ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,228,011, issued on Feb. 18, was assigned to Weatherford Technology Holdings LLC (Houston).
"Convertible valve for use in a subterranean well" was invented by Gregory Gaspard (Houston).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A convertible valve assembly has an upper and lower plunger valve connected to one another so that they reciprocate together. A retainer assembly holds the valves in a bi-directional configuration, allowing fluid flow in both directions through the valves. The retainer assembly then releases the valves to a unidirectional configuration upon application of a downhole hydraulic pressure, so that fluid can flow only one direction ...