1. A gripping tool for lowering within a well on a running string to position the gripping tool downhole in the well and at least temporarily secure the gripping tool to a borehole wall, such as formed by downhole tubular, the gripping tool comprising:
a drag member carried by an outer tool body axially moveable relative to an inner mandrel secured to the running string, the drag member engaging the borehole wall to resist movement with the running string;
a plurality of circumferentially spaced slips for gripping the borehole wall;
a slip setting mechanism axially securing the running string to the slips when the slip setting mechanism is in a run-in position;
a cone member axially moveable with the running string relative to the slips to move the slips radially outward to a set position for gripping the borehole wall;
at least one ramp secured to one of the running string and the outer tool body for moving the slip setting mechanism to a released position when the running string is rotated in a first direction; and
a ratchet member for rotating the slip setting mechanism with respect to the at least one ramp when the running string is rotated in the first direction, and for rotationally releasing the slip setting mechanism from rotation with the at least one ramp when the running string is rotated in an opposing second direction.
2. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the outer tool body is a cage for axially fixing the slips with respect to the cage, and the slip setting mechanism includes axially extending collet fingers which each engage a stop surface secured to one of the mandrel secured to the running string and the outer tool body.
3. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the slip setting mechanism includes a collet mechanism having axially extending collet fingers with a negative angle run-in catch surface for engagement with a mating negative angle stop surface secured to one of the mandrel secured to the running string and the outer tool body.
4. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the cone member includes corresponding pockets each for circumferentially securing one of the plurality of slips with respect to the cone member.
5. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, wherein:
the slip setting mechanism includes axially extending first collet fingers which engage a stop surface on the mandrel secured to the running string; and
the ratchet member includes circumferentially extending second collet fingers each having a torque transmitting surface for engagement with the outer tool body when the running string is rotated in the first direction, and a torque releasing surface on each second collet finger for engagement with the outer tool body when the running string is rotated in the opposing second direction.
6. The gripping tool as defined in claim 5, wherein a radially outward protrusion on each of the second collet fingers rests within a groove provided in the outer tool body when the tool is in the run-in position, and the torque transmitting surface engages one side of the groove when the tubing string is rotated in the first direction, and the torque releasing surface engages an opposing side of the groove and rotatably releases the collet finger from the outer tool body when the running tool is rotated in the opposing second direction.
7. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the ratchet mechanism comprises:
a plurality of torque transmitting surfaces each for engagement with one of the inner mandrel and the outer tool body when the running string is rotated in the first direction; and
a plurality of torque releasing surfaces each for engagement with the other of the inner mandrel and the outertool body when the running string is rotated in the opposing second direction.
8. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, further comprising:
a radially outer surface secured to the ramp for maintaining the slip setting mechanism radially from the run-in position in response to rotation of the running string in the first direction; and
an overhang surface spaced radially from the at least one ramp for preventing the slip setting mechanism from returning to the run-in position during rotation of the running string in the first direction.
9. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the gripping tool is released by picking up on the running string, such that the picking up the running string returns the slip setting mechanism to the run-in position.
10. A gripping tool as defined in claim 1, wherein the gripping tool, once set in the well, may be released and subsequently reset such that the slip setting mechanism returns to the run-in position without returning the gripping tool to the surface.
11. A gripping tool for lowering within a well on a running string to position the gripping tool downhole in the well and at least temporarily secure the gripping tool to a borehole wall, such as formed by downhole tubular, the gripping tool comprising:
a drag member carried by an outer tool body axially moveable relative to an inner mandrel secured to the running string, the drag member engaging the borehole wall to resist movement with the running string;
a plurality of circumferentially spaced slips for gripping the borehole wall;
a collet mechanism including axially extending first collet fingers which engage a stop surface on the mandrel secured to the running string for axially securing the running string to the slips when the collet mechanism is in a run-in position;
a cone member including a pocket for receiving one of the plurality of slips and axially moveable with the running string relative to the slips to move the slips radially outward to a set position for gripping the borehole wall;
at least one ramp secured to one of the running string and the outer tool body for moving the slip setting mechanism to a released position when the running string is rotated in a first direction; and
a ratchet member including circumferentially extending second collet fingers each having a torque transmitting surface for engagement with the outer tool body when the running string is rotated in the first direction, and a torque releasing surface on each second collet finger for engagement with the outer tool body when the running string is rotated in the opposing second direction.
12. A gripping tool as defined in claim 11, wherein the first collet fingers have a negative angle run-in catch surface for engagement with a mating negative angle stop surface on the mandrel secured to the running string.
13. A gripping tool as defined in claim 12, wherein a radially outward protrusion on each of the second collet fingers rests within a groove provided in the outer tool body when the tool is in the run-in position, and the torque transmitting surface engages one side of the groove when the tubing string is rotated in the first direction, and the torque releasing surface engages an opposing side of the groove and rotatably releases the collet finger from the outer tool body when the running tool is rotated in the opposing second direction.
14. A gripping tool as defined in claim 11, further comprising:
a radially outer surface secured to the ramp for maintaining the slip setting mechanism radially outward of the run-in position in response to rotation of the running string in the first direction; and
an overhang surface radially outward of a radially innermost portion of the at least one ramp for preventing the slip setting mechanism from returning to the run-in position during rotation of the running string in the first direction.
15. A gripping tool as defined in claim 11, wherein:
the gripping tool is released by picking up on the running string, such that the picking up the running string returns the collet mechanism to the run-in position; and
the gripping tool, once set in the well, may be released and subsequently reset such that the collet mechanism returns to the run-in position without returning the gripping tool to the surface.
16. A method of setting a gripping tool within a well on a running string to at least temporarily secure the gripping tool to a borehole wall, such as formed by downhole tubular, the method comprising:
providing a drag member on an outer tool body axially moveable relative to an inner mandrel secured to the running string, the drag member engaging the borehole wall to resist movement with the running string;
providing a plurality of circumferentially spaced slips for gripping the borehole wall;
providing a slip setting mechanism to axially secure the running string to the slips when the slip setting mechanism is in a run-in position;
securing at least one ramp to one of the inner mandrel secured to the running string and the outer tool body for moving the slip setting mechanism to a released position when the running string is rotated in a first direction;
while the gripping tool is in the well, rotating the running string to move the slip setting mechanism along the at least one ramp from the run-in position to the released position;
thereafter moving a cone member axially with the running string relative to the slips when the slip setting mechanism is in the released position to move the slips radially outward to a set position for gripping the borehole wall; and
providing a ratchet member for rotating the slip setting mechanism with the running string when the running string is rotated in the first direction, and for rotatably releasing the slip setting mechanism from the running string when the running string is rotated in an opposing second direction.
17. A method as defined in claim 16, wherein the slip setting mechanism includes a collet mechanism having axially extending collet fingers with a negative angle run-in catch surface for engagement with a mating negative angle stop surface secured to one of the mandrel secured to the running string and the outer tool body.
18. A method as defined in claim 16, wherein:
the slip setting mechanism includes axially extending first collet fingers which engage a stop surface secured to one of the mandrel secured to the running string and the outer tool body; and
the ratchet member includes circumferentially extending second collet fingers each having a torque transmitting surface for engagement with one of the outer tool body and the mandrel when the running string is rotated in the first direction, and a torque releasing surface on each second collet finger for engagement with the other of the outer tool body and the mandrel when the running string is rotated in the opposing second direction.
19. A method tool as defined in claim 16, further comprising:
providing a radially outer surface secured to the ramp for maintaining the slip setting mechanism radially spaced from the run-in position in response to rotation of the running string in the first direction; and
providing an overhang surface radially spaced from the at least one ramp for preventing the slip setting mechanism from returning to the run-in position during rotation of the running string in the first direction.
20. A method as defined in claim 16, wherein:
releasing the gripping tool by picking up on the running string, such that the picking up the running string returns the slip setting mechanism to the run-in position, and
the gripping tool, once set in the well, may be released and subsequently reset such that the slip setting mechanism returns to the run-in position without returning the gripping tool to the surface.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A system for flexibly transferring data from one or more data sources to one or more data destinations within an information network, each of the one or more data sources having data in a particular source format, each of the one or more data destinations having data in a particular destination format, the system comprising:
a parameter database that includes parameters to control the transfer of data;
a scheduler that initiates the transfer of data; and
a data loader in communications with the parameter database and scheduler that, upon initiation by the scheduler, extracts data from the one or more data sources, manipulates the extracted source data into one or more destination formats associated with one or more data destinations, and inserts the data into one or more data destinations according to the parameters within the parameter database.
2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the parameters include any one or combination of the form of the source data, date offset, data source host name, data source locator, data source name, form of the data query, form of the destination data, destination host name, destination locator, destination name, manipulation requirements, the name and location of plug-ins to manipulate data, source drivers, destination drivers, source user, source password, destination user, destination password, scheduling and frequency of data transfers, order of data transfer, number of threads used during data transfer, batch processing procedure, batch group number, retry processing procedure, reporting location, and log location.
3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the data source is any one of a flat file, a database, a computer application, a XML data stream, web services, data warehouse, and data mart.
4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the data destination is any one of a flat file, a database, a computer application, a XML data stream, web services, data warehouse, and data mart.
5. The system according to claim 1 wherein the scheduler determines when the transfer of data is to occur based on any one of a specific time and interval of time.
