Boring or penetrating the earth inventions 04/07

20070089906 - Boring machine: A micro tunnelling machine has a tunnelling head with a boring bit which is forced in a horizontal direction by a hydraulic thruster. The direction of the head is laser guided. The beam strikes a target in the head and a camera relays an image of the target to an... Agent: Smith-hill And Bedell, P.C.

20070089909 - Mechanically modified filter cake: A down hole tool including a compression surface, a compression surface axis, and at least one support member configured to attach the compression surface to a well drilling tool assembly, wherein the extendable support member is extendable by an extension force provided to the support member. The down hole tool... Agent: Osha Liang/mi

20070089907 - Method and system for controlling power consumption during a rock drilling process and a rock drilling apparatus therefore: Method for controlling power consumption during a rock drilling process with a rock drilling apparatus, wherein the rock drilling apparatus includes main power supply means for supplying power for the rock drilling process, which includes at least the sub-processes of percussion and/or rotation and flushing, the method comprising the steps... Agent: Mark P. Stone

20070089908 - Secondary retainer for a downhole hammer bit: A bit retainer system is disclosed. The bit retainer system includes a bit having a head and a shank, a driver sub disposed around the shank of the bit and adapted to engage a hammer case, a bit retainer disposed around the shank of the bit and abutting an upper... Agent: Osha Liang L.L.P.

20070089910 - Method of forming a bore: A method of forming a supported subterranean well bore in which, in one disclosed embodiment, a first drill bit is mounted on a first string of casing tubulars via a steerable tool, and the drill bit is used to form a first bore. Upon reaching the required depth the casing... Agent: Gifford, Krass, Sprinkle,anderson & Citkowski, P.c

20070089911 - Downhole tool: An apparatus and method for generating a drive force in a downhole environment includes chambers of a reactant and a catalyst, respectively, that are maintained separate until selectively exposed to one another. Once exposed, the reactant and catalyst produce expanding fluid pressure and sometimes heat. The products of the reaction... Agent: Cantor Colburn, LLP

20070089912 - Downhole tool having radially extendable members: A downhole tool comprises a body, radially extendable members mounted to the body and movable between retracted and extended positions, a cam member operatively associated with the extendable members and movable relative to the body to extend the extendable members, and a support member configurable to permit retraction of the... Agent: Alston & Bird LLP

20070089913 - Fixed cutter drill bit with non-cutting erosion resistant inserts: The present invention is directed to a drill bit with non-cutting erosion resistant inserts. In one illustrative embodiment, the apparatus comprises a matrix drill bit body comprising a plurality of blades, a plurality of cutting elements positioned on each of the blades, the cutting elements defining a plurality of web... Agent: Jeffrey E. Daly Grant Prideco, L.p.

20070084635 - Boring tool tracking fundamentally based on drill string length, pitch and roll: A boring tool moves having a pitch orientation, a yaw orientation and a roll orientation and is steerable underground using the roll orientation. A maximum drill string curvature is established for steering. The boring tool is advanced over a path segment. An averaged roll characteristic is determined for movement of... Agent: Pritzkau Patent Group, LLC

20070084636 - Enhanced sonde recognition: A detector for locating a sonde is comprised of a plurality of antennas, a corresponding number of signal isolator modules 1 and a geometrical evaluation module. The magnetic signal generated by the sonde has a fundamental frequency and harmonic frequencies. A frequency spectrum analyser 29 which forms part of the... Agent: Baker & Hostetler LLP

20070084637 - Methods and apparatus for expanding tubular members: A method for sealing a hole in a tubular in a wellbore comprising: (A) locating the tubular patch adjacent the hole; (B) (i) plastically expanding a first portion of the tubular patch above the hole into annular sealing engagement with the tubular to form a first annular seal and (ii)... Agent: Schlumberger Oilfield Services

20070084638 - Drilling fluid flow facilitation: A system for facilitating flow of settled solids with drilling fluid from a container, the system including pressure nozzle apparatus with at least one nozzle from which is flowable fluid under pressure, powered rotation apparatus for selectively rotating the pressure nozzle apparatus so that the at least one nozzle is... Agent: Guy Mcclung

