Patent ID: 7373973

Claim:
Apparatus for use in a welibore, comprising: a mandrel, a packer sealing element carried on the mandrel, the sealing element being radially expandable from a first run in diameter to a second set diameter in response to application of axial force on the sealing element, a backup shoe carried on the mandrel proximate the sealing element, the backup shoe comprising a plurality of segments, adapted to couple axial force to the sealing element, and adapted to expand radially to the second diameter, and an extrusion limiting assembly for resisting extrusion of the sealing element though gaps between segments of the backup shoe comprising; a first split cone extrusion limiter comprising two half cones carried on the mandrel between the backup shoe and the packer sealing element, and a solid retaining ring carried on the mandrel between the split cone extrusion limiter and the packer sealing element, wherein the solid retaining ring comprises a first section that has an essentially flat disk shape, a second section that is adjacent to the first section and has a conical shape, and a third section that is adjacent to the second section and is essentially cylindrical.