Boring or penetrating the earth inventions 11/07

20070272442 - Method and apparatus for collecting drill bit performance data: Drill bits and methods for sampling sensor data associated with the state of a drill bit are disclosed. A drill bit for drilling a subterranean formation comprises a bit body and a shank. The shank further includes a central bore formed through an inside diameter of the shank and configured... Agent: Trask Britt

20070272443 - Downhole steering: In one aspect of the present invention, a drill string has a drill bit with a body intermediate a shank and a working face. The working face has at least one cutting element. A jack element is disposed within the drill bit body and has a distal end substantially protruding... Agent: Tyson J. Wilde Novatek International, Inc.

20070272444 - Dual rod drill pipe with improved flow path method and apparatus: A drill rod assembly including inner and outer drill rods. The drill rod assembly further including flow passages that are in fluid communication with an annular fluid flow path defined between the inner and outer drill rods. The passages preventing blockage of a drill string fluid flow path when a... Agent: Merchant & Gould PC

20070272445 - Drill bit with assymetric gage pad configuration: A drill bit for drilling a borehole in earthen formations. In an embodiment, the bit comprises a bit body having a bit axis and a bit face. In addition, the bit comprises a pin end extending from the bit body opposite the bit face. Further, the bit comprises a plurality... Agent: Conley Rose, P.C. David A. Rose

20070272446 - Drill bit with application specific side cutting efficiencies: A drill bit includes a drill bit body and first and second blades formed on the drill bit body. The first blade has first cutting elements defining a first profile length and an adjacent first gauge section having a first gauge length. The second blade has second cutting elements defining... Agent: Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP Intellectual Property Section

20070272447 - Cutting structure for earth-boring bit to reduce tracking: An earth boring bit has cutting elements arranged to avoid tracking. The bit has a bit body having a bit axis of rotation. First, second and third cones are rotatably mounted to the bit body, each of the cones having a plurality of rows of cutting elements including a heel... Agent: Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

20070272448 - Randomly-oriented composite constructions: Composite constructions comprise a plurality of granules that are arranged together in a randomly-oriented manner. The granules each comprise an ordered arrangement of a first material phase and a second material phase, wherein the first and second material phases are each continuous, and each occupy different and distinct regions of... Agent: Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro, LLP

20070267220 - Methane extraction method and apparatus using high-energy diode lasers or diode-pumped solid state lasers: A method and apparatus for extracting methane gas from methane hydrate. The method includes heating the methane hydrate with a laser apparatus. The laser apparatus includes a diode laser or a solid state laser that is pumped with a diode laser. The laser is guided to a working end of... Agent: Posz Law Group, PLC

20070267221 - Methods and apparatus for drilling with casing: In one embodiment, a method of forming a wellbore includes running a liner drilling assembly into the wellbore, the liner drilling assembly having a liner, a conveying member, one or more connection members, and a drilling member. The method includes temporarily suspending the liner at a location below the rig... Agent: Patterson & Sheridan, L.L.P.

20070267222 - Low speed ac motor for direct drive applications: A low speed alternating current motor having motor shaft speeds of about 300 is provided, and such motor has application in numerous industries and devices, such as, for example, in top drive drilling systems. Because of the low shaft speed, mechanical speed reduction equipment may not be necessary. In addition,... Agent: Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP Attn:IPDocketing

20070267223 - Percussion device: Percussion device including a machine housing (1), a forwards and backwards movable percussion piston (2) in the machine housing, and a reciprocatingly movable tubular valve body (6) inside the machine housing, said percussion piston (2) being arranged to subject a tool (3) to impact, and said percussion piston including a... Agent: Mark P. Stone

20070267224 - Drilling device and method for producing a drilling column in the soil: The invention relates to a drilling device for producing a drilling column in the soil comprising a mast, a drill drive arranged on a carriage, which is movably supported along the mast, a drilling tube which can be driven in a rotating manner by the drill drive and is movable... Agent: Jacobson Holman PLLC

20070267225 - Auger loading apparatus and machine with same: A machine, such as a scraper machine, includes a bowl, a cutter and a loading apparatus coupled with the cutter and including a chute having a first end disposed outside the bowl, and an auger positioned at least partially within the chute. The auger includes at least one auger, and... Agent: Caterpillar C/o Liell & Mcneil Attorneys PC

20070267226 - Percussion drill bit and method of drilling a borehole: A percussion drill bit includes a bit body having a central axis and a bit face. A plurality of inserts is disposed on the bit face. A plurality of gauge row inserts is disposed on a periphery of the bit face. At least some one of the plurality of gauge... Agent: Osha, Liang LLP / Smith

20070267227 - Drill bit with staged durability, stability and rop characteristics: Drill bit with multiple stages of durability and ROP characteristics is disclosed. The drill bit has multiple layers of cutters established by deploying the cutters on blades of different heights or maintaining the blades at the same height and deploying the cutters to have different heights on one or more... Agent: Jenkens & Gilchrist, PC

20070261886 - Core drill assembly with adjustable total flow area and restricted flow between outer and inner barrel assemblies: A core drill assembly with replaceable fluid nozzles permitting effective total flow area adjustment (TFA), substantial optimization of hydraulic force at the cutting face to improve rate of penetration (ROP) and core quality. At least one seal assembly to restrict drilling fluid flow while permitting mutual rotation between the core... Agent: Trask Britt

20070261887 - Steering systems for coiled tubing drilling: A technique provides a drilling system and method in which a drilling assembly is delivered downhole on coiled tubing. The drilling assembly comprises a drill bit and a motor to rotate the drill bit for drilling of a borehole. A steerable system is used to steer the drill bit, thereby... Agent: Schlumberger Technology Corporation David Cate

20070261885 - Percussion bit drill drive collar with retention mechanism: A drive collar is disclosed for use in a percussion drilling apparatus of the type for boring into the earth. Embodiments of the drive collar include a generally tubular, one-piece body further having an inner surface, an outer surface, a first end and a second end. Embodiments further include a... Agent: Conley Rose, P.C. David A. Rose

20070261888 - Mud pump systems for drilling operations: A system for pumping fluid (e.g., but not limited to, drilling fluid), the system having pump apparatus with a pumping section and a motor section, the pumping section having an inlet and an outlet, the motor section having a shaft for reciprocating in and out of the pumping section to... Agent: Guy Mcclung

20070261889 - Safety joint: A safety joint that allows disconnection from a downhole section of a drill string without rotating the drill string. In an example class of embodiments, the innovative safety joint includes a sleeve with a j-slot that fits to a lug attached to the mandrel. A piston is attached to the... Agent: John W. Wustenberg

20070261890 - Fixed cutter bit with centrally positioned backup cutter elements: A drill bit for drilling a borehole in earthen formations. In an embodiment, the bit comprises a bit body having a bit face comprising a cone region, a shoulder region, and a gage region. In addition, the bit comprises at least one primary blade disposed on the bit face, wherein... Agent: Conley Rose, P.C. David A. Rose

20070261891 - Roller cone drill bit with enhanced debris diverter grooves: A roller cone drill bit having a bit body with at least one support arm extending from the bit body. Each support arm may have an interior surface and exterior surface with an associated spindle extending from the interior surface. A respective cone assembly may be rotatably disposed on each... Agent: Baker Botts L.L.P. Patent Department

20070261892 - Device for a drilling tool: The present invention relates to an apparatus in tools for down the hole drilling, which comprises a pilot drilling bit (10), a reamer (8) and a pilot body (1) which is disposed to support the reamer (8) and the pilot drilling bit (10) at the end of a casing tube... Agent: Mcginn Intellectual Property Law Group, PLLC

20070261893 - Power slip: A power slip that utilizes modified SDXL slips and regular drilling bowls that fits to the pin drive master bushings of the rotary table and utilizes the depth of the drive pin holes as part of the actuators, thus allowing the power slip to set lower for added clearance and... Agent: Mark R. Wisner Wisner & Associates

20070256860 - Ice drill: A tool for drilling holes through ice has a central drill rod (2) having a spiral (5) for lifting crushed ice formed by the drilling, a carrier (6) attached to one end of the drill rod (2) and being fixed to at least one cutting blade (12) extending substantially radially... Agent: Dilworth & Barrese, LLP

20070256861 - Bit face orientation control in drilling operations: A system for selectively orienting a bit at the end of a drillstring in a wellbore, the system, in certain aspects, having: motive apparatus for rotating a drillstring and a bit connected to an end of the drillstring; a control member manually movable to effect a change in orientation of... Agent: Guy Mcclung

20070256862 - Rotary drill bits, methods of inspecting rotary drill bits, apparatuses and systems therefor: A method for conducting nondestructive internal inspection of a rotary drill bit used for drilling subterranean formations comprises communicating ultrasonic waves into a drill bit and detecting ultrasonic waves that are reflected by at least a portion of the drill bit. In some embodiments, the waves may be directed into... Agent: Trask Britt

20070256863 - Directional drilling control: A method for oscillating a drillstring, the drillstring extending into the earth, the drillstring having a bit on a lower end thereof, the bit for drilling into the earth, the drillstring connected to a motive apparatus, the motive apparatus for rotating the drillstring, the motive apparatus having a power output... Agent: Guy Mcclung

