CA1041371A - Sound wave surfaced operated single tube pump - Google Patents
Sound wave surfaced operated single tube pumpInfo
- Publication number
- CA1041371A CA1041371A CA237,653A CA237653A CA1041371A CA 1041371 A CA1041371 A CA 1041371A CA 237653 A CA237653 A CA 237653A CA 1041371 A CA1041371 A CA 1041371A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- cylinder
- liquid
- piston
- tube
- sound wave
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 58
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 17
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 abstract 4
- 230000003116 impacting effect Effects 0.000 abstract 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 3
- 241001052209 Cylinder Species 0.000 description 1
- 241000282326 Felis catus Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000003190 augmentative effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 210000002445 nipple Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 239000003129 oil well Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920000136 polysorbate Polymers 0.000 description 1
- XLNZEKHULJKQBA-UHFFFAOYSA-N terbufos Chemical compound CCOP(=S)(OCC)SCSC(C)(C)C XLNZEKHULJKQBA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Landscapes
- Reciprocating Pumps (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A single tube surface operated pump is provided herein, including a piston reciprocally mounted in a cylinder for alternate-ly opening and closing a lateral fluid delivery port and for generating a sonic pressure wave by impacting a column of fluid in a metallic tube extending from the cylinder to a remote pumping mechanism located in communication with the fluid to be pumped.
The piston is especially configured with a central recess in the face thereof so that the sonic pressure waves generated thereby will move toward the pumping mechanism is a spiral-like motion against the inner wall of the metallic tube and are reflected off of the pumping mechanism into a central column which travels back toward the cylinder and causes the fluid to be pumped to move in that same direction. Thus, by broad aspects of this invention, the sound pressure wave is generated by the impact of the end face of the aforesaid piston having the specially shaped recess or depression therein with the liquid. Such generated pressure wave;
is used to move a column of liquid upwardly to the ground surface from an underground level.
A single tube surface operated pump is provided herein, including a piston reciprocally mounted in a cylinder for alternate-ly opening and closing a lateral fluid delivery port and for generating a sonic pressure wave by impacting a column of fluid in a metallic tube extending from the cylinder to a remote pumping mechanism located in communication with the fluid to be pumped.
The piston is especially configured with a central recess in the face thereof so that the sonic pressure waves generated thereby will move toward the pumping mechanism is a spiral-like motion against the inner wall of the metallic tube and are reflected off of the pumping mechanism into a central column which travels back toward the cylinder and causes the fluid to be pumped to move in that same direction. Thus, by broad aspects of this invention, the sound pressure wave is generated by the impact of the end face of the aforesaid piston having the specially shaped recess or depression therein with the liquid. Such generated pressure wave;
is used to move a column of liquid upwardly to the ground surface from an underground level.
Description
~04~3'~
The present invention relates to a surface operated single tube pump and is concerned primarily with such a pump which includes underground pumping mechanism which is operated by sound pressure waves generated at the ground surface.
At the present time it i6 known to provide pumping , mechanism at the underground level of liquid to be pumped ~' and which mechanism îs operated by impulses on liquid in a ;~
tube which extends from the underground pumping mechanism to the ground surface, the impulses being created at the ground surface. This known mechanism includes a plunger .' having a central passage extend:Lng therethrough and whlch reciprocate~ a cylinder. The plunger is biased upw~rdly wit~ respect to the cylinder by one or more springs. These ~3 -~ 15 springs are compressed by the downward component of a pulse ~ ~
and energy is stored therein. Hence upon relief or upward ~ ;
component of the pulse, the springs move the plunger upwardly which results in upward movement of the column of liquid.
. ;
;; Thus it may be stated as a general rule that in known single ; ~.
tube qurface operated pumps the liquid to be pumped is moved upwardly by spring pressure generated by pulses imparted , . . .
to liquid in the tube.
,4 While sound waves travel through air under normal ~;
. ~. . I , ,~ atmospheric pressure at the rate of 1100 feet per second, :; . ,.
.,.~! 25 it is a well recognized pELenomenon that sound waves will travel at a much higher rate through liquid or about a liquid which is encased in a metal tube. Thus, by way of example, .. . .
it is noted that in oil which is encased in a metal tube, ~, sound waves will travel at a rate of 5,000 feet per secvnd.
It is also a phenomenon which may not be so well recognized ,j, ~, that a sound pressure wave is created by the impact of the :.
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~)4~373l end Eace of a plston having a specially shaped recess or depression thereln with liquid. The present invention is founded on the concept of so generating a sound pressure wave and using this pressure wave to move a column of liquid upwardly to tile ground surface from an underground level.
With the foregoing conditions in m:ind, thè present invention has in view the following objectives:
1. To provide in one aspect, a single tube surface operated pump which includes underground pumping mechanism ~i from which a single metallic tube extends to the ground surface and which is operated by sound pressure waves generated at the ground surface.
, ." I .
The present invention relates to a surface operated single tube pump and is concerned primarily with such a pump which includes underground pumping mechanism which is operated by sound pressure waves generated at the ground surface.
At the present time it i6 known to provide pumping , mechanism at the underground level of liquid to be pumped ~' and which mechanism îs operated by impulses on liquid in a ;~
tube which extends from the underground pumping mechanism to the ground surface, the impulses being created at the ground surface. This known mechanism includes a plunger .' having a central passage extend:Lng therethrough and whlch reciprocate~ a cylinder. The plunger is biased upw~rdly wit~ respect to the cylinder by one or more springs. These ~3 -~ 15 springs are compressed by the downward component of a pulse ~ ~
and energy is stored therein. Hence upon relief or upward ~ ;
component of the pulse, the springs move the plunger upwardly which results in upward movement of the column of liquid.
