Cable-suspended, liner-supported submergible pump installation with locking discharge head

Claim 1

Apparatus for providing a pump installation in a well, comprising a tubular liner in the well having an internal annular shoe and an internal shoulder above the shoe, a submergible pump dimensioned to pass through the shoe and having a discharge head at its upper end, means for lowering the pump through the liner to an operative position below the shoe, the discharge head having a tubular outer member connected to a housing of the pump and having a coaxial tubular inner member coupled to the outer member for limited upward and downward movement relative thereto, the outer member having means for supporting it on said shoulder when the pump is at said operative position and having sealing means providing a seal between the outer member and the shoe, the inner member having a top wall with discharge ports therethrough, the outer member and said shoulder having cooperating teeth which engage one another when the pump is at said operative position for preventing rotation of the outer member relative to the liner, and locking means for automatically locking the discharge head to the liner when the pump is at its operative position, the locking means comprising an annular groove inside the liner above the shoulder and a plurality of cooperating lugs supported on the discharge head, the lugs being mounted in corresponding windows through the outer member of the discharge head for inward and outward movement, the inner member having a surrounding sleeve fixed thereto, the sleeve having a plurality of longitudinal slots, each of which receives a corresponding lug for reciprocative movement along the length of the slot while the lug projects into the associated window, thereby preventing rotation of the outer member relative to the inner member, each of the lugs having a base trapped in a channel between the inner member and the sleeve, the channel being oriented upwardly and outwardly to cause the lugs to move outwardly through the windows when the inner member moves downwardly with respect to the outer member, whereby the lugs are projected into the liner groove to lock the discharge head to the liner and to provide support for the pump installation in the liner, the weight of the installation on the inner member being sufficient to move the inner member downwardly with respect to the outer member automatically when the outer member seats on the shoulder of the liner.