US3494419A - Selectively-operable well tools - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 10, 1970 Filed April 24, 1968 A. A. MULLINS SELECT IVELY-OPERABLE WELL TOOLS Livr, *25?* 6 sheets-sheet 1 /l//a ////7.l

INVENTOR.

Feb. 10, 1970 A, A,` MULLlNs 3,494,419

SELECTIVELY-OPERABLE WELL TOOLS Feb. 10, 1970 A. A. MuLLlNs SELECT IVELY-OPERABLE WELL TOOLS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 24. 1968 I N VEN TOR.

Afrox? y Feb. 10, 1970 A.A. MuLLlNs SELECTIVELY-OPERABLE WELL TOOLS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 24, 1968 ,l1/Serf A. /Wa//n INVENTOR.

Feb- 10, 1970 A. A. MuLLlNs 3,494,419

SELECTIVELY-OPERABLE WELL TOOLS Filed April 24, 1968 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. L

BY Arropzsy United States Patent O 3,494,419 SELECTIVELY-OPERABLE WELL TOOLS Albert A. Mullins, Rosenburg, Tex., assignor to Schlumberger Technology Corporation, New York, N.Y., a

corporation of Texas Filed Apr. 24, 1968, Ser. No. 723,732 Int. Cl. E21b 33/12, 43/00 U.S. Cl. 166-150 41 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE The invention disclosed herein is directed to well tools having one or -more selectively-operable valves therein. More particularly, the apparatus disclosed herein as a preferred embodiment of the invention is comprised of telescoped tubular members cooperatively arranged with three valves that are to be selectively operated by movement of the tubular members. Positioning means are cooperatively associated with the valves and tubular members so that each of the valves can be selectively operated independently of one another with only longitudinal movement and relative rotation of the tubular members.

It is customary to employ a number of different fullbore tools coupled together for performing such welltesting and well-completion operations as testing earth formations under both owing and static conditions, squeeze cementing, acidizing, and Huid fracturing. As is typical, such a string of full-bore tools includes a fullbore packer for packing-off the well bore, a bypass valve for selectively controlling communication between the well bore annulus and the interior of the tubing string, and one or more testing or completion tools for selectively controlling communication between the well bore above and below the packer and the tubing string as well as providing an unrestricted full-diameter passage into the well bore below the packer. To shift these tools into position to conduct such operations as well as to go from one operation to another, the tubing string is generally manipulated as required to move the tools into their various relative positions. It will be recognized, of course, that only four basic manipulative movements (i.e., longitudinal shifting in both vertical directions or else rotation in the two rotative directions) are available to operate these tools.

Those skilled in the art recognize, however, that it is not always feasible to use even all four of these basic manipulations. For example, many operators object to socalled left-hand torque since rotation in this direction may inadvertently unthread one or more of the collars coupling the tubing string. Moreover, itis not too desirable to operate a well tool by continued right-hand rotation where only a predetermined number of revolutions establishes the particular operating positions of the tool. For, in addition to the possibility that some of this righthand torque may only further tighten the collars coupling the tubing string, the inherent capability of the tubing string to absorb a certain amount of torque usually makes it quite difficult, if not altogether impossible, to reliably determine from the surface whether a predetermined number of rotations have been faithfully translated through the tubing string to a tool several thousands of feet therebelow. In such instances, it is best not to overrotate the upper end of the tubing string just to be sure that a particular number of rotations have in fact reached the tool at the lower end of the string.

In most instances, it is also preferred to maintain a substantial downward force on the packer to insure that it remains fully set during a typical testing operation so that the well can be kept under control. This, of course,

minimizes the amount of upward force that can be safely applied through the tubing string. Accordingly, although the tubing string can usually be moved upwardly to shift one or more of the tools into different operating positions, it is generally preferred to maintain a downward force on the tubing string once each of these operating positions are reached to be certain that the packer remains set.

Thus, for these and other reasons, whenever several operating positions must be assumed by the tools, at least some manipulative movements must be duplicated with only variations in these few available movements being used to establish the several operative positions of the tools. Accordingly, many well tools of this nature are operated by shifting the tool mandrels into various longitudinally spaced positions, with only a minimum number of these operating positions being reached by rotating the tubing string. Typical of such control arrangements is a so-called J-slot system in which a lateral pin projecting from one relatively-movable tool member is reeeived within a labyrinth arrangement of grooves formed on an adjacent surface of another tool member. By providing several longitudinally-spaced branch portions in such J-slot systems, a variety of distinct operating positions are obtained by shifting one tool member longitudinally in relation to another tool member either with or without an accompanying rotative movement.

Although such J-slot systems are widely used, they nevertheless still have certain disadvantages. For example, it is difficult to devise compatible J-slot -arrangements for each of several tools in a common string that will enable one tool in the string to be moved into some of its operative positions without simultaneously shifting at least one of the other tools into an unwanted position. This problem becomes even more complicated when it is realized that it is sometimes desired to move two tools in conjunction with one another at one point in a given sequence of operations; but, at other points in the same sequence, it may be preferred that only oneA of these tools move without a corresponding movement of the other tools. Moreover, since each of these tools have at least one telescoped joint, provisions must usually be made to releasably secure the telescoping members 0f one tool while the telescoping members in one or more tools in the common string are being repositioned.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved well tools having a plurality of valve means and motion-responsive positioning means which permit these valve means to be selectively operated with only a minimum of different manipulations and require a minimum number of telescoping members in the tool string. This and other objects of the present invention are attained by providing a tool having inner and outer tubular members that are telescoped together and adapted for relative rotation as well as longitudinal movement between spaced positions. First valve means for controlling fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the tool are cooperatively arranged with iirst positioning means for selective operation by movement of the telescoped members. One or more valve means and their respective motion-responsive positioning means are also provided to selectively control communication between the interior portions of the telescoped members independently of the operation of the first valve means.

The novel features of the present invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with `further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by way of the following description of exemplary apparatus employing the principles of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a typical string of well tools in a well bore including a tool employing the principles of the present invention;

FIGURES 2A-2D are successive elevational views, partially in cross-section, of a preferred embodiment of a well tool arranged in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURES 3, 4, 5, 6 and 13 are cross-sectional views taken along the lines 3 3, 4 4, 5 5, 6 6 and 13 13, respectively, in FIGURES 2A and 2B;

FIGURE 7 is a developed view of the groove system for the well tool shown in FIGURES 2A-2D; and

FIGURES 8A-8B through 12A-12B are somewhat schematic views of the well tool shown in FIGURES 2A-2D and depict its successive operating positions.

Turning now to FIGURE 1, a number of full-bore well tools 10-13 are shown tandemly connected to one another and dependently coupled from the lower end of a string of pipe, such as a tubing string 1'4, suspended in a cased well bore 1S. At the lower end of these tools, a conventional full-bore packer 13 is arranged for selectively packing-off the well casing 16. A typical hydraulic holddown 12 is coupled to the mandrel 17 of the packer 13 and arranged to engage the casing 16 to secure the mandrel against upward movement whenever the packer is set and fluid pressure within the tubing string 14 exceeds the hydrostatic pressure of the well-control fluids in the well annulus. A typical bypass valve 11, coupled by a tubing sub 18 above the holddown 12, is suitably arranged to open and facilitate shifting of the tools 10-13 within the uid-lled well bore 15 by diverting a substantial portion of the uids through the central bore of the retracted packer 13.

Connected at the upper end of the string of tools 11- 13 is a tool 10 incorporating the principles of the present invention. Although the tools 11-13 may be those shown on page 3057 of the 1960-61 Composite Catalog of Field Equipment and Services, it will be understood, of course, that other tools of this type may be used in conjunction with the tool 10 of the present invention. Moreover, the tools 11-13 may be replaced by a single packer (not shown) having a so-called integral bypass and may even include means for maintaining the packing element thereon set even when the pressure therebelow exceeds the hydrostatic pressure of the well control fluids above the packer.

Turning now to FIGURES 2A-2D, successive elevational views, with each being partially in cross-section, are shown of the tool 10. It will be recognized, of course, that for ease of manufacture and assembly of tools of this nature, they are -customarily made of a number of interconnected tubular sections. However, to facilitate the following description, various portions of the new and improved tool 10 have been shown as integral mernbers rather than of such interconnected sections. The tool 10 includes a tubular member or mandrel 19 telescopically disposed Within a tubular housing 20` and arranged for selective rotation as well as longitudinal movement therein between an extended position as shown in FIGURES 2A-2D, one or more selected intermediate positions, and a fully-telescoped position, all of which are subsequently described in more detail with reference to FIGURES 8A-8B through 12A-12B. An internally threaded connection 21 (FIGURE 2A) on the upper end of the mandrel 19 is appropriately arranged for coupling the mandrel to the tubing string 14 (FIGURE 1), with the central bore 22 (FIGURES 2A-2D) of the mandrel having substantially the same internal diameter as that of the tubing string. Similarly, threads 23 (FIGURE 2D) on the lower end of the housing 20 are arranged for coupling the tool 10 to other well tools therebelow such as, for example, the bypass valve 11 shown in FIG- URE 1.

In general, the tool 10 of the present invention includes first, second and third valve means 24, 25 and 26 (FIG- V URES 2A, 2C and 2D) that are selectively opened and closed either by shifting the mandrel 19 between diiferent longitudinal positions in relation to the housing 20 or else by rotating the mandrel relative to the housing. selectively-operable positioning means, such as shown at 27, 28 and 29 (FIGURES 2A and 2B), are employed for controlling the tool 10. Clutch means 30 and 31 are also provided to permit selective application of torque from the mandrel 19 through the housing 20` to the other tools 11-13 when the mandrel is in certain longitudinal positions. Biasing means 32 (FIGURE 2C) are preferably provided to maintain a downward force on the housing 20 to assist in keeping the packer 13 seated while the mandrel 19 is being moved as well as to apply an upward force on the mandrel to keep the clutch means 31 engaged whenever the mandrel is in its uppermost extended position with respect to the housing. Movementretarding means 33 (FIGURE 2C) are also preferably provided to retard downward travel of the mandrel 19 with respect to the housing 20.

As seen in FIGURE 2A, the valve means 24 are in the uppermost portion of the tool 10. The valve means 24 and the associated positioning means 27 are cooperatively arranged to provide iluid communication between the internal mandrel bore 22 and the exterior of the tool 10 whenever the mandrel 19 is in a certain longitudinal position and is manipulated in a predetermined manner. Thus, as will subsequently be explained in greater detail, unless these movements are performed, the positioning means 27 will be effective to maintain the valve means 24 closed and block this uid communication.

To accomplish this, the valve means 24 include coengageable means such as a sleeve 34 that is slidably disposed in an enlarged annular clearance space 35 within the housing 20 and uidly sealed to the mandrel 19 by sealing members 36 and 37 spatially mounted around the mandrel above and below one or more lateral ports 38 -formed therein. One or more lateral ports 39 are also arranged in the upper portion of the sleeve 34 to be in communication with the mandrel ports 38 whenever the positioning means 27 function to shift the sleeve downwardly in relation to the mandrel 19 so as to bring the sleeve ports below the upper sealing member 36 on the mandrel. As will subsequently become more apparent, however, the positioning means 27 are arranged to normally secure the valve sleeve 34 in its elevated position illustrated in FIGURE 2A to block fluid communication -between the mandrel ports 38 and one or more lateral ports 40 formed in the housing 20.

The positioning means 27 are comprised of a sleeve member 41 that is slidably disposed in the annular housing space 35 above the valve sleeve 34 and preferably coupled thereto for longitudinal movement by means, such as a swivel connection 42, allowing relative rotation between the two sleeves. Thus, by employing the swivel connection 42, the positioning sleeve 41 is free to rotate in relation to the valve sleeve 34 and the valve sleeve can be co-rotatively secured to the mandrel 19 by means, such as a key or spline 43 slidably disposed in a longitudinal groove 44 in the mandrel. In this manner, the ports 38 and 39 will always be in registration with one another whenever the valve sleeve 34 is shifted downwardly by the positioning sleeve 41 to bring the sleeve ports below the sealing member 36. Moreover, since the valve sleeve 34 will not have to be rotated in relation to the sealing members 36 and 37, a more effective seal will be realized. The sleeves 34 and 41 could, of course, be integral for purposes of the present invention.

To selectively control longitudinal shifting of the sleeves 34 and 41 in relation to the mandrel 19, the positioning sleeve is releasably coupled to the mandrel by means Isuch as a radially-expansible segmented splitnut 45 that is maintained in threaded engagement with upwardly-directed external mandrel threads 46 by a circumferential spring and co-rotatively secured within an inwardly directed recess 47 in the positioning sleeve by a complementary longitudinal spline-and-groove arrangement 48. For convenience, it is preferred that the mandrel threads 46 be so-called left-hand threads. A compression spring 49 is disposed in the annular space 35 between a downwardly-facing housing shoulder 50 and the upper end of the positioning sleeve 41 to maintain a downwardly-acting force thereon. The positioning -means 27 further include selectively-releasable means for corotatively securing the positioning sleeve 41 to the housing 20 such as an outwardly-biased key 51 on the sleeve that is slidably fitted in a complementary longitudinal groove 52 in the interior wall of the housing so long as the positioning sleeve and the mandrel 19 are in their respective positions shown in FIGURE 2A. The significance of this selectively-releasable key 51 will subsequently become apparent.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that so long as the tool is in its initial operating position as depicted in FIGURES 2A-2D, the threaded co-engagement of the split-nut 45 and the mandrel threads 46 will prevent the spring 49 from shifting the valve sleeve 34 downwardly in relation to the mandrel 19. This will, of course, block liuid communication through the mandrel ports 38 without restricting movement of the mandrel 19 in relation to the housing 20. It will be realized, therefore, that the mandrel ports 38 cannot be uncovered until the splitnut 45 is disengaged from the mandrel threads 46 so that the spring 49 can urge the positioning sleeve 41 downwardly and shift the valve sleeve 34 downwardly to bring the sleeve ports 39 into registration with the mandrel ports when the valve sleeve has reached this lower position. The purpose for moving the valve sleeve 34 to this lower position will be subsequently explained in relation to FIGURES 8A-8B through 12A-12B.

For reasons that will also become -more apparent, means are provided to selectively regulate the position of the valve sleeve 34 in various operating positions of the tool 10 once the valve sleeve is released. For the present, however, it is necessary only to point out that to selectively regulate the operating positions of the valve sleeve 34, the positioning means 27 further include an annular abutment sleeve 53 that is preferably made separate from the valve sleeve and slidably disposed in the housing clearance space 35 below the valve sleeve. To selectively latch the abutment sleeve 53 to the mandrel 19 and housing 20, one or more balls 54 are respectively loosely disposed in complementary lateral apertures 55 circumferentially spaced around the abutment sleeve. That portion of the mandrel 19 extending between the lower sealing member 37 and an upwardly-facing mandrel shoulder 56 therebelow is divided into an upper portion 57 of a relatively-reduced outer diameter and a lower portion 58 of a relatively-enlarged outer diameter. Similarly, the adjacent portion of the housing is arranged to provide at the lower end of the annular clearance space an upper portion 59 of a relatively-enlarged internal diameter and a lower portion 60 of a relatively-reduced internal diameter. It will be appreciated, therefore, that the junction of the reduced and enlarged- diameter mandrel portions 57 and 58 defines an upwardly-directed mandrel shoulder 61. Similarly, the junction of the enlarged and reduced housing portions 59 and 60 denes an upwardly-directed housing shoulder 62.

So long as the tool 10 is in the position depicted in FIG- URES 2A-2D, the abutment sleeve 53 will be resting on top of the mandrel shoulder 56 and the latching balls 54 will be urged outwardly of the abutment sleeve by the enlarged-diameter mandrel portion 58 into the space defined by the enlarged-diameter housing portion 59. The lower end of the valve sleeve 34 will be some distance above the upper end of the abutment sleeve 53 so that the abutment sleeve is at this time in an ineffective position. The significant function of this abutment sleeve 53 will, however,

become apparent as the operation of the tool 10 is subsequently explained.

Turning now to FIGURE 2B, the clutch means 30 are arranged to co-rotatively secure the mandrel 19 to the housing 20 only when the mandrel is in its lowermost or fully-telescoped position while the clutch means 31 cooperate to co-rotatively secure these members when the mandrel is in its uppermost position in relation to the housing. In all other longitudinal positions, the mandrel 19 is free to rotate in a clockwise direction relative to the housing 20.

To accomplish this, the upper clutch means 30 include an annular member 63 that is co-rotatively secured by means, such as a key 64, to the mandrel 19 below the mandrel shoulder 56 and has a plurality of depending lugs 65 thereon adapted for reception in a corresponding number of upwardly-facing longitudinal slots 66 in an inwardly-projecting housing shoulder 67 whenever the mandrel is in its lowermost position. The lower clutch means 31 include an annular member 68 slidably mounted below the shoulder 67 in the housing 20 and co-rotatively secured thereto by external longitudinal grooves 69 thereon adapted to receive complementary inwardly-projecting housing splines 70 (FIGURE 4). Inwardly-projecting stop pins 71 on the housing 20 are appropriately arranged to halt the downward travel of the annular member 68. External longitudinal splines 72 (FIGURE 2B) on the mandrel 19 are adapted for reception in complementary longitudinal spline grooves 73 (FIGURE 4) in the internal wall of the annular member 68.

A spring 74 is arranged between the housing shoulder 67 and the upper end of the annular member 68 t-o normally urge the annular member downwardly against the stops 71 but permit it to retrogress should the mandrel splines 72. not be in registry with their complementary grooves 73 as the mandrel 19 is being moved upwardly. Thus, even though the mandrel splines 72 may not initially be in alignment with the spline grooves 73, a slight rotation of the mandrel 19 in either direction will quickly bring the splines into orientation with their grooves and the spring 74 will then urge the annular clutch member 68 downwardly over the splines as the mandrel moves further upwardly.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that so long as the mandrel 19 is in its extended position (as seen in FIG- URES 2A-2D) with respect to the housing 20, the mandrel is co-rotatively secured thereto by the lower clutch means 31. Downward movement of the mandrel 19 with respect to the housing 20 will, however, shift the mandrel splines 72 out of the spline grooves 73 and allow the mandrel to be rotated relative to the housing until the mandrel reaches its fully-telescoped or lowermost position. Once it is moved to this lowermost position and the lugs 65 enter the slots 66, the mandrel 19 will again be co-rotatively secured to the housing 20 by the upper clutch means 30.

The intermediate positioning means 28 of the tool 10 are comprised of a sleeve member 75 that, as seen in FIGURE 2B, is rotatively mounted inside of the housing 20 and has an inwardly-projecting guide pin 76 which has its distal end disposed in a circuitous system of grooves 77 formed on the exterior of the mandrel 19. To secure the sleeve 75 against shifting longitudinally relative to the housing 20, the sleeve is confined between the opposed shoulders of a circumferential recess 78 formed around the interior housing wall. Wear rings 79 and 80 are placed between the upper and lower ends of the sleeve 75 and the opposed housing shoulders to facilitate the rotation of the sleeve with respect to the housing.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that since the guide pin 76 remains in the groove system 77, the mandrel 19 can be moved longitudinally in relation to the housing 20 only so far as is permitted by the particular arrangement of the groove system. As best seen in the developed view in FIGURE 7, the groove system 77 includes an irregularly shaped but generally transverse lower groove 81 joined at its opposite ends by upwardly directed, parallel, longitudinal grooves 82 and 83, with the upper end of the groove 82 being connected to the groove 83 by a converging inclined groove 84 and an enlarged portion 85. A longitudinal groove 86 is aligned with the groove 83 and continues further upwardly from the junction of the enlarged portion 85 and the grooves 82 and 83. Thus, it will be appreciated that the maximum longitudinal distance which the mandrel 19 can be moved in relation to the housing is represented by the longitudinal spacing between the uppermost end of the longitudinal groove 86 and the lowermost ends of two short parallel longitudinal grooves 87 and 88 extending downwardly from the lower transverse groove 81. An intermediate position of the mandrel 19 with respect to the housing 20 is also provided by a centrally-located longitudinal groove 89 that extends upwardly a short distance from the middle of the lower transverse groove 81. The significance of the depicted configuration of the groove system 77 will subsequently become more apparent.

