Kickover Tool

This invention relates to kickover tools and more particularly to kickover tools for installing devices such as gas lift valves in or removing them from side pocket mandrels and further relates to a kickover tool which may be run on either a wireline or by utilizing pump down equipment.

With the advent of the side pocket mandrel numerous forms of kickover tools have been suggested for landing and retrieving tools such as gas lift valves in side pocket mandrels. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,679,903; 2,664,162; 2,679,904; 2,988,146; 3,353,608; 2,828,698; 2,942,671; 2,948,341; 3,353,607, 3,610,336; 2,959,227; 2,964,110; 3,075,586; 3,732,928. While some of the structures exemplified by the above patents have enjoyed commercial success, only the structure shown in patent 3,610,336 is usable in pump down equipment and this use is limited to operations wherein the tools are not required to negotiate short radius bends in the flow conduit as they would be required to do in conventional through-flowline (TFL) operations. The design of such prior art tools has been such that the tools tend to bind and operate at reduced efficiency because force applied in the setting and pulling of devices is not applied along the longitudinal axis of the device being run or pulled. The forces available to kick the pivot arm into the kickover or laterally offset position are in some instances insufficient to accomplish this objective in wells whose bores are substantially deviated from the vertical. Relatively high forces are involved in pump down operations and only the kickover tool of patent 3,610,336 utilizes multiple lugs which are capable of withstanding these forces without substantial damage to the lugs or to the shoulders in the well tubing with which they engage.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple, dependable kickover tool useful in either wireline or pump down operations.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a kickover tool which will pass short radius bends in the flow conduit, for instance, in through-flowline (TFL) operations.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool wherein a single shoulder in the well tubing is utilized to operate the kickover tool in either wireline or pump down operations.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool for wireline or pump down operations wherein a device carried thereby is swingable laterally outwardly to an offset position by relative longitudinal movement of telescoping parts, which arrangement permits a strong spring force to be used, thus insuring that the device is moved to its full offset position even in highly deviated wells.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool for wireline or pump down operations in which a device carried thereby and to be installed in or removed from a side pocket is held laterally offset and approximately parallel to the kickover tool during landing or pulling operations to avoid binding forces between the device and side pocket.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool for wireline or pump down operations having a longitudinally movable sleeve thereon having means engageable with a shoulder in the tubing and movable between multiple positions for controlling the operation of the tool.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool for wireline or pump down operations in which a multiple position operator sleeve having multiple lugs for engaging a single shoulder in a well controls the operation of the tool and the lugs can readily pass such shoulders going into the well, but when the kickover tool encounters such shoulder in its upward travel in the well tubing, the device carried by the kickover tool will be caused to kickover into position for landing such device in or pulling it from the side pocket, and when such shoulder is again encountered and a larger force is applied to lift the kickover tool, such lugs will retract to permit retrieval of the kickover tool from the well.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool for wireline or pump down operations in which the tool will exert a straight up or down force on devices being landed in or pulled from the side pocket mandrel, thus avoiding side loads and damage to tools or the internal surface of the side pocket.

A further object of this invention is to provide a kickover tool of the character described wherein the kickover portion of the tool is positively latched in kickover position so that forces applied therethrough to a device to withdraw it from the side pocket receptacle will be applied along the longitudinal axis thereof without binding due to undesirable side forces even though the device offers substantial resistance to such axial forces.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool of the character just described wherein the means for latching its kickover portion in kicked over or laterally offset position are releasable upon application of a longitudinal force sufficient to withdraw the kickover tool from the side pocket mandrel.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool having means for holding and latching its kickover portion in kicked over or laterally offset position, such latching means comprising one or more shear pins which are movable into position to latch the kickover portion in kicked over position automatically when the kickover portion reaches the kicked over position.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool of the character just described wherein the one or more shear pins will be sheared automatically when the kickover portion is forced from its kicked over position during withdrawal of the kickover tool through the upper end of the side pocket mandrel.

Another object is to provide a kickover tool which is adapted to install a device such as a gas lift valve in or to remove such a device from the side pocket receptacle of a selected one of a plurality of identical side pocket mandrels in a well tubing.

A further object is to provide a kickover tool, two of which can be connected together and run into the well in tandem, one of such kickover tools being adapted to extract a device from the side pocket of a selected mandrel and the other such kickover tool being adapted to install a replacement device in the just vacated side pocket in a single trip of the tandem kickover tools into the well.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from studying the specification, the drawings, and the claims.

In the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like parts and wherein illustrative embodiments of this invention are shown;

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the kickover tool in elevation with the parts thereof in running relationship;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the device carrier in position to land a device such as a flow control device in the side pocket;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the device landed in the side pocket;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 showing the kickover tool disengaged from the drive which is landed in the side pocket;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are continuation views, partially in elevation and partially in section which taken together show a kickover tool constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6--6 of 5B;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 of 5C;

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are fragmentary sectional views showing different positions of the various parts of the control section of the kickover tool;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a form of retrieval or pulling tool for use with the kickover tool for retrieving a device from a side pocket mandrel in a well;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 5B showing the device of FIG. 5B provided with shear pin means for locking the device carrier in kickover position;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13--13 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 12 but showing the device carrier latched in kickover position;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 15--15 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 4 showing the device carrier being retracted as the kickover tool is being withdrawn from the side pocket mandrel; and

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 15 showing a kickover tool which has been modified to accept two shear pins for latching the device carrier in kickover position.

