US1572333A - Pumping apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 9 1926.

J. W. TAYLOR PUMPING APPARATUS AFiled March 16, i925 2 sheets-sheet 1 o l. 8 120m 3 Feb. 9,1926. 3 1,572,333

J. W. TAYLOR PUMPING ARPARATUS Filed March 16, 1925 2 sheets-sheet 2 meg Wjij/M.

i Patented Feb. 9., 1926.y

.uns vcr.l manon, or sm 'nx'.romo, raxas.

riruma Vnrranafrua.

Brianna-mea :man raises. seria; No. 15,162.

To all 'whom it may concern: r u Be it-known that I,'JAMEs W. Tanon, a citizen of the United States, residlng at San Antonio, in the county of Bexarl andState ofTexas, have invented certain new and useiul Improvements 4in Pumping Apparatus, ofwhich the followin is aspecificatlon.

This invention re ates to an improved flowing or pumping apparatus for removing l0 liquids from oil wells,V the object of the inv'vention, generally stated, is the provision of apparatus of this character which, when inserted within a well, will serve to force the liquid in the well to the hsurface by means of l the expansive power of thenatural gas generated or 'contained within the well. l In accordance with the invention there is provided a pumping apparatus for the purpose set forth consisting broadly ofl a well 2 casing in which is positioned the centrally disposed flow line or tubing. This tubing carries,at a position near the lower part of the well, a' flow hood in which the natural gas of the well is trapped, there'being an' 35 entry between the hood and the flow line by means of which the tra p'ed expansible fluid is permitted to enter t eilow line to eect the elevation of the liquid therein; The entr)7 is provided with an associated valve mechanism for controlling iluid How therethrough, and the particular feature of the present invention resides in the provision of automatically operating means for controlling the operation of the valve mechanism,

wherein the arrangement is such that when the iuid pressure within the casing reaches a predetermined pressure, the valve mechanisrnwill be open to permit the expelling uid to enter the flow line and expand, and

when the gas pressure inthe casing is re duced to a predetermined pressure, the valve 'mechanism will be operated to close the entry and to arrest further liquid flow through ,the flow `line or tubing until the gas pressure has been again built up to 'a point rmitting of the opening of the valve mec anism. With these and other objects in view, as

will appear as the description roceeds, the

invention consists inthe nove features of' construction, combinations of elements and arran ments of parts hereinafter to be full descri and pointed out in the appended v claims: l v

In the accompan ing drawing: Y

Figure 1 is a si e elevation ofthe pump- 55 ing or well flowing apparatus comprising the present invention,

F1gure2 is a vertical sectional view taken through Athe apparatus at the upper end', of the well casing, and Y f 00 Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken throu h the well casing, the flow line tubing e associated hood and valve mechamsm. l

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a standard form of well ca which is adapted to be inserted into a drill well openingr and to extend from the surface of the wel to the oil producing sands. IVithin the casing extending axially and 1on- '70 l gitudinally therethrough 1s' a flow` line'or tubing 2 having a perforated lower end 3- which rests upon the bottom plug 4 rovided ina well screen 5, the lower end of t e screen 5 resting upon the bottomv of the well., By 75 this it will be seen that a standard construction is provided, although other forms may he used, in v'which oil will be, permitted to enter the liow line and to arise therein, as

Awell as-,in the casing, bythe natural pressure B0 or flow of the oil or liquid,- and that the height which the oil will reach in the flow line andvthe'casing 'will vary in accordance witi the natural pressures existing-in each we Applied to the upperl endof the casing 1 is a casing head 6, through which theupupelllA -c-nd of the ow line extends and in w the flow line is suitably sealed, as will be hereinafter described, to confine within the casing the natural gases ofthe Well for thex se ofembodying these gases inthe expelllng of the liquid; 3-

The flow line 2 i v this instance includes relatively movable upper and lower . sections 7 and 8 respectively. The u er section is provided at its lower end wit a threaded coupling 9, which supports a'nozzle 10, coustructed to restrict Athe diameter of the ow lineto facilitate the liquidis expulsion. The 10 24, so that a slight excess of pressure in the Alower end 'of the nozlzle isv threaded to-receive` the 'cap section 11 ofa flow hood designated generally by the numeral 12.

The hood consists of a cylindrical casingy 13, closed at its uppeiwend andopenat-its lower end as indicatedby tlie .numeral 14.

