# US 5,704,438 A · Rotary borer > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 5,704,438 A - Document ID: US5704438A - Status: Granted - Kind: A - Application number: 08/732,244 - Filed: 1996-10-25 - Granted: 1998-01-06 - Earliest claimed: 1994-05-03 - Assignees: Kennametal Inc.; Kennametal South Africa (Proprietary) Limited - Inventors: Stephanus F. Kloppers; Richard G. Holtshausen; Noel G. Wright - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5704438A ## CPC - E21B 10/633: independently detachable - E21B 10/54: the bit being of the rotary drag type, e.g. fork-type bits - E21B 10/58: Chisel-type inserts ({E21B10/485,} E21B10/52 take precedence) - E21B 10/62: characterised by parts, e.g. cutting elements, which are detachable or adjustable (E21B10/64 takes precedence; for roller bits E21B10/20; for augers E21B10/44) - E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS ## Abstract A rotary borer has a body (10) mountable on a drill steel and one or more cutting tips (30) at a front of the body (10). Each tip (30) is tapered and is frictionally received in a corresponding tapered slot (22) in the body (10). The slot (22) has a trailing, rigid anvil surface (16), which extends almost to the extremity of the tip (30) to support the tip (30) and to locate it laterally, and a leading, resilient retaining surface (20) well shy of the extremity of the tip (30) to expose a portion of the tip. The tip (30) is readily replaceable. Release of the tip can be effected by heat or by means of taper drift (38) for which a transverse hole (37) is provided proximate a bottom of the slot (22). ## Claims ### Claim 1 A rotary borer including a body which is generally round having a rotation axis, a front and a rear, the body comprising drill steel mounting means for releasably mounting the borer on a drill steel to be rotated in a predetermined rotary direction about the rotation axis in use, and tip mounting means including an anvil formation defining a forwardly extending anvil surface and an opposing retaining formation defining a forwardly extending retaining surface, the anvil surface and retaining surface being forwardly diverging to form between them a correspondingly forwardly extending slot which slot tapers rearwardly at an angle smaller than about 5.degree.; and a tip of hard, abrasion-resistant material having a front, a rear and sides tapering toward the rear at an angle which is complemental to the angle of the slot, the tip being operatively received in the slot such that pressure on the tip during boring, in a longitudinal direction opposite to the direction in which boring advances, wedges the tip into the slot to cause frictional retention of the tip in the slot, wherein the anvil surface, relative to the predetermined direction of rotation in use, is arranged to trail the tip, the anvil surface having a non-planar seat to seat the tip which has a complemental seat formation, the anvil surface extending forwardly to a position at most a small distance short of the forward extremity of the tip to support the tip along a major portion of its length, the retaining formation terminating longitudinally short of the forward extremity of the anvil surface and well short of the forward extremity of the tip to leave a relatively large portion of the tip toward its front exposed. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A rotary borer as claimed in claim 1 in which said tip mounting means is first tip mounting means disposed generally radially toward one side of the rotary axis and in which said tip is a first tip, the borer including second tip mounting means circumferentially spaced from the first tip mounting means, and a second tip similarly received in the second tip mounting means. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) A rotary borer as claimed in claim 2 in which the first and second tips are radially aligned. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) A rotary borer as claimed in claim 2 which is symmetrical around the rotation axis. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) A rotary borer as claimed in claim 4 in which the first and second tip mounting means are identical and in which the first and second tips are identical. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) A rotary borer as claimed in claim 2 in which the tips have peaks or forward extremities toward their radially inner ends. ### Claim 7 (depends on 2) A rotary borer as claimed in claim 2 in which the first tip has a peak or forward extremity toward a radially inner end and the second tip has a peak or forward extremity toward a radially outer end. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) A rotary borer as claimed in claim 1 which has an aperture through the body which aperture is transverse to the slot and open to a rear or bottom of the slot such as to allow a thin end of a taper drift to be inserted underneath a rear end of the tip and to wedge the tip out of the slot by progressive penetration of the taper drift into the aperture. ### Claim 9 In a rotary borer including a body which is generally round having a rotation axis, a front and a rear, the body comprising drill steel mounting means for releasably mounting the borer on a drill steel to be rotated in a predetermined rotary direction about the rotation axis in use, and tip mounting means including an anvil formation defining a forwardly extending anvil surface and an opposing retaining formation defining a forwardly extending retaining surface, the anvil surface and retaining surface being forwardly diverging to form between them a correspondingly forwardly extending slot which slot tapers rearwardly at an angle smaller than about 5.degree.; and a tip of hard, abrasion-resistant material having a front, a rear and sides tapering toward the rear at an angle which is complemental to the angle of the slot, the tip being operatively received in the slot such that pressure on the tip during boring, in a longitudinal direction opposite to the direction in which boring advances, wedges the tip into the slot to cause frictional retention of the tip in the slot, wherein, relative to the predetermined direction of rotation in use, the anvil surface is arranged to trail the tip, and the retaining surface is arranged to lead the tip, and wherein one of the anvil surface and the retaining surface has a non-planar seat to seat the tip which has a complemental seat formation, the method including applying heat to the retaining surface to cause the retaining formation to deform to open the slot. ### Claim 10 A rotary borer including a body which is generally round having a rotation axis, a front and a rear, the body comprising drill steel mounting means for releasably mounting the borer on a drill steel to be rotated in a predetermined rotary direction about the rotation axis in use, and tip mounting means including an anvil formation defining a forwardly extending anvil surface and an opposing retaining formation defining a forwardly extending retaining surface, the anvil surface and retaining surface being forwardly diverging to form between them a correspondingly forwardly extending slot which slot tapers rearwardly at an angle smaller than about 5.degree.; and a tip of hard, abrasion-resistant material having a front, a rear and sides tapering toward the rear at an angle which is complemental to the angle of the slot, the tip being operatively received in the slot such that pressure on the tip during boring, in a longitudinal direction opposite to the direction in which boring advances, wedges the tip into the slot to cause frictional retention of the tip in the slot, wherein the anvil surface, relative to the predetermined direction of rotation in use, is arranged to trail the tip, one of the anvil surface and the retaining surface having a non-planar seat to seat the tip which has a complemental seat formation, in which the anvil formation has a relatively thick cross section and is correspondingly relatively rigid and the retaining formation has a relatively thin cross section and is correspondingly relatively resilient.