US806557A - Lifting apparatus for deep wells. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED D110. 5, 1905.

P. J. MOSER. LIFTING APP EBP WELLS.

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- 'INYENTOR// WITNESSES: I

21862 zwrmer AWOB/VEYS' PATENTBD DBO. 5, 1905. 'F. J. MOSER. LIFTING APPARATUS FOR DEEP WELLS.

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I APPLICATION FILED NOV INVENTOR lied J: Jfawer 4/ A J w A w ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

No. soe,557.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

Application filed November 7, 1904!] Serial No. 231,689.

To whom i1} may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED J OSEPH MosER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kane, in the county of 'McKean and State of Pennsylvania, ,have' invented a new and Improved Lifting Apparatus for DeepWells, of which the following is a fulL-clear, and exact description v My invention relates to lifting apparatus for deep wells and admits of general use, but is of peculiar value in such regions where it is desirable to raise oil or other liquids from considerable distances below the surface.

My invention further relates to certain parts and combinations of mechanism hereinafter described, and defined in the accompanying claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through the upper portion of a well equipped with my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section through the lower portion thereof. .Fig. 3 is an enlargedfragmentary vertical section through the chamber-valve and parts immediately adjacent thereto. Fig. 4is a horizontal section uponthe line 4 4 of Fig; 3 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section uponthe line 5 5 of Fig; 3 'lookingin the direction of the arrow and showing certain parts of the'chamber-valve', and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section upon theline 6 6 manner.

of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the elastic packing and its accompanying parts. I

The shot-hole is shown at 7, the drill-hole at 8, and the surface casing. at 8. The casinghead is shown at 9, and the oil-pipe 10 for discharging the oil or other liquid from the well is mounted above the casing-head in the usual The air-tube is shown at 11 and is provided with a T 12 and with manually-operated valves 13 14, whereby the air may be applied to the well at will. At 15 are pipes which may be used for conveying away any gases which may be formed in the well should such gases make their appearance. The tubsame air-tight relativelyto the air-tube.

. barrel, is connected with the cap 22 and is closed at its lowest extremity by means of a head 25. Connected centrally with this head is an anchor-pipe 26, which rests upon the bottom of the well, so that the weight of the tubing 16 above the packing compresses the latter, thus rendering it air-tight in the well,

as will be understood from Fig. 2. This anchor-pipe is provided with an inlet27,disposed, preferably, above the center of the shot-hole 7,

and is also provided with an inwardly-opening valve 28, located below the inlet 27. The anchor-pipe is further provided with perforations 29 at its extreme lower end. The liquid is shown at 30.

Mounted within the barrel 24 is a group of mechanism A, which as a whole I designate as the chamber-valve. A tubular member 31 is provided with a cup-shaped portion 32, the upper extremity of'which is rounded, as indicated at 33. Mounted upon the air-pipe 23 are valve-rings 34 35, one of which is reversed relatively to the other, these valverings being adapted to fit neatly into the cup-shaped member 32, so as to render the A check-valve 36 is situated immediately below thelower end of the air-pipe 23 and when seated closes a vertical passage 37. Within this passage is a movable stem 40, provided with shoulders 38 38?, integral therewith. Mounted upon the upper end of the stem is a piston or pair of valve-rings 39, and upon the .lower end of the valve-stem are larger valverings 41, which neatly fit into the vertical passage 41, this passage virtually forming a continuation or enlargement of the passage 37 A side passage 43 leads from thevertical passage 42 to a T-shaped member 44, which is closed by the upward movement of a checkvalve 45, as will be understood from Fig. 3. The chamber-valve is also provided with a comparatively small passage 46, opening from the vertical passage 37 into the barrel 24.

Connected with the T-shaped member 44 and leading-upward therefrom is a Vent-pipe 47, which passes through the packer 19 and extends a short distance therefrom, terminating in a perforated end 48. The lower end of the slip-joint 18 is provided with a threaded collar 51, which prevents the slip-joint from pulling through the lower cap 22. A' passage 52 is connected with the vertical passage 31 and leads downward through the head 25, as indicated in Fig. 3. A spring 50 supports the check-valve 45 in such manner that a comparat vely small pressure downwardly upon the valve or support will be sufficient to open it. The valve-stem 41 when in its lowermost position rests upon a rivet 42.

