US3628822A

US3628822A - Well tools

Info

Publication number: US3628822A
Application number: US857857A
Authority: US
Inventors: James H Bostock
Original assignee: Otis Engineering Corp
Current assignee: Halliburton Co
Priority date: 1969-09-15
Filing date: 1969-09-15
Publication date: 1971-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 1988-12-21

Abstract

A pulling tool for retrieving devices from well bores including a tool housing supportable from a wire line tool string, a pulling collet for releasably engaging a fishing neck on a well device, a locking sleeve movable over the collet for locking the collet on the fishing neck responsive to a downward force on the tool housing, and supporting structure for the collet and sleeve including one shear pin holding the locking sleeve in nonlocking position until a predetermined downward force is applied to the tool housing and another shear pin for releasing the locking sleeve to release the tool from a stuck well device.

Description

United States Patent 1 3,628,822

[72] Inventor Jamesll-Bnslmk 3,327,784 6/1967 Pardue 294/86.l8X

Dallas, Tex. [2 pp No 857,857 FOREIGN PATENTS [22] Filed Sept 15,1969 763,834 7/1967 Canada 294/8618 [45] Patented Dec. 21, 197] Primary Examiner- Evon C. Blunk [73] Assignee Otis Engineering Corporation Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry Dallas, Tex. Attorney-H. Mathews Garland [54] WELL TOOLS ABSTRACT: A pulling tool for retrieving devices from well 15 Clalrns,9 Drawing Figsbores including a tool housing supportable from a wire line s21 u.s.cr 294/8618, ring, Pulling 'e'easably engaging a fishing 294/8628 294/8633 neck on a well device, a locking sleeve movable over the collet {51] lat.Cl. 1521! 31/02 the fishing 3 [501 Field ofSeardr 294/8617, mums, and suPPM"! 86 18 8618 3 8632 90 8624 8626. for the collet and sleeve including one shear pin holding the locking sleeve in nonlocking position until a predetermined downward force is applied to the tool housing and another [56] References Cited shear pin for releasing the locking sleeve to release the tool UNITED STATES PATENTS from a stuck well device.

3,152,829 10/1964 Steele 294186.18

PATENTED UECZI an INVENTOR. James H. Bosrock A TTORNEY WELL TOOLS This invention relates to well tools and more particularly relates to a pulling tool for retrieving well devices from a well bore.

It is a particularly important object of this invention to provide a new and improved pulling tool for retrieving well devices from a well bore.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved well tool of the character described which is locked on a device to be retrieved from a well bore responsive to downward forces.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of the character described which is releasable from a well device in a well bore responsive to upward forces.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of the character described wherein a locking collet is held on the fishing neck of a well device by a locking sleeve telescoped over the collet during pulling and which is releasable for movement upwardly from around the collet by severence of a shear pin responsive to an upward impact force.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool which is supportable in a well bore from a standard wire line tool string for retrieving well devices from the well bore.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of the character described wherein the pulling collet is completely encased by the locking sleeve during the pulling operation.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool having a collet with outwardly biased pulling fingers which are at their expanded release positions except when held inwardly by the locking sleeve of the tool.

It is an especially important object of the invention to provide a pulling tool for retrieving devices from a well bore which includes a maximum number of pulling dogs in the form of collet fingers for providing maximum load distribution between the pulling tool and the fishing neck of the well device to be retrieved by the tool so that minimum pressure is applied over any given area of the pulling shoulder or flange of the device engaged by the pulling tool.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of the character described which is capable of retrieving a well device with minimum damage to the surface areas of the well device engaged by the pulling tool so that the engaged surface areas of the retrieved device are preserved and their life is extended.

It is another especially important object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of the character described which includes a pulling collet locking skirt positively held at an inoperative position until the pulling collet is fully engaged over the fishing neck of the well device to be retrieved by the pulling tool. I

It is another especially important object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of the character described which includes a pulling collet locking sleeve which fits with fairly close tolerances fully over a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially movable pulling collet fingers holding the fingers very closely around the fishing neck of the device being retrieved allowing minimum free play of the internal bosses on the pulling collet fingers so that maximum surface and aligned contact is maintained between the pulling collet fingers and the fishing neck shoulder surfaces on the device being retrieved thereby minimizing damage to the fishing neck and the pulling collet fingers and extending the life of both the device being retrieved and the pulling tool.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pulling tool of the character described which comprises a minimum of component parts interconnected by simplified couplings which require only a single threaded connection which could be damaged by impact forces to which the tool is subjected during operation.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a pulling tool or the character described which permits minimum wall thickness along the portions of the tool which fit over the fishing neck of the well device to be retrieved.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from reading the following description of a device constructed in accordance with the invention and reference to the accompanying drawings thereof wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view in section and elevation of a pulling tool embodying the invention in a wire line tool string supported over the fishing neck of a device to be retrieved from a well with the pulling tool;

FIG. 2 is a view in section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in section along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in section along the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view in section along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal view in section and elevation of the tool of FIG. 1 showing the locking collet of the tool engaged on the fishing neck of the device to be retrieved and the collet locking sleeve of the pulling tool telescoped over the pulling collet;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal view in section and elevation of the pulling tool being lifted to retrieve the well device;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal view in section and elevation of the pulling tool released from the well device responsive to an upward force; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal view in section illustrating particularly the shear pin connection of the collet locking sleeve with the locking collet supporting structure.

