Permanent downhole plug-in connector

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a permanent downhole plug-in connector. The connector preferably includes an external connector body that receives the twisted conductor pairs. The external connector body includes an external rubber boot member to define the internal passage and internal rubber boots that are disposed within the external rubber boot. The present disclosure is also directed to a permanent downhole dual plug-in connector couples a permanent downhole cable twisted pair to another permanent downhole cable or to a downhole gauge.

Description

PERMANENT DOWNHOLE PLUG-IN CONNECTORINCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

[0001] This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 269273, filed March 14, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention in general relates to plug-in connectors. More specifically, the invention relates to plug-in connectors for use in downhole applications.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] In many well applications, connectors are used to connect various components, which are utilized in a downhole environment. In some downhole applications, dry mate connectors may be permanently installed to form, for example, a cable splice between sections of cable or between a device and a corresponding cable. However, difficulties can arise in forming a connection / splice which is able to remain sealed with respect to the surrounding environment while also withstanding tensile loading, e g. tensile loading occurring during tensile load testing.

[0004] To address the above problem, some recent connector arrangements have been reported, that includes additional securing assembly design that needs extra length of wire and extra length of external parts to compensate the length of the wire. However, it increases the manufacturing cost of both the connector and the cable assembly.

[0005] The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by reducing the length of the wires and the length of the external parts and by facilitating the connection by plugin connector without assembling or disassembling the external parts.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] In general, a system and methodology are provided for forming secure connections for use in downhole environments.

[0007] In some configurations, a permanent downhole plug-in connector (100) includes an external rubber boot; an internal rubber boot disposed within the external rubber boot; and an electrical socket disposed within the external rubber boot. The connector is configured to receive a wire of a permanent downhole cable and configured to couple the permanent downhole cable to another permanent downhole cable or to a downhole gauge.

[0008] The connector can include a filling part disposed within the external rubber boot, with the electrical socket disposed within the filling part. An assembly can include the plug-in connector and a feedthrough connector coupled to the plug-in connector, wherein a wire of the downhole gauge or a splice connection extends through the feedthrough connector to the electrical socket.

[0009] In some configurations, a permanent downhole dual plug-in connector includes an external rubber boot; and a socket component disposed within the external rubber boot, the socket component comprising two electrical sockets. The connector is configured to receive wires of a permanent downhole twisted pair cable such that each wire is coupled to one of the electrical sockets, and the connector is configured to couple the permanent downhole cable to another permanent downhole cable or to a downhole gauge.

[0010] An assembly can include the dual plug-in connector and a coaxial feedthrough connector coupled to the dual plug-in connector, wherein a wire of the downhole gauge or a splice connection extends through the coaxial feedthrough connector to the electrical socket.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0011] Certain embodiments, features, aspects, and advantages of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It should be understood that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein.

[0012] Figure 1 shows a downhole assembly (100) including an electrical connection assembly according to the present disclosure before and after connection.

[0013] Figure 2 shows an example conventional electrical connection.

[0014] Figure 3 shows a longitudinal cross-section of an example electrical connection assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 4 shows a longitudinal cross-section of a plug-in connector of the assembly of Figure 3.

[0016] Figure 5 shows an exploded view of the connector of Figure 4.

[0017] Figure 6 shows another example electrical connection assembly according to the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 7 shows a plug-in connector of the assembly of Figure 6.

[0019] Figure 8 shows an exploded view of the connector of Figure 7.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the system and / or methodology may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments are possible. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather made merely for the purpose of describing general principles of the implementations. The scope of the described implementations should be ascertained with reference to the issued claims.

[0021] As used herein, the terms “connect”, “connection”, “connected”, “in connection with”, and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element”. Further, the terms “couple”, “coupling”, “coupled”, “coupled together”, and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements”. As used herein, the terms "up" and "down"; "upper" and "lower"; "top" and "bottom"; and other like terms indicating relative positions to a given point or element are utilized to more clearly describe some elements. Commonly, these terms relate to a reference point at the surface from which drilling operations are initiated as being the top point and the total depth being the lowest point, wherein the well (e.g., wellbore, borehole) is vertical, horizontal or slanted relative to the surface.

[0022] The present disclosure provides systems and methods for forming secure connections for use in downhole environments, for example as shown in Figure 1. The present disclosure provides permanent plug-in connectors . In some configurations, the present disclosure provides permanent dual plug-in connectors. Connectors according to the present disclosure can connect a permanent downhole cable to, for example, another downhole cable or a permanent downhole gauge.

[0023] Conventional electrical connections with sealing boots, for example as shown in Figure 2, are typically made in two stages. First the connection is made by hand, and then the external parts (320) are assembled. Such a connection requires an extra length of wire as well as longer external parts to accommodate the length of wire. Connections according to the present disclosure advantageously reduce the length of wire and external parts. Connections according to the present disclosure also advantageously provide a plug-in connection without the need to assemble or disassemble external parts.

[0024] Figure 3 illustrates an example assembly including a plug-in connector (100) according to the present disclosure. The plug-in connector is also shown in Figures 4-5. The connector can advantageously be assembled without extra length of wire. As shown, the connector (100) includes an electrical socket, a filing part (150), an internal rubber (140), and an external rubber boot (130). The socket is disposed within the filing part (150). The filing part (150) and the internal rubber boot (140) are disposed within the external rubber boot (130). In the illustrated configuration, the internal rubber boot (140) is disposed at or proximate an axial end of the external rubber boot (130), and the filing part (150) is disposed axially adjacent or proximate the internal rubber boot (140).

