Sliding sleeve having ramped, contracting, segmented ball seat

摘要

A sliding sleeve opens with a deployed ball. The sleeve has a seat disposed in the housing, and the seat has segments biased outward from one another with a C-ring or other biasing element. Initially, the seat has an expanded state in the sliding sleeve so that the seats segments expand outward against the housing's bore. When an appropriately sized ball is deployed downhole, the ball engages the expanded seat. Fluid pressure applied against the seated ball moves the seat into the inner sleeve's bore. As this occurs, the seat contracts, which increases the engagement area of the seat with the ball. Eventually, the seat reaches the shoulder in the inner sleeve so that pressure applied against the seated ball now moves the inner sleeve in the housing to open the sliding sleeve's flow port.

主权项

1. A sliding sleeve opening with a deployed plug, the sleeve comprising:
a housing defining a first bore and defining a flow port communicating the first bore outside the housing; an inner sleeve defining a second bore and being movable from a closed position to an opened position inside the first bore relative to the flow port; an inner-facing surface disposed in the second bore and inclined from a proximal end toward a distal end of the inner sleeve; and a seat disposed in the second bore of the inner sleeve and being movable axially from a first axial position toward a second axial position therein a spacer ring disposed in the sliding sleeve toward the proximal end of the inner sleeve, the spacer having a first inner dimension larger than a second inner dimension of the seat in the first axial position and exposing a first contact area of the seat for engaging the deployed plug, the seat having a plurality of segments with inclined surfaces adapted to engage the inner-facing surface, the segments on the seat in the first axial position being expanded outward from one another and engaging the deployed plug, the segments on the seat moved toward the second axial position being contracted inward by engagement of the inclined surfaces with the inner-facing surface and wedging against the engaged plug, the seat moving the inner sleeve axially to the opened position in response to fluid pressure applied against the engaged plug.