The side pocket mandrel is indicated generally by the numeral 10 and is adapted to be made up in a tubing string in the conventional manner to become a part thereof. The mandrel includes a side pocket 11 for receiving a flow control device such as a gas lift valve 12. The bore 11a of the side pocket is offset from and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tubing bore. At the upper end of the mandrel a locator sub 13 is provided having an internal locator flange or shoulder 14 with which the kickover tool 20 cooperates to control the kickover function as will be hereinafter explained. At the lower end of the mandrel, and below the side pocket 11, an orienting shoe 15 having a slot 19 extending longitudinally therein, as shown is provided for orienting the entire kickover tool such that the gas lift valve 12 to be installed in the side pocket is aligned therewith. After the kickover tool is actuated, the valve 12 is kicked over to a laterally offset position wherein it is in longitudinal axial alignment with the side pocket bore.

Reference is made to the above identified patents, and particularly to U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,336 for an explanation of the manner in which kickover tools are run both on wirelines and with pump down equipment. In the case of wireline operations, the wireline and tool string including a set of jars are attached to the upper sub 16 and in the case of pump down equipment the pump down tool train including at least one locomotive or piston is attached to the sub 16. A set of jars may also be included in the pump down tool string if desired although they are not normally required since the pumped fluid acting against the piston generates forces of sufficient magnitude for almost all work. For instance, a pressure differential of 2000 psi across a piston having an area of 3.13 square inches generates a thrust of 6260 pounds. The forces applied are substantially larger in the case of pump down operation than with wireline operation. Also, with pump down operation, it is preferred that the kickover tool be able to negotiate a short radius turn in the well conduit and, as will appear hereinafter, the kickover tool of this invention is capable of articulating at desired points spaced along its length to permit it to negotiate such short radius turns in the pipe. In wireline operations such turns are not encountered and the articulating joints may be dispensed with if desired.

In the general operation of the kickover tool 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the kickover tool is run past the position shown in FIG. 1 to assure that the orienting key 17 in the orienting housing 18 travels to a position below the orienting shoe 15. Then upon upward movement of the kickover tool, the key 17 will engage the orienting shoe 15 to rotate the kickover tool about its vertical axis to proper orientation with respect to the side pocket, at which time the orienting key 17 will be within longitudinally extending slot 19 in the orienting shoe as shown in FIG. 1. The slot 19 may or may not extend the full length of the orienting shoe.

Further upward movement of the kickover tool moves the lugs 21 into engagement with the locating shoulder 14. Still further upward movement results in the kickover tool operating in a manner to be hereinafter more fully described to kickover or swing the arm 22 from a position of longitudinal alignment within the kickover tool to a kickover position in which it extends outwardly of the kickover tool, in which position the gas lift valve 12 releasably secured thereto is in substantial axial alignment with the bore of the side pocket 11 as is seen in FIG. 2. When the pivot arm is in its kickover position it is disposed at about 90 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the kickover tool. It is conceivable that the kickover tool could be designed such that this angular displacement might be substantially less than the 90 degrees illustrated in the drawing. Downward movement of the kickover tool then inserts and seats the valve 12 in the side pocket 11 as shown in FIG. 3. The kickover tool may then be withdrawn from the well, and in FIG. 4 the kickover tool is shown in the initial stages of its upward travel. It should be noted that the top of the orienting shoe slot 19 is chamfered as at 23 to depress the orienting key 17 and permit its upward passage through the orienting shoe. It will be noted that the locator shoulder 14 is also chamfered so that the key 17 will likewise readily move therepast. The lower surface 17a of key 17 is inclined at a small angle to the vertical so that the key will be depressed by both the locator shoulder 14 and the orienting shoe in running the kickover tool into the well.

It should be understood that, although well bores are sometimes deviated from the vertical to such a great degree that a portion thereof may approach the horizontal, they are usually thought of as being substantially vertically disposed in the earth. Accordingly, well tools are thought of as being lowerable into wells where they move downwardly through the well bore or conduit toward the bottom of the well and are later lifted or returned to the surface by applying an upward force thereto thereby moving them upwardly in the well. Therefore, although a well tool may be disposed for a time in such horizontal portion of the well bore or conduit, it is still understood that lifting the tool in such case will return it to the surface of the well or toward the well head and, conversely, lowering of the tool will cause it to move toward the bottom of the well or downwardly in the well bore or conduit.

The construction of the tool is shown in FIGS. 5 through 7. The elongate main body or housing 24 of the kickover tool 20 includes the upper housing member 24a which depends from the coupling 16, a swivel attachment 25 secured to the upper housing member 24a by shear sub or coupling 26, a swivel socket 27 and a pivot housing 28 which is welded to the lower end of the socket 27.

A housing extension or guide 29 extends downwardly from the main body or housing 24 for partially housing the valve 12 and guiding it past side pockets in the well tubing and also provides a means for generally aligning the kickover tool within the side pocket mandrel. A first non-swiveling articulated joint 31 connects the bottom of guide 29 to the upper end of the spacer member 32 while the lower end of the spacer member 32 is connected by a second non-swiveling articulated joint 33 to the upper end of the orienting housing 18.

In order to orient the kickover tool into the proper relationship with the side pocket 11 of the side pocket mandrel, an orienting means is provided. Such orienting means includes the housing 18 in which the orienting key 17 is releasably secured by shear pin 30. The shear pin 30 acts as a pivot to permit the key to be depressed as the surface 17a thereof moves downwardly past shoulders within the tubing, or as the chamfer 17b at its upper end moves upwardly past shoulders such as the chamfer 23 at the upper end of the orienting slot or the locating shoulder 14.

