초록 ▼

A pothead assembly for use under severe operating conditions. The pothead assembly includes a plurality of ferrules, a compression plate, a pothead housing, and a threaded collar. When the collar and a base portion of a pothead housing are engaged, the pothead assembly is operable to form a metal to

A pothead assembly for use under severe operating conditions. The pothead assembly includes a plurality of ferrules, a compression plate, a pothead housing, and a threaded collar. When the collar and a base portion of a pothead housing are engaged, the pothead assembly is operable to form a metal to metal seal on metal tubing that surrounds insulated wiring without the use of a solder joint or weld joint. The resulting pothead assembly has a lower profile than conventional potheads, does not require the use of tube connectors and is operable to form the seal in close proximity to the motor.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A pothead assembly comprising: a compression plate having a plurality of holes therethrough, each hole adapted to receive a metal wire protector containing an insulated wire; a plurality of metal ferrules, wherein each ferrule surrounds one of the metal wire protectors and en

What is claimed is: 1. A pothead assembly comprising: a compression plate having a plurality of holes therethrough, each hole adapted to receive a metal wire protector containing an insulated wire; a plurality of metal ferrules, wherein each ferrule surrounds one of the metal wire protectors and engages one of the holes of the compression plate; a pothead housing having a base portion containing a plurality of base passages formed therein that register with the holes in the compression plate, wherein each passage receives one of the insulated wires; and a single compression collar in operable engagement with the pothead housing and all of the ferrules, with the compression plate located between at least a portion of the compression collar and the base portion such that advancing the compression collar toward the base portion compresses each ferrule such that each ferrule is operable to circumferentially engage and seal around one of the metal wire protectors. 2. The pothead assembly of claim 1, wherein the compression plate's plurality of holes are located radially about the compression plate's centerpoint. 3. The pothead assembly of claim 1, wherein the compression plate comprises a lower face and the base portion of the pothead housing comprises backside face, wherein one of the faces is generally convex and the other face is generally concave. 4. The pothead assembly of claim 1, wherein the ferrules are compressed simultaneously. 5. The pothead assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a lower insulator having a lower end and an upper end, the upper end having a plurality of insulator passages formed therein, wherein the insulator passages are aligned with the base passages, the lower end having a plurality of prong receptacle insulators; a plurality of female receptacles partially disposed within the insulator passages; a plurality of retaining sleeves disposed within the insulator passages, and wherein the retaining sleeves abut the female receptacles; a retainer having a back portion that is operable to threadedly engage the pothead housing; a compression gasket radially surrounding the retainer, wherein the compression gasket contacts the pothead housing, and wherein the compression gasket is operable to expand radially outward when the pothead assembly is connected to a downhole electric motor; a boot radially surrounding the retainer and abutting the compression gasket, wherein the boot is operable to provide additional sealing protection; and a terminal pin isolation seal radially surrounding the prong receptacle insulators. 6. The pothead assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a lower insulator having a plurality of insulator passages formed therein, wherein the insulator passages are aligned with the base passages, the lower end having a plurality of prong receptacle insulators; a plurality of female receptacles partially disposed within the insulator passages; a plurality of retaining sleeves disposed within the insulator passages, and wherein the retaining sleeves abut the female receptacles; and a retainer having a back portion that is operable to threadedly engage the pothead housing. 7. The pothead assembly of claim 6, further comprising: a first alignment bore formed forward from the lower insulator's back surface; a second alignment bore formed backward from the base portion's front surface; an indexing pin, the indexing pin disposed within the first alignment bore and the second alignment bore, the indexing pin operable to properly align components within the pothead assembly. 8. The pothead assembly of claim 6, wherein the retainer is made of a non-conductive material. 9. The pothead assembly of claim 6, wherein the retainer is made of polyetheretherketone. 10. The pothead assembly of claim 6, wherein the retainer further comprises a recess on a front edge of the retainer, wherein the recess is formed to cooperate with a tool, the tool operable to apply the necessary torque to engage the retainer with the pothead housing. 11. A pothead assembly comprising: a compression plate having a lower face and a plurality of holes therethough, each of the holes being operable to receive an insulated wire contained within a metal wire protector, wherein said plurality of holes are spaced circumferentially about a center of the compression plate; a plurality of conical metal ferrules, each being operable to receive one of the metal wire protectors therethrough; a pothead housing, the pothead housing having a lower end and an upper end, the lower end comprising a flange and being operable to engage a downhole electric motor, the upper end comprising a base portion and a backside face the base portion and the backside face having a plurality of passages formed therethough, each of the passages operable to receive one of the ferrules and one of the insulated wires; and a compression collar having an axis, the compression collar being engageable with the pothead housing, wherein the compression plate is located therebetween; and wherein each of the passages in the backside face has a conical portion that mates with one of the ferrules, such that when the compression collar is engaged with the upper end of the pothead housing, the compression collar exerts an axial force on the compression plate, causing the compression plate to exert an axial force on the ferrules, which causes the ferrules to move inwardly into the conical portions of the passages of the backside face and deform circumferentially about the metal wire protectors to form a metal to metal seal. 12. The pothead assembly of claim 11, wherein the seal is formed around each metal wire protector without the use of a weld joint or a solder joint. 13. The pothead assembly of claim 11, wherein a portion of an inner periphery of the compression collar is threaded for engaging threads of the pothead housing, and an upper end of the compression collar includes an annular lip, the annular lip being operable to exert an axial force on the compression plate as the threads are tightened. 14. The pothead assembly of claim 13, further comprising a portion of the upper end of the pothead housing having threads on an outer periphery that engage the threads of the inner periphery of the compression collar, wherein the plurality of passages are spaced complimentarily to the plurality of holes of the compression plate. 15. The pothead assembly of claim 11, wherein one of the faces of the pothead housing and the compression plate is generally convex and the other face is generally concave. 16. The pothead assembly of claim 11, wherein the ferrules have conical exterior portions. 17. The pothead assembly of claim 11, further comprising: a plurality of base passages formed within the base portion of the pothead housing; a lower insulator having a lower end and an upper end, the upper end having a plurality of insulator passages formed therein, wherein the insulator passages are aligned with the base passages, the lower end having a plurality of prong receptacle insulators; a plurality of female receptacles, wherein the female receptacles are partially disposed within the insulator passages; a plurality of retaining sleeves, wherein the retaining sleeves are disposed within the insulator passages, and wherein the retaining sleeves abut the female receptacles; and a retainer having a back portion that is operable to threadedly engage a housing skirt of the pothead housing. 18. The pothead assembly of claim 17, further comprising: a first alignment bore formed forward from the lower insulator's the back surface; a second alignment bore formed backward from the base portion's front surface; an indexing pin, the indexing pin disposed within the first alignment bore and the second alignment bore, the indexing pin operable to properly align components within the pothead assembly. 19. The pothead assembly of claim 17, wherein the retainer further comprises a recess on a front edge of the retainer, wherein the recess is formed to cooperate with a tool, the tool operable to apply the necessary torque to engage the retainer with the pothead housing. 20. A method of creating a metal to metal seal within a pothead without the use of a weld joint, the method comprising: inserting a plurality of metal wire protectors through a plurality of passages of a pothead assembly, wherein each metal wire protector contains an insulated wire, wherein the pothead assembly comprises: a compression plate having the plurality of holes therethrough, each hole adapted to receiving one of the metal wire protectors; a plurality of ferrules, wherein each ferrule surrounds one of the metal wire protectors and engages one of the holes of the compression plate; a pothead housing having a base portion containing a plurality of base passages formed therein that register with the holes in the compression plate, wherein each passage receives one of the wire protectors; and a single compression collar that engages the pothead housing and all of the ferrules, with the compression plate located between at least a portion of the compression collar and the base portion; and moving the single compression collar toward the pothead housing such that the compression plate exerts a compressive force on the ferrules against the pothead housing, and simultaneously compresses all the ferrules about the metal wire protectors to form a metal to metal seal.