced manner thereon and connectedto one another by connecting grooves to form a continuous actuating surface for a step-by-step rotary movement of the piston and for its return into an initial position; and,
at least one actuating finger mounted in the body so as to be radially movable in relation to the body, and interacting both with the piston actuating surface and the at least one bearing blade, to actuate the at least one bearing blade radiallyoutwardly during a movement of the piston, wherein the actuation device allows for the circulation of the fluid in the drill string bore at a first, operating, flow rate without any movement of the piston, wherein a movement of the piston in thedirection of circulation of the fluid occurs when the fluid circulates at a second, actuation, flow rate greater than said first operating flow rate and wherein an increasing loss of head is caused when the piston moves in the direction of circulation ofthe fluid by a cooperation of the second profiled portion of the piston bore and the profiled external surface of the protruding profiled element, the movement of the piston allowing an actuation of the stabilizer, the movement being stopped after theactuation has been carried out at which point a loss of head and a pressure of the working fluid are at a maximum, but working fluid still flows through said central bore, and wherein the pressure of the fluid is continuously measured thereby allowing aremote monitoring of the movement of the piston.
3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the means comprises a free-wheel mounted in the bore of the body of the stabilization device located around the piston, and wherein the piston is connected in terms of rotation and is free in terms oftranslation in relation to said free-wheel which allows the step-by-step rotary movement of the piston in one direction only.
4. The device according to any one of claims 1, 2, or 3 further comprising an elastic means for returning the at least one blade into a retracted position, said elastic means comprising leaf springs fastened to the body and bearing on an end ofthe at least one blade.
5. The device according to claim 4, further comprising closing pieces which are arranged above the leaf springs towards an outer surface of the body to ensure that the at least one blade is guided and maintained within slots provided in theouter surface of the body.
6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the stabilizer includes three blades spaced around the outer periphery of the body, and wherein two actuating fingers are associated with each of said three blades, the fingers being each maintained incontact with the actuating surface of the piston, wherein the sets of fingers are circumferentially spaced from one another.
7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the loss of head, caused when the piston moves in relation to the protruding profiled element, is caused by cooperating surfaces on the piston and the profiled element, wherein the profiled element isneedle shaped, and wherein an axis of revolution of said profiled element is coaxial with an axis of the drill string.
a piston movably mounted in said bore of said body and actuated by a flow of working fluid through said body bore, said piston being tubular in shape and having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough which piston bore is coaxial with saidbody bore, said piston bore including an orifice portion said piston also having on its outer surface a plurality of longitudinal grooves whose bottom surfaces are inclined in a radial direction relative to a longitudinal axis of said body and areconnected to one another so as to form a continuous actuating surface for a step by step rotary movement of said piston;
a flow restrictor element secured in said body bore and disposed coaxially with said piston, said element having a tapered external surface which has a maximum outer diameter and a minimum outer diameter, said tapered external surface beingadapted to cooperate with said piston bore to limit a flow of fluid therethrough, wherein the maximum outer diameter of said flow restrictor element is sufficiently smaller than a minimum internal diameter of said piston bore so as to leave an annularspace through which working fluid continues to flow at all positions of said piston;
at least one actuating finger slidably mounted in lateral holes in said tubular body so as to be radially movable in said body as said at least one finger interacts with said bearing blade and said piston, said holes in said body being locatedradially inwardly of said at least one bearing blade and radially outwardly of said piston.
Description: The invention relates, in general terms, to a device for the remote actuation of an applianceassociated with a duct, in which circulates an incompressible fluid, and more particularly to a device for actuating a stabilizer of a set of drill rods.
In exploration and extraction of hydrocarbons, the tools used have to generate high powers to carry out operations, such as drilling, and are located at the bottom of a hole at a very great distance from the place at the surface where there arethe means of controlling and generating the energy required for operating the tools. These hole-bottom tools are usually supplied with incompressible fluid, such as a drilling mud, by means of a duct of very great length, one end of which is located atthe surface and the other end of which is at the bottom of the hole, and which makes it possible to supply the tool with drilling mud. The end of the duct located at the surface is connected to a pumping installation which makes it possible to introducepressurized drilling mud into the duct at a particular virtually constant rate during the operation of the tool.
Some appliances associated with the duct or with the drill rod and located at a very great distance from the surface have to be remote-controlled and monitored by telemetering devices. This applies, for example, to devices making it possible toorient the drilling tool and monitor its path where inclined wells are concerned.
To correct the path of the well during its advance, in order to control its direction perfectly, the use of stabilization devices or stabilizers is known, these being connected to the set of rods, usually in its part adjacent to the tool. Suchstabilizer devices comprise a body connected to the set of rods and one or more blades capable of moving in a radial direction relative to the axis of the set of rods. A control means makes it possible to extract the blades towards the outside of thestabilizer body, to vary the bearing distance between the axis of the set of rods and the edges of the drilled hole. By means of these bearing blades, it is possible, depending on circumstances (vertical drilling, inclined drilling of constant directionor with a change of drilling direction), to modify in the desired way the radial forces exerted on the set of rods and consequently on the tool during drilling.
In general terms, there has not yet been known a device which is simple and perfectly reliable to operate and which makes it possible to actuate remotely an appliance associated with a duct, in which a fluid under pressure circulates, and controlthe operation of this appliance, while at the same time remaining compatible with the associated telemetering devices arrange near the appliance.
The object of the invention is to propose a device for the remote actuation of an appliance associated with a duct, having a first end via which an incompressible fluid is conveyed by pumping means at a specific operating rate, and a second endwhich is distant from the first end at which the incompressible fluid is used, for example, as a working fluid, the actuation device having a simple structure and being reliable to operate and capable of being employed without the use of an energy sourceother than that supplied by the incompressible fluid and without actuation elements outside the duct, the operation of the actuation device being controllable.
a differential piston mounted so as to be movable in the axial direction within the duct and subjected on one side to the pressure of the fluid upstream of the first throttling element and on the other side to the fluid pressure reduced by thefirst profiled throttling element,
a profiled surface provided on the piston and a second profiled throttling element integral with the duct, which are intended to interact to limit the fluid passage and increase the loss of head substantially on either side of the piston duringthe movement of the latter in a first direction of movement,
When the duct is a set of hollow rods of a controlled-path drilling device carrying a drilling tool fastened to one of its ends, the appliance actuated by the piston being a stabilizing device comprising a body connected to the set of rods and atleast one bearing blade mounted so as to be radially movable in the body, the piston of the actuation device is mounted in the central bore of the body so as to be movable not only in terms of translation, but also in terms of rotation about the axis ofthe set of rods, and it has on its outer lateral surface longitudinal slopes which are inclined in a radial direction relative to the axis of the rods and are arranged one after the other along the periphery of the piston and which are connected to oneanother to form a continuous actuation surface by means of matching guide parts for the step-by-step rotational movement of the piston and for its return into its initial position, at least one actuating finger, mounted in the body so as to be radiallymovable, interacting with the continuous actuation surface on the one hand and with the blade on the other hand, to extract the latter radially during the movement of the piston in a first direction of movement which is accompanied by a greatly increasedloss of head in the circulating drilling fluid at the end of the actuating movement of the piston.
To make the invention easy to understand, several embodiments of an actuation device according to the invention, used in the drilling of oil-wells and the extraction of oil, will now be described as non-limiting examples, with reference to theattached Figures.
FIG. 1 shows a drilling installation comprising a set of rods 1 carrying the drilling tool 2 at its lower end. The tool 2 has been shown inits working position at the bottom of the hole 3. The set of hollow rods 1 forms a duct of great length, one end of which is connected to the hole-bottom tool 2 and of which the other end located at the surface is connected to a duct 4 allowing drillingmud to be injected at high pressure and at a constant rate into the inner space of the rods 1. For this purpose, the duct 4 is connected to a pumping installation 5, on which a measuring device 6 makes it possible to determine the pumping pressureaccurately. The drilling mud descends in the set of rods, supplies the tool 2 at the bottom of the hole and rises to the surface again via the hole 3 outside the set of rods 1. An appliance 7 for orienting the tool 2 and a telemetry unit 8 areassociated with the set of rods 1 above the part where the tool 2 is joined to the set of rods. The pressurized drilling mud is used as a working fluid for the drilling tool 2.
