Diamond-studded drilling tool

Claim 2

A high output drilling tool for ground of any nature and having openings through the end portion thereof for the injection of sludge, said drilling tool comprising, a plurality of independent protuberances individually distributed over its end surface, each independent protuberance having a separate counterfort for support thereof, each protuberance having an average height measured parallel to the axis of the tool which is at least twice its average thickness and having an attack edge and at least one peripheral surface for attacking ground, a depression formed in said drilling tool adjacent each protuberance on the attack edge side thereof whose depth is at least equal to the average height of the protuberance, said depressions lying adjacent each other and having sufficient width to provide continuous flow paths for the ground that has been torn away.

Claim 3

A drilling tool according to claim 1, wherein said protuberances include blades bearing exclusively in the attack regions a concretion of diamonds sunk in a sintered mass comprising at least one of the carbides of tungsten, titanium, tantalum, chromium, fanadium, niobium, molybdenum, and at least one of the following metals; cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, the blades being distributed over the end surface of the tool in concentric and adjacent groups, that is to say, by groups where the distances of the extreme edges of each blade of a group with respect to the axis of the tool are included within a predetermined minimum radial distance and a maximum radial distance, the minimum distance of the edges of the blades of one group being essentially identical to the maximum distance of the edges of the blade of the group which is internally adjacent to it, the blades of at least one group being staggered laterally with respect to the blades of the adjacent groups.

Claim 4

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein the protuberances include diamond-studded blades, having a surface for attacking the ground by means of scraping, said surface being perpendicular to the axis of the tool, the blades being distributed by groups consisting of blades whose attack surfaces are in the same plane, one of the edges of the attack surfaces constituting the attack edge of said blade, said edge being inclined with respect to the radius situated in said plane and joining the axis of the tool at one end of the attack edges, each blade having furthermore the same vertical angle of clearance.

Claim 5

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 3, wherein said groups of blades are concentric, the corresponding levels of the various groups of blades all decrease from the axis of the tool when the tool is in the working position, and increasing from the central group to the peripheral concentric group, the blades belonging to two adjacent groups being staggered in such a way that the blades are arranged essentially along lines that constitute both steps and spirals, said lines being such that the succession of spaces between the blades of two consecutive lines and Belonging to one and the same group will be continuous from the blades of one group to the blades of another adjacent group, thus permitting the flow of the sludge toward the periphery.

Claim 6

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 4, wherein the blades have counterforts and where the space between two consecutive lines of blades, in spirals and in steps, is bordered, on the side of the attack edge of the blades, by a surface that is essentially verticla and that essentially extends, for each blade, from the level of its lower working surface to the level of the surface corresponding to the blades belonging to the second adjacent concentric group, said space being limited on the side opposite the attack edge by a surface consisting of steps, made up of the counterforts of the blades of the consecutive line belonging to the first and to the second adjacent groups.

Claim 7

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein said protuberances are essentially lined up in steps and spirals, the lines thus formed being essentially symmetrical with respect to the axis of the tool, leaving between them spaces whose width is at least equal to the average width of the protuberances.

Claim 8

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein said protuberances reveal counterforts at their base and the side opposite their attack edge, the base of said counterforts extending in the direction opposite the attack edges at least to the level of the rearward portion of the radially inward edge of the attack surface of the nearest radially outward protuberances, the level of the nearest radially outward protuberance being higher than the protuberance from which said counterfort extends when the tool is in the drilling position.

Claim 9

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein said protuberances are blades obtained by sintering from a compound made up of at least one carbide of tungsten or of titanium, tantalum, chromium, vanadium, niobium, molybdenum, and at least one of the following metals: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, particles of diamonds being incorporated in their lower portion and in their lateral radial portion over a thickness of 2-20 mm, the tool being assumed to be in drilling position.

Claim 10

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein said protuberances are blades attached, by metallurgical setting, to a tool body consisting of a compound containing at least one of the following bodies: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten carbide WC, tungsten carbide W2C, carbide of chromium, titanium, tantalum, vanadium, niobium, said compound incorporating, by infiltration, a brazing mixture containing at least two of the following elements: copper, nickel, iron, zinc, tin, silver, silicon, boron, manganese, aluminum, lead, said brazing mixture representing 25-60 percent of the weight of said infiltrated compound.

Claim 11

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 8, wherein said blades are incorporated in the body of the tool by metallurgical setting, the body being made up of a compound obtained by infiltration, including at least one carbide of abrasion-resistant metal and a brazing mixture, said brazing mixture having a concentration, within the mass, of at least 25 percent of the weight of the compound.

Claim 12

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, above, whose protuberances are blades revealing a ground attack surface perpendicular to the axis of the tool and an attack surface parallel to said axis, the blades being distributed in the form of concentric groups, each blade of a group extending in the direction of its length, in a direction inclined with respect to the direction of its horizontal displacement, and each of the two extreme edges of each of the blades of the group being, respectively, at the same predetermined distance from the axis of the tool.

