US2234977A

US2234977A - Sand pump

Info

Publication number: US2234977A
Application number: US191443A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fred H Ohland
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1938-02-19
Filing date: 1938-02-19
Publication date: 1941-03-18
Anticipated expiration: 1958-03-18

Description

March 18, 1941.

F. H. OHLAND 51mm PUMP Filed Feb. 19, 1958 i m [HF/v V00 m 7% 1 u MW W W 3M Patented Mar. 18, 1941 g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to pumping devices and more particularly to pumps whichcan be used for removing sand from the bottoms of wells.

oftentimes when a well is dug to secure water.

5 for drinking purposes and for similar uses, it is found that there is a considerable quantity of very line sand and other fine mineral substances which are carried up with the water as it is being pumped, thereby making the water unsatisfactory for use, particularly when the water is desired for human consumption and for other household purposes, Not only does the sand render the water unsatisfactory for use, but it has decidedly injurious eiTects on the usual type of pump used to draw the water from the well. It is, therefore, desirable to be able to remove a considerable quantity of sand from the bottom of the well and replace it with gravel so that substantially clear water can be obtained.

It is, therefore, a general object of my invention to provide a pump which is particularly adaptable for use in withdrawing quantities of sand from wells without injury to the pump used for that purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pump which can be initially used to withdraw sand from the well and which can be continued for use as an eflicient water pump.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pump structure which, in combination with a well casing and screen, will permit the deposit of quantities of gravel in the bottom of the well around the screen.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the views, and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a portion of a well casing and the pump portion per se;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the lower part of the pump showing a downward extension carrying a surge block with a screen secured to the well casing:

' Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the lower part of the pump with a gravel depth indicator and a screen independent of the pump and casing; and

Fig. 4 shows a modification in which the screen 50 and surge block are secured directly to the bot tom of the pump cylinder.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a well casing 5 which may be of any conventional type well known in the art. Within the casing is inserted a pump 55 cylinder comprising an upper slightly enlarged Gil main cylinder portion 6 to the lower end of which is secured a slightly reduced cylindrical extension I. The lower end of the extension I is provided with an apertured end 8 which is normally closed by a ball valve 9. The upper end of the main cylinder portion 6 is provided with a cap II) which is centrally apertured to slidably receive a hollow pump shaft or rod l I which extends upwardly to the top of the Well and which may be bent over to provide a spout l2, Inter- 10 posed in the hollow rod II is a valve housing It which contains a conventional ball valve I4.

On the lower end of the hollow rod II is secured a two-piece plunger element indicated as an entirety at I5, this plunger element carrying 15 a customary cup-shaped leather or other packing element it. Connected to and extending downwardly from the plunger element I5 is a pipe H which constitutes an extension of the hollow pump rod II below the plunger packing H5. The 2 lower end of the extension I! is provided with an inwardly tapered sleeve I8 which constitutes an inlet for the hollow pump rod structure.

The upper end portion I0 of the main pump cylinder 6 has resting thereon the lower end of a helical spring I9, and the upper end of said spring is adapted to bear against the lower portion of the upper check valve housing I3, Thus the pump cylinder is normally urged downwardly under the influence of the spring so that when the hollow pump rod I I is raised the pump cylinder will remain relatively stationary. Thus when the pump rod and plunger are reciprocated in the well casing and pump cylinder, water will flow into the cylinder past the check valve 9 on the Sr upward stroke of the plunger, and on its downward stroke the plunger will force water upwardly through the pump rod inlet l3 through the upper check valve M and out of the top of the pump rod. It will be readily seen that when sand flows into the lower end of the cylinder with the water being pumped, the sand being heavier will remain in the lower portion of the pump cylinder and-will be pumped up the pump rod extension I1 and hollow rod II without coming into contact with the pump leather IE on the plunger I5. This eliminates the wear on the leather to which it is ordinarily subjected in ordinary type of pumps wherein the water and sand come into contact with the pump leather and r cause excessive wear between the leather and the wall of the pump cylinder. This is an important "feature of the invention and it has been found that the normal life of a pump leather is multiplied greatly.

In Fig. 2 there is shown the lower part of the with for a short distance.

well casing 5, the lower portion of the pump cylinder 1, the lower check valve 9, and the hollow pump rod extension IT. This structure is similar to that described in detail in Fig. 1. In this View, however, there is shown a screen element 24 which may or may not have a point 25 and which is set in and below the inner lower portion of the well casing 5, There are several ways of inserting and securing screens of this type, and in the one illustrated the screen has a lead or other soft metal top 26 which is spread outwardly against the inner wall of the casing 5 to firmly seal it in said casing after the screen has been lowered to the bottom of the well. Extending downwardly from the bottom of the pump cylinder 1 is a pipe 2'! which is adapted to terminate within the cylindrical screen 24. Mounted upon the pipe 21 is a collar 28 secured as by a set screw 29 and having a radial flange 36. Against the flange are placed leathers or other packing elements 3| which are secured in place by a threaded collar 32. The structure in Fig. 2 is not shown truly in its operative position. Under its normal working circumstances the leathers 3i and the pump cylinder 1 will be positioned further down in the well casing 5 so that the leathers 3! will rest upon the upper end of the screen 24. This gives the pump cylinder suflicient support to hold it against further downward movement as the hollow pump rod is pushed downwardly in its pumping stroke.

