U.S. patent number 3,845,830 [Application Number 05/334,828] was granted by the patent office on 1974-11-05 for method for making high penetration rate drill bits and two bits made thereby.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Texaco Inc.. Invention is credited to John L. Bryan, Joe R. Fowler.
United States Patent |
3,845,830 |
Fowler , et al. |
November 5, 1974 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
METHOD FOR MAKING HIGH PENETRATION RATE DRILL BITS AND TWO BITS
MADE THEREBY
Abstract
A method for forming a drill bit for drilling through either
consolidated or unconsolidated sedimentary sections comprises (1)
forming a recess in the bottom cutting surface of the drill bit,
and (2) shaping the recessed cutting surface into a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution having a height to radius
ratio of substantially three to one. Two other methods are
disclosed. A preferred drill bit made by the method has a conical
recess, and another has a paraboloidal recess, each recess having a
vertex and a plurality of exit transverse passages. The exit
passages have spaced apart inlet openings around their vertex, one
modification having the openings spaced from each other around its
vertex and another having the openings tangent to each other around
its vertex for forming a very efficient and high penetration rate
drill bit.
Inventors: |
Fowler; Joe R. (Houston,
TX), Bryan; John L. (Houston, TX) |
Assignee: |
Texaco Inc. (New York,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
23309021 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/334,828 |
Filed: |
February 22, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
175/404;
175/327 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21B
10/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E21B
10/04 (20060101); E21B 10/00 (20060101); E21b
009/16 () |
Field of
Search: |
;175/404,403,331,329,330 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Murtagh; John E.
Assistant Examiner: Favreau; Richard E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Whaley; Thomas H. Ries; C. G.
Claims
We claim:
1. A method for forming a high penetration rate drill bit wherein
the drill bit has a bottom cutting surface comprising the steps
of,
a. forming a recess in the bottom cutting surface of the drill bit,
the recess having a height and a circular base with a radius,
b. shaping the bottom cutting surface recess to a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution having a height to radius
ratio of substantially three-to-one, and
c. shaping the drill bit bottom non-cylindrical surface of
revolution into a paraboloidal shape.
2. A method for forming a high penetration rate drill bit wherein
the drill bit has a bottom cutting surface comprising the steps
of,
a. forming a recess in the bottom cutting surface of the drill bit,
the recess having a height and a circular base with a radius,
b. shaping the bottom cutting surface recess to a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution having a height to radius
ratio of substantially three-to-one,
c. shaping an annulus on the periphery of the drill bit bottom
cutting surface of a particular area,
d. shaping the surface of the recess internally of the annulus into
a cutting surface area substantially greater than the cutting
surface area of the annulus for forming a higher penetration rate
drill bit, and
e. shaping the drill bit bottom non-cylindrical surface of
revolution into a paraboloidal shape.
3. A method for forming a high penetration rate drill bit wherein
the drill bit has a bottom cutting surface comprising the steps
of,
a. forming a recess in the bottom cutting surface of the drill bit,
the recess having a height and a circular base with a radius,
b. shaping the bottom cutting surface recess to a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution having a height to radius
ratio of substantially three-to-one,
c. forming drilling fluid exit transverse passages in the bottom
cutting surface recess leaving non-cutting surface areas for the
fluid exits,
d. forming the remaining bottom cutting surface area to be the
major surface area relative to the non-cutting surface area for
forming a high penetration rate drill bit, and
e. shaping the drill bit bottom non-cylindrical surface of
revolution into a paraboloidal shape.
4. A method for forming a better drill bit comprising the steps
of,
a. forming a cutting surface over the bottom of the drill bit in
one continuous non-cylindrical surface of revolution,
b. forming an annulus on the periphery of the drill bit bottom
cutting surface of a particular area,
c. forming a recess internally of the annulus having a cutting
surface area substantially greater than the cutting surface area of
the annulus, and
d. shaping the drill bit bottom non-cylindrical surface of
revolution into a paraboloidal shape for forming a higher
penetration rate drill bit.
5. A high penetration rate rotary drill bit having a bottom cutting
surface comprising,
a. a recess in the bottom cutting surface, said recess having a
height and a circular base with a radius,
b. said bottom cutting surface recess has a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution shape having a height to
radius ratio of substantially three-to-one, and
c. said bottom cutting surface non-cylindrical surface of
revolution shape is a paraboloidal shape.
6. A high penetration rate rotary drill bit having a bottom cutting
surface comprising,
a. a recess in the bottom cutting surface, said recess having a
height and a circular base with a radius,
b. said bottom cutting surface recess has a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution shape having a height to
radius ratio of substantially three-to-one, and
c. said bottom cutting surface has an annulus around said recess of
a particular area,
d. the cutting surface area of the recess internally of the annulus
is substantially greater than the cutting surface area of said
annulus for providing a higher penetration rate drill bit, and
e. said bottom cutting surface non-cylindrical surface of
revolution shape is a paraboloidal shape.
7. A drill bit comprising,
a. a drill bit having one continuous non-cylindrical surface of
revolution cutting surface over the bottom thereof,
b. said cutting surface having an annulus on the periphery of the
drill bit bottom covering a particular area thereof,
c. said cutting surface having a recess formed internally of the
annulus,
d. said recess having a cutting surface area substantially greater
than the cutting surface area of the annulus, and
e. said bottom cutting surface non-cylindrical surface of
revolution shape is a paraboloidal shape for forming a higher
penetration rate drill bit.
8. A drill bit as recited in claim 7 wherein,
a. said drill bit has drilling fluid exit transverse passages in
said cutting surface recess area forming noncutting surface areas
for exit of the drilling fluid, and
b. the remaining cutting surface area being the major cutting
surface area relative to the noncutting surface area for providing
a high penetration rate drill bit.
9. A drill bit as recited in claim 8 wherein,
a. said cutting surface recess area has a vertex at its highest
point, and
10. A drill bit comprising,
a. a drill bit having one continuous non-cylindrical surface of
revolution cutting surface over the bottom thereof,
b. said cutting surface having an annulus on the periphery of the
drill bit bottom covering a particular area thereof,
c. said cutting surface having a recess formed internally of the
annulus,
d. said recess having a cutting surface area substantially greater
than the cutting surface area of the annulus,
e. said drill bit has drilling fluid exit transverse passages in
said cutting surface recess area forming non-cutting surface areas
for exit of the drilling fluid,
f. the remaining cutting surface area being the major cutting
surface area relative to the non-cutting surface area,
g. said cutting surface recess area has a vertex at its highest
point, and
h. said drilling fluid exit transverse passages each has spaced
apart openings around said vertex of said recess area in the
cutting surface for providing a high penetration rate drill
bit.
11. A drill bit as recited in claim 10 wherein,
a. said spaced apart openings around said vertex area are tangent
to each other.
12. A high penetration rate drill bit comprising,
a. a drill bit having one continuous noncylindrical surface of
revolution cutting surface over the bottom thereof,
b. said cutting surface having therein a recess area with a vertex
in the middle thereof,
c. drilling fluid exit transverse passages in said cutting surface
recess area for exit of the drilling fluid, and
d. said drilling fluid exit transverse passages each has spaced
apart openings around said vertex of said cutting surface recess
area.
13. A drill bit as recited in claim 12 wherein,
a. said spaced apart openings around said vertex area are tangent
to each other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
While drilling wells, such as wells for the recovery of petroleum
from subsurface petroleum containing formations, the better the
design of the drill bit the faster the well can be drilled and
accordingly the costs reduced. Many different types of drill bits
have been designed and built, all in quest of the optimum fastest
drilling drill bit.
The conventional core bit has been modified as in U.S. Pat. No.
1,867,024 wherein the core is first formed while drilling and a
"blade" added to break up the core. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,780, a
conical secondary cutting bit is added to an annular bit and
mounted internally of the annular coring head drill bit for
rotating relative thereto, it having a separate shaft and turbine
blades for being rotated. U.S. Pat. No. 3,055,443 shows another
coring drill bit with additional rotatable cutters for grinding up
the core first formed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,215 is a typical diamond
bit with a small recess in the center bottom with a "crow's foot"
in the bottom recess wherein the larger portion of the bottom
cutting area is on the outer annular portion, leaving the smaller
cutting area in the recessed center portion. All of these designs
are complicated with a plurality of different parts and/or surfaces
to form the complete drill bit. All are thus much more expensive to
manufacture and maintain than a single integral surfaced drill bit.
