Activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole tool

Abstract

An activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole tool in a drill string and which is intended to be housed in a portion of the drill string upstream of the downhole tool, in which: the activating mechanism has a first mode in which it allows through-flow of drilling fluid to the downhole tool and a second mode in which through-flow of fluid is blocked; and the activating mechanism has a number of through-flow ports permitting through-flow of drilling fluid in said first mode of the mechanism and which are capable of being blocked by launching a number of flow blocking activator balls down the drill string and which each are of such size and shape that they can block access to said through-flow ports in order to activate the mechanism to the second mode and thereby adjust the downhole tool from one mode of operation to another.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole underreamer tool in a drill string and which is intended to be housed in a portion of the drill string upstream of the downhole underreamer tool, in which:
 (a) the activating mechanism has a first mode in which it allows through-flow of drilling fluid to the downhole underreamer tool in an operative condition and a second mode in which through-flow of fluid is blocked in an inoperative condition; 
 (b) the activating mechanism has a number of through-flow ports permitting through-flow of drilling fluid in said first mode of the mechanism and which are capable of being blocked by launching a number of flow blocking activator balls down the drill string and which each are of such size and shape that they can block access to said through-flow ports in order to activate the mechanism to the second mode and thereby adjust the downhole underreamer tool from one mode of operation to another; and 
 (c) the inoperative condition is obtained when the reamer blades are in a withdrawn position relative to the body of the tool, and in the operative condition the reamer blades are in a radially projected position relative to the axis of the drill string so as to be engageable with the surrounding formation. 
 
     
     
       2. A mechanism taking the form of a ball-activated tool for use in a drill string in order to activate a related hydraulically operated device and which comprises:
 a hollow main body adapted for mounting in a drill string and through which fluid can flow when the tool is a in a de-activated mode;   a tubular collet slidably mounted in the main body for movement between a retained inactive position and a released position corresponding respectively to the deactivated mode of the tool and an activated mode;   a ball-receiving seat coupled with the collet and arranged to receive an activating ball launched from the surface and down the drill string to activate the tool;   spring means arranged in the main body to maintain the collet in the retained position;   a retainer arranged in the main body to engage with and to retain the tubular collet in the inactive position, and to release the collet when the tool is activated;   an activating sleeve coupled with the collet for movement therewith to an activating position of engagement with a stop on the main body;   a first by-pass port provided in die collet and communicable internally with the interior of the collet and externally with the space defined between the outer surface of the collet and the inner surface of the main body when the tool is activated; and   a second by-pass port provided in the activating sleeve and communicable externally with the space defined between the outer surface of the sleeve and the inner surface of the main body, and internally with the interior of the sleeve, when the sleeve reaches its activating position;   whereby, upon engagement of the activating ball with the seat to activate the tool, the following sequence takes place:   a. fluid pressure builds-up upstream of the seat;   b. subsequent release of the collet by the retainer;   c. movement of the collet, the ball and the seat, and the activating sleeve until the sleeve reaches its activating position of engagement with stop; and   d. by-pass flow of fluid around the ball and valve seat via the first and second by-pass ports so that pressurised fluid can flow via the main body to activate the related hydraulically operated device.   
     
     
       3. A mechanism according to  claim 2 , in which the activating sleeve is engageable with a shoulder provided internally of the main body to form said stop. 
     
     
       4. A mechanism according to  claim 2 , in which the collet is coupled with the activating sleeve for movement therewith via said valve seat. 
     
     
       5. A mechanism according to  claim 2 , in which the main body includes a top sub in which the tool is incorporated, and a bottom sub in which a tool, is mounted. 
     
     
       6. A mechanism according to  claim 2 , in which the ball-activated tool is capable of being activated by launching a single large non-deformable ball down the drill string to engage the seat dedicated to the large ball. 
     
     
       7. A mechanism according to  claim 2 , in which the ball activated tool is capable of being activated by launching a cluster of small hard non deformable balls down the drill string to engage a seat which is provided with a number of ports each dedicated to be engaged by a respective one of the small balls. 
     
     
       8. A ball-activated by-pass tool for use in a drilling operation, and which is insertable into a drill string and which is operative in a first operating mode to allow through-flow passage of fluid to lubricate and cool a drilling bit arranged downstream of the by-pass tool, and in a second operating mode to allow by-pass flow of fluid, and said tool comprising:
 a tubular casing defining a through-flow passage to allow fluid to flow lengthwise of the tool between inlet and outlet ends of the casing and each being communicable with the drill string; 
 a transverse by-pass port in the wall of the casing; 
 a control sleeve mounted in the casing for axial movement between first and second end positions corresponding to the first and second operating modes of the tool; 
 means biasing the control sleeve towards the first end position so as to block communication with the by-pass port and allow through-flow passage of fluid in the first operating mode; 
 a ball-receiving seat provided in the tool to receive a first deformable activating ball to be launched down the drill-string when it is required to adjust the tool from its first operating mode to its second operating mode, said seat being operative when it receives the activating ball to move the sleeve from its first end position to its second end position against the action of the biasing means, and in which the first activating ball is deformable by the action of a second de-activating ball launched down the drill string so that the first ball can move lengthwise of the tool and thereby allow the sleeve to move back to its first end position under the action of the biasing means when it is required to adjust the tool from its second operating mode to its first operating mode; and 
 at least one by-pass seat port provided in the ball-receiving seal and which is operative to permit limited flow of fluid through the sleeve when the latter is in its second end position,
 wherein the control sleeve has a side port which is communicable with the by-pass port in the wall of the casing, when the tool is in its second operating mode. 
 
 
     
     
       9. A tool according to  claim 8 , in which the control sleeve has a side port which is communicable with the by-pass port in the wall of the casing, when the tool is in its second operating mode. 
     
     
       10. A tool according to  claim 8 , including a third type of ball for use, in addition to the second de-activating ball when it is required to revert the tool back to its first operating mode from its second operating mode. 
     
     
       11. A tool according to  claim 10 , in which a set of circumferentially spaced slots are formed in the ball seat, to form said seat port, and a cluster of said third type of balls is provided to be launched from the surface, to close-off at least a major part of access to said slots. 
     
     
       12. A tool according to  claim 8 , in which a ball catcher device is arranged downstream of the ball receiving seat, to catch at least said first activation ball and optionally said second de-activating ball. 
     
     
       13. An activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole tool and which comprises:
 a hollow main body adapted for mounting in a drill-string and through which fluid to the tool can be routed;   an actuating sleeve defining a through-flow passage and slidably mounted in the main body for movement between positions corresponding to a through-flow mode and a by-pass mode of the mechanism;   biasing means acting on the sleeve to urge it to its position corresponding to the through-flow mode of the mechanism;   a seat providing access to said passage in the through-flow mode of the mechanism; and   a deformable activator capable of being launched down the drill-string to engage the seat and thereby cause pressure upstream of the seat to increase so that the deformable activator moves the sleeve to its position corresponding to the by-pass mode of the mechanism;   in which the deformable activator and the seat are arranged to co-operate with each other, when the deformable activator engages the seat, in such a way that restricted flow of fluid through the sleeve is maintained when the mechanism is in its by-pass mode;   the deformable activator being a deformable dart comprising:
 a dart body having a outer side surface portion with a circumferential groove in the side surface portion; 
 an external deformable ring which is inwardly deformable, the external deformable ring being mounted in the circumferential groove and protruding outwardly therefrom such that the deformable ring is capable of seating on said seat with at least a portion of the dart body below the circumferential groove projecting downwardly through the seat, 
   wherein the external deformable ring is capable of deforming under load, thereby allowing the entire deformable activator to pass downwardly through the seat;   wherein the deformable ring has an outer surface, at least a portion of which tapers downward and radially inwardly.   
     
