US PATENT SUBCLASS 166 / 179
PACKERS OR PLUGS

Current as of: June, 1999
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166 /   HD   WELLS

179PACKERS OR PLUGS {17}
118  DF  .~> With expanding anchor {12}
141  DF  .~> Sealing portion closes port between central pipe and outside space when unexpanded
142  DF  .~> With controllable passage between central chamber and space below packer {7}
180  DF  .~> Adjustable over pipe or set over prepositioned pipe
181  DF  .~> With detachable setting means {1}
183  DF  .~> With controllable bypass outside central conduit
184  DF  .~> With controllable passage between central conduit and space above packer or plug
185  DF  .~> With central conduit and fluid port to space outside {1}
187  DF  .~> Expanded by confined fluid from central chamber, pump or plunger
188  DF  .~> Controllable passage through packer
189  DF  .~> For non-concentric members
191  DF  .~> Spaced sealing portions
192  DF  .~> Flow stopping type; e.g., plug {1}
195  DF  .~> Deformable portion engages conduit restriction
196  DF  .~> Central support has shoulders expanding sealing portion, or telescopes
202  DF  .~> Cup type
203  DF  .~> Non-deformable type

DEFINITION

Classification: 166/179

(under the class definition) Devices insertable from the top of or well into a well conduit and comprising: (1) Means usually known as a packer and comprising a vertical or longitudinally extending tubular member forming a fluid

passage and an annular means projecting from the member and blocking fluid flow either up or down or both in the annular space between the tubular member and the surrounding well conduit, said means comprising structure which goes beyond a mere packing assembly or (2) means usually known as a plug and comprising a means for blocking the flow of fluid either up or down or both in a surrounding well conduit by filling the bore of the conduit.

(1) Note. The device must be insertable from the top of the well to final position in the well, and the surrounding conduit must have been finally positioned in the well before the device is inserted in it. Parts of the device may be inserted at different times in order to be assembled in the well.

(2) Note. The device may be arranged to stop flow in the annular space between a pipe and an enclosing conduit by contacting the top of a shoulder (e.g., a rat hole shoulder) in the conduit. The shoulder may be disclosed as a flat well bottom, if a sealing function is clearly disclosed.

(3) Note. An annular casing or tubing shoe is considered to be a packer for this and indented subclasses only if it is disclosed as having a blocking function, and the blocking function is claimed, or if it is specially modified to have a blocking function and the modification is claimed.

(4) Note. The device must be of limited extent longitudinally of the well. For example, a filling of concrete extending along distance between concentric pipes is a part of the pipe structure rather than a packer.

(5) Note. A packer or plug usually comprises an annular deformable or laterally expansible blocking or sealing portion, such as rubber, combined with a supporting structure, such sealing portion and support structure, per se, being subject matter for Class 277, Joint Packing. (6) Note. The device usually forms a tight seal with the conduit, but if a device is disclosed as intended to function to block fluid flow the seal may not be tight.

(7) Note. A brushing or scraping means is not considered a packer or plug device for this or indented subclasses. See subclass 170 for such devices.

(8) Note. Devices usually called "cement baskets" are considered to be "packers" for this or indented subclasses.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

100, for a lateral probe or port sealed against a well wall.

101, for a packer or plug and a pump or plunger means exerting outward pressure.

106, for well devices having eduction pumps and packers or plugs.

114, for a central member and a prepositioned packer or plug.

115+, for a central chamber with a packer or plug and a modified surrounding conduit.

118+, for packers or plugs and expanding anchors.

141, for a packer in which the sealing portion closes a port between a central pipe and an outside space when the sealing portion is unexpected. 142+, for a central chamber with a packer and a controllable passage between the central chamber and the space below the packer.

153+, for pistons fluid driven into the well.

177.1+, for agitating, wiping, vibrating or fracturing means.

315, for methods of placing packers or plugs.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS

92, Expansible Chamber Devices,

172+, for a piston for an expansible chamber device even though disclosed as for use as a well plunger or swab.

102, Ammunition and Explosives,

301+, for well torpedoes with plugging means; and subclass 333 for plugs used in blasting.

138, Pipes and Tubular Conduits,

89+, for closures or plugs for pipes in general including those placed in a well conduit before the conduit is lowered in the well.

220, Receptacles, 200+, for closures or plugs including those placed in a well conduit before the conduit is lowered into the well.

277, Joint Packing, for a packing element, per se, or material combined with the structure necessary to cooperate therewith to perform a packing function, which structure may include a tubular member supporting an annular means for blocking fluid flow and all the ancillary means for causing the annular means to function to block the flow, as well as the surrounding conduit, but does not include a well feature for a distinct function, e.g., a lateral port on the tubular

member above or below the packing, or structural detail of the tubular member not contributing to the blocking function. The mere naming of the device as a well packer or as for use in a well does not preclude classification in Class 277.

285, Pipe Joints or Couplings,

123.3+, for seals between concentric pipes other than those established below ground level as provided for in Class 166 subclass 179.

299, Mining or In Situ Disintegration of Hard Material,

20+, for an expansible breaking down device for hard material in situ, and which may include or comprise an expansible packer or plug.

417, Pumps,

545+, for valved piston including valved well swabs.