The upper end of the sleeve 75 is inwardly enlarged as best seen in FIGURES 2B and 5 to provide an annular shoulder 90. Circumferentially-spaced longitudinal slots 91 (FIGURE 5) around the inner portion of the shoulder 90 are arranged to pass outwardly directed lugs 92 (FIGURES 2B and 7) on the mandrel 19 whenever these lugs are aligned with the slots. Thus, by appropriately locating the gui-de pin 76 in relation to the shoulder slots 91 (all of which are on the sleeve 75) on the o-ne hand as well as arranging the circumferential spacing of the longitudinal grooves 82 and 83 in relation to the lugs 92 (all of which are on the mandrel 19) on the other hand, Whenever the guide pin is in either of the circumferentially spaced grooves 82 and 83, the lugs 92 will be aligned with the slots 91 and, as the mandrel 19 is moved longitudinally in relation to the housing 20, the lugs 92 will pass through the slots 91 in the shoulder 90. The centrally located groove 89 is suitably arranged, however, so that when the guide pin 76 is in the position D (FIGURE 7), the lower surfaces of the lugs 92 will be abutted against those portions of the upper face of the shoulder 90 between the slots 91. This will, of cours-e, allow downward forces on the mandrel 19 to be transmitted through the lugs 92 and the sleeve 75 to the housing 20 without such forces having to be carried by the guide pin 76. Thus, only when the guide pin 76 is in the above-described position D are the lugs 92 engaged on top of the sleeve 75 to transmit downward loads therethrough to the housing 20. In all other positions of the mandrel 19, the lugs 92 are either above or below the sleeve shoulder 90 or else (when the guide pin 76 is in either of the grooves 82 or 83) the mandrel lugs are passing through the shoulder slots 91.

Since the sleeve 75 cannot shift longitudinally relative to the housing 20, the guide pin 76 will, of course, remain in the same transverse plane and the mandrel 19 and groove system 77 will be moved longitudinally in relation thereto. Thus, a straight longitudinal movement of the mandrel 19 will move the groove system 77 relative to the guide pin 76. Any rotational movement of the mandrel 19 will be accommodated by the pin 76 and sleeve 75 rotating as required' by the configuration ot" the slot system 77. Thus, as the mandrel 19 is pushed straight downwardly from its position shown in FIGURE 2B, when the mandrel has moved sufliciently to bring the upper wall of the inclined groove 84 against the guide pin 76, continued downward movement of the mandrel 19 will rotate the pin and sleeve 75 accordingly.

The lower positioning means 29 of the tool 10 are seen in FIGURE 2B below the positioning means 28 and are comprised of two inwardly biased, radially expansibie, segmented split- nuts 93 and 94 placed at longitudinally spaced positions in the annular clearance space 95 between the mandrel 19 and housing 20. As best seen in g. FIGURE 6, longitudinal external splines 96 on each of the segments of the nuts 93 and 94 are complementally interlocked in grooves 97 in the internal wall of the housing 20 to co-rotatively secure the split-nuts to the housing. As seen in FIGURE 2B, to limit the longitudinal travel of the lower split-nut 94, inwardly-directed longitudinally-spaced housing shoulders 98 and 99 are provided above and below the nut. The longitudinal travel of the upper split-nut 93 is similarly limited by an annular spacer 100 that is removably placed between the upper end of the nut and an inwardly-directed housing shoulder 101 spaced above the nut.

Oppositely-directed buttress threads 102 and 103 are longitudinally spaced around the mandrel 19 and respectively arranged for selective engagement with complementary threads in the nuts 93 and 94 in certain longitudinal positions of the mandrel. The upper mandrel threads 102 are faced upwardly and are preferably so-called left-hand threads arranged to threadedly engage the downwardly-facing threads in the upper split-nut 93. With this arrangement, downward longitudinal movement of the mandrel 19 will allow the upper mandrel threads 102 to be ratcheted freely into the upper split-nut 93 but prevent upward longitudinal movement of the mandrel until it is rotated in a clockwise or right-hand direction to unthread the upper mandrel threads from the upper splitnut. Similarly, the lower mandrel threads 103 are faced downwardly and are preferably so-called right-hand threads. To accommodate the lower mandrel threads 103, the threads in the lower split-nut 94 are faced upwardly. Thus, release of the mandrel threads 103 from the lower split-nut 94 can be accomplished only by rotating the mandrel 19 in a clockwise direction to unthread these members. It will be appreciated, of course, that by facing the mandrel threads 103 and those in the lower splitnut 94 in opposite directions, upward movement of the mandrel 19 Will cause the lower mandrel threads to freely ratchet through the lower split-nut.

For reasons that will subsequently become more apparent, the lower mandrel threads 103 are normally engaged with the lower split-nut 94 and the upper threads 102 are normally disengaged from the upper split-nut 93 and spaced a particular distance thereabove. Thus, with the lower mandrel threads 103 engaged with the lower split-nut 94 as shown in FIGURE 2B, the mandrel 19 is free to travel longitudinally with respect to the housing 20 only so far as is permitted by the spacing between the housing shoulders 98 and 99 respectively above and below the lower split-nut. Similarly, as will also subsequently become apparent, whenever the upper mandrel threads 102 are threadedly engaged with the upper splitnut 93, the mandrel 19 will be secured in its lowermost telescoped position and cannot be returned to its intermediate or extended positions since the upper split-nut is immobilized by the spacer 100 and the co-engagement of the lugs 65 and slots 66 prevent rotation of the mandrel with respect to the upper split-nut and the housing 20. In this case, it will be realized that the lugs 65 cannot be disengaged from the slots 66 until the tool 10 is returned to the surface and the housing 20 separated, as at a threaded joint 104 (FIGURE 2A) thereon, to permit movement of the clutch member 63.

Turning now to FIGURE 2C, the next lower portion of the tool 10 is shown in which are located the pressurebiasing means 32 and the movement-retarding means 33. The pressure-biasing means 32 are comprised of an enlarged-diameter shoulder 105 on the mandrel 19 that is fluidly sealed, as by O-rings 106, within a reduced-diameter portion 107 of the housing 20 above an external housing port 108 and an annular slidable piston member 109 that is around the mandrel above its enlarged-diameter shoulder 105 and below another external housing port 110. O-rings 111 and 112, respectively, inside and outside of the slidable piston 109 uidly seal the piston to the mandrel 19 and housing 20 so as to provide a.

fluid-tight annular space 113 between the piston and the enlarged-diameter mandrel shoulder 105, which space is normally at atmospheric pressure. A spring 114 between an inwardly-directed housing shoulder 115 and the upper end of the piston 109 normally urges the piston downwardly against a shoulder 116 defined by the upper end of the reduced-diameter housing portion 107.

It will be recognized that well-control fluids will enter the ports 108 and 110 above the piston 109 and below the enlarged-diameter mandrel portion 105 as the tool 10 is being used. Inasmuch as the annular space 113 is normally at atmospheric pressure, the hydrostatic pressure of the well-control fluids will therefore tend to lift the mandrel 19 by a force equal to the difference between the hydrostatic and atmospheric pressures multiplied by the annular cross-sectional area of the enlarged-diameter mandrel shoulder 105 itself. The cross-sectional area of the mandrel 19 itself will, of course, be subjected to both upwardly and downwardly-acting pressure forces. Similarly, the piston 109 will be urged downwardly against the housing shoulder 116 by a force equal to the difference between the hydrostatic and atmospheric pressure multiplied by the annular cross-sectional area bounded by the O-rings 111 and 112.

Thus, since the mandrel 19 is urged upwardly by this unbalanced pressure force, a force at least greater than this upwardly-directed pressure force must be applied to the mandrel in order to move it downwardly relative to the housing 20. Similarly, it will be appreciated that the downwardly-acting pressure force on the piston 109 is effective through the housing shoulder 116 to impose a corresponding downwardly-directed force thereon which will be transmitted through the housing to the mandrel 17 of the packer 13 (FIGURE 1) to assist in keeping the packer seated.

Although the piston 109 could be made an integral portion of the housing 20, it is preferred to make it a separate member as shown in FIGURE 2C and to provide a small lateral port 117 in the housing immediately above the normal position of the external O-ring 112. In this manner, should well-control uids leak into the enclosed annular space 113, as the tool is being removed from the well bore 15, any excessive pressure in the enclosed space 113 will be vented through the port 117 whenever this trapped pressure is sufficient to lift the piston 109 against the restraint of the spring 114 a suicient distance to move the O-ring 112 above the port 117. This arrangement also insures that the mandrel 19 can be returned upwardly should fluids leak into the space 113 after the mandrel is lowered. Otherwise, the piston 109 could just as well be made an integral portion of the housing 20.

The movement-retarding means 33 are comprised of a sleeve 118 loosely disposed between longitudinally-spaced enlarged- diameter portions 119 and 120 of the mandrel 19, with only a limited annular clearance 121 being left between the mandrel and sleeve and a very minute annular clearance 122 being left between the sleeve and inner wall of the housing 20. A compression spring 123 between the sleeve 118 and the lower enlarged-diameter mandrel portion 120 normally urges the sleeve upwardly against the upper enlarged-diameter mandrel portion 119. An O-ring 124 around the internal wall of an inwardlyfacing shoulder 125 in the housing 20 fluidly seals the mandrel 19 and housing relative to one another and de fines a fluid-tight space 126 therebetween below the sleeve 118. An annular piston 127 having internal and external O- rings 128 and 129 is provided just below the housing port 108 to fluidly seal the housing 20 relative to the mandrel 19 above the sleeve 118 and define a second fluid-tight space 130 therebetween in communication with the space 126 only by way of the annular clearance spaces 121 and 122 inside of and around the sleeve 118 respectively. A suitable hydraulic uid, such as an oil or the like, fills the fluid-tight spaces 1216 and 130.

It will be appreciated that the hydrostatic pressure of the well-control fluids will be effective through the port 108 against the piston 127 to maintain the oil in the spaces 126 and 130 at the same pressure. Accordingly, the speed of longitudinal movement of the mandrel 19 with respect to the housing 20 will be governed by the rate at which the oil can be displaced from one or the other of the fluid- tight spaces 126 and 130. Downward movement of the mandrel 19 with respect to the housing 20 will, of course, maintain the lower face 131 of the upper enlargeddiameter mandrel portion 119 tightly engaged against the adjacent upper face 132 of the sleeve 118. By appropriately machining the abutting surfaces 131 and 132 of the shoulder 119 and sleeve 118, a metal-to-'metal seat is effected to close the internal annular space 121 and make the minute external annular clearance space 122 the only flow path by which oil can be transferred from the lower space 126 to the upper space 130 as the mandrel 19 is moved downwardly. In this manner, the time required to move the mandrel 19 downwardly with respect to the housing 20 will be directly related to the dimensions of the external annular clearance space 122 and the viscosity of the oil in the fluid- tight spaces 126 and 130. If it is desired, the lower space 126 may be slightly enlarged, as at 133, so that whenever the mandrel 19 has moved downwardly at this controlled rate a predetermined distance with `respect to the housing 20, it can continue moving further downwardly with added relative freedom.

To permit fairly rapid upward movement of the mandrel 19 with respect to the housing 20, the internal clearance space 121 between the sleeve 118 and the mandrel is made somewhat larger than the external clearance space 122. It will 'be understood, of course, that the spring 123 is not suliiciently strong to keep the sleeve end 132 abutted against its mating surface 131 on the shoulder 119 whenever the mandrel 19 is being moved upwardly. Thus, whenever the mandrel 19 is pulled upwardly with respect to the housing 20, the sleeve 118 will shift slightly downwardly and move the seating surfaces 131 and 132 apart so as to allow oil from the upper space to pass relatively free between these surfaces, through the larger annular clearance 121, and on into the lower fluid-tight space 126.

