Driven latch mechanism

A drilling system for retrieving a core sample, comprising:

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

A method of drilling comprising:

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