The operation of my device is as follows: Normally the air-pressure used is about five hundred pounds, and this air-pressure when once turned on is allowed to stay on until the well is emptiedthat is, until the liquid within the well is reduced to its lowest level. The purpose of the inlet 27 is to prevent the paraffining of the wall of the shot-hole-that is to say, in some wells it is not desirable to empty the well entirely, for the reason that paraffin is thus caused to form on the wall where the oil enters the well, clogging the same and rendering the action of the well inefficient. By means of the inlet 27 the level of the oil 30 or other fluid is never allowed to go below that of the inlet 27. The liquid passes through the perforations 29 and the valve 28, gradually increasing in depth until it reaches a certain maximum; but when the air-pressure is turned into the shot-hole 7, as hereinafter described, theliquid isforced upwardly through the anchor-pipe 26 until the upper level of the liquid in the shot-hole reaches the inlet 27, whereupon the air is admitted through the inlet 27, and thus prevents further rise of the liquid within the anchor-pipe. Hence the upper level of the liquid within the shot-hole must always be as high as the inlet 27, as will be understood from Fig. 2. Again, in case the well contains both oil and water it is desirable that the water shall be removed as soon as possible. By the arrangement above described as the water seeks the lowest portion of the well it is forced upwardly through the anchor-pipe 26 as soon as the air-pressure is applied, and the fluid remaining in the well is oil rather than water. Suppose now that-the oil has accumulated in the well until its upper level reaches a point considerably above that indicated in Fig. 2(the height being immaterial) and that, therefore, itis desired that the well be flowed. The valve 14 is closed and the valve 13 is opened, so that the air-pressure passes through the pipe 11, down through the air-pipe 23, into the chamber-valve A. The check-valve 36 being normally seated by its own weight, the air passes downwardly through the passage 52, out through the head 25, into the shot-hole 7, where it exerts downward pressure upon the upper surface of the liquid 30. The liquid is thus forced upwardly through the anchorpipe 26, barrel 24, slip-joint l8, and tubing 16. If the well is very deep and the air-pressure employedsay five hundred pounds-is not sufficient to raise the oil to the surface, it may happen that the upper surface of the liquid will reach such a considerable height as to have a tendency to balance the air-pressure below, and thus restore equilibrium between the air-pressure and the weight of the liquid and yetwithout raising the latter to the surface of the earth. To prevent this, the chamber-valveA is broughtinto requisition. When the column of liquid banking up within the tubing 16 reaches a height somewhere near the point required by it to balance the air-pressure, the valve-stem 40 moves upward and dislodges the cheek-valve 36 from its seat, so that the air pressure passes through the aperture 46 and out into the barrel 24. The reason the valve-stem 40 moves upward is that the valve-rings 39 are smaller than the valve-rings 41, so that there is a substantial diiference between the areas thereof. When, therefore, the continued airpressure causes a column of liquid to mount up to such a height that the pressure of the liquid upon the valve-rings 41 is sufiiciently greater than the air-pressure upon the checkvalve 36, the stem 40 necessarily travels upwardly. The dislodging of the check-valve 36 from its seat by the upward movement of the valve-stem 40, just described, allows the air to escape from the air-pipe 23 directly through the passage 46 and into the midst of the volume of oil contained within the barrel 24. The sudden liberation of a large volume of air at this point breaks the column of liquid in two and raises the upper portion of the column to the surface of the earth. This partially relieves the aggregate excess of pressure of the liquid upon the valve-rings 41 as compared with that of the air upon the valve-rings 39, and the valve-stem is forced down to its normal position, thus allowing the cheek-valve 36 to become seated and stopping the flow of air through the passage 46. This being done, the air continues to flow downwardly through the passage 52 and by pressing upon the upper surface of the liquid 30 forces another column of liquid upwardly through the anchor-pipe 26, barrel 24, slip-joint l8, and a part of the tubing 16. When the upper level of the liquid within the tubing reaches the critical point above mentioned, the valve-stem 40 again moves upward, the column of liquid is again broken at A, and the upper portion of the column elevated to the surface. This process may be repeated automatically several times before the well is emptied that is to say, before the level of the liquid is reduced to the point indicated in Fig. 2. It will be noted that while the air-pressure when once applied through the air-pipe 23 is continued until the flowing of the well is completed, yet the quantities of liquid passing upward through the column of liquid in two and discharging the upper portion thereof onlythe well may be operated'with a smaller pressure than would be necessary to lift the entire column of liquid, including that part below the point.

where the column is broken.

valve 4:5, and thevent-pipe 47will now be explained. It is impracticable to make the valverings 39 fit the passage 37 with such precision that no air-pressure will escape through the passage 37 It is equally impracticable to make the valve-rings 41 fit with the precision required to render them oil-tight or watertight relatively to the passage 42. The result is that small quantities of air sometimes.

pass the rings 39 and that also small quantities of oil or water pass the rings 41. The side passage 43 enables these quantities of oil,

Water, and air to escape from the chamber-.

valve A. They are carried into the passage 44 and gradually rise within the vent-pipe 47.

This vent-pipe may be of any desired diameter and height, and the reason thatit passes up" through the packer is explained as follows: During the operation of flowing the well all the space in the well below the packer is filled with either air or liquid at the same;

pressure that is exerted by the air used in flowin While the space above the packer is not under pressure. Therefore while a vent would be of no value if disposed entirely below the packer its purpose is accomplished by using the pipe 17, passing up through the packer intothat portion of the drill-hole in which no pressureexists while the well is being operated. The air escaping into this pipe of course finds its way out, and the oil remaining accumulates until it reaches such a height that its weight opens the valve 45 .by pushing the same downward contrary to the tension of the spring 50, thus allowing the oilto escape into the barrel 24;. This usually occurs automatically and with a frequency dependent upon the condition ofthe valve-rings 39 and 41. It will be understood, however, that the valve 45 does not vent the pipe 47 until after the discharge of the liquid from the chamber surrounding the valve 4L5 and the consequent reduction of the aggregate upward pressure against the valve 45. Because of the side passage 43 and the vent-pipe 17 no back pressure can be setup owing to leakage of the valverings 39 or 4:1, and no harm is done thereby and no part of the mechanism is caused to foul. As the valve-rings 34 and 35 are smaller than the inner diameter of the slip-joint 18, the air-pipe 23 may be raised out of the well by merely drawing the rings 34 and 35 upwardly through the tubing 16. The-weight of the tubing 16 upon the upper end 20 of the packer 19 presses the same vertically and causes the slip-joint 18 and collar 51 to move downwardly, thus e accomplished by merely raising the tubing 16. The purpose of the'side passage 43, the- The'weight of the tubing being taken up from thepacker, the latter expands vertically'or lengthens, and thus becomes of smaller diameter, being easily raised from the well, the

barrel 24 and the anchor-pipe 26 dependingfrom the slip-joint 18 being of course readily raised along with the packer. The inlet 27 is not necessary to the successful operation of the device and may be dispensed with in wells that do not parafiin, and when the inlet 27 is dispensed with the flowing is continued until the liquid-level isreduced to the perforations 29. Y

It will be understood that while I use the term air I do not limit myself to the ordinary atmospheric air and may employ gas or any other aeriform body in instances Where the same is obtainable or for any reason is preferable.

When the wells are comparatively shallow,

the vent and other parts immediately connectedtlierewith, including the valve-stem 10 and parts relating thereto, may be omitted.

When the apparatus is used in-this way, a

column is formed reaching from the bottom of the well to the surface of the earth, provided the well contains a sufficient quantity of liquid to form such a'column. The flow of the liquid continues at the surface until the air is turned off or until the well is exhausted of1 its fluid contents down to the perforated in et.

1 do not limit myself to the exact construction shown nor to forms of apparatus which allow the air to escape under the packer, but

may use any connection which will discharge the air into the well under the packer from the air-pipe.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of means controllable by airpressure for intermittently forming the roo liquid within the well into successive columns of great height, valve mechanism controllable automatically by fluid-pressure for succes sively forcing charges ofair into said succesfl s1ve columns of said liqu d, and vent mechanism to prevent said valve mechanism from,

fouling.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a liquid-controlled valve, a vent-pipe for storing liquid leaking past said valve, and mechanism for automatically discharging liquid accumulated within said vent-pipe.

3. In an apparatus of the character de- &

' air-pipe disposed within said tubing, connections for supplying air-pressure from said airpipe to the liquid in the well for the purpose of raising the level thereof within said barrel and said tubing, valve mechanism mounted within said barrel and connected with said airpipe for suddenly releasing a volume of an aer'iform body into the liquid within said barrel, and means for preventing back pres sure due to leakage of said valve mechanism.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of tubing, a packer connected therewith, mechanism disposed below said packer and provided with a vent for fluids, and a vent-pipe connected with said mechanism and extending upwardly through said packer for discharging fluids above the same.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a packer, a slipjoint extending therethrough, tubing connected with said slip-joint so as to form a gastight connection with said packer, mechanism disposed below said packer and provided with a vent for the escape of fluids, and a vent-pipe connected with said mechanism and extending upwardly through said packer so as to discharge said fluids at a point above said packer.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of an anchor-pipe provided at its lower end with perforations, and also provided with an inlet located at a considerable distance above said perforations,

perforations until said liquid reaches a point commensurate with the height of said inlet.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of mechanism for accommodating a volume of liquid of a considerable height, means for forcing a volume of air below the surface of said liquid thus formed into a column, valve mechanism controllable automatically by pressure of the liquid for releasing said air-pressure at a point below the upper level of said column of liquid for the purpose of breaking said column in two and thereby lifting the upper portion thereof to the surface ,of the earth, and means for temporarily storing any liquid which may leak through said valve mechanism.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of means for forming the liquid of the well into a column of great height, valve mechanism for forcing a charge of an aerifornn body into said column, and a member controllable automatically by the pressure of the liquid to be raised for venting said valve mechanism so as to prevent the same from fouling.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a barrel, tubing connected therewith and extending upwardly therefrom for conveying liquid, an air-pipe disposed within said tubing, connections for supplying air from said air-pipe to the liquid in the well for the purpose of raising the level thereof within said barrel and said tubing, and valve mechanism connected with said airpipe and controllable automatically by pressure of liquid within said barrel and said tubing for suddenly releasing the volume of an aefiform body into the liquid within said barre In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRED JOSEPH MOSER.

Witnesses:

GEO. P. SMITH, E. C. ANDERsEN.

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