Did You Know...
...that the x-ray was discovered purely by accident? When German physicist Wilhelm Konrad von Roentgen was experimenting with cathode rays in 1895, he put an activated Crookes tube in a book and went out to lunch. When he returned, he discovered that a key that had also been placed in the book showed up as an image on the developed film!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7441596 | Swelling element packer and installation method A sealing element that swells on exposure to well fluids present or added to the wellbore is assembled to the mandrel in a manner to induce circumferential stresses proximately to the inside diameter of the element so as to resist the tendency of the inside diameter... | 10/28/2008 |
| 7363970 | Expandable packer An integral bodied composite packer is constructed entirely of a composite material. It can include an expandable middle portion with an elastomeric cover to engage an exterior surface of a well bore. The expandable portion can include continuous strands of polymeri... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7331581 | Inflatable packers Improved inflatable packers are provided. A packer may be constructed from hybrid structures including slat structures and weave structures. A packer may include a bladder and a cover, with a plurality of slats disposed therebetween, and/or a weave structure or anti... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7306033 | Apparatus for isolating zones in a well An apparatus and method, particularly useful for isolating zones in a hydrocarbon wellbore. The apparatus includes a tubular section, such as a length of casing or liner tubular, arranged to be run into and secured within the wellbore which may be open hole or alrea... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7234533 | Well packer having an energized sealing element and associated method The present invention provides for a seal assembly that maintains a seal under various conditions by providing a source of stored energy that can be used to insure contact forces are maintained. ... | 06/26/2007 |
| 6948715 | Seal assembly with accumulator ring A seal assembly with an accumulator ring for protecting a seal from explosive decompression is disclosed. The accumulator ring and the seal are contained within a seal gland. The seal is made of a material that is susceptible to damage from explosive decompression. ... | 09/27/2005 |
| 6779601 | Inflatable packing element An inflatable packing element for a bridge plug. The packing element has an anchor portion and a sealing cover portion, each of which is expanded in order to engage and seal a surrounding string of casing or borehole. The anchor portion has a minimum length defined ... | 08/24/2004 |
| 6595283 | Extrusion resistant inflatable tool Extrusion resistant inflatable tool having a biaxially oriented woven material disposed about at least one elastomeric element of the inflatable tool and radially inwardly of a rib structure of the inflatable tool. The woven material prevents extrusion of... | 07/22/2003 |
| 6290231 | Diverter flow line seal A diverter body having an upper portion, a central portion and a lower portion is secured to the upper end of a riser and lands in a housing. The central portion has lateral flow openings that axially align with a lateral flowline outlet in the housing. A... | 09/18/2001 |
| 6041858 | High expansion downhole packer An expandable apparatus for sealing a space downhole in a wellbore. The apparatus has an expandable body having a hollow interior for defining an open flow path. A deformable material within the hollow body interior partially obstructs the flow path when ... | 03/28/2000 |
| 6009951 | Method and apparatus for hybrid element casing packer for cased-hole applications An inflatable packer having a sealing section, with noncontinuous ribs, is provided in combination with a ribbed element, which provides anchoring capabilities in tandem with the partially ribbed element which provides sealing capabilities in downhole app... | 01/04/2000 |
| 6007067 | Multi-operational expansion gasket A multi-operational inflatable packer, particularly for use in oil and gas wells, comprises an outer rubber layer (5), at least two cord layers (6, 7) internal to the outer rubber layer (5), and an inner rubber layer (8); the cord layers comprise yarn of ... | 12/28/1999 |
| 5924743 | Device adapted to be fixed and sealed to at least one cylindrical member The invention concerns a device adapted to be fixed and sealed to at least one cylindrical member (1, 1'), characterized in that it includes: a first sleeve (2), a second sleeve (3) coaxial with the first sleeve (2) having a greater capacity for deformation th... | 07/20/1999 |
| 5507341 | Inflatable packer with bladder shape control An inflatable packer assembly used in well service work and having a mandrel that carries a normally retracted inflatable packer unit. The unit includes an inner elastomer bladder surrounded by a reinforcement. To control the shape of the unit during infl... | 04/16/1996 |
| 5469919 | Programmed shape inflatable packer device and method An inflatable packer and a method for its use are provided for introduction into a subterranean well bore on a conduit. A pinch can form in the inflatable elastomeric bladder of the packer during inflation or deflation, forming a seal which obstructs the ... | 11/28/1995 |
