Weatherford Technology Holdings, LLC

Michael W Cast

Patrick James Zimmerman

Cesar G Garcia

David Ward

James Frederick Wilkin

Scott Crowley

Raymond Shaffer

Michael Shane Larisey

Scott Williamson

Iain M Greenan

Luke Richey

James F Wilkin

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.

Sliding sleeve having contracting, dual segmented ball seat

Sliding sleeve having ramped, contracting, segmented ball seat

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Michael W Cast