The diameter of the casing 13 is slightly.

less than the internal diameter of thecasing 1, so that fluid arising within the"ca', sing.1"

. vided 'a valve mechanism which in this inthreaded as at 23 in connection with the cap stance'consists of a sleeve Y16, provided with an annular enlargement 17 having a recessed upper end 18 in which is seated `a soft metal washer 19,while the lower end of the enlargeinentis provided with a rounded shoulder 19a. The ends 18 and 19n ofthe enlargement 17 are adapted for engagement with arounded annular bead 2O provided on the lower end of the ca section 11 and with a beveled seat 21 provided internally upon atube 22 section. The lower end of the tube 22 has an opening provided therein for the sliding reception of the sleeve 16, and saidopening possesses a greater diameter than the external diameter of said sleeve at this point so as to permit of Huid passage through the interior of said tube. The upper end of the sleeve 16 is provided with a plurality of passages or entries 24, and it will be seen that when the. enlargement 17 is positioned midway in the length o'f the tube22, or in other words, when the parts 18 and 19 are spaced from the seats 20 and 21, fluid will be perv mitted to flowfrom beneath the' hood,

through the tube 22 and thence byway of `the passages 24 into the liquid contained within the flow line.

It, will be understood that the fluid pressures within the flow line 'and within the casing 1 or the hood 12 are substantially equalized or balanced'adjacent the passages casing 1 or within the flow hood 12 will be 'sufcie'nt to force or permit the expelling 't gas to enter the flow line against fthe resist- ...sance offered by the hydro-static head of e -iihe'column of liquid in the flow line.

,Since the gas is'maintained in its normal compressed state within the hood by the.I

fluid pressure above the same, it follows that when this gas enters the flow line, that the liquid pressure in the latter prevents iiniawassa A mediate expansion of the gas. In other words the gas will enter the flow line in smallbubbles which by virtue of their natural `buoyancy will arise vertically through the -liquid in the flow line and will expand so as to lbecome gradually enlarged as the bubbles yascend the flow line. This expansion, ofcourse, becomes greater when the hydro-static pressure thereon is gradually diminished by the rise thereof in the column of liquid, since as the bubbles near the top of the flow line the'liquid pressure becomes correspondingly smaller.A The bubbles are then permitted to expand to their maximum point wherein they substantially fill the tubing and therefore serve in the capacity of pneumatic pistons for expelling the liquid at the top of the flow line. The bubbles follow one another in very rapid succession at accelerated speed of travel and consequentlyecan expel a large volume of liquid from the tubing.

'Since the apparatus describedrelies upon the natural gas pressure in the well to expel the liquid, it follows that in most wells this pressure can not be generated sufficiently to provide for a continuous flowing of the well, .and therefore it is necessary to provide for an intermittent opening and closmg of the valve mechanism so that the pressure of the gas may be built up and released in heads or impulses for the purpose of expelling the fluid. It is a primary object of the present invention to automatically regulate the opening and closing of the valve mechanism, in contrast to manually operated structures. Since the lower section 8 of the tubing rests upon the bottom of the well,

I provide a 4structure by means of which l'or the upper section of the Vflow line together with the hood may be raised and lowered at intervals so as to cover and uncover the ports or passages 24.

The structure for accomplishing this object is disclosed in Figure 2 and consists of a cylinder 25 formed with the casing head` 6. The cylinder 25 includes a base section` 26 arranged to Fhold a suitable quantity of` a liquid, and the upper rim of the section 26A is shouldered as at 27 for the reception of a gasket ring 28. Resting upon the Gasket 28 is the upper section 29 ofthe cylinder 25, which has its lower end flanged as at 30 and arranged in registration `with a similar flange 31 provided upon the lower section,

iio

and threaded fastening devices 32 are used for connecting the flanges 30 and 31' so as to draw the upper section 29 of the cylinder firmly down upon the gasket 28 so.as to render the entire cylinder fluid tight.

Mounted within the cylinder for vertical reciprocation is an inverted cup shaped piston 33, the walls of which being in engage# ment with the 4inner Wall of the gasket 28 so as to prevent undue passage of the liquid the stem 34 is api'ntured` as at 35 and the inithe'base section into the upper section. The base section 26 carries-an axially disposed tuhular'stem 34 which arises in the piston 33 and serves to limit the downward movement of 'the piston. V-The upper end of ing a` packing ring 37 which is compressed vthe bearing- 40, which'in turnissupported by the piston 33. Thethreads 42 permit theY arolmdthe flow line, and threaded within the gland 36 is a tube 38 which also extends upwardly through a packing gland 39 provided in the upper section 29 ofthe cylinder. The upper endof the tube '38 projects through the gland 39 and is provided with, a. race-way upon which is seated a thrustbearing 40, which engages with the under surface of the hub of, an adjusting wheel 41. This Ywheel is provided with 'an internally. threaded hu'b which engages with the raised threads 42 provided kupon the-tlow Vlinea-and it will be seen that by rotating the .wheel 41, thelow Vline may bevadjusted ,vertically to 'govern the" extent of Vopening ofthe valve mechanism.v f In operation, Vthe tubing :org-flow, line Y2 is 'supported by the wheel '41' 'resting' upon adjustment of the tubing with respect to the stem 34 so thatwhenthe.' piston has lifted the tubing to thedesfired ornecessary' height to Vope'fn the valve- 1'Iiie'chanisni under the hood, the metallic Vgasliet'43,l carried i by the owline, willseataagainst the seat 44 surrounding the lower endfof the stem 34 which, in turn, will'shut oli?` the gas vllow into the chamber 12A and therebyv stop further upward movement of the tubing.'

The chamber in theflower section 26 of the cylinder is i'illed with oil` or other liquid to the level shown by the dotted line 45, thus giving --a' liquid seal in 'the, cylinder, sin-ce the gasoan not escapefrom .the cylinder until it-has forced all of the oil, through the gasket 28 which, however, normally obstructs and will prevent'- such seepage.' Should, however, the Vgaslfaet `become suf-v ficiently loose. the leal; will be detected byV the seepage ofthe liquidV from the cylinder byv way of the small valve 46 situated in the bottom of the upper'section 29. A valve 47 is employed in a pipe line 48- which, includes a vertically extending stand pipe 49V arranged in the base 26. Normally, the pipe 49 is arranged above the level 45,'and a small opening 50 is formed in the-pipe below ,the

inormal level of the oil, so that when the valve 47 is open, the operator may determine bythe escape of the oil or gas whether or not 'the oil level 45 is at its required point .inthec'ylinder. If the oil level is above the opening .5U oil will issue through the 4valve 47', audit the oil level is' below the opening 50 air or gas will issue. Connected wit-litho line 48 is a vertically disposed pipe line 51, arranged extcriorly of the cylinder 25, and it is through this line thatl the sup-v ply of liquid in the-cylinder may be replenished from time to time.

.Assuu'iing that gas' pressure exists inthe well casing, and the tubing hasbeen raised to a'point where the gasket 43 contactswith the seat 44, it is evident that the' tubing could notbe lowered unless the gas pressure were released from. the casing. Therefore, the upper chamber is provided in the cylin- -ler as at '29,' and by the employeinent of which means are provided for lowering the tub-ing irrespective of the gas pressure in the! well casing; for it will be seen that if s 'pressure be admitted to the upper chamr, by way ofthe pipeline 51, that the pressurexin the two chambers will be equalvized,so `that the tubing'- willbe permitted to lowerbyv responding to gravity.

As soon' as pressure is released from the upper chamber, electedlby way of the . valves 52 and 53, the' tubingwill again rise until the washer o`r sket 43 `engages with its seat 44. Norplressure'` s uliicient to operate the mi .a Apistonwi always be 'carried in the well vcas`in'g.'` However, it will be seen that the 'tubing can be raisedA and lowered by simply rotating the hand wheel 41, and the well 'operated in this manner if desired.

view Vofthe foregoing description, taken'in connection withlthe accompanying sheets `ofdrawing it will be seen that the present invention provides simple and autoniaticallyloperating means for effecting the flowing .of an oil well by the use and application' of the natural 'gaspressure contained in the well. As the gas. pressure builds up under the liood and in the upper port-ion of the .casin' 1, there iis an elevation on the part of .t e-.piston soas to elect. the elevationo-the lupper-section 7 fof 'the tubing 2.v *This upward movement onthe 'part lof the tubing results in the opening of the valvenechaiiism vwhich permits of the flow ofy the from under the hood into the tubing, so that the gas may be used, as previously described, for the expelling of 'the liquid from the well. It will be seen that'as the gas is released from under the hood and the li uid level in the casing recedes there will e a correspondingexpansion and decrease in pressure of the gas in the upper part, of the casing acting upon the piston, which results in the lowering of the piston, and the flow line to again close the valve mechanism so as to permit ofthe inn lll)

