US 6,779,613 B2
Drill bits with controlled exposure of cuttersGeneral
US 6,779,613 B2
Drill bits with controlled exposure of cutters
Tech Center:
3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security and License and Review
Examiner:
Frank Tsay
Art Unit:
3672 Wells, Earth Boring/Moving/Working, Excavating, Mining, Harvesters, Bridges, Roads, Petroleum, Closures, Connections, and Hardware
Agent:
Inventors:
Mark W. Dykstra; William Heuser; Michael L. Doster; Theodore E. Zaleski; Jack T. Oldham; Terry D. Watts; Daniel E. Ruff; Rodney B. Walzel; Christopher C. Beuershausen
Assignee:
Priority:
08/26/99
Filed:
10/07/02
Granted:
08/24/04
Expiration:
08/26/19
Abstract
A rotary drag bit and method for drilling subterranean formations including a bit body being provided with at least one cutter thereon exhibiting reduced, or limited, exposure to the formation so as to control the depth-of-cut of the at least one cutter, so as to control the volume of formation material cut per bit rotation, as well as to control the amount of torque experienced by the bit and an optionally associated bottomhole assembly regardless of the effective weight-on-bit. The exterior of the bit preferably includes a plurality of blade structures carrying at least one such cutter thereon and including a sufficient amount of bearing surface area to contact the formation so as to generally distribute an additional weight applied to the bit against the bottom of the borehole without exceeding the compressive strength of the formation rock.
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)
E21E21B10/5671E21B