In the event that the key lodges anywhere in the well tubing, the pivot pin 30 will shear and permit the key 17 to drop to a non-interfering position inside the housing 18. The key 17 is urged outwardly by the ball 34 which is biased downwardly against the key's upper beveled end 17c by compression spring 35.

An actuator mandrel assembly 36 is arranged in telescopic relationship with the main housing 24. The relative position between the actuator mandrel assembly and the main housing controls pivoting of the pivot arm 22 as will be explained. Preferably, the main housing has a bore 24b therethrough and the actuator mandrel assembly is telescopically or slidably received therewithin. The actuator mandrel assembly includes the actuator rod 37 which has a socket 38 at its lower end to which the crank arm 39 is attached by an adjusting stud 41 having a ball 42 on its upper end disposed in the socket 38. The adjustment of the crank arm is preserved by providing a suitable lock nut 41a on the stud which is tightened against the upper end of the crank arm as shown in FIG. 5B. At its upper end, the actuator mandrel assembly 36 includes an actuator mandrel member 43 which is threaded to the upper end of rod 37 and secured by lock nut 44. The upper end of the actuator mandrel 43 is formed with a reduced diameter 43a providing an inclined upwardly facing shoulder 43b for purposes which will be made clear hereinafter.

The actuator mandrel assembly 36 is urged in a direction away from the pivot housing 28 by resilient means such as spring 45 which is held under compression between an internal shoulder 26a within the shear sub 26 and the lock nut 44 on the actuator rod 37.

The pivot arm is pivotally mounted on one and is connected to the other of the elongate housing 24 and the actuator mandrel assembly 36 in such manner that the pivot arm is pivotable upon relative movement between the housing and the actuator mandrel assembly. Preferably, the pivot arm 22 is mounted in slot 28p in the pivot housing 28 by a pivot pin 46. The pivot arm is swingable between a first retracted position wherein it is disposed in longitudinal alignment with the elongate housing 24 and a second extended or kickover position wherein it extends laterally outwardly of the housing. Device attachment means such as the running tool 47 or the pulling tool 52 is hingedly attached to the pivot arm by pin 48. When the pivot arm is pivoted, it is swung laterally outwardly of the slot 28p to its kickover position and the running tool 47 is pivoted in the opposite direction about pin 48 so that it is disposed offset from the housing and parallel thereto and in axial alignment with the side pocket as seen in FIG. 2.

The actuator mandrel assembly 36 is slidably mounted in the housing and is movable between a lower position shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B and an upper position shown in FIG. 14. The actuator mandrel assembly is connected to the pivot arm means 22 by the crank arm 39. The lower portion or shank 39a of the crank arm extends down into the T-slot 22a formed in the pivot arm. A T-head 39b formed on the lower end of the crank arm shank is engaged in the lateral portions 22b of the T-slot of the pivot arm. Upon movement of the actuator mandrel assembly from its lower to its upper position, the crank arm will move the pivot arm about its pivot pin 46 from its retracted to its extended position.

In order to provide for a solid metal-to-metal engagement or connection between the housing 24 and the pivot arm 22 when installing the valve 12 in the side pocket 11, the actuator mandrel assembly is movable upwardly relatively to the housing a sufficient distance to bring the surface 22c on the pivot arm 22 into abutment with the upper end surface 28a of the slot 28p in the pivot housing 28. Thus, when a downward force is applied to the kickover tool, the pivot arm 22, after it has been moved to kickover position, will be maintained in such position and will transmit this downward force in a direction aligned with the longitudinal axis of the valve and the side pocket.

During pulling of a valve such as valve 12 from the side pocket, the spring 45 in some cases may be relied upon to hold the pivot arm 22 in its kickover position but if a large force is necessary to unseat the valve, as would often be the case, especially where the seals on the valve fit very tightly in the side pocket, the tool carrier 22 may tend to swing about its pivot 46 in a clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 3 and apply its force in non-parallel relation to the side pocket bore. In such cases, it is desirable to provide means for releasably latching the pivot arm in its kickover or non-aligned position shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. This will assure that longitudinal forces applied to the gas lift valve 12 during its installation in or its removal from the side pocket 11 will be applied along the longitudinal axis of the side pocket. The direction of these forces is obviously parallel to the longitudinal axes of the kickover tool and the tubing but offset therefrom.

Since such latching means is to be desired, the pivot arm 22 is provided with a lateral bore 22f for receiving a suitable latch pin and the pivot housing is provided with a lateral aperture 28b for receiving a portion of such latch pin when the pivot arm is moved to its kickover or non-aligned position to lock the pivot arm in its kickover position. Such latch means will be described later. Except in cases where the valve 12 greatly resists being removed from the side pocket, however, the spring 45 will maintain the pivot arm 22 in its kickover position shown in FIG. 2 and will apply a force to the valve 12 in an axial direction relative to the side pocket 11 and parallel to the longitudinal axes of the kickover tool and the tubing to withdraw the valve from the side pocket.

Suitable cooperating shoulders on the pivot arm 22 and the running tool 47 maintain the valve 12 in longitudinal alignment with the kickover tool during running of the kickover tool into the well and maintain it against swinging back toward the guide 29 while the valve is being inserted into the side pocket. As shown in FIG. 5B, the shoulder 22d on the pivot arm cooperates with shoulder 47a on the running tool to hold the running tool in the position shown in FIG. 5B. When the pivot arm 22 is pivoted to the kickover position shown in FIG. 2, the running tool 47 pivots about pivot pin 48 until its edge or shoulder 47b engages shoulder 22e on the pivot arm 22. In this position, the valve 12 is in longitudinal axial alignment with the side pocket and laterally spaced away from the guide 29 and parallel thereto as shown in FIG. 2. The valve 12 will be thus held in axial alignment with the side pocket bore 11a as it is moved thereinto even if the side pocket mandrel is disposed horizontally with the side pocket up.

Thus, if the mandrel is inclined as is the case in a deviated well, the valve 12 being run will be held laterally outwardly in longitudinal alignment with the bore of the side pocket even if the pocket is above the kickover tool. This is true although the well bore is deviated so much as to be horizontal and the mandrel is disposed therein with the pocket side upward. Should the mandrel be disposed with the pocket side downward, the valve 12 can swing out into engagement with the wall of the mandrel. There is no force applied against the wall of the mandrel, however, other than a portion of the weight of the valve 12 and this will not be sufficient to cause damage to the valve 12 or to the mandrel. In fact, such engagement should not damage or disturb anti-corrosion coatings which may be present within the mandrel. Thus, no matter what the degree of deviation of the well, the valve 12 is held in a position to be inserted straight into the pocket 11 without being forced outwardly against the wall of the mandrel above the side pocket which could result in damage to the inner walls of the side pocket, the coating in the mandrel, or to the device being landed.

The pulling tool 52 of FIG. 11 has its upper end formed exactly like the upper end of the running tool 47 so that either of them is attachable to the pivot arm 22. When the pulling tool 52 is substituted in the place of running tool 47 for pulling of the valve 12, the shoulder 52a thereof similarly engages shoulder 22e of the pivot arm to hold the pulling tool 52 in parallelism with the direction of pull on the kickover tool, and this relationship will be maintained up to the strength of the spring 45 or to the strength of this spring plus the strength of any shear pins used to latch the pivot arm in its offset or kicked over position.

During running of the kickover tool, the locking device indicated generally at 49 is releasably secured to the running tool 47 by the shear pins 51 and has the valve 12 threadedly attached to its lower end.

When the kickover tool is used to retrieve a valve from a side pocket, the pulling tool indicated generally at 52 in FIG. 11 is substituted for the running tool 47 by removing the pin 48, exchanging the running tool for the pulling tool and reinstalling the pin 48.

The operation of the kickover tool is controlled by the operator sleeve. The operator sleeve is slidably disposed about the upper housing member 24a and carries a plurality of lugs 21 in suitable windows 53a formed in the wall of the sleeve. The lugs 21 are radially movable between expanded and retracted positions as the sleeve is moved on the housing between four distinct positions. Position 1 is as shown in FIG. 5A. Position 2 is as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Position 3 is as shown in FIG. 10. Position 4 is not shown but is that position in which the operator sleeve 53 moves upwardly, as viewed in FIG. 5A, relative to the housing until the lugs 21 can retract into the recess 54 formed in the exterior surface of the upper housing member 24a. Thus, in positions 1 and 2 the lugs 21 are held in expanded position and in positions 3 and 4 the lugs 21 are permitted to retract freely when they engage a shoulder in the well such as the locating shoulder 14.

FIG. 5A shows the relationship of the operator sleeve 53 and upper housing member while the kickover tool is being run into the well and the lugs 21 are not in engagement with a shoulder. This is sleeve position 1. When the lugs 21 engage a shoulder such as the locator shoulder 14, the kickover tool moves downwardly relative to the operator sleeve 53. This places the sleeve in position 4 wherein the lugs 21 readily retract into the external annular recess 54 of the upper housing member 24a and permits the kickover tool to bypass such shoulder within the tubing. As soon as the kickover tool passes such shoulder, the operator sleeve 53 is returned to position 1 shown in FIG. 5A by the compression spring 55 which urges the operator sleeve 53 downwardly until the washer or ring 56 engages the upwardly facing shoulder 57 on the upper housing member 24. Thus, the operator sleeve moves between its first and fourth positions upon encountering obstructions during lowering of the tool in the well tubing to permit the lugs 21 to retract, thus enabling the kickover tool to pass locator shoulders and the like in the well.

During running of the kickover tool, the actuator mandrel assembly 36 is latched in its lower position shown in FIG. 5A, that is, in a position relative to the upper housing member 24a wherein the pivot arm 22 extends downwardly in substantially longitudinal alignment with the main housing 24 and guide 29. It is latched in this position by releasable latch means which includes a plurality of locking members such as the ball 58. These balls are disposed in suitable apertures 24c formed in the wall of the upper housing member 24a and are confined in their inner position shown by the confining bore 53b of the operator sleeve 53. Being thus confined, the balls protrude into the bore 24b of the upper housing member and engage or interfere with the upwardly facing shoulder 43a provided by the reduced diameter 43b on the upper housing member 43 to maintain the actuator mandrel assembly 36 in its lower position shown in FIG. 5A and to thus maintain the pivot arm retracted. It will be noted that the length of the sleeve bore 53b is sufficient to permit the operator sleeve to move upwardly to position 4 and the lugs 21 to retract during running of the kickover tool without disturbing the balls 58. Thus, the reciprocating motion of the operator sleeve 53 on the upper housing member between its positions 1 and 4 during running of the kickover tool into the well does not disturb the latch means which retains the actuator mandrel assembly in its lower position and, therefore, maintains the pivot arm 22 in retracted position in longitudinal alignment with the guide 29.

