US1666461A - Apparatus for sinking oil wells - Google Patents

Description

April 17, 1928.

- .c. A. LORD APPARATUS FOR SINKING OIL WELLS Filed June 1?, i924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,B 311v 1H0;

Charles villa April 1 7, 1928.

C. A. LORD APPARATUS FOR SINKING OIL WELLS- Fiied June 1?. 1924 2 Sheets-Shae; 2

Patented Apr. '17, 1928.

U Ni

an STATES CHARLES A. LORD, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR SINKING OIL WELLS.

Application filed June 17, 1924. Serial No. 720,652.

This invention relates to a novel method and apparatus for sinking oil or other wells with expedition, safety, and in an economical manner.

According to the usual practice, it is custornary to first dig the well and subsequently put the well casing in place after the drilling or sinking apparatus has been removed, thus necessitating much expensive and often ineffectual precaution against cave-ins and the like between the time the drilling apparatus is removed and the casing is put in place. Furthermore, the usual method of drilling involves many hazards to the equipment as 5 well as the driller, and much of the difficulty is due to the fact that the drilling is accomplished through the medium of a long drill stem to which power is applied at the surface of the ground while the drill itself often works many thousand feet' under ground, thereby setting up considerable torque in the drill stern which causes the same to rapidly crystallize and often break off in the well. Also, by this method of drilling it is diiiicult, if not impossible, to provide a reasonably straight hole due to the flexibility of the drill stem and the encountering of rock or other hard substances by the drill bit, which has a tendency to throw the entire drilling stem off its course thereby producing bends or kinks in the stem which result in a poorly driven well and consequent damage to equipment.

Accordingly, the present invention aims to overcome the difficulties above set forth and at the same time permit of the easy and convenient drilling of the well without waste of equipment and to obtain maximum efliciency throughout all of the operations. In that connection the invention contem plates placing the well casing in the hole simultaneously with the drilling thereof, yet not in any Way interfering with the drilling equipment or imposing unduly the weight of the casing on the drill, whereby the weight of the drill is properly counterbalanced or poised so that it will accurately drill the hole. To that end, the invention contemplates the use of a combined motor and drill unit which digs itself into the ground at the head of a hollow support and in advance of the well casing while the d bris loosened by the bit of the drill will be uickly and automatically removed through t e hollow supporting tube by a pump located at the surface of the well.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical form of drilling un t including a plurality of electrically driven motors'arranged in such a manner that they may be operation as more or less power is re uired to send the apparatus through di erent strata of sub-soil.

A further novel feature sought by the present construction resides in providing means for properly spacing the drilling unit with reference to the surrounding well casing, a part of said means constituting a washer or plug which seals up the well casing at the desired distance above the casing successively thrown into of the drilling unit so that the suction of the pump at the surface may be readily imposed on the annular chamber surrounding the drill and beneath the washer, thereby to assist in lifting the water and dbris around the drill casing and into the dbris removing pipe which carries the drill unit.

A still further object is to provide simple and effective means for simultaneously handling the well casing and the dbris removmg tubing which suspends the drilling unit. That is to say it is proposed to provide novel means at the surface of the well for feeding the well casing down into the hole prepared by the drilling unit, simultaneously with the progress made by the drill while at the same time permitting of the ready attachment of additional well casing sections and additional debris removing pipe sections as the drilling operation proceeds to greater depths.

With the aboveand other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts herein- 8; ter more fully described, illustrated and c aimed, and in the novel steps of the method set forth in connection with the apparatus refIerreld to.

n t e accompan in' drawin sz.

, Figures 1 and 1* sli dw izhcliethod employed in the present invention and diagrammatically represent the apparatus employed to that end.

Figure 2 is" an enlar ed detail vertical sectional view of the drilling unit.

engages with the washer or packing ring.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

As previously indicated, the present invention has in view a novel method for simultaneously sinking the well casing with the preparation of the well and to that end it is proposed to employ anovel drilling unit designated generally as A having at the lower end thereof a drill B for digging into the earth and preparing the desired hole to receive the well casing. The drilling unit includes power means for driving the bit and is sus ended or carried by a dbris removing tube 5, the said unit A and the tube C being surrounded by-the well easing D. This casing consists of a plurality of pipe sections connected in the usual manner and carried or supported from and at the mouth of the hole, or at the surface of the well, by suitable means for holding, elevating or feeding the easing into the hole according to the requirements at each stage of the operation. This means is preferably inthe form of antislipping rollers E which grip the well casing in such manner as to prevent slipping, thereof but will, permit its downward movement as desired by the operator in accordance with the progress of the drilling operation.

As will also be observed from Figure 1, the dbris removing tube C which carries the drilling unit A is engaged by the guiding and clutch rollers F which are mounted on slidable carriages G supported b the intermediate platform' H. This p atform or deck is positioned in the derrick at a suitable distance above the usual floor to provide the necessary clearance to facilitate the placing and connecting of additional well casing sections and additional pipe sections of the dbris removing tube. Obviously when it is desired to add additional well casing sections the sliding rollers F-F may be pushed backwardly on their carriages to provide a free passage for mounting the new well casing section on the end of the section about to disappear into the ground.

The upper end of the dbris removing tube C is formed by a permanent discharge section C which is provided at its lower end with a suitable coupling (3 for connect ing with the upper end of the last inserted pipe section 0 It w1ll,of course, be understood that each well casing section and also each pipe section of the debris tube C are elevated by suit-able block and tackle means not shown thereby to be properly placed one upon the other as each preceding section works its way into the earth. The pipe sections of the debris removing tube are preferably of such length, or may be so manipulated by the operator so as to maintain the relative relation of the joints in the tube C to the joints in the well casing D, as shown in the drawings.

Referring further to the discharge section C of the debris tube it will be observed that the upper end thereof is preferably provided with a combined suspension hanger and pipe coupling designated generally as I, the same having a bail portion J for cooperating with the hook of a block and tackle device K which not only serves to facilitate the manipulation of the fixed discharge section, but also serves to suspend the entire dbris tube C when the device is in use. That is to say, it is not always desirable to impose the entire weight of the column of the tubing C on the drill'and for the purpose of regulating the pressure on the drill bit caused by the weight of the tubing, the block and tackle device K may be used. The device I has connected therewith a flexible hose section L which hose is preferably of the same diameter as the tube and con nects with a stand pipe M or its equivalent which in turn is connected with a pump N. As will be observed from the drawing the hose L is of suflicient length to compensate for the manipulation of the fixed section C without disconnecting the hose from either the stand pipe or the discharge section of the debris tube.

As will also be observed from Figures 1 and 1 the space between the dbris removing tube C and the well casing D provides for accommodating the water hose line 0 and the electric cable P both of which are made in sections of suitable length to thereby maintain communication with the drilling unit A at the bottom of the well. The water hose 0 is connected in any suitable manner with the water supply line 0', as for example by a flexible hose 0 The water supply line 0 may be provided with a suitable valve 0 to shut off the water when a new connection is being made.

The power cable P is provided with detachable connections P and is of course also provided with suitable slack P connecting with the permanent power line P, which in turn connects with the controller 1" at the 'operators control station. The controller P may be of any conventional type for throwing one or more of the motors of the drilling unit into and out of action as will presently appear.

One of the distinctive features of the invention is to provide means to assist the operator in the drilling operation. Thus, the drilling unit A may be equipped with a telephone transmitter T (Fig. 2) suitably carried by the drill casing, the same in turn being connected with a telephone receiving set T! with a head set T for permitting the operator to hear what the drill is doing, thereby indicating whether the drill is passing through soft sub-soil, hard rock or the like. Skilled operators readily become accustomed to the different sounds and can thereby better control the operation and manipulation of the drill accordingly.

As will be observed more particularly from Figure 1, the water hose line 0 as well as the power line P pass through the water plate or gasket U carried by the drill unit A above the cap or cage V which is mounted directly on the drill casing and is provided with openings V for establishing conununication between the interior of the dbrisremoving tube C and the annular space V provided between the exterior of the casing. of the drill unit A and the lower section of the well casing D. The gasket or washer U serves not only to seal the lower end of the well casing from the portion above it, but also serves to center and steady the drill casing A in the lower end of the tube. And, to further assist in centering or steadying the drill casing, and to prevent cantiiig thereof and a consequently crooked hole, additional spacing means may be used, for example the collar W may be used or suitable lugs may be provided on the inside of the lowermost well casing section as desired.

As will also be seen from Figure 1, the lowermost well casing section may be provided with spaced lugs U for the washer plate U to rest against, thereby having the effect of properly gauging the drill bit with reference tothe mouth of the well casing. Also it will be apparent that when the washer plate U rests on the spaced lugs U, the well casing may be automatically propelled or fed into the hole as the drill bit B. advances to greater depths. \Vhen the drilling unit A thus carries the well casing with it the rollers E-E at the surface of the well merely act as guides and clutch rollers for preventing the casing from falling onto the blades of the bit B. It may be also pointed out that the spaced lugs I are bevelled on their under sides so as to preyent the blades of the drill from catching thereon when the drilling unit is withdrawn, and likewise the spacing of the lugs permits of the spacing and centering collar \V to pass by the same without interference. Furthermore, it is to be noted that the lugs U have a relatively limited projection into-the tube so as to not interfere with the withdrawal of the drill casing A.

at the surface, the same being equippcd' discharge section C ,and the drilling unit .that the well turns In practicing the present method, the derrick is located 'at the well site and the preliminary hole for the made. Then the. first section of the well casing is placed between the rollers EE which are mounted on the shafts E which may be connected with any suitable form of braking mechanism and power means for permitting the casing to go into the ground or elevate it as required. In that connection, any of the standard type of well elevator casing mechanisms may be utilized to advantage, however, for the purposes of illustration the rollers EE have been shown.

\Vithin the well casing section is placed the drilling unit A, the same being spaced therefrom bv the washer or asket U and the spacing collar \V or its equivalent, with the drill bit B resting upon the ground. The first section of debris removing tubing C having been connected to the upper end of the drilling unit A and the latter in turn having been connected with the permanent of said tubing, the entire device is in condition for operation, assuming, of course, that the proper connections have been made between the water hose and the source of water-supply O and likewise the proper connection between the power and telephone cable P and the permanent attachment plug P The operator may then use the controller P to control the various motors of the drilling unit A thereby to proceed with the drilling operation. Waterbeing supplied to the drill bit B and the pump end being in operation, the debris worked up by the drill will be removed from the hole by passing around the casing of the drilling unit and thence through the cage V on the top thereof into the debris removing tube C from whence it will be conducted to waste in the usual manner. As the operator permits the drill stem to work its way into the earth, the well casing D is simultaneously permitted to progress into the hole thereby placing the casing. section by section in the hole as the depth increases. \Vhen the oil vein is tapped or the oil sands have been reached, the drilling is stopped A may be readily withdrawn from the well casing due to the automatic collapsing of the drill bit B. In event out to be a gusher, the washeror gasket U serves as a stopper or obstruction to prevent unnecessary waste of oil and if desired the dbris tube may be used for the purpose of carrying away the drilling apparatus is v llb tion a casing consisting of a body section 1 provided at one end with suitable bearings 2 for receiving the lower end of a combined drill and armature shaft 31 having thereon a 5 plurality of motors f each of which is under the direct control of the operator through the controller I? of Figure 1. The armatures of all of the motors 4 are connected directly with the shaft 3 and each superposed motor may be energized by the operator by shifting the handle of the controller, at the surface of the well, as desired, to bring a plurality of motors into play when greater power is required to drill through hard rock or the like.

When the drill bit B strikes a hardstratum of rock it will, of course, require more power to drill through the same, and thus the bringin into play of additional motors 4 will give the desired power to overcome the temporary obstruction encountered by the drill. To assist the drill in the boring operationthe combined armature and drill shaft 3 is resiliently mounted inthe direction of its axis as will presently appear, and to relieve the shaft of shock due to the blade quickly passing from a soft strata of earth into a hard stratum the 'shock absorbing spring 5 is provided at the lower end of the column of motors 4. j

The upper end of the body section 1 is provided with a bearing plate 6 for receiving the upper end of the armature shaft 3, and to relieve the shaft of undue shock or strain, a shock absorber 7 is provided. The outside of the body 1 is provided at a suitable distance below its upper end with a threaded coupling portion 8 which is adapted to cooperate with a corresponding threaded coupling portion 9 carried by a sealing cap 10 which acts as a cover to seal the upper end of the body 1 of the drill casing. As shown in Figure 2 the exterior threaded parts "8 and 9 cooperate with a coupling ring 11 45 and a suitable gasket 12 for clamping the ca to the body and providing a water tight joint at that point. The dome 13 of the cap is provided with water tight outlet members 14 and 15 respectively 'for permitting the entrance of the water hose into and within the drill casing 1 and the power cable P. The said power cable P connects with a conduit P which carries the wires P leading to the various motor units 4.

