U.S. patent number 3,575,247 [Application Number 04/839,541] was granted by the patent office on 1971-04-20 for diamond bit unit.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Shell Oil Company. Invention is credited to Robijn Feenstra.
United States Patent |
3,575,247 |
Feenstra |
April 20, 1971 |
DIAMOND BIT UNIT
Abstract
A diamond drill bit unit including a diamond bit, drill collar
means operatively associated with said bit, and vibration reducing
stabilizing means provided on said drill collar means.
Inventors: |
Feenstra; Robijn (Rijswijk,
NL) |
Assignee: |
Shell Oil Company (New York,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
9994481 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/839,541 |
Filed: |
July 7, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 6, 1969 [GB] |
|
|
11886/69 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
175/434;
175/406 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B
10/46 (20130101); E21B 17/1078 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E21B
17/00 (20060101); E21B 10/46 (20060101); E21B
17/10 (20060101); E21b 009/36 (); E21b
009/22 () |
Field of
Search: |
;175/329,406,320 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Leppink; James A.
Claims
I claim:
1. A diamond drill bit unit for performing rotary drilling
operations in subsurface formations and having a central axis, said
unit comprising:
a diamond bit;
drill collar means operatively associated with said diamond
bit;
stabilizing means comprising stabilizing elements mounted on said
drill collar means, said stabilizing elements having outer surfaces
which are conically arranged with respect to the central axis of
the diamond bit unit said surfaces lying on cones which are
arranged with the tops thereof in the direction in which the bit is
axially loaded during operation; and
a plurality of diamonds touching said conical surfaces and set in
said stabilizing elements each of said diamonds being set in a
cutting position in a directions tangential to a helical line
passing through the location of the diamond and having an axis
coinciding with the central axis of the diamond bit unit this
tangential direction being taken at the location of each diamond,
each diamond further being set in a blunt position in a direction
radial to the central axis of the diamond bit unit with the
greatest cutting diameter of the plurality of diamonds set in a
conical surface directly adjacent to the diamond bit being at least
greater than the greatest cutting diameter of the diamonds set in
the diamond bit.
2. The diamond bit unit according to claim 1, wherein the smallest
cutting diameter of the diamonds of the stabilizing means is equal
to the largest cutting diameter of the diamonds of the diamond
bit.
3. The diamond bit unit according to claim 1, wherein the conical
surfaces have a top angle between 10' and 40'.
4. The diamond bit unit according to claim 1, wherein a plurality
of conical surfaces are distributed over the length of the drill
collar means.
5. The diamond bit unit according to claim 4, wherein the smallest
cutting diameter of the diamonds set in a first conical surface of
the stabilizing means not directly adjacent to the diamond bit, is
equal to the largest cutting diameter of the diamonds set in a
second conical surface of the stabilizing means which surface is
situated between the first conical surface and the diamond bit.
6. The diamond bit unit according to claim 1, wherein the
stabilizing elements having surfaces which are conically arranged
with respect to the central axis of the diamond bit unit are of
wear-resisting material enclosing the diamonds.
7. The diamond bit unit according to claim 1, wherein the drill
collar has an outer diameter which is at least smaller than the
smallest cutting diameter of the diamonds of the stabilizing means,
and wherein at least one channel substantially extending in
longitudinal direction is arranged between each pair of stabilizing
elements having the outer surfaces thereof lying on a common
cone.
8. The diamond bit unit according to claim 1, wherein at least one
stabilizing element comprises additional diamonds which are set in
the stabilizing element in a blunt position in directions
tangential to as well as radial to the central axis of the diamond
bit unit, these diamonds touching outer surfaces of the stabilizing
element which border the conical surface thereof at at least one
side and lie within the cone on which the conical surface is
located.
9. A drill collar suitable for use in rotary drilling operations by
means of diamond bits in subsurface formations;
stabilizing elements mounted on said drill collar having outer
surfaces which are arranged on at least two noncoinciding conical
planes having their central axes coinciding with the central axis
of the drill collar;
diamonds set in the stabilizing elements, and touching the conical
surfaces, the largest cutting diameter of the diamonds lying in a
second conical plane, and the second conical plane enveloping the
first conical plane, each diamond being set in a cutting position
in a direction tangential to a helical line passing through the
location of the diamond and having an axis coinciding with the
central axis of the drill collar, said tangential direction being
taken at the location of each diamond, and each diamond being set
in a blunt position in a direction radial to the central axis of
the drill collar.