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, the assembly includes a feedthrough connector (110). A wire of a gauge or splice connection extends through the feedthrough connector (110). To make the connection between a permanent downhole cable and the gauge or splice connection, the permanent downhole cable (100a) is coupled to the plug-in connector (100). A wire of the permanent downhole cable extends through the internal rubber boot (140) and into the filing part (150) toward the electrical socket (160). The plug-in connector (100) is coupled to the feedthrough connector (110), from a direction axially opposite to the wire of the gauge or splice connection, such that the wire of the gauge or splice connection extends into the electrical socket (160). An external part (120) is disposed about the connector and coupled to the feedthrough connector (110).

[0026] Referring to Figure 4 the plug-in connector (100) includes a feed through connector (160), external connector part (120) formed with an internal passage, an elastomeric external rubber boot (130), an internal rubber boots (140), a filling part connector (150) and an electrical socket connector (160).

[0027] Referring to Fig.4 the plug in connector assembly (100) includes an external connector body (120) that receives the twisted conductor pairs (170). In the illustrated embodiment, the external connector body (120) includes an external rubber boot member (130) to define the internal passage and internal rubber boots (140) that are disposed within the external rubber boot (130). The twisted conductor pairs (170) are configured to be inserted into and / or coupled to one of the two electrical socket channels (160a). The external connector body (120) configured to couple the permanent downhole cable (100) to another permanent downhole cable or to a downhole gauge (200).

[0028] In another embodiment, Figure 6 illustrates an assembly including another example plug-in connector, also shown in Figures 7-8. The plug-in connector of Figures 6-8 is a permanent dual plug-in connector (100c) and is configured to couple a permanent twisted pair downhole cable (100b) to, for example, another permanent downhole cable or a downhole gauge (200). The connector can advantageously be assembled without extra length of wire. As shown, the connector includes a socket component (160) including two electrical sockets (160a) and an external rubber boot (130). The socket component (160) is disposed within the external rubber boot (130).

[0029] The assembly includes a coaxial feedthrough connector (110). Wire(s) of a gauge or splice connection extend through the feedthrough connector. To make the connection between a permanent twisted pair downhole cable (100b) and the gauge or splice connection, the permanent twisted pair downhole cable (100b) is coupled to the plug-in connector (100). Each of the wires of the twisted pair downhole cable is configured to be inserted into and / or coupled to one of the two electrical sockets (160b) (of the socket component. The dual plug-in connector (100c) is coupled to the coaxial feedthrough connector (110), from a direction axially opposite to the wire(s) of the gauge or splice connection, such that the wire(s) of the gauge or splice connection extends into the electrical socket (160). An external part (120) is disposed about the connector and coupled to the feedthrough connector (110).

[0030] Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “substantially” as used herein represent a value, amount, or characteristic closeto the stated value, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “generally,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and / or within less than 0.01% of the stated amount. As another example, in certain embodiments, the terms “generally parallel” and “substantially parallel” or “generally perpendicular” and “substantially perpendicular” refer to a value, amount, or characteristic that departs from exactly parallel or perpendicular, respectively, by less than or equal to 15 degrees, 10 degrees, 5 degrees, 3 degrees, 1 degree, or 0.1 degree.

[0031] Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims. It is also contemplated that various combinations or sub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the embodiments described may be made and still fall within the scope of the disclosure. It should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with, or substituted for, one another in order to form varying modes of the embodiments of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the scope of the disclosure herein should not be limited by the particular embodiments described above.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A permanent downhole plug-in connector (100) assembly comprising:(a) an external connector body (120) formed with an internal passage, wherein the internal passage assembly configures to receive twisted conductor pair cable (100b); i. rubber boot members (130,140) that defines said internal passage; ii. a filling part connector (150) that acts as a protective tubing for said twisted conductor pair cable(lOOb); iii. an electrical socket (160) with a receptacle to receive said twisted conductor pair (100b)2. The plug-in connector assembly of Claim 1, wherein the boot member comprises an external rubber boot member (130) to secure the intermediate section of said twisted conductor pair cable (100b).

3. The plug-in connector assembly of any of preceding claims, wherein the boot member comprises a pair of internal rubber boots (140) disposed within said external rubber boot (130).

4. The plug-in connector assembly of any of preceding claims, wherein said filling part (150) connector is disposed within said external rubber boot member (130).

5. The plug-in connector assembly of any of preceding claims, wherein said the electrical socket (160) disposed within the filling part connector (150).

6. The plug-in connector assembly of any of preceding claims, further comprises a coaxial feedthrough connector (110) coupled to said plug-in connector (100) assembly, wherein said conductor pair cable (170) of the downhole gauge or a splice connection extends through the feedthrough connector (110) to the electrical socket (160).

7. A permanent downhole dual plug-in connector (100) assembly comprising:(a) An external connector body (120) formed with an internal passage, wherein the internal passage assembly configures to receive twisted conductor pair cable (170); i. rubber boot members (130,140) that defines said internal passage; ii. a filling part (150) connector acts as a protective tubing for said twisted conductor pair cable (100b); iii. an electrical socket (160) with a receptacle to receive the electrical plug.

8. The dual plug-in connector assembly of Claim 7, wherein said electrical sockets (160) body configured with two separate channels (160a) such that each conductor pair wire is coupled to one of the electrical sockets.

9. The dual plug-in connector assembly of Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein said external connector body (120) configured to couple the permanent downhole cable to another permanent downhole cable or to a downhole gauge (200).

10. The dual plug-in connector assembly of any of Claims 7-9, further comprises a coaxial feedthrough connector (110) coupled to said plug-in connector assembly (100), wherein said wire of the downhole gauge or a splice connection extends through the feedthrough connector (110) to the electrical socket (160).

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