. ;
;; Thus it may be stated as a general rule that in known single ; ~.
tube qurface operated pumps the liquid to be pumped is moved upwardly by spring pressure generated by pulses imparted , . . .
to liquid in the tube.
,4 While sound waves travel through air under normal ~;
. ~. . I , ,~ atmospheric pressure at the rate of 1100 feet per second, :; . ,.
.,.~! 25 it is a well recognized pELenomenon that sound waves will travel at a much higher rate through liquid or about a liquid which is encased in a metal tube. Thus, by way of example, .. . .
it is noted that in oil which is encased in a metal tube, ~, sound waves will travel at a rate of 5,000 feet per secvnd.
It is also a phenomenon which may not be so well recognized ,j, ~, that a sound pressure wave is created by the impact of the :.
,'.t ,. ~ .
..
. ,i~ ,. - .. , : . :. : . , ~ . : - .: , . .
~)4~373l end Eace of a plston having a specially shaped recess or depression thereln with liquid. The present invention is founded on the concept of so generating a sound pressure wave and using this pressure wave to move a column of liquid upwardly to tile ground surface from an underground level.
With the foregoing conditions in m:ind, thè present invention has in view the following objectives:
1. To provide in one aspect, a single tube surface operated pump which includes underground pumping mechanism ~i from which a single metallic tube extends to the ground surface and which is operated by sound pressure waves generated at the ground surface.
, ." I .
2. To provide, in another aspect, ln a single tube ! surEace operated pump of the type noted, a sound pressure l 15 wave generating device comprising a cylinder which communi-:, cates with the tube and a piston reciprocal in the cylinder having a flat end formed with a specially shaped depression ~ or recess with the flat end engaging the liwuid upon down~
-~ ward movement of the piston.
-~ ward movement of the piston.
3. To provide, in yet another aspect, in a single tube surface operated pump of the character aEoresaid, a , lateral port in the cylinder which communicates with a liquid ,;, reservoir and which is open when the piston is at its upper end of movement but which is closed by the piston on its ~ 25 downward movement.
:~ 4. To provide, in a further aspect of this invention, ~ in a single tube surface operated pump of the kind described, ,"`'`! underground pumping mechanism which includes a cylinder which is connected to the lower end of the tube and has a lower i 30 end formed with an opening which communicates with the liquid :, ,.,j ~(~4~3'~
, .
to be pumped and in which a one-way check valve is located together with a plunger reciprocal in the cylinder and hav-lng a central passage extending therethrough.
5. To provide, in yet another aspect of this in-vention, in a single tube surface operated pump of the typenoted, underground pumping mechanism including the cylinder and plunger aforesaid together with spring means for counter-balancing the weight of the liquid in the tube.
6. To provide, in a still further aspect of this invention, in a single tube surface operated pump of the char- ~ ;~
acter aforesaid, a plunger having a flat upper end which , reflects sound pressure waves coming downwardly against the .' walls of the tube centrally and upwardly in the tube to move ' the liquid therein upwardly.
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By a broad aspect of this invention there is pro-vided, in a sound wave surface operated single tube pump for pumping liquid from an underground level to a ground surface: (a) a liquid reservoir at said ground surface . 5 for containing liquid the same as the liquid to be pumped;(b) a sound wave generating device comprising: [1] a cylin-der having a bore and a lateral port communicating with I said reservoir, [1] a piston reciprocal in said cylinder `A~ and moveable into po~itions opening and closing said port~
. 10 [111] said piston having an end face which engages liquid in the cylinder and whlch is formed with a central recess ~ ;~
~' which generates a sound pressure wave upon impact of said end face with the liquid; (c) power operated mesrls for i reciprocating said plston in said cylinder; ~d) a metallic tube connected to one end of said cylinder and extending through the ground formation to said underground level; ~:
and (e) pumping mechanism at said underground level com~
- prising: [1] a lower cylinder having its upper end connected :;
to said tube and having a lower end wall formed with a ;~; 20 passage communicating with liquid is said lower level, ;
. [11] a one-way check valve in said passage, ~111] a plunger ...
::~ reciprocal in said lower cylinder and including a head ~ :
and tubular main body portion providing a passage extending ~:
through said plunger, [1~] an internal rib on said lower cylinder, and [V] an expansion coil spring interposed be-tween said rib and said plunger head and exerting a force ~ :
to accurately counter-balance the weight of a column of :~;
`~ liquid in said tube; said plunger head having a flat upper~i; surface for reflecting sound pressure waves coming down-wardly along the inner surface of said tube inwardly and . . , :
i; `':
. ~, . .
', :
~6)413'73L :' upwardly to move liquid upwardly through said tube and through said lateral port when the latter is open.
By another aspect of this invention, the sound wave surface operated single tube pump is provided in which the recess in the end face of the pistDn is defined by a flat angular ring-like surface, a truncated conical surface opening onto said ring-like surface and a cylinder end socket communicating with the small end of said trun-cated conical surface, especially where the metallic tube .,,. : . .
is of steel.
By yet another aspect of this invention the lower ; cyllnder is integrally ~oined with the lower end of the metallic tube by a truncated conical wall.
,~
By still further aspect of this invention, the power means for reciprocating the piston includes a fly wheel, ~- crank arm connected to the fly wheel and a piston rod connected to the crank arm and said piston.
'.'! By a still further aspect of this invention the ~ pump is also provided with a bleed valve at the lower end ' a ~ .
`~ 20 of the plunger.
i By another aspect of this invention, a pair of .~:
aligned one-way check valves are provided at the lower `~ end of the cylinder and which communicate with liquid l in said lower level.
Broadly speaking,.then, a single tube surface operated :.. , :
.l pump is provided comprising underground pumping mechanism : :.
? at the level of liquid to be pumped and from which extends , a metallic tube upwardly to the ~round surface together {l :
~ with a device at the ground surface for creating sound :;
~ 30 pressure waves.
, ,1 ~ -6-.:~, ,.. . . . .... . . . . . .
: ., - - - . ~ . ; :
~4137~ ~- The latter device ln one embodiment comprises a vertical cylinder in which reclprocates a piston. The cylinder is formed with a lateral port which comm1lnicates with a liquid reservoir. This port is open when the pis-ton is at its upper end of movement byt but is closed by - the piston as it moves downwardly. The lower end of the piston is defined by a rlng-like flat surface from which a trunicated conical recess extends into the body of the . piston and terminates ln a cylinder end portion. -~
:- .
The lower end of the cylinder in this embodiment is connected to a metallic (preferably steel) tube which extends to the underground p~mplng mechaniæm. The :latter in thi8 embodlment compriæeæ a lower cylinder which may .) be integrally connected to the tube and which has a lower ;~ 15 end wall formed with an opening which communicates with ; ~ - . .
~ the liquid to be pumped and in:which is mounted a one-~ "
- way check valve. A plunger is reciprocal in the cylinder and comprises a head and a tubular main body portion de-', fining a central passage extending through the plunger and which cooperates with the head in dbfining an external 3 flange. The cylinder is formed with an internal rib and an expansion coil spring is disposed between this rib and i the f,lange. This gpring is engineered to provide a force ` which counter-balances the weight of liquid in the tube ~ 25 with a high degree of accuracy. The upper face of the i~ head i5 flat to reflect sound preæsure waves coming down .: !
the tube against the wall thereof inwardly and upwardly ~ whereby 'the reflected sound pressure waves move the column ;~ of liquid upwardly.
' 30 On the down stroke of the piston the lateral port . :, . .
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in the cylinder is closed and the impact of the piston ,~
end on the71iquid in the cylinder generates a sound pres- ~ -sure wave which travels downwardly about the column of liquid , and against the wall of the tube until it reaches the head `
of the plunger which reflects it centrally and upwardly. ;
On the upstroke of the piston the lateral port is opened ~'-and the liquid is moved through the lateral port and into the liquid reservoir.
The lower end of the plunger in this embodiment i 10 is preferably provided with a fitting which is formed with-~ a passage that is a continuation of the passage in the plunger. This passage is provided with a one-way check valve which constitutes a bleed valve for eliminating ' air from the plunger.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a section through a ground formation .: ~
and illustrates the single tube surface operated pump of one aspect of this invention in elevation with the tube ,~ , being broken away to permit of illustration on an enlarged scale.
Figure 2 is a vertical section through the entire ~ mechanism with the tube being broken away and illustrating -, the lateral port as opened J and ~ Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 depicting . ~
~, 25 the lateral port as closed.
~ Referring now to the drawings wherein like refer--~ ence characters denote corresponding elements throughout ~`~ the several views, and first more particularly to Figure 1, a ground formation is designated 10 and is shown as hav-ing a ground surface 11 and an underground level 12 con-., .~, .:
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taining lIquid which is to be pumped. The underground pumping mechaniam which is located in level 12 is identi-fied in itg entirety by the reference character 13~ while the sound pressure wave creating mechanism at the ground surface is designated 14. It is the general if not the ., :
universal practice in the art of wells and particularly oil wells, to line a well bore such as, for example, shown in 15 with a casing designated 16. A metallic tube 17, , ~ .
~- preferably of steel, connects the ground surface mechanism 14 with the underground pumping mechanism 13.
, . - . , ;~ Referring now more particularly to Figures 2 and 3, ;~ ~
the ground surface mechanism 14 comprises a vertical cy-:: ,, :
~ linder 18 providing a bore 19 and formed with a lateral .... . .
~ port 20. A conduit 21 extend~ to a liquid reservoir 22.
~, ~ 15 A pipe 23 extends from reservoir 22 to a point, not illus- `
:, `~ trated,.where liquid is to be delivered.
~' Reciprocal in cylinder 18 is a piston 24 which ,~
~ snugly engages bore l9 with a sliding fit. Piston 24 is ','~
formed with a plurality of labyrinth groves 25 effectively ~-j 20 to prevent the upward escape of air and/or liquid from ~ the cylinder.
". .'1 Referring briefly to Figure l, a fly wheel 26 ~ which may be driven from any appropriate source of power :~ is connected by a crank arm 27 to a piston rod 28 which is `~
in turn connected to piston 24. The lower end of cylinder ~- 18 is formed with a threaded socket 29 which provides for a screw connection of the upper end of tube 17 thereto. `
? The underground pumping mechanism 13 comprises : :i a lower cylinder 30 which may be connected to the lower ~-~ 30 end of tube 17 in any preferred manner but the integral ''~'''', 1 ~,' . 3 ~' . ,~, , .
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connection represented at 31 i8 indicated as the preferred means of connection. This truncated conical connection ~;
indicated at 31 provides for the cylinder 30 having a dia-meter slightly in excess of tube 17, although this is not an absolute requirement. This difference in diameter should be held to a minimum to permit passage of the lower cylinder ' 30 downwardly through casing 16. Cylinder 30 presents ; a bore 32, and is formed with an air bleed in the form of ` a small hole 9. ; -A plunger comprises a head 33 and a main tubular body portion 34, the bore of which defines a passage 35.
