Steerable rotary drilling device and directional drilling method
US6244361A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 14, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jun 12, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 14, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16C2352/00
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A drilling direction control device, improvements in drilling direction control devices, methods for orienting a rotary driling system, and methods for rotary drilling. The drilling direction control device includes a rotatable drilling shaft, a housing for rotatably supporting a length of the drilling shaft, and a deflection assembly contained within the housing for bending the drilling shaft between a first support location and a second support location. The deflection assembly includes an outer ring which is rotatably supported on a circular inner peripheral surface of the housing and which has a circular inner peripheral surface that is eccentric with respect to the housing. The deflection assembly also includes an inner ring which is rotatably supported on the circular inner peripheral surface of the outer ring and which has a circular inner peripheral surface which engages the drilling shaft and which is eccentric with respect to the circular inner peripheral surface of the outer ring. Methods for orienting a rotary drilling system involve communicating a desired orientation of the drilling string to a drilling direction control device and then actuating the drilling directio…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.