In the oil industry and particularly in servicing and producing oil wells, much well apparatus and well servicing and production techniques involve the running and pulling of subsurface well devices, such as various types of chokes, well valves, and related subsurface devices. It is common practice to run such devices into wells, lock them in place, and release and retrieve them with wire line tools which include such apparatus as jars for applying upward and downward impact blows, a socket tool for supporting the string of tools from a flexible wire line extending from and supporting the tools from the surface, knuckle joints to provide flexibility to, the tool string, and other related units. The pulling tool of the invention is generally supported from a socket connector as the lower end component of the tool string so that when the tool string is lowered into a well bore to retrieve a well device the pulling tool is the first unit of the tool string to reach the device to be retrieved.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a pulling tool 10 embodying the invention is illustrated supported over the fishing neck of a well device 11 to be retrieved with the pulling tool. The pulling tool is connected in a suitable standard wire line tool string generally represented by the reference numeral 12. The tool string is movably suspended in a well bore, not shown, from a flexible wire cable 13. The tool string 12 is raised and lowered in the well bore on the cable for manipulating the pulling tool 10 to releasably connect it with the well device 11 for retrieving the device from the well bore.

The pulling tool 10 has a housing 14 comprising a tubular cylinder portion 15 and a head or subportion 20 provided with an integral externally threaded pin 21. The pin 21 threads into the downwardly opening internally threaded bore 22 of the lowermost fitting of the wire line tool string, which may be the lower socket section of a knuckle joint in the tool string. The sub 20 includes an external stop flange 24 which engages the lower end of the fitting 23 when the pin 21 is tightly threaded into the bore 22. The sub 20 also has flat side surface portions 25 which may be two or more in number extending longitudinally along the side faces of the sub for engagement of a wrench or similar tool to facilitate handling of the tool housing during assembly and disassembly of the tool and the connection of the tool with the wire line tool string. The tubular portion 15 of the tool housing has internal threads 30 along its lower end portion and is provided with spaced

bleed ports

31 and 32 which minimize any piston effect which might occur within the tubular portion of the housing during operation of the pulling tool. The lower end of the sub 20 defines a stop shoulder 20a within the upper end of the cylinder portion 15.

A lower tubular retainer 33 is threaded along an upper reduced portion 334 into the threads 30 at the lower end of the cylinder portion of the tool housing The wall thickness of the retainer 33 is greater than the wall thickness of the cylinder portion 15 so that the upper end of the retainer portion 33a defines an internal annular stop shoulder 34 within the cylinder of the housing.

A longitudinally movable locking collet assembly 35 is supported from the tool housing. The collet assembly includes a locking collet 40 and a collet locking sleeve 41 slidably supported for longitudinal movement from an upper release position to a lower locking position. A pulling sleeve or bushing 42 is slidably disposed through the retainer 33 with the lower end of the sleeve having an external annular flange 43 and the upper end of the sleeve being provided with an external annular recess 44. An internally flanged split retainer or stop ring comprising identical half-ring portions 45, FIG. 3, is assembled on the upper end portion of the sleeve engaging its recess portion 44 to engage the shoulder 34 on the upper end of the retainer 33 thereby slidably holding the sleeve 42 in the cylinder housing portion 15.

The locking collet 40 comprises a plurality of outwardly sprung resilient locking fingers 50 dependent from an integral head portion 51 on an elongate piston-rodlike core 52. The locking fingers have inwardly extending locking bosses 53 adapted to engage the locking shoulder 54 on the fishing neck of the well device 11 when the locking fingers are held inwardly over the fishing neck as shown in FIGS, 6 and 7. The locking collet head 51 has a downwardly opening internally threaded blind hole or bore 55 for connecting into the collet a well device manipulating tool such as an equalizing prong useful in equalizing the pressure across a valve being retrieved with the pulling tool, which is standard practice in the industry. The core 52 has an external cylindrical surface sized to slide through the sleeve 42 so that the core and the locking collet and its head portion slide relative to the sleeve 42. The core 52 is secured to the sleeve 42 by a shear pin 60 which extends laterally through the sleeve 42 and the core 52 as best seen in FIG. 5. The upper end portion of the core 52 is provided with an external annular recess 61. which receives internal annular flanges on a pair of identical half circular stop ring members 63, FIG. 2, to limit the downward movement of the core 52 relative to the sleeve 42 as evident in FIG. 8. The upper ends of the stop ring halves 63 engage the internal stop shoulder a limiting the upward movement of the collet-core assembly. The lower face of the flange 43 on the sleeve 42 is engageable with the top face of the head portion 51 of the locking collet. In assembly of the core 52 with the cylinder portion 15 of the housing, the stop ring halves 63 are placed on opposite sides of the upper end portion of the core with their internal flanges engaged in the external recess 61 of the core and the core and stop ring halves slipped into the housing cylinder portion.

The collet locking sleeve 41 is suitably secured along its upper end portion to a ring 64 which slides on the sleeve 42 above its flange 43. The sleeve has a bleed port 4111 to reduce any piston effect as it moves. The sleeve extends along the head portion of the collet at the upper release position of the sleeve, FIG. 1. The ring 64 is releasably locked against movement on the sleeve 42 by a shear pin 65. The ring 64 is reduced in diameter above an external annular flange 70 and is provided with an external recess 71 immediately above the flange 70. The outward end of the shear pin 65 is covered by a shear pin skirt or cap 72 which has a shear pin hole 73, FIG. 4, for insertion of the shear pin to the position shown in FIG. 4. The skirt 72 is rolled inwardly along its lower annular end portion 720! into the external recess 71 of the ring member 64 to hold the skirt 72 against upward movement on the ring. The flange 70 prevents downward movement of the skirt 72 on the ring. In assembling the pulling tool, the shear pin skirt 72 is positioned 180 revolved from the position shown in FIG. 4 aligning the hole 73 in the skirt so that the shear pin 65 is insertablc into position as in FIG. 9 through the ring 64 and the sleeve 42. After insertion of the shear pin, the skirt is rotated to misalign the hole 73 from the shear pin so that the skirt holds the shear pin in place. The skirt 72 fits tightly enough on the ring 64 that it does not accidentally rotate back to align the hole 73 with the shear pin. The external diameter of the sleeve 64 along its upper reduced portion and the dimensions of the skirt 72 are so related that the external surface of the skirt 72 and the external surface of the retainer 33 are flush and the upper ends of the skirt 72 and the ring 64 abut the lower end of the retainer 33 at the relative positions of the pulling tool parts in FIGS. 1 and 6.

For running the pulling tool 10 into a well to retrieve a well device, such as the device 11, the pulling tool is assembled with its parts in the relative relationships illustrated in FIG. 1. The sleeve 42 is placed over the upper end of the core 52 and moved downwardly on the core until the lower face of the flange 43 on the sleeve rests on the top face of the head portion .51 of the collet. The shear pin 61 is then inserted through the sleeve 42 and core 52 to the position illustrated in FIG. 5 locking the sleeve 42 on the core. The shear pin skirt 72 on the ring 64 is revolved to align its hole 73 with the shear pin hole in the ring 64. The locking collet sleeve 41 with the ring 64 are installed over the upper end of the core 52 and the sleeve 42 with the sleeve 41 being advanced downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 1 with the shear pin hole in the ring 64 aligned with the shear pin hole in the sleeve 42. The shear pin 65 is inserted through the ring 64 and the sleeve 42 and the skirt 72 is revolved until its hole 73 is out of alignment with the shear pin for holding the shear pin in place locking the skirt 41 on the sleeve 42 and over the collet head at the position shown in FIG. I. The retainer 33 is then placed over the core 52 and the sleeve 42 to the position shown in FIG. I at which the lower end surface of the retainer rests on the top end surface of the ring 64. The stop ring halves 63 are assembled on the upper end portion of the core 52 engaged with the recess 61 and the stop ring halves 45 are assembled on the upper end portion of the sleeve 42 engaged in the recess 44 above and on the upper end edge 34 of the ring 33. The tool housing 14 is then installed over the core 52 and sleeve 42 with the retainer 33 being threaded along its upper end portion 334 into the threads 30 of the cylinder portion 15 of the housing. The pulling tool is then secured with the wire line tool string 12 by threading the pin 21 at the upper end of the pulling tool housing into the bore 22 of the socket 23 of the tool string. The locking collet fingers 50 project from the sleeve 41 at their normal outwardly sprung positions so that as the tool string is lowered to the device 11 in the tubing or casing of a well, now shown, the collet fingers are lowered over the fishing head of the device.

The wire line tool string with the pulling tool supported therefrom as in FIG. I is lowered downwardly in the well until the locking collet telescopes downwardly over the head 54a of the well device 11 with the lower face 51a of the locking collet head 51 within the upper ends of the collet fingers resting on the top of the head 54a of the device 1 I. The jars, not shown, of the tool string are actuated to drive head portion 54d of the device ll downwardly so that the collet finger locking bosses 53 are moved below the shoulder 54 on the fishing head of the device 11. Structure including a well device having a head of the type illustrated in FIG. 1 is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,559, issued to J. V. Fredd, July 9, 1957, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,040,808, issued to Harry B. Schrarnm, June 26, 1962. At this stage in the connection of the pulling tool on the device 11, the collet locking sleeve 41 is held at its upper position on the locking collet 40 by the shear pin 65 as shown in FIG. 1 with the collet being telescoped over the fishing head of the device 11 with the collet bosses 53 below the shoulder 54. Further downward jarring of the pulling tool by the jars in the wire line tool string apply a downward force through the tool housing and its cylinder portion 15 to the retainer 33 which urges the ring 64 and the collet locking sleeve 41 downwardly while the locking collet and its head 51 rest on the top of the head 54a of the well device 11 so that the sleeve 42 engaging the top of the collet head 51 is held against downward movement. When the downward force being exerted from the tool string through the ring 64 exceeds the shear strength of the pin 65, the pin is sheared and the pulling tool housing along with the retainer 33, the ring 64, and the collet locking sleeve 41 are driven downwardly on the sleeve 42 and the core 52 which are held against downward movement by virtue of the locking collet resting on the immobile head of the well device 11. The housing, collet locking sleeve, and related parts are driven downwardly until the shoulder a of the housing head 20 engages the upper ends of the stop ring halves 63 on the core 52. The housing of the pulling tool with the retainer 33 and the ring 64 with the collet locking sleeve 41 are telescoped downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 6 so that the lower end portion of the sleeve 41 moves over the locking collet fingers camming them inwardly around the fishing head of the well device 11. The collet heads 53 are squeezed radially inwardly to a closely fitting relationship around the surface of the device 11 below its locking shoulder 54.

The wire line tool string is then lifted pulling the housing 14 and the retainer 33 upwardly on the sleeve 42 away from the ring 64 since the shear pin 65 is severed and the retainer 33 is slidably fitted on the sleeve 42. The housing 14 and retainer 33 are lifted until the upper end face 34 of the retainer engages the lower end of the stop ring halves 45 on the sleeve 42. The upward movement of the tool housing 14 along with the retainer 33 relative to the sleeve 42 leaves the collet locking sleeve 41 with its ring 64 at a downward collet locking position as shown in FIG. 6. Further upward force from the tool string raises the housing 14 and retainer 33 to engage the ring halves 45 which applies a lifting force from the upper end of the retainer 33 to the stop ring halves 45, FIG. 7, raising the sleeve 42 shear pinned to the core 52. The locking collet is lifted with the locking fingers being held inwardly at the locking relationship on the fishing head of the device 11 by the downwardly positioned skirt 41. The inwardly held locking bosses 53 of the collet are raised until they engage the shoulder 54 on the well device head lifting the well device from its position in the well bore. The close fit of the collet finger bosses 53 around the fishing head beneath the shoulder 54a permits maximum engagement between the lifting surfaces on the bosses and the fishing head shoulder surface. The lifting surfaces on the bosses are formed at an angle corresponding to the angle of the shoulder surface 54a so that full surface contact is obtained between the lifting bosses and the fishing head shoulder. With the bosses being held tightly around the fishing head by the collet locking sleeve looseness is minimized and with full surface contact even application of upward force is achieved by each of the collet finger bosses. Since the collet fingers may occupy a full 360 around the fishing head, as they may be essentially compressed radially together at their contracted positions, a maximum number of collet fingers may be provided in the collet so that the lifting force of the collet is applied over substantially the entire 360 of the fishing head shoulder surface. The collet may be manufactured with the only space between the fingers being that required for the cutting tool used to slit the tubular member from which the collet is formed to provide it with the desired number of fingers which are then sprung outwardly to their normal expanded positions as in FIG. 1. Thus, upward impact forces are evenly distributed and the relatively tight fit of the collet finger bosses minimizes any changing of angle of application of forces so that minimum damage occurs to the fishing head shoulder. In the absence of problems such as the device 11 being stuck in the well bore, the device is lifted by the pulling tool to the surface.

The pulling tool is then uncoupled from the well device ll by raising the ring 64 and the locking sleeve 41 back to the position shown in FIG. 1 allowing the locking collet fingers to spring back outwardly so that the collet is easily lifted off the head of the device 11. The well tool is then reset for reuse by removing the fragments of the shear pins 65 remaining in the sleeve 42 and the ring 64. The shear pin skirt 72 is rotated until its hole 73 is aligned with the shear pin fragment so that the fragment may be removed from the shear pin hole in the ring 64. The ring 64 and the sleeve 41 are moved back upwardly until the upper end of the ring 64 engages the lower end of the retainer 33 with the upper end of the retainer 33 engaging the lower ends of the lock ring halves 45 and the shear pin holes in the sleeve 42, the ring 64 and the skirt 72 aligned so that a new shear pin 65 is inserted to lock the pulling tool parts back at the relative positions shown in FIG. 1. The skirt 72 is then again rotated to misalign its hole 73 with the shear pin 65 and the tool is ready for reuse.

It will be noted that the relative proportioning of the parts of the pulling tool and the positioning of the shear pin 60 are such that after the shear pin 65 is severed driving the sleeve 41 downwardly to the collet locking position of FIG. 6, the upper end portion of the retainer 33 extends slightly upwardly over the exposed ends of the shear pin 60 within the annular space between the cylinder portion 15 of the tool housing and the sleeve 42 to prevent shifting or drifting of the shear pin 60 from its aligned position through the sleeve 42 and the core 52. If the shear pin 60 were permitted to drift in, it could interfere with the operation of the tool by interfering with the upper end of the retainer 33.