Means are provided for yieldably resisting upward movement of the upper housing member 24a relative to the operator sleeve from its position shown in FIG. 5A so that the lugs 21 normally will be supported in expanded position by the land 53c on the upper housing member 24a. This yieldable means may be provided in any desired manner which will prevent the operator sleeve 53 from moving below its first position on the housing as shown in FIG. 5A during running of the tool into the well. In the form of the tool illustrated, a compression spring 62 disposed between the shear sub 26 and guide sleeve 63 holds the operator sleeve in the desired position. The guide sleeve 63 has an internal upwardly facing shoulder 63a which cooperates with a downwardly facing shoulder 53d in the operator sleeve 53. The co-action of these two pairs of shoulders limits the upward travel of the operator sleeve 53 under the influence of spring 62 while permitting the spring 62 to yield and permit the operator sleeve 53 to be arrested in its upward movement while the remainder of the kickover tool continues upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 8. In FIG. 8, the operator sleeve is shown in its second position.

The pivot arm 22 is unlatched for swinging to extended position by upward movement of the kickover tool. After the kickover tool has been run into the well to a point just beyond the selected one of a plurality of identical side pocket mandrels 10 a sufficient distance to place the lugs 21 beyond the locator shoulder 14 of such selected side pocket mandrel and the orienting key 17 beyond the orienting shoe 15, the kickover tool is moved in the opposite direction until the lugs 21 engage the locator shoulder 14. At this time, upward movement of the operator sleeve 53 is arrested by the locator shoulder 14 while the upper housing member 24a continues to move upwardly until it reaches the position shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. In this second position of the operator sleeve relative to the housing, the lugs 21 are still held in expanded position by the land 61 as is clearly seen in the drawing. However, the internal recess 65 in the operator sleeve 53 is now opposite the latch balls 58 and the balls are free to be cammed outwardly thereinto by upwardly facing shoulder 43a to a position wherein they no longer interfere with the upwardly facing shoulder 43a.

Thus, the latch means is released and the actuator mandrel assembly 36 is freed to move upwardly to the position shown in FIG. 9 under the influence of the compression spring 45. When the latch means is released, the upward movement of the actuator assembly swings or pivots the pivot arm 22 about its pivot pin 46 to a position in which the arm extends laterally outwardly of the housing. In the kickover tool illustrated, the pivot arm when in the extended or kicked over position forms an angle of about 90 degrees with the housing, but this is a matter of design since this angle could be somewhat smaller if desired. This kickover tool is now lowered and the valve 12 carried thereby is inserted straight into the pocket 11, or alternatively a valve 12 already in the side pocket is engaged by the pulling tool 52 of FIG. 11 for removal therefrom.

If a valve is being installed, a positive pressure may be exerted by the pump down tool train, or if a wireline is being used, the kickover tool may be jarred downwardly in the conventional manner to fully seat and lock the valve 12 in the pocket 11. Jars may also be utilized with the pump down equipment, if desired, although they are not generally required for running and pulling gas lift valve with kickover tools.

When a valve is being pulled from the side pocket, a constant force may be applied to the kickover tool to withdraw the valve from the side pocket, but jars may be used, if necessary. If wireline tools are used, extraction of the valve will require jarring impacts in virtually every case.

After landing or retrieving a valve, the kickover tool is lifted to a position in which the expanded lugs 21 again engage the locator shoulder 14. The upward movement of the kickover tool is momentarily arrested by the locator shoulder 14 until the operator sleeve moves from its second position on the housing as shown in FIG. 9 to its third position as shown in FIG. 10.

Yieldable means are provided for resisting movement of the operator sleeve from its second to its third position to prevent the operator sleeve from bypassing the second position and moving to the third position before it is desired to remove the kickover tool from the well.

It is sometimes difficult to determine whether or not the kickover tools has been moved upwardly into engagement with the locator shoulder 14 with sufficient force to operate or to activate the kickover tool to kickover position. By providing a yieldable means which holds the operator sleeve in its second position with the lugs expanded, the kickover tool may be moved up and down in the well tubing until it has been ascertained with reasonable satisfaction that the kickover tool has engaged the locator shoulder 14 with sufficient upward force to release the latch means and permit the pivot arm to move into kickover position. In the absence of such yieldable means, the kickover tool could, due to tension in a wireline or due to sudden release of resistance under pump pressure, possibly be moved past the shoulder 14 and out of the side pocket mandrel or junp to a position in which the kickover tool may become disoriented because of its orienting key being in a position above the orienting shoe. In such event, lowering of the kickover tool might be disastrous since the tool, with its pivot arm in its kicked over condition and possibly disoriented position, will almost assuredly become lodged in the side pocket mandrel should the valve 12 miss the pocket 11. This may cause severe damage both to the kickover tool and the valve and the side pocket mandrel. Thus, it is desirable to provide means which prevents movement of the operator sleeve from its second to its third position until after the valve has been installed in the side pocket mandrel and the kickover tool is ready to be withdrawn from the well.

