US2662735A

US2662735A - Apparatus for drilling deep wells

Info

Publication number: US2662735A
Application number: US60709A
Authority: US
Inventors: Arutunoff Armais
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-11-18
Filing date: 1948-11-18
Publication date: 1953-12-15
Anticipated expiration: 1970-12-15

Description

? 5 m 0 SEARCH www Dec. 15, 1953 A. ARUTUNOFF 2,662,735

APPARATUS FOR DRILLING DEEP WELLS Filed Nov. 18, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l l L9 JNVENTOR.

Amm/5 wf/waff Dec. 15, 1953 A. ARUTUNOFF 2,662,735

APPARATUS FOR DRILLING DEEP WELLS Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR DRILLING DEEP WELLS Armais Arutuno, Bartlesville, Okla.

Application November 18, 1948, Serial No. 60,709

11 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus for drilling deep wells, such as disclosed in my application for patent on Method and Apparatus for Drilling Deep Wells, Serial No. 711,959, led November 23, 1946, now Patent No. 2,609,182, of which this case is a continuation-in-part.

In general, my invention relates to apparatus for drilling deep oil and gas wells, and it deals more particularly with a drilling unit suspended on a cable, the upper end of the cable being connected to a suitable derrick or hoist at the surface so that it can be payed out as drilling progresses. The drilling unit comprises a rotary drill and means for rotating the same, all suspended from said cable (the means for rotating the drill comprising an electric motor), and the present invention is an improvement in the means for suspending or mounting the drill and rotating means therefor in such a manner as to avoid twisting of the Weight carrying or suspending cable.

In the apparatus disclosed in my application referred to above, the cable from which the drilling apparatus is suspended is so constructed and arranged that it also includes means for conducting the electrical energy from above the surface to the motor suspended on the cable, and in the improvement disclosed herein the suspending cable likewise has incorporated therein conductors for the electrical energy to be supl,

plied to the motor.

In providing a cable for suspending drilling apparatus of the aforementioned character, it is necessary that the cable be prevented from twisting due to the torque exerted on the apparatus by the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus, and it is an important purpose of my invention to pro-vide a mounting for the rotatable drilling means and the driving means therefor so constructed that there will be no twisting action exerted on the cable. In order to accomplish this purpose there is provided, at the lower end of the cable, gripping means adapted to engage the wall of the well in such a manner as to hold the parts associated therewith against rotation.

In order to further assure against twisting of the cable due to operation of the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus suspended from the cable, a swivel is provided between the above mentioned gripping means and the mounting for the rotatable parts, so that should the mo-unting for the rotating parts have any rotative movement whatsoever in the well this will not be transmitted to the mounting for the gripping means associated with the cable.

Furthermore, in order to reduce the relative rotation of the two-swivelly connected parts of the swivel connection, additional wall gripping means is provided, this being associated with the mounting for the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus in such a manner as to hold the lower nember of the swivel connection against rotaion.

It has been found in practice that a single wall gripping device, such as provided in the apparatus shown in my aforementioned application, is subject to some slippage, and hence will not at all times and under all conditions hold the lower member of the swivel connection provided between the cable and the mounting for the rotating parts against rotation; if the lower member of the swivel Aconnection turns due to the failure of said gripping means to hold the parts positively against rotation, there is, of course, a possibility that the suspending cable will be twisted to some extent. In order to completely avoid this it has been found necessary to use the pair of wall gripping members with the swivel connection interposed between them, the upper gripping members being associated with the suspending cable and the lower gripping member being associated with the mounting for the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus.

It is a further important purpose of my invention to provide a mounting for the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus on a suspending cable that includes a swivel connection, which is of the utmost dependability mechanically as well as electrically, and which is embodied into one easily replaceable assembly.

The gripping means that I utilize for engagement with the well wall preferably comprises a torque shoe device having a plurality of shoes or gripping members that are so mounted as to be moved into engagement with the well wall to grip the wall, upon any rotation of the part upon which these gripping shoes are mounted, due to the torque exerted thereon by the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus, The shoes of the torque resisting apparatus must be so mounted that the mounting will resist the great stresses exerted thereon by the torque that these resist and the specific mounting of said shoes or gripping members disclosed herein is an important feature of my invention, in that it avoids any damage to the gripping appartus by the forces exerted thereon.

