Linearly Actuated, Pivoting, Pumping Unit

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/641,295, filed on May 1, 2024, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/692,556 filed on Sep. 9, 2024, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/740,664 filed on Dec. 31, 2024 the entire disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.

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The present disclosure generally relates to a linearly actuated, pivoting, beam pumping unit that for use in a downhole artificial lift system of the type that may be used to remove hydrocarbons from the ground.

It is to be understood that the discussion above is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to and does not limit the scope or subject matter of the appended or ultimately issued claims or those of any related patent application or patent. Thus, none of the appended claims, ultimately issued claims or claims of any related application or patent are to be limited by the above discussion or construed to address, include, or exclude each or any of the above-cited features or disadvantages merely because such were mentioned herein.

A brief summary of the inventions indicating their nature and substance may be understood from the subject matter presented in the claims filed with this application, which are incorporated into this brief summary by reference for all purposes, and by the inventions presented in any claims that may be issued from this application, which claims also are incorporated into this brief summary by reference for all purposes.

In one exemplary embodiment, the presently disclosed subject matter may take the form of a drive system for stroking a sucker rod, where the drive system comprises: a support base; a walking beam; a linear actuator having a lower end and an upper end, the linear actuator being adapted to expand and retract in length; an upper bearing coupling the upper end of the linear actuator to the walking beam, such that the actuator can pivot with respect to the walking beam as the linear actuator expands and retracts in length; and a lower bearing coupling the lower end of the linear actuator to the support base, such that the linear actuator can pivot with respect to the support base as the linear actuator expands and retracts in length.

Alternatively, or additionally, an embodiment of the present disclosure may take the form of a drive system for stroking a sucker rod coupled to a sucker rod pump comprising: a walking beam having a longitudinal length, a first end, and a second end; a horse head coupled to the first end of the walking beam; a support base, the support base comprising a first horizontal section extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal length of the walking beam and a second horizontal section extending substantially parallel to the first horizontal section; a walking beam bearing assembly coupled to the second end of the walking beam; first and second support posts, each extending vertically from the second horizontal section of the support base and coupled to the walking beam bearing assembly, such that the walking beam can pivot with respect to the first and second support posts; first and second support braces, each such support brace extending from one of the first or second support posts to the support base; a pneumatically balanced linear actuator having a lower end and an upper end, the linear actuator being adapted to expand and retract in length and positioned, in a first direction, between the first and second horizontal sections of the support base and, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, between the first and second support braces; wherein the upper end of the linear actuator is coupled to the walking beam via an upper actuator bearing, such that the actuator can pivot with respect to the walking beam assembly as the linear actuator expands and retracts in length; and wherein the lower end of the linear actuator is coupled to the support base via a lower actuator bearing, such that the linear actuator can pivot with respect to the support base as the linear actuator expands and contracts in length.

While the inventions disclosed herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, only a few specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in more detail below. The figures and detailed descriptions of these embodiments are not intended to limit the breadth or scope of the inventive concepts or the appended claims in any manner. Rather, the figures and detailed written descriptions are provided to illustrate the inventive concepts to a person of ordinary skill in the art and to enable such person to make and use the inventive concepts illustrated and taught by the specific embodiments.

The Figures described above, and the written description of specific structures and functions below, are not presented to limit the scope of the inventions disclosed or the scope of the appended claims. Rather, the Figures and written description are provided to teach a person skilled in this art to make and use the inventions for which patent protection is sought.

A person of skill in this art having benefit of this disclosure will understand that the inventions are disclosed and taught herein by reference to specific embodiments, and that these specific embodiments are susceptible to numerous and various modifications and alternative forms without departing from the inventions we possess. For example, and not limitation, a person of skill in this art having benefit of this disclosure will understand that Figures and/or embodiments that use one or more common structures or elements, such as a structure or an element identified by a common reference number, are linked together for all purposes of supporting and enabling our inventions, and that such individual Figures or embodiments are not disparate disclosures. A person of skill in this art having benefit of this disclosure immediately will recognize and understand the various other embodiments of our inventions having one or more of the structures or elements illustrated and/or described in the various linked embodiments. In other words, not all possible embodiments of our inventions are described or illustrated in this application, and one or more of the claims to our inventions may not be directed to a specific, disclosed example. Nonetheless, a person of skill in this art having benefit of this disclosure will understand that the claims are fully supported by the entirety of this disclosure.

Those persons skilled in this art will appreciate that not all features of a commercial embodiment of the inventions are described or shown for the sake of clarity and understanding. Persons of skill in this art will also appreciate that the development of an actual commercial embodiment incorporating aspects of the present inventions will require numerous implementation-specific decisions to achieve the developer's ultimate goal for the commercial embodiment. Such implementation-specific decisions may include, and likely are not limited to, compliance with system-related, business-related, government-related, and other constraints, which may vary by specific implementation, location and from time to time. While a developer's efforts might be complex and time-consuming in an absolute sense, such efforts would be, nevertheless, a routine undertaking for those of skill in this art having benefit of this disclosure.

Further, the use of a singular term, such as, but not limited to, “a,” is not intended as limiting of the number of items. Also, the use of relational terms, such as, but not limited to, “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “upper,” “lower,” “down,” “up,” “side,” and the like are used in the written description for clarity in specific reference to the Figures and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention or the scope of what is claimed.

Reference throughout this disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one of the many possible embodiments of the present inventions. The terms “including,” “comprising,” “having,” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to” unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive and/or mutually inclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” also refer to “one or more” unless expressly specified otherwise.

The description of elements in each Figure may refer to elements of proceeding Figures. Like numbers refer to like elements in all figures, including alternate embodiments of like elements.

Turning now to several descriptions, with reference to Figures, of particular embodiments incorporating one or more aspects of the disclosed inventions,illustrates one exemplary embodiment of an improved artificial lift systemconstructed in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

The illustrated system includes a sucker rod pump assembly (not illustrated) that is connected to a sucker rod. The sucker rodmay be positioned within a tubing string in fluid communication with a reservoir. The pump and sucker rodare coupled to a drive system for stroking the sucker rod such that the stroking of the sucker rodupwards and downwards will, during normal operation, result in movement of the pump and the displacement of fluids from within the reservoir.

In the illustrated example, the sucker rod pump may be positioned such that at least a portion of the pump may be stroked downwards and upwards within an annulus. In the example of, the annulus corresponds to an interior space defined by a casing string. In the illustrated example, during such strokes, at least a portion of the pump moves within a body of fluid having a fluid. The fluid may take many forms and can be a fluid formed of a mixture of various hydrocarbons, water and/or any other fluid. The pump may, during a single downwards and upwards stroke be fully or partially located within the fluid during the entirety of the stroke.

In the illustrated example, the sucker rodis coupled, through conventional attachment apparatus, to a horse head. The horse headis coupled to a walking beam assembly. In the example of, the walking beam assembly takes the from of a generally “T” shaped structure. It will be appreciated that the walking beam assemblycan be formed from the coupling of different elements or as an integrated structure.

The walking beam assemblyis coupled, via Samson post bearings, to a Samson post assembly which, in the illustrated example, comprises two upright postsandcoupled to each other by a support network. The coupling between the walking beam assembly and the Samson post assembly is such that the walking beam assembly can pivot (about bearings) with respect to the Samson post assembly.

As reflected in, in the illustrated example, two Samson post bracesandextend, respectively, between the postsandforming the samson post assemblyand a support base. As further reflected in the figure, a support network, including cross memberextends between the Samson post bracesand

In the illustrated example a pneumatically balanced linear actuator assemblyis coupled, at a lower end, to the support basevia first and second lower actuator bearing assembliesand. In some embodiments, the lower actuator bearing assembliesandmay take the form of graphite impregnated bronze bushings. The actuator assemblyis, at its upper end, coupled to a bearing saddle, via an upper bearing. As further reflected in the figure the bearing saddleis coupled to the walking beam.

The pneumatically balanced actuator assemblymay take the form of the prime mover or drive unitdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,115,574 the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.

In the example ofthe actuator assemblyis coupled at its lower end to an electrically driven motor, which in some examples can be a brushless permanent magnet motor. As reflected in, the support basedefines an open interior (not labeled) and at least a portion of the electrically driven motorextends down into the open interior of the support base.

In the example of, a lubricating pump assemblyis provided for providing lubricating fluids to the actuator assembly. As reflected in the figure, in the illustrated example all, or substantially all of the components forming the lubricating pump assemblyare positioned within a square region having corners associate with the attachment points between the Samson post elementsandand the Samson post bracesand

As noted above, in some examples, the actuator assemblywill be a pneumatically balanced actuator assembly. In such embodiments, a compressor assemblycan be provided for providing pressurized gas (e.g., air) to the actuator assembly. As reflected in, in the illustrated example, the compressor assemblycan be positioned at a location outside the described square region having corners associate with the attachment points between the Samson post elementsandand the Samson post bracesandand the support base. Further, in the illustrated example, the compressor assemblyis positioned at a location that is generally longitudinally aligned with the actuator assembly, and further positioned such that, in the direction perpendicular to a longitudinal length of the walking beam, the compressor assemblyis contained within a region defined by coupling of the Samson beam postsandto the baseand, in some examples, the region defined by the outer edges of the lower actuator bearingsand. This positioning of the compressor assemblyis further illustrated inwhich, respectively, present front and rear views of the assembly.

