Sondex Limited

Sondex Wireline Limited

Victor Laing Allan

Rory McCrae Tulloch

William Peter Stuart-Bruges

Roger Farries Findlay

Allan Grant Clark

Rory Mccrae Tulloch

An apparatus for creating pressure pulses in the fluid of a bore hole is described. The preferred embodiment takes the form of a mud pulser apparatus having a signalling valve controlled by a variable pilot valve. The forces on the signalling valve are balanced and controlled by the flow of mud through the variable orifice of the pilot valve. The arrangement is such as to act like a hydraulic amplifier, and results in the signalling valve being compensated for variable flow rates. In the preferred embodiment, the pilot valve has rotary vanes that allow it to be self-cleaning.

Apparatus for creating pressure pulses in the fluid of a bore hole

A rotary steerable tool () for use in a downhole drilling apparatus for adjusting the direction of drilling is disclosed. The tool comprises a tubular outer housing () and a row of steering pushers () slidably mounted to the housing for movement between an extended position, in which the steering pusher engages a wall of a borehole formed by the drilling apparatus, and a withdrawn position, in which the steering pushers do not engage the wall of the borehole. A tubular sleeve () is mounted inside the housing () to transmit rotary drive to a drilling bit. A pressure chamber () defined between the sleeve () and the housing () communicates with the steering pushers () to move the steering pushers () to the extended position. A piston () is slidably mounted in the sleeve () and is moved by means of changes in drilling fluid pressure between a first axial position, in which the interior of the sleeve () communicates directly with the pressure chamber () for directional drilling, and a second axial position, in which the interior of the sleeve () does not communicate directly with the pressure chamber () for straight drilling.

Rotary steerable tool

A direction adjustment tool for a downhole drilling apparatus is disclosed. The tool has a tubular housing adapted to be incorporated into a downhole drilling apparatus, and steering blades mounted to the housing. A drive shaft transmits drive to a drill bit of a drilling apparatus, wherein the shaft defines a passage for transmitting drilling fluid to the drill bit. A first pressure chamber is defined between the housing and the shaft and communicates with the passage, wherein the steering blades are moved from retracted positions to extended positions thereof as a result of increase of fluid pressure the first pressure chamber. A pendulum member is pivotably mounted to extend in a vertical orientation when the shaft is not rotating relative to the housing, and pistons prevent movement of at least one steering blade to the extended position thereof as a result of the angle between a longitudinal axis of the shaft and the longitudinal axis of the pendulum member exceeding a predetermined amount. This causes at least one steering blade to adjust the direction of drilling of the drilling apparatus towards a vertical direction and/or to resist movement of the direction of drilling away from a vertical direction.

Growing community of inventors

Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom

Victor Laing Allan