US2451560A

US2451560A - Fluid operated pump for oil wells and the like

Info

Publication number: US2451560A
Application number: US654661A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert B Knowles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-03-15
Filing date: 1946-03-15
Publication date: 1948-10-19
Anticipated expiration: 1965-10-19

Description

Oct. 19, 1948. R. B. KNOWLES FLUID OPERATED PUMP FOR OIL V IELLS AND THE LIKE Filed March 15, 1946 i 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f1 L7 3 W/// 7/ 7/r/// /////7//// QW//// nl-il I :H Hus;

Oct. 19, 1948. R. B. KNOWLES 2,451,560

FLUID 01 2mm) PUMP FOR on. WELLS AND THE LIKE Filed flaxn 15, 1946 2 Shets-Sheet 2 C/l. Q IF 24 AZ /3c,

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JJZVezztDl" '54.? Robert .E'L, Kinny/c5 5 21M rfwzl Patented Oct. 19, 1948 FLUID OPERATED PUMP FOR 011. WELLS AND THE LIKE Robert B..-Knowles, Maywood, Calif. Application March 15, 1946, Serial N0. 654,661

- 8 Claims. (Cl. 103-46) This invention relates to pumps of the character particularly designedi'or use in the oil well industry, in which operation of the pump is eftected by the admission of a fluid intermittently under pressure to the pump actuating mechanism,

and isparticularly designed .to provide an improved construction over that shown in U. 8; Patent No. 2,342,855.

Prior art pumps in use at the present time provide very little space for the working parts and are relatively complicated and delicate, causing considerable loss of time and expense for proper maintenance.

, As used in the oil well industry, pumps may be. situated thousands of feet below the surface of the ground and it is very desirable that the construction of the pump should be. as simple as possible in order to provide adequate space for the arrangement of parts of sufllcientruggedness to operate successfully under very heavy loads.

It is an object of the present invention to provide pump operating mechanism of simple construction in order to provide adequate space for the working parts of the mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide fluid operated pump mechanism permitting of.

ready adaptation ,to particular tions. 1

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fluid operated pump mechanism in which the usual provision of macaroni or small diameter tubing leading from the ground surface to working condithe operating mechanism may be dispensed with.

Further objects and features of the invention will appear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,

' in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the lower portion of-the pump actuating mechanism which has been broken into two views;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the upper portion of the pump actuating means, the mechanisms in Figs. 1 and 2. being shown in the position of the parts when nearing the end of the lifting or pumping stroke;

- Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a special packer drawn to a larger scale than Figs. 1 and 2, connected in a tube extending to the surface of the ground; a

Fig. 4 is an elevation partly in section of a standard packer positioned below the special packer of my invention, drawn on a smaller scale;

Fig. 5 is a'vertical section, to a larger scale, through a plate valve; 7

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the plate valve shown'in Fis- Fig. 7 is a section on line 1-1 01' Fig. 1, drawn on a larger scale; and

,Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the rela-- tive positions of the various components of the pump in assembled relation in a well.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I0 in Figs. 1 and 2 indicates the barrel containing the pump operating mechanism and which is suspended in the well casing l2 by a tube 24 screwed to union 28 and extending upwardly through a standard packer i3 engaging with the well casing (Fig. 4) and serving to carry the weight of, the barrel. Tube 24 actually is composed of a plurality of different sections jointed together but for clearness is referred to as one length of tube, extending from the barrel Hi to the surface of the ground. Tube 24 continues upwardly .from the standard packer l3 through special packer l4 contained within the tube 24 and positioned by a supporting ring 22 held between lengths of tube 24, at a joint 16.

At the surface of the ground, tube 24 is con-v nected to any appropriate mechanism supplying fluid, eith'er liquid or gaseous, under intermittent pressure, to the operating. mechanism in the barrel l0 through the tube. Operating fluid is directed by the special packer l4 into an inner tube 54 mounted within tube 24 and extending within that tube to mechanism within barrel Ill. The special packer acts to seal the top of the inner tube 54 to tube 24 by packing 30. arranged between tube 54 and a sleeve 32 screwing into the ring 22 and threaded at its lower end to receive a packer tightener sleeve 36, a follower ring 38 being supported on the tightener sleeve. The tightener sleeve 36 projects sufilciently below the end of sleeve 32 to enable it to be gripped by the usual pipe wrenches and is screwed into the sleeve to compress the packing, which may be of the chevron type, between the follower ring 38 and a ring 34 acting as alower abutment for a spring 42, the upper end of which abuts against the ring .22. The purpose of this spring is to facilitate loosening .of the packing when releasing the grip of the special packer on the tube 54.

Standard packer I3 is modified by the provision of outlets in the union 52 leading from between

tubes

24 and 54 into the space between the upper end of the packer i3 and the inside of the well casing through which space oil and exhaust working fluid flow upwardly and out of the well. The packer I3 comprises the usual rubber packing rings l3a, slips |3b working against cone slip seat I8c, slip setting springs I8d and spring looking sleeve I'3e.

The barrel I8 is formed as a cylinder having an inwardly tapered upper end 26 which is secured to the lower end of tub 24 by coupling 28. The barrel is divided into an upper compartment 29 and lower compartment 8| by means of a partition 58 secured, as by welding, to the inner surface of the barrel and provided with a series of bores 51 controlled by a plate valve generally indicated by 59, and more fully described hereinafter.

An upstanding tubular member 56 is screwed into a threaded bore in the plate or partition 58, the upper end of the tubular member being connected to the lower end of the tube 54. Below partition 58, an operating piston 88 is positioned and is provided with an upwardy extending tube 62 passing into the tubular member 58'. Tube 82 passes at its upper end through a head 64 secured thereon which has a pressure-tight sliding fit within the cylindrical member 58, this construction affording a telescopic joint through which the working fluid flows.

A passage 65 is rovided through the operating piston 88 communicating at its upper end with the bore of the tube 62, and with the lower surface of the piston 88 at its lower end. A plurality of valves 68 are arranged in bores 89 extending vertically through the operating piston.

The valves are formed, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, with stems I8 and and mushrooms heads 'II. The upper end of the bores are threaded and plugs 12 are screwed therein. Compression springs 18 are arranged between the abutments I4 pinned to the valve stems and the plugs 12. Conduits 18 are arranged to extend between the valve seats and the upper surface of the operating piston 68. The operation of the valves will be later described.

A piston rod 88 is screwed at its upper end into the piston 68 and extends downwardly through a spider 82, having passages 84 therethrough, arranged towardv the lower end of the barrel I8, and is connected to the piston 96 of the usual reciprocated plunger type pump, which obviously may be substituted by any other type of plunger pump. The lower end of the pump barrel 84 is fitted with a standing valve 88, while a traveling valve I88 (Fig. 7) is arranged at the lower end of the piston rod to enable oil in the pump barrel to flow through a bore IBM in the lower end of the piston rod past the valve I88 and outwardly above the upper face of the pump piston 88 through op nings I82.

The weight of the moving parts, in mechanism operating deep well pumps, may be sufllcient to cause the piston 88 and pump piston 88 to settle with sufiicient speed to the bottom of its stroke when the working fluid is relieved of pressure, but in order to secure a rapid back-down of these parts in the case of shallow wells, I may utilize a compression spring 88 (Fig. 1) arranged between the lower surface of the spider 82 and an abutment 98 pinned to the valve rod 88.

A length of relatively light spring 88 is seated on the upper surface of the spider 82 in position to engage against the mushroom heads II of the valves 68 toward the end of the downward movement of the piston 68 and insure the positive closing of the valves;-

The plate valve means used to assure one-way upward flow of the oil through the holes 51 in partition 58 is preferably formed as a sleeve surrounding said tubular member havi g a W85!!- erlike face, as hilly shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and generally indicated at 59 in Fig. 2. The valve comprises a washerlike lower face I88 providing a tapered valve seat engaging face I81, and a vertical sleeve I88 surrounding the upstanding tubular member 56, the inside diameter of the tubular member being considerably greater than the outside diameter of member 56.

The inside surface of the sleeve I88 is provided with a plurality of inclined vanes II8 extending toward and sliding on the surface of the tubular member 56, the vanes being provided for the purpose of effecting an intermittent rotary movement of the valve, due to the oil flowing through the space between the tubular member 56 and plate valve, in order to secure a cleaning action on the contacting surfaces of the valve and valve seating surface.

It will be seen from the above described construction that the operating mechanism for the pump comprises essentially a single barrel divided into upper and lower compartments, the operating fluid, either liquid or gas, being introduced into the lower compartment by the construction insuring that it cannot enter the upper compartment except after having raised the piston 68 to the upper end of its stroke. By this simplified constructiom'sumcient space is provided for the various passages and valves controlling them so that the passages and working parts can be made of substantial size, both to secure adequate strength, reduce friction, and to avoid the danger, present in small diameter passages, and becoming clogged with sand or other matter.

The operation of the pump mechanism will now be described. Before fluid pressure is applied to the operating mechanism, the operating piston 88 will be at the lower end of its stroke and the valves 88 controlling the passages I8 through the piston 88 will have been closed by engagement with the spring 88. The reciprocating pump piston 88 will have a column of oil within pump cylinder 94 standing above the-traveling valve I88 and the interior of the barrel I8, will be filled with the oil. On the admission of fluid under pres-'- 1 sure through the inner tube 5|, operating fluid will pass through tube 82 and through passage 66 to the space below operating piston 88 forcing the piston to move upwardly and holding closed the mushroom valves 88, thus moving reciprocating pump piston 88 to the top of its stroke and drawing a fresh charge of oil into the pump cylinder 94 through the standing valve 98.

Shortly before the operating piston 68 reaches its uppermost position, the projecting stems I8 of the valves 68 will strike the undersuriace of the partition 58, causing the valves 88 to snap open against the pressure of the gas below the piston, the movement being aided by the eflort of the springs I8. The fluid under pressure will then flow through the passages 18 in the piston 88, into the space between the tubular member 58 and the wall of the barrel III and will pass upwardly between the outer surface of the tube 88 and the inner surface of the tube 24 through the standard packer I3 and outwardly through the bore I5 at the top of the standard packer into the space between the tube 24 and the well casing I2 and will flow out of the top of the well.

The oil which is displaced from above the operating piston 88 on its upward stroke will flow through the passages 51 through the partition I58, raising the valve 58 from its seat, rotating it to a greater or lesser degree, and passing into the same space as that into which the working fluid, either liquid or gas under pressure, is exhausted. If a gaseous working fluid is used, the exhaust gas will aerate the oil, thereby accelerating its upward movement.

When the pressure is removed from the operating fluid by the mechanism at the surface, the pump operating parts will sink to their initial position by gravity, the valves 68 remaining open during a portion of the down stroke to permit oii below the piston 60 to pass through passages 18 to the upper surface of the piston 60, the Oil trapped in the pump reciprocating cylinder above the standing valve 98 moving through the path provided through the lower end of the piston rod so to the space above the reciprocating pump piston 96.

It is pointed out that by providing valve rods of different lengths, the suddenness with which the gas below the piston 60 is released may be adjusted, thus providing a desirable degree of adjustment for difl'erent heads against which the pump must be able to work.

It will be noted that the parts are relatively few in number and simple in construction, insuring low cost of manufacture and of maintenance.

The invention has been described and illustrated in a preferred form. but it is to be understood, that the scope of the invention is not in any way limited by this illustrative showing but only as indicated by the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim: 1

1. In well pumping apparatus having means for intermittently supplying working fluid under pressure, a, barrel for mounting in the well, a partition dividing the barrel into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, a port in the partition, a non-return valve controlling said port, a working fluid actuated piston reciprocably mounted in the lower compartment, a first conduit fixed in the barrel and adapted at its top end for communication with the pressure means, a second conduit flxed at its bottom end to the piston and having its top end reciprocably fitting in the lower end of the first conduit whereby to deliver working fluid under pressure to the lower compartment below said piston, a discharge port through the piston, a check valve seating in said discharge port towards the upper compartment, means for'unseating the check valve in response to predetermined upward movement a of the piston, a pump connected to said piston for drawing fluid from the well into said lower compartment below said piston upon movement of said piston upwardly, means for trapping fluid from the well in the lower compartment below the piston upon downward movement of said piston,

' and means for passing fluid from the upper compartment.

2. In well pumping apparatus having pressure means for intermittently supplying working fluid under pressure, a barrel for mounting in the well, a partition dividing the barrel into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, a port in the partition, a. non-return valve controlling said port, a fluid actuated piston reciprocably mounted in the lower compartment, a first conduit fixed in the barrel and adapted at its top end for communication with the pressure means, a second conduit fixed at its bottom end to the piston and having its top end reciprocably fitting in the lower end of the first conduit whereby to deliver working fluid under pressure to the lower compartment below said piston,\a discharge port through the piston, a check valve seating in said discharge port towards the upper compartment, conduit means for conducting spent working fluid and well fluid from said upper compartment to the surface of the ground, a cylinder carried by the lower end of the barrel, an inlet port in the lower end portion of the cylinder, a check valve seating in said port towards the well, a""pump piston reciprocably mounted in the cylinder above said inlet port, rod means operatively connecting the pump piston to the fluid actuated piston, a port in the pump piston for passing fluid upward- 1y through the pump piston during downward movement of the pump piston and valve means in said last named port for preventing return flow of said well fluid.

3. In well pumping apparatus having pressure means for intermittently supplying working fluid under pressure, a barrel for mounting in the well, a partition dividing the barrel into an upper compartment and a lower compartment, a port in the partition, a non-return valve controlling said port and preventing downward movement of fluid therethrough, a fluid actuated piston reciprocably mounted in the lower compartment, a first conduit fixed in the barrel and adapted at its top end for communication with the pressure means, a second conduit flxed at its bottom end to the piston and having its top end reciprocably fitting in the lower end of the flrst conduit whereby to deliver working fluid under pressure to the lower compartment below said piston, a pair of discharge ports through the piston; a check valve controlling eachport and seating towards the upper compartment, a pair of valve opening stems connected at, their lower ends to the respective check valves and projecting at their top ends from the top of the piston -for abutment against the partition, one of said stems projecting further from the piston than the other, a pump connected to said piston for drawing fluid from the well into said lower compartment below said piston upon movement of said piston upwardly, means for trapping fluid from the well in the lower compartment below the piston and means for passing spent working fluid and well fluid from the upper compartment.

4. In well pumping apparatus having pressure the lower end of the first conduit whereby to deliver fluid under pressure to the lower compartment below said piston, a discharge port through the piston, a check valve seating in said discharge port towards the upper compartment, means for unseating the check valve in response to predetermined upward movement of the piston, means for introducing well fluid into the lower compartment below the piston in response to upward movement of the piston arid means for passing spent working fluid and well fluid from the upper compartment. I

5. In well pumping apparatus having pressure means for intermittently supplying working fluid under pressure; a barrel adapted to be mounted and extending downwardly therefrom; a pump cylinder secured to the bottom of said barrel; a

pump piston working within said pump cylinder and mounted on the lower end of said piston rod; a traveling valve controlling the flow of well fluid from the pump cylinder below said pump piston into said barrel; a standing valve arranged in the bottom of the pump cylinder; and conduit means for conducting exhausted working fluid and well fluid to the surface of the ground.

6. In well pumping apparatus having pressure means for intermittently'supplying working fluid under pressure, a barrel for mounting in the well, said barrel having a well fluid inlet in its bottom end and a fluid outlet in its topend, a non-return valve controlling said inlet, an operating piston reciprocably mounted in the barrel, a pump connected to said piston for drawing fluid from the well into said barrel below said piston upon upward movement of said piston, a

, valve-controlled port in the piston for passing spent working fluid and well fluid through the piston at the upper end of its upward stroke and during downward movement ofthe piston, means for trapping said fluid passed through the piston above the piston against return flow, conduit means ior conducting said trapped fluid to the surface of I the ground, and telescopic conduit means for passing working fluid under pressure from the pressure means to the barrel below the piston, said conduit means extending through the piston. a l

7. In well pumping apparatus having pressure wardly through the piston at the upper end of means for intermittently supplying working fluid I 8 its upward stroke and during downward movement thereof, a flrst conduit mounted in said barrel and extending upwardly inside said tubing for a limited distance providing a space between the tubing and said first conduit, packing means sealing off said space at a point above said bar rel, said tubing having a discharge opening in its wall at a point between said barrel and said packing means, a second conduit mounted at its lower end in said piston and extending upwardly into the lower end of-said first conduit and reciprocably fitting therein, the lower end of said second conduit being in communication with the under side of said piston whereby to deliver working fluid below the piston, and means for drawing well fluid into the lower end of said barrel and for trapping the same therein.

8. In well pumping apparatus having pressure means for intermittently supplying working fluid under pressure, a well tubing communicating with said pressure means at its upper end, a barrel mounted at the lower end of said tubing and open thereto, a piston in said barrel, a valve controlled port in the piston for passing fluid upwardly through the piston at the upper end of its upward stroke and during downward movement thereof, means for trapping fluid passed through the piston against return flow, a first conduit mounted in said barrel and extending upwardly inside said tubing for a limited distance providing a space between the tubing and said first conduit, packing means sealing of! said space ata point above said barrel, said tubing having a discharge opening in its wall at a point between said barrel and said packing means, asecond conduit mounted at its lower end in said piston and extending upwardly into the lower end of said first conduit and reciprocably fitting therein, the lower end of said second conduit being in communication with the under side of said piston whereby to deliver working fluid below the piston, and means for drawing well fluid into the lower end of said barrel and for trapping the same therein.

ROBERT B. KNOWLES.

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

UNITED STATES PATENTS