US2118547A - Deep well fluid motor - Google Patents

Description

May 24, 1938. c. c. CARLISLE DEEP WELL FLUID MOTOR Filed Feb. 15, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 24, 1938. c. c. CARLISLE DEEP yWELL FLUID MOTOR Filed Feb. 15, 19321 fwd-f m' AnoRNEYs May 24, 1938. c. c, CARLISLE DEEI= WELL FLUID MOT-OR Filed Feb. 15, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 nfffflilevi A .-9..m..\..n.\ n.

L IN VEN TOR Bf ym M ZN, ATTORNEY()1 Patented May 24, 1938 y l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEEP WELL FLUID MOTOR Charles C. Carlisle, Nowata, Okla.

Application February 15, 1934, Serial No. 711,333

' s claims. (o1. 10a-4s) y This invention relates to the art of pumping from the motor and the mixture of the two is fluids from wells and particularly to the art of disharged at the top of the well. For this reapumping oil from oil wells. son the motive fluid should be of the same char- The customary method of pumping oil from a aoter as the fluid to be pumped from the well.

well is to lower a pump into the well and to op- In other words, if the material being pumped 5 erate it through mechanical linkage from the top from the well is oil, then oil should be used for of the well. The equipment necessary to operate the motive uid, and likewise if water is being the pump is called a steel front and usually pumped from the well, water should be used for comprises many parts, such as a walking beam, the motive nuid.

1o a pitman rod, a crank and crank shaft, a geared The principal object of the invention is to pro- 10 revolving clutch and various pulleys, belts, etc. vide an improved method of and apparatus for It is also necessary to'have an engine, an electric pumping uid from Wells, and particularly for motor or other power unit at the top of each well, pumping oil from oil wells. and a suitable building to house the engine, belts, Another object of the invention is to pump oil pulleys, and other parts.4 The pump is operated from wells by a method and apparatus which will 15 by a string of rods extending from the topy of the eliminate the necessity of using the special equipwell lto the pump and in cases where the well is ment now customarily employed at the l10n 0f each very deep, the string of rods must be made vup Well and which will thereby eliminate the expense of rods Ofdierent sizes, with the larger rods and disadvantages of such equipment.

at the top, to carry the weight of therods below Another object of the invention is to provide as Well as the column of oil. an improved method of, and apparatus for pump- The equipment which is required for each well ing fluids from Wells in Which the eleiency of is not only expensive to install but it is costly to the apparatus Will not be decreased by Stretchoperate and it is ineiiicient. In fact, present ing of the parts due to excessive strains being pumping methods are not practical at all for placed upon them.

wells of great depth. The weight oi' the string A further object of the invention is to provide of rods and the weight of the oil lifted from the an improved compact motor-pump combination well is so great that it is not uncommon to have so designed as to be capable of use in limited a stretching of the string of rods amounting to spaces, such as in oil wells.

3'7", or more, at each stroke of the pump, when Various other objects of the invention will 30 pumping is taking place at a greater or less numhereinafter appear. ber of strokes per minute than the exact number The accompanying drawings illustrate the imwhich will synchronize with the stretch of the proved method and one form o1' apparatus for parts. Since very few pumps are timed to syncarrying it out.

chronize, the eiective pumping stroke in the In the drawings:

working barrel at the bottom of the well is us- Figure 1 is a broken sectional elevation of the 35 ually only that portion of the stroke in excess of improved apparatus showing it positioned in a 37". well casing;

My invention provides a method of, and appa- Fig. 2 is a vertical section of that part of the 40 fetus fel', Dumping Oll frOIn WellS, Which entirely apparatus in which is located the valve mecheliminates the necessity of using the customary anism for controlling the admission of motive equipment referred t0' ebOVe end lheleby elilnliluid to and its exhaust from the motor cylinder; Bates its attendent expense and disadvantages. Fig. 3 is a broken vertical section of that part The invention, however, is not limited to the of the apparatus which sub-joins the part shown 15 Dumping 0f Oil from WellS but contemplates the in Fig. 2 and shows the motor cylinder and the 45 pumping of any fluid from its well. y piston of the motor;

In accordance with my invention a fluidv op- Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line erated motor, so designed as to be capable of be- 4 4 of Fig. 2;' ing lowered into a well, is mechanically and close- Fig. 5 is a broken vertical section of a still low- .'lo Iy coupled to a pump and the two are lowered er portion of the apparatus showing the pump 50 into the well. Fluid under pressure is pumped piston, the upper part of the pump cylinder and down the well to the motor to operate it and the upper valve mechanism of the pump. In this thereby operate the pump. In the preferred figure the motor piston is again shown to illusform of the invention the uid being pumped trate its relation to the parts of the pump.

fromrthe well mixes with the exhaust motive fluid Fig. 6 is a broken vertical section again show- 55 ing the pump piston and in addition illustrating the lower part of the pump cylinder and the low- `er valve mechanism of the pump, and

Figs. '1, V 8 and 9 are simplified explanatory views, partly in section and partly in elevation showing the motor piston and Vthe parts of the motor valve mechanism in various positions to make theoperation of the motor clear.