Description
The invention relates to drilling apparatus, and more particularly,
to a diamond bit unit comprising a diamond bit, a drill collar and
stabilizing means.
Diamond bits are in particular applied when drilling holes through
rock material of poor drillability which is often required when
drilling in subsurface formations for searching and/or recovering
oil or other valuable products.
These bits are of the rotary type and the diamonds thereof exert a
scraping action on the rock through which a hole is being drilled,
while the bit is loaded in an axial direction and rotated around
its central axis.
Bits of this type are especially useful for drilling through deep
abrasive hard formations, since their life time when drilling
through such formations is greater than with any other type of
rotary rock bit such as roller bit. Consequently a diamond bit has
to be replaced less frequently than a bit of another type. The
higher material and manufacturing costs of a diamond bit with
respect to other types of bits are easily compensated by the
advantages obtained as a result of the reduction in time required
to replace the worn bits during drilling operations. Known diamond
bit unit designs, however, are subject to vibrations during
drilling with possible resulting damage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a
diamond bit unit which will be less liable to be damaged by
vibrations during drilling than known diamond bit units. As a
consequence thereof the life time of the diamond bits and
stabilizing means used in the diamond bit unit according to the
invention will be much longer than that of known diamond bit units.
The life time of the diamond bits in the new diamond bit unit will
further also be longer than the life time of the diamond bits used
in combination with a drill collar only.
According to the invention, the stabilizing means as used in the
diamond bit unit comprises stabilizing elements mounted on the
collar, these stabilizing elements having outer surfaces which are
conically arranged with respect to the central axis of the diamond
bit unit. The surfaces lie on cones which are arranged with the
tops thereof in the direction in which the bit is axially loaded
during operation. Diamonds touching the conical surfaces are set in
the stabilizing elements, each diamond being set in a cutting
position in a direction tangential to a helical line passing
through the location of the diamond and having an axis coinciding
with the central axis of the diamond bit unit, this tangential
direction being taken at the location of the relevant diamond.
Further each diamond is set in a blunt position in a direction
radial to the central axis of the diamond bit unit. The greatest
cutting diameter of the diamonds set in a conical surface directly
adjacent to the diamond bit is at least greater than the greatest
cutting diameter of the diamonds set in the diamond bit.
The smallest cutting diameter of the diamonds of the stabilizing
means may be equal to the largest cutting diameter of the diamonds
of the diamond bit.
The conical surfaces may have a top angle between 10' and 40'.
The conical surfaces may be placed in groups, which groups are
distributed over the length of the drill collar.
The smallest cutting diameter of the diamonds set in a first
conical surface not directly adjacent to the diamond bit may be
equal to the largest cutting diameter of the diamonds set in a
second conical surface which is situated between the first conical
surface and the diamond bit.
The stabilizing elements having surfaces which are conically
arranged with respect to the central axis of the diamond bit unit
may be of wear-resisting material, this material enclosing the
diamonds.
The drill collar may have an outer diameter which is at least
smaller than the smallest cutting diameter of the diamonds of the
stabilizing means and at least one channel substantially extending
in longitudinal direction may be arranged between each pair of
stabilizing elements having the outer surfaces thereof lying on a
common cone.
At least one stabilizing element may comprise further diamonds
which are set in the stabilizing element in a blunt position in
directions tangential to as well as radial to the central axis of
the diamond bit unit, these diamonds touching outer surfaces of the
body element which border the conical surface thereof at at least
one side and lie within the cone on which the conical surface is
located.
The invention further relates to a drill collar suitable for use in
rotary drilling operations in subsurface formations by means of
diamond bits. According to the invention, the drill collar has
mounted thereon stabilizing elements having outer surfaces which
are arranged on at least two noncoinciding conical planes having
their central axes coinciding with the central axis of the drill
collar, diamonds being set in the stabilizing elements, these
diamonds touching the conical surfaces. The largest cutting
diameter of the diamonds lying in a first conical plane is greater
than the largest cutting diameter of the diamonds lying in a second
conical plane. The second conical plane envelopes the first conical
plane. Each diamond is set in a cutting position in a direction
tangential to a helical line passing through the location of the
diamond and having the central axis thereof coinciding with the
central axis of the drill collar, the tangential direction being
taken at the location of the relevant diamond. Further, each
diamond is set in a blunt position in a direction radial to the
central axis of the drill collar.