FIG. 1a shows an embodiment of an actuation device according to the invention, making it possible to operate remotely an appliance, such as the appliance 7 for orienting a drilling tool, by supplying it with the requisite driving power. Thisdevice is arranged in a part 11 of the duct of great length formed by the set of rods. This part 11 can itself consist of a connection piece between the rods, an end part of a rod or a part of the appliance 7 which can be connected to the set of rods. This hollow part 11 receives, in its central bore 12, the stream of drilling mud which circulates in the direction of the arrows 13 to arrive at the tool 2 at the bottom of the hole. The bore 12 in the part 11 of the set of rods has a widened portion12a, inside which the actuation device is mounted. This device comprises a differential piston 10 of tubular profiled shape, a return spring 15 and a profiled element 16 arranged axially in the duct 11.
The inner bore of the piston 10 comprises two successive portions in the direction 13 of circulation of the drilling mud, namely a first profiled portion 17 forming a diaphragm introducing a loss of head into the duct, and a second profiledportion 18 of frustoconical shape, having a throttling portion 18a at its end and connected to the diaphragm 17 by means of an annular surface. This prOfiled surface 18 can also be of cylindrical shape. The profiled element 16 or needle comprises acone-shaped front part 16a and a rear part 16b allowing it to be fastened inside the duct 11 by means of spacers 20. The needle is perforated with a central bore 19. In other alternative embodiments of the device, this needle 16 can be made without anycentral perforation.
The piston 10 is mounted in a sealed manner, by means of a set of O-ring gaskets 22, in the part 12a of the bore of the duct forming the chamber of the piston 10. In its front part, the piston 10 is extended in the form of a guide part 23mounted so as to slide and be guided perfectly within orifices machined in the part 11 of the duct. Other mechanical connections can be made between the part 11 of the duct and the piston 10. The piston 10 is returned into its forward position, asshown in FIG. 1a, by a spring 15, the force of which is intended to keep the piston in this forward position, when the drilling mud circulates in the duct at its normal rate or at an operating rate below the control rate of the actuation device.
The shape of the profiled front part 16a of the element 16 is designed to interact with the profile 18 of the piston, to generate a substantial loss of head in the circulation of the drilling mud, when the piston moves towards the rear, that isto say from left to right in FIG. 1a. This loss of head attributed to the interaction of the profiled elements 16 and 18 increases the total loss of head of the device considerably and very quickly.
FIG. 2 shows an operating graph for the device shown in FIG. 1, the time being plotted on the abscissa and the flowrate Q of the drilling mud, the loss of head .DELTA.P through the actuation device and the stroke of the differential piston 10being plotted on the ordinate. The variation in time of the flowrate Q during an operating cycle of the actuation device has been represented by the curve 25 indicated by broken lines, the variation in loss of head .DELTA.P by the curve 26 indicated byunbroken lines and the variation in the Stroke C of the piston 10 by the curve indicated by dot-and-dash lines 27.
To use the actuation device, the flowrate of the drilling mud is increased progressively during the first period T.sub.A of the actuating cycle, to bring this flow rate from the value 0 or QS to a value Q.sub.ACT or actuating rate. At the end ofthis part of the cycle, the loss of head in the profiled front part 17 of the piston 10 reaches a value .DELTA.Pa which is such that the excess pressure on the front face of the piston generates a force which begins to exceed the return force of thespring. The piston then moves to the rear to execute a stroke C1, the flowrate being maintained at the value Q.sub.ACT. The loss of head increases slowly from the value .DELTA.Pa to the value .DELTA.Pb as a result of a slow reduction in the outletcross-section of the piston 10 during the second phase B of the operating cycle. The stroke C1 of the piston 10 has then brought its profile 18 opposite the profile 16a of the needle 16. The loss of head .DELTA.P increases very quickly and the pistonmoves to the rear at an increased speed during the phase C of the operating cycle. The flowrate is maintained at the value Q.sub.ACT by means of the pumping installation 5, the movement of the piston is self-maintained as a result of the increase in theloss of head, and the piston 10 moves until it comes up against the rear part of its chamber 12a by executing the stroke C2. The loss of head then changes from the value .DELTA.Pb to its maximum value .DELTA.Pm. This increase in the loss of head isconsiderably greater than that which could be obtained by means of an increase in the flowrate in a diaphragm with a constant aperture.
