Teleco Oilfield Services Inc.

Mark D Zitka

William E Turner

Lynn M Lee

Gary Wells

A downhole motor includes a bearing assembly for allowing rotational and bidirectional axial movement of a drive shaft in a housing. The bearing assembly includes a stationary race member, a displaceable race member, ball bearings disposed between the race members, and resilient load carrying members for distributing axial thrust loading from the drive shaft to the displaceable race member when the drive shaft is axially displaced in a first direction. The bearing assembly further includes resilient preload members for maintaining the ball bearings in contact with the race members in the absence of axial loading and when the drive shaft is axially displaced in a second direction. The downhole motor of the present invention provides a high axial thrust load capacity, prevents shock loading on the bearing assembly during sudden changes in the direction of axial loading on the bearing assembly and exhibits improved durability during cyclic bidirectional axial thrust loading.

Downhole motor and bearing assembly

A flexible coupling for use in a down-hole motor assembly such as a positive displacement moineau motor is presented. The flexible coupling includes two sets of flexible joints. Each joint consists of two cylindrically shaped slipper couplings angularly offset by 90 degrees. Each slipper coupling is comprised of mating male and female members which are joined together by ball bearings positioned in arcuate grooves located along the cylindrical mating surface.

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Lafayette, LA, United States of America

Mark D Zitka