Water separator for a down hole drill
AssigneeIngersoll-Rand Company
InventorLeland H. Lyon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device for use within the backhead of a down hole percussive drill, for removing debris from a drillhole, includes a flow control member in the drill backhead for inducing cyclonic flow of percussive fluid, to concentrate the heavier water and other matter away from the lighter percussive gases, a separator in the backhead that separates the water and other matter, passageways in the backhead for ejecting the separated water and other matter, a sealing member for sealing the backhead passageways against back flow of debris from the drillhole annulus, and an indexing member for positioning the separator so as to permit a pre-selection of flow amounts of removed water and other matter.
Claims8
In a down hole drill that is actuated by a mixture of percussive fluid and water, a water separator comprising:
- (a) backhead means for attachment to a drill string at a first end and to a hammer assembly at a second end;
- (b) inducing means for causing cyclonic, vortex flow of said mixture of fluid and water around an axial centerline extending through said backhead means, said cyclonic flow concentrating a portion of said water to be removed from said percussive fluid at a position in said backhead means that is away from said axial centerline;
- (c) separating means for separating said portion of water to be removed from said percussive fluid and for ejecting said portion of water from said backhead means before said portion of water can enter said hammer assembly, said separating means simultaneously transmitting said fluid, minus said portion of removed water, into said hammer assembly;
- said backhead means further comprising;
- (d) a hollow, tubular body having a drill string end and a hammer assembly end, with a sidewall portion extending therebetween;
- (e) said backhead sidewall forming a backhead bore extending axially along a centerline through said body;
- (f) first thread means for threadably connecting said drill string end to a drill string;
- (g) second thread means for threadably connecting said hammer assembly end to a hammer assembly;
- (h) backhead passageway means in said backhead sidewall for transmitting said water removed from said fluid out of said backhead bore;
- and
- (i) movable seal means for closing said backhead sidewall passageway means, when said percussive fluid is not flowing, and for opening said backhead sidewall passageway means, when said percussive fluid is flowing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.