US1572331A - Pumping apparatus - Google Patents

Description

rillflllllldfld )fil Il!! J. w. TAYLOR PUMPING APPARATS Filed March 16, 1925 Feb. 9 1926.

Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES JAMES W. TAYLOR, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

PUMPING APPARATUS.

Application led March 16, 1925. Serial No. 15,760.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES W. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pumping Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for 4effecting the removal of liquids from oil wells, and has for its principal object the provision of means for employing the natural gas of a well 'for the purpose of effecting the pumping or elevation of the liquid after the natural fiow of the well has ceased.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of apparatus of the character aforesaid wherein is embodied a well casing and a flow line, the flow line, at a suitable point in its length, being provided with a hood member having an open lower end and a closed upper end, the said hood member being carried by the flow line and situated between the flow line andthe casing, there being" an improved valve mechanism between the upper closed end of the hood lmember and the flow line, the arrangement being such that the hood member will entrap the natural gases arising from the well and, through the medium of the fluids above the hood member, maintain such gases in a state of compression, whereby upon the opening of the valve mechanism such gas will be permitted to enter the flow line at a point wherein immediate expansion of the gas is prevented but wherein Athe gas is permitted to rise in the ow line and subsequently expand for liquid expelling purposes.

It isa further object of the invention to provide means of a rotatable character for effecting the operation of the valve mechanism and to govern the extent of gas flow into the flow line or tubing of the well.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts hereinafter to be fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In theaccompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through the upper end of the oil pumping apparatus comprising the present invention,

tion and is inserted into the well in the usual manner. Through the casing there extends a flow line 2, which leads to the bottom ofthe casing and is provided with an open lower end (not sho-Wn) into which the oil flowing naturally from the Well is permitted to arise. The upper end of the casing 1 is provided with a head 3, which is shouldered as at 4 for the reception of a packing casing 5. This casing is provided with an annular shoulder 6, arranged to seat upon a gasket 7 carried by the shoulder 4. The shoulder 6 is annularly beveled as at 8 and is adapted to engage with the inner ends of set screws 9 carried by the casing 5. Manifestly by threading the screws 9 inwardly, pressure may be applied to the casing 5 to firmly seat the latter upon the gasket 7 so as to prevent undue gas escape from the casing 1. The lower end of the casing 5 is inwardly shouldered as at 10, and receives a packing material 11, which tightly surrounds the flow line 2. The upper internal portion of the casing 5 is threaded as at V12 for the Vreception of a gland nut or bushing'l, which may be tightened downwardly into engagement with the packing 11 so as to press the latter firmly into sealing engagement with the packing 11. This construction serves to insure the retention of gas within the casing 1 and prevents their accidental release. This is important in that the natural gas of the well is used as the operating fluid for effecting the elevation of the liquid, and therefore it is essential that accidental escape of the gas will be prevented.

The casing may be provided with an outupper end of the bushing 13 constitutes a race-way or seat for the reception of antiriction bearings 17, which serve to support a hand wheel 18, which is. fast on the tubing by a set screw 19 or other equivalent means. The flow line is provided with a collar 2O which rests upon the upperI end of the hub of the wheel 18. The weight of the flow line is suspended within the casing and its weight is directed about the bearing 17 in order that by grasping the wheel 18, the said ilow line may be rotated.

At a suitable point or level above its lower end the flow line is divided for the reception of a flowing hood designated generally v by the numeral 21. The hood 21 consists of a cap sleeve 22 which is internally threaded so as to be vertically adjustable upon threads 23 carried by one of the sections 24 of the ilow line. The upper end of thecap sleeve 22 is exteriorly threaded as at 25 for the reception of a nut 26, which acts to maintain a packing ring 27 compressed around the exterior surface of the pipe section 24 so as to prevent fluid seepage through the threads 23. The lower end ofthe cap sleeve 22 is threaded for the reception of the upper end of a tubular hood casing28 which is of any suitable length, but possesses a diameter less than the internal diameter of the casing 1 so as to permit Huid flow between the outer wall of the hood casing 28 and the inner wall of the well casing 1. It will be observed that the inner wall of the hood casing 28 is spaced in the exterior wall.

of the axially disposed ow line, so that there will be a gas storage space in the upper closed end of the hood casing'to permit of the accumulation. and storage of the natural gas arising' from the well. f

The cap sleeve 22 has its lower end interiorly threaded forl the reception of the upper end of a tube 29 which has its lower portion perforated as at 30 for the purpose of establishing communication and fluid flow between the upper lclosed end of the hood casing and the flow line. The internal lower portion of the tube 29 is shouldered as vat '31" against which is positioned the enlarged body 32 of a nozzle 33, which is situated in the flow line and through which the oil or liquid arising from the well is directed.