In the preferred form of the apparatus the Dump Il a reciprocating double acting pump whose piston is mechanically connected with the piston of the motor which is positioned immediately above the pump. Motive iiuid,.such as oil. when oil is being pumped from a well, or such as water when water is being pumped from a well. is pumped down the well to the motor through a central string of tubing. A main slide valve. which is itself actuated by an auxiliary motor. controls the admission of motive fluid to and its exhaust from. the motor cylinder. When this valveadmits motive iluid to the motor cyl- Inder below the piston the piston rises and when it nears the upper end of its stroke it causes a pilotvalvetobeactuatedwhich in turn causes the auxiliary motor to operate and thereby shift the position oi' the main slide valve. This shifting of the mainvalve reverses the direction of ilow of the motive duid to the motor cylinder so that the motor piston then moves down and near Istroke. The oil discharged by the pump is forced upwardly through an annular passage between two strings of tubing where it meets the oil exhausted from the motor and the mixture of the 'two is forced to the top of the well through an annular passage surrounding the above mentioned central string of tubing through which the motive fluid is supplied to the pump.

Before dcribing the details of the apparatus reference is made to Fig. 1 for an understanding of the relative arrangement of the various groups of parts. Ihe casing of the well is indicated at l. All parts oi the apparatus are housed within an external string of tubing 2 which extends the full length of the apparatus down to a packer 3 inserted between the tubing 2 and a tube 4 through which iluid is admitted from the well to the pump. The motor piston is indicated at A and the valve mechanism for the motor is assodatcd with and housed in the housing B. 'I'he motive iiuid is admitted to the valve mechanism in the housing B and'to the motor through an inner string of tubing l, and the exhaust from the motor together with the fluid pumped from the well is forced upwardly through the annular space between the inner string of tubing 6 and the outer tube 2. The pump cylinder is shown at C and the pump piston at D. The pump piston D is mechanically connected with the motor piston A by means of a rod 6I. 'Ihe valve mechanism for the pump is housed in the parts devoted generally at E and F.

Figs'. 2 and 3 in conjunction show the detalls of the motor and the valve mechanism for the motor. The inner tubing l is threaded into engagement with a tubular member 1 which in turn is threaded to a tubular member 3. These members 1 and l are parts of the housing B (Fig. l). Within the central bore of the member 6 is a cylindrical main slide valve 6. rl'he movement of the main slide valve I is effected by an auxiliary motor comprising a cylinder I6 and a piston I2.

Ihe cylinder III-is formed in a member I I thready cdvto the part 3. The member II is also a. part of the housing B (Fig. l). The piston I2 of the auxiliary motor is rigidly connected by means of two pipes ,3 and Il with the lower end ot the main slide valve l. The pipe I4 communicates .at its upper end with a central bore I 6 in the slide the main slide valve, this bore having a port 2| communicating with the central bore I6 of the main slide valve. It will be understood that the auxiliary piston I2, together with the pipes I3 and Il reciprocate as a unit with the main slide valve l. The pipes I3 and I I slide through openings in the upper part oi' the member II and are properly sealed by means of gaskets 22.

Within the central bore I6 of the main slide valve 6 there is a cylindrical pilot valve 23 the function of which is to control the operation of the auxiliary motor I 0-I I which in turn actuates the main slide valve. The pilot valve 23 is carried by a member 26 which is rigidly coupled with an upwardly extending sleeve 26. The member 2l carries a pin 21 to which are pivoted two short toggle links shown at 26 and 29. The outer end of the toggle link 26 is connected by means of a link 30 to the main slide valve li as shown at 3i and the outer end of the toggle link 29 is connected by means of a similar link 32 to the main slide valve 9 as shown at 33. A spring clip 34 normally retracts the links 30 and 32 towards the sides of the member 2l which carries the pilot valve.