6. The system according to claim 1 wherein the scheduler is a software application.
7. The system according to claim 6 wherein the scheduler is a UNIX Cron.
8. The system according to claim 1 wherein data manipulation includes any one or combination of data format conversion, conversion of source data content based on computations, merging of data from one or more other data sources, collating data from one or more data source, filtering of data from one or more data sources, derivation of new data, and transferring of data from one or more data source.
9. The system according to claim 8 wherein data manipulation is performed by one or more data manipulation plug-ins.
10. The system according to claim 9 wherein a data manipulation plug-in is co-located with the data loader.
11. The system according to claim 9 wherein a data manipulation plug-in is remote from the data loader, the data loader remotely accessing the data manipulation plug-in to manipulate source data.
12. The system according to claim 11 wherein the data loader performs any one of delivering source data to the remote data manipulation plug-in, the remote data manipulation plug-in returning the manipulated source data to the data loader, and retrieving the data manipulation plug-in from the remote location to enable source data manipulation at the data loader.
13. The system according to claim 9 wherein data manipulation plug-ins are added to and removed from the data loader to satisfy the manipulation requirements.
14. The system according to claim 1 wherein parameters are addable to and removable from the parameter database to satisfy the extraction, manipulation, and insertion requirements.
15. The system according to claim 1 wherein parameters are modifiable to satisfy the extraction, manipulation, and insertion requirements.
16. The system according to claim 1 wherein the data loader is a software application.
17. The system according to claim 1 wherein the data loader includes input and output interfaces, the input interface enabling communications with one or more data sources, the output interface enabling communications with one or more data destinations.
18. The system according to claim 17 wherein the interfaces include one or more drivers to enable communications with one or more data sources and destinations.
19. The system according to claim 18 wherein a driver may support data communications using any one of XML, point-to-point, teradata, JDBC, DB2, RDBMS, FTP, and other protocols.
20. A method of flexibly transferring data from one or more data sources to one or more data destinations within an information network, each of the one or more data sources having data in a particular source format, each of the one or more data destinations having data in a particular destination format, the method comprising:
defining parameters in a parameter database to control the transfer of data;
scheduling a transfer time when the transfer of data is to occur;
extracting data from the one or more data sources according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time;
manipulating the extracted source data into one or more destination formats associated with one or more data destinations according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time; and
inserting the destination data at one or more data destinations according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time.
21. The method according to claim 20 wherein the parameters include any one or combination of the form of the source data, date offset, data source host name, data source locator, data source name, form of the data query, form of the destination data, destination host name, destination locator, destination name, manipulation requirements, the name and location of plug-ins to manipulate data, source drivers, destination drivers, source user, source password, destination user, destination password, scheduling and frequency of data transfers, order of data transfer, number of threads used during data transfer, batch processing procedure, batch group number, retry processing procedure, reporting location, and log location.
22. The method according to claim 20 wherein the data source is any one of a flat file, a database, a computer application, a XML data stream, web services, data warehouse, and data mart.
23. The method according to claim 20 wherein the data destination is any one of a flat file, a database, a computer application, a XML data stream, web services, data warehouse, and data mart.
24. The method according to claim 20 wherein scheduling is based on any one of a specific time and interval of time.
25. The method according to claim 20 wherein scheduling is performed by a software application.
26. The method according to claim 25 wherein scheduling is performed by a UNIX Cron.
27. The method according to claim 20 wherein data manipulation includes any one or combination of data format conversion, conversion of source data content based on computations, merging of data from one or more other data sources, collating data from one or more data source, filtering of data from one or more data sources, derivation of new data, and transferring of data from one or more data source.
28. The method according to claim 27 wherein data manipulation is performed by one or more data manipulation plug-ins.
29. The method according to claim 28 wherein a data manipulation plug-in is co-located with a data loader that performs the extraction, manipulation, and insertion of data.
30. The method according to claim 28 wherein a data manipulation plug-in is remote from the data loader, the data loader remotely accessing the data manipulation plug-in to manipulate source data.
31. The method according to claim 30 wherein the data loader performs any one of delivering source data to the remote data manipulation plug-in, the remote data manipulation plug-in returning the manipulated source data to the data loader, and retrieving the data manipulation plug-in from a remote location to enable source data manipulation at the data loader.
32. The method according to claim 28 wherein data manipulation plug-ins are added to and removed from the data loader to satisfy the manipulation requirements.
33. The method according to claim 20 wherein parameters are addable to and removable from the parameter database to satisfy the extraction, manipulation, and insertion requirements.
34. The method according to claim 20 wherein parameters are modifiable to satisfy extraction, manipulation, and insertion requirements.
35. The method according to claim 20 wherein extracting, manipulating, and inserting are performed by a software application.
36. The method according to claim 20 further including using input and output interfaces to communicate with data sources and destinations, the input interface enabling communications with one or more data sources, the output interface enabling communications with one or more data destinations.
37. The system according to claim 20 wherein the interfaces include one or more drivers to enable communications with one or more data sources and destinations.
38. The system according to claim 37 wherein a driver may support data communications using any one of XML, PPP, Teradata, JDBC, DB2, RDBMS, FTP, and other protocols.
39. A computer readable medium having computer readable program codes embodied therein for causing a computer to flexibly transfer data from one or more data sources to one or more data destinations within an information network, each of the one or more data sources having data in a particular source format, each of the one or more data destinations having data in a particular destination format, the transfer of data being controlled by parameters in a parameter database, the computer readable medium program codes performing functions comprising:
scheduling a transfer time when the transfer of data is to occur;
extracting data from the one or more data sources according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time;
manipulating the extracted source data into one or more destination formats associated with one or more data destinations according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time; and
inserting the destination data at one or more data destinations according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time.
40. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein the parameters include any one or combination of the form of the source data, date offset, data source host name, data source locator, data source name, form of the data query, form of the destination data, destination host name, destination locator, destination name, manipulation requirements, the name and location of plug-ins to manipulate data, source drivers, destination drivers, source user, source password, destination user, destination password, scheduling and frequency of data transfers, order of data transfer, number of threads used during data transfer, batch processing procedure, batch group number, retry processing procedure, reporting location, and log location.
41. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein the data source is any one of a flat file, a database, a computer application, a XML data stream, web services, data warehouse, and data mart.
42. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein the data destination is any one of a flat file, a database, a computer application, a XML data stream, web services, data warehouse, and data mart.
43. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein the scheduling is based on any one of a specific time and interval of time.
44. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein the scheduling is performed by a UNIX Cron.
45. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein data manipulation includes any one or combination of data format conversion, conversion of source data content based on computations, merging of data from one or more other data sources, collating data from one or more data source, filtering of data from one or more data sources, derivation of new data, and transferring of data from one or more data source.
46. The computer readable medium according to claim 45 wherein data manipulation is performed by one or more data manipulation plug-ins.
47. The computer readable medium according to claim 46 wherein a data manipulation plug-in is co-located with the computer readable medium that performs the extraction, manipulation, and insertion of data.
48. The computer readable medium according to claim 46 wherein a data manipulation plug-in is remote from the computer readable medium, the computer readable medium remotely accessing the data manipulation plug-in to manipulate source data.
49. The computer readable medium according to claim 48 wherein the computer readable medium performs any one of delivering source data to the remote data manipulation plug-in, the remote data manipulation plug-in returning the manipulated source data to the computer readable medium, and retrieving the data manipulation plug-in from a remote location to enable source data manipulation at the computer readable medium.
50. The computer readable medium according to claim 46 wherein data manipulation plug-ins are added to and removed from the computer readable medium to satisfy the manipulation requirements.
51. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein parameters are addable to and removable from the parameter database to satisfy the extraction, manipulation, and insertion requirements.
52. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 wherein parameters are modifiable to satisfy the extraction, manipulation, and insertion requirements.
53. The computer readable medium according to claim 39 further including the finctions of using input and output interfaces to communicate with data sources and destinations, the input interface enabling communications with one or more data sources, the output interface enabling communications with one or more data destinations.
54. The system according to claim 53 wherein the interfaces include one or more drivers to enable communications with one or more data sources and destinations.
55. The system according to claim 54 wherein a driver may support data communications using any one of XML, PPP, Teradata, JDBC, DB2, RDBMS, FTP, and other protocols.
56. A system for flexibly transferring data from one or more data sources to one or more data destinations within an information network, each of the one or more data sources having data in a particular source format, each of the one or more data destinations having data in a particular destination format, the system comprising:
means for defining parameters in a parameter database to control the transfer of data;
means for scheduling a transfer time when the transfer of data is to occur;
means for extracting data from the one or more data sources according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time;
means for manipulating the extracted source data into one or more destination formats associated with one or more data destinations according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time; and
means for inserting the destination data at one or more data destinations according to certain parameters within the parameter database at the transfer time.
57. A data structure stored in a memory, the data structure for use in a system that transfers data from one or more data sources to one or more data destinations within an information network, each of the one or more data sources having data in a particular source format, each of the one or more data destinations having data in a particular destination format, the data structure comprising:
one or more data source parameters that relate to extracting data from the one or more data sources, including defining the data source name and location; one or more data manipulation parameters that relate to manipulating the extracted source data into one or more destination formats associated with the one or more data destinations; and
one or more data destination parameters that relate to inserting destination data at the one or more data destinations, including defining data destination name and location.
58. The data structure according to claim 57 wherein the data manipulation parameters relate to any one or combination of data format conversion, conversion of source data content based on computations, merging of data from one or more other data sources, collating data from one or more data source, filtering of data from one or more data sources, derivation of new data, and transferring of data from one or more data source.