Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
187 words
A device for controlling flow between the interior and the exterior of a well flow conductor, comprising: a. a housing connectable to said flow conductor and having inlet means and outlet means and a main flow passage connecting said inlet means with said outlet means; b. annular valve seat means in said housing providing a seat surface surrounding said main flow passage; c. valve means including a valve tip engageable with said seat surface for controlling flow through said seat; d. a bypass passage communicating the exterior of said housing with said main flow passage at a location between said oulet means and said annular valve seat; e. means initially closing said bypass passage and being movable to open position when the pressure at said outlet means exceeds the pressure at said inlet means by a predetermined amount; and f. valve means operator means, including: i. means for biasing said valve tip towards a position of engagement with said seat surface, and ii. pressure responsive means for biasing said valve tip away from said seat surface when the pressure exterior of said housing reaches a predetermined value.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
187 words
A device for controlling flow between the interior and the exterior of a well flow conductor, comprising: a. a housing connectable to said flow conductor and having inlet means and outlet means and a main flow passage connecting said inlet means with said outlet means; b. annular valve seat means in said housing providing a seat surface surrounding said main flow passage; c. valve means including a valve tip engageable with said seat surface for controlling flow through said seat; d. a bypass passage communicating the exterior of said housing with said main flow passage at a location between said oulet means and said annular valve seat; e. means initially closing said bypass passage and being movable to open position when the pressure at said outlet means exceeds the pressure at said inlet means by a predetermined amount; and f. valve means operator means, including: i. means for biasing said valve tip towards a position of engagement with said seat surface, and ii. pressure responsive means for biasing said valve tip away from said seat surface when the pressure exterior of said housing reaches a predetermined value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
The device of claim 1, wherein said bypass passage includes port means in the wall of said housing and said means for initially closing said bypass passage is a sleeve valve in said housing and movable between port-closing and port-opening positions.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The device of claim 2, including: seal means for sealing between said housing and said sleeve valve to prevent flow of fluids through said bypass passage.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
31 words
The device of claim 3, wherein said seal means includes resilient seal rings sealing on longitudinally opposite sides of said bypass port means and the areas sealed thereby are not equal.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
The device of claim 4, wherein the difference between the unequal areas sealed by said resilient seal rings is responsive to high pressure in said flow passage for moving said sleeve valve to port-opening position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
The device of claim 5, including: releasable means holding said sleeve valve in its initial port-closing position and releasable to permit movement of said sleeve valve to port-opening position when pressure in said outlet exceeds the pressure exterior of said housing by a predetermined amount.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
76 words
The device of claim 6, wherein said resilient seals comprise o-rings carried in suitable external annular recesses formed in portions of said sleeve valve having unequal diameters, and said releasable means comprises at least one shear pin engaged between said sleeve valve and said housing, said shear pin being fracturable when the pressure in said housing exceeds the pressure exterior thereof by a predetermined amount to release said sleeve for movement from port-closing to port-opening position.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
67 words
The device of claim 7, wherein: a. said sleeve valve has at least one lateral opening in the wall thereof alignable with said bypass port means when said sleeve valve is in port-opening position; and b. said o-rings carried on said sleeve valve includes a pair of o-rings for sealing on longitudinally opposite sides of said bypass port means, said pair of o-rings being of equal size.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
39 words
The device of claim 8, including: means on said housing and said sleeve valve means engageable to close said main flow passage at a location above said bypass port means when said sleeve valve means is in port-opening position.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
53 words
The device of claim 9, including: a. check valve seat means in said housing providing a check valve seat surface surrounding said main flow passage; and b. check valve means in said housing including a check valve closure engageable with said check valve set surface to prevent back flow through said flow passage.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
The device of claim 10, wherein said annular check valve seat surface is formed on said sleeve valve means and said check valve means further includes means for biasing said check valve closure towards said check valve seat surface.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
134 words
The device of claim 11, wherein said valve operator means for biasing said valve tip towards open and closed positions includes: sealed chamber means in said housing spaced from said inlet port means on the opposite side thereof from said outlet port means and being plugged at one end and being sealed near its other end by a piston carrying a resilient seal engaged with the inner wall of said chamber, said chamber containing a compressible gas, said valve closure being connected with said piston, said piston being biased toward closed position by said compressible gas in said sealed chamber for biasing said valve tip towards said annular valve seat, said piston being exposed to pressure exterior of said flow conductor and being responsive thereto to move said valve closure means to open position.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
54 words
The device of claim 12, further including: a. spring means in said sealed chamber biasing said main valve closure means towards closed position; and b. means for adjusting the loading of said spring means to thereby adjust the pressure at which said main valve closure means is moved away from said main seat surface.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
33 words
The device of claim 13, including: lock means on said housing retrievably anchoring said device in locked and sealed relation in a receptacle forming a part of said flow conductor in said well.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
204 words
The device of claim 14, wherein said means for closing said flow passage above said bypass port means when said sleeve valve means is in closed position includes: a. said flow passage in said body having a portion thereof extending from the downstream end of the housing to a blind end located beyond said bypass port means and having an annular recess in its wall between said bypass port means and said blind end; b. a cross passage in said body above said blind end having at least one of its ends communicating with said inlet port means; c. a longitudinally directed central bore portion extending downwardly through said annular seat surface and communicating with said cross passage; d. at least one longitudinally directed eccentric passage having one end thereof opening into said annular recess of said flow passage below said blind end and the other end thereof opening into said chamber below said piston, e. whereby when said sleeve valve moves to position opening said bypass port means, the smaller seal ring carried thereon is moved across said annular recess of said flow passage and is engaged in blind portion of said flow passage beyond said annular recess to close said flow passage.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
254 words
A device for controlling flow between the interior and the exterior of a well flow conductor, comprising: a. housing means connectable to said flow conductor and having inlet means and outlet means and a main flow passage connecting said inlet means with said outlet means; b. annular valve seat means in said housing means providing a seat surface surrounding said main flow passage; c. valve means including a valve tip engageable with said seat surface for controlling flow therethrough; d. a bypass passage communicating the exterior of said housing means with said main flow passage between said valve seat means and said outlet means; e. means initially closing said bypass passage and being movable to a position opening said bypass passage when the pressure at said outlet means exceeds the pressure at said inlet means by a predetermined amount; and f. valve means operator means, including: i. bellows means having a pressure responsive surface and connected between said housing means and said valve tip, and ii. expansible means in said bellows applying a force to extend said bellows for moving said valve tip into engagement with said annular seat surface when said force of said expansible means exceeds the force of the pressure at said inlet means acting on said pressure responsive surface of said bellows, said bellows contracting to move said valve tip away from said seat means when the pressure acting on said pressure responsive surface of said bellows develops a force exceeding the force of said expansible means in said bellows.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
254 words
A device for controlling flow between the interior and the exterior of a well flow conductor, comprising: a. housing means connectable to said flow conductor and having inlet means and outlet means and a main flow passage connecting said inlet means with said outlet means; b. annular valve seat means in said housing means providing a seat surface surrounding said main flow passage; c. valve means including a valve tip engageable with said seat surface for controlling flow therethrough; d. a bypass passage communicating the exterior of said housing means with said main flow passage between said valve seat means and said outlet means; e. means initially closing said bypass passage and being movable to a position opening said bypass passage when the pressure at said outlet means exceeds the pressure at said inlet means by a predetermined amount; and f. valve means operator means, including: i. bellows means having a pressure responsive surface and connected between said housing means and said valve tip, and ii. expansible means in said bellows applying a force to extend said bellows for moving said valve tip into engagement with said annular seat surface when said force of said expansible means exceeds the force of the pressure at said inlet means acting on said pressure responsive surface of said bellows, said bellows contracting to move said valve tip away from said seat means when the pressure acting on said pressure responsive surface of said bellows develops a force exceeding the force of said expansible means in said bellows.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
43 words
The device of claim 16, wherein said bypass passage includes bypass port means in the wall of said housing means and said means for initially closing said bypass passage is a sleeve valve in said housing means movable between port-closing and port-opening positions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
The device of claim 17, including: resilient seal means for sealing between said housing means and said sleeve valve to prevent flow of fluids therebetween.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
45 words
The device of claim 18, including: releasable means holding said sleeve valve in its initial port-closing position and releasable to permit movement of said sleeve valve to port-opening position when the pressure in said outlet exceeds the pressure in said inlet by a predetermined amount.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
80 words
The device of claim 19, wherein: a. said sleeve valve has at least one lateral part in the wall thereof registerable with said bypass port means when said sleeve is in port-opening position, and b. said resilient means for sealing between said housing means and said sleeve valve includes o-rings carried in external annular recesses on said sleeve valve and spaced to straddle said bypass port means in said housing means when said bypass sleeve is in said port-closing position.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
55 words
The device of claim 20, including: a. check valve seat means in said housing means providing a check valve seat surface surrounding said main flow passage, and b. check valve means in said housing means including a check valve closure engageable with said check valve seat surface to prevent backflow through said main flow passage.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
The device of claim 21, wherein said annular check valve seat surface is formed on said sleeve valve means and said check valve means further includes spring means for biasing said check valve closure towards said check valve seat surface.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
102 words
The device of claim 22, wherein said releasable means for holding said sleeve valve in its initial port-closing position includes: a. a snap ring carried in an external annular recess on said sleeve valve and extending outwardly beyond the periphery thereof, said snap ring being contractable to a position wherein it does not extend beyond the periphery of said sleeve valve, and b. a first internal recess in said housing means initially engaged by said snap ring on said sleeve valve for holding said sleeve valve in said port-closing position and releasable to permit movement of said sleeve valve to port-opening position.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
45 words
The device of claim 23, wherein said means for holding said sleeve valve further includes: a second internal annular recess in said housing means spaced from said first internal recess and engageable by said snap ring for retaining said sleeve valve in said port-opening position.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
32 words
The device of claim 24, wherein said expansible means in said bellows means is a compressible gas for extending said bellows means for biasing said valve tip towards said annular valve seat.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
37 words
The device of claim 24, wherein said expansible means in said bellows means comprises spring means in said bellows for applying a force tending to extend said bellows for biasing said valve tip towards said valve seat.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
60 words
The device of claim 26, including: a. adjusting screw means for varying the compression in said spring means whereby said valve operator means is adjustable to respond to a pressure of predetermined value at said inlet means, and b. lock nut means for securing the position of said adjusting screw means for preserving the adjustment of said adjusting screw means.