Patent Grant
9488021
This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. §371 of PCT/CA2010/001358 filed 30 Aug. 2010.
The present invention relates to drill head assemblies. More specifically, it relates to a core barrel head assembly that is quickly reconfigurable between surface and pump in/underground configurations while having common parts between the surface and pump in/underground configurations.
In core drilling operations, it is often desired to obtain a core sample to obtain geological information on a particular site. This operation is to be ideally accomplished without removing the drill string from the borehole. For this purpose, hollow drill strings have been developed and include a bit end at the end of the drill string and a core barrel unit positioned proximate the coring bit end. The inner tube assembly unit can be transported through the drill string and thus ideally avoid having to remove the complete drill string to obtain a core sample.
However, various drilling applications require the provision of a drilling apparatus where the drill string can be positioned in different orientations. This difference in positioning of the drill string imposes changes to the core barrel components to position the inner tube assembly properly and efficiently to the bit end of the drill string. Changing these core barrel components requires the removal of the entire drill string to gain access to them. This process can be very time consuming and is non-productive. Other drilling situations, such as in an underground mine, require the ability to drill in all orientations. Furthermore, in a down-hole application, the angle of the hole may be deviated to a flatter, horizontal angle, which would require a change to an up-hole configuration of the core barrel to efficiently propel the inner tube assembly to the bit end of the drill string. There is also a need to avoid reconfiguring core barrel outer tube components between surface and pump in/underground configurations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,198 discloses a core barrel apparatus including an inner tube assembly that may fall under gravity or be fluidly propelled to a bit end of a drill string. The seal in this apparatus is interposed between lock nuts threaded on a latch body and a washer. The washer rests against a coil spring urging against a lower tubular member. The seal in such a configuration cannot be removed without affecting the proper interfacing of the remaining components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,449 discloses a drilling apparatus including seals that are mounted on a latch body adaptor component that can be removed to convert from an up-hole to a down-hole configuration.
Consequently, there is still presently a need for a head assembly that is quickly reconfigurable between surface and pump in/underground configurations, easily maintainable on the field and requiring a minimal amount of parts to accomplish the reconfiguration.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a head assembly that addresses at least one of the above-mentioned needs.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a core barrel head assembly positionable within a drill string of a drilling apparatus, the core barrel head assembly comprising:
The head assembly according to the present invention provides the following advantages over existing designs that are known to the Applicant:
The foregoing summary, as well as the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings, which are diagrammatic, embodiments that are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings and are thus intended to include direct connections between two members without any other members interposed therebetween and indirect connections between members in which one or more other members are interposed therebetween. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. Additionally, the words “lower”, “upper”, “upward”, “down” and “downward” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inner”, “inwardly” and “outer”, “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, a designated axis or a geometric center of an element being described, the particular meaning being readily apparent from the context of the description. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned above, derivatives thereof, and words or similar import.
Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein like numbers are used to indicate like elements throughout, there is shown in
The core barrel head assembly 10 is positionable within a drill string of a drilling apparatus. The core barrel head assembly 10 comprises an upper latch body 12 having a latch assembly 14 for engageably latching the drill string. The upper latch body 12 also includes a reduced diametric portion 16 below the latch assembly 14 for receiving a seal member 18. The reduced diametric portion 16 has a lower coupling portion 20 on a bottom portion thereof. The head assembly 10 also includes a lower latch body 22 comprising an upper coupling portion 24 on a top portion thereof. The head assembly 10 further includes a coupler 26 for removably coupling the upper latch body 12 to the lower latch body 22 through the lower coupling portion 20 and the upper coupling portion 24 respectively. The seal member 18 is installable on and removable from the reduced diametric portion 16 upon uncoupling the upper latch body 12 from the lower latch body 22.
Preferably, the head assembly 10 further comprises a landing shoulder 60, and a distance between the landing shoulder 60 and the latch assembly 14 is constant after installation or removal of the seal member 18 and through installation of the coupler 26.
Preferably, the lower coupling portion 20 and the upper coupling portions 24 are threaded portions and the coupler 26 is a threaded locking nut, a threaded coupler or bushing or any other equivalent structure. In the embodiment of the present invention shown in
Preferably, for the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in
Preferably, when a locking nut 30 is used, the upper latch body 12 comprises a recess for receiving a washer 32. The seal member 18 and stop washer 32 are removed from the head assembly 10 for a surface configuration. This is accomplished through the uncoupling of the locking nut 30 from the upper and lower latch bodies. The recess in the upper latch body 12 accommodating the stop washer 32 is adapted such that the distance between the landing shoulder 60 and the latch assembly 14 remains the same whether the stop washer is installed or not.
Preferably, as shown in
Preferably, the upper port system 34 is positioned above the reduced diametric portion 16 of the upper latch body 12.
Preferably, the seal member 18 comprises at least one annular seal, first and second annular seals 40,42 as shown in
The latch assembly 14 in the upper latch body 12 may operate in accordance with various designs that are known the art. For example,
All parts are consistent for both pump in/underground and surface configurations. The outer tubular components can thus remain the same for both pump in/underground and surface applications.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise embodiments and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein without departing from the scope of the present invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CA2010/001358 | 8/30/2010 | WO | 00 | 2/25/2013 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2012/027817 | 3/8/2012 | WO | A |
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| 3346059 | Svendsen | Oct 1967 | A |
| 3485310 | Milosevich | Dec 1969 | A |
| 4834198 | Thompson | May 1989 | A |
| 6019181 | Soinski et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6029758 | Novacovicci et al. | Feb 2000 | A |
| 6425449 | Marshall | Jul 2002 | B1 |
| 8794355 | Drenth et al. | Aug 2014 | B2 |
| 20040065478 | Gregory | Apr 2004 | A1 |
| 20100187015 | Williams | Jul 2010 | A1 |
| 20120090894 | Laplante | Apr 2012 | A1 |
| Entry |
|---|
| PCT/ISA/210—International Search Report—Mar. 24, 2011 (Issued in PCT/CA2010/001358). |
| PCT/ISA/237—Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority—Mar. 16, 2011 (Issued in PCT/CA2010/001358). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130146365 A1 | Jun 2013 | US |