It is another important feature of my invention to provide a swivel connection that is provided with electrical contacts that are so mounted that a circuit will be maintained between the conductors in the cable suspending the apparatus and the conductors leading to the motor that drives the rotating parts of the drilling apparatus at all times as the two parts of the swivel turn relative to each other about their axis, said electrical connections comprising contact rings and spring pressed contact members engaging with said contact rings to maintain the electrical connections.

Means is provided for insulating the electrical conductors comprising a body of oil surrounding the same and the above referred to contacts and to maintain a pressure on said body of oil higher than that of the drilling uid, that contains water, in which the drilling apparatus is submerged.

It has been found, Where high voltage current is conducted through conductors that are contained in a body of oil to provide the necessary insulating means for said conductors, that oil under pressure is not sufficient protection for preventing deterioration of said insulating oil and thus loss of dielectric strength. It has also been found that where there is the possibility of seepage or leakage of either the oil or a liquid containing water through a seal, that if such leakage occurs and Water enters the body of oil, the moisture entering from the body of water will readily travel downwardly through the intermolecular space in the oil, thus contaminating the entire body of oil and lowering the dielectric strength thereof, whereas this deteriorating process does not occur where the point of contact of the water with the oil underlies the body of oil so that the travel of the moisture would have to be upwardly through the body of oil. It is one of the purposes of my invention to provide sealing means for the chamber containing the body of oil that is of such a character that all of the seals at which the outer body of water and the inner body of oil might come in contact are so located that the body of water lies below the body of oil at the seal, and thus any point of contact with the water would underlie the body of oil.

During operation of my drill it is inevitable that the lower part of swivel connection slowly rotates relative to the upper part due to the creeping of main torque Shoes which although substantially holding the drilling unit from rotating, are subject to some slip as the unit advances. On an average, such creeping results in one revolution for every five or ten minutes of operation.

It is highly desirable to be informed of proper performance of swivel and unit as the drilling proceeds and therefore it is one purpose of my p-invention to provide signal means at the surface to indicate relative rotation of the twoparts of i the swivel so that signal is sounded once for every revolution. The frequency with which the signal means operates gives an indication of conditions being encountered in the well bore during the drilling operation. If, for any reason, the signal means ceases to operate, it will immediately be apparent to those at the surface that the two swivelly connected parts of the swivel member are rotating together (and that the swivel member is thus not functioning properly) or that both parts are stationary.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide in conjunction with the means for securing the apparatus to the lower end of the cable a receptacle for refuse or debris that may be loosened or fall into the well bore from above the point at which the drilling operation is taking place, this 4 material being commonly referred to in oil Well drilling practice as junkJ With the above objects in View as well as others which will appear asthe description proceeds, my invention consists in the novel features herein set forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of my drilling apparatus, partly broken away, showing the same located in a well bore,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the upper portion of the means for suspending the drilling unit from the cable,

Fig. 2a is a similar view of the lower portion thereof, the lower gripping means being shown in elevation and being partly broken away,

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 4 is a similar View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2a, and

Fig. 6 is a similar view, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2a.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the reference numeral I0 indicates a well bore in which my drilling unit is located. The drilling unit comprises an upper section Il, a section I2 swiveled thereto, a bailer section or detritus collector I3 connected to the lower end of the section I2, and a section I4 which contains the motor I5 for driving the drill I6 through suitable reduction gearing, not shown. In the drawings, the drill is shown as being a core drill, although any other suitable drill may be utilized.

The upper section I I of the drilling tool is suspended from a weight supporting cable I1. The cable I1 is connected with the section II in the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, said section II comprising an open ended tubular portion I8, which is internally screwthreaded at I9 and is engaged at said threaded t. end portion by a nut 20. The upper end of said tubular member I8 has a tubular guide member 2l mounted centrally thereof, which is connected with the tubular member I8 by means of ears 22. The member 2| is what is commonly referred to as a fishing neck. The cable IT extends through the member 2l and is secured to a bolt 23 by means of

cable clamps

24 and 25, by means of which said cable I'l is formed into a loop 26 embracing the bolt 23. The bolt 23 is mounted in a pair of upstanding ears 21 on an inner tubular member 28 provided in the section II, the tubular member 28 being Xed to the nut 2D by means of a key 29 and a nut 30 screw-threadedly engaging with the end thereof and seated against a shoulder 3| on the nut 20, said tubular member 28 also having an annular shoulder 32 thereon so that said tubular member 28 is fixed by key 29 in position relative to the tubular member I8 by means of the nut 30 clamping the shoulder 32 against the nut 20.

