US2572977A - Deep well pump - Google Patents

Description

Oct 30, 1951 A. G. BODINE, JR 2,572,977 7 DEEP WELL PUMP Original Filed July 1' 7, 1947 Pica. 1.

47 /4 a /d S O /3 20 5 f /5 14456397 6 500/N6JQ.

INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 30, 1951 DEEP WELL PUMP Albert G. Bodine, Jr., Van Nuys, Calif.

Application March 8, 1948, Serial No. 13,422, which is a division of application Serial No. 761,456, July 17, 1947. cation January 19, 1951, Serial No. 206,848

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates generally to deep well pumps, and more particularly to improvements in deep well pumps operated by periodic waves of tension and compression in an elastic column such as the pump tubing.

The present application is a division of my copending application entitled Deep Well Pump,

Serial No. 13,422, filed March 6, 1948, now Patent No. 2,553,241 dated May 22, 1951 which applicaunit proper at the bottom of the well, this 001- umn being in some cases the steel pump tubing, and in others a string of steel sucker rods. One general class of pumps disclosed in said parent application is characterized in that the oscillatory fluid displacing member is movable relative to the pump tubing, and this class of pumps was carried over to my said copending application Serial No. 13,422. Pumps of the latter class in which the elastic waves are transmitted to the pump proper via an elastic column separate from the pump tubing are claimed in said application Serial No. 13,422, while pumps of the type in which the elastic column comprises the pump tubing are made the claimed subject matter of the present application.

It may be regarded as a general object of the present invention to provide a deep well pump of the type embodying elastic waves in the pump tubing to drive an oscillatory fluid displacing member which is arranged for relative oscillation within the pump tubing. The pump of the present invention will be best understood by referring now to the following detailed description of a single illustrative embodiment thereof, reference for this purpose being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:.

Figure 1 is a partly elevational and partly longitudinal section of a pump embodying the invention; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail of the lower end portion of the pump of Figure 1.

In the drawings there is shown at In a pump tubing suspended within well casing l l, the upper end of tubing ll) being illustratively and somewhat diagrammatically indicated as extending up Divided and this appli- Coupled to the lower end of pump tubing 10, so as to form a downward extension thereof, is a barrel I2 containing the operating elements of the pump proper.

The generator G maybe of the same type as shown and described in connection with my earlier filed pump applications, comprising a housing l3 containing oppositely rotating meshing spur gears l4 whose shafts carry eccentric weights l5 which balance out horizontal vibrations but which coact to produce a substantial oscillatory force in a vertical direction. One of the gear shafts carries a pulley l'l driven through belt ill from the pulley of an electric motor 20.

The pump tubing l0, understood as composed of elastic material, as steel, is suspended in casing H from a spring supported platform 24, its lower end reaching downwardly to the region of the liquid to be pumped from the well bore. Platform 24 is resiliently mounted on coil springs 25 standing on stationary platform 26 which is in turn supported on the ground surface. The springs 25 are guided by rods 21 which are reciprocable through suitable apertures in the platform 24, as illustrated. Any suitable supporting provisions may be made, such as a flange or collar 28, through which the pump tubingmay be suspended from this spring supported platform 24. The casing has a head 30 suitably weighted or clamped to the pump tubing, and which may bcarranged to permit a slight vertical oscillation of the pump tubing, or the pump tubing and the speed of the generator may be adjusted to establish a velocity node at the juncture of the pump tubing with the casing head, in which case there will be no relative movement of these parts. This would mean, of course, that the casing head would be located a quarter-wave length below the upper end of the tubing.

Mounted for sliding reciprocation within barrel I2 is a pump plunger 32, formed with a. central fluid passage 33 extending vertically therethrough, and equipped at the upper end of said passage 33 with a check valve, here shown in the form of a valve ball 34 seating at the upper end of passageway 33, a suitable cage 36 for the ball 34 being provided on the upper end of plunger 32. Plunger 32 is mounted between a pair of opposed coil springs 31 and 38, the former of which seats upwardly against a centrally perforated flange 39 formed in the p er end of barrel I2, and the latter of which seats against a flange 40 on a ring 4! screwed into the lower end of barrel [2, flange 40 being centrally perforated to and directly supporting wave generator G. as indicated at 42. The port 43 iii-flange 39 and the port 42 in flange 40 may preferably be contraded by check valve bal s 44 and ie, respectively, though such valves are not essential to operation or the pump.

In operation, the generator G is driven and functions to exert a vertical alternating force on the upper end of the pump tubing l0, causing alternating longitudinal elastic deformation waves of compression and tension to be launched and transmitted down the length of the spring supported elastic tubing III, the springs 25 oscillating in step with the vibration frequency of the generator, and the waves of compression and expansion being continuously transmitted down the tubing to the pump barrel I2at the bottom, causing the latter to be constantly vertically oscillated through a small displacement amplitude at the operation frequency of generator G. It is to be understood that the frequency of operation of the generator is characteristically high enough relative to the length of the tubing velocity) located at the pump barrel l2. It will thus be understood that the pump barrel l2 will be set into vertical oscillation at the frequency of operation of generator G.

Operation of the pump will first be considered without the valves 44 and 45, the ports 42 and 43 being assumed to be open. First assume that the mass of the plunger or piston 32 and the stiffness of springs 31 and 38 are tuned to a much lower frequency than the frequency of the longitudinal waves transmitted down the pump tubing to the barrel l2. That is to say, the natural resonant frequency of the plunger 32 mounted between the springs 31 and 38, is to be assumed as much lower than that of the waves in the pump tubing. It will of course be understood that the greater the mass of the plunger 32, and the less the stiffness of the springs 31 and 38, the lower will be the resonant oscillation frequency 9f the plunger 32; and with this understanding, the resonant frequency of the plunger 32 may readily be made less than that of the waves transmitted down the pump tubing. In this situation, the longitudinal waves transmitted down the pump tubing will result in vertical oscillation of the barrel 12 at the frequency of the wave generator coupled to the pump tubing, while the plunger 32 will stand substantially stationary in space. On each up-stroke of the barrel I2 relative to the plunger 32, an increment of well fluid displaced by the wall or flange 40 (functioning as an oscillatory fluid displacing member) is forced upwardly through the passage 33 in plunger 32 and past the valve ball 34. On the succeeding down stroke -of the barrel l2, occurring with an acceleration greater than gravity, the valve ball 34 seats, and a voidis created in the space between the plunger 32 and the wall 40, causing inflow of well fluid into said space by way of the port 42. It will be seen that the result of reciprocating the pump tubing and the barrel l2 connected to its lower end is to impel successive increments of well fluid through the plunger member 32. elevating the oil column above accordingly. If the valve 45 is employed, additional well fluid is forced upwardly through the plunger 32 on each upstroke or the barrel l2 owing to the impossibility of some fluid escaping via port 42. Pumping also results from the num displacing action of the wall 42, in combination with the valve 45 since this combination, connected to the lower end of the barrel l2, will be recognized to be a pump of the character described in connection with Figures 1 and 2 of my aforesaid application Serial No. 761,456.

Substantial improvement in the pumping rate is achieved by ad usting the mass of the plunger 32 relative to the stiffness of the springs 31 and 38 in a manner to tune the system to approximately the same frequency as the wave motion in the pump tubing. Reciprocation of the pump tubing and barrel i2 will then result in vertical oscillation of the plunger 32 at the same frequency and in step with the barrel l2, but at increased amplitude. In other words, plunger 32 moves up and down withbarrel l2, but with an amplitude which may be a number of times that of the oscillation of the barrel l2. Operation in this mode may first be considered with valves 44 and 45 disregarded. On each downstroke of plunger 32, occurring with an acceleration greater than gravity, well fluid will be displaced thereby and forced upwardly through passage 33 and past valve 34. On each upstroke of plunger 32, valve ball 34 seats, and the column of oil is elevated. Use of valve 45 increases the fluid that will be forced upwardly through plunger passage 33 on each downstroke of the latter, since outflow by way of port 42 is prevented. Thus the pumping rate is increased. Use of the valve 44 is beneficial, since the column of oil above is prevented from descending with each downstroke of plunger 32. The void is so created between valve 44 and the plunger 32 on each downstroke of the latter also helps in that the fluid flow upwardly through plunger 32 is increased because of the suction created immediately above it.

It will be understood that the embodiment se lected for illustration herein is merely illustrative of and not restrictive to the invention. and that various changes in design, structure, and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a well pumping system, the combination.

of: a pump tubing of elastic material having an inlet and an outlet and adapted for placement in the well in communication with well fluid therein, a check-valved pump plunger mounted for relative longitudinal reciprocation in the lower portion of said tubing, said tubing being adapted to transmit elastic deformation waves of tension and compression longitudinally through the structure thereof, a sonic wave generator at the ground surface operatively connected to said elastic pump tubing and adapted to continuously transmit alternating waves of compression and tension longitudinally down said tubing and thereby cause sonic frequency reciprocation of the lower end of said column, said sonic wave generator being operable at a speed suflicient to generate longitudinal waves in the structure of the tubing having a quarter-wave length which is no longer than substantially the length of the tubing, whereby the lower end portion of the tubing reciprocates longitudinally relative to other portions of the tubing and to said plunger.

2. In a well pumping system, the combination of: a pump tubing of elastic material, a pump barrel coupled to the lower end of said tubing, a check-valved pump plunger mounted for relative reciprocation in said barrel, 9. pair of opposed springs mounted in said barrel above and below said plunger and engaging the top and bottom of said plunger, and a sonic wave generator operatively connected to said pump tubing and adapted to transmit alternating waves of compression and expansion longitudinally down said pump tubing to said barrel whereby said barrel reciprocates at sonic frequency, all in such a manner as to accomplish relative reciprocation between said barrel and said plunger.

3. A pumping system as defined in claim 2, in which the mass or the plunger and thestifl'ness oi the springs are tuned to a natural resonant frequency substantially lower than the frequency 6 of the sonic wave generator, whereby the plunger tends to remain stationary in space while the barrel reciprocates.

4. A pumping system as defined in claim 2, in which the mass of the plunger and the stiffness of the springs are tuned to a natural resonant frequency substantially equal to the frequency of the sonic wave generator, whereby the plunger reciproc'ates with the barrel but at augmented amplitude.

ALBERT G. BODINE, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file 01 this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,444,912 Bodine July 13, 1948

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