In general operation, the assemblywill operate as follows: in response to instructions from a system controller (not illustrated) the electric motorcan be actuated to cause the length of the linear actuatorto extend and retract. As the linear actuator extends and retracts, it will cause the walking beamto pivot about the Samson post bearings, thus causing the horse headto raise and lower. This, in turn, will cause the sucker rodto stroke upwards and downwards, moving the rod pump within the well and, during normal operation, displacing fluid from the reservoir.

As may be appreciated, given the geometries of the illustrated system, as the actuator assemblylinearly extends and retracts in length, it will pivot both at an upper point where the upper end of the actuator assemblyis coupled to the actuator bearing saddleand at the points where the lower end of the actuator assemblyis coupled to the lower actuator bearingsand

illustrate aspects of actuator assemblyand steps in a process than can be followed to construct the pumping assemblydepicted in.

Referring first to, an initial construction point is illustrated showing a status where the Samson postsandand the Samson post bracesandhave been coupled to each other and to the baseand where the respective support networks have been coupled between postsandand postsand. Of note, the cross memberis coupled between the support bracesand

As reflected in greater detail in, in the illustrated example, the cross memberincludes a lug, and an adjustable link assemblycoupled to lug.

illustrate an intermediate actuator construction assembly that includes an actuator assemblyto which the following components have been pre-attached: (i) an actuator bearing saddle; (ii) a structure including the lower actuator bearingsand; and (iii) the electric motor. In the illustrated example, the intermediate actuator construction assembly was assembled thorough a process where the actuator assemblywas positioned on braces such that it extended longitudinally with respect to the ground (e.g., in position essentially perpendicular to the position illustrated in) such that the connected elements could be conveniently coupled to the actuator. In some embodiments, the intermediate actuator construction assembly can be pre-assembled in a controlled environment (e.g., factory workspace) geographically separate from the location where the assembly ofis assembled.

As further shown in, the illustrated actuator assemblyincludes three construction coupling points which, in the example, include upper construction connecting elementsandand side construction connecting lug. As reflected in the figure, each upper construction connecting elementsandare located at the end of the actuator assemblyclosest to the actuator bearing saddleand positioned such that actuator bearing saddlepivots in such a manner that a line passing through the bearing about which the bearing saddlepivots is generally parallel with a line passing through the construction connecting elementsand. As further reflected in the illustrated example, the construction lugis located at a portion of the actuator assemblycloser to the motorthan to the longitudinal midpoint of the actuator.

During assembly construction cables, chains, ropes or other elementsmay be coupled to the construction connecting elementsandand the construction connecting lug. Such elements may be coupled to a crane or other apparatus to permit movement of the actuator. Because of the described arrangement of the construction connecting elementsandand the construction connecting lugthe actuator assemblymay be readily manipulated to be positioned in a horizontally extending direction, as shown in, a vertically extending direction, as shown in, and directions in between.

As further shown in, the actuator assemblyincludes lugsand, both located in a region of the assemblygenerally on the side of the assemblyopposite the side containing lug.

Referring now to, a step in a construction process is illustrated where the pre-assembly depicted inhas been positioned adjacent the support assembly depicted in. As depicted in, because the lower actuator bearingsandand the motorhad been pre-assembled to the actuator, coupling of the pre-assembly can be readily accomplished by lowering the preassembly to a point where the motorextends into an open space within the baseand the lower actuator bearingsandcan be attached to the base.

Once the lower actuator bearingsandhave been attached to the base, the actuator assemblycan potentially pivot about the lower actuator bearingsand. Looking at the figure, it will be appreciated that the extent to which the actuator assemblycan pivot in one direction (to the left in the figure) is limited by the cross member, which will serve as a hard stop should the assemblypivot in that direction. To limit the ability of the actuator to pivot in the opposite direction (to the right in), the adjustable link, that was coupled to the cross member, can be coupled to one of the lugsoron the actuator assembly. The attachment of the linkto one of the identified lugs will serve as a stop preventing pivoting of the actuator assemblyin the direction opposite that of the cross member. Thus, when the lower actuator bearingsandare coupled to the base and the linkis coupled between a lug on the cross member and a lug on the actuator, the actuator will be positioned such that it is held in a stable position. At that point, the elementscan be removed.