Referring further to the cap it will be observed that the same is also provided on its side wall adjacent the dome 1'3 with an externally threaded portion 16 which receives the internally threaded sleeve portion 17 of the cage V previously referred to and which has the openings V. This cage is provided with a discharge portion- 18 which corresponds to the spigot end of a pipe for receiving the bell-end 19 of the lower pipe section of the dbris removing tube or conduit C. Thus, it will be seen that the entire drilling unit A iscarried by and suspended from the dbris tubing C.

Referring further to the gasket or washer U it will be observed that the same may be of any suitable and practical construction, and preferably consists of a flange element 20' carried by the cage V, a leather or equivalent flexible washer element 21 and a suitable clampin ring 22 and clamping block 23 held in place by the lower edge of the bell 19 of' the lowermost pipe of the debris removing tube. The water pipe 0 and the power line P pass through the gasket or washer unit U as previously indicated.

The drill bit is shown in detail in Figure 3 and preferably consists of a frame 24 having a central transverse slot 25 in which are mounted the shank portions of a pair of boring blades 27. These blades are pivotally connected as at 28 and the shank portions 26 thereof are provided with arcuate slots 29- which work on pins 30 disposed across the slot 25 in the frame 24. The said blades 27 are provided with relatively fiat boring faces 31 having a plurality of staggered teeth 34 which produce in effect the same result as the teeth of a coarse Wood file, thereby having the effect of pulverizing hard substances into such a form that they will readily pass out with the water which is used in the boring operation. Y

As previously indicated the blades 27 are intended to be collapsible, that is, they are intended to recede so as to occupy less space than the diameter of the well casing, thereby to permit the drill bit to be withdrawn from the casing. To that end, the shank portions 26 of the blades are bevelled as indicated at 32 thereby to cooperate with an expanding and releasing cone 33 formed on the end of the combined armature and drill shaft This shaft is provided with a threaded portion 35 cooperating with a similarly threaded portion of the frame 24: so that upon reverse movoment of the said shaft the cone 33 will be moved away from the inclined portions 32 of the shanks 26 of the blades which permit the outer edges of the blades to rccede. For the purpose of limiting the unthreading movement of the shaft 3 with reference to the frame 24, the same is provided with a reduced neck portion 36 be tween the cone 33 and the threads 35. This formation provides a lost motion groove for accon'imodating a stop bar or pin 37 as clearly shown in Figure 3, so that when the motion of the screw is reversed it will not drop the bit frame.

It will be observed that the screw threads 35 are right-hand threads so that the normal turning of the armature shaft 3 will expand the blades 27 to working position. When the drilling unit is to be lifted from the well casing the motors are reversed so that the Hill I threads 35 will unscrew from the frame and adding from the top of the well The drilling unit A is a self-contained power unit having the collapsible drill bit B for advancing into the earth and making a pathway for the casing of the drilling unit as well as the following well casing.

In connection with the progressive addition of well casing sections and sections for v the debris removing conduit it is pointed out that one of the distinctive features of the invention resides in providinga double deck derrick, that is a derrick having a lower platform and an upper platform forming the well casing sections and the sections of the dbris removing conduit are respectively handled, thereby making it possible to expeditiousl and safely manipulate the well casing and conduit to make it of any length desired.

Another distinctive feature of the invention resides in the provision of the construction involving the combination of the first 5 well casing section and the interiorly spaced drilling unit which is disposed in the mouth of the dbris removing conduit, which mouth is provided by the first well easing section. In connection with the removal of material through the conduit C, the particular type of boring blades 27 are an important factor.

The relatively short sta gered teeth 34 on the faces of the drill bla es provide a finely divided earthy mass which finds the water a ready vehicle to facilitate removal.