The piston A of the 'main motor (Fig. 3) has rigidly secured to it a rod 3.6 which extendsrup through a centralsbore in the pilot valve 23 and has a sliding iit therein. It also slides through a central bore in the pilot valve carrying member 26, and extends upwardly into the-tube 26. At a point intermediate the ends of the tube 26 the rod 35 has secured to it a collar 36. Between the upper edge of the collar 36 and an abutment 31 carried by the tube 26 is a coil spring 36. A similar coil spring 39 is located between the lower edge of the. collar 36 and the upper end of the pilot valve carrying member 26. Y

When the parts of the motor are in their respective positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the motor piston A is at the bottom of its stroke. Motive fluid is forced down to the motor through the inner tubing 6 as indicated by the full line arrows in Fig. 2. It passes into diagonal ports 40 in the housing member 6. The upper ends of these ports communicate with the bore in which the main slide valve 9 slides and are now open by reason of the fact that the slide valve 8 is in its lowermost position. The motive fluid then passes downwardly between two concentric tubes 4I and 42 secured to the housing member 6 and is then admitted to the motor cylinder below the piston A through ports 43 (Fig. 3). 'I'he piston A of the motor, therefore, starts to move upwardly,

the motive fluid above the piston A, being forced up between the tube 4I and the housing member I I of the auxiliary motor, as shown by the dotted line arrows in Figs. 2 and 3. When it reaches the housing member 8 of the main slide valve 9 it passes through ports 43' into an annular space 44 surrounding the main slide `valve 9. The ports 43 are now open due to the fact that the main slide valve 9 is in its lowermost position. The exhaust fluid then passes into diagonal ports 45 in the housing member 8 of the main slide valvel and is discharged under a circular check valve 48 into the annular space between the housing member 'I and the tubing 2. It continues upwardly through the annular space between the tubing 2 and the inner tubing 5 and is discharged at the top of the well.

As the motor piston A moves upwardly it pushes therod 35 up until its collar 36 suflciently compresses the spring 38 to cause the sleeve 26 and also the pilot valve carrying member and pilot valve 23 tol move upwardly with a sudden movement. 4The main valve 9 during this action remains stationary. The pin 2'I in moving up with the pilot valve merely expands the toggle links 28 and 29 and moves them` from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 'I whereupon the upward movement of the pilot valve is arrested. During this change of position of the toggle links the links 30 and 32 are first moved laterally away from the pilot valve carrying member 25 and are then again retracted towards it by the spring clip 34. The pilot valve now assumes, with respect to the main slide valve 9, the position shown in Fig. 7 in which it allows motive fluid in the space below the main slide valve 9 to pass through the port I6 then down through the pipe I4 into the space I8 below the piston I2 of the auxiliary motor. It should here be pointed out that the space below the main slide valve 9 is always in communication with the incoming motive iiuid due to the provision of one or more vertical bores 41 located in the main slide valve las shown in the sectional View of Fig. 4. The motive fluid thus admitted below the piston I2 of the auxiliary motor forces this piston upwardly while the motive fluid above this piston (exhaust fluid) is discharged through the port I9 in the pipe I3 and upwardly through the pipe I3, through the passage 20 in the main slide valve, out through the port 2| into an annular space 48 surrounding the pilot valve, then out through a radial port 49 in the main valve to the annular space 44 surrounding the main valve, thence out through diagonal ports 45, under circular check valve 46 and upwardly through the annular space between thetubes 2 and 5 following the path of the exhaust iluid from the main motor. As the piston I2 of the auxiliary motor moves upwardly it moves with it the main slide valve 9. The valve 9 in moving up will carry with it the pilot valve 23 due to the toggle links 28 and 29 and the links 38 and 32. The parts will then assume the respective positions shown in Fig. 8. The main valve 9 is now in a position to reverse the direction of flow of the motive fluid to the main motor. The port 43. connecting the cylinder of the main slide valve with the space above the motor piston A, now lies below the slide valve 9, as shown in Fig. 8, and motive fluid is admitted through this port to the space above the piston A thereby forcing it downwardly. 'I'he motive .fluid below the piston A (now exhaust fluid) escapes through the ports 43 into the annular space between the tubes 4I and 42 and presses the spring 39 thereby moving downward-- ly, with a sudden movement, the pilot valve carrying member 25 and the pilot valve until the toggle links 28 and 29 move from the position shown in Fig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 9, the main valve 9 remaining stationary during this operation. The pilot valve 22 is now returned to its` lowermost position relative to the main valve as shown in Fig. 9 and motive fluid is admitted through the port 2I and pipe I3 to the space above the piston I2 of the auxiliary motor. This causes the piston I2 to move downwardly, the motive fluid below the piston I2 (now exhaust fluid) being discharged upwardly through the pipe I4, through the port I6 into the annular space 48 around the pilot valve, thence out through port 49 into the annular space 44 around the main valve 9. It is then discharged upwardly through the inclined ports 45 and passes under the circular check valve 46 into the annular space between the tubes 2 and 5. The downward movement of the piston I2 of the auxiliary motor returns the main valve 9 to its original position and this movement of the valve 9 carries with it the pilot valve 23.

