Sonic pump off detector
First Claim
1. The method of determining pump off and pump failure of an oil well havinga. a pump jack cyclically reciprocatingb. a sucker rod connected toc. a traveling valve below the surface of the earth withd. a bottom hole valve below the traveling valve,e. said valves producing sonic clicks when operating;
- comprising the steps off. producing an electrical click signal above ground responsive to the clicks of the valve,g. establishing a critical portion of each cycle of sucker rod reciprocation, andh. determining if the click signals are in the critical portion.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Pump off conditions of an oil well are determined by listening to the sonic clicks of the traveling valve and bottom hole valve. If the clicks do not occur within a certain period after top dead center for successive pump cycles, the well is assumed to be pumped off and is shut down. If, upon being restarted for a successive number of times, the valves do not click within the proper time frame it is assumed that there has been a pump failure and the well is shut down until manually restarted.
39 Citations
11 Claims
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1. The method of determining pump off and pump failure of an oil well having
a. a pump jack cyclically reciprocating b. a sucker rod connected to c. a traveling valve below the surface of the earth with d. a bottom hole valve below the traveling valve, e. said valves producing sonic clicks when operating; -
comprising the steps of f. producing an electrical click signal above ground responsive to the clicks of the valve, g. establishing a critical portion of each cycle of sucker rod reciprocation, and h. determining if the click signals are in the critical portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. On an oil well having
a. a pump jack cyclically reciprocating b. a sucker rod connected to c. a traveling valve below the surface of the earth with d. a bottom hole valve below the traveling valve, e. said valves producing sonic clicks when operating; -
the improved structure for determining pump off and pump failure comprising; f. transducer means attached to the above ground well equipment for producing electrical click signals responsive to the sonic clicks, g. switch means attached to the above ground well equipment for producing electrical cycle signals at a certain point of each cycles of sucker rod reciprocation, h. timer means electrically connected to the switch means for producing a time gate starting with the cycle signals, j. missing signal means connected to the timer means and transducer means for determining if the click signals occurred during the time gate. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification