US3847217A

US3847217A - Pitless well adapter

Info

Publication number: US3847217A
Application number: US00372858A
Authority: US
Inventors: D Kramer; J Crawford
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Campbell Manufacturing LLC
Priority date: 1973-06-22
Filing date: 1973-06-22
Publication date: 1974-11-12
Anticipated expiration: 1991-11-12

Abstract

A pitless well adapter includes a mounting member which is positioned against the inner surface of the well casing, and which has a nipple that projects through an opening in the well casing. A coupling member is connected to the well pipe and is releasably connected to the mounting member by coacting tapered guide elements to thereby interconnect the well pipe to a delivery pipe which is connected to the nipple of the mounting member. An interior sealing element and an exterior sealing element are positioned around the exterior surface of the nipple and against the inner and outer surface of the well casing adjacent the opening therein to form a pressure passage around the exterior surface of the nipple and edge of the opening in the casing. A connecting passage connects the interior of the nipple with the pressure passage so that the seals formed by the sealing elements are under system pressure. A clamping member or washer and a clamping nut clamp the sealing elements against the well casing and nipple, and also secure the entire adapter to the well casing.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Kramer et at.

[ 51 Nov. 12,1974

1 1 PITLESS WELL ADAPTER [76] Inventors: Dean Kramer, 105 Mission Dr.,

Mason City, Iowa 50401; Jay D. Crawford, 1 13 4th St. North, Sheffield, Iowa 50475 [22] Filed: June 22, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 372,858

[52] US. Cl 166/85, 166/88, 285/18 Primary Examiner.1ames A. Leppink Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Williamson, Bains & Moore [57] ABSTRACT A pitless well adapter includes a mounting member which is positioned against the inner surface of the well casing, and which has a nipple that projects through an opening in the well casing. A coupling member is connected to the well pipe and is rcleasably connected to the mounting member by coacting tapered guide elements to thereby interconnect the well pipe to a delivery pipe which is connected to the nipple of the mounting member. An interior sealing element and an exterior sealing element are positioned around the exterior surface of the nipple and against the inner and outer surface of the well casing adjacent the opening therein to form a pressure passage around the exterior surface of the nipple and edge of the opening in the casing. A connecting passage connects the interior of the nipple with the pressure passage so that the seals formed by the sealing elements are under system pressure. A clamping member or washer and a clamping nut clamp the sealing elements against the well casing and nipple, and also secure the entire adapter to the well casing.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a pitless well adapter which is mounted on a well casing at a point spaced below the upper end of the casing and which interconnects the well pipe to the delivery pipe.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensive novel pitless well adapter which is mounted on a well casing under system pressure and which is secured thereto by a single clamping nut.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a pitless well adapter in which the mounting member thereof is positioned against the inner surface of the well casing and is provided with a nipple which projects through an opening in the well casing and is connected to the delivery pipe. Sealing elements engage the exterior surface of the nipple and engage the inner and outer surface of the casing to define a pressure passage around the nipple at the opening in the casing. A contoured clamping member engages the exterior sealing element and the entire adapter assembly including the coupling member is secured to the well casing by a single clamping nut. These and other objects and advantages of this invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein the like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of a novel pitless well adapter applied to a well casing;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-section taken approximately along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 33 of FIG. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to FIG. 1, it will be seen that one embodiment of the novel pitless well adapter designated generally by the reference numeral 10, is there shown. Thepitless well adapter is illustrated in mounted relation with respect to a wellcasing 11 which is provided with a circular opening 12 therein. The pitless well adapter 10 is mounted on the wall casing below the upper end thereof so that the delivery pipe is located substantially below the surface of the ground and preferably below the frost line. I

The well adapter 10, includes a generally rectangular shaped mounting member 13 having a substantially flat front face 14 and a substantially flat rear face 15. The mounting member has an opening 16 therein which is centrally located with respect to the peripheral edges of the mounting member.

The mounting member has a generally cylindrical elongate nipple 17 integral therewith and projecting forwardly from the front face 14 thereof. It will be noted that the outer end portion of the nipple is provided with external threads 18 and internal threades 19. A delivery pipe 20 having external threads on one end thereof threadedly engages the internal threads 19 of the nipple to interconnect the mounting member to the delivery pipe in communicating relation therewith.

An annular peripheral lip 21 projects forwardly from the front face 14 of the mounting member and is spaced from the exterior surface of the nipple 17. It will be noted that the annular lip 14 is actually comprised of vertical lip elements 21a and transverse lip elements 21b. It will further be noted that the forward or outer surfaces of the transverse lip elements 21b are concave as best seen in FIG. 2.