     
       14. A mechanism according to  claim 13 , in which the hollow body has at least one by-pass port to direct fluid flow laterally of the sleeve and the body when the mechanism is in its by-pass mode, and with the sleeve being moved by the deformable actuator so as to allow access to the by-pass port. 
     
     
       15. A mechanism according to  claim 13 , in which a non-deformable activator is provided, which is capable of being launched down the drill string and to move to a blocking position which blocks by-pass flow of fluid, and thereby causes increase in pressure upstream of the seat. 
     
     
       16. A mechanism according to  claims 13  claim 19, including a set of small non-deformable pressure-up activators, capable of being launched down the drill string, and the arrangement of the seat and the deformable activator is such that the each  pressure-up activators are then activator is capable of blocking the limited through-flow passages one of the ports. 
     
     
       17. A mechanism according to  claims 13 , in which the deformable activator comprises a ball-dart combination, in which a ball-like portion at least is deformable and is capable of seating on said seat, and a dart-like portion is capable of projecting downwardly through the seat. 
     
     
       18. A mechanism according to  claim 17 , in which the deformable activator is hollow and is provided with an internal flow control device. 
     
     
       19. A mechanism according to claim  18  39, in which the flow control device comprises a carrier ring provided with a number of separate ports. 
     
     
       20. A mechanism according to claim  13  36, in which:
 the deformable activator is capable of being launched down the drill string to engage the seat, so that pressure upstream of the seat increases and the deformable activator moves the sleeve so that the mechanism takes up its by-pass mode, while allowing limited flow of fluid to the tool to be maintained in one of its modes of operation, and said mechanism also including: 
 a small hard ball(s) capable of being launched down the drill string when it is required to provide by-pass flow of fluid; and 
 one or more de-activator ball(s) capable of being launched down the drill string to block limited flow of fluid through the sleeve, when it is required to revert the tool to another of its modes, such that the pressure upstream of the seat increases and causes downward displacement, accompanied by inward deformation, of the deformable activator through the seat so that the mechanism reverts to its through-flow mode. 
 
     
     
       21. An activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole tool and which comprises:
 a hollow main body adapted for mounting in a drill string and through which fluid to the tool can be routed; 
 an actuating sleeve defining a through-flow passage and slidably mounted in the main body for movement between positions corresponding to a through-flow mode and a by-pass mode with a mechanism; 
 biasing means acting on the sleeve to urge it to its position corresponding to the through-flow mode of the mechanism; 
 a seat providing access to said passage in the through-flow mode of the mechanism; 
 a deformable activator capable of being launched down the drill string to engage the seat and thereby cause pressure upstream of the seat to increase; 
 an activator ball capable of being launched down the drill string to engage a through-flow seat at an upstream end of the deformable activator, thereby to increase, or still further increase the pressure upstream of the deformable activator and thereby cause the sleeve to move to its position corresponding to the by-pass mode of the mechanism; and 
 at least one deactivating ball capable of being launched down the drill string to block access to an outlet port thereby to increase the pressure upstream of the deformable activator until such time as the deformable activator deforms itself to pass the entire deformable activator downwardly through the seat to allow the mechanism to revert to its through-flow mode, 
 the deformable activator being a deformable dart comprising:
 a dart body having an outer side surface portion with a circumferential groove in the side surface portion; 
 
 an external deformable ring which is inwardly deformable, the external deformable ring being mounted in the circumferential groove and protruding outwardly therefrom such that the deformable ring is capable of seating on said seat with at least a portion of the dart body below the circumferential groove projecting downwardly through the seat; 
 wherein the deformable ring has an outer surface, at least a portion of which tapers downward and radially inwardly. 
 