Secured to the lower end of the pipe section 24 is a second nozzle section 34 rovided internally with a tapering port 35 into which the nozzle 33 extends, and the section 34 is of a length as to cooperate with the perforations or passages 30 in the tubev 29 for the purpose of governing fluid flow between the hood and the flowl line. It will beseen that upon the rotation of theflow line, by the manipulation of the wheel 18,`

vertical" travel will be imparted to the hood 28 by reason Aof the threaded connection which exists between said hood and the pipe Aabove the hood member.

ment between said tube and the stationaryl nozzle section 34.` By this means the openmg and closing of the passages 30 can be readil effected to control the flow of the elevatinggas or fluid into the How line. The l threads connecting the section 24 of the How line with the hood member are of the left hand type, and are purposelv made this way so that the rotation of the ow line will not effect the loosening of any of the threaded joints, between theA sections of the flow line, When the hood member has bee-n elevated to its maximum extent it will be seen that the lower curved edge 35, around the skirt of the nozzle scction 34 will be forced into engagement with the annularly beveled surface 36 of the noz-` zle section 33, thereby closing the flow line against the entrance of fluid from the hood 28. It will be observed, upon reference to Figure 2, that the nozzle section 33 rests upon a yieldable gasket or seat 37, which is l maintained in its operative position within valve, allowing the nozzle section 33 a lim# ited degree of movement so that the edge 35 will be firmly pressed into engagement with the surface 36`around the full circumference of the latter.- The extreme lower end of the hood casing 28 is provided with outwardly pressed, tortional guide members 39, which cooperate with the inner wall of the casing and to prevent rotation of the hood casing when the iow line is ro tated to operate thevalve mechanism, also,

the said guide members serve to permit the hood casing to be dropped into the wel] without striking shoulders and obstructions therein and interfering generally with the downward movement of the casing.'

In operation, the hoodl casing is forced into thewell ,to assume the position dis-V closed substantially in Figure 2. The naturalv gas liberated from the liquid within the well is permitted to arise in the hood 28 and is confined or entrapped therein, and it. will be observed that the liquid in the casing 1, above the hoodmember, serves to maintain the gas as accumulated in the hood in its natural compressed state, orin other words the gas is prevented from expanding.v

It will now be seen that when the valve hood member will be permitted to circulate into the flow line. -Due, however, to the column of luidin the flow line, above the valve mechanism, the gas entering the flow line is still maintained in its compressed state and is not permitted to expand violently and suddenly, as this would result in the cutting of the oil. Expansible gas thus entering tlie flow line is permitted to rise by virtue of its natural iow in minute bubble torni, within the flow line, until the top of the flow line is near when, duc to the decrease of the hydro-static pressure, the gas bubbles gradually expand and their upward movement is accelerated. W lien the top of the liow line is reached the gas bubbles have expanded until the diameter thereof is that of the flow line, and due to the rapid and successive rise of these bubbles, the liquid above the sameis displaced and forced from the flow line, substantially after the manner of a piston'moving in a cylinder. It will be seen that by operating the Wheel 18 the quantity of gas entering the How line may be readily controlled so that the proper amount of gas may be admitted into the flow line proportionate to the amount of liquid contained in the flow line above the hood.

lVhat is claimed is:

l. In oil well pumping apparatus, a casing, a flow line in said casing, a ga's collecting hood around the flow line, said hood including a passage between the upper portion thereof and said flow line, anda vertiliow through said passage.

2. In oil well pumping apparatus, a cas-t ing, a flow line in said casing, a gascolleeting hood carried by said How line, an entry between said hood and iow line, and means permitting of relative longitudinal travel between said hood and the upper part of said flow line to regulate fluid flow through said entry. 1

3. In an oil well, a How line including upper and lower sections, a hood carried in connection with one of said sections and surrounding said flow line, an entry establishing communication for fluid flow between said hood and flow line, and means permitting of relative longitudinal movement be-A a flow line including upper and lower sections, a hoodl having a threaded connection with the upper of said sections and surrounding said flow line, an entry establishing communication between said hood and said flow line, and means permitting of the rotation of the upper section of said flow line to move said hood verticallyto open and close said entry.

5. In apparatus of the character set forth, a How line including upper and lower sections, a hood having its upper end threaded to the lower end of the upper section of said flow line, the lower section of said flow line being suspended from said hood, an

entry establishing communication between v the interior of said hood and said flow line, means operable upon relative longitudinal movement between said hood and the upper section of said flow line to regulate Huid iow through said entry, and means therein to Aprevent rotation of said hood during the rotation of the upper section ofthe flow line.

G. In apparatus of thecharacter set forth, a liow line including a rotatable upper section, a hood having threaded connection with 0 lsaid upper section Aand including a substancally adpistableI valve for governing fluid tially closed chamber surrounding said flow line, the inner Wall of said chamber being provided with a port, and means operable .upon the rotation of the upper section of said flow line to elfect longitudinal travel on the part'of said hoodV to raisev and lower the latter relatively to the upper section of the flow line so as to bring said port into and out ofregistration with the lower end of said upper section to regulate iuid flow from said/chamber into the flow line.

' In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JAMEsw. TAYLOR.

Images