Lower cylinder 30 is formed with an internal rib 36 de-fining an opening through which plunger portion 34 passes.
;~, An expansion coil spring 37 is interposed between the ex-ternal flange of the plunger defined by head 33 and rib 36. Spring 37 will be engineered for a particular instal-~ lation so that it counter-balances the weight of the column :~ of f~luid in tube 17 with a high degree of accuracy.
.J The lower end of plunger part 34 is threaded as indicated at 38 and screwed thereonto is a fitting 39 which is provided with two aligned valve seats 40 and 41. A
ball valve 42 is positioned in each of these valve seats.
The valve seats 40 and 41 and balls 42 consittute one-way check valves and are provided as bleeds for substantially eliminating air or gas from the plunger passage 35. In ' many instances they will not be an absolute requirement.
The lower end of cylinder 30 is internally threaded '~! as indicated at 43 and screwed thereinto is a nipple 44 ~;~ the lower end of which is externally threaded as indicated : ~' ~ 30 at 45 for ~he connection thereto of an end fitting 46.
:
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," ~ . ,:, ~;041;~71 This fitting 46 carries a cylinder end wall 47 formed with a central opening 48 in alignment with the passage controlled by balls 42. A valve seat ring 49 is mounted in fitting ~`
46 and provides a central opening in which is positoned ::
. .~ . ~. .
` 5 a ball valve 50. The lower end of fitting 46 is formed ~.
7 with a second valve seat 51 and opening 52 controlled by a :. ball valve 53. This opening 52 communicates with the liquid : .
. in the lower level 12. ~: ` .
,, .~:
., At this point it is well to note that while two : .
:~ 10 ball valves are shown for the bleed of the plunger and two for the lower end of the cylinder which communicates .
3 with the liquid to be pumped, in many instances only one such check valve will be necessary.
: It is important to note that the upper end of head 33 is flat to facilitate reflection of the sound pressure waves coming down the inner surface of tube 17 inwardly .:
and upwardly in the manner indicated by the arrows in .~ Figures 2 and 3. Also, that the lower end of piston 24 is defined by a flat ring-like surface 54 on to which opens a truncated conical surface 55 which terminates at its . :i ~ , . .
~:~lower end in a cylinder socket 56.
While the manner in which the instant single tube , surface operated pump functions is believed to be obvious .;.~7 from the illustrations of the drawings and description i:: .. : - .
~ 25 of parts set forth above, it is briefly outlined as ;~ follows~
.`~ It will be understood that reservoir 22 will con-~,~,?~ tain liquid the same as that to be pumped and tube 17 will .i also be filled with this liquid; thus the pump is primed.
Assume that piston 24 is at its uppermost limit ~, of movement and starts to move downwardly under the in-. ~j ~, fluence of fly wheel 26. In this uppermost limit of move-:.:`1 ' :
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;- ment port 20 is open, as piston 24 moves downwardly port 20 is closed as illustrated in Figure 3 and as the lower end of piston 24 impacts the liquid a sound pressure wave is generated. This pressure wave moves downwa~dly about the column of liquid and on the inner surface of tube 17.
When it reaches the lower end of the cylinder it engages `` plunger head 33 and by this engagement is reflected inwardly ~-and upwardly wi~h the upward component being substantially central of the column of liquid.
' 10 As the sound wave first engages the plunger head 33, the plunger is moved downwardly sufficient to unseat the ball valves at the lower end of the plunger and cylinder.
This opening of the valves permits liquid to flow from the ; level 12 into plunger passage 35. It is drawn into and :,~
~oved upwardly through this passage by the reflected pres~
' sure wave. At this point it is well to note that spring `r! 37 has little if any effect on upward movement of the liquid.
~ It ls the pressure waves which cause such upward movement.
., It is to be understood that the rate of rotation of fly wheel 26 and hence the rate at which piston 24 recipro-cates is related to the depth of the well and the time it takes for a pressure wave to travel the length of tube 17. The rate of travel of the pressure wave will also : .~
depend on the particular liquid being pumped and the metal of which tube 17 is made. By way of example it may be noted ..... .
i~1 that if the tube 17 is a length of approximately 2,500 , feet and the pressure wave will have a travel ra~e approxi-mately 5,000 feet per second, which has been found to be : :i ~ true of many of not most of the materials under and through .~' 30 which the pressure wave passes, it will take one-half a ,.'~'~ - .
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s~cond for the downward pressure wave to engage the plunger head 33 and another one-llalf second Eor its echo return, making a total t:lme of on~ second per cycle of plston 24. This ~neans that piston 24 would have to reciprocate i 5 60 times a minute. Obviously, the rate of rotation of ;~ fly wheel 46 which causes a cycle oE piston reciprocation would vary with wells of different depth to accomodate the time required for a pressure wave to travel downwardly l ~
and be reflected upwardly. ¦
One upward movement of piston 24, port 20 is open and the liquid flows therethrough into reservoir 22 from ~
whlch it may be wl~lldrawn as occas~lons demand. _ ['he pump o.i~ clspects o.L the preserlt lnvention, configured as descr:ibed above, produces high pump output pressure and velocity with relatively low input energy expendi-ture, and exactly wha-t -takes place within -the pump is not clearly understood.
It is known tha-t the special face of the piston 24, i.e., the ~ ring-like surface 54 which circumscribes the central recess, F' :~
;, generates sonic pressure waves of a special character which are ~i 20 responsible for -the pump's performance. Exhaustive tes-ts and '~ experimentation appear to substantiate -the belief tha-t -the generated sonic pressure waves move along the inner walls of -the ¦
metallic tube 17 wi-th a spiral or -thread-like motion and increase ', .3 in velocity upon entering into the conical connection area 31 i 25 and upon impinging on the head 33 will be reflected inwardly and upwardly into a column centrally of the tube 17. The upwardly ~ moving central column is believed to be augmented to higher ¦~ pressures by counter action with -the downwardly spiraling waves . ac-ting like a worm gear or lead screw to force -the central ~ 3Q column coun-ter current to the genera-ted pressure waves.