Reliability and ease of assembly are lost when one or more
additional moving parts are added to a drill bit.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide
reliable and simple methods for forming drill bits having a high
penetration rate of drilling through either consolidated or
unconsolidated sedimentary sections.
Another primary object of this invention is to provide high
penetration rate drill bits by the new methods.
A further object of this invention is to provide drill bits that
are easy to operate, are of simple configuration, are economical to
build and assemble, and are of greater efficiency for drilling
through the various sedimentary sections.
Other objects and various advantages of the disclosed methods of
making a drill bit and drill bits made by the disclosed methods or
by other methods will be apparent from the following detailed
description, together with the accompanying drawings, submitted for
purposes of illustration only and not intended to define the scope
of the invention, reference being had for that purpose to the
subjoined claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The drawing diagrammatically illustrate by way of example, not by
way of limitation, a few forms or mechanisms made by the methods of
the invention wherein like reference numerals have been employed to
indicate similar parts in the several views in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic bottom view of one embodiment of the
invention;
FIG. 2 is a vertical section at 2--2 on FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view of a second embodiment of the
invention; and
FIG. 4 is a vertical section at 4--4 on FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention disclosed herein, the scope of which being defined in
the appended claims, is not limited in its application to the
details of construction and arrangement of parts shown and
described resulting from the disclosed methods, since the invention
comprises other methods and is capable of providing other
embodiments formed by other methods and of being practiced or
carried out in various other ways. Also, it is to be understood
that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the
purpose of description and not of limitation. Further, many
modifications and variations of the invention as hereinbefore set
forth will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, all such
modifications and variations which are within the spirit and scope
of the invention herein are included and only such limitations
should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODS
This invention comprises a few methods for forming high penetration
rate drill bits and a few drill bits made by the disclosed methods
or by other methods.
The basic method of the invention for forming high penetration rate
drill bits wherein the outer periphery of the drill bit bottom
cutting surface is substantially round and has a radius of
curvature comprises the steps of:
1. forming a recess in the bottom cutting surface of the drill bit,
and
2. shaping the bottom cutting surface recess to a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution having a height to radius
ratio of substantially three-to-one.
While the FIG. 1 modification may be made by various methods,
including one by hand, the second step of the above method may be
modified to read:
2. shaping the drill bit bottom non-cylindrical surface of
revolution into a conical shape.
While the FIG. 3 modification may be made by other methods, as by
hand, the second step of the above method may be modified to
read:
2. shaping the drill bit bottom non-cylindrical surface of
revolution into a paraboloidal shape.
Another method for forming high penetrable rate drill bits
comprises the steps of,
1. forming a recess in the center of the bottom cutting surface of
the drill bit continuous with a peripheral portion of the bottom
surface around the recess,
2. shaping an annulus on the peripheral portion of the drill bit
bottom cutting surface of a particular area, and
3. shaping the surface of the recess internally of the annulus into
a cutting surface area substantially greater than the cutting
surface area of the annulus for forming a higher penetration rate
drill bit.
Another method for forming a drill bit having a high penetration
rate comprises the steps of,
1. forming a recess in the center of the bottom cutting surface of
the drill bit continuous with a peripheral portion of the bottom
surface around the recess,
2. forming drilling fluid exit transverse passages in the bottom
cutting surface recess leaving a non-cutting surface area for the
fluid exits, and
3. forming the remaining bottom cutting surface area to be the
major cutting surface area relative to the non-cutting surface area
for forming a high penetration rate drill bit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRILL BITS
FIGS. 1 - 4 schematically disclose two drill bits 10a, 10b that
could be made by the methods set forth above, or by hand, for
forming a drill bit having a very high penetration rate of cutting
for drilling the well bore 11 as compared to the convention bits
described above in the "Background of the Invention".
CONICALLY RECESSED DRILL BIT OF FIG. 2
Drill bit 10a, FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises a shank 12 for fastening as
with screw threads onto a drill collar at the bottom of a drill
string and the main body 13 of the bit including one continuous
cutting surface 14. FIG. 2 is a section at 2--2 on FIG. 1. The
drill bit body is shaped basically to provide a continuous
non-cylindrical surface of revolution cutting surface 14 comprising
an annular cutting surface portion 15 and a conical recessed
cutting surface portion 16a having a vertex 17a and height h above
the annular cutting surface portion. The drill bit also has three
drilling fluid entrance passages 18a - 18c, FIG. 1, for supplying
drilling fluid or mud externally of the bit for carrying rock chips
up and out of the well bore 11 in the annular space 19 between the
wall of the well bore and the outer surface of the drill bit, and
for supplying drilling fluid internally for the full length of the
recess to its vertex and to three contiguous openings to exhaust or
exit passages 20a to the annular space 19.
