US2444842A

US2444842A - Polish rod hanger

Info

Publication number: US2444842A
Application number: US740640A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mcconahey Theodore De Witte; Redell Fredrick Charles
Original assignee: JM Huber Corp
Current assignee: JM Huber Corp
Priority date: 1947-04-10
Filing date: 1947-04-10
Publication date: 1948-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 1965-07-06

Description

July 6, 1948. v T. DE w. MOCONAHEY ET AL ,4

POLISH ROD HANGER Filed April 10, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS T/leadorefle W139 fl folleizey ATTORNEY July 6, 1948. T. DE w. MCCONAHEY ETAL 2 POLISH ROD HANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 10, 1947 ATTORNEY Patented July 6, 1948 POLISH ROD HANGER.

Theodore De Witte' McConahey and Fredrick Charles Redell, Borger, Tex., assignors to J. M. Huber Corporation, Borger,.Tex., a corporation.

of NewJersey Application April 10, 1947, Serial No. 740 640 This invention relates to a polish rod hanger for supporting a polish rod and imparting a reciprocating motion thereto: while permitting rotation of the rod, and, particularly, to a polish rod hanger which is. adapted to be employed in conjunctionwith means for positively rotating thev polish rod.

In theoperation of an oil. well, the pump at the bottom of the well is operated by reciprocating a pump rod, conventionally called a polish rod, by means of=the rocking motion of a beampowered by means of a suitable pump unit. It is usual toconnect the polish rodwith' the beam by'means of a hanger which is. suspendedfrom the end of the beam. Generally, the hanger includes slip means which normally gripxthe polish rod' but release the rod when there is resistance to the.

downward motion of the rod? so" that the hanger can move downward relatively to the rodr Frequently, there is a tendency for the rod to twist or turn in the well, Also frequently, means are provided for periodically-rotating the rod during.

certain periods of its reciprocation so as tomaintam-the joints of therod tight and also, so as to. operate scraping meansfastened on the rod. It

is therefore common to construct the polish rod hanger to permit the. polish rod to rotate rela-- tively to the hanger.

The pumping equipment, including the polish rodshanger is positioned a-bovethe ground and is usually open to the. weather; The polish rod hanger is usually so constructedthat it will not. retarinlubricant, and.- watensuch as thatfrom rain, can enter the hanger and- .passtherethrough su-a's'to wash out any lubricant which: may be placed therein: and.- cause rusting ofJ'the-parts. There also-a1 tendency for dirt from the atmosphere to enter the hanger and jam the parts,

It isanobject of the present invention to'provide anew and improved polish rod hanger which is adapted to impart a reciprocating motion to the polish-rod while permitting rotation oi-the rod relative to-the hanger. Another object is. to provide a polish rodhanger which canzbeprovided with'lubricant and which will retain such lubricant and prevent it from; being washed out of the hanger-'byrain: ancithelike. A further object is' to provide-a: polish rod hanger which is strong and more compact and "has other advantages' over polish rod hangers heretofore employed'. Other objects are to provide a new article of manufacture and to advance the art. Still other objects willappearhereinafter.

The above and other objects may be? accomplished-in accordance with our invention which 3 Claims. (01. 255-14) comprises providing a polish rodhanger which is.-

adaptcd-to support a polish rod-and to impart a reciprocating motionwthereto-whilepermitting, r0

tat-ion oi the rod but preventing swaying of the rod, the polish rod: hanger comprising a housing,

