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US 8,910,710 B2Granted
Pumpjack production control
AssigneeSchneider Electric USA, Inc.
InventorAlan Frederick Krauss
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method, software, and apparatus for controlling a pump configured to pump liquid out of a well. Such control may involve determining whether a production rate of gas from the well is increasing, decreasing, or steady, and whether to switch the pump between an OFF state and an ON state. Whether the pump is switched may depend upon whether the production rate of the gas is determined to be increasing, decreasing, or steady.
Claims18
A method of controlling a pump configured to pump liquid out of a well, comprising:
- determining, by a computer, a plurality of production rates of gas from the well;
- calculating at least one derivative of data representing the plurality of production rates of the gas;
- using the at least one derivative to determine whether the plurality of production rates of the gas are decreasing or increasing;
- changing a state of the pump responsive to determining to that a first one of the plurality of production rates of the gas is decreasing;
- and
- maintaining the state of the pump responsive to determining that a second one of the plurality of production rates of the gas is increasing.
3 more elements
A method of controlling a pump configured to pump liquid out of a well, comprising:
- determining, by a computer, whether a production rate of gas is increasing, decreasing, or steady;
- determining, by the computer, what state the pump should be in according to the following:
- (1) while the pump is in an ON state and the production rate of the gas is determined to be steady, maintain the pump in the ON state and increase a pump off time of the pump,
- (2) while the pump is in the ON state and the production rate of the gas is determined to be increasing, maintain the pump in the ON state and decrease the pump off time of the pump,
- (3) while the pump is in the ON state and the production rate of the gas is determined to be decreasing, switch the pump to an OFF state and increase the pump off time of the pump,
- (4) while the pump is in the OFF state and the production rate of the gas is determined to be steady, maintain the pump in the OFF state and increase the pump off time of the pump,
- (5) while the pump is in the OFF state and the production rate of the gas is determined to be increasing, maintain the pump in the ON state and increase the pump off time of the pump, and
- (6) while the pump is in the OFF state and the production rate of the gas is determined to be decreasing, switch the pump to the ON state and decrease the pump off time of the pump;
- and
- responsive to determining to that the state of the pump should change between the ON state and the OFF state, changing the state of the pump between the ON state and the OFF state.
7 more elements
A method of controlling a pump configured to pump liquid out of a well, comprising:
- measuring a production rate of gas from the well;
- determining, by a computer, whether the production rate of the gas is increasing, decreasing, or steady;
- increasing a pump off time of the pump responsive to determining that the production rate of the gas is steady;
- determining, after said increasing, whether the production rate of the gas remains steady for at least a predetermined period of time;
- and
- responsive to determining that the production rate of the gas has remained steady for at least the predetermined period of time, changing a state of the pump.
3 more elements
A method of controlling a pump configured to pump liquid out of a well, comprising:
- receiving a first signal representing a measured production rate of gas from the well;
- and
- filtering the first signal using a first low-pass filter to obtain a second signal,
- filtering the first signal using a second low-pass filter having filter characteristics different from the first low-pass filter to obtain a third signal;
- determining, by a computer, using both the second signal and the third signal, a plurality of directions of change of the production rate of gas;
- responsive to determining that a first one of the plurality of directions of change is an increasing direction while the pump is in an ON state, decreasing a pump off time of the pump;
- and
- responsive to determining that a second one of the plurality of directions of change is a decreasing direction while the pump is in the ON state, switching the pump to an OFF state and increasing the pump off time of the pump.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.