-In FIGURES 21C and 2D, the lowermost portion of the tool 10 is shown in which are located the valve means 25 as well as the valve means 26. The internal diameter of this portion of the housing 20 is preferably increased to provide an enlarged bore, as at 134, below the enclosed space 126 and above an upwardly-directed housing shoulder 135 (FIGURE 2D) near the lower end of the housing.

The valve means 25 (FIGURE 2C) are preferably arranged as a co-engaged telescoping sleeve valve adapted to control fluid communication between the enlarged housing bore 134 and the internal bore 22 of the mandrel 19 so long as the valve means 2-6 therebelow are closed. The valve 'means 25 include a coaxially-arranged tubular member 136 that is dependently secured from the housing 20 and extended downwardly into the enlarged housing bore 134. Lateral ports 137 in the mandrel 19 are adapted to be moved into registry `with corresponding lateral ports 138 in the coaxially-arranged tubular member 136 whenever the mandrel is moved into one of its intermediate longitudinal positions with respect to the housing 20. O-rings 139 and 140' respectively above and below the mandrel ports fluidly seal the mandrel 19 relative to the depending tubular member 136 to block flow through the ports 137 and 138 whenever they are not in registration in the other positions of the mandrel. If desired, the sleeve 136 may be rotatably mounted in relation to the housing 20, as by a retainer ring 141 mounted in opposed complementary circumferential grooves in the sleeve and housing. To insure that the ports 137 and 138 are angularly oriented, a suitable longitudinal spline and groove (not shown) are provided in the sleeve 136 and mandrel 19 to co-rotatively secure the two members to one another.

As seen in FIGURE 2D, the valve means 26 include a cylindrical or a spherical valve member 142 having an axial passageway 143 therethrough along one of its central axes that is sized to correspond at least approximately to the internal mandrel bore 22. The ball member 142 is operatively co-engaged between a pair of opposed, longitudinally-spaced, annular seats 144 and 145 having complementary spherical seating surfaces. The mandrel valve seat 144 is coaxially mounted with biasing means 146 in a complementary counterbore 147 in the lowermost end of the `mandrel 19. A pair of depending longitudinal lugs 148 (only one seen) extends downwardly from the mandrel 19 on opposite sides of the seat 14'4. The ball member 142 is pivotally supported between the free ends of these depending mandrel lugs 148 about another of its central axes by appropriately-located transverse pivots 149 (only one seen) that are so positioned that (with the aid of the biasing means 14'6) the seat 144 will remain engaged with the ball as the ball moves between its open and closed positions. The axis of these pivots 149 is, of course, perpendicular to the central axis of the passageway 143 so that as the ball member 142 is pivoted, the passageway will move into and out of registration with the valve seats 144 and 145.

The other valve seat 145 is an upwardly-facing, spherical seat complementally formed on the upper end of a short sleeve member 150 that is telescopically disposed in the upper end of an elongated tubular member 151 and supported by a relatively-weak spring 152. An O-ring 153 around the sleeve 150 and below one or more lateral ports 154 therein lluidly seals the sleeve in relation to the tubular member 151. The spring 152 urges the lower seat 145 against the lower surface of the ball member 142 and normally maintains the ports 154 in position to allow iluid communication therethrough. This tubular member 151 is dependently supported by a pair of lugs 155 and 156 (only one of each pair seen) projecting upwardly from opposite sides of the tubular member and arranged to straddle the ball member 142, with each of these lugs being extended upwardly alongside the opposite sides of the depending mandrel lugs 148 with their respective longitudinal edges in juxtaposition with one another. llnwardly-projecting transverse pins 157 (only one seen) on the free end of the lower lugs 156 are disposed parallel to the axis of the pivots 149 but longitudinally spaced therebelow and slightly offset to one side. The free ends of these coupling pins 157 are each confined within fairly short, inclined grooves 158 (only one seen) formed in the adjacent external surfaces of the ball member 142.

A second sleeve 159 is telescopically disposed around the upper portion of the tubular member 151 and has a pair of upright lugs 160 (only one seen) on its upper end that are respectively extended upwardly between the lugs 155 and 156 and terminated immediately below the lower ends of the mandrel lugs 148. A fairly strong compression spring 161 is disposed around the intermediate portion of the tubular member 151 and maintained in compression between the lower end of the short sleeve 159 and a shoulder 162 on the tubular member. For reasons that will subsequently become apparent, a stout compression spring 163 is disposed around the lower end of the tubular member 151 with its upper end well below the shoulder 162 and its lower end resting on the shoulder 135 near the lower end of the enlarged housing bore 134.

With the tool in the position shown in FIGURES 2A-2D, the spring 161 will, of course, impose a downwardly directed force through the shoulder 162 on the tubular member 151 and an upwardly directed force on the sleeve 159. The upwardly-acting force will, of course, be transmitted through the opposed ends of the lugs 160 to the mandrel 19 by the lugs 148 so that no force is applied to the ball member 142 itself. The downwardly-acting force on the member 151 will, on

12 the other hand, be effective through the lugs 156 to urge the coupling pins 157 downwardly against the lower end surfaces of the ball grooves 158 to impose a counterclockwise turning moment on the ball member 142 for maintaining the ball in its closed position. The coaction of the adjacent edges of the pins 157 and grooves 158 will, of course, insure that the ball member 142 will not be pulled further downwardly than its illustrated position. Thus, so long as the spring 161 is acting in this manner, the ball member 142 will be positively retained in its closed position and all fluid communica tion through the tool 10 must pass through the ports 154 and the valve means 25.

The ball valve member 142 cannot, therefore, be rotated into its open position until the counterclockwise turning moment acting thereon is overcome and a clockwise turning moment is imposed on the ball member. Such action cannot occur, however, until the mandrel 19 is moved downwardly in relation to the housing 20 a distance suicient to bring the shoulder 162 into engagement with the upper end of the spring 163 and halt the tubular member 151 and the transverse pins 157 carried thereby. Then, once the shoulder 162 engages the spring 163, the mandrel 19 must be moved still further downwardly to move the pivot pins 149 below the transverse pins 157 and rotate the ball member 142 to its open position. I

Once the downward motion of the tubular member 151 is arrested by engagement of the shoulder 162 with the spring 163, it will be appreciated that continued downward movement of the mandrel 19 will further compress the spring 161. It will also be recognized that once the shoulder 162 on the tubular member 151 engages the spring 163, further compression of the spring 161 will begin reducing the counterclockwise turning moment serving to hold the ball 142 closed. Thus, the downward force applied through the opposed lugs 148 and 160 by the mandrel 19 will be effective to overcome the counterclockwise turning moment and begin developing a clockwise turning moment for rotating the ball member 142 to its open position as the load on the mandrel is increased. It will be appreciated, of course, that once the shoulder 162 engages the spring 163, the relativelyweak spring 152 will be compressed which results in the ports 154 being moved belowA the upper end of the tubular member 151. The inclined ygrooves 158 must, of course, be of suicient length to accommodate the transverse pins 157 whenever the ball member 142 has rotated midway between its fully-closed and its fully-open positions.

It will be appreciated that to accomplish the abovedescribed opening of the ball valve member 142, the tubular member 151 must be either halted entirely or at least retarded suiciently to enable the ball member to be moved downwardly in relation to the connecting pins 157 to impart a clockwise turning force on the ball member. The tubular member 151 could, of course, be completely arrested by allowing the shoulder 162 to come into engagement with a housing shoulder rather than the spring 163. This is not desirable, however, since slight variations in manufacturing tolerances, for example, could cause such shoulders to come into engagement prematurely and result in unduly high loads being imposed on the pins 157.

Accordingly, the spring 163 and the shoulder 162 are appropriately arranged to allow the tubular member 151 to move further downwardly by allowing the spring 163 to be at least slightly compressed. Should, however, a greater downward force be applied on the mandrel 19 to open the ball member 142, the spring 163 will be further compressed to allow the tubular member 151 to move further downwardly. It will be appreciated, however, that in this event the spring 161l is still rendered ineffective and that the selective action provided by the development of additional spring force by such further compression of the spring 163 will be fully effective to apply a greater upwardly-directed rotational force on the ball member 142 by way of the tubular member 151 and its pins 157 so that the ball must ultimately rotate to its open position without risking damage to the tool 10. Moreover, in any event, no upward force will be applied against the underside of the ball member 142 as the clockwise rotational force is being developed. Instead, all upward reaction forces will be transmitted through the opposed lugs 148 and 160 and the ball member 142 will be free to rotate with little frictional force being applied thereto by its seats 144 and 145.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that when the mandrel 19 is fully extended with respect to the housing 20 (as shown in FIGURES 2A-2D), all of the valve means 24-26 will be closed. However, by moving the mandrel 19 downwardly with respect to the housing 20 (thereby shifting the guide pin 76 from its position at A to the position at B as shown in FIGURE 7), the second valve means 25 will be opened to provide fluid communication from the enlarged housing bore 134, through the ports 154 below the ball 142 and the valve seat 145, and the ports 137 and 138, and on into the central bore 22 of the mandrel 19. Return of the mandrel 19 upwardly (thereby shifting the guide pin 76 to the position at C in FIGURE 7) recloses the valve means 25. The rst and third valve means 24 and 26 will, however, remain closed in all of these positions of the mandrel 19.

It will be recognized, therefore, that so long as the lower split-nut 94 is engaged with the mandrel threads 103, the engagement of the split-nut with the housing shoulder 99 will prevent further downward travel of the mandrel 19 and thereby determine the position B of the guide pin 76.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that so long as the lower split-nut 94 remains engaged with the mandrel threads 103, the mandrel 19 can be moved longitudinally only a distance equal to the spacing between the lower split-nut and the housing shoulder 99. This distance is also equal to the longitudinal spacing between the two positions of the guide pin 76 represented at A and B in FIGURE 7.

As will be subsequently described with greater detail, however, once the lower split-nut 94 is released from the threads 103, the mandrel 19 can be moved further downwardly (to bring the guide pin to E in FIGURE 7) which will also close the second valve means 25 but now open the third valve means 26 as the mandrel reaches its lowermost, telescoped position. In this latter position, a fullopening passage is provided through the tool 10 since the passageway 143 in the ball member 142 will have been rotated into alignment with the central mandrel bore 22. The rst valve means 24 will still remain closed with the mandrel 19 in its lowermost position.