a slip unit for releasably gripping the polish rodand which is rotatably mounted wholly within'the housing, closure means at the top of thehousing ior retaining: the slip unit in-the: housing-and which is provided with packing to prevent the passage of water and dirt into the housing and the passage of lubricant out of the top ofthe housing, closure means at the bottom'of the housing' provided with packing to retain. lubricant in the housing and a normally closed lubricant inlet in a wall of the housing. Anotherfeatur'e of' our invention resides in novel means for securing the hanger to its supporting cable which permits ready removal of 'thehousing from the cable: to permit repair or replacement of either the cableor the housing, which means comprise two cable-- retaining wings extending outwardly from opposite sides of the housing, each wing being substantially C-shaped in horizontal cross section with the ends of the C spaced apart by a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the cable, and having an enlarged lower substantially cylindrical bore and a smaller upper substantially cylindrical bore, a cable-end socket for 'each cable-retaining wing having an upwardly taper-' ing bore adapted to receive andret'ain a leaded-in cable end, said socket also having'a lower enlarged cylindrical outer surface fitting loosely in the enlarged bore of the wing and an upper smaller cylindrical outer surface fitting loosely in the upper bore of the wing, andmeans for re'-' movably securing eachsocket' in a wing so'as to prevent relative vertical motion of the socket and the. wing while permitting rotation of the socket within the wing. H

Our invention will be more readily understood from the detailed description, hereinafter given, when taken with the accompanying. drawings, in which I Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic illustration, with parts in section, illustrating a conventional assembly of oil well pump equipment. with which our invention is particularly adapted to: be em:

ployed; I Fig. 2 is a detailed view illustrating a conventional type of polish rodrotating means adapted to be'employed with the polish rod-hanger'of our.

invention; l

Fig. 3 is a view in central verticalv cross-sec- 3 tion of a polish rod hanger constructed in accordance with our invention;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the polish rod hanger shown in Fig. 3 with parts omitted for clearness of illustration;

Fig. 5 is a vertical view of slip means adapted to be employed i'nthe polish rod hangerof our invention;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the slip means of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross sectional view of a slip bowl constructed in accordance with our invention.

Referring more particularly to Fig, '1, l0 indicates a Samson post supporting the pump jack beam [2. The beam is operated by a pitman rod H connected with a driving disc iii of a pump unit I8. A cable is supported on the outer end of the beam 12 and is connected with and carries the polish rod hanger 22. The polish rod hanger carries and reciprocates the polish rod 24 which extends down through a string of pipe 26 supported on the header 28. The polish rod 24 and the string of pipe 26 extend down through the well casing 30 to the bottom of the well and are connected to the pump of conventional design, notshown.

The polish rod is caused to rotate by means of a suitable ratchet turntable, pawl and lever. The ratchet turntable 32 is in two parts and is fastened to the polish rod 24 by two bolts at 3!. The turntable is rotated periodically by means of an actuating pawl 34 on lever 38 pivotally supported on the polish rod hanger at 39. A holding pawl 36 is also rotatably supported on the pivot 39. The lever 38 is actuated by a cable 40, one end of which is fastened to the lever by any suitable means, such as staples or. U-bolts M, and the other end of which is fastened to the jack beam l2 at a point suitably spaced from the end thereof. 7

The structure so far described is conventional and its purpose and mode of operation are well known to those skilled in the art.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 to 7, the .polish rod hanger comprises a housing 44 provided with two cable-retaining

wings

46, 46 extending outwardly from opposite sides thereof. As shown, the body of the housing is generally cylindrical inform but may be of other suitable form, such as square, polygonal, and the like. The housing is provided with an enlarged cylindrical bore 48 which extends downward from the top of the housing to near the bottom thereof, but which isterminated, at a point spaced 2. short distance from the bottom of the housing, by an inturned annular flange 50'which has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the polish rod.

A slip bowl 52 is rotatably supported wholly within the bore of the housing. This slip bowl has an outer cylindrical surface which is slightly smaller in' diameter than the bore of the housing so as to permit the passage of a lubricant, such as a lubricating grease, between the two surfaces for proper lubrication and so as to form a lubricated bearing fit with the bore of the housing which, however, prevents side sway of the bowl in the housing. The slip bowl has a downwardly tapered bore, which, at its lower end, is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the polish rod and which at its upper end is sufficiently large to carry suitable slips 54. At its lower end, the slip bowl is provided with a downwardly projecting cylindrical portion 56 which has an inner bbre slightly larger than the diameter of the polish rod and which is sufficiently thick to be substantially rigid and strong, usually about 1 6". The slip bowl is of such height that its upper end terminates a substantial di tance below the top of the housing, sufficient to provide'space for a cover-topbescrewed into the upper end of the bore ofthe housing for closing such bore.

