Non-rotating drill pipe protector tool having multiple types of hydraulic bearings
AssigneeWWT North America Holdings, Inc.
InventorsSarah Banks, Norman Bruce Moore
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A non-rotating drill pipe protector comprising a collar for attachment to a drill pipe and a sleeve positioned around the collar wherein drilling fluid passing between flexible bearing surfaces between the collar and the sleeve generate hydrodynamic bearings in both an axial and thrust direction of the drill pipe.
Claims19
A non-rotating drill pipe protector comprising a collar for attachment to a drill pipe and a sleeve positioned around the collar wherein drilling fluid passes between flexible bearing surfaces between on collar and the sleeve which generates hydrodynamic fluid bearings in both an axial and thrust direction of the drill pipe, wherein a portion of the flexible bearing surfaces on the sleeve are flats extending in a longitudinal and a circumferential direction on the inner surface of the sleeve, wherein the collar has multiple circumferential bearing rings spaced along the length of the collar, wherein the bearing rings have at least one longitudinal channel for axial flow of the drilling fluid through the protector, and wherein the longitudinal channel is circumferentially staggered between adjacent bearing rings.
A non-rotating drill pipe protector comprising:
- a collar for attachment around a drill pipe having a plurality of axially spaced circumferential bearing rings, each bearing ring having at least one fluid flow channel extending therethrough for axial passage of drilling fluid;
- and
- a sleeve positioned around the collar having a plurality of circumferential grooves along an inside surface for receipt of the bearing rings and a plurality of flat bearing surfaces between each circumferential groove, the flat bearing surfaces are spaced circumferentially from one another by an axially extending passageway,
- wherein upon passage of drilling fluid between the collar and the sleeve rotational hydrodynamic fluid bearings are created at the flat bearing surfaces between each circumferential groove and axial fluid bearings are created between bearing surfaces of the bearing rings and the circumferential grooves of the sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.