In the event that after the pulling tool is locked on the well device 11 as in FIG. 7 and the well device is stuck in the well bore and cannot be disloged by a force less than that which will probably damage the pulling tool or other parts of the wire line tool string, the release feature of the pulling tool is employed. The jars of the tool string apply an upward impact force on the pulling tool such that with the stuck well device ll tending to hold the collet and its core 52 downwardly, the upward impact force on the pulling tool housing applies an up ward force through the housing cylinder portion I5 and the retainer 33 to the split lock ring portions 45. The upward force on the lock ring portion 45 tends to lift the sleeve 42 against the shear pin 60 which is being held downwardly by the core 52. When the upward impact force exceeds the shear strength of the pin 60, the pin is severed releasing the sleeve 42 for upward movement relative to the core 52 of the locking collet assembly. As the sleeve 42 is lifted its lower flange 43 engages the lower end of the ring 64 lifting the collet locking sleeve 41 relative to the collet which remains engaged on the lodged or stuck well device 11. The sleeve 42 is lifted by the pulling tool housing until the upper ends of the sleeve and the stop rings halves 45 engage the lower ends of the stop ring halves 63 applying an upward force to the collet core 52. By the time the stop ring halves 63 are engaged for lifting the collet, the collet locking sleeve 41 has been raised to an upper position which permits the collet fingers 50 to spring back outwardly releasing the collet from the fishing head of the well device ll so that the pulling tool is lifted from the well device as illustrated in FIG. 8. The wire line tool string with the pulling tool is returned to the surface and other means beyond the scope of this invention are employed to retrieve the device 11. The pulling tool is reset for further use by partial disassembly disengaging the retainer 33 from the tool housing cylinder portion 15 to remove the fragments of the shear pin 60 and install a new shear pin with fragments of the shear pin 65 being subsequently removed and a new shear pin 65 installed as previously discussed.

It will now be seen that a new and improved pulling tool for removing devices from wells has been described and illustrated. It will be understood that the pulling tool includes a locking collet and a collet locking sleeve and is operable for connecting with a well device in a well bore responsive to a downward impact force applied to the upper end of the tool. The tool lifts the device from the well and may be released in an emergency by application of an upward impact forcewhich moves the collect locking sleeve back upwardly to permit expansion of the collet fingers and removal of the collet from the well device.

it will be further seen that the locking collet of the pulling tool may comprise a plurality of circumferentially disposed flexible collet fingers inherently sprung outwardly to a position for connection and disconnection with the fishing neck of a well device and moved inwardly to locking position around the fishing neck of the device by a telescoping locking sleeve. The pulling collet is particularly characterized by collet fingers which may occupy substantially the full 360 around a fishing head pulling shoulder on a well device. The collet pulling surfaces on the pulling tool are formed at the same angle as the shoulder surface on the fishing neck of the well device so that full surface contact is achieved. The unit area loading between the pulling tool collet and the fishing neck of the well device is reduced to a minimum by distribution of the impact pulling loads fully around the fishing neck pulling shoulder. Since the collet locking sleeve holds the collet fingers tightly around the fishing neck, a minimum of movement is permitted between the fingers and the pulling shoulder so that damage to both the pulling shoulder of the fishing neck and the pulling surfaces on the collet fingers of the pulling tool is reduced to a minimum. The life of the fishing neck on the well device and the collet of the pulling tool are both extended.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only and changes in detail of the construction illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent 1. A tool for retrieving a device from a well bore comprising: a locking collet for releasably coupling said tool with said device; a collet locking sleeve for moving said locking collet between release and locking positions within said well bore when said locking collet is engaged with said device and for freeing said locking collet for return to said release position; a nonresilient first operator sleeve connected with a head end of said tool and adapted to engage said collet locking sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said tool directly to said collet locking sleeve in a direction toward said device for moving said locking collet from said release to said locking position; and a nonresilient second operator sleeve engageable with said first operator sleeve and with said collet locking sleeve responsive to a force applied directly thereto from said head end of said tool in a direction away from said device to move said collet locking sleeve for releasing said locking collet from said device in said well bore.

2. A well tool in accordance with claim 1 wherein said locking collet comprises a collet having a plurality of locking fingers disposed normally at expanded nonlocking positions and adapted to be contracted radially inwardly to locking relationship around a fishing neck on said well device.

3. A well tool in accordance with claim 2 wherein said collet locking sleeve for moving said locking collet between release and locking positions comprises a sleeve adapted to be telescoped over said locking collet between first collet release and second collet locking positions for contracting said locking fingers from normally radially expanded release positions to radially contracted locking positions on said well device.

4. A well tool as defined in claim 3 including means associated with said locking sleeve for holding said sleeve at said first collet release position until a force of predetermined value is applied to said sleeve to release said sleeve for movement to said second collet locking position.

5. A tool as defined in claim 4 including holding means operatively associated with said locking sleeve and said locking collet whereby said locking sleeve remains at said second locking position over said locking collet until a predetermined force is applied to said tool away from said well device.

6. A tool in accordance with claim 5 including a shear pin holding said locking sleeve at said first collet release position and a shear pin holding said second operator sleeve at a position whereby said locking sleeve remains in locked relationship around said collet until a predetermined force is applied away from said well device.

