Claims
- 1. A pad plunger assembly, comprising:
(a) an elongated mandrel having a pair of opposite ends; (b) at least one pad subassembly disposed about said mandrel and extending between said opposite ends thereof; (c) a plurality of annular key ways and annular keys respectively defined on said mandrel and said pad subassembly, said key ways and keys interfitting with one another so as to impede the ability of a fluid to flow along said mandrel and beneath said pad subassembly adjacent to said mandrel and from one to the other of said opposite ends of said mandrel; and (d) means for securing said pad subassembly on and around said mandrel.
- 2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said annular key ways are annular grooves defined about and extending into an exterior surface of said mandrel.
- 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said annular keys are annular ridges defined on and protruding outwardly from pad sections of said pad subassembly.
- 4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said mandrel includes:
an intermediate portion disposed between said opposite ends thereof; a central raised annular segment on said intermediate portion; and a pair of opposite side segments on said intermediate portion extending in opposite directions from opposite sides of said raised annular segment toward said opposite ends of said mandrel.
- 5. The assembly of claim 4 wherein said annular key ways are annular grooves axially spaced along said mandrel and defined in said respective opposite side segments thereof adjacent to opposite sides of said central raised annular segment.
- 6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein said annular keys are arcuate-shaped annular ridges defined along respective axially-spaced opposite sides of an interior recess of a middle segment of said pad subassembly and having cross-sectional shapes complementary to cross-sectional shapes of said annular grooves of said intermediate portion of the mandrel which arcuate-shaped ridges interengage with said annular grooves so as to disrupt a path of flow of gas between said pad subassembly and said mandrel from one to the other of said opposite ends of said mandrel and thereby enhance the sealing capabilities of said assembly with a hollow tubing of a gas-producing well.
- 7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said pad subassembly includes a plurality of pad sections.
- 8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein each of said pad sections includes:
a pair of arcuate-shaped opposite end segments being circumferentially offset from each other; and an arcuate-shaped middle segment disposed between, interconnecting and circumferentially offset from the opposite end segments and defining an interior recess which receives a central raised annular segment of an intermediate portion of the mandrel.
- 9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein said key ways are annular grooves defined in an exterior surface of said opposite side segments of said intermediate portion of said mandrel at opposite sides of said central raised annular segment thereof.
- 10. The assembly of claim 9 wherein said keys are arcuate-shaped ridges defined along respective axially-spaced opposite sides of said interior recess of said middle segment of said each pad section and having cross-sectional shapes complementary to cross-sectional shapes of said annular grooves of said intermediate portion of said mandrel which arcuate-shaped ridges interengage with said annular grooves so as to disrupt a path of flow of gas between said pad sections and said mandrel from one to the other of said opposite ends of said mandrel and thereby enhance the sealing capabilities of said assembly with a hollow tubing of a gas-producing well.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/235,996, filed Sep. 27, 2000.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60235996 |
Sep 2000 |
US |