:~ -13-~.'' ' ' .. _ _ .... . _ . _ . _ .. _ _ _ .. ... _ _ .. _ ... . _ . . ... .. . .
:~ 4. To provide, in a further aspect of this invention, ~ in a single tube surface operated pump of the kind described, ,"`'`! underground pumping mechanism which includes a cylinder which is connected to the lower end of the tube and has a lower i 30 end formed with an opening which communicates with the liquid :, ,.,j ~(~4~3'~
, .
to be pumped and in which a one-way check valve is located together with a plunger reciprocal in the cylinder and hav-lng a central passage extending therethrough.
5. To provide, in yet another aspect of this in-vention, in a single tube surface operated pump of the typenoted, underground pumping mechanism including the cylinder and plunger aforesaid together with spring means for counter-balancing the weight of the liquid in the tube.
6. To provide, in a still further aspect of this invention, in a single tube surface operated pump of the char- ~ ;~
acter aforesaid, a plunger having a flat upper end which , reflects sound pressure waves coming downwardly against the .' walls of the tube centrally and upwardly in the tube to move ' the liquid therein upwardly.
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i04~13'î~
By a broad aspect of this invention there is pro-vided, in a sound wave surface operated single tube pump for pumping liquid from an underground level to a ground surface: (a) a liquid reservoir at said ground surface . 5 for containing liquid the same as the liquid to be pumped;(b) a sound wave generating device comprising: [1] a cylin-der having a bore and a lateral port communicating with I said reservoir, [1] a piston reciprocal in said cylinder `A~ and moveable into po~itions opening and closing said port~
. 10 [111] said piston having an end face which engages liquid in the cylinder and whlch is formed with a central recess ~ ;~
~' which generates a sound pressure wave upon impact of said end face with the liquid; (c) power operated mesrls for i reciprocating said plston in said cylinder; ~d) a metallic tube connected to one end of said cylinder and extending through the ground formation to said underground level; ~:
and (e) pumping mechanism at said underground level com~
- prising: [1] a lower cylinder having its upper end connected :;
to said tube and having a lower end wall formed with a ;~; 20 passage communicating with liquid is said lower level, ;
. [11] a one-way check valve in said passage, ~111] a plunger ...
::~ reciprocal in said lower cylinder and including a head ~ :
and tubular main body portion providing a passage extending ~:
through said plunger, [1~] an internal rib on said lower cylinder, and [V] an expansion coil spring interposed be-tween said rib and said plunger head and exerting a force ~ :
to accurately counter-balance the weight of a column of :~;
`~ liquid in said tube; said plunger head having a flat upper~i; surface for reflecting sound pressure waves coming down-wardly along the inner surface of said tube inwardly and . . , :
i; `':
. ~, . .
', :
~6)413'73L :' upwardly to move liquid upwardly through said tube and through said lateral port when the latter is open.
By another aspect of this invention, the sound wave surface operated single tube pump is provided in which the recess in the end face of the pistDn is defined by a flat angular ring-like surface, a truncated conical surface opening onto said ring-like surface and a cylinder end socket communicating with the small end of said trun-cated conical surface, especially where the metallic tube .,,. : . .
is of steel.
By yet another aspect of this invention the lower ; cyllnder is integrally ~oined with the lower end of the metallic tube by a truncated conical wall.
,~
By still further aspect of this invention, the power means for reciprocating the piston includes a fly wheel, ~- crank arm connected to the fly wheel and a piston rod connected to the crank arm and said piston.
'.'! By a still further aspect of this invention the ~ pump is also provided with a bleed valve at the lower end ' a ~ .
`~ 20 of the plunger.
i By another aspect of this invention, a pair of .~:
aligned one-way check valves are provided at the lower `~ end of the cylinder and which communicate with liquid l in said lower level.
Broadly speaking,.then, a single tube surface operated :.. , :
.l pump is provided comprising underground pumping mechanism : :.
? at the level of liquid to be pumped and from which extends , a metallic tube upwardly to the ~round surface together {l :
~ with a device at the ground surface for creating sound :;
~ 30 pressure waves.
, ,1 ~ -6-.:~, ,.. . . . .... . . . . . .
: ., - - - . ~ . ; :
~4137~ ~- The latter device ln one embodiment comprises a vertical cylinder in which reclprocates a piston. The cylinder is formed with a lateral port which comm1lnicates with a liquid reservoir. This port is open when the pis-ton is at its upper end of movement byt but is closed by - the piston as it moves downwardly. The lower end of the piston is defined by a rlng-like flat surface from which a trunicated conical recess extends into the body of the . piston and terminates ln a cylinder end portion. -~
:- .
The lower end of the cylinder in this embodiment is connected to a metallic (preferably steel) tube which extends to the underground p~mplng mechaniæm. The :latter in thi8 embodlment compriæeæ a lower cylinder which may .) be integrally connected to the tube and which has a lower ;~ 15 end wall formed with an opening which communicates with ; ~ - . .
~ the liquid to be pumped and in:which is mounted a one-~ "
- way check valve. A plunger is reciprocal in the cylinder and comprises a head and a tubular main body portion de-', fining a central passage extending through the plunger and which cooperates with the head in dbfining an external 3 flange. The cylinder is formed with an internal rib and an expansion coil spring is disposed between this rib and i the f,lange. This gpring is engineered to provide a force ` which counter-balances the weight of liquid in the tube ~ 25 with a high degree of accuracy. The upper face of the i~ head i5 flat to reflect sound preæsure waves coming down .: !
the tube against the wall thereof inwardly and upwardly ~ whereby 'the reflected sound pressure waves move the column ;~ of liquid upwardly.
' 30 On the down stroke of the piston the lateral port . :, . .
.:`.i. .
; -7-: . . , " ,~
.. ; , ' ! . ' . , .. . . ' . . ' ' ' ~ ' ' ' ' ' ' ~
37~l ;
in the cylinder is closed and the impact of the piston ,~
end on the71iquid in the cylinder generates a sound pres- ~ -sure wave which travels downwardly about the column of liquid , and against the wall of the tube until it reaches the head `
of the plunger which reflects it centrally and upwardly. ;
On the upstroke of the piston the lateral port is opened ~'-and the liquid is moved through the lateral port and into the liquid reservoir.
The lower end of the plunger in this embodiment i 10 is preferably provided with a fitting which is formed with-~ a passage that is a continuation of the passage in the plunger. This passage is provided with a one-way check valve which constitutes a bleed valve for eliminating ' air from the plunger.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a section through a ground formation .: ~
and illustrates the single tube surface operated pump of one aspect of this invention in elevation with the tube ,~ , being broken away to permit of illustration on an enlarged scale.
Figure 2 is a vertical section through the entire ~ mechanism with the tube being broken away and illustrating -, the lateral port as opened J and ~ Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 depicting . ~
~, 25 the lateral port as closed.
~ Referring now to the drawings wherein like refer--~ ence characters denote corresponding elements throughout ~`~ the several views, and first more particularly to Figure 1, a ground formation is designated 10 and is shown as hav-ing a ground surface 11 and an underground level 12 con-., .~, .:
,..
~ 8 ,`,~,''`
:; .
~ ~413'7~ :
taining lIquid which is to be pumped. The underground pumping mechaniam which is located in level 12 is identi-fied in itg entirety by the reference character 13~ while the sound pressure wave creating mechanism at the ground surface is designated 14. It is the general if not the ., :
universal practice in the art of wells and particularly oil wells, to line a well bore such as, for example, shown in 15 with a casing designated 16. A metallic tube 17, , ~ .
~- preferably of steel, connects the ground surface mechanism 14 with the underground pumping mechanism 13.
, . - . , ;~ Referring now more particularly to Figures 2 and 3, ;~ ~
the ground surface mechanism 14 comprises a vertical cy-:: ,, :
~ linder 18 providing a bore 19 and formed with a lateral .... . .
~ port 20. A conduit 21 extend~ to a liquid reservoir 22.
~, ~ 15 A pipe 23 extends from reservoir 22 to a point, not illus- `
:, `~ trated,.where liquid is to be delivered.
~' Reciprocal in cylinder 18 is a piston 24 which ,~
~ snugly engages bore l9 with a sliding fit. Piston 24 is ','~
formed with a plurality of labyrinth groves 25 effectively ~-j 20 to prevent the upward escape of air and/or liquid from ~ the cylinder.
". .'1 Referring briefly to Figure l, a fly wheel 26 ~ which may be driven from any appropriate source of power :~ is connected by a crank arm 27 to a piston rod 28 which is `~
in turn connected to piston 24. The lower end of cylinder ~- 18 is formed with a threaded socket 29 which provides for a screw connection of the upper end of tube 17 thereto. `
? The underground pumping mechanism 13 comprises : :i a lower cylinder 30 which may be connected to the lower ~-~ 30 end of tube 17 in any preferred manner but the integral ''~'''', 1 ~,' . 3 ~' . ,~, , .
, ' i ' :
9_ ~, ,' . ~
~' ' '' ." .
i" !
~;''' ~
1~)4~L37~ ~
connection represented at 31 i8 indicated as the preferred means of connection. This truncated conical connection ~;
indicated at 31 provides for the cylinder 30 having a dia-meter slightly in excess of tube 17, although this is not an absolute requirement. This difference in diameter should be held to a minimum to permit passage of the lower cylinder ' 30 downwardly through casing 16. Cylinder 30 presents ; a bore 32, and is formed with an air bleed in the form of ` a small hole 9. ; -A plunger comprises a head 33 and a main tubular body portion 34, the bore of which defines a passage 35.
Lower cylinder 30 is formed with an internal rib 36 de-fining an opening through which plunger portion 34 passes.
;~, An expansion coil spring 37 is interposed between the ex-ternal flange of the plunger defined by head 33 and rib 36. Spring 37 will be engineered for a particular instal-~ lation so that it counter-balances the weight of the column :~ of f~luid in tube 17 with a high degree of accuracy.
.J The lower end of plunger part 34 is threaded as indicated at 38 and screwed thereonto is a fitting 39 which is provided with two aligned valve seats 40 and 41. A
ball valve 42 is positioned in each of these valve seats.
The valve seats 40 and 41 and balls 42 consittute one-way check valves and are provided as bleeds for substantially eliminating air or gas from the plunger passage 35. In ' many instances they will not be an absolute requirement.
The lower end of cylinder 30 is internally threaded '~! as indicated at 43 and screwed thereinto is a nipple 44 ~;~ the lower end of which is externally threaded as indicated : ~' ~ 30 at 45 for ~he connection thereto of an end fitting 46.
:
,~,, ':
:, .~
~, .
. .~ -: . . .:
," ~ . ,:, ~;041;~71 This fitting 46 carries a cylinder end wall 47 formed with a central opening 48 in alignment with the passage controlled by balls 42. A valve seat ring 49 is mounted in fitting ~`
46 and provides a central opening in which is positoned ::
. .~ . ~. .
` 5 a ball valve 50. The lower end of fitting 46 is formed ~.
7 with a second valve seat 51 and opening 52 controlled by a :. ball valve 53. This opening 52 communicates with the liquid : .
. in the lower level 12. ~: ` .
,, .~:
., At this point it is well to note that while two : .
:~ 10 ball valves are shown for the bleed of the plunger and two for the lower end of the cylinder which communicates .
3 with the liquid to be pumped, in many instances only one such check valve will be necessary.
: It is important to note that the upper end of head 33 is flat to facilitate reflection of the sound pressure waves coming down the inner surface of tube 17 inwardly .:
and upwardly in the manner indicated by the arrows in .~ Figures 2 and 3. Also, that the lower end of piston 24 is defined by a flat ring-like surface 54 on to which opens a truncated conical surface 55 which terminates at its . :i ~ , . .
~:~lower end in a cylinder socket 56.
While the manner in which the instant single tube , surface operated pump functions is believed to be obvious .;.~7 from the illustrations of the drawings and description i:: .. : - .
~ 25 of parts set forth above, it is briefly outlined as ;~ follows~
.`~ It will be understood that reservoir 22 will con-~,~,?~ tain liquid the same as that to be pumped and tube 17 will .i also be filled with this liquid; thus the pump is primed.
Assume that piston 24 is at its uppermost limit ~, of movement and starts to move downwardly under the in-. ~j ~, fluence of fly wheel 26. In this uppermost limit of move-:.:`1 ' :
:, ~ --1 1--,.' lV4~7~
;- ment port 20 is open, as piston 24 moves downwardly port 20 is closed as illustrated in Figure 3 and as the lower end of piston 24 impacts the liquid a sound pressure wave is generated. This pressure wave moves downwa~dly about the column of liquid and on the inner surface of tube 17.
When it reaches the lower end of the cylinder it engages `` plunger head 33 and by this engagement is reflected inwardly ~-and upwardly wi~h the upward component being substantially central of the column of liquid.
' 10 As the sound wave first engages the plunger head 33, the plunger is moved downwardly sufficient to unseat the ball valves at the lower end of the plunger and cylinder.
This opening of the valves permits liquid to flow from the ; level 12 into plunger passage 35. It is drawn into and :,~
~oved upwardly through this passage by the reflected pres~
' sure wave. At this point it is well to note that spring `r! 37 has little if any effect on upward movement of the liquid.
~ It ls the pressure waves which cause such upward movement.
., It is to be understood that the rate of rotation of fly wheel 26 and hence the rate at which piston 24 recipro-cates is related to the depth of the well and the time it takes for a pressure wave to travel the length of tube 17. The rate of travel of the pressure wave will also : .~
depend on the particular liquid being pumped and the metal of which tube 17 is made. By way of example it may be noted ..... .
i~1 that if the tube 17 is a length of approximately 2,500 , feet and the pressure wave will have a travel ra~e approxi-mately 5,000 feet per second, which has been found to be : :i ~ true of many of not most of the materials under and through .~' 30 which the pressure wave passes, it will take one-half a ,.'~'~ - .
. .
~ 1 .
.,, ' ' ~
~, ~,. , :., .
~: . - . .
.: `:' :, : - , .
. .. . . .. -. :~04~37~
s~cond for the downward pressure wave to engage the plunger head 33 and another one-llalf second Eor its echo return, making a total t:lme of on~ second per cycle of plston 24. This ~neans that piston 24 would have to reciprocate i 5 60 times a minute. Obviously, the rate of rotation of ;~ fly wheel 46 which causes a cycle oE piston reciprocation would vary with wells of different depth to accomodate the time required for a pressure wave to travel downwardly l ~
and be reflected upwardly. ¦
One upward movement of piston 24, port 20 is open and the liquid flows therethrough into reservoir 22 from ~
whlch it may be wl~lldrawn as occas~lons demand. _ ['he pump o.i~ clspects o.L the preserlt lnvention, configured as descr:ibed above, produces high pump output pressure and velocity with relatively low input energy expendi-ture, and exactly wha-t -takes place within -the pump is not clearly understood.
It is known tha-t the special face of the piston 24, i.e., the ~ ring-like surface 54 which circumscribes the central recess, F' :~
;, generates sonic pressure waves of a special character which are ~i 20 responsible for -the pump's performance. Exhaustive tes-ts and '~ experimentation appear to substantiate -the belief tha-t -the generated sonic pressure waves move along the inner walls of -the ¦
metallic tube 17 wi-th a spiral or -thread-like motion and increase ', .3 in velocity upon entering into the conical connection area 31 i 25 and upon impinging on the head 33 will be reflected inwardly and upwardly into a column centrally of the tube 17. The upwardly ~ moving central column is believed to be augmented to higher ¦~ pressures by counter action with -the downwardly spiraling waves . ac-ting like a worm gear or lead screw to force -the central ~ 3Q column coun-ter current to the genera-ted pressure waves.
:~ -13-~.'' ' ' .. _ _ .... . _ . _ . _ .. _ _ _ .. ... _ _ .. _ ... . _ . . ... .. . .