7. A pulling tool for retrieving a well device from a well bore comprising: a body having a head end; an elongated rod slidably supported in'said body; a pulling collet supported from an end of said rod, said collet having a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially movable locking fingers normally sprung outwardly to release positions and compressible radially inwardly to locking positions for coupling over the fishing neck of said well device; a pulling sleeve slidable along said rod; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed on said pulling sleeve and movable from a first collet release position to a second collet locking position telescopically disposed over said locking collet responsive to a force applied directly from said head end of said said first release position to said second collet locking position, and said operator sleeve collet locking sleeve for compressing said collet fingers radially inwardly around said fishing neck of said well device; a shear pin secured between said pulling sleeve and said collet locking sleeve holding said collet locking sleeve at said first position and severable responsive to a force applied to said head end of said pulling tool toward said well device for releasing said collet locking sleeve for movement to said second locking position along said pulling sleeve and telescopically over said collet fingers; a shear pin secured between said rod and said pulling sleeve holding said pulling sleeve against movement and severable responsive to a predetermined force away from said well device for releasing said pulling sleeve to permit said pulling sleeve to move collet locking sleeve from said second collet locking position back to said first collet release position; and a nonresilient operator sleeve included with said body and slidably engaged on said pulling sleeve, said operator sleeve having a first operator surface engageable with said collet locking sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said pulling tool body directly to said collet locking sleeve for moving said collet locking sleeve from said operator sleeve having a second operator surface engageable with said pulling sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said pulling tool directly to said pulling sleeve in a direction away from said pulling collet for moving said collet locking sleeve from said second collet locking position back to said first collet release position.

8. A Well tool as defined in claim 7 wherein said locking collet fingers provide a substantially continuous pulling surface to encompass substantially 360 of said fishing neck of said well device when compressed inwardly around said fishing neck.

9. A well tool fior retrieving a well device in a well bore comprising: a tool housing having a first head end portion adapted to be connected in a tool train for supporting and moving said well tool along said well bore, said housing having a second end portion comprising an open-ended cylinder; an annular retainer ring connected at said open end of said cylinder; a pulling sleeve slidably disposed through said retainer ring, said pulling sleeve being engageable at a first end thereof with a first end of said retainer ring within said cylinder; a pulling collet slidably supported from said housing and including a rod portion disposed through said pulling sleeve and having an end portion within said cylinder engageable with said first end of said pulling sleeve for lifting said rod and collet responsive to engagement by said pulling sleeve when said pulling sleeve is engaged by said first end of said retainer ring; means releasably interconnecting said pulling sleeve and said rod of said collet; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed on said pulling sleeve for movement between a first collet release position and a second collet lock position telescopically over said collet wherein the fingers of said locking collet are compressed radially inwardly to locking position by said collet locking sleeve, said collet locking sleeve having a first operator surface engageable by a second opposite end of said retainer ring for moving said collet locking sleeve to said second collet lock position responsive to a force applied to said head end of said tool housing toward said collet locking sleeve, and said collet locking sleeve having a second surface engageable by said pulling sleeve for retracting said collet ,locking sleeve from said second position back to said first position directly responsive to a force applied to said head end of said tool housing in a direction away from said locking sleeve collet; releasable means between said collet locking sleeve and said pulling sleeve for holding said collet locking sleeve at said first collet release position and releasable responsive to force applied from said head end of said housing through said retainer ring to said first operator surface of said collet locking sleeve toward said locking collet for movement of said collet locking sleeve to said second collet lo ck position; and said pulling sleeve being adapted to raise said collet locking sleeve from said second position back to said first collet lock release position and to lift said locking collet from said fishing head of said well device responsive to a predetermined force away from said locking collet.

10. A well tool as defined in claim 9 wherein said pulling sleeve includes a pulling flange and said locking sleeve includes a head ring engageable by said pulling flange for lifting said locking sleeve relative to said collet.

11. A well tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said pulling sleeve and said collet rod are each provided with stop ring members disposed along end portions of said sleeve and said rod within said cylinder for holding said sleeve and said rod in operative relationship in said cylinder and for lifting said sleeve and said rod in manipulating said well tool with said well device.

12. A well tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said locking collet comprises a plurality of radially flexible circumferentially spaced collet fingers providing shoulder faces comprising a substantially continuous pulling surface encompassing substantially 360 of the fishing neck of said well device at the contracted locking positions of said fingers on said fishing neck minimizing the unit pressure between said locking collet fingers and said fishing neck when pulling said well device from a well bore with said well tool.

13. The well tool of claim 11 wherein the upper end portion of said pulling sleeve is engaged and lifted by said retainer ring after said collet locking sleeve is moved to said second collet locking position for retrieving said well device and said pulling sleeve is released from said collet rod responsive to a predetermined force away from said well device when said well device is stuck in said well for releasing said well tool from said device whereby said pulling sleeve is first lifted by said retainer ring moving said collet locking sleeve back to said first collet release position and said collet rod is subsequently lifted by said retainer ring and said pulling sleeve lifting and releasing said collet from the fishing neck of said well tool.

