Spooling arrangement for continuous composite sucker rod

Abstract

A coiling arrangement for a continuous composite sucker rod for a well sump includes a spool having a substantially cylindrical shape. A support structure rotatably supporting the spool about a rotation shaft, and for translatory movement. A guide arrangement moves the spool reciprocally such that the reciprocal motion of the support structure is along a direction that is parallel to the axis of rotation of the shaft. The rod is thereby accumulated on the spool in a spiral manner with minimal lateral deflection. In one form the spool is reciprocal relative to its support shaft. In another a support structure is reciprocal with the spool.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This patent application claims priority pursuant to Title 35 USC §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 178,313, which was filed on May 14, 2009, and which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Oil well pumping systems typically use a rod that interconnects a reciprocal pump that is located at the bottom of a well to a reciprocating actuator on the surface. The rod, which is commonly referred to as a sucker rod, transfers the reciprocal motion of the actuator to the pump. A typical well may have a depth of 5,000 feet or more (about 1,500 meters or more).[0003]Conventional sucker rods are made of steel tubing that is assembled in sections, for example, 32-foot sections, while being inserted or removed from a well. Such rod sections are typically threaded end to end and present a time consuming and labor intensive process for installing, uninstalling, or repairing sucker rods.[0004]...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]The invention provides a spooling arrangement for a continuous rod, especially of the composite type, for use as a sucker rod in well pumping applications. The disclosed embodiment includes a movable spool mount for spooling a continuous fiberglass rod, utilizing multiple wraps between the two flanges or sides of the spool, and for running the continuous fiberglass rod into and out of a wellbore, directly from the spool, without causing any damage to the continuous fiberglass rod. The longitudinal axis of the continuous fiberglass rod can be slightly perpendicular to the rotational axis of the spool as the continuous fiberglass rod is run into or out of the wellbore for preventing any damage to the continuous fiberglass rod. Where known reel arrangements can hold about 300 feet of rod, the disclosed spooling arrangement can hold about 15,000 feet of rod or more for any single spool.

Problems solved by technology

Such rod sections are typically threaded end to end and present a time consuming and labor intensive process for installing, uninstalling, or repairing sucker rods.

Although the use or ribbon rods in general is an improvement over the steel tubing sections used in the past, the finite length of rod that can be stored on a reel is limited, for example, to about 300 feet.

Even though reels can be made larger to accommodate longer rod lengths, the requirement of having reels that are of a manageable size for mounting onto a truck bed and for transporting to well locations limits the size of the reels.

Moreover, the handling of multiple reels for each well is expensive and further requires the maintenance of a considerable number of reels.

Moreover, one of the problems of reeling composite or fiberglass sucker rods has been that the reeled rod may crack, crush, or otherwise become damaged by spooling.

For a given cross-sectional area in a composite fiberglass rod, bending the rod across a major axis is possible for coiling the rod onto a reel, but bending the rod across the minor axis is not well tolerated and can quickly cause cracks in the rod.

Images