Hughes Tool Company LLC

Richard T Upton

George E Dolezal

A rock bit used for drilling with air as the circulating fluid, and a centrifugal separator to filter liquid and other contaminants from the air diverted to the bit bearings. The filter generates a fluid vortex with radial vanes, each having plural pitches, located within the shank of the bit. Bearing coolant passages, located beneath the separator, receive filtered air from a central, filtered air location. The vortex centrifugally forces the water and other contaminants outwardly into nozzle passages that direct fluid toward the bottom of the borehole.

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Houston, TX, United States of America

Richard T Upton