Driven latch mechanism

A core barrel head assembly, comprising:

• a sleeve;
• a latch body moveably coupled to said sleeve;
• a driving member positioned at least partially within said sleeve;
• a landing member positioned at least partially within said latch body;
• a plurality of wedge members positioned on said driving member, wherein axial movement of said driving member relative to said plurality of wedge members moves said plurality of wedge members radially relative to said sleeve between a latched position and a released position;
• and
• a plurality of braking elements positioned on said landing member, wherein axial movement of said landing member relative to said plurality of braking elements moves said plurality of braking elements radially relative to said latch body between a retracted position and an extended position.

A drilling system for retrieving a core sample, comprising:

• a drill rod including a first annular recess extending into an inner diameter of said drill rod;
• a core barrel assembly adapted to be inserted within said drill rod;
• and
• a driven latch mechanism positioned within said core barrel assembly, said driven latch mechanism comprising a driving member including a plurality of planar driving surfaces and a plurality of wedge members;
• wherein said axial displacement of said driving member relative to said plurality of wedge members pushes said plurality of wedge into said first annular recess thereby axially locking said core barrel head assembly relative to said drill rod, and wherein rotation of said drill rod causes said plurality of wedge members to rotationally lock said core barrel assembly relative to said drill rod.

A method of drilling comprising:

• inserting a core barrel assembly within a drill string, said core barrel assembly comprising a driven latch mechanism including a plurality of wedge members positioned on a plurality of planar driving surfaces;
• moving said core barrel assembly within said drill string to a drilling position;
• deploying said plurality of wedge members into an annular groove of said drill string;
• and
• rotating said drill string thereby causing said plurality of wedge members to wedge between said inner diameter of said drill string and said plurality of planar driving surfaces, thereby rotationally locking said core barrel assembly relative to said drill string.