US1383785A

US1383785A - Rotary well-drilling head

Info

Publication number: US1383785A
Authority: US
Inventors: Box John Vincent
Original assignee: C R LITTLE; WILLIAM PAYNE MARTIN
Current assignee: C R LITTLE; WILLIAM PAYNE MARTIN
Priority date: 1919-09-22
Filing date: 1919-09-22
Publication date: 1921-07-05
Anticipated expiration: 1938-07-05

Description

J V. BOX.

ROTARY WELL DRILLING HEAD.

F APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2211919. 1,383, (85. Patented. Euly 5 2.923,

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

INVZENTOR .5 John Wincsrd: ox,

ATTORNEY Fi l-ifs JOHN VINCENT BOX, OF L09 ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIG'NOR OE ONE-THEM) TO (3. R. LITTLE ANILONE-'IPHIRD TO GEES.) WILLIAM BOTH 0F WEXTTIER, CALKEORNIA.

PAYNE MARTIN, (WIDUYYJ ROTARY WELL-DRILLING- H'EAD.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN VINCENT Box,

a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county ofLos Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful improvements in Rotary Well- Drilling Heads, of which the following is a specification. I a

This invention-relates to hydraulic heads employed in they operation (if-sinking oil wells and water wells by means of a rotary drill operating in connection with water under" pressure. -a. 1 ln'drills of this kind thedrill-boring bit is hollow and is connected by a hollow shaft with rotary power'at the'top ofthe ground.

- Water under pressure is introduced through a hose and suitable connections into the top of the hollow shaft'and said connections and shaft are handled by a cable attached to a practically non-rotating head, with relation to which the hollow shaft is rotated. The weight of the bit and shaft is supported by said head which in turn is carried by the cable and is raised and lowered thereby as the character of the drilling and attendant operations require. Said shaft is connected with the power apparatus through the medium of an angular section which is adapted to slide up and down relative to the power applying means by which it is rotated.

An object of the invention is to providea practical antifriction support for said shaft'and bit.

It has recently becnfound practicable and desirable to drill oil wells to greater depths than has heretofore been common, and wells are now being sunk to depths of five thousand feet and more as well as less. It is common in this work to employ along tubular rotary drilling shaft the weight of which in some cases is more than seventyfive tons, and such shafts are revolved at a speed of from about fifty to one hundred revolutions per minute. more or less, and .the tool is lowered to deepen the cut While Specification ofLetters Patent. Iatentgfi July 5, 19231,

22, 2919. Serial No. 325,552.

which causes such action upon the antifriction bearings of the hydraulic head by which the shaft is supported, as to rapidly put the same Qut of commission.

This hasbeen it source of eat less of money, time and material. n object of this invention-is to avoid such loss.

' In hydraulicheads of this character one {of the chief difficulties encounteredin the drilling of deep Wells has arisen from the failure of the anti-friction'bearing to stand and hold up under the heavy strain and thrust caused by the operatingforces. An object of this invention is to make provision whereby such strain and thrust will be compensated for and reduced to a minimum.

1 have discovered that the'destruction of the anti-friction bearing is caused by out- Ward thrust of the rollers in such bearings and that suchoutward thrust can be avoided bv a proper construction and arrangement of the parts going to make up the bearing.

An object of this invention is to provide such an anti-friction support for the heavy weight of the rotary shaft and boring bit, as to effectively avoid jamming, excessive wear, displacement or destruction of the parts of such a support under the conditions above detailed, and to maintain the shaft in true axial alinement during its rotation.

The best anti-friction roller bearings for this purpose heretofore known to rue are constructed with truncated "conical rollers arranged with their axes in a horizontal plane; said rollers resting upon an annular support or raceway having the form ofa truncated cone, the produced apex of which cone is centrally located above the level of the orifice in the rollersupport through which the shaft extends. A

I have determined that with such construction the gravitational pressure and'the causes looseness between the rollers and i'iecessitates frequent re 'iilacelnent of the roller-bearing parts and also replacement of journal bearings for the shaft.

I have discovered. that the remedy for .clining the roliers that their axes converge bf this construction the destructive action these difiiculties and destructive action is to incline downwardly and inwardly the unnula'r floor which supports the rollers so that the supporting raceway floor is pro vitied with a cavity which is the fm rn of a inverted trun etc-(l cone, the prociuccd of which is central to and below the level of the rim of the orifice through ".ihich the shaft extends (1OWI1W5l1tii". 911 this race way I mount uniform t nncctetl conical roll crs; that is to say, rollers which are alike and are frustunis of cones, of such pitch that when the rollers are in place on said floor, the produced epexes of the rollers will terminate at the prodnceri apex of said cavity.