In the illustrated form, such yieldable means is provided by a collar 66 which is releasably slidably secured to the exterior of the shear sub 26 by shear pins 67 in a position to be engaged by the lower end of the operator sleeve 53 when the operator sleeve is in its second position. Since further downward movement of the sleeve on the housing will cause shearing of the pins 67, a greater downward force is required to move the operator sleeve from its second to its third position than is required to move the sleeve from its first to its second positions. In the illustrated embodiment, this downward force required to move the sleeve from its second to its third position is the sum of the force required to collapse the spring 45 and the force necessary to shear the pins 67. Upon the application of such a combined force, the pins 67 shear and the collar 66 and operator sleeve slide downwardly on the upper housing member to the position shown in FIG. 10 wherein the operator sleeve is in its third position and the dogs are free to retract into an external annular recess 68 formed on the upper housing member 24a below the land 53c. This permits the kickover tool to move upwardly past the locator shoulder 14 as shown in FIG. 10.

Immediately after the lugs pass the shoulder 14, the spring 62 will return the operator sleeve 53 to the position shown in FIG. 9, in which position the latch balls 58 will engage the lower end of internal recess 65 in the operator sleeve and will prevent further upward movement of the operator sleeve relative to the upper housing member.

As the kickover tool is withdrawn from the enlarged bore of the side pocket mandrel into the tubing thereabove, the pivot arm 22 will engage the side wall of the abruptly tapered bore of the side pocket mandrel and will be forced to swing downwardly almost to its retracted position shown in FIG. 1. The pivot arm is not normally swung downwardly at such time sufficiently far against the force of spring 45 to permit the balls 58 to retract and permit the operator sleeve 53 to return to its first position shown in FIG. 5A, although it could possibly do so. If the operator sleeve should be returned to its first position to retain the actuator mandrel assembly in its lower or pivot arm retracting position, it would be released again upon encountering the next obstruction in the tubing such as another shoulder 14. At such time the operator sleeve would move down to its second position on the housing releasing the actuator mandrel assembly to permit the pivot arm to swing outwardly. The operator sleeve would continue its downward movement on the housing until reaching its third position wherein the lugs would retract into the recess 68 as shown in FIG. 10 and permit the kickover tool to continue upwardly in the well tubing as before.

Alternatively, if the pivot arm is not swung inwardly sufficiently far to cause resetting of the actuator mandrel assembly by engagement of the balls therewith, the pivot arm merely rides against the side wall of the tubing as the kickover tool is withdrawn from the well.

Since it is not usually determinable beforehand just how much force will be required to extract a valve from a side pocket because such force required is dependent upon several variables such as the interference between the valve packing and the seal bore of the pocket, the lubricity of the well fluids in the side pocket, the well temperature at the valve, the presence and location of any solid particles or detritus such as sand, and possibly other factors. It is, therefore, preferable when retrieving valves to provide means for latching the pivot arm 22 in its kicked over or non-aligned position so that greater upward forces, even jarring impacts, can be applied in extracting the valve from the pocket. Otherwise, the pivot arm may be caused to swing from its fully extended position and permit such force to be applied to the valve at some angle displaced from its longitudinal axis. Such latching means are illustrated in FIG. 12 through 17 and will now be described.

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 5B but shows a kickover tool having a shear pin 81 disposed in the blind hole 22f formed in the pivot arm 22. The shear pin 81 is biased outwardly at all times by a spring 82 disposed between the shear pin and the bottom of the hole 22f as is clearly seen in FIG. 13. When the pivot arm 22 is in its retracted position, as is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the shear pin 81 is confined within the pivot arm and has its outer end engaged with the inner wall of the slot 28p in which the pivot arm is disposed. When the kickover tool is actuated and the pivot arm 22 is pivoted to its kicked over or non-aligned position, as is shown in FIG. 15, the shear pin hole 22f of the pivot arm becomes aligned with the shear pin hole 28b formed in the pivot housing 28, and the spring 82 forces the shear pin 81 outwardly into engagement in the shear pin hole 28f. An inwardly facing shoulder is provided by the restricted portion 28d of shear pin hole 28c to limit the outward travel of the shear pin. In this position, the shear pin 81 positively locks the pivot arm in its extended or kickover position against movement back towards its retracted or aligned position. As before explained, when the pivot arm 22 is in its kicked over or non-aligned position, the running tool 47 will be in its laterally offset position as shown in FIGS. 2 through 4 and will be aimed directly axially into the side pocket 11. When the kickover tool is in this condition, any upward force applied therethrough to a valve which is already disposed in the side pocket 11 will be applied longitudinally axially relative to the side pocket and valve and parallel to the axes of the kickover tool and well tubing so that any binding between the valve and the side pocket will be minimized.

After a valve 12 has been installed in or withdrawn from the side pocket 11, continued upward movement of the kickover tool relative to the side pocket mandrel will cause the extended or kicked over pivot arm 12 to engage the upper end of the enlarged portion of the side pocket mandrel as before explained, and continued upward movement of the kickover tool will cause the shear pin 81 to become sheared thus permitting the pivot arm to pivot downwardly relative to the housing towards its initial position of alignment therewith. The kickover tool then may be readily withdrawn from the side pocket mandrel through the bore of the well tubing thereabove although the spring biased pivot arm will drag against the tubing wall during such withdrawal of the kickover tool.

It is readily seen that the downward force on the pivot arm 22 required to swing it away from its extended position in which it is locked is much greater when a shear pin 81 is present in the device, as shown in FIGS. 12 through 15, than when no shear pin is present. Thus, the kickover tool, when equipped with a shear pin 81, is better adpated to extracting devices from side pocket mandrels. The shear pin will positively lock the pivot arm 22 in its extended or kicked over position so that upward forces may be more efficiently applied to extract a valve from the side pocket 11 because such force is applied longitudinally axially relative thereto and to the side pocket.

It is understood that shear pins 81 of desired shear strength may be provided by forming the same of a selected material, such as steel, brass, or the like, having a suitable shear valve and cross section.

If desired, the shear pin hole 28d may be eliminated by running the shear pin hole 28c completely through the pivot housing 28. In such case, the end of the shear pin hole may be tapped and a suitable screw installed therein to limit outward movement of the shear pin in exactly the same manner that the shoulder provided by restricted bore 28d limited the travel of the shear pin as before explained. The screw is then removable to provide easy access for changing the shear pin without disassembling the kickover tool.

It is readily understood that force required to extract a valve from a receptacle is at a minimum when the force is applied axially, that is, along the longitudinal axis of the receptacle.

In FIG. 17 is illustrated a modified form 20a of kickover tool which is adapted to applying even greater upward forces to valves for extracting them from side pockets. In this device, the modified pivot housing 28n has a transverse shear pin aperture which passes completely through the pivot body as is shown and, because this aperture runs across or through the slot 28p in which the pivot arm 22 is disposed, two shear pin holes 28f and 28g are provided. These two shear pin holes are counterbored or enlarged at their inner ends, as at 28h and 28i, to receive the outer ends of shear pins 86 and 87, respectively, which are disposed in the shear pin aperture 22i of the modified pivot arm with a spring such as the coil spring 82 compressed therebetween to bias them outwardly. When the kickover tool is activated and the pivot arm 22 has pivoted to its extended position, the shear pins 86 and 87 come into alignment with the shear pin holes 28h and 28i, respectively, and engage therein, their outward movement being limited by the reduced diameter bores 28f and 28g, respectively. The shear pins 86 and 87 thus lock the pivot arm in its extended position. The two shear pins double the shear strength of the latch means. Thus, the added shear strength enables the kickover tool to extract valves from side pockets even when such valves become stuck or are otherwise difficult to extract.

When the valve has been withdrawn from the side pocket and the kickover tool is lifted, the extended pivot arm 22 engages the tapered portion of the enlarged bore of the side pocket mandrel. Further upward movement of the kickover tool then causes the pivot arm 22 to be swung downwardly towards retracted position, thus shearing both of the shear pins 86 and 87 permitting the kickover tool to be withdrawn from the side pocket mandrel through the well tubing thereabove.

When the shearing surfaces at the inner ends of the shear pin holes 28h and 28i become dull and/or the shearing surfaces of the outer ends of the shear pin hole 22i of the pivot arm become dull or damaged, the shear pin holes may be required by boring them out and installing hardened bushings therein to provide new and more durable shear surfaces. Such bushings are shown installed in FIG. 16. Shear pin hole 28d has been enlarged as at 28k completely through the pivot housing 28n and a pair of hardened bushings 28m and 28s are disposed therein providing new shear pin holes 28h and 28i. The bushings may be secured in place by any suitable means such as by silver soldering, or the like. Also, the shear pin hole 22i through the pivot arm 22 has been enlarged as at 22g and a hardened bushing 22h is disposed therein in like manner to provide a new shear pin hole 22i. In making such repairs using bushings, it may be desirable to place the pivot arm in its kicked over or fully extended position with its surface 22c in engagement with shoulder 28a of the pivot housing 28, and holding it firmly in this position, drill and ream both the hole 28h through the pivot housing and the hole 22g through the pivot arm. This procedure will assure proper alignment of the new shear pin holes. The use of these bushings may also be desired should it be found difficult to counterbore the shear pin hole 28d to provide the enlarged counterbores 28h and 28i in the pivot housing 28c.

While the means disclosed herein for latching the pivot arm in extended position include one or more shear pins, it should be understood that other means such as a mechanical detent could be used if desired.

Thus, the kickover tool described hereinabove is versatile inasmuch as it can be used with one or two shear pins or even without one, if desired, and should the shear pin holes become damaged so that the shearing surfaces provided thereby are no longer in condition to perform satisfactorily, they may be bored out and hardened bushings installed therein to restore the shearing efficiency and provide shearing surfaces which are even more durable than were the original ones.

It may be desirable when changing valves in side pocket mandrels to have the side pocket 11 empty for a minimum of time. In such case, two kickover tools 20 or 20a may be connected together and run in tandem. It will be noticed that the end of the orienting housing 18 is reduced in diameter and is externally threaded as at 18a to accept the upper internally threaded end of the coupling 16 of a second kickover tool. Preferably, the upper of the two kickover tools has a pulling tool 52 (FIG. 11) carried by its pivot arm and the lower kickover tool is provided as shown in FIG. 5A, 5B and 5C with a running tool 47 and a replacement valve such as the gas lift valve 12.

The tandem kickover tools are lowered into the well to a location just below the side pocket mandrel containing the valve to be replaced. The kickover tools are then lifted to engage the shoulder 14 and orienting shoe 15 to orient and activate the upper kickover tool, lowered to engage the pulling tool with the valve in the side pocket, and lifted again to withdraw the valve from the side pocket and to withdraw the upper kickover tool from the side pocket mandrel. The kickover tools are lifted further to engage the shoulder 14 and orienting shoe 15 to orient and activate the lower kickover tool, lowered to install the replacement valve in the side pocket, and lifted again to withdraw the lower kickover tool from the side pocket mandrel. Thus, a valve in a side pocket mandrel can be replaced by another using two kickover tools 20 in tandem and the side pocket need be bared for only a very short period of time, thus minimizing the amount of flow which can take place through the empty side pocket. If such operation is performed with pump down equipment, pistons located in the tool train above and below the tandem kickover tools will isolate the side pocket mandrel during the changing of the valve and will hold transfer of fluids through the side pocket to a bare minimum.