At the same time or independently, the excess pressure .DELTA.P of the drilling mud, sampled by means of ducts 24 in front of the piston 10, can also be used to actuate a hydraulic receiving means of the appliance 7. If, during the manoeuvre ofthe appliance 7, at the constant rate Q.sub.ACT the force exerted by the piston 10 becomes insufficient to continue carrying out the manoeuvre, the loss of head no longer increases. A plateau at a value of .DELTA.Pi is recorded. It is then sufficientto bring the flowrate to a value Q'.sub.ACT higher than Q.sub.ACT to end the manoevre of the appliance 7. The maximum loss of head occurs at a value .DELTA.'Pm. The flow rate can subsequently be returned to and maintained at the value Q.sub.ACT whichis sufficient to keep the piston 10 in the rear position.
As long as the flowrate is maintained at the value Q.sub.ACT, the differential piston 10 remains in its rear position and the loss of head .DELTA.P remains at its maximum value.
The piston is returned to its forward position shown in FIG. 1a by progressively reducing the flowrate to bring it down to the value 0 (phase E). The tool 2 can subsequently be operated by increasing the flow rate to the value of the operatingrate Q.sub.S, and with the appliance associated with the actuation device being in the new position.
During the entire operating cycle, the flowrate is increased to and maintained at Q.sub.ACT by means of the pumping installation 5, and the variations in pumping pressure .DELTA.P are detected and recorded by the measuring instrument 6. Both thecontrol and the monitoring of the operating cycle are therefore carried out without difficulty from the surface, without using a remote-control device. In particular, it is easy to detect and record a stop of the piston before the end of the manoeuvre,this producing a pressure plateau. In this case, the manoeuvre is continued by increasing the flowrate to a sufficient value to release the appliance. The pumping means 5 must therefore make it possible to increase the flow rate to values higher thanQ.sub.ACT, where required. In general, during the entire operating cycle of the device, recording the excess pressure corresponding to the loss of head .DELTA.P as a function of time makes it possible to ascertain the position of the piston 10 andtherefore monitor the actuation of the device. A recorder recording the pressure as a function of time is therefore associated with the measuring device 6.
To obtain a return of the piston to its initial position after the appliance has been actuated, it may only be necessary to reduce the pumping rate to a non-zero value below Q.sub.S. The tool 2 can subsequently be operated by increasing thisrate again to the value Q.sub.S.
In FIG. 1b, it can be seen that the piston 10 this time consists of a solid piece having a profiled part 31 intended for interacting with a profiled element 30 machined on the inner surface of the duct 11. This element 30 performs the functionof both the diaphragm 17 and the needle 16 of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1a. The piston 10 has a cylindrical part 10a provided with a O-ring gasket mounted so as to be movable within a chamber provided in a cylinder 35 mounted in the axis of theduct 11. The chamber of the piston 10 receives a hydraulic fluid at one of its ends by means of conduits 34 communicating at their other end with an annular chamber 33 coaxial relative to the duct and closed by means of a flexible cylindrical diaphragm32. The hydraulic fluid acting in the piston chamber and in contact with its front face is in pressure equilibrium with the drilling mud upstream of the actuation device. In contrast to this, the rear face of the piston is in contact with the drillingmud at a pressure reduced by the amount of the loss of head introduced by means of the profiled element 30.
The device operates in a practically identical way to the device illustrated in FIG. 1a, the loss of head .DELTA.P introduced by means of the element 30 becoming, as soon as the flowrate reaches the value Q.sub.ACT, sufficient for the piston tomove in the direction of flow (arrow 13). The interaction between the parts 31 of the piston and of the element 30 then increases the loss of head, so that the piston moves into its end position.
