US1578623A

US1578623A - Rotary well drill

Info

Publication number: US1578623A
Application number: US604388A
Authority: US
Inventors: John A Zublin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1922-12-01
Filing date: 1922-12-01
Publication date: 1926-03-30
Anticipated expiration: 1943-03-30

Description

B QYT AVAILABLE COPYf March 3 J, ZUBLIN ROTARY WELL DRILL 3 Sheets-Shee 1 INVENTOR Q4, X M

Filed Dec. 1922 ATTORN March 30, 1926. 1,578,623

J. A. ZUBLIN ROTARY WELL DRILL Filed Dec, '1, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR g4, KM

BY M 7 ATTORNEY March 30 1926. 7 1,578,623

J. A. ZUBLIN ROTARY WELL DRILL Filed Dec. 1, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 N VEN TOR Patented Mar. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES JOHN A. ZUBLIN, 013 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ROTARY WELL DRILL.

Application filed December 1, 1922. Serial No. 604,388.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. ZUBLIN, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, hzwe invented a new and useful Rotary \Vell Drill, ofv which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rotary well drills,

and is particularly directed to that type of drill which, while in closed or collapsed condition, may be lowered through a well casing, and which may then open or expand to a larger diameter to form an enlarged bore.

It is-therefore an object of the present invention to provide a rotary expansible drill capable of being lowered in collapsed condition through a well casing and adapted upon rotation to be expanded to a boring diameter greater than the internal diameter of the casing.

Another object is to provide a drill of the above character which will at once perform the entire operation of forming and reaming an enlarged bore.

A further object is to provide an expansible rotary drill having cooperating laterally expansible opposed cutters, constructed so that during their closing movements they cooperate to clean themselves of mud or clay and to provide a gradually increasing area for the reception of such mud or clay as is not cleaned from the cutters. 7

Another object is to provide a drill of the above character having opening and closing cutters cooperating with each other to limit their movements in both directions.

Another object is to provide cutters constructed to intermesh upon opening thereof to resist outward thrusts upon the cutters.

A further object is to provide cutters vertically and eccentrically journaled in the lower end of a body, and having up-thrust bearing surfaces engaging the body.

Various other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this disclosure. and which illustrate a preferred form of embodiment of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical section showing the drill of the present invention in a well casmg, and with the cutters in collapsed or closed position.

Figure 218 an elevation of the lower portion of the drill, showing the cutters in extended or open position. I

Figure 3 is a vertical section in line 33 of Figure 7.

Figure 4 is a plan section on line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan section on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a bottom plan view of Figure 2.

Figure 8 is a plan section on line 88 of Figure 1.

Figure 9 is a plan section on line 9-9 of Figure 1.

Figure 10 is a perspective View of one of the cutters.

Figure 11 is an elevation of the lower por tion of a drill having a second form of cutters, the cutters being shown in collapsed or closed position.

Figure 12 is an elevation showing same form of cutters as in Figure 11, said cutters being in extended or open position.

Figure 13 is a bottom plan view of Figure 11.

Figure '14 is a bottom plan View of Figure 12.

Figure 15 is a plan section on line 15-15 of Figure 11.

Figure 16 is a plan section on line 16-16 of Figure 12. v

Figure 17 is aplan section on line 1717 of Figure 11.

Figure 18 is a plan section on line 18-18 of Figure 12.

Figural!) is a second form of cutter.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 to 10 of the drawings, 1 designates a well casing through which the drill, with the cutters in col'apsed condition, may be lowered to position of use.

The body 2 of the drill, in the preferred form shown, conforms in general outline to the standard type of drill collar, being provided at its upper end with a tapered screwthreaded box 3 for attachment with the .tapered screw-threaded pin 4 of the element of the tool string to which the drill is connected, and having a central water passage 5 extending downwardly and terminating near the lower end of the body. Communicating with the lower portion of the passage 5 are four radial passages 6 and communiperspective view of the eating with these radial'passages 6 are longitudinal passages 7 bored upwardly from the lower surface of the body to intersect the respective radial passages 6. The passages 6 are preferably formed by boring inwardly from the outer surface of the body and subsequently plugging the outer ends f such bores by plugs 8 which are prererably welded in place.

Extending upwardly from the lower surface of the body, are two round bores or journal recesses 9 positioned on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the body.

Into these recesses engage the journal studs or shanks 10 of the respective cutters or bits 11, each of the shanks 10 having a rounded groove 12 cut in and extending part Way around its peripheral surface (see particularly Figure 9).

After the shanks of the cutters are 1nserted into the' respective recesses a retaining pin 13 is inserted in a transverse bore in the body, said bore beinglocated so that the pin will intermesh with the grooves 12 and retain the cutters against loss from the bod Tlie opposite sides of the body are longitudinally grooved to provide water courses 14 promoting a better return or upward circulation of the mud water past the body, these water courses 14 being aligned with the transverse pin bore and provided with depressions 15 permitting the insertion of split cotter-pins 16 through the exposed ends of the transverse pin 13 to retain said pin in place (see Figures 3 and 9.) It will be evident that with this construction the cutters may be easily detached from the body by simply removing one of the cotter-pins and then withdrawing the pin 13, allowing the cutters to dropfrom the body.

The cross-sectional contour of the body portions of the cooperating cutters 11 is clearly shown in Figures 4 and 5, it being specifically pointed out that the cutters are exactduplicates and therefore interchangeable one with the other. It will be seen that each cutter conforms somewhat to the form of half of a cylinder split longitudinally and is disposed eocentrically relative to its journal shank 10. The inner surface of each. cutter has a flat portion 18 extending inwardly from the lead or reaming edge 19 to a. raised portion 20 concentric with the cutter shank or axis of cutter rotation, Said raised portion having a reversely curved heel 21 terminating with a trailing edge By inspection of Figures 4 and 5, it will be seen that the raised concentric portions 20 of both cutters always remain in coengaging contact; that when the cutters are in closed position, as in Figure l, the flat inner surface 18 of each cutter engages against the raised portion 20 of the opposed cutter; and that when the cutters are in open or extended position, as in Figure5, the reversely curved heel 21 of each cutter engages the raised portion 20 of the opposed cutter whereby the opening movements of both cutters are limited.

Therefore, the cutters cooperate in one instance to limit the closing movements thereof, and in another instance to limit their opening mm'ements- \Vhen a drill of this character has been drilling in soft sticky formation considerable of such sticky material may stick upon the fiat surfaces 18 but this will not prevent a closing movement of the cutters, as in the closing of the cutters, the edges 22 move outwardly and tend to force any such stuck material from thecutters.

The upper portion of each cutter is beveled as at 23 so that in event of an attempt to withdraw the drill from the well before the cutters have been collapsed or closed, these beveled portions 23 engaging the casing-shoe will tend to effect a closing of the cutters.

The lower ends of the cutters are dressed downwardly to transverse cutting edges 24 which are curved. slightly upwardly from a forward lead point 25 to a rearward trailing point 26, these cutting edges, when the cutters are expanded (see Figure 2), extending entirely across the major Width of. the drill to at once perform the entire operation of forming the enlarged bore.

With the cutters in extended or open position as shown in Figure 7, the cutting edges 24 extend slightly backwardly and inwardly from the lead points 25 with their inner portions curved inwardly past the longitudinal axis of the body so that in turning in the'direction of the arrow in said figure the cutting edges will have a shearing cutting action and will tend to urge the cuttings towards the center of the drill where theywill be more effectively acted upon by the circulating water discharging through the passages 7.

It will be seen in Figure 7, that the passages 7 are disposed so as to discharge the circulation water both in front and in back of each cutter.

The upper surfaces 27 of the body portion of the cutters provide up-thrust hearing surfaces which, by their engagement with the under surface of the body, transmit all of the upward thrusts directly to the body.

Referring now to the drill illustrated in Figures 11 to 19 of the drawings it will first be stated that the body 2 is the same as previously described and that either type. of cutters may be removed from a drill body and the other type of cutters inserted.

For a short distance below the up-thrust bearing surface 27 (see Figure 19) the cutter body 11 has the raised concentric portion 20 and the reversely curved heel po -1 LIA tion 21, the heel portion 21 of one cutter engaging the concentric portion of the opposed cutter, when the cutters are in open position(see Figure 16) to limit the opening movements of thecutters in exactly the same manner as in the previously described cutters 11.

Below the curved heel portion 21 is a longitudinally disposed hooked projection 28, it being intended that when the cutters 11 are in open or extended position the respective projections 28 will intern-.esh as clearly shown in Figure 18, and in such intermeshing engagement will greatly strengthen the cutters against being pulled or forced apart by outward thrusts exerted on one or both of the cutters. In the closed or collapsed position of the cutters the flat surface 18 of each cutter will engage the projection 28 of the opposite cutter (see Figure 17) so as to limit the closing movements of the cutters.

The blade portion of the cutter is curved in the direction of rotation and is dressed to form a lower cutting edge 24 extending rearwardly and inwardly from a lead point 25. The cutter body has a beveled portion 23 similar to the cutters 11, and the reaming edges 19 serve the purpose of truing the bore and guiding the drill, in the same manner as do the reaming edges 19 of the previously described cutters 11.

An important feature of this second form of cutter resides in its ability to function properly even in thick sticky material, this being due first to each projection 28 having a closer wiping action along the fiat surface 18 of the opposite cutter tending to clean said flat surface, and further it will be pointed out, with particular reference to Figures 17 and 18, that as the cutters close a gradually increasing open area 29 between the two cutters is created so that such mud or clay as is not wiped away will have said area to enter without in any way affecting the closing movement of the cutters.