One of the features of this drill bit 10a is that the contour of
the cutting surface is so designed and shaped that the conical
cutting surface portion 16a is the major cutting surface and the
remaining annular cutting surface portion 15 is the minor cutting
surface.
A third cutting surface portion 21, FIG. 2, is utilized comprising
an external annular extension of the outer peripheral edge of the
annular cutting surface portion 15.
To obtain and to maintain or insure that the recessed or conical
cutting surface portion 16a is the major cutting surface relative
to the smaller annular cutting surface, for a drill bit having an
annulus radius R, FIG. 2, equal to the conical base radius r, then
all heights h must be greater than three times radius r, which then
provides that the area Ac of the conical cutting surface will be
greater than the area Aa of the annulus as seen thus:
R = Major radius of annulus,
r = Radius of conical base,
Aa = .pi. (R.sup.2 - r.sup.2) = Area of annular cutting surface
15,
Ac = .pi. r .sqroot.r.sup.2 +h.sup.2 = Area of conical cutting
surface 16a,
.thrfore. Ac > Aa for R = 2r and h > 3r.
This may explain the superior results deemed due to the elongated
conical recessed drill bit.
The continuous cutting surface 14 comprises an abrasive-resisting
material, such as diamonds, metal carbides as tungsten carbide,
boron carbide, titanium carbide, titanium tungsten carbide,
columbium-tantalum-titanium carbide, metal alloys, or cemented
carbides and the like.
PARABOLOIDAL RECESSED DRILL BIT OF FIG. 4
FIGS. 3 and 4 disclose, schematically, a modified drill bit 10b
having a very high penetration rate for drilling through either
consolidated or unconsolidated sedimentary sections, depending on
which sedimentary section that the abrasive surface is designed
for. FIG. 4 is a section through FIG. 3 at 4--4.
Drill bit 10b, FIG. 4, is similar to drill bit 10a, FIG. 2, with a
few exceptions. The cutting surface comprises instead a
paraboloidal recessed cutting surface portion 16b continuous with
its annular cutting surface portion 15. The vertex 17b of the deep
recess is thus a paraboloid of revolution with three transverse
exit passages 20b with spaced apart entrances adjacent the vertex
17b. The remaining elements of the drill bit 10b are similar to the
corresponding elements of drill bit 10a.
The main feature of this embodiment of FIG. 4, like that of FIG. 2,
is providing a drill bit with a recessed cutting surface area
comprising a continuous non-cylindrical surface of revolution of
substantially greater area than the annular cutting surface area.
This feature accordingly provides a high penetration rate drill
bit. For a drill bit having a radius R = 2r and a height h of the
paraboloidal recess equal to 3r, the area Ap of the paraboloidal
recess is even greater than the area Ac of the conical recess 16a,
FIG. 2, of the same proportions. Suitable water courses in the
cutting surface 14 of both drill bits may be added as desired.
Another primary feature of both embodiments of the new drill bits
of FIGS. 2 and 4 is the forming of a recessed cutting surface which
is continuous with the rest of the cutting surface in which the
major surface of the recess is actually cutting surface, i.e. the
conical surface 16a, FIG. 2, and the paraboloidal surface 16b, FIG.
4, comprise the major cutting surface portions of the recess,
wherein the little drilling loss resulting from the absence of
abrasive surfaces in the three openings to the drilling fluid
exhaust passages is minor and almost negligible.
Obviously other methods may be utilized for forming the embodiments
of either FIG. 2 or FIG. 4 than those listed above, depending on
the particular design requirements.
Accordingly, it will be seen that the above described methods for
making drill bits and various drill bits set forth above will
operate in a manner which meets each of the objects set forth
hereinbefore.
While only a few methods of the invention and two mechanisms made
by the methods have been disclosed, it will be evident that various
other methods and modifications are possible in the arrangement and
construction of the disclosed invention without departing from the
scope of the invention and it is accordingly desired to comprehend
within the purview of this invention such modifications as may be
considered to fall within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *