US1880216A - Underreamer for well drilling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 4, 1932. R. SIMMONS 1,830,216

UNDERREAMEH FOR WELL DRILLING APPARATUS Filed June 8.' 1928 v 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 1 ATTORNEY,

Oct. 4, 1932. R. P. SIMMONS UNDERREAMER FOR WELL DRILLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 8. 1928 Fla 42p J? JAE/ am Patented Oct. 4, 1932 RICHARD I. SIMMONS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

UNDERREAMER FOR WELIi DRILLING APPARATUS Application filed June 8, 1928. Serial No. 283,848.

This invention relates to improvements in under reamers for well drilling apparatus.

The primary object of the invention residesin a rotary drill for enlarging the dlameterin a preformed well holev to facilitate the lowering of a follower casing therelnto, and means by which the drill may be lifted from the well without disturbing the position of the follower casing.

Another object is the provision of an under reamer for attachment tothe core barrel of well drilling apparatus embodying rotary drill bits eXpansible beyond the plane of the side walls of the core barrelto cut a plane for a follower casing, and retractable withm the plane of the core barrel to allow the free withdrawal of the under reamer through the follower casing, the expansion and retraction of the drill bits being remotely controlled by an operator at the surface of the well.

A further objectis to provide an under reamer including rotary bits journalled 1n sliding carriages which are simultaneously controlled by a sliding actuating member which controls the expansion and retraction of the same. i t lVith these and other objects in view, the invention resides in certain novel construction and a combinatio'n and arrangement of parts, the essential. features of which are hereinafter fully described, are particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the lower end of a well drilling apparatus provided with my improved under reamer. Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional View therethrough on the line 22 of Figure 1.,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional View on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of the cam actuating member.

Figure 5 is a detail perspective View of one of the sliding carriages. V

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through. a slightly modified form.

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 7-7 of Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, the numeral 10 designates my improved under reamer in its entirety which includes a cylindrical body 11 threaded at opposite ends as at 12 and13. The threaded end 12'is shown screwed to the lower end of a rotary debris barrel 14 which receives the residue cut by the under reameiywhile the threaded end 13 screws to a depending housing 15 to which the lower drill head of the drilling apparatus is attached.

The body 11 is provided with a transverse rectangular shape recess 16 which extends entirely therethrough, while the top and bottom walls of the recess are provided with axially aligned square openings 17 for'slidably receiving a cam actuating member 18. The top and bottom of the cam member are provided withears 19 for the attachment of a part by which sliding movementmay be imparted to the camv member. This sliding movement may be imparted either from below or above and in the drawings I have shown a slidable rod 20 passing downward throughthe core barrel fromthe surface of a well, and which is pivotally connected to the upper ear 1 9 as at 21. The opposite sides of the member 18 are provided with cam slots 22 which include parallel branch slots 23 which merge into single slots 24. The lower end of the cam slots 22 are closed by removable blocks 25, as it will be appreciated that to form the peculiar shaped slots, it is necessary to cut into the member from one end thereof.

Slidable horizontally within the recess 16 are carriages 26, respectively disposedon opposite sides of the cam actuating member and which have their inner sides-recessed as at 27 to accommodate the member and allow lateral sliding movements to be imparted'to' the carriages Without striking the member or each other. The opposed side walls of the recesses 27 have opposed pairs of inwardly extending lugs or cam'followers 28 which enter the cam slots 22 in opposite sides of the commodating rotary drill bits or reamers 30 which are mounted on vertical shafts 31 ournalled in the carriages. The exterior surfaces of the drill bits are provided with vertical teeth 32 by which the walls of a preformed well hole are cut to enlarge the diameter thereof.

The upper portion of the body 11 is provided with upwardly inclined passages 33 which open into the debris barrel 14 to allow the material cut by the drill bits to pass into the dbris barrel where it accumulates, and when full, the apparatus is lifted to the surface of the well and the debris barrel emptied.