'I'his completes one cycle and the parts are now again in their respective positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

It will now be seen that the movement of the main piston A of the motor near the end of each stroke compresses one or the other of the coil springs 38 and 39 and this causes the pilot valve to move suddenly without moving the position of the main slide valve. The shifting of the pilot valve to its new position causes the auxiliary motor to operate and to shift the position of the main valve. The movement of the main valve to its new position reverses the direction of flow of the motive fluid and causes the piston of the main motor to move in the opposite direction until it again shifts the position oi' the pilot valve without changing the position of the main valve whereupon motive fluid is admitted to the auxiliary motor to shift the main valve and carry with it the pilot valve and thereby again reverse the direction of flow of the motive fluid.`

'I'he pump portion of the apparatus is shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. A rod 50 rigidly connects the piston A of the motor with the piston D of the pump so that the pump piston reiprocates in unison with the motor piston. When the pump piston D moves upwardly fluid passes from the well into the central tube 4 which extends down to the fluid in the well. It then passes upwardly under a circular check valve 52 into the pump cylinder 53. During the upward movement of the pump piston D the fluid above the piston is forced upwardly through ports 54 in a part of the housing member E, thence under a circular check valve 55 into an annular space between the tube 2 and the housing member E. It then continues moving upwardly between the tube 2 and the tube 42 and meets and mixes with the motive fluid discharged from the motor issuing from under the circular check valve 46 (Fig. 2).

On the downward movement of the pump piston D the circular check valve 52 closes and the fluid passes downwardly through diagonal ports 5l in the housing member F from which it escapes through a circular check valve I1 into the annular space lying between the tube 2 and a tube 5I extending from the housing member F to the housing member E. After it reaches the housing member E it passes upwardly between the tube 2 and the tube 42 and mixes with the exhaust motive fluid from the motor as before. During the downward stroke of the pump piston D fluid is drawn into the space above the pump piston through the central passage l, up through diagonal ports 59 in the housing member F, and upwardly through the annular space between the pump cylinder 53 and the tube 58. It then passes under a circular check valve into the space above the pump piston D.

It will therefore be seen that the pump is double acting and at each stroke draws fluid from the well to that side of the piston at which the cylinder space is increasing and discharges duid from that side of the piston where the cylinder space is decreasing and forces it upwardly where it mixes with the motive fluid discharged from the motor. Heretofore double acting pumps could not be used in oil wells due to the great inertia of the mechanical parts and particularly the inertia of the string of rods extending down the well to the pump piston. However, as I eliminate these moving mechanical parts the pump can be a double acting one.

In water wells, or oil wells, where there are no formation gases to be handled, the pump and motor may be suspended from one string of tubing only in which case a packer should be placed just below the pump so that the fluid pump from the well and the fluid exhausted from the motor will be forced upwardly in the annular space between the well casing and the tubing which supports the apparatus and through the center of which the motive fluid is supplied to the motor.

While my improved method of pumping oil from wells contemplates the forcing of oil down the string of tubing to the motor to serve as motive fluid, the details of the equipment necessary to effect this form no part of the invention. Any suitable equipment may be used for this purpose. The motive fluid oil may be pumped from any convenient location and conducted to a group of wells thus eliminating the necessity of an individual engine and the other usual equipment at each well. Of course, the oil pumped to the wells, should be clean and the sand and water settled out of it. The wear on the parts of the apparatus will be negligible as the oil used for the motive fluid will lubricate all of the moving parts and will protect the metal from corrosion.

The column of fluid in the induction tubing leading down to the motor will balance the column of fluid of equal height made up of exhaust motive fluid and the fluid pumped from the well. Therefore, each pound of pressure in the induction tubing, at the discharge elevation of the eduction tubing, will deliver a pound of pressure differential on the motor piston, less friction due to the flowing stream. 'I'herefore a gauge pressure of 1000 lbs. per square inch in the induction tubing, at the discharge elevation of the eduction tubing, will represent 1000 lbs. of pressure per square inch on the motor piston above that resultingfrom back pressure of the column of fluid in the eduction tubing, less friction due to the ow. The hammering and Jerking effects on the rods, tubing and pumping equipment experienced in present installations,

and which ultimately cause break downs of the equipment as well as wear and tear on the parts are entirely eliminated. In my method and apparatus the pressure is practically steady, and not intermittent, and there will be no losses due to stretch as above explained.