     
     
       22. An activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole tool and which comprises:
 a hollow main body adapted for mounting in a drill-string and through which fluid to the tool can be routed;   an actuating sleeve defining a through-flow passage and slidably mounted in the main body for movement between positions corresponding to a through-flow mode and a by-pass mode of the mechanism;   biasing means acting on the sleeve to urge it to its position corresponding to the through-flow mode of the mechanism;   a seat providing access to said passage in the through-flow mode of the mechanism; and   a deformable dart capable of being launched down the drill-string to engage the seat and thereby cause pressure upstream of the seat to increase so that the deformable dart moves the sleeve to its position corresponding to the by-pass mode of the mechanism;   in which the deformable dart and the seat are arranged to co-operate with each other, when the deformable dart engages the seat, in such a way that restricted flow of fluid through the sleeve is maintained when the mechanism is in its by-pass mode; and   in which the deformable dart comprises a dart body having a top end, a cylindrical outer side surface, a bottom end and a circumferential groove having an upper annular surface and a lower annular surface;   a deformable ring capable of inward deformation mounted in the circumferential groove and protruding outwardly therefrom such that the deformable ring is capable of seating on said seat, with a portion of the dart body being capable of projecting downwardly through the seat, and   when the deformable dart is seated on the seat and there is sufficient pressure upstream of the deformable dart, the deformable ring is capable of deforming to allow the entire deformable dart to pass downwardly through the seat,   wherein the deformable ring has an outer surface, at least a portion of which tapers downward and radially inwardly.   
     
     
       23. A mechanism according to claim 22 in which the dart body is solid. 
     
     
       24. A mechanism according to claim 23 wherein the bottom end of the dart body has an outer surface that tapers downward and radially inwardly. 
     
     
       25. A mechanism according to claim 24 wherein the bottom end of the dart body has a rounded outer surface. 
     
     
       26. A mechanism according to claim 22 in which the cylindrical outer side surface is defined by a tubular side wall, and the dart body comprises a flow through passageway extending from an inlet opening at the top end of the dart body to an outlet opening at the bottom end of the dart body. 
     
     
       27. A mechanism according to claim 26 in which the diameter of the flow through passageway is greater than half of the diameter of the dart body. 
     
     
       28. A mechanism according to claim 26 in which the flow through passageway comprises an upper portion having a first diameter and a lower portion having a second diameter about the same as the first diameter. 
     
     
       29. A mechanism according to claim 26 in which the flow through passageway has an upper portion and a lower portion in which the lower portion divides into multiple separate outlet passageways, each having a diameter less than the diameter of the upper passageway. 
     
     
       30. A mechanism according to claim 22, wherein the dart body comprises at least two components including an upper component and a lower component which are assembled together into a unitary construction. 
     
     
       31. A mechanism according to claim 30, wherein the lower component comprises a tubular, generally cylindrical outer side wall and the upper component comprises a tubular, generally cylindrical inner side wall sized to fit closely within the tubular, cylindrical outer side wall of the lower component and when assembled, at least a portion of the inner sidewall of the upper component is located within the outer sidewall of the lower component. 
     
     
       32. A mechanism according to claim 31, wherein the upper component comprises a flange that extends radially outwardly from the upper end of the inner side wall of the upper component and which flange forms the upper annular surface of the circumferential groove and wherein the upper edge of the outer side wall of the tubular lower component forms the lower annular surface of the circumferential groove. 
     
     
       33. A mechanism according to claim 30 in which the upper component comprises the upper annular surface and the lower component comprises the lower annular surface. 
     
     
       34. A mechanism according to claim 30 in which the upper component and the lower component define an axial position of the deformable ring with respect to the dart body. 
     