In practice, assume that a well hole of a particular diameter is being drilled by a primary drill at the lower end of the apparatus and which is of a size to freely allow the cylindrical body 11 to gradually move downward as the drilling progresses. However, it is desirable to pass a follower casing 34 down into the well while the apparatus is in operation but to accommodate the follower casing it becomes necessary to increase the diameter of the well hole, which is accomplished by my improved under reamer 10. After the under reamer has been lowered into the well with the'bits in retracted position, the cam actuating member 18 is moved downwardly by a push upon the rod 20, whereupon the lugs 28 move from the common slot 24 to the spaced branch slots 23 as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings- This causes the carriages 26 to move outward in opposite directions, which extendsthe cutting sides of'the bits beyond the peripheral wall of the body 11 for cutting a plane therebeyond of a size to accommodate the followercasing. As hereinbefore stated, the material cut by the rotary bits upon rotation of the body 11 is received in the core barrel 14, which when filled, is

Y lifted to the surface and emptied. Before raising the core barrel and the under reamer which is connected thereto, without disturbing the follower casing, it becomes necessary to retract the rotary bits within the cylindrical body 11 which is. accomplished by pulling upward on the rod 20. This upward movement causes the lugs 28 to be guided into the common slots 24 which draws the carriages' inwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 of the drawings, whereupon the cutting surfaces of the drill bits are inward of the plane of the peripheral wall of the cylindrical body so as not to. strike the follower casing during the upward movement of the under reamer through the follower casing. It will therefore be seen that the drill bits may be expanded or retracted from the surface of the well and at such times during a drilling of, a well as may become necessary. 7 V

The device enables an operator to progressively cut the wall of the well, so as to provide a clearance for operating the well equiplargement of the diameter of well bore is 7 limited by the relatively small propelling curve of the cam. The waste produced by the cuttingaction of the'reamer tools against the wall of the well bore is conducted through the space between the radially spaced reamer tools upward through the waste openings 33 to the core barrel 14. The reamer tools are mounted in carriages which support the tools so that they constantly clear their own mounting,while the carriages have close sliding fit with the head or body 11, and the waste cannot fill the clearance spaces between the working parts, so as to block the operationof the tool, nor can the waste accumulate at the base of the tool or' the head of the casing, so that the progressive vented, 7 v p l. a In Figures 6 and-7 of the drawings, I have shown a slightly modified form of my invention wherein the expansion and retraction of lowering of the casing is prevthe rotary bits is automatically controlled by the direction of rotation of the part in which they are-mounted. In this form the cylindrical rotatable body is designated at 35 having eccentric arcuate shaped. slots 36 therein and similarly shaped recesses 37. Disposed for sliding movementin the recesses 37 are rotary drill bits 38 having shafts 39 slidable in the cam slots 36.- Upon clockwise rotation of the cylindrical body 35, the drill bits will automatically move to an extended position by-reason of the cutting surface of the same projecting slightly beyond the plane of the side of the body whichfrictionally engages the wall of the preformed hole and by reason of the centrifugal force imparted thereto.

However, when it is desired to move the drill bitsto a retracted position, the rotation of the cylindrical body is reversed which causes the drill bits to move inwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 7 of the drawings. When in a retracted position, the drill bits are held from accidental movement by spring catches 4O mounted'in one of the side walls of the slots 36 and which engage the shafts 39 to place a' slight tension thereon. The purpose of this form of apparatusis the same as that of the preferred form, namely to cut a plane beyond the sides of the cylindrical body. to facilitate the lowering of a follower casing into a well to protect the walls of the same against accidental cave-in.

In the usual practice of drilling wells, end drillsdetach the material in advance. of the drilling unit or below it andlthis Waste is carried into a core barrel. The wall of the well thus formed is then enlarged by a reaming tool. The dependant housing 15 in the present assembly represents the core barrel which is located b8l0W' the reaming unit, and the superimposed housing 34 carrying the barrel 14, represents a dbris barrel for receiving the waste or dbris produced by the action of the reaming tools against the wall of the well.

While I have described what I deem to be the most desirable embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that many of the details may be varied Without in any way departing I from the spirit of my invention, and I therefore do not limit myself to the exact details of construction herein set forth nor to anything less than the whole of my invention limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is 1. An underreamer having a body provided with cam slots, each of said slots having a a portion disposed more inwardly of the outer face of the body than another portion of said slot, and a reaming tool having a shaft mounted in one of said slots with the body of the tool shiftable outwardly of the face of the body and inwardly of the face of the body.

:2. An underreamer having a body provided with a transverse slot, a reamer slidable against the body in said slot and adapted to be propelled from a contracted inward position to an expanding outward position when said body is rotated, to cause said reamer tool to shift by frictional engagementwith the wall of the well.

In testimony whereof I have afixed my signature. 7

RICHARD P. SIMMONS.

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