The use of tandem kickover tools is more fully explained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,928 mentioned above.

While the kickover tools 20 and 20a have been described in connection with running and pulling gas lift valves in side pocket mandrels, it is obvious that other devices can be installed and removed through their use. For instance, check valves, plugs or dummy gas lift valves or the like can be attached to the lower end of the locking device 49 and be run and pulled in exactly the same manner as was the gas lift valve 12.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the operation of the tool is clear. When it is desired to run a device such as the gas lift valve 12 into a well and install it in a side pocket mandrel such as the side pocket mandrel 10, a kickover tool such as that shown in FIG. 5 may be used. Such tool utilizes a running tool 47 to carry the device until it is installed in the side pocket. When it is desired to retrieve such a device from the well, the pulling tool 52 shown in FIG. 11 is substituted for the running tool 47. In either case, after the kickover tool has been lowered past the desired locator shouler 14, the tool is raised and orienting key 17 cooperates with the orienting shoe 15 to orient the tool as shown in FIG. 1. The kickover tool is then moved upwardly until the lugs 21 engage the locator shoulder 14 and release the latch means as shown in FIG. 8 and cause the pivot arm 22 to kickover to extended position as shown in FIG. 2 under the bias of spring 45. The kickover tool is then lowered as shown in FIG. 3. In the event a device is being run, the locking device 49 will be released from the kickover tool by shearing of the pins 51. After the pins shear, further downward movement of the kickover tool moves the expander 69 downwardly to expand the locking lugs 71 into engagement in a recess formed in the side pocket 11 near its upper end and latch the tool in place in the well.

In the event a retrieving tool 52 of FIG. 11 is being utilized, it telescopes over the upper end of the expander 69 and the collet fingers 72 engage about the enlarged head formed thereon, after which lifting of the kickover tool lifts the expander to the position shown in FIG. 5B, permitting the lugs 71 to retract, thus permitting the device to be extracted from the side pocket by lifting the kickover tool.

After a device has been installed in or removed from the side pocket, the kickover tool is then moved upwardly until the lugs 21 again engage the locator shoulder 14, at which time further upward movement of the kickover tool causes the yieldable means provided by the collar 66 and shear pins 67 to fail, as before explained, permitting relative movement of the control sleeve 53 on the upper housing member 24a as shown in FIG. 10, thus permitting the lugs 21 to retract and pass the locator shoulder 14. Further upward movement of the kickover tool will at this time cause the pivot arm 22 to be pivoted towards its FIG. 5B position as it is withdrawn from the enlarged bore of the side pocket mandrel into the tubing thereabove, permitting the kickover tool to be lifted to the surface.

Thus, it has been shown that a new and improved kickover tool has been provided which is adapted to install a device such as a gas lift valve in and remove such device from the side pocket receptacle of a side pocket mandrel. It has also been shown that such kickover tool includes a pivotable pivot arm which is actuable from a position wherein it is in substantial alignment with the kickover tool to a position in which it extends outwardly thereof at approximately 90 degrees thereto; that the kickover tool with its pivot arm held in the thus kicked over position is adapted to apply a longitudinal axial force to a device such as a gas lift valve to force such device straight into or out of a side pocket receptacle without binding and therefore decreasing the efficiency of the work forces involved; and that the tool carrier of such kickover tool is held in its kicked over position by a substantial spring force which may, if desired, be supplemented by latching means which may include one or more shear pins which, when the tool carrier is pivoted to and reaches its extended or kicked over position, are biased into latching position to lock the tool carrier in such extended position. It has been further shown that the means for latching the pivot arm of the kickover tool in its kicked over or extended position are readily releasable and are automatically released as the kickover tool is withdrawn from the side pocket mandrel, permitting the tool carrier to yeildingly swing back towards its initial position of longitudinal alignment with the housing so that the kickover tool may be easily withdrawn from the well; that such shear pins may be selected for size and materials to provide the shear strength desired; and that when the shear pin holes become damaged they can be bored out and hardened bushings installed therein to restore their shearing surfaces to that they are more durable than before. It has also been shown that such kickover tool is provided with orienting means for assuring that the pivot arm will be oriented with respect to a side pocket in a tubing string; and that such kickover tool is provided with means for orienting it and activating it to kicked over position in any selected one of a plurality of identical side pocket mandrels made up in a well tubing string at longitudinally spaced locations therein. In addition, it has been shown that such kickover tools may be used in tandem, that is, two kickover tools may be attached to one another, the upper kickover tool being equipped with a retrieving tool and the lower kickover tool being equipped with a replacement device, thus, making it expedient to extract an existing device from a side pocket with the upper kickover tool and then install the replacement device in its place with the lower kickover tool without permitting any significant quantity of fluids to flow through the side pocket during the short time that such device is absent from the side pocket bore; and that the design of the kickover tool with its pivot arm movable to a 90 degree kickover position and with the orienting key means provided at its lower end makes for a shorter kickover tool which is better adapted to negotiating short radius turns in the well flow conductor when the tool is operated by pump down techiques.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory only and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction, may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the true spirit of the invention.