Other objects, purposes and characteristic features of the present
invention will be obvious from the accompanying drawing and from
the following description of the invention. In describing the
invention in detail, reference will be made to the drawing in which
like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout
several laws in which:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a diamond bit unit
comprising a diamond bit, a drill collar and stabilizing means;
FIG. 2 shows a cross section over the drill collar and part of the
stabilizing means of the example according to FIG. 1, this cross
section being taken in the direction as indicated by arrows
2-2;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a detail of FIG. 1,
but on a larger scale than FIG. 1;
FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view of an alternative
construction of the stabilizing element as shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 4 is a side view of part of the stabilizing means and the
drill collar in the direction as indicated by arrow 4 in FIG.
3;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of part of the stabilizing means
and the drill collar as indicated by section 5-5 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the diamond which is located in the
intersection of section 3-3 and section 5-5 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 shows a cross section over the diamond shown in FIG. 6 in
the direction of the arrows 7-7;
FIG. 8 shows a cross section of the diamond shown in FIG. 6 in the
direction of the arrows 8-8;
FIG. 9 shows a longitudinal section of part of a stabilizing means
and a drill collar, wherein the stabilizing means is of a design
different from the design of the stabilizing means in FIG. 3;
FIG. 10 shows a side view of part of the stabilizing means and of
the drill collar according to FIG. 9, taken in the direction of
arrow 10;
FIG. 11 shows a cross section of part of the stabilizing means and
of the drill collar according to FIG. 10, as indicated by section
11-11 in FIG. 10; and
FIG. 12 shows a cross section over a drill collar and stabilizing
means according to the invention, wherein the stabilizing means
comprises groups consisting of three stabilizing elements.
The diamond bit unit as shown in FIG. 1 comprises a diamond bit 1
of the known type, which consists of a body 2 carrying diamonds 3
near the outer surface thereof and a stem 4 provided with a screw
thread. The unit further comprises a drill collar 5 which is a
tubular member with an extremely thick wall 6 defining a central
passage 7. The drill collar 5 is provided at one end with an inner
screw thread 8 matching the screw thread of the stem 4 of the
diamond bit, and at the other end with an outer screw thread cut on
the pin 9. The central passage 7 communicates with the central
passage 10 through the bit 1.
Drill collars are usually utilized to load the bit during
operation. To this end a number of known drill collars is screwed
together (only one of which being shown as indicated by reference
numeral 11) and the string thus obtained is at one end screwed to
the upper end of the drill collar 5 and at the other end to the
lower end of a drill string (not shown).
The drill collar 5 as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing is provided
with stabilizing means comprising stabilizing elements 12.
The relative position of the stabilizing elements 12 in a radial
sense with respect to the central axis of the drill collar 5 can
best be seen in FIG. 2. The stabilizing elements 12 are mounted in
grooves present in side extensions 13 of the drill collar wall
6.
As can be seen from FIG. 3 which shows an enlargement of detail A
of FIG. 1, the body element 12 has an outer surface 14, and
diamonds 15 are set in the body element 12 in such a manner that
they touch this outer surface 14. This outer surface is conically
arranged with respect to the central axis of the diamond bit unit,
which axis is at the same time the central axis of the drill collar
5 as well as the central axis of the diamond bit 1, since the screw
threads connecting the drill collar 5 and the bit 1 have been
manufactured with great precision.
The stabilizing element 12 consists of any suitable wear-resisting
material, and is mounted by suitable means in the groove 16 cut in
the side extensions of the wall 6 of the drill collar 5.
The cones not shown of which the conical surfaces 14 form part are
arranged with the tops thereof downward in the position of the
diamond bit unit as shown in the drawing. Thus the top of the cones
point in the same direction as the direction in which the bit 1 is
axially loaded during operation.
It will be understood that the surface 14 of the stabilizing
element 12 is in the cross section according to FIG. 3 indicated by
a straight line which runs under an angle different from zero with
the central axis of the drill collar 5. This surface 14 is
indicated in the cross section according to FIG. 5 by part of a
circle, this circle having its center in the central axis of the
drill collar 5 and in the plane in which section 5-5 has been
taken.
The exact position of the diamonds in the stabilizing element 12
will now be described in the reference to the FIGS. 6, 7 and 8,
which show a diamond 17 which corresponds to the diamond in FIG. 4,
which is located in the intersection of the sectional plans 3-3 and
5-5.
FIG. 6 is an enlargement of this diamond in the situation as shown
in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross sections thereof,
respectively, along sectional planes 7-7 and 8-8 in FIG. 6.
From FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 it can be seen that the diamond, which is
cube-shaped, is located with a flat plane thereof in the conical
surface 14 (vide FIGS. 7 and 8). This means that the diamond is set
in a blunt position in a direction radial to the central axis of
the diamond bit unit. Thus, the diamond cannot exert any cutting
action as a result of load on the diamond 14, exerted in a
direction passing through this central axis and in a plane
perpendicular thereto.
It can further be seen that in the position as shown in FIG. 6, the
lower plane of the diamond 17 makes an angle B with the horizontal
line 18. Consequently, on movement of the diamond 17 in the
direction of arrow 19 (being the movement of rotation of the
diamond bit unit) the tip 20 of the diamond 17 is in a cutting
position, when load is exerted thereon in a direction axial to the
central axis of the unit.
The angle between the conical surface 14 of the stabilizing element
12 and the central axis of the diamond bit unit is indicated by C
in FIG. 7. Two times the value of C equals the top angle of the
cone of which the surface 14 forms part.
The relationship between the cutting diameters of the diamonds of
the diamond bit 1 and the two groups of stabilizing members which
are axially distributed along the drilling collar 5 will now be
described.
Under the expression "cutting diameter" of a diamond there is to be
understood the diameter of a circle in a plane perpendicular to the
central axis of the diamond bit unit (or drill collar) in which the
relevant diamond is located and along which circle the cutting
point of the diamond travels during rotation of the unit (or the
drill collar) around its central axis.
In the unit as shown in FIG. 1, the smallest cutting diameter of
the diamonds in the stabilizing elements 12 directly adjacent to
the diamond bit 1 is equal to the greatest cutting diameter of the
diamonds in the diamond bit 1. Further, the smallest cutting
diameter of the diamonds in the group of stabilizing elements 13,
which group is located above the first-mentioned group of
stabilizing elements is equal to the greatest cutting diameter of
the diamonds in the stabilizing elements 12 of this first-mentioned
group.
It will be clear from the above that the hole which is being
drilled by the diamond bit, will be enlarged in diameter by the
first group of stabilizing elements, and be further enlarged by the
second group of stabilizing elements. Since the diamonds which are
present in the stabilizing elements are set in a blunt position in
a direction radial to the central axis of the diamond bit unit, a
hole results from this drilling, where in all the stabilizing
elements of both groups of the stabilizing means are over the total
area of the outer surface thereof in contact with the wall of the
borehole. All loads exerted by the drill string and the drill
collar string in directions other than the axis of the diamond bit
unit will be taken up in the contact planes between the conical
surfaces of the stabilizing elements and the conical wall portions
of the hole which is being drilled, without any cutting action
occurring in a direction radial with respect to the central axis of
the diamond bit unit. Thus, the contact between all the outer
surfaces of the stabilizing elements and the relevant portions of
the wall of the borehole will be maintained under all
circumstances. This means that any nonaxial load and any lateral
vibrational action which would be exerted on the diamond bit by the
action of the drill string if no stabilizing means according to the
invention were applied, will now be taken up by the stabilizing
elements which are in firm contact with the borehole wall, and will
not reach the diamond bit 1, which is thus freed from undesired
loads, that are loads which are exerted in a direction other than
the direction of the central axis of the diamond bit. The lateral
forces exerted on the diamond bit by the cutting action of the
diamonds will be taken up by the contact surfaces between the
stabilizing elements and the relevant portions of the borehole
wall. Consequently, the lateral load on the bit will be of
insufficient magnitude to create an oversize hole, which prevents
the occurrence of vibrational movements of the bit which would
otherwise shorten the life of the diamonds thereof.
It will be understood that the above advantages cannot be obtained
by the application of drill collars provided with stabilizers or
reamers having cutting elements, such as diamonds, which can carry
out cutting actions when under influence of nonaxial loads. These
cutting elements will enlarge the diameter of the hole which is
being drilled to a value which is greater than the cutting diameter
of the stabilizer or reamer, which means that the contact between
the stabilizer or reamer and the wall of the borehole is only
local. The diamond bit unit can then move in lateral directions in
the hole which is being drilled, as a result of which nonaxial
loads and vibrations are passed to the diamond bit. These extra
loads on the bit over the axial load required for cutting the hole,
are detrimental for the diamonds, which will be overloaded and
either be broken out of the matrix of the bit body or burn.
It will be further appreciated that the efficiency of the diamond
bit unit according to FIGS. 1--7 can still further be improved by
placing or setting the diamonds 3 in the sidewall of the diamond
bit 1 in the same manner as has been described with reference to
the diamonds set in the stabilizing elements 12. In the same way as
has hereinbefore described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the
sidewall of the diamond bit 1 may be provided with a conical
surface, in which each diamond is set in a cutting position in a
direction tangential to a helical line passing through the location
of the diamond and having an axis coinciding with the central axis
of the diamond bit. This tangential direction is taken at the
location of the relevant diamond (compare FIG. 6). Each diamond
further touches the conical plane in which the conical surface of
the sidewall of the bit is located (compare FIGS. 7 and 8) and is
set in a blunt position in a direction radial to the central axis
of the diamond bit (compare FIG. 8).
It will further be appreciated that the form of the sidewall of the
drill bit is not restricted to a cone. With equal favorable
results, this sidewall may be formed by a rotational symmetric
plane obtained by rotating a slightly curved line around the
central axis of the bit. However, the sidewall has to have a
positive curvature, and the diameter of the bit body in cross
section perpendicular to the central axis of the bit has to
increase in upward direction. To prevent heavy axial loads on the
diamonds in the sidewall, the projection of this sidewall on the
bottom of the hole should be relatively small. This means that the
top angles of the cones which can be arranged tangentially to this
sidewall should be small, and be in the order of 10'-40'.
What has been discussed above with regard to the form of the
sidewall of the diamond bit, also applies to the form of the outer
surfaces of the stabilizing elements 12. However, no particular
advantages are obtained by deviating the outer surfaces of these
elements 12 from a conical plane. For reasons of protection,
however, the definition of cones in which the conical surfaces of
the body elements 12 and the sidewall of the diamond bit may be
located, includes rotational symmetric planes which can be placed
in tangential relationship with the said conical planes.
For purposes of illustrating the above, the stabilizing element 12
as shown in FIG. 3, which element has a conical outer surface 14,
has been shown in FIG. 3A with an outer surface 14' which is
slightly curved in longitudinal section. The rotational symmetric
plane on which the surface 14' is located, has a tangential conical
conical plane 14". The top angle of this plane (and any other
conical planes which can be tangentially arranged with respect to
the surface 14') is between 10' and 40'.
FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 show sections over a stabilizing element for use
in the diamond bit unit according to FIG. 1, and of a design
different from the design of the stabilizing element as shown in
FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.
The outer surface 21 of the stabilizer element 22 is divided into
two parts which parts are bounded by the lines D-E and E-F (vide
FIG. 10). The part of the outer surface 21 having a rectangular
shape lies on a conical plane, of which the characteristics
correspond to those of the conical plane as described with
reference to FIG. 3. It will be understood that the angle H as
indicated is equal to half the value of the top angle of the
conical plane. The L-shaped part of the outer surface 21, however,
is not located on this conical plane but is situated within this
cone. This part can consequently be regarded as a guiding plane of
the stabilizing member 22. The part J of this guiding plane borders
the conical plane at a level where the diameter is equal to the
minimum cutting diameter of the stabilizing member 21, and is of
conical nature and located with respect to the first conical plane
under an angle K.
The other part of the guiding plane is indicated by the reference M
in FIG. 11. This part is also located within the conical plane on
which the surface 21 of the stabilizing member 22 is located.
The diamonds as set in the parts J and M of the guiding plane are
set blunt in axial as well as in radial direction with respect to
the central axis of the diamond bit unit.
It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the
examples as have been described hereinabove with reference to the
drawing, but that various modifications may be introduced in these
examples.
Some of such modifications will be mentioned hereinbelow.
Although the stabilizing members have been shown to have outer
surfaces of rectangular nature, it will be appreciated that there
are many other forms of outer surfaces which will be suitable for
the purpose.
The invention is not limited to the number of diamonds as shown in
the examples.
Further the number of stabilizing members is not limited to eight,
as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. If desired, a single group of
stabilizing members consisting of four of these members may be
applied. Further, a group of three of these members has been
illustrated by way of example in FIG. 12, which shows a cross
section of a drill collar at the level where the stabilizing
members are mounted. The drill collar 23 comprises a wall portion
24 enclosing a central passageway 25, and is locally provided with
three side extensions 26 on each of which a stabilizing member 27
is mounted in a groove 28. Each member 27 consists of a
wear-resisting body in which diamonds 29 are set in the manner as
described hereinabove with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. The
cutting diameter of the diamonds as located in the cross section
shown in FIG. 12 is indicated by the reference letter P. The wall
of the hole which will be cut by the diamonds as shown in the cross
section according to FIG. 12 is indicated by the broken line 30. As
can be seen from FIG. 12 channels 31 exist between the side
extensions 26 of the drill collar 23, which channels form together
with the central passageway 25 in the drill collar 23 a way via
which drilling fluid can be circulated along the surfaces of the
bit and the bottom of the hole which is being drilled.
