Drill string components resistant to jamming

A threaded drill string component that resists jamming and cross threading during engagement with adjacent drill string components within a drill string, comprising:

• a body, a box end, an opposing pin end, and a central axis extending through the body;
• a female thread positioned on the box end of the body, the female thread having a depth and a width and being tapered relative to the central axis;
• and
• a male thread positioned on the pin end of the body, the male thread having a depth and a width and being tapered relative to the central axis,
• wherein:
• the male thread has a substantially constant thread depth and a substantially constant thread width,
• the male thread width is greater than the thread depth,
• each of the female thread and the male thread comprises a leading end and an opposing trailing end,
• the leading end of each of the female thread and the male thread comprises a planar surface extending normal to the body,
• the planar surface of the leading end of the female thread extends along the entire width and the entire depth of the female thread from a leading edge of the female thread to a trailing edge of the female thread,
• the leading edge of the female thread defines a clearance flank oriented at an angle of at least 45 degrees relative to a first transverse axis that is perpendicular to the body,
• the trailing edge of the female thread is oriented at a negative pressure flank angle relative to the first transverse axis,
• the planar surface of the leading end of the male thread extends along the entire width and the entire depth of the male thread from a leading edge of the male thread to a trailing edge of the male thread,
• the leading edge of the male thread defines a clearance flank oriented at an angle of at least 45 degrees relative to a second transverse axis that is perpendicular to the body, and
• the trailing edge of the male thread is oriented at a negative pressure flank angle relative to the second transverse axis,
• the female thread tapers to a reduced size as it moves away from the trailing edge of the box end,
• each of the female thread and the male thread comprises a plurality of helical turns, and
• wherein, during engagement between the threaded drill string component and adjacent drill string components within the drill string, the planar surface of the leading end of the male thread of the threaded drill string component is configured to abut and slide against a leading end of a female thread of a second drill string component of the drill string, and the planar surface of the leading end of the female thread of the threaded drill string component is configured to abut and slide against a leading end of a male thread of a third drill string component of the drill string to guide the male thread of the third drill string component into a gap between turns of the female thread of the threaded drill string component.

A drill string comprising:

• first and second threaded drill string components that resist jamming and cross threading during engagement with one another, each threaded drill string component comprising:
• a body, a box end, an opposing pin end, and a central axis extending through the body;
• a female thread positioned on the box end of the body, the female thread having a depth and a width and being tapered relative to the central axis;
• a male thread positioned on the pin end of the body, the male thread having a depth and a width and being tapered relative to the central axis;
• wherein:
• the male thread has a substantially constant thread depth and a substantially constant thread width,
• the male thread width is greater than the thread depth,
• each of the female thread and the male thread comprises a leading end and an opposing trailing end,
• the leading end of each of the female thread and the male thread comprises a planar surface extending normal to the body,
• the planar surface of the leading end of the female thread extends along the entire width and the entire depth of the female thread from a leading edge of the female thread to a trailing edge of the female thread,
• the leading edge of the female thread defines a clearance flank oriented at an angle of at least 45 degrees relative to a first transverse axis that is perpendicular to the body,
• the trailing edge of the female thread is oriented at a negative pressure flank angle relative to the first transverse axis,
• the planar surface of the leading end of the male thread extends along the entire width and the entire depth of the male thread from a leading edge of the male thread to a trailing edge of the male thread,
• the leading edge of the male thread defines a clearance flank oriented at an angle of at least 45 degrees relative to a second transverse axis that is perpendicular to the body, and
• the trailing edge of the male thread is oriented at a negative pressure flank angle relative to the second transverse axis,
• the female thread tapers to a reduced size as it moves away from the trailing edge of the box end,
• each of the female thread and the male thread comprises a plurality of helical turns, and
• wherein, during engagement between the first and second threaded drill string components, the planar surface of the leading end of the male thread of the first threaded drill string component is configured to abut and slide against the leading end of the female thread of the second threaded drill string component, and the planar surface of the leading end of the female thread of the second threaded drill string component is configured to abut and slide against the leading end of the male thread of the first threaded drill string component to guide the male thread of the first threaded drill string component into a gap between turns of the female thread of the second threaded drill string component.