Without further description, it is thought that the many features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will, of course, be understood that the changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from' the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

claim:

1. A well making apparatus including in combination, a superstructure, separate platforms at different-elevations in said superstructure, a casing, a dbris removing tubing,

I a drilling unit carried 10 the dbris removthe tubing and also the casing to follow the drilling unit.

- 2. A well making apparatus including in combination, a superstructure, platforms at different elevations in said superstructure, a casing, a dbris removin tubing, a drilling unit carried by the debris removing tubing, means for engaging said tubing mounted on one of said platforms and including parts adjustable at right angles to the tubing, and means on the other of said platforms for sustaining the casing and allowing it to follow the rillin unlt.

3. well mziking apparatus including in comblnatlon, a superstructure, platforms at different elevations in said su erstructure, a

casing, a dbris removin tubing, adrilling unit carried by the debris removing tubing, means on one of said platforms for engaging and feeding said dbris removing tubing, means on the other of said platforms for engaging and feeding the well casing, power means by the platform which supports the means for engaging the tubing, said power means and water supplying means extending between the casing and the tubing and connecting with the drilling unit.

4. In an apparatus formaking oil wells and the like, sections, tubing sections adapted to forma debris conduit, a drilling. unit at the end of said debris conduit, super-structure at .the surface of the ground, means carried by said super-structure for separately and simultaneously adding well casing sections and tubing sections to the dbris conduit, said means comprising platforms arranged at different elevations, combined guiding, feeding and clutch means on each platform for respectively engaging the sections of the well casing and sections of the tubing of the tubing constitutin the dbris conduit and arranged within t s well casing, means carried by the conduit adjacent the upper end of the drilling unit and cooperating with a well casing section to provide a' dbris chamber communicating with the dbris tube, means for su plyin water to said dbris chamber and t e d!" ling unit, a pump connected with the dbris conduit, a super structure, means carried by the super-structure for adding additional well casing sections and additional ,tubi'ng sections to the debris-"conduit. 1/

6. In an apparatus for making oil Wells and the like,t e combination of well casing sections, a self-contained power drilling unit arranged within saidiwell casing sections and water supplying means carried the combination of well casing and having a collapsible drill bit arranged in advance of the mouth of the first well casing section, tubing sections forming a debris conduit adapted to be arranged within the well casing sections, means for connecting the lower end of the dbris conduit with a drilling unit, said means providing a sealed debris chamber in the lowermost well casin section and establishing communication with the debris conduit, a super-structure at the surface of the ground and means carried by said super-structure for assisting in adding additional well casing sections and additional tubing sections, a pump connected with said dbris removing conduit.

7. In an ap arutus for making oil wells and the like, tiie combination of well casing sections, tubing sections arranged within the well casin sections, a self-contained power driven drilling unit arranged within the lowermost well casing section and having a collapsible drill bit arranged in advance of the mouth of'such well casing section, means carried by said tubing sections for providing a dbris chamber around and about the casing of the drilling .unit and means for establishing, communlcation between said chamber and the tubing, a super-structure at the surface of the ground, means for adding sections to the well casing, means for adding sections to the tubing, means for supplying power to the drilling unit, a controller for controlling said power to the drilling unit,

means for supplying water tothe chamber and drilling unit, a pump connected with the dbris tubing, and means for elevating said tubing. V

8. 11 an apparatus for making oil wells and the like, a self-contained power driven drilling unit comprising a casing, a combined drill and armature shaft journaled in said casing, a plurality of motors on said combined armature and drill shaft, a power cable for supplying current to said motors, means for selectively controlling said motors, a drill bit carried by the exposed end of said shaft, a water pipe extending through said casing to supply the drill bit with water, a cap for said casing having fluid tight openings for permitting the passage of the water pipe and the power cable, a suspending cage carried by said cap, and a well casing engaging gasket carried by said cage.

9. In an apparatus for making oil wells and the like, a self-contained power driven drilling unit including a casing, acombined drill and armature shaft journaled in said casing, a drill bit carried by the end of said shaft projecting beyond the casing, a cap for the end of said casing opposite the drill, means for connecting said cap to-the casing in a water tight manner, a suspending cage connected with the cap and having openings, and a well casing engaging gasket carried by said cage.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature.

' CHARLES A. LORD.

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