Control apparatus and method for an oil-well pump assembly

摘要

Control apparatus and method for reducing oil-well pounding and preventing subsequent damage to a producing oil well and an oil-well pump assembly, while maintaining optimum oil-well productivity is disclosed. The control apparatus includes vibration-sensor means operatively coupled to an oil-well pump assembly to detect shock pulses generated by the down-hole pump assembly of the oil well, and including means for transmitting the sensed pulses as equivalent electrical signals to a control means for determining the magnitude and frequency of the vibrations or shock pulses received from the sensor means. Actuator means is operatively coupled to a fluid drive, and is operative in response to the information received from the control means for controlling the speed of the fluid drive to increase or decrease the pump stroke of the oil-well pump assembly depending upon the information received from the control means, whereby optimum oil output is maintained while reducing the pounding to an acceptable level without shutting down the oil well, wherein subsequent damage to the operating oil well and oil-well pump assembly due to pounding is substantially eliminated.