Downhole Camera Manipulation Tool for Flapper Valve Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current downhole tools face challenges in accurately manipulating a damaged flapper valve back into a flapper window due to lack of orientation relative to the flapper window, leading to inefficient operations that can take days or weeks, or result in abandoned operations.
Innovation Solution
A downhole tool equipped with a camera assembly and a manipulation element featuring a wide-angle lens, a hollow stem portion, and a manipulation surface that extends at a non-zero angle, allowing for precise visualization and manipulation of the obstructing object, enabling real-time image capture and rotation to align the tool with the flapper window.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If known tools are used to rotate the flapper, then the flapper can be manipulated into the flapper window, but the operator has no way to tell in which azimuth the tool is facing relative to the flapper window, resulting in pure chance being relied upon
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a camera assembly with a lens that provides real-time visual feedback to the operator about the azimuth orientation of the tool relative to the flapper window. This allows the operator to see exactly where the tool is facing and adjust accordingly, eliminating the need to rely on chance and enabling precise manipulation of the flapper into the correct position.
2Device complexity
If pure chance is relied upon to manipulate the flapper into the correct position, then the tool structure remains simple, but operations can take days or weeks or operators have to abandon the operation
Solution Approach 1:
The camera assembly provides continuous visual feedback that dramatically reduces the time required to manipulate the flapper. Instead of relying on chance and waiting days or weeks, the operator can immediately see the orientation and adjust the tool to achieve the correct position quickly and efficiently.
3Area of moving object
If the lens is positioned forward of the root portion through the aperture, then the field of view is maximized for visualization, but the manipulation element must be designed with specific geometric constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The lens is nested within the hollow stem portion of the manipulation element, with the aperture in the root portion allowing the lens to be positioned forward. This nesting arrangement maximizes the field of view while maintaining a compact overall structure and avoiding excessive geometric complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A manipulation element for a downhole tool, the downhole tool comprising a camera assembly including a lens. The manipulation element comprises a root portion connectable to said downhole tool, the root portion including an aperture for receiving a part of the camera assembly therethrough such that, in use, said lens is disposed forward of the root portion; a stem portion extending from the root portion and including a hollow or gap aligned with the aperture for receiving, in use, said lens, the stem portion terminating at a tip; and a manipulation surface extending continuously between the tip and the root portion, at least a part of the manipulation surface extending at a non-zero angle to a longitudinal axis of the manipulation element such that the manipulation surface crosses a plane containing the longitudinal axis.