Rotary steerable drilling system and method
AssigneeHalliburton Energy Services, Inc.
InventorRobello Samuel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drilling system may include an outer sleeve, and a rotary steerable module including a shaft extending within the outer sleeve. The rotary steerable module may further include bearings disposed within the outer sleeve and through which the shaft extends, and cams positioned along the shaft between the bearings. Each cam may include an eccentric ring through which the shaft extends. Each extension of the shaft through one of the eccentric rings defines a bend in the shaft within the outer sleeve, the bend having a bend angle. A method of use and a drilling control apparatus are also provided.
Claims20
A drilling system, comprising:
- an outer sleeve;
- and
- a first rotary steerable module, comprising:
- a first shaft extending within the outer sleeve;
- a first bearing disposed within the outer sleeve and through which the first shaft extends;
- a second bearing disposed within the outer sleeve and through which the first shaft extends, wherein the second bearing is spaced from the first bearing along the first shaft;
- a first cam disposed within the outer sleeve so that the first cam is positioned along the first shaft between the first and second bearings, the first cam comprising:
- a first eccentric ring through which the first shaft extends;
- and
- a second eccentric ring extending about the first eccentric ring;
- wherein the extension of the first shaft through the first eccentric ring defines a first bend in the first shaft within the outer sleeve, the first bend having a first bend angle;
- and
- a second cam disposed within the outer sleeve so that the second cam is positioned along the first shaft between the first cam and the second bearing, the second cam comprising:
- a third eccentric ring through which the first shaft extends;
- and
- a fourth eccentric ring extending about the third eccentric ring;
- wherein the extension of the first shaft through the third eccentric ring defines a second bend in the first shaft within the outer sleeve, the second bend having a second bend angle.
A drilling method, comprising:
- extending a shaft within an outer sleeve, wherein the shaft and the outer sleeve have first and second center axes, respectively;
- placing a first bend in the shaft within the outer sleeve, the first bend having a first bend angle;
- placing a second bend in the shaft within the outer sleeve, the second bend having a second bend angle;
- and
- rotating, relative to the outer sleeve, the shaft about the first center axis while maintaining the first and second bends in the shaft within the outer sleeve.
A drilling control apparatus, comprising:
- a computer readable medium;
- and
- a plurality of instructions stored on the computer readable medium and executable by a processor, the plurality of instructions comprising:
- instructions that cause the processor to place a first bend in a shaft within an outer sleeve, wherein the first bend has a first bend angle, and wherein the shaft and the outer sleeve have first and second center axes, respectively;
- instructions that cause the processor to place a second bend in the shaft within the outer sleeve, wherein the second bend has a second bend angle;
- and
- instructions that cause the processor to rotate, relative to the outer sleeve, the shaft about the first center axis while maintaining the first and second bends in the shaft within the outer sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.