Patent Application
20210033153
The disclosure relates in general to transmission of torque between rotating components in downhole tools.
This section is intended to provide background information to facilitate a better understanding of various technologies described herein. As the section's title implies, this is a discussion of related art. That such art is related in no way implies that it is prior art. The related art may or may not be prior art. It should therefore be understood that the statements in this section are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Downhole mud motors have internal parts that are used within the oil industry for earth boring operations. These mud motors rotate eccentrically internally. The eccentric rotation must be converted into concentric rotation in order for a drill bit to function correctly. The current state of the art generally accomplishes this conversion by providing a drive shaft having some type of constant velocity joint connection that connects the downhole motor to a drive assembly rotating the drill bit.
Traditional prior art constant velocity joints utilize ball bearings as drive elements for the transfer of forces between the rotor and drive shaft. More specifically, balls carried by the drive shaft engage recesses or slots formed in a female socket section so as to provide a point contact between surfaces. Another type of constant velocity joint utilizes meshing gear elements to transfer forces via line contact between the gear elements. More recently, one or more axially extending shoulders have been formed in a convexly spherical shaped bearing surface of a drive shaft, each shoulder having a surface disposed to engage a corresponding shoulder surface formed in the concavely spherical bearing surface of a female socket section of a rotor so as to transfer torque via the engaged shoulder surfaces. To facilitate this surface contact, an insert or “key” may be provided at a shoulder surface of a spherically shaped drive shaft end to minimize wear and galling of the shoulder surfaces.
However, it has been found that these surface contact constant velocity joints of the prior art, and in particular, the inserts, continue to exhibit damage from galling, shear compressive forces, and uneven or unequal loading.
Briefly, particular implementations of claimed subject matter may relate to a constant velocity (CV) joint for a mud motor.
In an implementation, a CV joint may include a drive shaft and a housing. The drive shaft my include a first axis and a plurality of drive shaft lugs on a circumference of the drive shaft. Each of the plurality of drive shaft lugs may include a first surface having a first arcuate cross-section curved about a second axis. Each of the plurality of drive shaft lugs may also include a second surface having a second arcuate cross-section that is curved about a third axis. The housing may include a third surface that is configured to contact the first surface to receive a rotational force from the drive shaft.
In a further implementation, a drive shaft for a CV joint may include a cylindrical shaft having a first axis, a distal end region and a lug on a circumference of the distal end region of the cylindrical shaft. The lug may include a first surface having a first arcuate cross-section curved about a second axis and a second surface having a second arcuate cross-section that is curved about a third axis.
In other implementations, a drive shaft for a CV joint may include a cylindrical shaft having a first axis, a distal end region and a lug on a circumference of the distal end region of the cylindrical shaft. The lug may define an elongate slit along a length of the lug. The lug may include a first surface having a first arcuate cross-section curved about a second axis and a second surface having a second arcuate cross-section that is curved about a third axis.
Implementations of various techniques will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various techniques described herein.
Various implementations described herein relate in general to transmission of torque between rotating components in downhole tools. More particularly, they relate to high torque constant velocity joints for drive shafts associated with downhole motors used in the oil and gas industry. Some of these will now be described in the following paragraphs with reference to
Further implementations may include additional lugs so that more than two total lugs are present on the joint—three total lugs, four total lugs, five total lugs, six total lugs, etc. may be present. The additional lugs may be on the distal end 206 of the columnar shaft portion 202 and/or may be on a proximal end (i.e., the end of the columnar shaft portion opposing the distal end 206) of the columnar shaft portion 202.
In some implementations, lugs may be on only the distal end of the drive shaft. In other implementations, lugs may be on the distal end of the drive shaft and also on the proximal end of the drive shaft. If lugs are included on both the proximal end and the distal end of the drive shaft, a secondary boot, a secondary split ring and a secondary cap may also be included in coordination with the distal end lugs.
The columnar shaft portion 202 may be cylindrical and the first lug 204a and the second lug 204b may be included on an exterior, e.g., circumferential, surface of the columnar shaft portion 202. The cylindrical geometry of the columnar shaft portion 202 may be about a shaft axis 208 (e.g., a first axis).
The first lug 204a may include at least one first surface 210 and a second surface 212. The first surface 210 may have a first arcuate cross-section and the second surface 212 may have a second arcuate cross-section. A curvature of the first arcuate cross-section may be about at least one second axis 214. A curvature of the second arcuate cross-section may be about at least one third axis 216 and about axis 208. The second axis 214 and the third axis 216 may both be perpendicular to the shaft axis 208.
The second axis 214 and the third axes 216 may be a center of a circle of which each arcuate cross-section may be an arc section. For example, if the arcuate cross-section were extended into a complete circle, the center of the circle would be the respective first or second axis.
The first defined recess 410a and the second defined recess 410b may include a plurality of surfaces. The plurality of surfaces may include the first recess surface 412a, e.g., the driven surface 412a, a second recess surface 412b and a third recess surface 412c. The first recess 410a may extend from a base 414 of the defined cavity 406 at least about half way toward a distal end 416 of the tubular portion 404.
The housing 104 may be made of a softer material than the drive shaft 102. After an initial use of the CV joint, the housing 104 may thus change shape to conform to the shape of the lugs 204a and 204b. The drive shaft 102 and/or the housing 104 may be coated with a material that reduces friction between the drive shaft 102 and the housing 104. For example, implementations may include any abrasion resistant material or coating, wear resistant material or coating, shock absorbing material or coating, or heat treated material or coating.
With further reference to
The drive shaft 102 may be restrained in the housing 104 by the CV cap 106. For example, the CV cap 106 includes a ring portion 207 that defines through-hole 110 through which the drive shaft 102 passes. The CV cap 106 may be threaded for attaching to a mated thread portion (not shown) of the housing 104.
With reference to
A further implementation of a drive shaft 500 of the CV joint is illustrated in
The adjustable lugs 502a and/or 502b may provide a rotational force equalization capability to the drive shaft 500. For example, if the first adjustable lug 502a engages a surface of the housing before the second adjustable lug 502b, the elongate slit 504 will narrow until the second adjustable lug 502b also engages the housing. Thus, both adjustable lugs 502a and 502b may nearly equally transfer rotational force from the drive shaft 500 to the housing.
A spring recess 506 may be provided at a proximal end region 510 of the adjustable lugs 502a and/or 502b. The spring recess 506 may be circular and may act as a stress reliever to reduce the amount of stress on a termination point of the elongate slit 504, if for example, the spring recess 506 were not present. The spring recess 506 may be defined by the lug and may have a circular cross-section that extends across the entire distal end of the drive shaft 500 from one adjustable lug 502a to another adjustable lug 502b.
The drive shaft 500 may include a drive shaft tube 508 at a distal end 511 of the drive shaft 500. The drive shaft tube 508 may include a first tube slit 512a and a second tube slit 512b. The drive shaft tube 508 may define a drive shaft tube recess 512. The first tube slit 512a may be positioned consistent with the elongate slit 504 of the first adjustable lug 502a. Similarly, the second tube slit 512b may be positioned consistent with the second adjustable lug 502b. Thus, drive shaft tube 508 may be adjustable consistent with the lugs 502a and 502b.
A yet further implementation of a drive shaft 600 is illustrated in
The thrust bearing 602 may be spherical and may include a thrust bearing slit 604 bisecting a circular cross-section of the thrust bearing 602. The thrust bearing slit 604 may be positioned consistent with the elongate slit 504 of the first adjustable lug 502a, the first tube slit 512a, the second tube slit 512b and the elongate slit of the second adjustable lug 504b. Thus, thrust bearing 602 may be adjustable consistent with the lugs 502a and 502b.
A further implementation of a constant velocity (CV) joint 700 is illustrated in
As illustrated in
Alternatively, the thrust pin 706 may fit snugly in the seat section 714 so that axial and/or lateral displacement is reduced or prevented. Thus, the seat ring 716 may prevent axial and lateral displacement. For example, the seat ring 716 may have an interference fit with the thrust pin 706 or the seat ring 716 may be connected to the thrust pin 706 via a threaded connection or an adhesive.
As illustrated in
In operation, rotational force, e.g., torque, may be transferred from the drive shaft 102 to the housing 104 via engagement between the drive shaft 102 and the housing 104. The drive shaft 102 may rotate in response to an input at a proximal end 112 of the drive shaft 102. For example, the first lug 204a may tangentially engage the first defined recess 410a. The first lug 204a may also be considered to contact the housing lug 411, which may be one of a plurality of housing lugs, as the housing lug terminates at the defined recesses. Similarly, the second lug 204b may engage the second defined recess 410b such that rotational force can be transferred from the first lug 204a to the first defined recess 410a and/or from the second lug 410b to the second defined recess 410b equally.
Rotational force may be transferred from the first surface 210 of the first lug 204a and/or the second lug 204b to the first surface 412a of the defined recess 410a and/or 410b. Rotational force may be transferred from the drive shaft 102 to the housing 104 regardless of the angle between the drive shaft 102 and the housing 104. For example, the drive shaft 102 does not have to be at zero degrees relative to the housing 104. The drive shaft 102 may have a non-zero degree engagement with the housing 104. Irrespective of the angle between the drive shaft 102 and the housing 104, there is no loss of angular velocity between the drive shaft 102 and the housing 104. In some implementations, the constant velocity joint may work in reverse, e.g., the drive shaft 102 may act as the driven shaft and the housing 104 may act as a drive shaft.
Reference is made in the foregoing detailed description to accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, wherein like numerals may designate like parts throughout that are corresponding and/or analogous. It will be appreciated that the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale, such as for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration. For example, dimensions of some aspects may be exaggerated relative to others.
Example implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of implementations of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example implementations may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example implementations, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example implementations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example implementations.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
Further, it is to be understood that other implementations may be utilized. Furthermore, structural and/or other changes may be made without departing from claimed subject matter. References throughout this specification to “claimed subject matter” refer to subject matter intended to be covered by one or more claims, or any portion thereof, and are not necessarily intended to refer to a complete claim set, to a particular combination of claim sets (e.g., method claims, apparatus claims, etc.), or to a particular claim. It should also be noted that directions and/or references, for example, such as up, down, top, bottom, and so on, may be used to facilitate discussion of drawings and are not intended to restrict the scope of claimed subject matter. Therefore, the foregoing detailed description is not to be taken to limit claimed subject matter and/or equivalents.
Although illustrative implementations of claimed subject matter have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise implementations, and that various changes, additions and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, various combinations of the features of the dependent claims could be made with the features of the independent claims without departing from the scope of claimed subject matter.
This application is a non-provisional application of and claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/879,934, filed Jul. 29, 2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62879934 | Jul 2019 | US |