The lower surface of the slip bowl, outwardly of the downwardly projecting cylindrical portion 56, is cutaway as at 58 to form a depending ledge 60. The inner annular race 62 of a thrust bearing is fitted tightlyto the outer surface of the downwardly projecting cylindrical portion 56 so as to rotate with the slip bowl and has its upper surface engaging the lower surface of the ledge 60 for supporting the slip bowl. The outer annular race 66 of the thrust bearing is fitted tightly to'the inner surface of the bore of the housing so as to be maintained stationary therewith and rests upon the upper'surface of the flange 50. The races are separated by rolling bearing members 68 which, preferably, are balls. The upper surface of the 'fiange 50 is cut away inwardly of the outer bearing race as at Hi to provide a ledge I2 supporting the outerbearing race. By this construction, a continuous pasage for lubricant is provided for the moving parts of the hanger. The lubricant can flow between the outer surface of the slip bowl and the inner surface of the housing, between the lower surface of the slip bowl and the upper surface of the outer race, through the space 64 between the inner and outer races, and between the upper surface of the flange 50 and the lower surface of the inner race 62.

A lubricant inlet is provided at 69 for the introduction of any suitable lubricant such as grease and the like. This inlet will be normally closed by a conventional type of lubricant inlet closure 59, such as a zerk connection.

The-slips E l-may be of conventional construction and will usually be in two or more sections held together by a retaining ring in an annular groove 55 in the outer surface of the slips. As illustrated, the slips; in this case, are in three sections. Also, preferably, the teeth on the slips will be right'angle teeth as shown in Fig. 3 for better gripping of the polish rod. The outer surfaces of the slips are tapered downwardly to conform with the inner surface of the bore of the slip bowl so that the surfaces of the slips will frictionally'engage the surface of the bore of the slip bowl and cause the slip bowl to rotate with the slips. The slips are also of such size that :they will be positioned wholly within the slip bowl, the top' of the slips not extending above the top of the slip bowl when the slips are in their upper-position for releasing the polish rod.

The top of the bore of the housing is closed by a cover 14 threaded into the top thereof to retain the slips and slip bowl in the housing. Openings [6 are provided in the outer surface of the top of the cover to accommodate a suitable wrench for manipulating the cover. The cover is also provided with an enlarged borein its upper portion adapted to receive a suitable oil and water resistant packing I8 and a packingnut screwed into the cover to compress the packing and maintain it in contact with the polish rod. By this construction, neither water nor dirt can enter the top of the housing nor can grease or lubricant escape from the top thereof. I

Oil and water resistant packing 84 is also provided inthe lower bore-of the housingbelowthe" flangeliflt This'packingisheld in place, com pressedand brought into contact with the "polish rod by, apackingnut' BBf'SCIGWBd into the *lower end of the lower bore of' the housing: Openings 8Bfareprovidd-infthe lower portion ofthe packs ingnutso'th'at the-packing nut may be-manipulated by 'a suitable wrench; By this construction; grease or other lubricant" in the housing will not escape: through the bottom thereof, nor Will'iitl b'e'washed through the housing by rain, or. the like.

The lower'portion' of the housingis, as shown, l provided'witha boss 90 for supporting the pivot:

39"of the ratchet operating mechanism;

Each cable retaining wing 461s substantially C-shaped in' cross" section, with the ends 92".of the spaced" apart by a distance" greater: than the diameter .of the cable 20; Each wing is provided with a"lower 'enlarged cylindrical bore 94" and 'a'smaller upper cylindrical bore 96', the c'on-" necting surface between the. surfaces of the two bores forming an inclined shoulder 88;