The efficiency of my new method and apparatus exceeds the conventional ones now in use and has a capacity of many times that of other deep well pumping methods and apparatus heretofore used.

While the apparatus herein described was designed espeolally for pumping fluid from wells, and primarily for pumping oil from oil wells, it may be used for other purposes, especially where a reliable fluid operated motor is needed having such size and shape that it may be in stalled in a limited space, or where there is needed a combination of a reliable fluid operated motor and a pump, both of such size and shape that they may be installed in a limited space, such as exists in an oil well.

I claim:

1. In a fluid actuated deep well motor for operating a deep well pump having a reciprocating plunger, a reciprocating piston, means for coupling said piston to the plunger of the pump, an inlet valve and an exhaust valve for said motor, a valve actuating auxiliary fluid motor having a reciprocating piston for actuating said first named valves and connected thereto, an inlet to and an outlet from said last mentioned piston, a slidable pilot valve for controlling said inlet to and outlet from said last named piston, a pilot valve actuating rod connected to said first named piston and adapted to reciprocate therewith, means for actuating said pilot valve with said rod, and linkage between said pilot valve and said first named valves for controlling the movement of said pilot valve.

2. A motor as claimed in claim 1, and wherein said linkage includes a toggle joint with the members thereof held under a restricted compression.

3. In a fluid actuated motor for operating a deep well pump having a reciprocating plunger, a reciprocating piston, means for coupling said piston to the plunger of the pump, a sleeve valve for controlling the inlet and exhaust to and from said fluid motor, an auxiliary fluid motor having inlet and outlet ducts and having a reciprocating piston connected to said sleeve, a slidable pilot valve in communication with said inlet and outlet ducts and concentric with said sleeve valve, a pilot valve rod concentric with said pilot valve and connected to said first named piston and adapted to reciprocate therewith, co-acting mechanical means between said pilot valve and said pilot valve rod for actuating said pilot valve with said rod, and linkage between said pilot valve and said first named valve for controlling the movement of said pilot valve.

4. In a fluid actuated motor for operating a deep well pump having a reciprocating plunger, a reciprocating piston, means for coupling said piston to the plunger of the pump, a sleeve valve for controlling the inlet and exhaust to and from said fluid motor, an auxiliary fluid motor having inlet and outlet ducts and having a reciprocating piston connected to said sleeve valve, a slidable pilot valve in communication with said inlet and outlet ducts and concentric with said sleeve valve, a pilot valve rod concentric with said pilot valve and connected to said first named piston and adapted to reciprocate therewith, and co-acting mechanical means between said pilot alias-17 valve and said pilot valve rod for actuating said pilot valve with said rod, said auxiliary motor being positioned between the pilot valve and said rst named piston, and said pilot` valve rod being passed through said auxiliary motor and through and concentric with said piston thereof.

5. In a deep well motor for a well pump, a slide valve therein, an auxiliary fluid motor having a piston chamber and a reciprocating piston therein for operating said slide valve, motor fluid conveying pipes attached to said slide valve and extending to said piston chamber and aixed to said piston and opening one on either side thereof, and a pilot valve adjacent to and concentric with said slide valve and in communication with said motive fluid conveying pipes for controlling the motive fluid to and from said auxiliary motor.

6. In a fluid actuated deep well motor for operating a deep well pump having a reciprocating plunger, a piston, a slide valve therefor, an auxiliary valve actuating fluid motor, a reciprocating piston therefor connected with said valve, slidable motive iiuid conveying ducts mounted on said last named piston and opening one on either side thereof and with said ducts also connected to said rst named valve and opening therefrom into a pilot valve controlled passageway,

and a pilot valve in said passageway and operatively connected with said iirst named piston.

7. In a fluid actuated deep well motor for operating a deep well pump having a reciprocating plunger, a sleeve valve for controlling the inlet and exhaust to and from said fluid motor, an auxiliary fluid motor connected to said sleeve valve for actuating the same and having a pilot valve concentric with said sleeve valve and slidable therein for controlling the inlet and exhaust to and from said auxiliary motor, and means for actuating said pilot valve, including a pilot valve rod connected to said first named piston and slidably passed thru said pilot valve and slidably extending into a spring retaining cage, a collar on said rod in said cage, a spring retaining cage' compression.

GHARLES C. CARLISLE.

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