The operation of the valve means 24 is, therefore, wholly independent of the operation of the other valve means 25 and 26. As will subsequently be described in greater detail, the valve sleeve 34 blocks communication through the mandrel ports 38 so long as the splitnut 45 is engaged 'with the mandrel threads 46 irrespective of the movements of the mandrel 19 in selectively opening and closing the valve means 25 and 26. Thus, the valve means 24 are opened only when the positioning sleeve 41 is co-rotatively secured to the housing 20 so that rotation of the mandrel 19 will disengage the splitnut 45 from the mandrel threads 46. Once the split-nut 45 is released, the spring 49 will, of course, shift the valve sleeve 34 to align the ports 38-40.

The abutment sleeve 53 serves to stop downward travel of the release valve sleeve 34 as well as to halt the sleeve upon subsequent downward travel of the mandrel 19 to allow the mandrel threads 46 to re-engage the split-nut 45 and reclose the mandrel ports 38. Although the abutment sleeve 53 could just as well be a depending integral extension of the valve sleeve 34, for ease of manufacture and assembly it is preferred to make the two sleeves as separate members. In any event, the relative proportions of the various elements comprising the valve means 24 and positioning means 27 are suitably arranged that the key 51 is operatively coupled to the housing 20 by way of the groove 52 when the mandrel 19 is in one of its intermediate positions and the valve means 25 and 26 are closed. Then, upon rotation of the mandrel 19, the split-nut 45 is released from the mandrel threads 46 and the spring 49 will move the sleeves 34 and 41 downwardly into abutment with the sleeve 53. To reclose the valve means 24, the mandrel 19 is simply lowered. As the mandrel 19 moves downwardly, the latching balls 54 are abutted with the housing shoulder 62 to hold the sleeves 34, 41 and 51 stationary and allow the mandrel threads 46 to ratchet back into the split-nut 45. Once the split-nut 45 is re-engaged, the valve means 24 are reclosed. Thus, the operation of each of the valve means 24-26 is wholly independent of the operation of the others.

Turning now to FIGURES 8A-8B through 12A-12B, the tool 10 is schematically represented to illustrate its various positions during the course of a typical operating sequence. To facilitate the explanation of the positioning means 27-29 and their cooperative relation with the valve means 24-26, the biasing means 32 and movementretarding means 33 have not been shown in FIGURES SA-SB through 12A-12B. It will be understood, however, that downward travel of the mandrel 19 will be regulated by the movement-retarding means 33 until the top of the sleeve 118 has entered the enlargedd space 133 (FIGURE 2C). Similarly, it should be kept in mind that the biasing means 32 will continuously provide an upwardly directed force on the mandrel 19 and an equal, but downwardly directed, force on the housing 20 during the entire operation of the tool 10.

In FIGURES 8A-8B, the tool 10 is shown with the mandrel 19 in its uppermost extended position with respect to the housing 20 as already described with reference to FIGURES 2A-2D. The rst, second and third valve means 24, 25 and 26 are closed to block fluid communication into the mandrel bore 22 as the tools 10-13 are being moved into position in the cased well bore 15 (FIGURE 1). It will also be noted -from FIGURE 8A that although the upper clutch member 63 is disengaged, the lower clutch member 68 is engaged to permit rotation to be applied from the tubing string 14, through the tool 10,. and onto the other tools 11-13 therebelow. Accordingly, with the tool 10 secured in the position depicted in FIGURES 8A-8B, the tools 10-13 can be brought into position at any desired depth in the cased well bore 15.

Once the tools 10-13 have reached a desired position in the well bore 15, they are momentarily halted and the tubing string 14 is manipulated as required to set the packer 13 and close the bypass valve 11. Although other tools may utilize different movements for their operation, it is preferred to arrange the bypass valve 11 and packer 13 so that the position-establishing means, such as J-slot systems (not shown), in each tool will work in cooperation to close the bypass valve as the packer is being set. Accordingly, with the tools 11 and 13 having cooperative I-slot systems arranged in this manner, the tubing string 14 is picked up slightly and torqued in a clockwise direction to unjay the bypass valve and packer. Then, by slacking-off at least part of the weight of the tubing string 14, the packer 13 will be set and the bypass valve 11 closed. It will be recalled that the mandrel 19 cannot move downwardly relative to the housing 20 until the upward force provided on the mandrel by the biasing means 32 is overcome.

Once the packer 13 is set, it will be appreciated that it is capable of supporting the full weight of the tools 10-12 and the tubing string 14 thereabove. The housing 20 of the tool 10 will, of course, now be i'xed relative to the casing 16 until the packer 13 is unseated. It will be recalled, moreover, that the biasing means 32 will also be effective to maintain a substantial downward force through the housing to aid in holding the packer 13 seated. Thus, the mandrel 19 of the tool 10 is now capable of being moved relative to the now-stationary housing 20 by corresponding motions of the tubing string 14 to bring the tool into its various operating positions.

Accordingly, as shown in FIGURES 9A-9B, application of sufficient weight to the mandrel 19 for setting the packer 13 will carry the mandrel a short distance downwardly (as shown by arrow 164) until the lower split-nut 94 engages the upwardly-facing housing shoulder 99. This downward movement will, however, be retarded by the motion-retarding means 33 and furthermore will require suflicient weight on the mandrel 19 to at least overcome the upwardly directed force on the mandrel provided by the biasing means 32. It will be noted from FIGURES 9A-9B, however, that this initial downward travel of the mandrel 19 will open only the valve means 25 and disengage the lower clutch member 68. Thus, by virtue of the position of the lower split-nut 94, downward motion and rotation of the tubing string 14 in these first two operating positions of the tool 10 will be effective only to set the packer 13, close the bypass valve 11, and open the valve means without introducing any risk whatsoever that either of the valve means 24 or 26 might be opened prematurely by over-movement of the mandrel 19.

It will also be appreciated from FIGURES 9A-9B that further downward travel of the mandrel 19 relative to the housing 20 is not possible so long as the lower nut 94 is abutted on the housing shoulder 99. On the other hand, upward travel of the mandrel 19 is unimpeded should, for example, it be necessary to re-engage the lower clutch member 68 to apply rotation from the tubing string 14 through the housing 20` to the tools 11-13.

Once the valve means 25 are open, the guide pin 76 will be at its position B as shown in FIGURE 7. The mandrel 19 cannot, however, be moved further downwardly so as to bring the guide pin 76 to its position at E since the lower face of the lower split-nut 94 will be abutted against the housing shoulder 99.

A typical testing operation usually includes one or more measurements of the so-called shut-in pressure of the formation interval being tested. To measure this and other pressures, one or more pressure recorders 165 are provided below the valve means 26. If desired, these pressure recorders 165 may be arranged as shown in a copending application Ser. No. 620,943, now Patent No. 3,414,059 filed by the applicant on Mar. 6, 1967, for selective release from the tool 10 by opening the valve means 26. In any event, to obtain a shut-in pressure, the mandrel 19 is pulled upwardly to reclose the valve means 25. Once the guide pin 76 is in its position at B in the groove system 77 (FIGURE 7), upward movement of the mandrel 19 will bring the guide pin into the upper end of the longitudinal groove 83. By extending the lower wall 166 of the enlarged groove portion 85 to a termination, as at 167, beyond the lower end of the groove 86, a straight upward pull on the mandrel 19 will be certain to carry the guide pin 76 into the groove 83 rather than back into the groove 84.

The mandrel 19, is therefore, picked-up until the guide pin reaches its position at C in the short groove 87. This will, of course, also return the upper face of the splitnut 94 back into engagement with the housing shoulder 98 and reclose the ports 137 and 138. It will also be recalled that once the guide pin 76 is in the groove 83, the sleeve 75 will be appropriately positioned to align the mandrel lugs 92 with their respective shoulder slots 91 and allow the lugs to pass therethrough and move above the shoulder 90.

Although the valve means 25 are closed by the time the guide pin 76 reaches its position at C and the initial shut-in pressure measurement is started, it is desirable to maintain a downward force on the packer 13 while the measurement is being taken. Thus, as already discussed, the sleeve shoulder 90 is appropriately located in relation to the lower surface of the mandrel lugs 92 so that a slight downward movement of the mandrel 19 will bring the lugs 92 into engagement with the shoulder 90. Thus, as seen in FIGURES 10A-10B, once the mandrel lugs 92 are engaged on the shoulder 90, a downward force on the tubing string 14 will be transmitted through the sleeve to the housing 20 and on downwardly to the tools 11413 therebelow.

Accordingly, by alternately lowering and raising the mandrel 19 as shown in FIGURES 8A-8B through 10A-10B, any number of flowing and shut-in tests can be made by repetitively opening and closing the second valve means 25 while the first and third valve means 24 and 26 remain securely closed. Moreover, each longitudinal movement of the mandrel 19 will provide a pronounced and easily detected indication at the surface when the mandrel reaches one extreme or another.

It will be realized, therefore, from FIGURES SA-SB, 9A-9B and 10A-10B that the first and third valve means 24 and 26 have remained closed through all of the various operations described so far. This is, of course, necessary since so long as such shut-in and flowing tests are being made, it is essential that the packer 13 isolate that portion of the well bore 15 below the packer from the well-control fluids thereabove. Thus, the function of the second valve means 25 is to provide selective communication between the lower portion of the well bore 15 and the interior of the tubing string 14.

Once these shut-in and flowing tests have been completed, however, one of four things will be done depending upon observations made at the surface during these tests. First of all, if these observations indicate that no oil and/or gas has been produced from one or more of the earth formations being tested, the usual procedure is to retrieve the tools 10-13 without further ado. On the other hand, should these tests indicate that connate fluids have been produced, it is best to reverse out the fluids that have entered the tubing string 13 during the testing operation. Such reverse circulation is necessary since, for example, should the tubing string 13 be later removed from the well bore 15 with formation fluids still in it, a potential fire hazard will be created should these fluids be inflammable. Moreover, the drilling crew would in any event be hampered by spillage of these formation fluids over the derrick floor and equipment as the stands of tubing are progressively disconnected and stacked.

Accordingly, when it is desired to reverse fluids from the tubing string 14, it will be appreciated that the tool 10 will be in the shut-in position as seen in FIGURES 10A-10B. At this point, all three valve means 24, 25 and 26 are closed and the clutch members 63 and 68 are disengaged. Thus, the mandrel 19 is free to rotate in relation to the housing 20 and the mandrel lugs 92 are abutted on the shoulder i on top of the sleeve 75 so that a downward force can be applied through the tool 10 to maintain the packer 13 seated. The engagement of the mandrel lugs 92 with the sleeve shoulder -90 will, of course, prevent the mandrel 19 from moving downwardly in relation to the housing 20.

It will be noted in FIGURES 10A-10B that when the tool 10 is in its shut-in position, the positioning sleeve 41 is sufficiently elevated in relation to the housing 20 that the outwardly-biased key 51 carried by the sleeve is disposed in the housing groove 52 and corotatively secures the positioning sleeve to the housing. Accordingly, since the mandrel 19' is free to rotate in relation to the housing 20, clockwise rotation of the mandrel will begin disengaging the mandrel threads 46 from the split-nut 45 carried lby the positioning sleeve 41. It will be recalled, however, that at this time, weight is being applied to the mandrel 19 to keep the mandrel lugs 92 engaged with the Shoulder 90 on the rotatable sleeve 75 so that the mandrel cannot move upwardly as the mandrel threads 46 are rotatably disengaged from the split-nut 45. Thus, clockwise rotation of the mandrel 19 will instead cause the split-nut 45 to move downwardly in relation to the mandrel since the mandrel threads 46 are left-handed.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that as the split-nut 45 is moved downwardly in relation to the rotating mandrel 19, the positioning sleeve 41 will be correspondingly shifted thereby. Then, once the split-nut 45 is disengaged from the mandrel threads 46, the spring 49 will urge the positioning sleeve 41 on downwardly in relation t0 both the mandrel 19 and the housing 20.

Accordingly, as seen in FIGURES 11A-11B, downward travel of the positioning sleeve 41 will shift the valve sleeve 34 downwardly until the sleeve ports 39 are aligned with the mandrel ports 38 and the housing ports 40. It will be appreciated, of course, that the mandrel ports 38 were aligned with the housing ports 40 whenever the tool was moved to its shut-in position (FIGURES 10A-10B). Thus, once the tool 10 is in this shut-in position, clockwise rotation of the mandrel 19 is all that is required to selectively establish communication between the mandrel bore 22 and the well bore above the packer 13 and begin the reversing procedure.

It should be noted that once the positioning sleeve 41 is moved downwardly by the spring 49, the key 51 thereon will move out of the lower end of the housing groove 52 so that the positioning sleeve is no longer keyed to the housing 204 once the tool 10 is in the reversing position. The significance of this will subsequently become apparent. Moreover, it will be noted in FIGURES 11A- 11B that downward travel of the valve sleeve 34 is halted whenever the lower end of the valve sleeve engages the top of the abutment sleeve 53 which is resting on the mandrel shoulder 56. At this point, the latching yballs 54 are moved outwardly by the enlarged mandrel portion 58 so that the balls are not in an operative position. Thus, it will be seen that the abutment sleeve 53 is, at this point in the operation, in position to halt the valve sleeve 34 in the position shown.

With the ports 38, 39 and 40 all in alignment and the valve means 25 and 26 therebelow closed, the usual reversing procedure is to begin pumping additional wellcontrol uids into the well bore so that as well-control uids enter these open ports, whatever fluids there are in the tubing string 14 will :be displaced upwardly. Suitable steps are, of course, taken at the surface to insure that the fluids displaced from the tubing string 14 are safely disposed.

Accordingly, once the reversing operation is completed, either the second or the third of the previously mentioned four possibilities will occur. In some situations, the tools 10-13 are recovered once the reversing is accomplished. In other situations, the third alternate will be to open the full bore of the tool 10` either to conduct further completion operations or to recover the pressure recorders 165. In either the second or the third situation, the mandrel 19 is raised slightly to return the guide pin 76 to its position at A and then the mandrel is again lowered to reclose the reversing valve 24. This will, of course, reopen the valve means 25 (position B) as shown in FIGURES 9A-9B. Once this is done, the tools 10-13 are either recovered or the valve means 26 are then opened.

The tool 10 is, of course, now in the position shown in FIGURES 9A-9B. Accordingly, to continue further downward travel of the mandrel 19 for opening of the valve means 26, it is necessary to rst unthread the lower mandrel threads 103 from the lower nut 94. It will be realized, of course, that unthreading rotation of the mandrel 19 would ordinarily tend to move the mandrel on downwardly and leave the lower split-nut 94 shouldered on its associated lower housing shoulder 99. It should be noted, however, that as a matter of operating technique,

it is preferred to relieve some of the downward, load on the mandrel 19 while rotating the tubing string 14. This is done by picking up the tubing string 14 somewhat but still leaving suicient weight on the mandrel 19 to overcome the biasing means 32 which added weight will, of course, slowly overcome the movement-retarding means 33. Thus, a suilcient time is assured to allow the lower split-nut 94 to climb the mandrel threads 103 before the movement-retarding means 33 are overcome.

Accordingly, as best seen in FIGURES 12A-12B, rotation of the mandrel 19 in the appropriate direction (as shown by arrow 170) in cooperation with the movement-retarding means 33 will instead allow the nut 94 to climb the mandrel threads 103 and leave the mandrel in substantially the same longitudinal position as before. The nut 94 cannot, of course, rotate by virtue of the splines 96 (FIGURE 6) but it will nevertheless climb the threads 103 as the mandrel 19 rotates relative to the splitnut.

Once the lower split-nut 94 is freed from the lower mandrel threads 103, the mandrel 19 is then free to travel on downwardly as permitted by the movement-retarding -means 33. 4Once the upper end of the sleeve 118 clears the enlarged-diameter housing portion 133, the mandrel 19 will then move rapidly downwardly (as shown by arrow 171) into the position depicted in FIGURES 12A- 12B. This sudden movement will provide a substantial shock that is easily detected at the surface. As seen in FIGURES 12A-12B, movement of the mandrel 19 into this position will simultaneously co-engage the upper mandrel threads 102 with the upper split-nut 93, close the valve means 24 and 25, and pivot the ball member 142 into a position where its passageway 143 is coaxially aligned with the mandrel bore 22. Then, if necessary, the tubing string 14 is rotated one or two rotations to insure engagement of the upper clutch member 63. Once the clutch member 63 is engaged, this will also provide a positive indication at the surface that the ball member 142 is open and that the mandrel 19 and housing 20' are co-rotatively secured.

`Once the ball member 142 is open, the seats 144 and 145 will be tightly seated around the opposite ends of the passage 143 to prevent entrance of fluids in the mandrel bore 22 into the enlarged housing space 134. It will also be noted that since the ports 137 and 138 are no longer in registration, solids or fluids in the mandrel bore 22 are similarly blocked from entering the enlarged space 134. Similarly, the ports 154 will also be closed.

The fourth alter-nate is, of course, to open the valve means 26 without opening the valve means 24. This is simply done by moving the tool 10 from the position shown in FIGURES 10A-40B directly to that shown in FIGURES 9A-9B and then FIGURES 12A-12B without passing through the position shown in FIGURES 11A-11B.

As already mentioned, as the mandrel 19 is moved downwardly (from the position of FIGURES 11A-11B back to that shown in FIGURES 9A-9B), the lvalve means 24 are reclosed. It is at this point, therefore, that the selectively-operable abutment sleeve 53 comes into play. Accordingly, as the mandrel 19 moves downwardly, the enlarged-diameter mandrel portion 58 will hold the balls 54 outwardly and on the housing shoulder 62 so that the abutment sleeve 53 will prevent the valve sleeve 34 from moving downwardly. This, of course, allows the mandrel 19 to move downwardly in relation to all three of the sleeves 34, 41 and 53 so that the mandrel seal 36 can again be moved below the sleeve ports 39 to again block fluid communication through the mandrel ports 38. It will also be noted that as the mandrel 19 moves downwardly in relation to the positioning sleeve 41, the mandrel threads 46 will ratchet back into the split-nut 45 to recouple the positioning sleeve and valve sleeve 34 to the mandrel. To properly position the sleeves 34, 41 and 53 in relation to the mandrel 19, the mandrel shoulder 61 is suitably located to be immediately under the latching balls 54 once the split-nut 45 is re-engaged with the mandrel threads `46. The balls 54 are urged inwardly in latching engagement with the mandrel shoulder 61 by the reduced-diameter housing portion 60. Thus, once the tool is in the position shown in FIGURES 12A- 12B, the balls 54 will be effective to support the sleeves 34, `41 and 53 against further travel downwardly by the biasing spring 49.

It should be noted at this point that the valve sleeve 34 is preferably arranged to provide a downwardly-acting unbalanced-pressure force to assist the spring 49 in opening the valve sleeve. To provide this additional pressure bias, the mandrel portion carrying the upper sealing member 36 is made to have a slightly smaller outside diameter than the mandrel portion carrying the lower sealing member 37. The interior diameters of those portions of the valve sleeve 34 normally engaged with the sealing members 36 and 37 when the mandrel ports 38 are blocked are, of course, sized to complementally receive the sealing members. Accordingly, the upper portion of the valve sleeve 34 'will present a slightly larger effective cross-sectional area than the lower portion and the hydrostatic pressure of the well-control lluids will provide a slight downward force on the valve sleeve so long as the mandrel ports 38 are closed. It will be understood, of course, that by making the diameters of the two mandrel portions carrying the seals 346 and 37 equal, no unbalanced pressure force will be provided.

Once the tool 10 is in the position shown in FIGURES 12A-12B, the mandrel 19 will be prevented from traveling upwardly by the co-engagement of the upper mandrel threads 102 in the upper split-nut 93. Release of the threads 102 from the nut 93 could, of course, be accomplished by rotation of the mandrel 19 were it not for the engagement of the upper clutch member 63 which now prevents further rotation of the mandrel relative to the housing 20. Thus, once the mandrel 19 reaches its lowermost telescoped position shown in FIGURES 12A-12B, the tool 10 is locked in this position with the ball-valve means 26 open and the sleeve-valve means 25 closed. This will provide a substantially continuous and uninterrupted passage from the tubing string 14 for introduction of various well tools (not shown), completion uids such as cement or fracturing fluids requiring high flow rates, and for other reasons that may be encountered during the course of typical remedial or well-completion operations. The tools 10-13 must be retrieved to the surface in order to return the mandrel 19 to its original position. To do this, the upper clutch member 63 is quickly released by separating the housing 20` at the threads 104 thereon and shifting the annular member upwardly to disengege the lugs 65 from the slots 66.

The annular spacer 100 is, of course, employed to prevent the mandrel 19 from being picked upwardly once the ball valve 142 is opened and the upper mandrel threads 102 have become engaged with the upper splitnut 93 as shown in FIGURES 12A-12B. It will be appreciated, therefore, that by omitting this spacer 100, the mandrel 19 could be moved upwardly a suicient distance to disengage the lugs 65 from their receptive slots 66, This movement would, however, be insufficient to allow either the ball member 142 to be rotated back into its closed position or for the ports 137 and 138 to realign as shown in FIGURES 9A-9B so long as the mandrel 19l was not rotated. The valve means 24- would, of course, remain closed. Yet, once the lugs `65 were free of their slots 66, the mandrel 19 could be rotated suiciently to disengage the upper split-nut 93 from the mandrel threads 102 and permit the valve means 24, 25 and 26 to be alternately opened and closed as many times as desired between the positions shown in FIGURES 9A-9B, 11A-11B and 12A-12B. Moreover, with the spacer 100 omitted, once the mandrel 19 is rotated suciently to disengage the upper split-nut 93 from the upper mandrel threads 102, the mandrel could also be returned to any of the positions shown in FIGURES 8A-8B and 10A-10B as well.

Omission of the spacer 100 is not too desirable, however, where the bypass valve 11 and packer 13 are of the types described above in reference to FIGURE 1. For example, following a so-called squeeze job, it is almost essential to rapidly flush-out the excess cement remaining in the tubing string 14 by applying pressure to the well-control fluids in the well annulus and forcing these fluids up into the lower end of the tubing string and on upwardly therein. Access to the tubing string 14 is typically gained by either unsetting the packer 13 or, as a last resort, opening the bypass valve 11 or the reversing valve 24 should the packer not be readily unseated. It will be realized, of course, that in either event, the ball valve 26 must be left open to permit a high flow rate of these fluids to lbe maintained. With bypass valves and packers of the types described, however, the tubing string 14 usually must be at least partially rotated and then picked up with considerable force to either open the bypass valve 11 or unseat the packer 13. These motions could, therefore, serve to reclose the ball valve 26 and prevent the desired liushing operation if either the packer 13 or bypass valve 11 were not completely free of foreign matter and readily movable. Thus, unless the packer 13 and bypass valve 11 are of a style requiring only a straight upward pull to unseat the packer or open the bypass valve, it is preferred to include the spacer 100 so that the ball member 142 will unquestionably remain securely locked in its open position once the tool 10 is moved into the position depicted in FIGURES 12A-12B.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the depicted arrangement of the groove system 77 of the positioning means 28 allows the sleeve-valve 25 to be selectively opened and closed by simple reciprocation of the mandrel 19. Moreover, by appropriately locating such stops as the surfaces 166 and 168 adjacent to the entrance of one of the grooves (e.g., groove 89), as the mandrel 19 is moved to reposition the guide pin 76 (e.g., from position C to position D), longitudinal movement of the mandrel will result in the guide pin reaching the proper subsequent position.

It will be realized, however, that the proper functioning of the positioning means 28 requires that the mandrel 19 be moved longitudinally with little or no rotation so long as the lower split-nut 94 is engaged with the lower mandrel threads 103. Those skilled in the art will understand, however, that torsional forces will often be developed in the tubing string 14 as the tools 10-13 are being positioned in the well bore 15. Thus, even though no rotation is deliberately imparted to the tubing string 14 at the earths surface during the operation of the tool 10, suicient torsional forces may have been stored by the tubing string to impart at least a partial rotation to the mandrel 19 as it is being moved longitudinally from the surface.

It will be realized, therefore, that should the mandrel 19 rotate in a clockwise direction as it is being raised to shift the guide pin 76 from its position at B to its position at C, the guide pin could clear the end 167 of the surface 166 and reenter the groove 84 rather than being moved into the groove 83 (FIGURE 7). Should this occur, the guide pin 76 would return to its position at A without the operators knowledge. Then, when the mandrel 19 was again lowered to supposedly shift the guide piu 76 from its position at C to its position at D, the guide pin would instead be returned to its position at B. Thus, instead of closing the valve means 25 to take a shut-in pressure measurement, the valve means 25 would be reopened. Similar malfunctions due to residual torsional movements of the mandrel 19 could just as well occur at other points in the operating sequence of the, tool 10.

Accordingly, to insure positive operation of the positioning means 28, stop means, such as an inwardly biased key 172 on the sleeve 75 and a plurality of vertically disposed stops or shoulders 173-176 on the mandrel 19, are provided to prevent inadvertent rotation of the mandrel from bringing the guide pin 76 into an incorrect position as the tool is being operated. As best seen in FIGURE 13, the key 172 is mounted upright in a longitudinal sleeve recess 177 diametrically opposite the guide pin 76. It should be noted that although the key 172 has been shown in FIGURE 2B to better illustrate the invention, the key is actually angularly oriented as shown in FIGURE 13. An arcuate spring 1.78 or similar biasing means behind the key 172 normally urges the key into contact with that portion of the mandrel 19 diametrically opposite the groove system 77 thereon.

The first stop shoulder 173 on the mandrel 19 is at about the same level as the enlalged portion 85 of the groove system 77 and is about diametrically opposite therefrom. It will be appreciated moreover from FIGURES 2B, 5 and 7 that the vertical shoulder surface 173 is so arranged in relation to the key 172 that whenever the guide pin 76 is in either the groove 86 or enlarged groove portion 85, the mandrel 19 cannot rotate in relation to the sleeve 75 sufficiently far in a clockwise direction that the guide pin can pass the terminal groove surface 167 and re-enter the groove 84. Thus, once the guide pin 76 is in the position B shown in FIGURE 7, inadverent rotation of the mandrel 19 in a clockwise direction will only bring the key 172 against the shoulder 173 and keep the sleeve 75 and guide pin correctly oriented in relation to the groove system 77. Rotation of the mandrel 19 in a counterclockwise direction will only bring the guide pin 76 against the common wall of the grooves 83 and 86 which serves as a stop to prevent misalignment of the guide pin and groove system 77.

The other stop shoulders 174-176 are similarly arranged at the same level of the transverse groove 81 to successively prevent re-entry of the guide pin 76 into either the groove 83 or groove 89 once the guide pin has entered the groove 87, the groove 89 or the groove 88 or the groove 82 as the tool 10 is progressively operated. Thus, for example, once the guide pin 76 is in its position C (FIGURE 7), counterclockwise rotation of the mandrel 19 cannot reposition the guide pin into groove 83 since the shoulder 174 will engage the key 172 and hold the groove surface 168 above the pin so as to guide the pin to its position at D as the mandrel is lowered. Similarly, the shoulder 175 keeps the guide pin 76 from reentering the groove 87 from the groove 89 and the shoulder 176 keeps the guide pin from re-entering the groove 89 from the groove 88.

Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the present invention has provided a new and improved well tool adapted to control fluid communication between the pipe string and the well bore annulus above a packer as well as the well bore below a packer. By arranging the several valve means and their respective positioning means for selective operation only in response to particular movements of the pipe string, opening and closing of each of the valves is accomplished wholly independently of the operation of the others thereby eliminating the unwanted operation of any valve.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is apparent that changes and modications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects; and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A well tool comprising: inner and outer relativelyrotatable tubular members telescoped together for movement relative to one another between longitudinallyspaced positions and including a first fluid passage between the interiors of said tubular members and a second fluid passage between the exterior of said tool and said first passage; first coengageable means on said tool for controlling fluid communication through one of said passages and selectively operable only upon a relative rotation between said tubular members and then longitudinal movement thereof to one of said spaced positions; and second coengageable means on said tool for controlling fluid communication through the other of said passages and selectively operable only upon longitudinal movement of said tubular members to another of said spaced positions and then relative rotation therebetween.

2. The well tool of claim 1 wherein said first-mentioned and said second-mentioned relative rotations are in the same rotative direction.

3. The well tool of claim 1 wherein said one passage is said first passage and further including: a third passage bypassing said first coengageable means; and third coengageable means on said tool controlling fluid communication through said third passage and selectively operable upon longitudinal movement of said tubular members between two of said spaced positions.

4. The well tool of claim 1 wherein said one passage is said first passage and said first and second coengageable means include first and second valve means that are selectively opened by said first and said second longitudinal movements and rotations respectively, and further including: means operable for closing said second valve means, if open, upon longitudinal movement of said tubular mernbers toward said one spaced position.

5. The well tool of claim 4 further including: a third passage bypassing said first valve means and providing an alternate fluid communication path between spaced locations in said first passage; and third valve means controlling fluid communication through said third passage and selectively opened and closed upon alternate movements of said tubular members between a third one of said spaced positions and said other spaced position.

6. The well tool of claim 1 further including: clutch means co-rotatively securing said tubular members in a selected one of said spaced positions and selectively disengageable upon movement of said tubular members toward said one and said other positions.

7. The well tool of claim 6 further including: delay means for retarding movement of said tubular members toward said one and said other positions.

8. The well tool of claim 7 wherein said one passage is said first passage and further including: a third passage bypassing said first coengageable means; and third means controlling fluid communication through said third passage and selectively operable upon movement of said tubular members between a third one of said spaced positions and said other spaced position.

9. The well tool of claim 8 wherein said first, second and third means respectively include first, second and third valve means that are respectively opened and closed by said movements and rotations of said tubular members, and further including: means operable upon movement of said tubular members toward said one spaced position for closing said second valve means, if open; and means operable upon movement of said tubular members toward said one spaced position for closing said third valve means.

10. A well tool comprising: inner and outer relativelyrotatable tubular members telescoped together for movement relative to one another between selected longitudinally-spaced positions; a first passage between the interiors of said tubular members; a second passage between the interior and exterior of said tool; first means including rst valve means between said tubular members for controlling fluid communication through said first passage and selectively opened and closed upon non-rotative longitudinal movement of said tubular members between first and second ones of said spaced positions; and second means including second valve means between said tubular members for controlling fiuid communication through said second passage and selectively opened only upon movement of said tubular members to a third one of said spaced positions and then relative rotation of said tubular members while remaining in said third position.

11. The well tool of claim wherein said first means further include a third passage bypassing said first valve means and third valve means controlling fluid communication through said third passage and selectively operable upon relative longitudinal movement of said tubular members to a fourth one of said spaced positions, and further including: position-establishing means releasably co-engaged between said tubular members normally preventing movement of said tubular members to said fourth position and selectively operable in response to relative rotation of said tubular members for releasing said tubular members for movement to said fourth position.

12. The well tool of claim 11 ywherein said first-mentioned and said second-mentioned relative rotations of said tubular members are in one rotative direction.

13. The well tool of claim 11 further including: second position-establishing means between said tubular members and responsive to successive longitudinal movements thereof for sequentially halting said tubular members at predetermined ones of said spaced positions.

14. The well tool of claim 11 further including: clutch means co-rotatively securing said tubular members in said first position and selectively disengageable upon movement of said tubular members away from said first position.

15. The well tool of claim 11 further including: clutch means co-rotatively securing said tubular members in said fourth position and selectively disengageable upon movement of said tubular members away from said fourth position.