FIG. 1c shows an embodiment of the device which associates elements identical to those of the device of FIG. 1b, but in a different arrangement. The cylinder 35 and the chamber of the piston 10 are oriented in the opposite direction in relationto the circulation of the drilling mud (arrow 13). A closed circuit comprising the annular chamber 33, the ducts 34 and the chamber of the piston 10 contains a hydraulic fluid completely isolated from the drilling mud, and the profiled element 30 of theduct introduces a loss of head which makes it possible to start the movement of the piston when the flowrate reaches the value Q.sub.ACT. The profiled part 31 of the piston then interacts with the element 30 which performs the function both of thediaphragm 17 and of the needle 16 of the embodiment of FIG. 1a.
As before, the excess pressure .DELTA.P is recovered by means of ducts 24 for actuating the appliance 7.
As soon as the flowrate reaches the value Q.sub.ACT, the piston moves to the rear and the profile 18 closes the deformable element 36, at the same time increasing the loss of head, with the result that the piston 10 moves into its end position upagainst the rear stop.
FIG. 3 shows a drilling installation comprising a set of drill rods 51 carrying at its lower end a drilling tool 52 and connected at itS other end, by means of a duct 54, to a pumping installation 55 which makes it possible to inject drilling mudthrough the interior of the set of rods 51 to the tool 52 in its working position at the bottom of the hole 53.
FIG. 4 shows a stabilization device deSignated as a whole by reference numeral 57, which comprises a body 60 of general tubular shape having tapped ends 61a and 61b making it possible to join the stabilizer 57 to the set of rods or to the tool bymeans of threaded connections, such as 59. When the stabilizer is connected to the set of rods, the axis 62 of the bore 63 of the body 60 is identical to the axis of the set of rods. The drilling mud circulates in the set of rods and the stabilizeraxially in the direction of the arrow 64.
As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the body 60 has, on its peripheral surface, indentations 65 to allow the drilling mud to pass outside the stabilizer when it returns to the surface within the hole 53. The body 60 also has slots 66 serving foraccommodating the bearing blades 68. The stabilizer illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 has three bearing blades 68 arranged in orifices 66 placed at 120.degree. round the body of the stabilizer. Leaf springs 71, one end of which is fastened to the body 60by means of screws, bear by means of their other end on the end parts of the blades 68, so as to keep them in the position retracted in the radial direction, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Closing pieces 72 mounted in the end parts of the orifices 66outside the leaf springs 71 make it possible to guide the blades 68 in their radial direction of movement. A play is reserved for assembly between the leaf spring 71 and the closing piece 72, to allow a certain movement of the bearing blade in theradial direction between its position of complete retraction, shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and a position of extraction or extension of the bearing blade 68 under the effect of a pair of actuating fingers 69 mounted so as to be movable in the radial directionwithin the body 60. Each of the fingers 69 is mounted movably and in a sealed manner in the body 60 by means of an O-ring gasket 70.
Mounted inside the bore 63 of the body 60 is a tubular piston 75 which, to make it possible to mount it, has two parts 75a and 75b joined to one another in a sealed manner by means of a thread 76 and a gasket 77. The piston 75 is mounted so asto slide in the bore 63 by means of a part of its peripheral surface and two O-ring gaskeS 78 arranged at itS ends.
Located at the end of the part 75b of the piston, within the part 75a of this piston, is a ball thrust-bearing 80, against which the end of a helical spring 81 comes to rest, the other end of the latter bearing on a stop 82 fastened to the body60 inside the bore 63. A profiled annular piece 84 is also mounted inside the part 75b of the piston 75 at its end corresponding to the inflow of the drilling fluid circulating in the direction of the arrow 64.
A second profiled piece 85 or needle is arranged inside the body 60 in the axis 62 of the bore 63 of this 60. The needle 85 is fastened in this body 60 by means of an annular supporting piece 86 having radial spacers 87 for fastening the needle85.
The drilling fluid circulating in the direction of the arrow 64 experiences a loss of head as a function of its flowrate, when it penetrates inside the piston 75 via the profiled inlet 84. At a certain flowrate, called the actuation rate, thepressure difference on either side of the piston 75 becomes sufficient to exert a force greater than the force of the spring 81 on this piston, with the result that the piston 75 starts to move axially in the direction of the arrow 64. The inner profileof the piece 84 interacts with the outer profile of the needle 85 to reduce the passage cross-section of the fluid progressively and increase the loss of head in proportion. At the end of the movement of the piston, the loss of head becomes very greatand corresponds to a value which can easily be detected at the pumping installation by means of the pressure-measuring device 56 associated with this pumping installation 55. Thus, the movement of the piston 75 is controlled by the flowrate of thepumping fluid and iS monitored perfectly from the surface by means of a pressure measurement.
Machined on the outer lateral surface of the piston 75 are actuating slopes forming two sets 90 and 91 spaced longitudinally from one another on the piston 75 and each interacting with an assembly of three actuating fingers 69 located at one ofthe ends of the blades 68.
The slopes 90 and 91 are inclined in the same sense in the radial direction in relation to the axis 62 common to the piston 75 and to tne bore 63. This inclination makes it possible to move the blades radially during the axial movement of thepiston in the direction of the arrow 64.
By reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, it will be seen that successive inclined slopes 90a, 90b, 90c are arranged one after the other on the piston 75 over its periphery. A complete cycle of movement of a blade 68 is obtained by means of the threesuccessive inclined slopes 90a, 90b and 90c, of which the machining depths at their ends and from the outside diameter of the piston 75 are indicated (in 10.sup.-3 m) in FIG. 6. Each of the fingers 69 is maintained, via the springs 71 of thecorresponding blade 68, in contact with the bottom of a slope 90 by means of an end part machined in the form of a spherical bearing surface.
As can be seen in FIG. 6, the movement of the piston in the direction of the arrow 93 makes it possible to shift the end of the finger 69 from the level -11 to a level -6 as a result of the interaction of this finger 69 with the slope 90a. Inthe same way, the slope 90b makes it possible to shift the finger from the level -6 to the level -4.5. These two movements along the slopes 90a and 90b are therefore accompanied by a radial movement of the fingers 69 towards the outside of the body 70and therefore by an outward movement of the blades 68. In fact, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the distribution of the slopes over the periphery of the piston 75 is such that, at each moment, all the fingers 69 come in contact with a set of identical slopes,and the movements of these fingers in the radial direction are therefore identical at every moment. The slope 90c corresponds to a shift of the fingers 69 from the level -4.5 to the level -11, and this corresponds to a return of the fingers 69 to theirinitial position and a return of the blades 68 to their retracted position.
Thus, each of the three fingers 69 of the assembly shown in FIG. 5 executes a complete cycle of movement with three slopes 90a, 90b and 90c. The total number of slopes constituting the assembly 90 is therefore 3.times.3=9.
It can be seen from FIGS. 5 and 6 that the slopes 90a, 90b and 90c are connected to one another by means of curved parts 94 and by means of straight parts 95 of constant level, to form a continuous actuating surface 96 arranged on the peripheryof the piston 75. The curved parts 94 joining the end of the slopes 90 to the end of the straight parts 95 make it possible to rotate the piston 75 step by step in the direction of the arrow 98 as a result of the interaction of the end of the finger 69with the curved part 94, at the end of the movement of the piston 75 in one direction or the other. Each of the steps corresponds to the angular distance between the slope 90 and the adjacent plane part 95, that is to say 360.degree./18=20.degree..
The step-by-step rotary movement of the piston can occur only in the direction of the arrow 98, a free-wheel 100 (FIG. 4) being mounted in the bore 63 of the body 60 round the part 75b of the piston 75. The piston is made integral in terms ofrotation with this free-wheel by means of a key engaged in a longitudinal keyway 101 machined on the part 75b of the piston. The piston 75 can thus move longitudinally relative to the free-wheel 100 to execute its to-and-fro movements under the actionof the fluid and under the action of the spring 81.
Thus, each of the longitudinal movements of the piston in the direction of the arrow 64 as a result of the action of the circulating drilling fluid results in a radial movement of the blades in the extraction direction (two successive steps) andin the retraction direction (one step of longitudinal movement). Because the steps of longitudinal movement of the piston are recorded at the surface, the exact position of the blades is ascertained, thus making it possible to monitor the stabilizervery effectively. This recording of the steps in the way indicated is extremely easy, because the end of each of the drive movements of the piston in the longitudinal direction results in a sharp increase in the pumping pressure.