14. A well tool for retrieving a device from a well bore comprising: radially expandable and compressible locking fingers for releasably coupling said tool with said device; a locking sleeve for moving said locking fingers between release and locking positions within said well bore when said tool is engaged with said device and for freeing said locking fingers for return to said release positions; a first nonresilient operator sleeve connected with the head end of said tool and adapted to engage said locking sleeve for applying a force directly from said head end of said tool to said locking sleeve toward said device for moving said locking sleeve along said locking fingers for compressing said locking fingers inwardly to locking positions; and a nonresilient second operator sleeve engageable with said first operator sleeve and with said locking sleeve responsive to a force applied directly from said head end of said tool away from said device for moving said locking sleeve from over said locking fingers for releasing said locking fingers for radial expansion for release from said device in said well bore.

15. A well tool for releasably engaging and retrieving a device from a well bore comprising: a collet having a plurality of radially compressible and expandable collet fingers for releasable engagement with said device in said well bore; a rod secured to a ead end of said collet for supporting said collet;

a ring secured on the upper end of said rod providing a lifting surface for raising said tool from locked relationship with said device when said collet is released from said device; a pulling sleeve secured on said rod and slidable along said rod, said pulling sleeve having a flange around a lower end thereof providing an upwardly facing pulling shoulder surface and having a ring around an upper end thereof providing a downwardly facing shoulder surface for lifting said tool and said well device when said device is engaged by said collet; a first shear pin engaged through said rod and said pulling sleeve locking said pulling sleeve on said rod; a collet locking sleeve disposed on said pulling sleeve for movement, between an upper collet release position and a lower collet locking position at which said collet locking sleeve compresses said collet fingers radially inwardly around said well device for locking said tool on said well device, said collet locking sleeve having an upper shoulder surface for driving said sleeve downwardly from said upper release position to said lower collet locking position, and said collet locking sleeve having a downwardly facing shoulder surface engageable by said upwardly facing shoulder surface on said pulling sleeve flange for lifting said collet locking sleeve from said lower collet locking position to said upper collet release position; a second shear pin connecting said collet locking sleeve with said pulling sleeve and holding said locking sleeve at an upper collet release position on said pulling sleeve; said second shear pin being weaker than said first shear pin; a tubular tool body disposed over said rod and said pulling sleeve and having a lower retainer ring portion providing an upwardly facing shoulder engageable with said downwardly facing shoulder on said pulling sleeve and having a downwardly facing shoulder engageable with said upwardly facing shoulder on said collet locking sleeve whereby a downward force on said housing applies to force directly to said collet locking sleeve for moving said locking sleeve to a lower collet locking position and an upward force on said housing applies a force directly upwardly from said housing to said pulling sleeve for lifting said pulling sleeve to release said collet from said well device in said well bore; and a tool head connected with said housing body for supporting said tool in a tool string in a well bore and for applying forces upwardly and downwardly to said housing body from said tool head for engaging said tool with said well device and for releasing said tool from said well device in said well bore.

Claims

1. A tool for retrieving a device from a well bore comprising: a locking collet for releasably coupling said tool with said device; a collet locking sleeve for moving said locking collet between release and locking positions within said well bore when said locking collet is engaged with said device and for freeing said locking collet for return to said release position; a nonresilient first operator sleeve connected with a head end of said tool and adapted to engage said collet locking sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said tool directly to said collet locking sleeve in a direction toward said device for moving said locking collet from said release to said locking position; and a nonresilient second operator sleeve engageable with said first operator sleeve and with said collet locking sleeve responsive to a force applied directly thereto from said head end of said tool in a direction away from said device to move said collet locking sleeve for releasing said locking collet from said device in said well bore.

7. A pulling tool for retrieving a well device from a well bore comprising: a body having a head end; an elongated rod slidably supported in said body; a pulling collet supported from an end of said rod, said collet having a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially movable locking fingers normally sprung outwardly to release positions and compressible radially inwardly to locking positions for couplinG over the fishing neck of said well device; a pulling sleeve slidable along said rod; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed on said pulling sleeve and movable from a first collet release position to a second collet locking position telescopically disposed over said locking collet responsive to a force applied directly from said head end of said said first release position to said second collet locking position, and said operator sleeve collet locking sleeve for compressing said collet fingers radially inwardly around said fishing neck of said well device; a shear pin secured between said pulling sleeve and said collet locking sleeve holding said collet locking sleeve at said first position and severable responsive to a force applied to said head end of said pulling tool toward said well device for releasing said collet locking sleeve for movement to said second locking position along said pulling sleeve and telescopically over said collet fingers; a shear pin secured between said rod and said pulling sleeve holding said pulling sleeve against movement and severable responsive to a predetermined force away from said well device for releasing said pulling sleeve to permit said pulling sleeve to move collet locking sleeve from said second collet locking position back to said first collet release position; and a nonresilient operator sleeve included with said body and slidably engaged on said pulling sleeve, said operator sleeve having a first operator surface engageable with said collet locking sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said pulling tool body directly to said collet locking sleeve for moving said collet locking sleeve from said operator sleeve having a second operator surface engageable with said pulling sleeve for applying a force from said head end of said pulling tool directly to said pulling sleeve in a direction away from said pulling collet for moving said collet locking sleeve from said second collet locking position back to said first collet release position.

8. A Well tool as defined in claim 7 wherein said locking collet fingers provide a substantially continuous pulling surface to encompass substantially 360* of said fishing neck of said well device when compressed inwardly around said fishing neck.

9. A well tool for retrieving a well device in a well bore comprising: a tool housing having a first head end portion adapted to be connected in a tool train for supporting and moving said well tool along said well bore, said housing having a second end portion comprising an open-ended cylinder; an annular retainer ring connected at said open end of said cylinder; a pulling sleeve slidably disposed through said retainer ring, said pulling sleeve being engageable at a first end thereof with a first end of said retainer ring within said cylinder; a pulling collet slidably supported from said housing and including a rod portion disposed through said pulling sleeve and having an end portion within said cylinder engageable with said first end of said pulling sleeve for lifting said rod and collet responsive to engagement by said pulling sleeve when said pulling sleeve is engaged by said first end of said retainer ring; means releasably interconnecting said pulling sleeve and said rod of said collet; a collet locking sleeve slidably disposed on said pulling sleeve for movement between a first collet release position and a second collet lock position telescopically over said collet wherein the fingers of said locking collet are compressed radially inwardly to locking position by said collet locking sleeve, said collet locking sleeve having a first operator surface engageable by a second opposite end of said retainer ring for moving said collet locking sleeve to said second collet lock position responsive to a force applied to said head end of said tool housing toward said collet locking sleeve, and said collet locking sleeve having a second surface engageable by said pulling sleeve for retracting said collet locking sleeve from said second positioN back to said first position directly responsive to a force applied to said head end of said tool housing in a direction away from said locking sleeve collet; releasable means between said collet locking sleeve and said pulling sleeve for holding said collet locking sleeve at said first collet release position and releasable responsive to force applied from said head end of said housing through said retainer ring to said first operator surface of said collet locking sleeve toward said locking collet for movement of said collet locking sleeve to said second collet lock position; and said pulling sleeve being adapted to raise said collet locking sleeve from said second position back to said first collet lock release position and to lift said locking collet from said fishing head of said well device responsive to a predetermined force away from said locking collet.

12. A well tool as defined in claim 10 wherein said locking collet comprises a plurality of radially flexible circumferentially spaced collet fingers providing shoulder faces comprising a substantially continuous pulling surface encompassing substantially 360* of the fishing neck of said well device at the contracted locking positions of said fingers on said fishing neck minimizing the unit pressure between said locking collet fingers and said fishing neck when pulling said well device from a well bore with said well tool.

15. A well tool for releasably engaging and retrieving a device from a well bore comprising: a collet having a pluralitY of radially compressible and expandable collet fingers for releasable engagement with said device in said well bore; a rod secured to a head end of said collet for supporting said collet; a ring secured on the upper end of said rod providing a lifting surface for raising said tool from locked relationship with said device when said collet is released from said device; a pulling sleeve secured on said rod and slidable along said rod, said pulling sleeve having a flange around a lower end thereof providing an upwardly facing pulling shoulder surface and having a ring around an upper end thereof providing a downwardly facing shoulder surface for lifting said tool and said well device when said device is engaged by said collet; a first shear pin engaged through said rod and said pulling sleeve locking said pulling sleeve on said rod; a collet locking sleeve disposed on said pulling sleeve for movement between an upper collet release position and a lower collet locking position at which said collet locking sleeve compresses said collet fingers radially inwardly around said well device for locking said tool on said well device, said collet locking sleeve having an upper shoulder surface for driving said sleeve downwardly from said upper release position to said lower collet locking position, and said collet locking sleeve having a downwardly facing shoulder surface engageable by said upwardly facing shoulder surface on said pulling sleeve flange for lifting said collet locking sleeve from said lower collet locking position to said upper collet release position; a second shear pin connecting said collet locking sleeve with said pulling sleeve and holding said locking sleeve at an upper collet release position on said pulling sleeve; said second shear pin being weaker than said first shear pin; a tubular tool body disposed over said rod and said pulling sleeve and having a lower retainer ring portion providing an upwardly facing shoulder engageable with said downwardly facing shoulder on said pulling sleeve and having a downwardly facing shoulder engageable with said upwardly facing shoulder on said collet locking sleeve whereby a downward force on said housing applies to force directly to said collet locking sleeve for moving said locking sleeve to a lower collet locking position and an upward force on said housing applies a force directly upwardly from said housing to said pulling sleeve for lifting said pulling sleeve to release said collet from said well device in said well bore; and a tool head connected with said housing body for supporting said tool in a tool string in a well bore and for applying forces upwardly and downwardly to said housing body from said tool head for engaging said tool with said well device and for releasing said tool from said well device in said well bore.