An interior annular sealing element 23 formed of a suitable yieldable resilient material such as rubber or the like, is positioned around and in an engaging relation with the exterior surface of the nipple l7 and is positioned against the interior surface of the casing 11 adjacent the opening 12 therein. The annular sealing ring is also engaged by the annular lip 21 on the mounting member as best seen in FIG. 3.

An exterior annular sealing element 24 is also positioned around and in engaging relation with the exterior surface of the nipple 17 and also engages the exterior surface of the well casing 11 adjacent the opening 12 therein. The exterior sealing element 23 which is also formed of a compressible resilient material such as rubber or the like, is provided with a radially extending flange 25 to thereby define an annular shoulder 26.

A contoured annular clamping member 27 engages the exterior sealing element 24 and clamps the same in fluid sealing relation against the exterior surface of the nipple and against the exterior surface of the casing. The annular clamping member 27 has an axially projecting annular portion 28 which defines a shoulder engaging surface 29. Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be noted that the clamping member 27 has upper and lower inner transverse surface portions 27a which are of concave configuration while the outer surface 27b of the annular clamping element is substantially flat. An internally threaded clamping nut 30 threadedly engages the exterior threads 18 on the nipple and urges the annular clamping member 27 progressively into clamping relation with the exterior sealing element 24. In this regard, the clamping nut 30 secures the mounting member in mounted relation on the well casing 11.

It will be noted that the external diameter of the nipple 17 is slightly smaller than the opening 12 in the casing to define an annular space therebetween. An interconnecting passage 31 extends through the wall of the nipple 17 and intercommunicates the interior of the nipple with the annular space defined between the edge of the opening in the casing and the exterior of the nipple. The exterior and interior sealing elements cooperate with the well casing and the nipple to thereby define an annular pressure passage 32 through which water passes so that the seals are under system pressure.

The mounting member 13 is provided with a pair of vertically extending flanges 33 which project rearwardly from the rear face 15 thereof. Each of the vertical flanges 33 has an inwardly projecting vertically extending guideway element 34 integral therewith. The vertical surfaces of the guideway elements 34 are declined downwardly and forwardly to form downwardly tapered guideways 35.

The well adapter 10 also includes a coupling member 36 which has an L-shaped passage 37 therein as best seen in FIG. 3. It will be noted that the Lshaped passage 37 includes an internally threaded downwardly facing portion 38 which is threadedly engaged by the upper threaded end of a well pipe P. The coupling member also includes an upwardly facing internally threaded recess 39 which is threadedly engaged by the lower threaded end portion of a drop pipe 40.

The coupling member has a substantially flat front face 41 provided with an annular recess 42 therein which receives a compressable annular sealing element 43 therein. lt will be noted that when the coupling member 36 is coupled to the mounting member 13, the flat front face thereof is urged into confronting engaging relation with the rear flat face of the mounting member. When the coupling member is coupled to the mounting member, the L-shaped passage communicates with the opening in the mounting member and the interior of the nipple intercommunicates the well pipe P with the delivery pipe 20. The annular sealing element 43 forms a seal radially outwardly of the intercommunicating continuous passage between the coupling member 36 and the mounting member 13.

The coupling member 36 is provided with a pair of outwardly projecting vertically extending guide elements 44 which project outwardly from the front portion thereof and which are vertically tapered as best seen in FIG. 3. In this respect, the vertical guide elements 44 have rear surfaces which are inclined. These vertical guide elements coact with the guideways on the mounting member to progressively urge the front face ofthe coupling member against the rear face of the mounting member so that a fluid seal is formed therebetween. A stop element 46 which projects forwardly from the front surface of the coupling member at the upper end thereof'engages the upper surface of the mounting member when the coupling member is completely coupled to the mounting member as best seen in FIG. 3.

It will be noted that the entire well adapter assembly is secured in clamped sealing relation on the wall casing by a single clamping nut 30. This arrangement obviates the need for the saddle clamp which is typically used with well adapters. It is pointed out that the mounting member 13 after being ciamped to the inner surface of the well casing, will not materially obstruct the interior of the well casing, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the coupling member is disconnected therefrom. It will also be noted that the interior and exterior sealing elements are only slightly larger than the opening in the well casing while the contoured clamping member 27 has a diameter corresponding substantially to the diameter of the exterior sealing element. This arrangement, while providing a highly effective system pressure seal between the inner and outer surfaces of the casing around the opening, also provides a very simple and inexpensive arrangement which is extremely simple to install.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a system which is not only of simple and inexpensive construction, but one which functions in a more efiicient manner than any heretofore known comparable structure.