With blades in their retracted position, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a flow at least equal to the actuation rate of the device is conveyed into the set of rods, thus causing a movement of the piston and an automatic and progressive increase in theloss of head, until the piston reaches its end position, the loss of head then being at the maximum. Recording the pressure from the surface makes it possible to determine the end of a step of movement of the piston. If the blades are extracted asufficient amount, the device is automatically maintained in position as long as the feed flow of drilling fluid is not cancelled. If an additional step is to be executed to extract the blades an additional amount, the feed flow of drilling fluid iscancelled and the piston returns into its initial position as a result of the action of the spring 81. Meanwhile, a rotation of the piston through 20.degree. has allowed the finger 69 to be positioned on a plane part 95 of the actuating surface 96. Atthe end of the plane part 95, the curved part 94 of the actuating surface 96 allows the piston to rotate 20.degree. again in the desired direction by means of the free-wheel 100, so that the finger 69 is in alignment with the following slope 90b. As aresult of an increase in the flowrate of the drilling fluid up to the value of the actuation rate, the piston 75 is moved in the direction of the arrow 93, the fingers 69 and the blades 68 being moved an additional step outwards and in the radialdirection. It is obvious that the system can be returned to the initial state as a result of successive passes of the fingers 69 over the plane part 95 at the level -4.5 and over the slope 90c.
The main advantages of the actuation device according to the invention are evident in the description which has just been given: this actuation device does not require any remote-control means, because it is operated and monitored by using thepumping and measuring means normally associated with the duct of great length; this actuation device is particularly simple and has a high operating reliability; it is manoeuvred by means of very simple operations which can easily be monitored; there isno need to use any element in addition to those located in the duct at the time when it is installed.
If the actuation device is used to control a stabilization device, the successive movements of the bearing blades in one direction or other are monitored perfectly and take place under very good conditions of stability. On the other hand, thedevice is of relatively low overall size, in spite of its many possibilities.
Thus, the piston and the profiled elements associated with it can have a different form from those described. The first profiled element can be associated with the piston or, on the contrary, independent of this piston. This first profiledelement can be separate from or merged with the second profiled element. The form of these profiled elements can be different from the forms described. These forms are intended to ensure that the pressure/time graph and the maximum loss of head Pmcorrespond to the operating conditions of the appliance with which the actuation device is associated.
The operating cycle of the tool can differ from that described, and in particular the phase preceding the rapid movement of the piston corresponding to a sharp increase in the loss of head can be accompanied by an extremely low loss of head, thusmaking it possible to separate the inactive phase distinctly from the active phase of the appliance.
Where a device actuating a stabilizer is concerned, the number of different successive slopes forming a set of slopes can be different from three, if a movement with a series of steps less than or more than three is to be executed. It ispossible to use less than three blades and, if appropriate, a single bearing blade on the stabilizer, either associated with other fixed blades or not, or on the contrary use a number of blades greater than three. Blades arranged in the direction of theaxis of the set of rods or blades inclined relative to this axis can be used.
In general terms, the actuated appliance can consist not only of devices orienting a drilling tool or devices stabilizing a set of rods, but also of devices for perforating a casing or for inflating sealing diaphragms in a well or a bore-hole,using the excess pressure attributed to the loss of head. The actuation device according to the invention can be used for any appliance employed in the drilling of oil wells or the extraction of oil or in other sectors, in which ducts of great lengthwhich are inaccessible or accessible only with great difficulty are used, to distribute an incompressible fluid. The invention is used particularly in the distribution of water or in irrigation, the appliance associated with the duct then being amulti-way valve making it possible to transfer the distributed water from one duct to another. This operation is carried out very simply by increasing the flowrate of the water to a level higher than the operating rate, then reducing this flowrate to avery low level or to zero, subsequently increasing it again to the level corresponding to the operating rate. The reverse operation can, of course, be carried out subsequently by increasing the flowrate again beyond the operating rate up to theactuation value.
In very general terms, the invention is used in all cases where a fluid is used as a working fluid in ducts of great length at least partially inaccessible, and also in all cases where fluid is distributed via ducts of great length havinginaccessible parts.
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