'A cableeend socket Hillis provided for each wing 46. This cable-endsocket has an upwardly taperedbore' with the upper opening slightly larger-than the diameter of the cable 20 and the lower opening of substantially larger diameter. Eachcable-end socket is attached toan. end of the cable 20"byinserting the end of the cable, fuzzing' out-such end of the cable and then lead;

ing the fuzzed out'endin the socket by pouring in a suitablemolten metal, such as leadgBabbitt andthe like; Each cable-endi'sock et has alower' enlarged-outer cylindrical surface III ZLofa diame ter slightly smaller than the inner cylindrical" surface 94 'of-the wing .46 and an upper smaller cylindrical surface I04 slightly-smaller in diameter than the-.upper'bore 96' oflthe wing 46'. The surfaces I02 and I04 are connectedlby an inclined-surface I05 forming a shoulder adapted to'fit against the inclined surface 98 of the wing passes through an opening llll'provided therefor" in the wing. This pin I68 engages in the an nular groove I06 to'prevent the socket moving vertically with respect to the wing: but does" not prevent rotation ofthesocket within thawing as the cable tends to twist or turn with the operation of the apparatus. This pin W8 is preferably in the form of a cotter pin, nut and bolt, or the like, so that it may be readily removed to release the socket from the wing.

By this arrangement of cable-retaining wings and removable cable-end sockets, the polish rod hanger can be readily removed from the cable for repair of either the cable or the hanger. It is merely necessary to remove the pin I08 and raise the hanger so that the socket I00 will drop out of the wing 46 by its own weight to below the wing, whereby the socket and cable can be moved outwardly with the cable passing out between the ends 92 of the wing. Reassembly of the parts may be accomplished by a simple reversal of this operation. This is a simple and strong construction permitting quick and easy separation of the cable and hanger.

From the; above; it will beapparentthatTtI'ie polish rod-hanger ofour invention is a-compact and, sturdy piece of equipment which permits the polish-rod to "be rotated while reciprocating andholds the polish rod steady inthehanger;

there beinga minimum-of sidewise motion of the rod relative to-the'hanger; The structure is such-as' to provide positive and efficient lubri cation of the'thrust bearing and all other moving parts within the-hanger while at the'same' time protecting such {parts from rain, dirt and other deleteriouseffects of the weather. Thereby, the' hanger'will" give-longer service without'objectiom ablewearing 'or rusting of the parts, greatly rei ducing" the necessity" of repair or replacementof parts 'wit-h consequent shut-down of thewel-li Also, the tendency" for the parts tobecome jammedby rust; dirt, and the like is-substantially" eliminated so' that the hanger will give troublefree operation over long periods oftirne; At thesametime; the-parts are'readily accessible for-any necessary repairs or-replacements:

It will be understoodthat the specificstructure" shown is merely'illustrative of a preferred em bodiment of our invention-and that manyvaria tions and modifications can bemade in the as: tails thereof without departing from the-spirit or -scope of our'invention. Accordingly, our'in vention is 'not'to be limited to-the specific em--' bodimentshown and" described in detail. We intend to cover our invention broadly as well as specifically as in the appended claims; We claim: I 1'; A-polish rod" hanger adapted to support'a polish rodandto impart areciprocating motion" to the'rod' while permitting rotation of the rod,

which'comprises a housing; means for vertically reciprocatingrthe housing; the housing having 7 an enlarged "central vertical cylindricalbore extending downward from the topv of the housing and'terminated, atja point spaced from the bot; tom of the housing, by an inturned annular flange; an outer annular thrust bearing race sup.- ported'on the upper" surface of the flange and.

fitted tightly to' the inner-surface of" the bore of'the housing; an.,.inner annular thrust bearing-'r'ace positioned opposite the outer'race; the

pp r rface of't he flange being spaced slightly below the opposing lower surface of the inner race to provide a passage for lubricant between the 1 flange and-"the inner bearingraceyrolling bearing" members between the races; a slip bowl" supported on and fitted tightly to the inner bearingfl raceand' having an outer cylindrical surface slightly smaller thanthe enlarged bore offthe' housingso as to provide a space for lubricant between such surface and the housing, and its upper end spaced below the top of the housing, the lower surface of the bowl being spaced slightly above the opposing upper surface of the outer bearing race to provide a passage for lubricant between the lower surface of the bowl and the outer bearing race; a passage for lubricant between the races, communicating with and connecting the lubricant passage above the outer race and the lubricant passage below the inner race; slips for releasably gripping a polish rod, positioned wholly within the slip bowl and fitted therein so as to cause the slip bowl to rotate therewith; closure means at the top of the hone-- ing above the slip bowl for retaining the slip bowl and slips within the housing, provided with pack-- ing to prevent the passage of water into the housing and the passage of lubricant out of the top of the housing; closure means at the bottom of the housing provided with packing to retainlubricant in the housing; and a normally closed lubricantv inlet in a, wall of the housing.

2. A. polish rod hanger adapted to support a polish rod and to impart a reciprocating motion to the rod while permitting rotation ofv the rod, which comprises a housing; means for vertically reciprocating the housing; the housing having-an enlarged central vertical cylindrical bore extending downward from the top of the housing and terminated, at a point spaced from the bottom of the housing, by an inturned annular flange; an outer annular thrust bearing race supported on the upper surface of the flange and fitted tightly rolling bearing members between the races; a

slip bowl supported on and fitted tightly to the inner bearing race and having an enlarged outer cylindrical surface slightly smaller than the enlarged bore of the housing so as to provide a space for lubricant between such surface and the housing, and its upper end spaced below the top of the housing, the lower surface of the bowl being cut away so as to be spaced slightly above the opposing upper surface of the outer bearing race to provide a passage for lubricant between the bowl and the outer race; the inner and outer bearing races being spaced apart to provide a passage for lubricant between the races communicating with and connecting the lubricant passage above the outer race and the lubricant passage below the inner race; slips for releasably gripping a polish rod, positioned wholly within the slip bowl and fitted therein so as to cause the slip bowl to rotate therewith; closure means at the top of the housing above the slip bowl for retaining the slipbowl and slips within the housing, provided with packing to prevent the passage of water into the housing and the passage of lubricant out of the top of the housing; closure means at the bottom of the housing below the flange provided with packing to retain lubricant in the housing; and a normally closed lubricant inlet in a wall of the housing.

3.,A polish rod hanger adapted to support a polish rod and to impart a reciprocating motion to the rod while permitting rotation of the rod, which comprises a housing; means for vertically reciprocating the housing; the housing having an enlarged central vertical cylindrical bore extending downward from the top of the housing and,

terminated, at a point spaced from the bottom of the housing, by an inturned annular outer annular thrust bearing race supported on the upper surface of the flange and fitted tightly to the inner surface of the bore of the housing;

an inner annular thrust bearing race positioned opposite the outer race; the upper surface of the flange, opposite the inner race, being cut away so as to be spaced below the opposing lower surface of the inner race, providing a passage for lubricant between the flange and the inner race; rolling bearing members between the races; a slip bowl supported on the inner bearing race and having a downwardly projecting cylindrical portion fitted tightly to the inner-surface of the inner bearing race, an enlarged outer cylindrical 1 surface slightly smaller than the enlarged bore of the housing soas to provide a space for lubricant between such surface and the housing, and

its upper end spaced below the top of the housing, the lower surface of the bowl being cut away so as to be spaced slightly above the opposing upper surface of the outer bearing .race to provide a passage for lubricant between the bowl and the outer race; the inner and outer bearing races being spaced apart to provide a passage for lubricant between the races communicating with and connecting the lubricant passage above the outer race and the lubricant passage below the inner race; slips for releasably gripping a polish rod, positioned wholly within the slip bowl and fitted therein so as to cause the slip bowl to rotate therewith; closure means at the top of the housing.

above the slip bowl for retaining the slip bowl and slips within the housing,- provided with packing to prevent the, passage of water into the housing and the passage of lubricant out of the top I of the housing; closure means at the bottom of the housing below the flange provided with packe ing to retain lubricant in the housing; and a normally closed lubricant inlet in a wall of thehousing.

FREHJRICK CHARLES REDELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Name Date 1,453,138 Holliday Apr. 24, 1923 1,647,206 Wiesenthal Nov. 1, 1927 1,861,485 Tremolada June 7, 1932 2,280,408 Johnston Apr. 21, 1942 flange; an,

NTI-IEODOBE DE wr'rrn McCONAHEY.