A sleeve 33 surrounds the bolt 23 and a sheet metal guard member 35 is mounted between the sleeve 33 and the loop 2S formed in the cable Il. The cable I 1 is made in a similar manner to that shown in my above referred to copending application, in that it has an outer weight sustaining sheath, and mounted within said sheath is an insulated electrical cable 36. The cable 36 is connected with an insulated cable 3l by a suitable splice 38. The electrical cable 31 extends into the central passage 39 in the tubular member 28 `and into the tubular swivel member 48 carried by the tubular member 28. Itfwill be noted that the tubular member I8 is removable from the member- 28 and thus from the member 28 -so as to provide ready access to the cable clamps and the electrical connections within the same by merely unscrewing the same from the nut-like member 28 and sliding the sleeve-like member 2I upwardly on the cable I1. Also it will be noted that when the tubular member I8 is in position as shown in Fig. 2 it is open at the top thereof so that any debris that may be loosened above the location ofthe drilling apparatus will drop into the container provided by said tubular member I8, said container having a large chamber 4I therein that constitutes a debris or junk basket. l

The tubular member 28 is provided with a cylindrical outer surface that extends from the -shoulder 32 to the portion 42 thereof. The surface 44 is provided with an annular groove 43 and a stop collar or ring 45 is seated in the groove 43. A pair of rings 46 and 41 are mounted for relative rotation thereto on the cylindrical outer face of the member 28. The rings 46 and 41 are the same in construction, except for the fact that these are reversed. Each of said rings has a plurality of radial slots 48 therein, as shown in Fig. 4, and each has the ends of a pair of bowed out springs 49 xed thereto (see Figs. 2 and 4). The springs 49 are of such a curvature that these will be flexed upon engagement with the wall of the bore I8 so as to rmly engage -by spring pressure with the wall of the bore to hold the rings 46 and 41 against rotation in said well bore.

The springs 49 and the rings 46 and 41 constitute part of a gripping means for holding the upper section I I, which constitutes the upper member of a swivel connection, against rotation in the well bore. Said gripping means further comprises a plurality of shoes 58 that may be referred to as torque shoes, in that these shoes engage the wall of the well bore to prevent rotation of the tubular member 28 and thus of the upper section I I of the well drilling device, which might otherwise occur due `to the torque developed by the motor I5 in rotating the drill bit I6. The member 28 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves 5I, which have a pair of

side walls

52 and 53, the side walls 53 being inclined much more to the radial than the side walls 52. Each of the grooves furthermore has a partly cylindrical bottom wall 54, which serves as a socket for receiving the integral vhinge pin portion 55 on each of the shoes 58.

the member 28 relative to the rings 46 and 41 by means of the projecting lugs or fingers 6I provided on each end of each of the shoes 58, which operate in the radial slots 48 in the rings'46 and 41. It will be obvious that if the member 28 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction relativeV to the rings 46er 41, as viewed in Fig. 4, the

6 pivot pin portions 55 will be swung around relativeto the position of the lugs 6I so as to throw the gripping members 58 outwardly into engagement with the wall of the bore.

As the forces that will be acting on the shoes 58 are very great, the construction of the mounting of the shoes must be quite rugged. For that reason the pivot members of the shoes are mounted in the grooves in the thick tubular member 28 and are provided with strong retaining members comprising the arcuate bars 62 that have fiat end faces that are welded face to face to the

faces

52 and 53 of the grooves at 63 and 84, respectively, said arcuate bars 62 passing through the openings 56 in the members 58.

The tubular swivel member 48 is provided with an upper screw-threaded end portion 65 that is threaded into the internally threaded end portion 66 of the member 28, and a stuffing box is provided in the upper end of said swivel member 48 comprising the compressible packing 61 and the gland member 68 that compresses the packing 61 between itself and the annular shoulder 69 providing a reduced neck portion in the swivel member 48 within which the cable 31 ts. The packing 61 is thus compressed around the cable so as to provide a liquid tight joint around the cable within the member 48. The cable 31 extends to the lower end of the member 48, which has an annular enlargement 18 thereon, on which the cylindrical extension 1I is Secured.

An insulating block 12 is mounted in the lower end of the cylindrical member 1I, being seated in a recess in the end thereof, as shown in Fig. 2a, and the three conductors 13, 14 and 15 that are p-rovided in the cable 31 extend from the lower end of said cable through suitable passages in the insulating block 12 to contacts provided on said insulating block. Said contacts, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5, comprise a central substantially circular contact 16 and a pair of flat ring-like contacts 11 and 18. The contact 16 is mounted on the axis of the cylindrical member 1I and thus on the axis of the swivel member 48 and the ring contacts 11 and 18 are concentric therewith. The conductor 14 is connected with the central contact 16, the conductor 13 with the ring contact 11 and the conductor 15 with the ring contact 18.

The member I2, which is swiveled on the member II, comprises an outer tubular housing 19, with which an upper head 88 is screwthreadedly connected at one end thereof, and a lower head 8| is screw-threadedly connected at the other end thereof. The head 88 has a bearing portion 82 fitting the outer periphery of the tubular member 48, and said bearing portion is provided with a plurality of grooves 83, in which compressible sealing rings 84 are mounted. The head member 88 has an upwardly extending end portion 85 that is slightly reduced in diameter and is provided with a cylindrical outer surface, while the swivel member 48 has a flanged collar 86 keyed thereto by means of a key 81 so as to rotate therewith, said collar having a depending 2111111131 ange 88 overlapping the reduced upper end portion 85 of the head 88 of the member I2 and having a groove therein, in which the compressible sealing ring 89 is mounted. 'Ihe retaining ring 98, mounted in a groove in the swivel member 48 holds the collar 86 from endwise movement and the joint between the collar 86 and the swivel member 48 is sealed by means of the sealing ring 9|. An upper ball thrust bearing 92 is mounted between the

members

80 and 86, a space being provided between the

members

80 and 86 for mounting this thrust bearing.

' Mounted within said spacel is also a spring pressed contact 93, which is carried by the up-per end member 80 provided on the tubular housing 19 and thus rotating with the member I2 and grounded to said member 80 and thus to the metallic parts of the drilling apparatus and the outer sheath of the cable |1. A contact 94 is mounted in a recess in the collar 86 and a conductor 95 extends to said contact through the passage 96 in the collar 86, said conductor 95 being contained within the cable 31 and passing therefrom in the passage 39, as will be obvious from Fig. 2, a side passage 99 being provided from the passage 39 for the conductor 95 so as to bring the same out of the member 28. It will be seen that as the member 80 rotates relative to the member 86 and thus as the member I2 rotates or swivels on the member I the contacts 93 and 94 will engage once during each rotation of said parts. This is utilized as an indicating means or signal means to indicate by means of any suitable signal above the ground surface connected with the proper conductor within the cable |1 and grounded to the outer sheath of said cable I1 to indicate as to whether the upper and lower members of the swivel are rotating relative to each other and thus whether the apparatus is functioning properly. In fact the frequency of the signals will indicate the conditions in the well bore as, if any slippage of the gripping means 50 occurs, the relative rotation of the

members

80 and 86 will either be retarded or will cease entirely. If in any case the gripping means 50 is not functioning perfectly, then the rotation induced in the upper section II due to the slight frictional resistance in bearing and seals 84 and 9| will result in an undesirable twist in the cable I1.

The collar 86 is provided with a longitudinal passage 98 therein, which leads to the space between the lower end of the member 86 and the upper end of the member 80, and a valve 99 is provided thereon through which oil under pressure, which is an electrical insulator, is inserted in the passage 98 and all spaces in cornmunication therewith. As the apparatus will be in a body of water in the well bore when the drilling operation is taking place, there will be water surrounding the

members

80 and 86 and accordingly there will be water on the lower side of the seal 89 and oil on the upper side of said seal when the appaatus is in operation. However, it has been found that there will be no contamination of the oil and thus of its insulating and lubricating properties by upward passage of the moisture through the seal 89 into the body of oil, because, when the body of oil is above the body of water in the seal, no such intermingling of the moisture with the oil as would cause the same to deteriorate, will take place.l

A ball thrust bearing |00 is mounted between a shoulder on the lower end of the member 80 and a shoulder |0| provided at the enlargement 10 on the swivel member 40. The section I2 further comprises a tubular member |02, which is screw-threadedly connected with the head 8|, which thus serves as a coupling means between the tubular members 19 and |02. The member 8| has a seat at its upper end for an insulating block |03 and has an inner tubular member |04 secured in an opening in the lower end thereof, which communicates with the chamber |06 within the member 8|. The tubular member |02 serves as a piston chamber in which a piston I 01 is mounted, which slides on the tubular member |04, serving as a guide for said piston, and within the bore of the tubular member |02. The piston has a rearward extension |08 having an additional guide opening |09 therein cooperating with the tubular member |02. Sealing rings IIO and III are provided in suitable grooves in the piston cooperating with the walls of the tubular members |02 and |04, respectively. A coupling |I2 is screw-threadedly connected with the tubular member |02 and a compression coil spring ||3 is mounted between the rear wall ||4 of the piston |01 and the end wall I|5 of the coupling |I2. A series of openings ||6 is provided in the tubular member |02.

Spring biased contact members ||1, |I8 and II9 are mounted in the insulating block |03, there being two of the contacts I|8 and two of the contacts ||9 arranged substantially diametrically opposite each other. Thus there are two contacts ||9 engaging with the contact ring 18 and two contacts ||8 engaging with the contact ring 11, and the single contact ||1, which is on the axis of the swivel member 40, engaging with the contact 16. With this arrangement of contacts vthere will be assurance that there will always be a connection between the conductors |20, |2| and |22, and the conductors 14, 13 and 15, respectively, through said contacts, the conductor |2| having branch conductors |23 leading to the contacts ||8 and the conductor |22 having branch conductors |24 leading to the contacts I9. The conductors |20, |2| and |22 extend from the cable |25, which extends through the passage in the tubular member |04 and leads to the motor I5. The motor I5 is a three phase motor and the electrical energy is thus supplied to said motor from the cable 36 in the supporting cable I1 through the cable 31 and the cooperating contacts to the cable |25 having the conductors that are connected with said motor.

The coupling II2 has a passage |26 therein, which leads to a suitable passage in the threaded end portion |21 of a member |28, which is connected with the coupling I I2 and which is in turn connected with the section I3. The passage |26 is provided with a stuing box comprising the packing gland |29 and the layers of compressible packing |30, which provide a liquid tight joint around the cable |25 in said passage |26.

A chamber is thus provided that is sealed so as to retain a body of liquid therein, which chamber includes the passage within the tubular member |04 and the chamber between the piston |01 and the bottom end wall of the member 8|. In order to provide communication between this chamber and the chamber |06 in the member 8|, a liquid passage |3I is provided in said member 8|. The liquid chamber |06 communicates with the space between the tubular members 1| and 19 and also with the space within the tubular member 1| and thus with the passage in the swivel member 40. There being no seal between the member 40 and the tubular member 19, the space between the tubular swivel member 40 and the

members

19 and 80 up to the sealing rings 83 will also be in communication with the other above referred to spaces. An insulating oil is injected into the spaces under pressure through the valve |33 in the member 8| and the air released through the valve |32 in the member 80.

The insulating oil is indicated by the numeral |34 in Figs. 2 and 2a.

As the drilling apparatus will be in a body of liquid containing water when in operative position in the well bore the column of water above the openings IIB will cause the liquid in the well bore under pressure to ll the chamber |35 back of the piston |01. However, the spring I|3 will further urge the piston upwardly and thus the pressure on the oil |34 will be greater than the pressure of the liquid in the chamber |35 and, accordingly, at all seals the outward pressure exerted by the body of oil will be greater than the pressure of the liquid containing water on the outside of the seals. Thus if there is any leakage or seepage through the seals, it will be an outward seepage or outward leakage of oil rather than an inward passage of the liquid containing water.

The member |28 has gripping means provided thereon that are of identical construction to the gripping means that comprise the shoes 50 above described, except that said gripping means are of greater length. However, the shoes 50 of said gripping means operate in the same manner as the shoes 50 above described, and are mounted in a similar manner on the member |28 so as to cause the same to be thrown outwardly into engagement with the well wall upon any tendency of reverse rotation of the member |28 due to the rotation of the drill I6. Instead of providing a pair of openings in the shoes for the retaining means, three openings 56' are provided in each of said shoes, and it is obvious that any desired number of such openings and retaining bars or bands 62', which are the same in construction as the'members 62 above described, can be provided, dependent upon the length of the gripping means and of the shoes. The shoes are provided with lugs 6I corresponding to the lugs 6I of the shoes 50, which operate in radial slots in ring members 46' and 41 corresponding to the ring members 46 and 41 previously described. The operation of the lower gripping means comprising the shoes 50 is exactly the same as that of the upper gripping means having the shoes 50.

It will accordingly be seen that the torque exerted on the apparatus by the rotary drilling operation will thus be resisted first by the shoes 50' to thus reduce rotation of the section I2 to a minimum. Furthermore the tendency of this rotation to be transferred to the section II will be entirely eliminated due to the cooperation of the upper gripping means 50 holding the section II stationary and the swivel connection between the section II and the section I2. Thus any tendency of the cable I1 to twist will be entirely avoided by the combination of gripping devices and swivel connection between the same provided in this drilling apparatus.

It will be noted also that the seals that are provided between two moving parts, where the only possibilities of leakage of liquid might occur, are so arranged that the outer body of liquid containing water is on the lower side of the seal and the insulating oil comprising the inner body of liquid is on the upper side of the seal. This is true ofthe seals IIU, III and 89.

By the particular mounting of the pivoted shoes 50 and 50' by means of the bar-likevmember 62, a very strong connection is provided between these pivoted shoes and the members on which the same are mounted. The electrical connections and contacts are all in the-body of 'Y insulating oil and the contacts are so constructed and arranged that there will always be a good contact between the cooperating contact members for any position of the parts of the swivel connection relative to each other. In additionr to that, means is provided by means of the cooperating contacts 93 and Si to give anfinstant indication or signal at the surface as to the performance of the gripping means and of the swivel connection.

The tubular member I8 serves as a housing for the cable clamping means so as to prevent any damage thereto and at the same time provides a basket for catching anything that might otherwise drop down to a point where it would inter` fere with the operation of the gripping shoes or other moving parts of the apparatus.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a hollow central body with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes pivoted against the bottom portion of said longitudinal grooves, said torque shoes having holes therein, lingers on the ends of said torque shoes, upper and lower rings rotatably mounted on said body, radial grooves in said rings controlling through the ngers on said shoes the position of said shoes, wall contact spring p-ieces connecting said rings, and hinges welded to said body and passing through said holes in said torque shoes.

2. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by a motor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and fol-j lows the bit downwardly as drilling progresses, the motor being suspended on a cable that is payed out to lower same into the ground; the improve-` ment which includes a swivel coupling between the lower end of the cable and the upper end of the motor housing; said coupling comprising a first part secured to the lower end of said cablel and a second part secured to the motor housing and supported on said rst part but rotatable relative thereto about an axis longitudinal of the bore hole, a power supply line comprising a plurality of electrical conductors terminating at said rst part, a motor input line comprising aV plurality of corresponding conductors terminating at said second part, brushes on one of said parts co-acting with slip rings on the other part to electrically connect corresponding conductors of the respective lines regardless of the relative angular position of the two parts, means including said two parts providing an enclosure about said brushes and slip rings, an insulating liquid in said enclosure, means maintaining said liquid at a pressure in excess of the pressure outside said enclosure, means holding said first part against rotation about said axis, other means connected to said motor housing for resisting rotation thereof about said axis, an electrical signalling circuit extending from said swivel coupling to the surface, and a signal generator in\ said coupling operative to transmit electrical impuls ver QNhe slnldaea a rate dependent upon the rate of`lative rotation of said two parts.

3. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by a motor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and follows the bit downwardly as drilling progresses, the

motor being suspended on a' cable that is payed out to lower same into the ground; the improvement which includes a swivel coupling between the lower end of the cable and the upper end of the motor housing, said coupling comprising a Ypair of intertting members relatively rotatablg about a vertical axis, one of said members secured to the lower end of said cable and the other secured to the upper end of the motor housing, means holding said one member against rotation about said axis, other means connected to said motor housing for resisting rotation thereof about said axis, an oil chamber disposed partly Within each member, a rotary seal between the members resisting leakage of fluid into and out of said chamber, means including a thrust bearing in said chamber rotatably supporting said other member on said one member, and means maintaining the oil in said chamber at a pressure in excess of the pressure outside said chamber.

4. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by a motor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and follows the bit downwardly as drilling progresses, the motor being suspended on a cable that is payed out to lower same into the ground; the improvement which includes a swivel coupling between the lower end of the cable and the upper end of the motor housing, said coupling comprising a pair of interiitting members relatively rotatable about a vertical axis, one of said members secured to the lower end of said cable and the other secured to the upper end of the motor housing, means holding said one member against rotation about said axis, other means connected to said motor housing for resisting rotation thereof about said axis, an oil chamber disposed partly within each member, a rotary seal between the members resisting leakage of fluid into and out of said chamber, means including a thrust bearing in said chamber rotatably supporting said other member on said one member, and means maintaining the oil in said chamber at a pressure in excess of the pressure outside said chamber, an electrical signalling circuit extending from said swivel coupling to the surface, and a signal generator in said coupling operative to transmit electrical impulses over said circuit to the surface at a rate dependent upon the rate of relative rotation of said two members.

5. In well drilling equipment of the type wherein the bit is driven by a motor that is lowered into the bore hole behind the bit and follows the bit downwardly as drilling progresses, the motor being suspended on a cable that is payed out to lower same into the ground; the improvement which includes a swivel coupling between the lower end of the cable and the upper end of the motor housing, said coupling comprising a pair of inter-tting members relatively rotatable about a vertical axis, one of said members secured to the lower end of said cable and the other secured to the upper end of the motor housing, means holding said one member against rotation about said axis, other means connected to said motor housing for resisting rotation thereof about said axis, an oil chamber disposed partly within each member, a rotary seal between the members resisting leakage of uid into and out of said chamber, means including a thrust bearing in said chamber rotatably supporting said other member on said one member, a power supply line entering said chamber through an aperture in said one member, a motor input line entering said chamber through an aperture in said other member, means sealing each of said apertures, brushes and slip rings within the chamber carried by the respective members for electrically connecting corresponding conductors of the two lines regardless of the relative angular positions of said members, and means maintaining the oil in said chamber at a pressure in excess of the pressure outside said chamber.

6. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a central body with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes having portions pivotally received in said grooves and having openings therethrough, and means for maintaining said shoes in assembled relation with said body comprising curved bars traversing said grooves, extending through said openings and fixed at the ends thereof to the walls of said grooves.

'7. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a central body with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes having portions pivotally received in said grooves and having openings therethrough, and means for maintaining said shoes in assembled relation with said body comprising curved bars traversing said grooves, eX- tending through said openings and welded at the ends thereof to the walls of said grooves.

8. An anti-rotation device for deep well drills comprising a central body with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes having inner end portions pivotally received in said grooves and having openings therethrough, means for maintaining said shoes in assembled relation with said body portion comprising curved bars traversing said grooves, extending throughsaid openings and fixed at the ends thereof to the walls of said grooves, said shoes having outer end portions adapted to engage the wall of said well, and means for moving said shoes into engagement with said wall upon rotation of said body comprising a pair of slotted rings, projections on said shoes engaging the slots in said rings, and means on said rings engaging said wall to hold said rings against rotation.

9. An anti-rotation device for a deep well drill comprising a central body with longitudinal grooves, torque shoes pivotally connected in said grooves, rotatable disks coaxial with said body at the upper and lower ends thereof, fingers on said disks engaging said torque shoes and adapted to swing said shoes outwardly to make contact with the well wall upon relative rotation between said disks and central body in one direction, and outwardly bowed spring members connecting the upper and lower disks and bearing against the well wall.

10. An anti-rotation device for deep well drilling comprising a central body, a plurality of torque shoes arranged longitudinally of said body and spaced circumferentially around said body, means connecting one edge of each shoe to said body for pivotal movement relative thereto, and means for swinging the free edges of said shoes outwardly to engage the well wall upon rotation of said body in one direction.

11. An anti-rotation device for deep well drilling comprising a central body, a plurality of torque shoes arranged longitudinally of said body and spaced circumferentially around said body, means connecting one edge of each shoe to said body for pivotal movement relative thereto, rotatable disks coaxial with said body at the upper and lower ends thereof, fingers on said disks engaging said torque shoes and adapted to swing said shoes outwardly to make contact with the well wall upon relative rotation between said disks and central body in one direction, and outwardly bowed spring members connecting the upper and lower disks and bearing against the well wall. ARMAIS ARUTUNOFF.

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