Abstract A wound wire well strainer having an elongate hollow cylindrical screen of helical wire windings axially spaced from one another by separating lugs formed therein and disposed in circumferentially spaced longitudinal rows, the windings being secured to one another by elongate weld beads disposed longitudinally between rows of lugs along the outer surfaces of the windings without protruding beyond the inner surfaces thereof such that the structural integrity of the screen is maintained in situ without a perforated central pipe or interior protrusions. One end of the screen is disposed within an annular recess in a tubular end fitting adaptable to couple the screen to a tubing string, and the screen is secured to the fitting by external and internal annular weld beads. Apparatus for and a method of making such a well strainer are also disclosed.
A well strainer for use in a borehole containing a tubing string, said strainer comprising a wire helix having a plurality of closely spaced-apart winding defining the inner and outer surfaces of a hollow tubular structure, a plurality of lugs located at intervals along said wire in said helix for separating said windings without protruding inwardly of said hollow tubular structure, at least one weld bead disposed longitudinally along said outer surface and spaced externally from said inner surface of said tubular structure defined by said windings to interconnect said winding one to another, a tubular end fitting having one end adapted for interconnection in said tubing string, an annular weld bead concentrically connecting the other end of said end fitting to one end of said wire helix, said tubular end fitting being also provided with an annular internal recess adjacent said other end thereof, and said annular weld bead being mounted in said annular recess in said end fitting.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
160 words
A well strainer for use in a borehole containing a tubing string, said strainer comprising a wire helix having a plurality of closely spaced-apart winding defining the inner and outer surfaces of a hollow tubular structure, a plurality of lugs located at intervals along said wire in said helix for separating said windings without protruding inwardly of said hollow tubular structure, at least one weld bead disposed longitudinally along said outer surface and spaced externally from said inner surface of said tubular structure defined by said windings to interconnect said winding one to another, a tubular end fitting having one end adapted for interconnection in said tubing string, an annular weld bead concentrically connecting the other end of said end fitting to one end of said wire helix, said tubular end fitting being also provided with an annular internal recess adjacent said other end thereof, and said annular weld bead being mounted in said annular recess in said end fitting.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
The well strainer described in claim 1, wherein the inner surface of said hollow tubular structure defined by said windings of said wire helix has a diameter substantially the same as the inside diameter of said tubing string in said borehole.