Claim 13

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 11, wherein the blades involve at least one chamfer at at least one end.

Claim 14

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, wherein the protuberances are distributed over the surface of the tool in concentric groups, the attack surfaces of one of the groups being at a level lower than that of the attack surfaces of the other groups when the tool is in drilling position, the protuberances of said group having an average length that is greater than the length of the protuberances of the other groups.

Claim 15

A drilling tool in accordance with claim 1, having a protuberance one of whose edges coincides with the axis of the tool.

Claim 16

A drilling tool with blades for terrain of any nature, characterized by the fact that the blades involve, exclusively in the attack regions, a concretion of diamonds sunk in a mass consisting of at least one of the carbides of the following metals: tungsten, titanium, tantalum, molybdenum, chromium, vanadium, niobium, and at least one of the following metals: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, the blades being attached to the body of the tool by metallurgical setting, the body of the tool being made up of a compound containing at least one of the following materials: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten carbide WC, tungsten carbide W2C, carbide of chromium, of titanium, of tantalum, of molybdenum, of vanadium, of niobium, said compound incorporating, by infiltration, a brazing mixture containing at least two of the following elements: copper, nickle, iron, zinc, tin, silver, silicon, boron, manganese, aluminum, and lead, said brazing mixture representing 25-60 percent of the weight of said infiltrated compound, the assembly of the blades being distributed in concentric groups over the end surface of the tool, each blade of a group extending in the direction of its length in a direction inclined with respect to the direction of its horizontal displacement, each of the two extreme edges of each of the blades of the group being located respectively at the same predetermined distance from the axis of the tool, the maximum distance of the edges of the blades of each group coinciding essentially with the minimum distance of the edges of the blades from the adjacent group which surrounds it, the scraping attack surfaces of the blades belonging to one and the same group being in one and the same plane perpendicular to the axis of the tool, whereas the attack edges of said surfaces are inclined with respect to the radii situated in their plane and joining the axis of the tool to the ends of the attack edges, each blade possessing furthermore a vertical angle of clearance as well as a counterfort at the base of the side opposite the attack edge connecting to the element of the surface that prolongs the attack surface of the blade that is contiguous with the adjacent group, the levels of the blades of one group decreasing at first and the increasing as we go from the blades of the group near the axis of the tool, presumed in drilling position, to the blades of the peripheral groups, the blades belonging to two adjacent groups here being staggered in such a way that the blades are arranged essentially in steps and in spirals and that the spaces formed between two consecutive lines are bordered on the one hand by abrupt walls, extending essentially from each blade from the level of its lower working surface to the level of the surface corresponding to the blades belonging to the second adjacent group and, on the other hand, by a surface consisting of steps made up of the counterforts of the consecutive line of blades belonging to the first and to the second adjacent groups, the smallest distance between two lines, measured in the direction of rotation of the tool, being at least equal to the width of one blade.

Claim 17

A drilling tool with blades for terrain of any nature, characterized by the fact that the blades involve, exclusively in the attack regions, a concretion of diamonds sunk in a mass consisting of at least one of the carbides of the following metals: tungsten, titanium, tantalum, molybdenum, chromium, vanadium, niobium, and at least one of the following metals: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, the blades being attached to the body of the tool by metallurgical setting, the body of the tool being made up of a compound containing at least one of the following materials: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten carbide WC, tungsten carbide W2C, carbide of chromium, of titanium, of tantalum, of molybdenum, of vanadium, of niobium, said compound incorporating, by infiltration, a brazing mixture containing at least two of the following elements: copper, nickle, iron, zinc, tin, silver, silicon, boron, manganese, aluminum, and lead, said brazing mixture representing 25-60 percent of the weight of said infiltrated compound, the assembly of the blades being distributed in concentric groups over the end surface of the tool, each blade of a group extending in the direction of its length in a direction inclined with respect to the direction of its horizontal displacement, each of the two extreme edges of each of the blades of the group being located respectively at the same predetermined distance from the axis of the tool, the maximum distance of the edges of the blades of each group coinciding essentially with the minimum distance of the edges of the blades from the adjacent group which surrounds it, the scraping attack surfaces of the blades belonging to one and the same group being in one and the same plane perpendicular to the axis of the tool, whereas the attack edges of said surfaces are inclined with respect to the radii situated in their plane and joining the axis of the tool to the ends of the attack edges, each blade possessing furthermore a vertical angle of clearance as well as a counterfort at the base of the side opposite the attack edge connecting to the element of the surface that prolongs the attack surface of the blade that is contiguous with the adjacent group, the levels of the blades of one group decreasing at first and the increasing as we go from the blades of the group near the axis of the tool, presumed in drilling position, to the blades of the peripheral groups, the blades belonging to two adjacent groups here being staggered in such a way that the blades are arranged essentially in steps and in spirals and that the spaces formed between two consecutive lines are bordered on the one hand by abrupt walls, extending essentially from each blade from the level of its lower working surface to the level of the surface corresponding to the blades belonging to the second adjacent group and, on the other hand, by a surface consisting of steps made up of the counterforts of the consecutive line of blades belonging to the first and to the second adjacent groups, the smallest distance between two lines, measured in the direction of rotation of the tool, being at least equal to the width of one blade.

Claim 18

In a drilling tool comprising a main body and protuberances extending at least from the end face of said body, at least one of said protuberances having a drilling face disposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of its extension from said main body, the improvement comprising said protuberances being formed of a material comprising a concretion of diamonds sunk in a mass consisting of at least one of the carbides of an abrasion-resistant metal selected from the group consisting of tungsten, titanium, tantalum, molybdenum, chromium, vanadium and niobium, and at least one metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, nickel and molybdenum, wherein said protuberances are attached to said main body by a metallurgical setting, wherein said main body comprises a material containing at least one member selected from the group consisting of cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten carbide, and a carbide of a member selected from the group consisting of chromium, titanium, tantalum, molybdenum, vanadium and niobium, and wherein said material has incorporated therein, by infiltration, from 25 to 60 percent by weight, based on the weight of said material, of a brazing mixture containing at least two members selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, zinc, tin, silver, silicon, boron, manganese, aluminum and lead.

Claim 19

In a drilling tool comprising a main body and protuberances extending at least from the end face of said body, at least one of said protuberances having a drilling face disposed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of its extension from said main body, the improvement comprising said protuberances being formed of a material comprising a concretion of diamonds sunk in a mass consisting of at least one of the carbides of an abrasion-resistant metal selected from the group consisting of tungsten, titanium, tantalum, molybdenum, chromium, vanadium and niobium, and at least one metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, nickel and molybdenum, wherein said protuberances are attached to said main body by a metallurgical setting, wherein said main body comprises a material containing at least one member selected from the group consisting of cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten carbide, and a carbide of a member selected from the group consisting of chromium, titanium, tantalum, molybdenum, vanadium and niobium, and wherein said material has incorporated therein, by infiltration, from 25 to 60 percent by weight, based on the weight of said material, of a brazing mixture containing at least two members selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron, zinc, tin, silver, silicon, boron, manganese, aluminum and lead.

Claim 20

A high output drilling tool for ground of any nature and having openings through the end portion thereof for the injection of sludge, said drilling tool comprising a plurality of independent protuberances individually distributed over its end surface, said protuberances including blades having a concretion of diamonds sunk in a sintered mass, said concretion of diamonds bearing exclusively in the attack regions of said blades, said sintered mass comprising at least one of the carbides of tungsten, titanium, tantalum, chromium, vanadium, niobium, molybdenum, and at least one of the following metals: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, each protuberance having an attack edge and at least one peripheral surface for attacking ground, a depression formed in said drilling tool adjacent each protuberance on the attack edge side thereof, said depressions lying adjacent each other and having sufficient width to provide continuous flow paths for the ground that has been torn away, and a counterfort at the base of each blade and opposite its attack edge, the base of said counterforts extending in the direction opposite the attack edges of said protuberances at least to the level of a rearward portion of the radially inward edge of the attack surface of the nearest radially outward protuberance, the level of the nearest radially outward protuberance being higher than the protuberance from which said counterfort extends when the tool is in the drilling position.

Claim 21

A high output drilling tool for ground of any nature and having openings through the end portion thereof for the injection of sludge, said drilling tool comprising a plurality of independent protuberances individually distributed over its end surface, said protuberances including blades having a concretion of diamonds sunk in a sintered mass, said concretion of diamonds bearing exclusively in the attack regions of said blades, said sintered mass comprising at least one of the carbides of tungsten, titanium, tantalum, chromium, vanadium, niobium, molybdenum, and at least one of the following metals: cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, each protuberance having an attack edge and at least one peripheral surface for attacking ground, a depression formed in said drilling tool adjacent each protuberance on the attack edge side thereof, said depressions lying adjacent each other and having sufficient width to provide continuous flow paths for the ground that has been torn away, and a counterfort at the base of each blade and opposite its attack edge, the base of said counterforts extending in the direction opposite the attack edges of said protuberances at least to the level of a rearward portion of the radially inward edge of the attack surface of the nearest radially outward protuberance, the level of the nearest radially outward protuberance being higher than the protuberance from which said counterfort extends when the tool is in the drilling position.

Claim 22

A high output drilling tool for ground of any nature as recited in claim 17, wherein said blades are distributed over the end surface of the tool in concentric and adjacent groups, that is to say, by groups where the distances of the extreme edges of each blade of a group with respect to the axis of the tool are included within a predetermined minimum radial distance and a maximum radial distance, the minimum distance of the edges of the blades of one group being essentially identical to the maximum distance of the edges of the blades of the group which is internally adjacent to it, the blades of at least one group being staggered laterally with respect to the blades of the adjacent group.

Claim 23

A high output drilling tool for ground of any nature as recited in claim 17, wherein the depth of each depression is at least equal to the average height of the protuberance adjacent which the depression is formed.