Atlas Copco Secoroc LLC

Baker Hughes Corporation

Skf USA Inc.

Epiroc Drilling Tools LLC

Gregory W Peterson

Chih C Lin

Anton F Zahradnik

Don Quy Nguyen

Gregory L Ricks

Terry J Koltermann

Howard J Walk

James Wilson Langford

Srinidhi Bangalore Gopalakrishna

Anthony D Podnieks

Tim Chu

Elisabeth Smith

Srinidni Bangalore Gopalakrishna

Janice David

Austen Morgan Schwend

An air-cooled earth-boring drill bit including a plurality of lugs. Each lug includes a pin flange. A first roller race is distal to the pin flange. A thrust flange is distal to the first roller race. At least one pin flange vent slot is arranged in a surface of the pin flange opposite the first roller race. The at least one pin flange vent slot opens in a direction of a load side of a bearing. At least one thrust flange vent slot is arranged in a surface of the thrust flange facing the first rollers. The at least one thrust flange vent slot opens in the direction of the load side of the bearing. A plurality of flow passages are arranged within the lug to supply fluid to the at least one pin flange vent slot and the at least one thrust flange vent slot.

Rotary drill bit

An air/water separator including a first hollow member configured to receive a flow including an air and water mixture and a second hollow member configured to receive the flow from the first hollow member. An exit of the first hollow member extends into an opening of the second hollow member such that the exit of the first hollow member axially overlaps the opening of the second hollow member, thereby creating a first flow path from the interior of the first hollow member to the outside of the second hollow member including two turns about the exit of the first hollow member and opening of the second hollow member, and a second flow path from the first hollow member through the second hollow member.

Rotary drill bit air/water separator

An earth bit includes a cutting cone carried by a lug, and an interstice seal assembly which forms a dynamic seal with a radial interstice lug surface of the lug. The interstice seal assembly includes a rigid sealing ring having lengthened and shortened arm portions. The lengthened arm portion extends outwardly from the shortened arm portion, and engages the radial interstice lug surface.

Seal assembly for a rotary earth bit

An earth bit includes a cutting cone rotatably mounted to a lug with a journal. A sealing member is sealingly engaged with the cutting cone and a wear ring carried by the lug. The wear ring is dynamically engaged with the first sealing member and statically engaged with the lug.

Earth bit having a wear ring

An earth bit includes a cutting cone mounted to a lug to form a bearing cavity. A valve is in fluid communication with the bearing cavity and a bit chamber, wherein the valve includes a diaphragm with an aperture. The aperture is repeatably moveable between open and closed conditions in response to a pressure difference between the material in the bearing cavity and bit chamber.

Earth bit having a pressure relief valve

An earth bit includes a cone rotatably mounted to a shaft with a hub unit and thrust roller bearings. The hub unit is moveable between mounted and unmounted positions on the shaft, as a single unit, in a repeatable manner. The hub unit includes a pair of roller bearings positioned between inner and outer races. The outer race includes a recess extending around its outer periphery. A sealing structure is slidingly engaged with the recess to provide a seal between the cone and shaft.

Earth bit with hub and thrust units

An elastomeric seal ring is located between each bearing pin and each cone of an earth-boring bit. An excluder ring or band is imbedded within the inner diameter of the seal ring. A portion of the inner diameter of the seal ring as well as the excluder ring are in dynamic sealing contact with the bearing pin. The excluder ring may be harder and more wear resistant than the seal ring. The excluder ring may have lubricating properties. An outer excluder ring may be located on the outer diameter of the seal ring for engaging the cone to resist rotation.

Excluder ring for earth-boring bit

A bit is provided having at least one leg extending downwardly and inwardly from the bit body. A cutter cone is rotatably mounted on a shaft extending inwardly from the lower portion of each leg. The annular space defined by the base of the shaft and the inner surface at the base of the cone forms a seal gland. An elastomeric o-ring sealingly engages an inner surface of the cone and a first rigid ring which rotates with the o-ring and cone. The o-ring energizes the first rigid ring for sealingly engaging a second rigid ring mounted to the leg of the bit near the base of the shaft. The second rigid ring is secured to and seals against a surface at the base of the shaft and is held stationary relative to the surface. A lubricant passage for lubricating the seal is pressurized by the drilling fluid pressure in the center of the bit body.

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Fort Worth, TX, United States of America

Gregory W Peterson