Linearly indexing wellbore valve
A downhole tool and method for actuating a downhole tool, of which the downhole tool includes a housing having a housing port formed radially-therethrough, a shifter sleeve positioned within the housing, wherein the shifter sleeve has a port formed radially therethrough, and a drive sleeve positioned at least partially within an annulus between the housing and the shifter sleeve. Downward movement of the shifter sleeve causes the drive sleeve to move downward, and downward movement of the drive sleeve causes fluid to flow through the port in the shifter sleeve and into the annulus. The downhole tool also includes a filter coupled to the shifter sleeve and configured to prevent particles from flowing through the port in the shifter sleeve and into the annulus.
1. A downhole tool, comprising:
a housing having a housing port formed radially-therethrough;
a shifter sleeve positioned within the housing, wherein the shifter sleeve has a port formed radially therethrough;
a drive sleeve positioned at least partially within an annulus between the housing and the shifter sleeve, wherein downward movement of the shifter sleeve causes the drive sleeve to move downward, and wherein downward movement of the drive sleeve causes fluid to flow through the port in the shifter sleeve and into the annulus;
a valve sleeve positioned within the housing and below the drive sleeve;
a filter coupled to the shifter sleeve and configured to prevent particles from flowing through the port in the shifter sleeve and into the annulus; and
a piston positioned within the annulus, wherein the piston is directly coupled to an upper end of the valve sleeve, and wherein the piston comprises a seal that restricts fluid flow in the annulus from a first axial side of the piston to a second axial side of the piston.
2. The downhole tool of claim 1 , wherein the filter comprises a sintered metal material that is positioned at least partially in the port in the shifter sleeve.
3. The downhole tool of claim 1 , wherein the valve sleeve has a valve sleeve port formed radially-therethrough, and wherein the housing port and the valve sleeve port are misaligned when the downhole tool is in a first state and aligned when the downhole tool is in a second state.
4. The downhole tool of claim 3 , wherein the piston is positioned between the drive sleeve and the valve sleeve.
5. The downhole tool of claim 3 , further comprising a resilient member that exerts a force on the shifter sleeve in an uphole direction, wherein the piston is positioned at least partially between the resilient member and the valve sleeve.
6. The downhole tool of claim 5 , further comprising a support ring, wherein the resilient member is positioned between the shifter sleeve and the support ring, and wherein the piston is positioned at least partially between the support ring and the valve sleeve.
7. The downhole tool of claim 1 , wherein the piston is configured to maintain a balanced pressure in the annulus during the downward movement of the shifter sleeve, the drive sleeve, or both.
8. The downhole tool of claim 1 , wherein the seal comprises:
a first seal on an inner surface of the piston to contact the shifter sleeve; and
a second seal on an outer surface of the piston to contact the housing.
9. The downhole tool of claim 8 , wherein the first seal is positioned at least partially within a first recess in the inner surface of the piston, and wherein the second seal is positioned at least partially within a second recess in the outer surface of the piston.
10. A downhole tool, comprising:
a housing having a housing port formed radially-therethrough;
a shifter sleeve positioned within the housing, wherein the shifter sleeve has a port formed radially therethrough;
an actuation ball seat coupled to and configured to move together with the shifter sleeve;
a drive sleeve positioned at least partially within an annulus between the housing and the shifter sleeve, wherein downward movement of the shifter sleeve causes the drive sleeve to move downward, and wherein downward movement of the drive sleeve causes fluid to flow through the port in the shifter sleeve and into the annulus;
a filter coupled to the shifter sleeve and configured to prevent particles from flowing through the port in the shifter sleeve and into the annulus;
a piston positioned within the annulus, wherein the piston comprises a first seal on an inner surface thereof to contact the shifter sleeve and a second seal on an outer surface thereof to contact the housing;
a valve sleeve positioned within the housing and below the drive sleeve, wherein an upper end of the valve sleeve is directly coupled to the piston, and wherein the valve sleeve has a valve sleeve port formed radially-therethrough that is misaligned with the housing port when the valve sleeve is in a first position and aligned with the housing port when the valve sleeve is in a second position; and
an isolation ball seat positioned at least partially within the valve sleeve.
11. The downhole tool of claim 10 , wherein the filter comprises a sintered metal material that is positioned at least partially in the port in the shifter sleeve.
12. The downhole tool of claim 10 , wherein the piston is positioned within the annulus and between the drive sleeve and the valve sleeve.
13. The downhole tool of claim 10 , further comprising an inner ring positioned radially-inward from the drive sleeve, wherein the inner ring remains positioned in a first inner groove in the shifter sleeve or the drive sleeve during downward movement of the shifter sleeve and the drive sleeve, and wherein the inner ring shifts into a second inner groove in the shifter sleeve or the drive sleeve during subsequent upward movement of the shifter sleeve.
14. The downhole tool of claim 10 , further comprising an outer ring positioned radially-outward from the drive sleeve, wherein the outer ring shifts from a first outer groove into a second outer groove in the drive sleeve or the housing during downward movement of the shifter sleeve and the drive sleeve, and wherein the outer ring remains positioned in the second outer groove during subsequent upward movement of the shifter sleeve.
15. The downhole tool of claim 10 , wherein the actuation ball seat is configured to move into an enlarged diameter portion of the housing and expand radially therein at an end of the downward movement.
16. The downhole tool of claim 15 , wherein the actuation ball seat is configured to remain secured in the enlarged diameter portion of the housing when the housing port becomes aligned with the valve sleeve port.
17. The downhole tool of claim 16 , wherein the isolation ball seat is configured to move from a first enlarged diameter portion of the valve sleeve into a reduced diameter portion of the valve sleeve when the housing port becomes aligned with the valve sleeve port, wherein the isolation ball seat is configured to receive a first ball travelling in a downhole direction when in the reduced diameter portion of the valve sleeve.
18. The downhole tool of claim 17 , wherein the isolation ball seat is configured to move from the reduced diameter portion of the valve sleeve into a second enlarged diameter portion of the valve sleeve in response to a second ball travelling in an uphole direction contacting the isolation ball seat.
19. A method for actuating a downhole tool, comprising:
running the downhole tool into a wellbore; and
introducing a first ball into a bore of the downhole tool, wherein:
the first ball is received in an actuation ball seat of the downhole tool and causes the actuation ball seat and a shifter sleeve coupled thereto to move downward within a housing of the downhole tool,
downward movement of the shifter sleeve causes a drive sleeve to move downward within the housing,
downward movement of the drive sleeve causes fluid to flow through a port in the shifter sleeve and into an annulus between the housing and the shifter sleeve,
a piston in the annulus is directly coupled to an upper end of a valve sleeve that is positioned within the housing and below the drive sleeve,
the piston comprises a seal that is configured to maintain a balanced pressure in the annulus during the downward movement of the shifter sleeve, the drive sleeve, or both, and
a filter coupled to the shifter sleeve prevents particles from flowing through the port in the shifter sleeve and into the annulus.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the first ball causes the drive sleeve to index down by a predetermined distance, causing the drive sleeve to move closer to the valve sleeve.
21. The method of claim 20 , further comprising introducing a second ball into the bore of the downhole tool, wherein the second ball causes the drive sleeve to actuate the valve sleeve from a first position to a second position, wherein a valve sleeve port in the valve sleeve is misaligned with a housing port in the housing when the valve sleeve is in the first position, and wherein the valve sleeve port in the valve sleeve is aligned with the housing port in the housing when the valve sleeve is in the second position.
22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the second ball is received in an isolation ball seat positioned within the valve sleeve, and further comprising increasing a pressure of a fluid in the bore, causing at least a portion of the fluid to flow out of the bore, through the valve sleeve port and the housing port, and to an exterior of the downhole tool.
23. The method of claim 22 , further comprising indexing the drive sleeve down by the predetermined distance one or more times before running the downhole tool into the wellbore.