The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 07, 1994
Filed:
Mar. 23, 1993
Robert K London, Bakersfield, CA (US);
David G Loucks, Sugar Land, TX (US);
Denis A Mueller, Asheville, NC (US);
Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
A pump controller coupling the electric motor of a cyclically operating well pump to a power line is arranged to measure instantaneous power consumption of the motor, to integrate the power consumption over pump cycles, and to assess the performance of the well and/or pump by using the total power consumption to estimate fluid flow. The controller determines a phase reference in the cycle of the pump by monitoring for a peak or zero crossing in the instantaneous power level, specifically the point at which the pump changes over from a power stroke to regenerative operation due to pump momentum. The integrated total power consumption is reduced by an offset factor representing frictional losses, and scaled to obtain an approximate fluid volume determination for the pump and well. The factors used for offset and scaling can be adjusted by calibration using at least intermittent measurements of actual fluid flow and fluid density. The offset factor representing friction can be monitored for deciding when maintenance is needed on the pump.