In this respect my invention is broarlly new, basic and. pioneer and is at present pactically indispensable in the iSOfll said Wells of apg iroxiniately 5000 feet oz by rotary driiis.

1 also so construct the outer encls o rollers that the outward thrust, if any, borne with minimum friction urciwezir.

A principle of the invention is (lan'iaging end-thrust of the tapering is eliminated by so constructing the and the truncated conical rollers and so e i. together by connected table iii L it in snci ,lzite any:

downwardly as traces of an inverted cone,

x i 0 a concave floor, the upper surface vhi is pa allel to such inverted; cone. M; a consequence 0 this construction and Sll'hl'l? ment the resolution of :torces applied to irusto-conicel rollers )ructicell s' them in in practical cons" make the outer end of each conical 1* the segment of a sphere,x thus afford mg 04 surface annulerly inclined outward "ow d the axis of each rol vr. The outer .riii'i Walls of the upper and lower hearing chit of the raceway are concevccl to conform t the semispherical roller ends. As a rcsul above referred to is practically done away with and the operation is made smooth anti comparatively frictionless. v

An object oi the invention. is to provide a. superior anti-thrust bearing: lilifiifi to purposes above indicated, and a broecliy new pioneer anal basic teittnre in this =tis a thrust bee ig coinprisi: an zmnul r base plate having 11R. inverted 1: ed. cow ical cavity the apex of the c the proiiuceii axis oi? the r and tupcing roliers on th cavitv; the axes of Sui-1i. roiit, to smci, produced ape invertcil t runcei' whereby en 0 and the hose arc :01 the to sus'oeic the she f we THI'VHK'E; nurpohiptml. in n :1 'ti 1 4V i t i with ntitriciiion L251 w -1 H 1.. lu 4L *MUELL MLULS' 165i) the shaft journal section 6 itor use in deep well boring is so great that the antifriction devices heretofore employed have been subject to destruction in various.

ways.

In the drawings a tubular. journal section 6 of the shaft provided. with a supporting means in the form of a flange 7 is shown supported by a rotatable annular plate 8 having, a truncated conical raceway 9 and resting on truncated conical rollers 10. that are spaced apart by space bars 11 and rest on a truncated conical .racew 1y 12.

The raceway 12 is a truncated conical deprcssion in an annular base plate {and the produced apex of said depression is coincident with the axis a of the tubular journal section 6 of the drill shaft. The truncated cone rollers 10 taper at such an angle that their produced axes converge to the produced apex of the lower raceway 12. The raceway 9 is the frustuin of an inverted cone, the produced apex of which cone is also eoincident with the apex of the inverted cavity forming the raceway 12.

The spacing bars 11 are connected together at their outer ends by the outer ring 14; and are connected together at their inner ends by 'he inner ring 14.. Said inner ring has an annular foot 15 that rests upon the inner margin of the lower raceway 12.

Said lower raceway is formed. in an annular plate 13 which is provided at its periph" cry with anupwardly projecting rim 1?. The upper annular plate 8 is also provided. with a rim l8 and these two rims are spaced apart to accommodate the outer ring 1% without frictional contact therewith.

Said lower plate 13 is contained within a housing formed by the cup 19 jo'urnaled to and provided withthe gland 20 fitting said shaft 6. Said cup has n cavity,-the.floor of which is in the form of'the frustum of an inverted cone, and upon said cup of the housing is the housing' cap 21 detachaloly fixed to the housing cup by bolts 22.

The flange 7 is provided with a ball raceway in which anti-friction balls 24 are arranged to run; the some being borne upon by the cone .25 which is externally screw-- threaded and is screwed-down through the annular cap 21 and is there secured by the threadedlock ring 26. The cone 25 is the lower terminal of a cylindrical gland in which is placed packing 27 secured by the bushing 28.- The cone portion of the gland is journalcd upon the shaft 6; the antifriction means :23, 24 and 25 cooperate for minimizing friction between the flange 7 and the cap 21 and for steadying the shaft-6 during its rotative movement; end tln gland packing 27 and bushing 28 close the joint so that said shaft 6 will not have any lateral vibratory movement relative to the cap 21 end leakage of lubricantis avoided The capZl is provided with trunnions 21) to which the bail 30 is journaled for the purpose of suspending the cap. Said. trunnions 29 are lateral co-axial cylindrical projections from the upright arms 31 of the frame which is bridged over the top by the cross head 32 through the center of which is provided an orifice 33 through which the packing head 34; of the goose-neck 35 extends. Said packing head is provided-with the lateral flange 36 that rests upon the cross-head 32, and is secured thereto by colts 37. Said packing head 34 is adapted by the threaded end 38 of the goose neck to be connected with the valved hose coupling 39.

The to c of the bearins )late 8 is rovided l c l P with a truncated conica cavity and the flange 7 is an inverted truncated cone fitting therein.

In practice when the parts are in position as shown in Fig. 6 and are suspended by the line 40 in the usual manner, the force of gravity tends to hold the journal section 6 of the shaft in vertical position The bearing plate 8 does not contact with the cup 19 or the cap 21 and thebase plate 13 does not contact with the journal section (3; consequently, the bearing plate 8 revolves freely upon. the truncated conical rollers 10, and friction between the flange 7, (which by its engagement with the hearing plate causes the latter to revolve the shaft 6,) and the cap, is minimized by the antifriction means 23, 2e and 25, and the glands 20 at the bot torn of the cup and the gland and. peeking at the top of the cap prevent escape from the housing of lubricant which may he introduced in any desired and well known way.

A. nipple ll, having a flange 4:2 is fixed to the top of the journal section 6, of the shaft, by cap screws i3 and extends from said flange 42 down into the journal section 6 and. up into the packing head 34 of the goose nee r. The connection between said packing head and nipple is made water tight by the packing 44, held in place by thegland 4:5 and jam nut 46 llhen it is desired to gain access to the antifriction hearing" inside the housing- 19, 21, the shaft may be lowered. to allow a couplin g' such as the coupling 4-? to rest upon a suitable support such as the hub 48. of the driving gear 3 and then the cup 19 may be suppitarted and the. bolts 22 removed; thus releasing the cap 21; whereupon the line 40 may be operated to raise the cap from the cup. thus giving; access to the cup.

By lowering the cup, the bearing plate 8 is lowered from the flange 7, whereupon the flange '7 may he grappled by hooks inserted into seats 50 thus giving access to the rollers 1,0 and to the retainer or SEPEIHKtlHg spider without dist: ihling the parts.

The outer e ds of the rollers are of semisphericsl form as indicated at Sland the of a base plate seated in .vlded 111 its upper face weaves steadying the shaft during its rotative movement,- and truncated conical rollers in said raceways, the apexes of the produced cones of the truncated raceways and rollers converging to a common point in the axis of the hollow shaft journal section. i

11. The combination with a hearing cup,

said cup and prowith a truncated conicaldepression; truncated conical rollers in said depression, a bearing plate provided with a truncated conical raceway on the under side and mounted on said rollers; a hollow shaft journaled in said cup and provided with a flange resting on said bearing plate; an annular cap detachably secured to said hearing cup; antifriction means on said flange for minimizing th flange and the cap and for steadying the shaft during its rotative movement; means connected 'to the cap to raise and lower the same, and a connection for introducing water under pressure to the hollow shaft.

12. The combination with a cup, of a shaft j'ourn'aled therein and provided with a flange; a base plate provided with a raceway on its upper face a spacing spider provided with a foot supported by said race- .tllllilfllctloll means in friction between I way; roller hearings in said raceway; a hearing plate on said roller bearings and supporting the flange of said journal section; a cap detachahly connected to the cup: antifriction means on said flange for min-- imiainp friction between the flange and its rotative movement; and means connected to the cap to raise and lower the same! f 13. In a hydraulic head, the combination with an antifriction hearing, of a housing for said hearing, said housing comprising a cup and a cap; a journal section of a shaft mounted in the antifriction bearing and proided on its upper face with a raceway; the raceway, and a cone screwed through thecap to cooperate with said antifrictionmeans in said raceway for minimizing friction between the cap and the journal section and for steadying' the shaft during its rotative movement; and packing between the shaft and the cone" In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 11th day of September, 1919.

JOHN VINCENT BOX. I

Witness:

JAMES TOWNSEND.

the cap and for steadying the shaft during