In some embodiments, in addition to the adjustable link, an additional safety element, such as an operational safety tether, can be coupled between the cross memberand the actuator. Such an embodiment is reflected inwhere an adjustable linkis shown coupled between lugof the cross memberand the lugof the actuator. and a flexible operational safety tetheris coupled between a lower lug on the cross memberand lugon the actuator. It will be appreciated that the described tether is exemplary only and that the adjustable link could be coupled between the lower lug on the cross memberand the lugon the actuator, with the operational safety teacherbeing coupled between lugsand.

During construction, once the actuatoris assembled as shown in, the compressor assemblyand the lubricating assemblycan be coupled to the actuator assembly and power can be coupled to the system. At this time, the compressor assemblyand the lubrication assemblycan be activated such that the actuator assemblyis balanced and lubricated.

Once the assemblyhas been partially constructed as described above, a preassembled assembly including the walking beamand the Samson post bearingscan be lowered and coupled onto the existing support structure as shown inand the actuator saddlecan be coupled to the walking beamas shown in. In some embodiments, the saddlecan be equipped with leverage points (which may take the form of holes) that are configured to receive a force applying member, such as a pry-bar inserted into one of the holes, to aid in slightly pivoting the actuatorto assist in lining up the attachment points in the saddlewith the corresponding attachment points of the walking beam. In such embodiments and/or in alternate embodiments, the adjustable linkcan be manipulated to make further adjustments of the relative position between the saddleand the walking beam. Once the saddleis coupled to the walking beam, the horse headcan be coupled to the walking beam.

Prior to or after the coupling of the horse headto the walking beam, the coupling between the adjustable linkand the actuatorcan be disengaged, such that the actuatoris relatively free to pivot within the range limited in one direction by the cross-memberand, in the other direction, by the operational safety tether.

In the illustrated example, the region of assemblyclose to the Samsung post bearingsis relatively unencumbered such that a novel apparatus for monitoring the position of the walking beamand/or the horse headand/or any sucker rod (or sucker rod pump) coupled to the horse head, can be utilized. One example of such an apparatus is shown in.

Referring to, an apparatus is shown that includes a sensorthat includes a biased roller elementthat is biased outwardly but that can be moved inwardly when an inward force is applied to the roller element. The illustrated assembly also includes a Samsung post bearingcoupled to an elementthat pivots and moves as the walking beampivots about the post bearing.

In the illustrated example, as the actuatorextends and retracts, and the walking beampivots about post bearings, the elementwill move such that, at point in time (e.g., when the walking beam is approximately horizontal) the elementwill generally depicted as shown inwhere the regionof elementis positioned adjacent to the roller elementsuch that the roller element will be full biased outward. As the actuatorretracts from the described point, the horse headwill move closer to the ground and the elementwill rotate such that the regionis positioned adjacent to the roller elementsuch that the roller elementwill be inwardly depressed. This inward depression can be used to either actuate a switch or to provide a variable signal proportional to the position of the roller elementto provide an indication of the relative position of the walking beamand/or the horse head(or any connected elements).

Similarity, as the actuatorextends, and the horse headis elevated, the elementwill rotate back through a position where regionis adjacent the roller elementand continue rotating to the point where regionof elementis adjacent the roller element. At that point, the roller elementwill be depressed and that depression can be used to infer the position of the walking beamand/or the horse head.

In the example of, the regionof elementincludes an adjustable stopcoupled to the elementvia an attachment assembly(e.g., a nut and bolt passing through a slot) such that the physical profile of the regioncan be varied to tune the point at which the roller elementis depressed. Note that such an adjustable stop could be included on both sides of the element.

The specific form of elementinis exemplary only. For example, while the example elementincludes a detent at regionand an adjustable stop at region, detents could be used at both regions. Alternatively, the outer profile of elementcould be profiled, or stepped, to more precisely indicate the position of the walking beamand/or the horses head.

In one exemplary embodiment, the linear actuator assemblymay comprise a drive screw, driven by an electrical motor; a movable ram; and a planetary roller nut that is both engaged with the drive screw and affixed to the movable ram, such that rotation of the drive screw can produce linear movement of the movable ram. One such embodiment is reflected by linear actuator assemblyin, which depicts a side cutaway view of an exemplary linear actuator assembly.

Referring toan exemplary linear actuator assemblyis shown that includes a drive screwaxially and radially affixed at a bottom end by a thrust bearing assembly. The drive screwis further coupled, directly or indirectly, at or near, its bottom end to an electrical motor, such that rotation of the motor will result in rotation of the drive screw. In the depicted exemplary embodiment, the rotational degree of freedom about the longitudinal axis of the drive screw is generally unrestrained except for its attachment to the motion and, optionally, to one or more brake mechanisms (which may be positioned below the thrust bearing and scal).

The top end of the drive screwis radially affixed with a centralizer bearing assembly whose housing is designed to slide axially inside the bore of a movable machined ram element.