US 10,590,705 B2Granted

Impact-driven downhole motors

AssigneeDreco Energy Services Ulc

InventorsMark Sheehan, Jonathan Prill

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Abstract

A downhole motor has a bearing mandrel rotatably disposed within a housing, plus an impact adapter disposed above and connected to the bearing mandrel and rotatable therewith. The impact adapter has upwardly-projecting teeth engageable with downwardly-projecting teeth on a drive mandrel disposed above and coaxially aligned with the impact adapter. The drive mandrel is both rotatable and axially movable within the housing, and relative to the impact adapter. By means of a cam assembly and a helical spring (or other energy storage means) associated with the drive mandrel, rotation of the drive mandrel causes upward movement of the drive mandrel within the housing, thus compressing the spring. Further rotation causes instantaneous dropping of the drive mandrel, releasing energy stored in the spring, and causing the application of rotational and/or axial impacts to the bearing mandrel, and thus to a drill bit connected to the bearing mandrel.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A downhole motor comprising:

(a) a bearing mandrel rotatably disposed within a housing;
(b) an impact adapter disposed above and connected to the bearing mandrel so as to be rotatable therewith, said impact adapter having an upper end with upwardly-projecting impact adapter teeth;
(c) a drive mandrel disposed within the housing above and in coaxial alignment with the impact adapter, said drive mandrel being rotatable and axially movable relative to the housing and relative to the impact adapter, and said drive mandrel having a lower end with downward-projecting drive mandrel teeth engageable with the impact adapter teeth;
(d) a cam assembly apparatus associated with the drive mandrel;
and
(e) a kinetic energy storage member, said kinetic energy storage member being associated with the drive mandrel and the cam assembly;
wherein:
(f) rotation of the drive mandrel causes axially-upward movement of the drive mandrel relative to the impact adapter and the housing, resulting in kinetic energy being stored in the kinetic energy storage member;
and
(g) further rotation of the drive mandrel causes axially-downward movement of the drive mandrel so as to release the kinetic energy stored in the kinetic energy storage member, such that the drive mandrel imparts axial impact forces to the bearing mandrel.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.