     
       35. An activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole tool and which comprises:
 a hollow main body adapted for mounting in a drill-string and through which fluid to the tool can be routed;   an actuating sleeve defining a through-flow passage and slidably mounted in the main body for movement between positions corresponding to a through-flow mode and a by-pass mode of the mechanism;   biasing means acting on the sleeve to urge it to its position corresponding to the through-flow mode of the mechanism;   a seat providing access to said passage in the through-flow mode of the mechanism; and   a deformable activator capable of being launched down the drill-string to engage the seat and thereby cause pressure upstream of the seat to increase so that the deformable activator moves the sleeve to its position corresponding to the by-pass mode of the mechanism;   in which the deformable activator and the seat are arranged to co-operate with each other, when the deformable activator engages the seat, in such a way that restricted flow of fluid through the sleeve is maintained when the mechanism is in its by-pass mode;   the deformable activator being a deformable dart comprising:
 a dart body having an outer side surface portion with a circumferential groove in the side surface portion; 
 an external deformable ring which is inwardly deformable, the external deformable ring being mounted in the circumferential groove and protruding outwardly therefrom such that the deformable ring is capable of seating on said seat with at least a portion of the dart body below the circumferential groove projecting downwardly through the seat; 
   wherein the dart body comprises at least two components including an upper component and a lower component which are assembled together into a unitary construction, further comprising at least one of the following features:   (i) the circumferential groove has an upper annular surface and a lower annular surface wherein the upper component comprises the upper annular surface and the lower component comprises the lower annular surface;   (ii) the upper component and the lower component define an axial position of the deformable ring with respect to the dart body.   
     
     
       36. An activating mechanism for controlling the operation of a downhole tool and which comprises:
 a hollow main body adapted for mounting in a drill-string and through which fluid to the tool can be routed;   an actuating sleeve defining a through-flow passage and slidably mounted in the main body for movement between positions corresponding to a through-flow mode and a by-pass mode of the mechanism;   biasing means acting on the sleeve to urge it to its position corresponding to the through-flow mode of the mechanism;   a seat providing access to said passage in the through-flow mode of the mechanism; and   a deformable activator capable of being launched down the drill-string to engage the seat and thereby cause pressure upstream of the seat to increase so that the deformable activator moves the sleeve to its position corresponding to the bypass mode of the mechanism:   in which the deformable activator and the seat are arranged to co-operate with each other, when the deformable activator engages the seat, in such a way that restricted flow of fluid through the sleeve is maintained when the mechanism is in its bypass mode;   the deformable activator being a deformable dart comprising:   a dart body having a outer side surface portion with a circumferential groove in the side surface portion;   an external deformable ring which is inwardly deformable, the external deformable ring being mounted in the circumferential groove and protruding outwardly therefrom such that the deformable ring is capable of seating on said seat with at least a portion of the dart body below the circumferential groove projecting downwardly through seat,   wherein the external deformable ring is capable of deforming under load, thereby allowing the entire deformable activator to pass downwardly through the seat;   wherein the deformable ring has an outer surface, at least a portion of which tapers downward and radially inwardly.   
     
     
       37. A mechanism according to claim 36, in which the hollow body has at least one by-pass port to direct fluid flow laterally of the sleeve and the body when the mechanism is in its by-pass mode, and with the sleeve being moved by the deformable actuator so as to allow access to the by-pass port. 
     
     
       38. A mechanism according to claim 36, in which a non-deformable activator is provided, which is capable of being launched down the drill string and to move to a blocking position which blocks by-pass flow of fluid, and thereby causes increase in pressure upstream of the seat. 
     
     
       39. A mechanism according to claim 36, in which the deformable activator is hollow and is provided with an internal flow control device. 
     
     
       40. A mechanism according to claim 36, in which the dart body comprises at least two components including an upper component and a lower component which are assembled together into a unitary construction. 
     
     
       41. A mechanism according to claim 40 in which the circumferential groove has an upper annular surface and a lower annular surface and in which the upper component comprises the upper annular surface and the lower component comprises the lower annular surface. 
     
     
       42. A mechanism according to claim 40 in which the upper component and the lower component define an axial position of the deformable ring with respect to the dart body.