The leathers 3| and their supporting elements I designate as a surge block, and, as shown in Fig. 1, when the plunger assembly I 5 comes into contact with the upper end In of the main pump cylinder 6 on the upward stroke of the hollow pump rod H, the cylinder will be lifted slightly and the surge block will be moved upwardly there- The pumping action of the surge block causes added suction through the screen 24 so that additional sand adjacent the screen is drawn in with the water to loosen the sand and permit it to be more readily pumped. The reciprocal movement of the surge block with its leathers 3| and th pump cylinder occurs only when the pump plunger l5 comes in contact with the upper end of the pump cylinder near the top of the stroke of the pump rod. Thus the pump cylinder is stationary during most of the upward and downward movement of said pump rod.

In Fig. 3 there is shown the lower portion of a well casing 33, a portion of the pump cylinder 34, the lower extension of the hollow pump rod 35 and a lower check valve 36. The a-pertured lower end 31, which closes the pump cylinder 34 except for the water passage provided to cooperate with the ball check valve 36, carries a plurality of radially extending vanes 38 which are preferably few in number so they will be rather Widely spaced. The vanes 38 extend outwardly into sliding engagement with the inner wall of the well casing 33, and keep the pump cylinder which is considerably smaller than the casing in proper alignment with the casing to provide a relatively uniform space between the cylinder and the casing. The screen 39 is adapted to be partially sunk in the ground at the bottom of the Well to maintain it in an upright position, said screen being disconnected from any other part of the pump or from the well casing. As shown, however, the upper end of the screen 40 is open to readily permit the insertion of a pipe extension 4|, the latter being threadedly secured to the end plug 31 on the bottom of the pump cylinder 34. The screen is also provided with a plurality of radial lugs 40a which hold the screen in proper alignment in the well casing to permit the introduction of gravel between the casing and screen. After a considerable amount of sand has been pumped, a quantity of gravel may be dumped into the upper end of the well casing and this gravel will fall down between the pump cylinder 34 and the casing 33 and exteriorly of the screen 39 in the space provided after pumping out a quantity of sand. It is desired that gravel be introduced until itreaches a level approximately the same as the pipe of the upper end of the screen 39. This height can be determined by turning or partially rotating the pump cylinder 34. When gravel has reached the height of the vanes 38, it will oifer resistance to rotation of movement of said vanes and the operator will know that he has introduced a sufficient amount of gravel.

In order to permit rotation of the pump cylinder 34 there is provided a key-way 42 (see Fig. 1) which is formed in the end cap I ll at the upper end of the main pump cylinder 6. The hollow pump shaft H is provided with a cooperalting key 43 which rides in the key-way 42, and as a result when the hollow shaft is turned the pump cylinder and vanes 38 will be likewise turned.

In Fig. 4 I have shown an arrangement which may be utilized when no screen is left in the bottom of the well after the sand-cleaning operation. In that figure there is shown a casing 44, pump cylinder 45, pump rod extension 48, and ball check valve 41. An apertured end plug 48 cooperates with the valve 41 to form a complete valve structure. the plug 48 is threaded the upper end of a screen 49 and said threaded upper end carries a flanged collar 50, which is adapted to clamp the leathers of a surge block 5| against the under side of the pump cylinder and plug 58. With this arrangement there can be produced the same agitation or surging of water and sand to facilitate pumping of the sand as can be accomplished with the surge :block arrangement shown in Fig. 2. In the structure in Fig. 4, however, when the sand pump is removed from the well the screen 49 will be removed with it.

It should be understood that in any of the arrangements disclosed herein the pump may be r used merely as a. water pump after sand has been pumped from the well pocket. It would, of course, be more desirable, however, if the surge blocks shown in Figs. 2 and 4 and the lower extension pipes 21 and 4| in Figs. 2 and 3 are removed to prevent the pump from tending to continue to pump any small quantities of sand which might remain in the interstices of the gravel. However, this would not affect the water pumping ability of the device. It is further understood that my pump can be so arranged at the upper end of the well that it can be used as a hand pump or it may be connected to some suitable power pumping mechanism.

It is further understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangements and proportions of the various parts without depanting from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A sand pump and the like comprising a screen, a pump cylinder associated with said screen, a plunger adapted to reciprocate within said cylinder, means for producing movement of said cylinder with said plunger during part of the stroke of said plunger, and means for caus- Into the lower end of ing a surge of liquid adjacent said screen during the movement of said cylinder with said plunger.

2. A sand pump and the like comprising a well casing, a screen secured to the lower end of said casing, a pump cylinder within said casing and associated with said screen, a plunger adapted to reciprocate within said cylinder, means for causing movement of said cylinder with said plunger during part of the stroke of said plunger, and means for causing a surge of liquid adjacent said screen during movement of said cylinder with said plunger.

3. In a sand pump, the combination with a Well casing, of a cylinder within said casing, a pump plunger within said cylinder, a screen secured to said cylinder and communicating with the interior thereof, and a surge block associated With said cylinder and screen and worlting in said casing.

4. A sand pump and the like comprising a cylinder, a plunger adapted to reciprocate Within said cylinder, means for producing movement of said cylinder with said plunger during part of the stroke of said plunger, and a surge block connected to and movable with said cylinder during movement thereof with said plunger.

5. A sand pump and the like comprising, a cylinder adapted to be supported vertically in a well, said cylinder having an inlet and an outlet, check valves associated with said inlet and outlet, said cylinder having a larger inside diameter in its upper portion than in its lower pontion, a hollow pump rod extending into said cylinder from the upper end thereof and adapted to reciprocate relative to the cylinder, packing means on said pump rod and in sliding engagement with the relatively larger diameter of the upper cylinder portion, said hollow pump rod extending below said packing means and into the relatively smaller lower portion of said cylinder, the range of reciprocation of said pump rod packing with the rod being limited to the relatively larger upper cylinder portion and the range of reciprocation of the downwardly extending portion of said pump rod at its lower end being limited to the relatively smaller portion of said cylinder.

FRED H. OHLAND.