Downhole deburring tool
View Patent ↗A downhole deburring tool is equipped with retractable cutters which permit it to fit through restrictions in a wellbore—e.g., a subsurface safety valve—and subsequently expand to deburr or scrape a section of tubing having an internal diameter greater than that of the restriction. In one preferred embodiment, tapered surfaces on the tool act to effect retraction of the cutters during withdrawal of the tool from a wellbore. Deburring operations with the tool may increase the effectiveness of bridge plugs and/or ball sealer systems to permit chemical treatment of selected zones. Scraping operations with the tool to remove scale, corrosion and other material from the inner surface of a well tubular can increase the effective diameter of the tubing thereby allowing greater production.
1. A downhole deburring tool comprising:
a madrel;
a carriage moveable in an axial direction on the mandrel between a first position and a second position;
a retractable cutter carrier having cutters on an outer surface thereof and connected to the carriage which is moveable from a first position wherein the tool has a first, smaller outside diameter to a second position in which the tool has a second, larger outside diameter;
a first cam surface adjacent the cutters on the exterior surface of the carrier configured to urge the retractable carrier towards the first position when the cam surface contacts a section of reduced inside diameter in a wellbore during withdrawal of the tool from a wellbore;
a housing attached to the mandrel and having an outer wall spaced apart from the mandrel which defines an annular space into which at least a portion of the cutter carrier moves when the tool is in the first position; and,
a tapered surface on the inner side of the outer wall of the housing which contacts the first cam surface on the exterior surface of the carrier such that axial movement of the carrier changes the point of contact on the tapered surface.
2. A deburring tool as recited in claim 1 wherein changing the point of contact on the tapered surface effects radial movement of the carrier.
3. A deburring tool as recited in claim 1 further comprising resilient elements which bias the carrier in an outward, radial direction.
4. A deburring tool as recited in claim 3 wherein the resilient elements are springs.
5. A deburring tool as recited in claim 4 wherein the springs are coiled springs.
6. A deburring tool as recited in claim 1 further comprising a central axial passageway and a radial passageway in the mandrel which is in fluid communication with the central axial passageway and the external surface of the tool.
7. A downhole deburring tool as recited in claim 1 further comprising a shear pin which restrains the carriage in the first position, the shear pin having a strength selected such that the shear pin will shear when the retractable cutters contact a burr of a certain size on the inner surface of the casing of a cased well when the deburring tool is run into the cased well, said contact creating a force urging the carriage towards the second position.
8. A downhole deburring tool as recited in claim 1 further comprising an opposing second cam surface adjacent the cutters on the exterior surface of the carrier configured to urge the retractable carrier towards the first position when the second cam surface contacts a section of reduced inside diameter in a wellbore during withdrawal of the tool from a wellbore.