building up of the fluid pressure under the hood. `In the event, however, that the gas pressure in the upper part ot' the well casing becomes so excessive lasfto maintain the piston in its elevated 'position continuously or for relatively `extended periods, it is necessary to use the pipe line 51 for tliepur` pose of admitting a portion of the luid or gas into the upper chamber of the cylinder, so'as to permit of the balancing of fluid pressures on the piston and the restoration ot the -low line to its lowered position wherein the valve mechanism is closed. Again, by balancing the pressures on the piston the valve mechanism may be main-f tained in a closed position for indefinite periods in order to permit the gas generated cylinder surrounding said flow line, a pis-` ton within said cylinder connected with said flow line, a valve structure in said How lnie and capable ot being opened and low-l ered by al movement of the flow' line to establish communication between the casand said floivline,and-1neans for confining gas 1n the upper endiof .said casing and permitting the applicationJ of the same to one or both sides of said piston to govern .the raising and lowering of the flow-line and the 'operating `structure therein.

2. Inoil well appa-ratus,acasing norinal-y ly sealed at its upper end, a flow line vertically shiftable within said casing, 'a valve t positions of the valve structureim said flow line operated by the t-rise and fall of the flow lline to establish lcoirimunication bet'ween the casing and the 60. l erati'ng 4positions of the valve structurel interior of said-flow line, ahead providedl vupon the upper end of said-casing including a pressure chamber through which said flow line projects, a pistonon said flow" line within said chamber, a liquid Vseal between said piston and the walls of said chamber, and a valve controlled passage leading from said casing into saidcylindcr to permit the normal gas pressure of the .Wellto build up within said casing to act upon said piston so asto control the op- BfIn oil well apparatus, a casing, .a vHow line vertically' adpistable within said casing, a head providedl upon the upper endV fclose said lentry` whe of said casing and including a chamber through which said flow line projects, a piston `disposed Within said chamber and connected to said flow line, aI valve controlled port leading from said casing into the under part vof said chamber to permit gas pressurebuilt up within said casing to act upon the under side of said piston to raise said flow4 line, and means for diverting the gas pressure from the under to the upper part of said chamber so as to balance the gas pressure on said piston.

4. In oil well pumping apparatus, a casing, a flow line vertically adjustable within said casing, a valve structure in said flow line opened and closed by .vertical movement on the part of said tlow'^line with respect to said casing, a head at the upper end of said casing having a chamber formed therein, a piston arranged for movement within said chamber and connected with said flow line, an entry establishing communication between the interior of said casing and said chamber to permit gas pres- ,sure built up within said casing to exercise its force upon said piston to control the raising and lowering of said flow line, and means carried by said flow-linejfor closing said entry and arresting gas flow into Said lchamber when the operative pressure of the gas within the chamber reaches a predetermined point. v

Inoil well pumping apparatus, a casing, a flow line vertically sh'ifta'ble within said casing, a flow valve in said 'low line opened and closed by the Vertical shifting ci said |`flow line, a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder connected with said flow cylinder permitting ot the .flow Vof gas from said casingv into said cylinder and into engagen-ient with thetpiston provided there-- in to control' the operating ,positions of saidjiston and said flow line,' 'a closurevproj vide uponsaid "flow" line f andarran`ged` 'to the flow line has been elevated toaipr termined.extent, and

means for halancingftlie lluidV pressure on said piston Vto permit Ioflthe 'lowering of.

said flow line irrespective of the fluid pres-v sures Within said cylinder.

. In oil well pumpingapparatus, a cas-y ing, aow line vertically (shiftable within 'the casinma stationarv head at the upper yendiof said casing having a chamber formed therein, an'upstandi'ng entry extending into s iid chamber and terminating in spaced re-.,

lation vfrom the/bottom ot said chamber, a piston Within said clianibe connected with said flow line,w said enti-y permitting of the How o'tf'gas from said casing into said chain 'lier :for engagement with the-under side of said piston, and a valved by-pa'ss connecf ing, the flow line vertically shiftable within said casing, a stationary head surrounding' said flow line above said casing, said head 'being provided with a piston chamber, a

piston mounted within said chamber and connected with said flow line, a liquid seal between said piston and the walls of said chamber, means for admitting gas from said casing into said chamber between the space provided between the under side of said piston and the surface of the liquid within said chamber, and a Valved by-pass connection leading from said space to the top of said chamber and capable of balancing applied gas pressures upon said piston.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JAMES w. TAYLOR..

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