The shape of the side extension 13 as shown in FIG. 4 is mostly but
not necessarily adapted to the shape of the stabilizing member 12.
The most convenient manner of mounting the stabilizing members on
the drill collar is by soldering these members in grooves cut in
the side extensions. The members may be manufactured of tungsten
carbide powder or grains. The diamonds are placed in the required
positions at the required locations in graphite moulds of the
elements, whereafter the remainder of the space within the mould is
filled with the tungsten carbide grains. A desired amount of binder
material is then placed on the grains to be sintered and the whole
is subjected to a required sintering temperature.
The top angle of the cones on which the outer surfaces of the
stabilizing members are located may be between 10' and 40'. If two
or more groups of stabilizing members are used, which groups are
axially distributed along the length of the drill collar, the cones
on which the outer surfaces of the stabilizing members are arranged
may have top angles which are of equal value.
Although in the examples as described above, the minimum cutting
diameter of the group of stabilizing members arranged just above
the diamond bit is chosen equal to the largest cutting diameter of
the bit, it will be appreciated that this minimum cutting diameter
may also be chosen smaller, or even slightly larger than the
largest cutting diameter of the bit. The first construction
operates in the same manner as described, whereas the second
construction creates a borehole having a stepped diameter.
As shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the blunt position of a diamond with
respect to loads exerted in a direction radial and perpendicular to
the central axis of the diamond bit unit is obtained by placing a
substantially flat plane of the diamond in the conical plane.
However, this blunt position may also be obtained by placing the
diamond in a "dragging" position which means that the point of
contact between the diamond and the conical plane is the trailing
part of the diamond when looking in the direction of movement of
the diamond along the wall of the borehole. This means that the
sense of rotation of the diamond bit unit has to be taken into
account when placing the diamonds. This sense can be derived from
the type of screw thread used. Normally, a right-handedly wound
screw thread is applied on the bit, the drill collars and the drill
pipes which means that the diamond bit unit is rotated clockwise
when looking into the hole (vide arrow 19 in FIG. 6). The angle R
in FIG. 8 indicates the angle between the diamond plane and the
conical plane, under which the diamond can be "dragged" along the
wall of the borehole, without cutting in radial direction.
The diamonds as shown in the stabilizing elements 12 (FIG. 4) and
21 (FIG. 10) need not be placed such that all the diamonds
belonging to a horizontal group are located at the same level. If
desired these diamonds may be arranged at different levels.
Although the diamonds are shown in the drawing to which the above
examples refer are all cube-shaped, it will be appreciated that
also diamonds of other shape can be used, provided that they are
set in the position that they are cutting a direction tangential to
a helical line passing through the location of the diamond and
having an axis coinciding with the central axis of the diamond bit
unit, this tangential direction being taken at the location of the
relevant diamond, and that they are blunt in a direction radial to
the central axis of the diamond bit.
Further, the guide planes which are arranged in the stabilizing
element 22 in FIG. 10 at two sides of the conical surface thereof,
may, if desired be extended to the other sides thereof as well. The
advantage of a stabilizing member provided with a conical surface
which at all sides thereof is provided with guide planes, lies in
the fact that the movement of the drill string will not be hampered
in any direction.
If desired stabilizers and/or reamers of known design may be
combined with the diamond bit unit according to the present
invention. These known stabilizers may be of rubber or hard-faced
steel and are placed at some distance above the uppermost
stabilizing member of the diamond bit unit according to the
invention. They will restrict the oscillating movements of the
drill string and their liability to wear will be reduced owing to
the presence of the stabilizing members according to the invention.
The known reamers, if applied, are also located above the
stabilizing means of the diamond bit unit according to the
invention. Since these known reamers have the characteristic
feature of being able to cut in directions radial to the central
axis of the reamer, the hole is cut to a diameter greater than the
outer diameter of the reamer due to the vibrations occurring in the
drill string. However these vibrations do not reach the diamond bit
since in the diamond bit unit according to the invention
stabilizing elements are placed between these known reamers and the
diamond bit which stabilizing elements are, over the total outer
surface thereof in contact with the borehole wall. An advantage of
the oversized hole as results from the use of the known reamers in
combination with the diamond bit unit according to the invention is
that the diamond bit unit can be lifted very easily from the hole,
or run in.
* * * * *