Orientable Weight Bar With Eccentric Locking for Downhole Tool Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for improved techniques to manipulate and orient downhole tools in compact downhole environments to facilitate their movement through wellbores.
Innovation Solution
An orientable weight bar for downhole tools, comprising a weight housing, an eccentric weight with an offset mass, and a weight lock, which allows the eccentric weight to gravitationally urge the tool towards the bottom of the wellbore, maintaining orientation and facilitating movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an eccentric weight is used to orient the downhole tool, then the orientation capability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components (weight housing, weight lock)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the orientation function with the existing weight bar structure by integrating an eccentric weight into the weight housing. This merging approach allows the weight bar to serve dual purposes: providing gravitational orientation through the eccentric weight while maintaining its structural role in the downhole tool assembly, thereby improving orientation capability without proportionally increasing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The eccentric weight is designed to be rotatable within the weight housing, allowing dynamic adjustment of the orientation angle. The weight lock mechanism enables the system to transition between locked (fixed orientation) and unlocked (adjustable orientation) states. This dynamic design provides flexible orientation control while keeping the mechanical structure relatively simple
2Reliability
If a weight lock mechanism is added to secure the eccentric weight, then the reliability of orientation is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to additional locking steps
Solution Approach 1:
The weight lock mechanism is designed to automatically engage and secure the eccentric weight in its desired position once the orientation is set. This self-locking feature eliminates the need for separate manual locking operations, thereby maintaining reliability through automatic engagement while preserving ease of operation by reducing the number of manual steps required
Solution Approach 2:
The weight lock mechanism is pre-configured to engage automatically when the eccentric weight reaches its desired orientation position. This preliminary action ensures that the orientation is secured without requiring additional operational steps from the user, balancing reliability with operational simplicity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the reliability and efficiency of downhole tool operations by maintaining accurate orientation and reducing operational costs through compact, adjustable, and flexible configurations.
Implementation Method 1
The eccentric weight is rotationally and gravitationally movable within the weight housing to allow the offset mass to move to a weighted position within the weight housing
Data Source
AI summary
An orientable weight bar for a downhole tool includes a weight housing fixedly connectable to the downhole tool; an eccentric weight, and a weight lock. The eccentric weight is positioned in the weight housing. The eccentric weight has an offset mass along a radial portion thereof. The eccentric weight is rotationally and gravitationally movable within the weight housing to allow the offset mass to move to a weighted position within the weight housing. The weight lock is operatively connectable between the eccentric weight and the weight housing to secure the offset mass in the weighted position within the weight housing whereby, as the downhole tool advances through the wellbore, the eccentric weight gravitationally urges a portion of the downhole tool toward the bottom of the wellbore.