# US 2014/0196907 A1 · Hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0196907 A1 - Document ID: US20140196907A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/154,798 - Filed: 2014-01-14 - Published: 2014-07-17 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-14 - Assignees: Lufkin Industries, Inc. - Applicants: Lufkin Industries, Inc. - Inventors: Kenneth H. VINCENT; Joel LASSEIGNE - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140196907A1 ## CPC - E21B 43/126: {Adaptations of down-hole pump systems powered by drives outside the borehole, e.g. by a rotary or oscillating drive (powered by fluid E21B43/129)} - E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS ## Abstract A hydraulic oil well pumping arrangement employs a compensating type hydraulic pump, a directional valving arrangement and a proportioning valving arrangement. When the directional valve is energized, oil is directed to the rod end of the hydraulic cylinder. In one embodiment, a time delay halts the movement of the sucker rod or pumping string to allow accumulation of oil in a slow following well. In another embodiment, the pumping string rapidly falls to the bottom of the stroke in order to shake or jar debris from the string. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus, comprising: a) a hydraulic cylinder having a rod that is movable between an upper rod position and a lower rod position; b) a control system that controls movement of the rod as it moves between the upper and lower rod positions; and c) wherein the control system includes a cleaning cycle, wherein the rod falls from the upper to the lower rod position without choking until the lower rod position is detected and the rod is jarred by the control system abruptly choking flow when the rod reaches the lower rod position. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a delay cycle during normal operation that holds the rod in the upper rod position for a time interval that is selectable between about 0 and 65,000 seconds. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a) a pumping string that extends downwardly from the rod, the string being configured to extend into an oil well for pumping oil from the well; b) a prime mover; c) a hydraulic pump that is powered by the prime mover; d) a flow line connecting the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic cylinder, the control valve being positioned in the flow line so that it can control flow between the hydraulic pump and hydraulic cylinder; e) a hydraulic fluid reservoir for containing hydraulic fluid to be supplied to the hydraulic pump; and f) a flow line that transmits hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic cylinder to the reservoir. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control system includes a proportioning valve and a bottom proximity switch that activates a choking of the proportioning valve at a selected position of the rod relative to the switch. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control system includes a plurality of proximity switches that each send an electronic signal when the rod assumes a selected position relative to the cylinder. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control system includes a directional control valve and a proximity switch that activates the directional control valve to move between open flow and closed flow positions. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control system includes a directional control valve and a proximity switch that activates the directional control valve to move from an open flow position to a closed flow position when the rod reaches the upper rod position relative to the cylinder. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the hydraulic cylinder includes a linear displacement transducer. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the linear displacement transducer is a hall effects linear displacement transducer. ### Claim 10 A method of controlling a hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus, the method comprising: a) providing a hydraulic cylinder having a rod that is movable between an upper rod position and a lower rod position; b) providing a control system that controls movement of the rod as it moves between the upper and lower rod positions; c) allowing the rod to fall from the upper to the lower rod position without slowing until the lower rod position is detected; and d) abruptly stopping the rod when it reaches the lower rod position so that the rod is jarred to provide a cleaning cycle. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising a delay cycle during normal operation that holds the rod in the upper rod position for a time interval that is selectable between about 0 and 65,000 seconds. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the hydraulic cylinder includes a linear displacement transducer. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein the linear displacement transducer is a hall effects linear displacement transducer. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The hydraulic oil well pumping apparatus of claim 10, further comprising: a) a pumping string that extends downwardly from the rod, the string being configured to extend into an oil well for pumping oil from the well; b) a prime mover; c) a hydraulic pump that is powered by the prime mover; d) a flow line connecting the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic cylinder, the control valve being positioned in the flow line so that it can control flow between the hydraulic pump and hydraulic cylinder; e) a hydraulic fluid reservoir for containing hydraulic fluid to be supplied to the hydraulic pump; and f) a flow line that transmits hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic cylinder to the reservoir. ### Claim 15 A storage medium readable by a machine tangibly embodying a set of instructions for controlling a well pumping apparatus, the instructions for configuring the machine to permit: user enablement of a cleaning cycle, wherein when the machine is used to control the well pumping apparatus, the machine controls the pumping apparatus to permit the rod to fall from an upper rod position to a lower rod position in such a manner that pumping apparatus is jarred when the rod reaches the lower rod position. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions for implementing the cleaning cycle operate to configure the machine to control a valve in the pumping apparatus when the lower rod position is detected so that the rod is jarred when the rod reaches the lower rod position. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions for implementing the cleaning cycle operate to configure the machine to control a valve in the pumping apparatus during periods when the rod is falling to permit the rod to fall at a rate that is substantially greater than the rate at which the rod falls during operations outside the cleaning cycle. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instruction for implementing the cleaning cycle operate to configure the machine to perform more than one cleaning cycle in response to a single user enablement. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instruction for implementing the cleaning cycle operate to configure the machine to automatically perform one or more cleaning cycles at one or more selected intervals. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions for implementing the cleaning cycle operate to configure the machine to operate during normal operation.