US526708A - Well-drilling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

s. A. HGRTON. WELL DRILLING APPARATUS.

Patented Oct. 2, 1894.-

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NIT STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN A. HORTON, OF CLARKSVILLE, TEXAS.

WELL-DRILLING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 526,708, dated October 2, 1894:.

Application filed September 1 89 Serial No. 3 o (N0 model-l To all whom it may concern:

13o it known that I, STEPHEN A. HORTON, a c tlzen of the United States,residin g at Olarksmile, in the county of Red River and State of Tenas, have invented a new and useful Well- Drllllng Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

lVIy invention relates to Artesian or oil well drllling apparatus, and especially to means for detachably securing the drill-bit to the tubing, and it contemplates the provision of improved means whereby an expansion drill blt or blade of any preferred construction can be secured to or detached from the drill tublng without removing the latter from the well. I The object of my invention is to provide improved means for attaching the core, which represents one part of the coupling and carrice the drill-bit to the shell, which represents the other part of the coupling, by a rotary forward motion of the tubing, or a motlon in the direction of drilling, and for detaching the same by an opposite movement of the tubing. In order to permit of this reverse rotation of the tubing I have found it necessary to provide means for coupling the sections of the tubing whereby accidental detachment is avoided, and hence in setting forth my invention I have shown and described a coupling for the sections of tubing whereby the tubing may be rotated in either direction without affecting the security of the connections.

Further objects and advantages of this in:

vention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. r

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of a portion of a well tubing provided with drill-hit securing devices embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken centrally of the shell detached from the tubing and the core removed. Fig. 3 is a side view of the detachable member or core.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corl responding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The fixed member orshell 1 is provided with interior spacedribs 2, which are disposed parallel with the axis of the shell and are divided to form separate parts arranged in alignment with intervening open spaces; and thecore 3, which carries the expansion bit 4:, is provided with exterior vertical ribs 5, extending from the upper to the lower end of the core and connected at their upper ends by a stop-shoulder 6. Intermediate between the ribs 5 are arranged verticalauxiliary ribs 7, which are connected at their lower ends to the main ribs, respectively, by horizontal bearing-ledges 7, thus formingpockets 9 between the auxiliary and main webs, of which the ledges form the floors. The distance between the upper edges of the ledges corresponds with the distance between the lower ends of the parts of the ribs in the shell. The diameter of the core is increased within the pockets to form cam or wedge faces 10, for a purpose hereinafter described, and the upper ends of the auxiliary ribs, the lower ends of themain ribs 7, and the upper ends of theribs 2 are tapered to facilitate the application of the members.

The core is hollow, being provided with a bore 11, with which communicateperforations 12 formed in the wall of the core, the bore 11 being designed to allow water to pass from above the core to the drill-bit, and theperforations 12 facilitating the lowering of the core into the casing by allowing the escape of air and water from the space around the core to the interiorthereof. An operating rod orcable 13 is connected to the upper end of the core by means of a yoke orstaple 14;.

In operation the shell or fixed member of the coupling is attached to the lower end of thelowermost section 15 of the well tubing, and when it is desired to attach a bit to the tubing, the latter is secured to the lower end of the core and the core is lowered by means of the attached rod into the tubing until the stop-shoulder on the core comes in contact with the upper ends of the ribs in the shell. The parts are guided to this position by the tapered upper ends of theribs 2 and lower ends of the ribs 5. With the parts in the relative positions mentioned, the core may be rotated to the left, or in a direction reverse to that of the rotation of the tubing during the drilling operation, by twisting the rod before the lower end of the drill-bit comes in contact with the lower end of the hole, but it is also possible (and desirable when a cable hole the rotation of the core, which heretofore has been equal to that of the tubing, will be checked, and the tubing will continue to rotate independently of the core until theribs 2 come in contact with the edges of the main ribs 5. After this the core will rotate with the tubing, but as the tubingis gradually lowered the interior ribs ofthe shell will pass into thepockets 9 on the core, thus locking the two members firmly together. The lock is made still more secure by the cam surfaces within the pockets against which the inner surfaces of the ribs bite and prevent vibration of the core,-said ribs being correspondingly tapered.

To remove the drill-bit the tubing is elevated a sufficient distance to enable the core to drop and release the ribs of the shell from the sockets of the core; and in case the parts cling together and the core is elevated by the frictional contact thereof, it may be released by striking the upper end of therod 13, or tapping the tubing with a sledge and jarring the same, after which the core may be rotated to the right, or the tubing may be rotated to the left, at the same time that it is lowered gradually to bring the lower ends of the blades into contact with a fixed object in ordfiarlto prevent the core from turning with the s e l.

From the above description it will be apparent that my invention is designed to provide for attaching and detaching a drill-bit by means controlled by the rotation of the tubing, thereby necessitating either a forward or a backward rotation of the tubing in applying or removing the bit. In order to accom plish this operation successfully and without causing the disconnection of the sections of the well tubing, it is necessary to provide a coupling between such sections which will permit rotation in either direction. In Fig. 1

I have shown such a connection in which the ends of the sections are oppositely screwthreaded exteriorly and are provided with terminals having intermeshing irregularities or serrations, and these extremities of the sections are engaged by asleeve 19, which is screw-threaded interiorly in opposite directions from its center to its terminals. In connecting the adjoining sections their ex tremities are fitted in opposite ends of the sleeve, and the latter is rotated, thereby drawing the two ends toward each otheruntiltheir terminal irregularities or serrations 1ntermesh and prevent independent rotation of either section.

It will be understood that when acable 15 employed, an auger-bit and jars must be 1nterposed between the core and the cable to give sufficient Weight for a proper operation in coupling and uncoupling. It Wlll be understood, furthermore, that various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a rotary well-drilling apparatus, a coupling for connectinga drill bit to the drill tube, comprising detachable telescoping members, the exterior member or shell being provided with interior spaced ribs, and the nterior member or core being provided with exterior longitudinal ribs 5, shortparallel ribs 7, ledges 8 connecting the lower ends of theshort ribs 7 to the continuous ribs 5, and a stop-shoulder 6 connecting the upper ends of the ribs 5, substantially as specified.

2. In a rotary well-drilling apparatus, a coupling for connecting the drill bit to the drill tube, comprising detachable telescop ng members, the exterior member or shell being provided with interior spacedtapered ribs 2, and the interior member or core being provided withpockets 9 having closed lower ends and beveledsurfaces 10, whereby as theribs 2 are fitted into said pockets by the descent of the exterior member or shell the beveled surfaces of the said ribs engage the beveled surfaces of the pockets and bind the parts against independent vibration, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affiXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN A. HORTON.

W'itnesses:

H. C. MOORE, J. J. EARLY.

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