U.S. patent application number 15/000090 was filed with the patent office on 2017-07-20 for roof drill bit and associated coupler.
The applicant listed for this patent is Kennametal Inc.. Invention is credited to Nicholas J. Henry, Nicholas J. Paros, Chad A. Swope.
Application Number | 20170204676 15/000090 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59314424 |
Filed Date | 2017-07-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170204676 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Paros; Nicholas J. ; et
al. |
July 20, 2017 |
ROOF DRILL BIT AND ASSOCIATED COUPLER
Abstract
A coupler for use with a roof drill bit includes an elongate
coupler body having a forward end for removably attaching the roof
drill bit thereto and a rearward drive end. The elongate coupler
body contains an interior bore therein and a dust port formed on an
outer surface of the elongate coupler body, wherein the dust port
is in communication with the interior bore.
Inventors: |
Paros; Nicholas J.;
(Johnstown, PA) ; Henry; Nicholas J.; (Greensburg,
PA) ; Swope; Chad A.; (Bedford, PA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kennametal Inc. |
Latrobe |
PA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
59314424 |
Appl. No.: |
15/000090 |
Filed: |
January 19, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B 10/62 20130101;
E21D 20/003 20130101 |
International
Class: |
E21B 10/62 20060101
E21B010/62; E21D 20/00 20060101 E21D020/00 |
Claims
1. A coupler for use with a roof drill bit, comprising: an elongate
coupler body having a forward end for removably attaching the roof
drill bit thereto and a rearward drive end, the elongate coupler
body containing an interior bore therein and a dust port formed on
an outer surface of the elongate coupler body, wherein the dust
port is in communication with the interior bore.
2. The coupler of claim 1, wherein the elongate coupler body
includes an attachment opening formed in the forward end for
cooperating with at least a portion of the roof drill bit.
3. The coupler of claim 1, wherein the elongate coupler body
includes an additional dust port symmetrically opposed to the dust
port.
4. An apparatus, comprising: a roof drill bit for drilling a bore
hole in a mine roof, the roof drill bit having a cutting end and an
opposing attachment end; and a coupler having a forward end for
cooperating with the attachment end of the roof drill bit and a
rearward drive end, the coupler containing an interior bore therein
and a dust port formed on an outer surface of the coupler, wherein
the dust port is in communication with the interior bore.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the roof drill bit is
removably attached to the coupler.
6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the coupler includes an
additional dust port symmetrically opposed to the dust port.
7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the coupler includes an
attachment opening formed in the forward end thereof for
cooperating with at least a portion of the roof drill bit.
8. The apparatus of claim 4, further including means for removably
attaching the roof drill bit to the coupler.
9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the roof drill bit includes a
cutting insert at the cutting end thereof.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the roof drill bit further
includes a roof bit base at the attachment end thereof, wherein the
cutting insert is affixed to the roof bit base.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the roof bit base is
removably attached to the forward end of the coupler.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, further including means for
removably attaching the roof bit base to the forward end of the
coupler.
13. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the dust port is adjacent the
forward end of the coupler.
14. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the dust port is proximate to
the roof drill bit.
15. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the roof drill bit is
replaceable.
16. A roof drill bit assembly for use in drilling a bore hole in a
mine roof, comprising: a roof drill bit having a cutting insert and
a roof bit base, wherein the cutting insert is affixed to the roof
bit base; and a coupler having a forward end for cooperating with
the roof bit base of the roof drill bit and a rearward end, the
coupler containing means for removing debris while drilling the
bore hole.
17. The roof drill bit assembly of claim 16, wherein the roof drill
bit is removably attached to the coupler.
18. The roof drill bit assembly of claim 17, wherein the means for
removing debris includes at least one vacuum port formed on an
outer surface of the coupler, the at least one vacuum port in
communication with an interior bore formed in the coupler.
19. The roof drill bit assembly of claim 18, wherein the vacuum
port is adjacent the forward end of the coupler.
20. The roof drill bit assembly of claim 16, further including
means for removably attaching the roof bit base to the forward end
of the coupler
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to a roof drill bit that has a typical
use of drilling boreholes in mine roofs. More particularly, the
invention pertains to a roof drill bit with associated coupler.
[0002] Expansion of an underground mine such as, for example, a
coal mine, requires digging a tunnel. Initially this tunnel has an
unsupported roof. In order to support and stabilize the roof in an
established area in an underground tunnel, bore holes are drilled
in the roof. The apparatus used to drill these holes typically
includes a drill with a long shaft, i.e., drill steel, attached to
a drill bit wherein a roof drill bit is detachably mounted to the
drill steel at the distal end thereof. To commence the drilling
operation, the roof drill bit is then pressed against the roof and
the drilling apparatus is operated so as to drill a bore hole in
the roof. The bore holes may extend between two feet to greater
than twenty feet into the roof. These bore holes are filled with
resin and roof bolts are affixed within the bore holes. A roof
support, such as roof panels, is then attached to the roof
bolts.
[0003] As one can appreciate, the drilling operation generates
drilling debris. It is important to remove or evacuate this
drilling debris from the vicinity of the borehole. More
particularly, it is important to remove the drilling debris from
the vicinity of where the roof drill bit initially engages the
earth strata so as to decrease wear on the roof drill bit and
increase the overall efficiency of the drilling operation. Examples
of such roof drilling arrangements are shown in U.S. Pat. No.
8,807,248 to Bise et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 8,002,054 to Swope et
al. (both of which are assigned to Kennametal Inc. of Latrobe,
Penn., who is also the assignee of the present application). In
both of these examples, evacuation ports are formed in the roof
drill bit body which is integrally formed with the roof bit cutting
end thus requiring replacement of the whole assembly due to wear
during use.
[0004] Thus, it would be highly desirable to provide an improved
roof drill bit arrangement that overcomes limitations,
disadvantages and/or shortcomings of known such arrangements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a coupler for
use with a roof drill bit includes an elongate coupler body having
a forward end for removably attaching the roof drill bit thereto
and a rearward drive end. The elongate coupler body contains an
interior bore therein and a dust port formed on an outer surface of
the elongate coupler body, wherein the dust port is in
communication with the interior bore.
[0006] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an
apparatus includes a roof drill bit for drilling a bore hole in a
mine roof, the roof drill bit having a cutting end and an opposing
attachment end. The apparatus further includes a coupler having a
forward end for cooperating with the attachment end of the roof
drill bit and a rearward drive end, the coupler containing an
interior bore therein and a dust port formed on an outer surface of
the coupler, wherein the dust port is in communication with the
interior bore.
[0007] In accordance with an additional aspect of the invention, a
roof drill bit assembly for use in drilling a bore hole in a mine
roof includes a roof drill bit having a cutting insert and a roof
bit base, wherein the cutting insert is affixed to the roof bit
base. The assembly also includes a coupler having a forward end for
cooperating with the roof bit base of the roof drill bit and a
rearward end, the coupler containing means for removing debris
while drilling the bore hole.
[0008] These and other aspects of the present invention will be
more fully understood following a review of this specification and
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIGS. 1A-1C are exploded views of a roof drill bit assembly,
in accordance with an aspect of the invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 is an assembled isometric view of a portion of the
roof drill bit assembly of FIGS. 1A-1C, in accordance with an
aspect of the invention.
[0011] FIGS. 3A-3B are assembled views of the roof drill bit
assembly of FIGS. 1A-1C, in accordance with an aspect of the
invention.
[0012] FIGS. 4A-4B are exploded and assembled views, respectively,
of an additional roof drill bit assembly, in accordance with an
aspect of the invention.
[0013] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of an additional roof drill bit
assembly, in accordance with an aspect of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] Referring to FIGS. 1-3B, there is shown a roof drill bit
assembly generally designated as 10, in accordance with an aspect
of the invention. In one aspect, the assembly 10 includes a roof
drill bit 12 suitable, for example, in drilling a bore hole in a
mine roof. In one particular aspect, the roof drill bit 12 can
include a cutting insert 14 and a roof bit base 16. The cutting
insert 14 forms a cutting end and the roof bit base 16 forms an
opposing attachment end, as will be described herein. The cutting
insert 14 can be received in a slot 18 formed in the roof bit base
16 and is affixed thereto. Brazing is a typical method useful to
attach or affix the cutting insert 14 to the roof bit base 16
within the slot 18. However, it will be appreciated that other roof
drill bit arrangements may be used in accordance with aspects of
the invention.
[0015] In one aspect, the hard insert 14 typically comprises a hard
material such as, for example, cemented (cobalt) tungsten carbide.
Conventional cemented (cobalt) tungsten carbide materials useful
for a hard cutting insert 14 include, for example, a composition of
cobalt-tungsten carbide wherein the cobalt ranges between about 2
weight percent and about 12 weight percent with the balance
tungsten carbide and recognized impurities. More specifically, a
preferred composition for the cutting insert 14 comprises about 6
weight percent cobalt and the balance tungsten carbide and
recognized impurities. There should be an appreciation that there
is no intention to limit the scope of the invention by the
recitation of specific cemented carbide compositions or ranges for
the cemented carbide compositions.
[0016] In another aspect, the assembly 10 includes a coupler 20
configured for cooperating with and removably attaching the roof
drill bit 12 thereto. More specifically, the coupler 20 has an
elongate coupler body 22 (typically formed of steel or a like
material) having a first end or a forward end 24 for cooperating
with and removably attaching the roof drill bit 12 thereto. The
coupler body 22 also has a second end or a rearward drive end 26
for attaching to, for example, a drill steel (not shown) and/or a
drive tool such as a drill (not shown).
[0017] A drilling operation generates drilling debris and it is
important to remove or evacuate this drilling debris from the
vicinity of the borehole. More particularly, it is important to
remove the drilling debris from the vicinity of where the roof
drill bit 12 initially engages the earth strata so as to decrease
wear on the roof drill bit 12 and increase the overall efficiency
of the drilling operation. Thus, the coupler 20 includes formed in
the coupler body 22 an interior bore 28 and at least one dust port
30 (also generally referred to as a vacuum port) formed on an outer
surface 32 of the elongate coupler body 22, wherein the dust port
30 is in communication with the interior bore 28 to allow
dust/debris to enter into the dust port 30 and flow through the
bore 28 away from the drilling area. In one aspect, the dust port
30 is positioned adjacent the forward end 24 of the coupler body 22
so as to be proximate to the roof drill bit 12 and the drilling
area. In the illustrated embodiment, the coupler 20 includes two,
symmetrically opposing dust ports 30.
[0018] During a drilling operation, the roof drill bit 12
experiences the most wear and needs to be periodically replaced.
Therefore, aspects of the invention provide for the roof drill bit
12 to be removably attached to the coupler 20 so that the roof
drill bit 12 can be replaced as needed. In contrast to a roof drill
bit being integrally formed with a body that includes dust ports
and a bore, it will be appreciated that by removably attaching the
roof drill bit 12 to the coupler 20, the coupler 20 with dust ports
30 does not need to be replaced along with the roof drill bit 12
thus reducing use of materials.
[0019] In order to removably attach the roof drill bit 12 to the
coupler 20, the invention provides means for removably attaching
the roof drill bit 12 to the coupler 20. Still referring to FIGS.
1-3B, there is illustrated a spring clip arrangement 32 for
removably attaching the roof drill bit 12 to the coupler 20, in
accordance with one aspect of the invention. Specifically, the
spring clip 32 includes a biasing member 34 for insertion into an
attachment opening 36 formed in the forward end 24 of the coupler
20. The biasing member 34 is flexible and resilient thus allowing
for a button member 38 of the spring clip 32 to be inserted into
and extend through an aperture 40 formed in the forward end 24 of
the coupler 20 (see, for example, FIG. 2).
[0020] In order to then removably attach the roof drill bit 12 to
the coupler 20, the button member 38 can be pressed inward to allow
for the roof drill bit 12 and, in particular the roof bit base 16
to be positioned on the coupler 20 such that an aperture 42 formed
in the roof bit base 16 is aligned with aperture 40 in the coupler
20. This allows for the button member 38 to then expand outwardly
through the aperture 42 and thus securing the roof drill bit 12 to
the coupler (see, for example, FIGS. 3A and 3B) while still
providing for it to be easily removed from the coupler 20 by
depressing the button member 38 inwardly and removing the roof
drill bit 12 as needed for replacement or otherwise.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 4A-4B, there is illustrated an additional
arrangement for removably attaching a roof drill bit 112 to a
coupler 120 of assembly 110. Specifically, a roof bit base 116
includes a downwardly depending post 144 that extends through an
attachment opening 136 formed in the forward end 124 of the coupler
120. The post 144 extends into an upper wall portion 145 of dust
port 130. The post 144 includes an aperture 146 (see FIG. 4A) for
receiving a pin 148 (see FIG. 4B) that removably attaches the roof
bit base 116 to the coupler 120. The pin 148 cooperates with the
upper wall portion 145 to hold the roof drill bit 112 in place.
[0022] Referring to FIG. 5, there is illustrated an additional
arrangement for removably attaching a roof drill bit 212 to a
coupler 220 of assembly 210. Specifically, a roof bit base 116
includes a threaded end 249 that is threaded onto threads 250
formed on the forward end 224 of the coupler 220.
[0023] It will be appreciated that other arrangements may be
provided for removably attaching a roof drill bit to a coupler, in
accordance with aspects of the invention.
[0024] Whereas particular embodiments of this invention have been
described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to
those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of
the present invention may be made without departing from the
invention as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *