Gardner-denver Company

Cooper Industries, Inc.

Robert W Hisey

Raymond L Chubb

Lawrence F Haven

Ernst L Lindstedt

A drill pipe carousel is pivotal within a drilling mast between retracted and operating positions. The carousel contains a plurality of drill pipe receptacles for holding sections of drill pipe. Each of these drill pipe receptacles includes an upper and lower set of clamps that selectively clamp around a section of drill pipe within the receptacle to retain it in place, and open to release the pipe section. In the carousel operating position, a section of drill pipe is in alignment with the drill hole and a rotary head mounted on the drilling mast for linear movement along the mast. The rotary head attaches to this drill pipe section and rotates it to drill into the drill hole as the rotary head moves along the mast. The carousel pivots into the mast, out of the way of the rotary head, and rotates to align a subsequent section of drill pipe with the rotary head and drill hole when the rotary head is again raised to attach to the subsequent drill pipe section and the carousel is again pivoted outwardly from the drilling mast to its operating position.

Drill pipe handling and storage apparatus

A drill pipe bushing for stabilizing the drill pipe at the mouth of the well during drilling includes a plurality of support arms supported in a circular array about the drill pipe. Rollers are attached to each support arm with the axis of the rollers normally parallel to the axis of the drill pipe. The support arms move the rollers into engagement with or away from the drill pipe. The rotational axis of the rollers become canted upon both rotation and translation of the drill pipe through the drill pipe bushing during the drilling operation.

Castering roller for a drill pipe guide bushing

A drive system for a hoist-pulldown linkage of a blast hole drill employs a variable speed electric motor and a variable ratio coupling between the motor and the hoist-pulldown linkage. A first regulator actuates the electric motor for high torque operation when the ratio of the coupling is low. A second regulator means activates the electric motor for low torque operation when the ratio of the coupling is high. Transfer in coupling ratio is coordinated with change between regulators. The first regulator means is a voltage regulator with a current spillover limit. The second regulator is a voltage regulator with an adjustable pulldown force limit with means to select the rotational speed reference of the motor.

Growing community of inventors

Richardson, TX, United States of America

Robert W Hisey