The cutters 11 illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 are especially designed to be made of forgings and have sufficient stock to enable them to be repeatedly redressed, while the cutters 11* illustrated in Figures 11 to 19, are designed preferably for being formed of steel castings.

In use these drills open and close for the same reasons and in similar manners, the drill being lowered through the casing 1 while in closed or collapsed condition and when below the casing rotated, in the direction of the several arrows in the drawings, by the usual driving equipment at the surface of the well.

By reason of the construction of the cutters and also by reason of their being eccentrically journaled in the body such rotation will elfect an opening of the cutters.

This opening will in part be due to the resistance offered by the water and other material in the bore, and in part due to the contacting of the cutting edges of the cutters with the bottomof the bore.

From the above it will be evident that I have provided a rotary underreaming drill having cutters adapted to be closed or collapsed for insertion through a well casing and which, upon rotation of the drill, will automatically be opened or extended to bore an enlarged hole, the cutting edges being arranged to at once perform the entire operation of forming such enlarged bore and of such construction as to have a shearing action as distinguished from a scraping action. Further the present invention provides cutters which cooperate with each other to limit their opening and closing movements and to free the cutters of mud or clay and having provisions whereby such mud or clay as is not cleaned from the cutters can have no appreciable effect on the movements .of the cutters.

\Vhile the constructions herein illustrated and described are well adapted to fulfill all of the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that I do not wish to limit the invention to such specific embodiments, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various other forms, all coming within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A rotary well drill comprising a body, and a pair of coengaging cutters longitudinally and eccentrically journaled on the lower end of the body to swing transversely from closed overlapping positions to extend' ed positions for fornfing'an enlarged bore.

2. A rotary well drill'comprising a body, and a pair of eccentric cutters longitudinally journaled on opposite sides of the axis of the body to swing transversely from closed overlapping positions to extended positions and having cutting edges adapted to perform the entire operation of forming an enlarged bore.

3. A rotary well drill comprising a body, and a pair of eccentric cutters longitudinally journaled on opposite sides of the axis of the body to swing transversely from closed overlapping positions to extended positions, each cutter having an abutting engagement with the companion cutter at the end of each of its movements to limit the opening and closing of the cutters.

4:. A rotary well drill comprising a body, and a pair of opposed cutters eccentrically and longitudinally journaled on the free end of the body to swing transversely from a closed overlapping position to anextended position, the cutters being formed to abut each other to limit their swinging movements.

5. A rotary well drill comprising a body,

and a pair of opposed cutters eccentrically and longitudinally journaled on the free end thereof to swing transversely from closed to extended positions, the cutters extending beyond the body and having cutting edges adapted to perform the entire boring operation.

6. A rotary well drill comprising a body having diametrically opposed journal sockets extending longitudinally from its lower sur face, and opposed cutters each having an eccentrically disposed journal stud engaging in one of said sockets, the cutters being adapted to swing transversely from collapsed to extended positions and having their lower ends dressed to form substantially transverse cutting edges.

7. A rotary well drill comprising a body having diametrically opposed journal sockets extending longitudinally from its lower surface, opposed cutters each having an cecentrically disposed journal stud engaging in one of said sockets and provided with a transverse peripheral groove, and a transverse member extending througli a bore in the body and engaging in the grooves of the cutters to retain the cutters against loss from Y the body.

S. A rotary well drill comprising a body having a lower surface and provided with longitudinal boresextending upwardly from said surface on opposite sides of the axis of the body, a pair of co-engaging transversely extensible cutters having journal studs extending into said bores and provided with up-thrust bearing surfaces engaging the lower-surface of the body, and means re-. taining the cutters against loss from the body.

9. A rotary well drill comprising a body,

and a pair of coengaging cutters longitudinally and eccentrieal ly journaled on the lower end of the body-to swing transversely from closed overlapping positions to extended positions, the cutters being provided with projections adapted to intermesh when the cutters are in extended position.

10. A rotary well drill comprising a body and apair of co-engaging cutters journaled on the lower end of said body to swing transversely from closed overlapping positions to extended positions, for forming an enlarged bore.

11. A rotary well drill comprising a body and a pair of cutters journaled on opposite sides of the axis of the body to swing transversely from a closed overlapping position to an extended position, each cutter having an abutting engagement with the companion cutter at the end of each of its mentioned movements.

12. A rotary well drill comprising a body having journal sockets extending from its lower surface and co-engaging cutters each having a journal stud entering one of said sockets, the cutters being adapted to swing transversely from closed to extended positions and having their lower ends dressed to form substantially transverse cutting edges.

13. A rotary drill comprising: a body having sockets therein; cutters, each of said cutters having a journal stud in one of said sockets, each of said studs having a transverse peripheral groove; and a member extending through said body and engaging in said grooves.

Signed at Los Angeles, 25th day of November, 1922.

JOHN A. ZUBLIN.

California, this v