Probe isolation seal pad
First Claim
1. A seal pad for sealing against a borehole wall comprising:
- a base plate;
an expandable material engaged with the base plate; and
a retainer configured to retain at least a portion of the expandable material that is expanded when sealed against the borehole wall in a lateral plane of expansion of the expandable material.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seal pad comprising a base plate and an expandable material engaged with the base plate. The expandable material comprises an outer surface where a portion of the outer surface is used to form a seal against a borehole wall. A portion of the outer surface of the expandable material is expanded during the sealing against the borehole wall. The seal pad also comprises a retainer for controlling the expansion of the expandable material. The retainer controls the expansion of the expandable material by engaging at least a portion of the outer surface of the expandable material. Thus when the seal is formed by expanding the expandable material, at least a portion of the expandable material is contained by the retainer.
153 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A seal pad for sealing against a borehole wall comprising:
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a base plate; an expandable material engaged with the base plate; and a retainer configured to retain at least a portion of the expandable material that is expanded when sealed against the borehole wall in a lateral plane of expansion of the expandable material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of forming a seal against a borehole wall comprising:
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sealingly engaging the borehole wall with at least a portion of an expandable material engaged with a base plate, at least a portion of the expandable material expanding during engagement of the borehole wall; and retaining the expansion of at least a portion of the expandable material in a lateral plane of expansion with a retainer. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 38, 39, 40)
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15. A formation tester for engaging the wall of a borehole comprising:
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a body; an extendable test probe assembly comprising; a seal pad comprising; a base plate; an expandable material engaged with the base plate a retainer configured to retain at least a portion of the expandable material that is expanded when sealed against the borehole wall in a lateral plane of expansion of the expandable material; and a bore through the base plate and seal pad; and a cylinder comprising a flow path in fluid communication with the formation through the seal pad bore; a fluid sample collection reservoir in fluid communication with the test probe cylinder flow path; and a fluid transfer device configured to transfer formation fluid through the test probe cylinder flow path and into the fluid sample collection chamber. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method for collecting a formation fluid sample from the wall of a borehole comprising:
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inserting a formation tester into the borehole, the formation tester comprising a body; extending an extendable test probe assembly from the body into sealing contact with the borehole wall, the test probe assembly forming the seal with at least a portion of an expandable material engaged with a base plate, at least a portion of the expandable material expanding during engagement of the borehole wall; retaining the expansion of at least a portion of the expandable material in a lateral plane of expansion with a retainer; collecting a formation fluid sample through a test probe assembly cylinder in fluid contact with the formation through a bore in the seal pad, the test probe assembly cylinder comprising a flow path; transferring the formation fluid sample with a fluid transfer device from the test probe assembly cylinder to a fluid sample collection chamber. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification