Abstract: A self-contained system to continuously monitor a mechanism used to process, control or regulate fluid flow or pressure and provide a continuing indication of the status or condition of the monitored mechanism. A specific form of the invention employs a low frequency sonic-to-electrical transducer that monitors opening and closing of a disk-type steam trap. The detected sonic signal is processed and sent to a microprocessor that is programmed to develop a time-based, baseline data set representative of normal operation of the steam trap in the environment in which it operates. The baseline data set is compared with the data from on-line operations of the steam trap. As the environment and the steam trap operation change during normal on-line operations, the baseline data set is updated to change with the changing environment and the changing steam trap operation.

Abstract: A method of monitoring and controlling a well pump apparatus having an electric motor that rotates a crank arm having a counterweight thereon, a pivoted walking beam oscillated by the crank arm which reciprocates a sucker rod and a pump between an upstroke and a downstroke. The electric current from the motor is measured periodically between the peak upstroke motor current and the peak downstroke motor current, and the results are then integrated to deduce an analysis current per stroke. The mean of a number of sequential samples of the analysis current per period is calculated and thereafter the standard deviation is calculated. The last sample will be within two standard deviations of the mean or the results will be discarded and new data gathered. The well pump apparatus is stopped if a selected number of consecutive samples fall below a preselected threshold.

Abstract: A method of monitoring and controlling a pumped well having a rod string extending from a pumping unit located at the earth's surface to a subterranean pump, the rod string being sequentially reciprocated through up and down strokes and the well producing pumped fluid through a collection pipe, the method includes measuring the displacement and the load on the rod string, determining the well is pumped-off when fluid flow from the well substantially stops, recording the maximum load on the sucker rod string during pumped-off conditions, the load being measured during a selected portion of the first portion of the rod string downstroke, establishing a target pumped-off load as a selected percentage of the measured load, periodically initiating a pumping cycle, terminating each pumping cycling when the rod load equals the target rod load.