20070256864 - Downhole swivel apparatus and method: What is provided is a method and apparatus wherein a swivel can be detachably connected to an annular blowout preventer thereby separating the drilling fluid or mud into upper and lower sections and allowing the fluid to be displaced in two stages, such as while the drill string is being... Agent: Garvey Smith Nehrbass & North, LLC

20070256865 - Orientation tool: An orienting apparatus including at least one housing element configured to couple with a drill string; an actuator disposed inside the at least one housing element; a nozzle coupled to the actuator; a torque generator coupled to the actuator and extending axially downward through the at least one housing, wherein... Agent: Osha, Liang LLP / Smith

20070256866 - Swivelling device for a downhole rod pump: A swivelling device is provided for picking up or backing off a drive string after it has been stuck in a down hole. The device allows the drive string to move longitudinally and rotate. The device has a shaft rotatably mounted in a housing so that the shaft can freely... Agent: Nixon & Vanderhye, PC

20070256867 - Releasable mill: A mill assembly having a milling head which is releasable from the mill body, such as by shifting a ball clutch mechanism. The ball clutch mechanism can be shifted by dropping a pumpable plug through the work string to block fluid flow through the releasable milling head, or by increasing... Agent: Gerald W. Spinks

20070251725 - Multiple activity rig: An offshore platform may include a pair of trolleys. One trolley may be mounted on top of the platform and the other trolley may be suspended below the platform. Each trolley may be positioned on opposed sides of a moon pool in one embodiment of the present invention. The lower... Agent: Trop Pruner & Hu, PC

20070251726 - Rotary steerable drilling system: A rotary steerable system (“RSS”) includes a drive coupling having a first section adapted for connection within a drill string and a second section adapted for supporting a drill bit. A flexible joint connects the first section to the second section for transmitting drilling loads, such as torque and weight,... Agent: Schlumberger Oilfield Services

20070251728 - Automated arm for positioning of drilling tools such as an iron roughneck: The invention relates to an apparatus for moving an Iron Roughneck into position to allow making-up or breaking-out of threaded joints in a drill string. The apparatus may also be used to move other drilling equipment into position on the centerline of the well or at mouse holes. A self-balanced,... Agent: Howrey LLP

20070251727 - Reamer bit: A drill steel includes a drill bit and a reamer bit. The drill steel rotates the drill bit to form a hole in a work surface and drives forward to insert the reamer bit into the hole. The reamer bit includes a plurality of inserts positioned on a cylindrical drilling... Agent: Price & Adams, P.C.

20070251729 - Downhole motor with a continuous conductive path: A downhole drilling motor comprising a housing and a shaft extending within the housing, wherein the shaft is movable relative to the housing. Further, a conducting path extends within the housing between a first axial position and a second axial position. The conducting path comprises a housing conductor associated with... Agent: Emery Jamieson Terrence N. Kuharchuk

20070251730 - Collapsible rock head: A rock head for use with an auger borer to bore a passageway through a body of soil and rock and simultaneously laying a pipe in that bored passageway. The rock head has a base connectable to the leading end of the auger. A plurality of movable mounts are provided... Agent: Sand & Sebolt

20070251731 - Hydraulic impact mechanism: A hydraulic impact mechanism includes a housing with a cylinder bore, a forward working chamber and a rear working chamber, a hydraulic fluid supply passage connected to the forward working chamber and a drain passage connected to the rear working chamber, a hammer piston reciprocally guided in the cylinder bore... Agent: Frishauf, Holtz, Goodman & Chick, PC

20070251732 - Modular fixed cutter earth-boring bits, modular fixed cutter earth-boring bit bodies, and related methods: A modular fixed cutter earth-boring bit body includes a blade support piece and at least one blade piece fastened to the blade support piece. A modular fixed cutter earth-boring bit and methods of making modular fixed cutter earth-boring bit bodies and bits also are disclosed.... Agent: Allegheny Technologies Incorporated

20070251733 - Hard material bit: A hard material bit for a rotary-percussion tool (2) includes at least one cutting edge (3), a bottom surface (6) located opposite the at least one cutting edge (3), and at least one attachment surface (8) and at least one free surface (10) both extending transverse to the bottom surface... Agent: Abelman, Frayne & Schwab

20070251734 - Rotary-percussion drill with a four-start helical shaft: A rotary-percussion drill includes a four-start helical shaft (3) having a fourfold rotationally and mirror-symmetrical helix cross-section, with radially projecting convexly formed helical webs (4) extending from a concave groove bottom (5) up to the envelope circle (6) and having an undercut (7) with respect to a web width (S).... Agent: Abelman, Frayne & Schwab