16. The well tool of claim 11 further including: first clutch means co-rotatively securing said tubular members in said first positionand selectively disengageable upon movement of said tubular members away from said position; and second clutch means co-rotatively securing said tubular members in said fourth position and selectively disengageable upon movement of said tubular members away from said fourth position.

17. A well tool comprising: inner and outer relativelyrotatable tubular members telescoped together for movement relative to one another between longitudinally-spaced positions and respectively having first and second lateral ports adapted to provide fluid communication between the exterior of said outer tubular member and the interior of said inner tubular member; valve means including a valve member movably disposed between said tubular members and adapted for movement relative thereto between a rst position preventing fiuid communication between said lateral ports and a second position opening fluid communication therebetween; and valve-actuating means for selectively moving said valve member from one of said valve positions to the other of said valve positions including first means releasably securing said valve member to one of said tubular members and releasable only upon rotation of said one tubular member relative to said valve member and the other of said tubular members, second means co-rotatively securing said valve member to said other tubular member in one of said spaced positions and releasable therefrom upon movement of said tubular members to others of said spaced positions, and means for moving said valve member to said other valve position upon release of said first valvesecuring means.

18. The well tool of claim 17 further including: means operative only after movement of said valve member to said other valve position for returning said valve member to said one valve position upon longitudinal movement of said tubular members away from said one spaced position.

19. The well tool of claim 17 wherein said valvemoving means include a spring between said valve member and one of said tubular members.

20. The well tool of claim 19 wherein Asaid one valve position is said first valve position and said valve-moving means further include means on, said valve member responsive to a pressure differential between the exterior and interior of said tubular members for urging said valve member from said first valve position to said second valve position upon release of said first valve-securing means.

21. The well tool of claim 17 wherein said valve member is a sleeve adapted for longitudinal movement on said inner member and said valve means further include first and second sealing means between said sleeve and said inner member respectively above and below said first lateral port whenever said sleeve is in said first valve position.

22. The well tool of claim 21 wherein said first valvesecuring means include external threads on said inner member, a radially-expansible internally-threaded member connected to said sleeve and threadedly engaged with said external threads whenever said sleeve is in said first valve position, and means co-rotatively securing said threaded member relative to said sleeve.

23. The well tool of claim 22 wherein said second valve-securing means are between said valve member and said outer member and include a longitudinal spline on one of said last-mentioned members and a longitudinal spline groove on the other of said last-mentioned members operatively located to receive said spline whenever said tubular members are in said one spaced position and to be longitudinally spaced from said spline whenever said tubular members are in said other spaced positions.

24. Well bore apparatus comprising: selectively operable well-packing means adapted for engagement in a Well bore and including an axial passage through said wellpacking means; a first tubular member connected at its lower end to said well-packing means; a second tubular member adapted for connection at its upper end to a pipe string and having its lower end telescopically arranged with said first tubular member for rotation as well as longitudinal movement between longitudinallyspaced positions relative thereto; means defining a first passage through said tubular members and adapted to provide uid communication between said axial passage and a pipe string connected to said second tubular member; means defining a second passage through said tubular members and adapted to provide fluid communication between said first passage and a well bore exterior of said tubular members; first means including first valve means for selectively opening fluid communication through said first passage only upon rotation of said second tubular member and then longitudinal movement thereof to one of said spaced positions; and second means including second valve means for selectively opening fluid cornmunication through said second passage only upon longitudinal movement of said second tubular member to another of said spaced positions and then rotation of said second tubular member while in said other spaced position.

25. The well bore apparatus of claim 24 further including: a first shoulder on one of said tubular members; a sleeve rotatably journalled on the other of said tubular members and having a second shoulder thereon adapted for abutment by said second shoulder only when said sleeve is in a selected angular position and said second tubular member is in said other spaced position for transmitting longitudinal forces from a tubing string connected to said second tubular member to said well-packing means; and indexing means on said one tubular member and said sleeve for rotating said sleeve to said selected angular position upon longitudinal movement of said second tubular member to said other spaced position and for rotating said sleeve away from said selected angular position upon longitudinal movement of said second tubular member away from said other spaced position.

26. The well bore apparatus of claim 25 wherein said first means include: position-establishing means releasably co-engaged between said tubular members for normally preventing movement of said second tubular member to said one spaced position and selectively releasable by said rotation to allow said second tubular member to be moved to said one spaced position.

27. The well bore apparatus of claim 24 wherein said first means include: position-establishing means releasably co-engaged between said tubular members for normally preventing movement of said second tubular member to said one spaced position and selectively releasable by said rotation to allow said second tubular member to be moved to said one spaced position.

28. The well bore apparatus of claim 27 further including: means defining a third passage through said tubular members and adapted to provide fluid communication between said axial passage and a pipe string connected to said second tubular member; and third means including third valve means for selectively opening fluid communication through said third passage upon longitudinal movement of said second tubular movement to a third one of said spaced positions.

29. The well bore apparatus of claim 28 further including: second position-establishing means between said tubular members and responsive to consecutive alternating longitudinal movements of said second tubular member for successively halting said second tubular member at said other and said third spaced positions.

30. A well tool comprising: inner and outer relativelyrotatable tubular members telescoped together for movement relative to one another between longitudinallyspaced positions and having a fluid passage establishing communication between the interior of said tubular members and a well bore exterior thereof; valve means on one of said tubular members and movable in relation thereto between a position closing said passage and a position opening said passage; first means releasably securing said valve means to said one tubular member for retaining said valve means in one of said valve positions and responsive only to rotation of said one tubular member in relation to said valve means for releasing said valve means for movement to the other of said valve positions; second means releasably securing said valve means to the other of said tubular members whenever said tubular members are in one of said spaced positions for preventing relative rotation between said valve means and said other tubular member, said second securing means being releasable upon movement of said tubular members to another of said spaced positions; and means for moving said valve means to said other valve position upon release of said first valve-securing means.

31. The well tool of claim 30 further including: second valve means on said inner member for blocking fluid communication through said interior of said tubular members when said tubular members are in said one spaced position and for establishing fluid communication through said interior of said tubular members when said tubular members are in said other spaced position.

32. The well tool of claim 31 further including: position-establishing means responsive to alternating longitudinal movements of said tubular members for successively positioning said tubular members in said spaced positions.

33. The well tool of claim 31 further including: position-establishing means releasably secured to said inner member for preventing movement of said tubular members to said other spaced position and responsive to relative rotation thereof when said tubular members are in a spaced position intermediate of said one and Said other spaced positions to release said inner member and permit movement of said tubular members to said other spaced position.

34. The well tool of claim 33 further including: third valve means on said inner member for blocking fluid communication through said interior of said tubular mem- 2'6 bers when said tubular members are in said one spaced position and for establishing fluid communication through said interior of said tubular members when said tubular members are in said intermediate spaced position.

35. The well tool of claim 33 further including: means responsive to movement of said tubular members away from said one spaced position for returning said firstmentioned valve means from said other valve position to said one valve position.

36. A well tool comprising: inner and outer relativelyrotatable tubular members telescoped together for movement relative to one another between longitudinallyspaced positions and defining a longitudinal flow passage through said tool; first means selectively operable for opening and closing communication through said longitudinal flow passage in response to relative movement of said tubular members between intermediate ones of said spaced positions and at least one other of said spaced positions; and second means including a lateral flow passage in said inner member providing communication between said longitudinal fiow passage and a well 'bore exterior of said tool, a slidable sleeve member sealingly coengaged on said inner member for movement thereon between a position blocking communication through said lateral flow passage and a position opening communication therethrough, first means threadedly coupling said sleeve member to said inner member for retaining said sleeve member in its said flow-'blocking position and rele-asable only upon relative rotation between said sleeve member and said inner member, second means co-rotatively coupling said sleeve member to said outer member when said tubular members are in one of said intermediate spaced positions for allowing relative rotation between said sleeve member and said inner member when said tubular members are in said one intermediate position, said second coupling means being disengaged when said tubular members are moved away from said one intermediate position for preventing relative rotation between said sleeve member and said inner member. and biasing means between said inner member and said sleeve member for moving said sleeve member to its said flow-opening position upon release of said first coupling means by relative rotation between said sleeve member and said inner member whenever said tubular members are in said one intermediate position.

37. The well tool of claim 36 wherein said first means include: an annular valve seat on said inner member, a rotatable valve member pivotally supported on said inner member engaged with said valve seat and rotatable in relation thereto between a position blocking communication through s-aid longitudinal flow passage and a position opening communication therethrough, and means operatively arranged between said rotatable valve member and said outer member normally retaining said rotatable valve member in its said flow-blocking position and responsive only to relative movement of said tubular members from said intermediate ones of said spaced positions and toward a first one of said other spaced positions to rotate said rotatable valve member to its flowpermitting position.

38. The well tool of claim 36 wherein said first means include: a second lateral flow passage in said inner member, and passage-covering means on said outer member and sealing means between said passage-covering means and said inner member cooperatively arranged for closing fiuid communication through said second lateral flow passage whenever said tubular members are in said intermediate spaced positions and `for opening fluid communic-ation through said second lateral flow passage whenever said tubular members are in a first one of said spaced positions.

39. The well tool of claim 36 wherein said first means include: an annular valve seat around said longitudinal flow passage, a rotatable valve member pivotally supported on said inner member engaged with said valve seat and rotatable in relation thereto between a position blocking communication through said longitudinal flow passage and a position opening communication therethrough, and means operatively arranged between said rotatable valve member and said outer member normally retaining said rotatable valve member in its said owblocking position and responsive to relative movement of said tubular members `from said intermediate ones of said spaced positions and toward a rst one of said other spaced positions to rotate said rotatable valve member to its flow-permitting position; a second lateral flow passage in said inner member between said iirst lateral flow passage and said rotatable valve member, and passagecovering means on said outer member and sealing means between said passage-covering means and said inner member cooperatively arranged for closing uid communication through said second lateral ow passage whenever said tubular members are in said intermediate spaced positions and for opening fluid communication through said second lateral ow passage Whenever said tubular members are in a second one of said other spaced 28 normally preventing movement thereof to said first spaced position and releasable only upon relative rotation between said tubular members to permit their movement to said rst spaced position.

41. The well tool of claim further including: position-establishing means cooperatively arranged between said tubular members and responsive to alternating longitudinal movements thereof to successively position said tubular members in predetermined spaced positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,308,887 3/1967 Nutter 166-226 X 3,329,209 7/1967 Kisling 166-150 X 3,358,771 12/1967 Berryman 166-226 3,435,897 4/1969 Barrington 166-226 3,442,328 5/1969 Nutter 166-152 DAVID H. BROWN, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. XR.

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