20070084639 - Drilling fluid centrifuge systems: A system for controlling viscosity of drilling fluid, the system, in certain aspects, including a container of the material, a viscosity sensor in the container for producing viscosity signals, a centrifuge for removing solids from the material, drive apparatuses for driving a rotatable bowl and a rotatable conveyor of the... Agent: Guy Mcclung

20070084640 - Drill bit and cutter element having aggressive leading side: A cutter element for a drill bit includes a leading cutting surface and a trailing cutting surface. The leading surface includes a top surface and a front surface that meet in a radiused intersection forming a forward-facing, non-linear crest of non-uniform radius. The radius of the crest is smallest at... Agent: Conley Rose, P.C.

20070079989 - Borehole generator: In some embodiments, apparatus and systems, as well as methods, may operate to couple a stator to a borehole, and to move a rotor relative to the stator to generate electrical current to power a borehole tool.... Agent: Schwegman, Lundberg, Woessner & Kluth, P.A.

20070079988 - Method and apparatus for transmitting sensor response data and power through a mud motor: Apparatus and methods for establishing electrical communication between an instrument subsection disposed below a mud motor and an electronics sonde disposed above the mud motor in a drill string conveyed borehole logging system. Electrical communication is established via at least one conductor disposed within the mud motor and connecting the... Agent: Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford & Brucculeri, L.L.P.

20070079991 - Cutting element apparatuses, drill bits including same, methods of cutting, and methods of rotating a cutting element: A rotary drill bit for drilling a subterranean formation may comprise a bit body, a cutting element coupled to the bit body, and a torque-generating assembly configured to apply torque, either continuously or periodically, to the cutting element. The torque-generating assembly may be powered by the rotary motion of the... Agent: Holland & Hart LLP

20070079990 - System, method, and apparatus for accessing outlets in a two-stage diverter spool assembly: A wellhead system diverter spool contains an internal sleeve that can be axially shifted internal to the spool with a handling tool. The sleeve permits access to outlets in the spool when required. When higher pressures are required, the internal sleeve is shifted downward to close off access to the... Agent: Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

20070079992 - System, method, and apparatus for enhancing the durability of earth-boring bits with carbide materials: An earth-boring drill bit having a bit body with a cutting component formed from a tungsten carbide composite material is disclosed. The composite material includes a binder and tungsten carbide crystals comprising sintered pellets. The composite material may be used as a hardfacing on the body and/or cutting elements, or... Agent: Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

20070079993 - Fluid jet drilling tool: The invention features an excavating device for excavating a hole in a geological formation, which excavating device includes: a body rotatable inside the hole along a rotation axis; a nozzle arranged on the body to jet a stream of an abrasive fluid onto a surface in the geological formation in... Agent: Shell Oil Company

20070079995 - Cutting elements configured for casing component drillout and earth boring drill bits including same: A drill bit includes a bit body having a face on which two different types of cutting elements are disposed, the first type being cutting elements suitable for drilling at least one subterranean formation and the second type being cutting elements suitable for drilling through a casing bit disposed at... Agent: Trask Britt

20070079994 - Diamond-bonded bodies and compacts with improved thermal stability and mechanical strength: Thermally stable diamond-bonded compacts include a diamond-bonded body having a thermally stable region extending a distance below a diamond-bonded body surface. The thermally stable region comprises a matrix first phase of bonded together diamond crystals, and a second phase interposed within the matrix phase. At least some population of the... Agent: Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro, LLP

20070074908 - Method and apparatus for supporting a downhole component in a downhole drilling tool: An apparatus for supporting a retrievable downhole component within a drill collar of a downhole drilling tool deployed from a rig into a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation is provided. The apparatus includes a sleeve that is positionable about the downhole component and is within said drill collar. The sleeve... Agent: Schlumberger Oilfield Services

20070074909 - Hydraulic timing device: A jar for use in a downhole environment comprises an hydraulic timing device which allows pressure to be controllably increased to a desired level and, on firing, a near-instantaneous release of that pressure, and which allows for selective bi-directional firing of the jar.... Agent: R. Perry Mcconnell, P.C.