1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to drilling apparatus for directional drilling in utility installations and, more particularly, to housings for drill string instrumentation such as sonde transmitters and the like.
2. Background Description of the Prior Art
Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is a means of boring horizontally underground to provide utility installations and remediation of utility installations already in place. While most open areas are “open trenched” with various trenching equipment, the HDD boring rigs are used to “drill” a bore path under obstacles such as rivers, roads, railroads, other existing utilities etc.
An HDD drill rig consist basically of a boring machine and a drill string including drill pipe, locating electronics (aka transmitter, sonde or transmitter beacon, typically configured as an instrument assembly for being enclosed or packaged within a tubular housing), and a boring bit attached to the front of the drill string. A bore path is plotted and laid out for the contractors. The drilling crew then drills at an angle into the ground along the bore path until the desired depth is reached. The bore is then leveled out and advanced under the obstacle. During this time the locating electronics instrumentation is installed between the drill bit and the drill pipe for transmitting the drill bit's depth, pitch and clock location (e.g., at 12, 3, 6, or 9 o'clock) to the surface. Once the desired bore length is reached under and past the obstacle, the bit is steered toward the surface. The pilot tool is then removed and a reamer can be used to open the hole to a larger diameter while pulling the drill pipe back. If the pilot hole is the desired size, the tool is removed and the pipe, conduit or “product” is pulled back through the hole. During drilling, the drill pipe is fed into the bore 10 to 15 feet at a time. Attached to the front of the drill pipe just behind the drill bit (or, alternatively, a mud motor) is the instrumentation package such as a sonde housing which houses and protects the sonde (transmitter).
With respect to the instrumentation package, currently there are two types of prior art sonde housing designs on the market. The first type of prior art housing is known as an “end load” sonde housing. The sonde is loaded from one end of the housing and secured therewithin. With no “door” or “lid” access to the sonde this design requires “breaking” the connection between housing and drill stem to obtain access to the sonde within the housing. However, this design allows for a full set of “water ports” to be machined within the wall space surrounding the sonde cavity allowing a large volume of drilling fluids to be pumped through the drill pipe and tool. The volume and pressure capacity of this design allow drillers to drive hydro/mechanical drilling tools in the hole often called “mud motors”
The “end load” design is preferred for its flow capabilities and the security it offers for the electronics in the sonde. Secured inside the end load housing, the sonde is rarely lost during the coarse of boring. However, since the transmitter is powered by batteries, the process of disconnecting the drill string from the housing and removing the sonde can be cumbersome and difficult. This is especially true on shorter, smaller diameter “in & out” bores where the tool usually remains on the drill pipe from bore to bore.
The second type of prior art housing is known as a “side load” housing. It is more popular for use with smaller machines without the large pump capacity for mud motor drilling. These rigs use a variety of bits that drill by rotational force from the drill rig transferred through the drill pipe. The side load design allows easy access to the sonde for maintenance, battery changes and replacement of the sonde. On a side load housing the sonde is installed through an opening in the side of the housing that is long enough for the sonde to be inserted laterally, with its axis parallel to the axis of the sonde housing. The sonde is inserted parallel with the housing and secured in place. A housing door or “lid” is then attached to the housing to cover and protect the transmitter.
The side load feature is a time saving design but reduces the number of water ports that may be provided to direct fluid from one end of the housing to the other. This fluid restriction is the primary reason this housing design is not used with the larger machines.
Another drawback to the side load design is that, on occasion during the drilling process, due to deterioration or extreme rotational torque, the side lids or doors become dislodged from the housing. Once the door is dislodged from a closed position or removed the sonde is completely exposed and typically protrudes from the housing or even falls out of the housing. At that point the sonde is usually irretrievable or damaged beyond repair. The cost associated with this failure is usually the loss of the sonde ($2,000-$5,000) plus the added expense of “tripping” out of the hole, making repairs” and tripping back into the bore.
What is needed is an instrument housing for a drill string that provides full protection for the instrumentation, allows full capacity water ports for use with mud motors, provides for ease of assembly into a drill string, and provides an easily adjusted clocking mechanism for the instrument package, and is low in cost of manufacture.
Accordingly, an instrument housing for a drill string is described herein, comprising: a cylindrical housing having a centered axial bore forming a cavity for receiving an instrument assembly such as a transmitter sonde, the dimensions of the cross section of the cavity exceeding the diameter of the instrument assembly by a predetermined clearance; an elongated side load opening disposed parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cavity, formed through a side of the cylindrical housing and into the cavity opening, the side load opening having a length substantially less than the length of the instrument assembly; and an elongated side load door assembly, having first and second ends and configured to fit within the side load opening, for enclosing and securing the instrument assembly within the cylindrical housing.
Disclosed herein and illustrated in
The sonde housing of the present invention illustrated in the appended figures provides a side-loaded sonde housing that is more resistant to damage to the side loading door assembly, and to the transmitter sonde (or, simply, sonde) itself, that may result from the torque applied to the drill string during drilling. The novel sonde housing design not only reduces the possibility of door loss but also protects and secures the sonde in the event the door does fail. As will be described, the clocking mechanism for use with the sonde is simplified, to reduce the time required to load and calibrate the sonde within the housing. This design also allows for an increased number (3 or 4 or 5) of water ports to accommodate the water flow capacity requirements of mud motors, as compared with prior art side load designs. In the description that follows, the reference numbers identifying the various structural features remain the same throughout the five figures when they refer to the same structures.
Referring to
The center cavity 16 may be “plugged” and welded to provide a seal on each end 18, 20. A side load door opening 30 is machined through the body 12 of the housing 10. The door opening 30, which is shorter than conventional side load sonde housings, and disposed near one end of the cavity, is approximately 60% to 80% of the length of the sonde 40. Also machined in the body 12 of the sonde housing 10 are a series of narrow antenna ports 22 that permit the transmitted signal from the sonde or beacon 40 to be radiated from the sonde 40. There are typically five such ports (two are shown in
Continuing with
To install the sonde 40 into the housing 10, the first end 42 of the sonde 40 is configured to be inserted into the center cavity 14 at an angle 50 relative to the longitudinal axis of the housing 10. Before insertion, the sonde 40 may be oriented rotationally, so that, in the position illustrated in
Referring to
Continuing with
The exploded view of the sonde housing 10 shown in
Continuing with
Referring to
Referring to
While the invention has been shown in only one of its forms, it is not thus limited but is susceptible to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, one version of the sonde housing 10 is available wherein the cross section may be any of three diameters adapted to 3.0″, 3.5″, and 4.5″ drill bits. The invention including its various component parts is readily scaled.
The present application claims priority in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/709,347 filed Aug. 18, 2005 and entitled “Sonde Housing.”
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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60709347 | Aug 2005 | US |