| 5404947 | Pre-formed stress rings for inflatable packers An inflatable packer apparatus for use in a well bore has pre-formed metal stress rings surrounding the respective opposite end portions of the packer element. The stress rings are machined to initially have conical outer surfaces, and then are outwardly ... | 04/11/1995 |
| 5390738 | Inflatable packer inner bladder retention and seal Bladder retention for an inflatable packer includes a tubular base and a retainer member. Retainer teeth are provided on both the tubular base and the retainer member to retain the bladder against the axial loads of inflation. Separate sealing ribs are pr... | 02/21/1995 |
| 4941511 | Device with a valve function Device with valve function which can be brought into and out of a pipeline and parked in the same. The device comprises a channel for throughflowing fluid, a valve (2) which is medium controlled and/or remote-controlled, a parking brake/packer seal unit (... | 07/17/1990 |
| 4911245 | Metal seal with soft inlays A metal seal for sealing against casing in a well has a plurality of circumferentially axially spaced metal bands. An inlay material partially fills the cavities located between the metal bands. The metal bands are soft enough to deform when the seal is p... | 03/27/1990 |
| 4871179 | Inflatable packer with roughened mandrel An inflatable packer including a tubular mandrel, a pair of collars secured to the mandrel, and an inflatable sleeve connected between the collars about the mandrel. The exterior surface of the mandrel underlying the sleeve is roughened to increase the co... | 10/03/1989 |
| 4869324 | Inflatable packers and methods of utilization Modifications are provided for both single unit and dual unit inflatable packers or bridge plugs permitting such inflatable tools to be inserted in a well through the primary tubing string which in turn is suitably sealably anchored in the well above the ... | 09/26/1989 |
| 4860919 | Bi-directional sealed nozzle dam A nuclear steam supply steam generator primary nozzle 16 is sealed by a nozzle dam having segmented bulkhead portions 42 and 45 with peripheral flanges 46,50,52. A rubber diaphragm with a body 54 and peripheral strata form oppositely opening cavities 56 a... | 08/29/1989 |
| 4832120 | Inflatable tool for a subterranean well A conventional inflatable packer or bridge plug incorporates a reinforced sleeve of elastomeric material mounted in surrounding relationship to a tubular body and having one end of the sleeve fixed and sealably secured to the tubular body and the other en... | 05/23/1989 |
| 4805699 | Method and apparatus for setting, unsetting, and retrieving a packer or bridge plug from a subterranean well Methods and apparatus are provided for retrieving an inflatable packer or bridge plug of a type which may be passed through a small diameter tubing, seal against a relatively large diameter casing by passing fluid to the packer through a remedial tubing t... | 02/21/1989 |
| 4796707 | Apparatus for setting, unsetting, and retrieving a packer or bridge plug from a subterranean well An apparatus is provided for running in, actuating, and retrieving an inflatable packer or bridge plug of the type which may be passed through a small diameter tubing, sealed against a large diameter well casing by passing fluid to the packer through a re... | 01/10/1989 |
| 4744421 | Inflatable packer systems Disclosed is a method of preparing an inflatable packer including a mandrel and a sleeve for insertion into a fluid filled well bore. The method includes pressure testing the sleeve and its connection with the mandrel with a gas without introducing any in... | 05/17/1988 |
| 4708208 | Method and apparatus for setting, unsetting, and retrieving a packer from a subterranean well Methods and apparatus are provided for retrieving an inflatable packer of a type which may be passed through a small diameter tubing, seal against a relatively large diameter casing by passing fluid to the packer through a remedial tubing, and then be ret... | 11/24/1987 |
| 4606406 | Inflatable packer compatible with CBL An inflatable packer with a supporting mandrel having intermittent coatings of grit-like materials bonded to the mandrel to provide a frictional contact surface for an inflatable rubber sleeve with intermittent bare portions thereby to permit use of a cem... | 08/19/1986 |
| 4484626 | Pneumatic packer A pneumatically inflated packer assembly includes spaced upper and lower inflatable sleeves which expand radially to anchor the assembly at a desired depth within a well screen. A porous, elastic bag exteriorly covers these sleeves so that the expanded sl... | 11/27/1984 |
| 4467865 | Well packer provided with dual methods of use A low-cost, easily operable oil well packer is disclosed comprising two, spaced, circular restrainers attached to a producing casing section and connected by a hollow, flexible, cylindrical member surrounding the production casing section. The restraining... | 08/28/1984 |
| 3971437 | Apparatus for dewatering boreholes A simple dewatering system comprises hollow expandable bore-plugging body which can be set in place and locked there in the borehole, at any desired level, by simply pumping compressed air into it. An orifice of calculated size in the bottom of the body a... | 07/27/1976 |