What is claimed is:

l. A pitless well adapter for attachment to a well casing having an opening therein spaced below the upper end of the casing, comprising:

a mounting member having a front face and a rear face and adapted to be positioned interiorly of the casing against the inner surface thereof, said mounting member having an opening therein and having an annular lip integral with said front face and projecting forwardly therefrom, said mounting member having a pair of vertically extending elongate spaced apart guide elements on the rear face thereof and defining a pair of downwardly tapering guideways on opposite sides of said opening,

a cylindrical nipple integral with said mounting member and projecting forwardly from the front face thereof through the opening in the casing, said nipple communicating with the opening in the mounting member and having an externally and internally threaded outer end portion, the external diameter of said nipple being only slightly less than the diameter of the opening in the casing to define an annular space therebetween, an interconnecting passage extending through the cylindrical wall of the nipple and intercommunicating the interior of the nipple with the annular space,

a coupling member having a passage therethrough and being adapted to be connected in communicating relation with the well pipe,

a pair of vertically extending spaced apart, elongate downwardly tapering guide elements on said coupling member engagable with said guideways on said mounting member to urge said coupling member into fluid sealing relation with the rear face of the mounting member and to intercommunicate the passage of the coupling member with the opening in the mounting member,

an interior annular compressable sealing element positioned around and engaging said nipple and being engaged by said lip of said mounting member, the interior sealing element adapted to be interposed between the front face of the mounting member and the inner surface of the casing to form a seal thereat,

an exterior sealing element positioned around and engaging the nipple and adapted to engage the exterior surface of the casing adjacent the opening therein, said sealing elements cooperating with said nipple and said casing to define an annular pressure passage located between the sealing elements and exteriorly of the nipple,

an annular clamping member corresponding generally in size to the size of said exterior sealing element and engaging the latter,

and an internally threaded clamping nut threadedly engaging the exterior threads on the nipple and urging said clamping member into clamping relation with the exterior sealing element and clamping the mounting member on the casing.

2. A well adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said exterior sealing element has a radial flange extending outwardly therefrom to define an annular shoulder on the exterior sealing element, the clamping member including an axially extending portion to define an interior annular shoulder engaging surface thereon, engagable with said shoulder on said exterior sealing element and serving to simultaneously urge the exterior sealing element into sealing relation with the exterior surface of the casing and with the exterior surface of the nipple.

3. The well adapter as defined in claim 2 wherein said clamping member has vertically spaced apart transversely concave inner surface portions and has a substantially flat outer surface engagable by said clamping nut.

4. The well adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said annular lip on said mounting member includes a pair of vertically spaced apart transverse portions each having a convex outer surface.

Claims

1. A pitless well adapter for attachment to a well casing having an opening therein spaced below the upper end of the casing, comprising: a mounting member having a front face and a rear face and adapted to be positioned interiorly of the casing against the inner surface thereof, said mounting member having an opening therein and having an annular lip integral with said front face and projecting forwardly therefrom, said mounting member having a pair of vertically extending elongate spaced apart guide elements on the rear face thereof and defining a pair of downwardly tapering guideways on opposite sides of said opening, a cylindrical nipple integral with said mounting member and projecting forwardly from the front face thereof through the opening in the casing, said nIpple communicating with the opening in the mounting member and having an externally and internally threaded outer end portion, the external diameter of said nipple being only slightly less than the diameter of the opening in the casing to define an annular space therebetween, an interconnecting passage extending through the cylindrical wall of the nipple and intercommunicating the interior of the nipple with the annular space, a coupling member having a passage therethrough the being adapted to be connected in communicating relation with the well pipe, a pair of vertically extending spaced apart, elongate downwardly tapering guide elements on said coupling member engagable with said guideways on said mounting member to urge said coupling member into fluid sealing relation with the rear face of the mounting member and to intercommunicate the passage of the coupling member with the opening in the mounting member, an interior annular compressable sealing element positioned around and engaging said nipple and being engaged by said lip of said mounting member, the interior sealing element adapted to be interposed between the front face of the mounting member and the inner surface of the casing to form a seal thereat, an exterior sealing element positioned around and engaging the nipple and adapted to engage the exterior surface of the casing adjacent the opening therein, said sealing elements cooperating with said nipple and said casing to define an annular pressure passage located between the sealing elements and exteriorly of the nipple, an annular clamping member corresponding generally in size to the size of said exterior sealing element and engaging the latter, and an internally threaded clamping nut threadedly engaging the exterior threads on the nipple and urging said clamping member into clamping relation with the exterior sealing element and clamping the mounting member on the casing.