Patent ID: 7353868

Claim:
A coupler for connecting a wireline to a perforating gun used in oil wells and natural gas wells that contain a casing of the well hole, comprising (a) a first hollow cylindrical body shaped as a fishing neck at the uphole end and having connection means at the downhole end for connecting to a sub, and having a first external shoulder marking a transition in the downhole direction from a larger external diameter to a smaller external diameter; (b) a bypass belt that is a second hollow cylindrical body mounted coaxially over said smaller external diameter of said first hollow cylindrical body, containing channels through which gas and liquid may flow from the downhole side of the coupler to the uphole side of the coupler, having an outer diameter that is larger than said larger external diameter of said first hollow cylindrical body; (c) a sub that is a third cylindrical body having (i) means for connecting to said first hollow cylindrical body, (ii) means for connecting to a wireline in the uphole direction, (iii) means for connecting to a perforating gun in the downhole direction, and (iv) a second external shoulder in the uphole direction that holds said bypass belt between said second external shoulder and said first external shoulder on said first hollow cylindrical body.