Down-the-hole drill hammer having a reverse exhaust system and segmented chuck assembly
AssigneeCenter Rock Inc.
InventorsLeland H. Lyon, Warren Thomas Lay
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A down-the-hole drill hammer is provided that includes a housing, a solid core piston mounted within the housing, a seal located between the solid core piston and the housing, and a backhead configured to exhaust working fluid volumes about a proximal end of the DHD hammer. The backhead includes a check valve assembly having a plug seal that can be moved to a closed seal position by gravity. A DHD hammer having a segmented chuck assembly is also provided. The segmented chuck assembly includes a plurality of chuck segments forming a cylindrical chuck assembly.
Claims37
A down-the-hole drill hammer comprising:
- a housing;
- a solid core piston within the housing and configured to prevent the flow of fluids through the solid core piston;
- a seal located between the solid core piston and the housing;
- and
- a backhead configured within the housing and superior to the solid core piston, the backhead including:
- an exhaust port in communication with an opening to an exterior of the housing,
- an exhaust valve stem in communication with the exhaust port, and
- a check valve assembly configured to seal the exhaust valve stem when in a closed configuration.
A down-the-hole drill hammer comprising:
- a housing having a proximal end situated toward a point of attachment to a drill string and an opposing distal end;
- a piston mounted within the housing and configured to reciprocatively move within the housing along a longitudinal direction;
- a drill bit proximate the distal end of the housing, the drill bit including:
- a head, and
- a shank having:
- a shoulder,
- a distal end, and
- an opposing proximal end,
- wherein the distal end of the shank is situated toward the distal end of the housing;
- and
- a segmented chuck assembly circumscribing the drill bit, the segmented chuck assembly including:
- a plurality of individual and separable chuck segments, each of the chuck segments including:
- a proximal end connectable to the housing,
- a distal end opposing the proximal end of the chuck segment and configured to receive the shank of the drill bit, and
- a flange configured to operatively engage the shoulder of the shank.
A cylindrical chuck assembly for circumscribing a drill bit of a down-the-hole drill hammer comprising:
- a non-unitary cylindrical chuck having a plurality of individual chuck elements configured to assemble into the cylindrical chuck assembly, each of the plurality of chuck elements including:
- a proximal end for fastening to a down-the-hole drill hammer housing,
- a distal end for receiving the drill bit, and
- a flange for operatively engaging the drill bit.
A down-the-hole hammer, comprising:
- a housing having a proximal end situated toward a point of attachment to a drill string and an opposing distal end;
- a piston mounted within the housing and configured to reciprocatively move within the housing along a longitudinal direction;
- a drill bit proximate the distal end of the housing, the drill bit including:
- a head having a distal end situated toward the distal end of the housing and an opposing proximal end,
- a bit shoulder proximate the proximal end of the head, and
- a shank extending proximally from the head, the shank having:
- a distal end situated toward the distal end of the housing and an opposing proximal end,
- an impact surface about the proximal end of the shank,
- a shoulder proximate the proximal end of the shank,
- a plurality of shank splines about the distal end of the shank, the plurality of shank splines having distal ends situated toward the distal end of the housing and opposing proximal ends, and
- a thrust shoulder proximate to the proximal end of the plurality of shank splines and spaced from the impact surface;
- and
- a chuck assembly circumscribing the drill bit and connected to the housing, the chuck assembly including a flange in direct contact with the thrust shoulder of the drill bit.
A drill bit for a down-the-hole drill hammer comprising:
- a head;
- and
- a shank extending from the head, the shank including:
- a first end distal to the head and an opposing second end,
- a first shoulder proximate the first end of the shank,
- a plurality of splines having proximal ends situated toward the first end of the shank and opposing distal ends, and positioned proximate the second end of the shank, and
- a thrust shoulder spaced from the first shoulder and positioned adjacent to the proximal end of the plurality of splines.
A non-unitary segmented chuck assembly for a down-the-hole drill hammer comprising:
- a plurality of individual chuck elements for circumscribing a drill bit, each of the plurality of chuck elements including:
- a proximal end connectable to a down-the-hole drill hammer housing, the proximal end including threads for connecting to the housing,
- a distal end configured to receive the drill bit, the distal end including a plurality of splines, and
- a flange configured to operatively engage the drill bit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.