Claims (7)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In a sound wave surface operated single tube pump for pumping liquid from an underground level to a ground surface:
(a) a liquid reservoir at said ground surface for containing liquid the same as the liquid to be pumped;
(b) a sound wave generating device comprising:
1. a cylinder having a bore and a lateral port communicating with said reservoir, 11. a piston reciprocal in said cylinder and moveable into positions opening and closing said port, 111. said piston having an end face which engages liquid in the cylinder and which is formed with a central recess which generates a sound pressure wave upon impact of said end face with the liquid;
(c) power operated means for reciprocating said piston in said cylinder;
(d) a metallic tube connected to one end of said cylinder and extending through the ground formation to said underground level; and (e) pumping mechanism at said underground;
level comprising:
1. a lower cylinder having its upper end connected to said tube and having a lower end wall formed with a passage communi-cating with liquid in said lower level, 11. a one-way check valve in said passage, 111. a lower reciprocal in said lower cy-linder and including a head and tubular main body portion providing a passage extending through said plunger, IV. an internal rib on said lower cylinder, and V. an expansion coil spring interposed between said rib and said plunger head and exerting a force to accurately counter-balance the weight of a column of liquid in said tube;
said plunger head having a flat upper surface for reflecting sound pressure waves coming downwardly along the inner sur-face of said tube inwardly and upwardly to move liquid upwardly through said tube and through said lateral port when the latter is open.
said plunger head having a flat upper surface for reflecting sound pressure waves coming downwardly along the inner sur-face of said tube inwardly and upwardly to move liquid upwardly through said tube and through said lateral port when the latter is open.
2. The sound wave surface operated single tube pump of Claim 1 in which the recess in the end face of the piston is defined by a flat angular ring-like surface, a truncated conical surface opening onto said ring-like surface and a cylindrical end socket communicating with the small end of said truncated conical surface.
3. The sound wave surface operated single tube pump of Claim 2 in which the metallic tube is of steel.
4. The sound wave surface operated single tube pump of Claim 1 in which the lower cylinder is integrally joined with the lower end of the metallic tube by a trun-cated conical wall.
5. The sound wave surface operated single tube pump of Claim 1 in which the power means for reciprocating the piston includes a fly wheel, a crank arm connected to the fly wheel and a piston rod connected to the crank arm and said piston.
6. The sound wave surface operated single tune pump of Claim 1 in combination with a bleed valve at the lower end of the plunger.
7. The sound wave surface operated single tube pump of Claim 1 in which there are one or more aligned one-way check valves at the lower end of the cylinder and which communicate with liquid in said lower level.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA237,653A CA1041371A (en) | 1975-10-15 | 1975-10-15 | Sound wave surfaced operated single tube pump |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA237,653A CA1041371A (en) | 1975-10-15 | 1975-10-15 | Sound wave surfaced operated single tube pump |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1041371A true CA1041371A (en) | 1978-10-31 |
Family
ID=4104275
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA237,653A Expired CA1041371A (en) | 1975-10-15 | 1975-10-15 | Sound wave surfaced operated single tube pump |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1041371A (en) |
Cited By (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4295799A (en) * | 1978-11-08 | 1981-10-20 | Bentley Arthur P | Sonic pressure wave surface operated pump |
| US4381177A (en) * | 1980-06-19 | 1983-04-26 | Bentley Arthur P | Sonic pressure wave surface operated pump |
| US4398870A (en) * | 1981-04-13 | 1983-08-16 | Bentley Arthur P | Variable volume sonic pressure wave surface operated pump |
| US4460320A (en) * | 1981-04-15 | 1984-07-17 | Bentley Arthur P | Sonic pressure wave surface operated pump with extensible pumping assembly |
| WO2005073555A1 (en) * | 2004-01-29 | 2005-08-11 | Richard Frederick Mcnichol | Hydraulic ram pump |
| US8454325B2 (en) | 2007-01-30 | 2013-06-04 | Richard F. McNichol | Coaxial pumping apparatus with internal power fluid column |
| US9115710B2 (en) | 2004-01-29 | 2015-08-25 | Richard F. McNichol | Coaxial pumping apparatus with internal power fluid column |
-
1975
- 1975-10-15 CA CA237,653A patent/CA1041371A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (11)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4295799A (en) * | 1978-11-08 | 1981-10-20 | Bentley Arthur P | Sonic pressure wave surface operated pump |
| US4381177A (en) * | 1980-06-19 | 1983-04-26 | Bentley Arthur P | Sonic pressure wave surface operated pump |
| US4398870A (en) * | 1981-04-13 | 1983-08-16 | Bentley Arthur P | Variable volume sonic pressure wave surface operated pump |
| US4460320A (en) * | 1981-04-15 | 1984-07-17 | Bentley Arthur P | Sonic pressure wave surface operated pump with extensible pumping assembly |
| WO2005073555A1 (en) * | 2004-01-29 | 2005-08-11 | Richard Frederick Mcnichol | Hydraulic ram pump |
| US7967578B2 (en) | 2004-01-29 | 2011-06-28 | Richard Frederick McNichol | Hydraulic gravity ram pump |
| US8535017B2 (en) | 2004-01-29 | 2013-09-17 | Richard Frederick McNichol | Hydraulic gravity ramp pump |
| US8932030B2 (en) | 2004-01-29 | 2015-01-13 | Mcnichol, Richard Frederick | Hydraulic gravity ram pump |
| US9115710B2 (en) | 2004-01-29 | 2015-08-25 | Richard F. McNichol | Coaxial pumping apparatus with internal power fluid column |
| US8454325B2 (en) | 2007-01-30 | 2013-06-04 | Richard F. McNichol | Coaxial pumping apparatus with internal power fluid column |
| US9261091B2 (en) | 2007-01-30 | 2016-02-16 | Richard F. McNichol | Coaxial pumping apparatus with internal power fluid column |
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