Well drill and casing drive unit

Claim 2

In a drilling rig having an upright mast and means for transferring drill and casing segments to a drilling position, thE improvement comprising a drive unit slidably mounted to said upright mast and operable to bore a hole in the earth and insert a surrounding casing in the same operation, said drive unit comprising: a rotary drive section operable to connect with and rotate a drill segment located in said drilling position; and a power chuck section resiliently connected to the rotary drive section and including chuck means which is operable to grasp and hold a casing segment surrounding a drill segment located in said drilling position, and a vibrator unit which is operable to vibrate said chuck section during said drilling operation.

Claim 3

The drive unit as recited in claim 1 in which the power chuck section includes a floating ring plate, the rotary drive section includes a support bracket, and said resilient connection between said rotary drive section and said power chuck section is made by clamping the floating ring plate between the support bracket and the rotary drive section with an elastomeric material disposed on each side of the floating ring plate.

Claim 4

The drive unit as recited in claim 2 in which said power chuck section is positioned beneath said rotary drive section and said spindle extends downward from said rotary drive section and through a central opening in said power chuck section, wherein said floating ring plate is concentric about said spindle and there are a plurality of support brackets which extend downward from said rotary drive section to form a shelf upon which said floating ring plate is clamped.

Claim 5

In a drilling rig having an upright mast and means for simultaneously transferring drill and casing segments to a drilling position, the improvement comprising a drive unit slidably mounted to said upright drill mast and being operable to connect with both a drill and casing segment held in said drilling position and to simultaneously rotate said drill and drive said casing segment downward, said drive unit comprising: a rotary drive section which includes a rotatably mounted spindle that extends downward therefrom and is driven by a motor to rotate about a central axis; and a power chuck section connected beneath said rotary drive section and disposed around a portion of said spindle, said power chuck section including a plurality of slidably mounted jaws with associated drive means, which jaws are radially operable with respect to said central axis, wherein a drill segment in said drilling position is connectable to the lower end of said spindle and the casing segment associated with said connected drill segment is connectable to said power chuck section by the operation of said jaws and in which said power chuck section includes stop means against which the upper end of the connected casing bears.

Claim 6

In a drilling rig having an upright mast and means for simultaneously transferring drill and casing segments to a drilling position, the improvement comprising a drive unit slidably mounted to said upright drill mast and being operable to connect with both a drill and casing segment held in said drilling position and to simultaneously rotate said drill and drive said casing segment downward, said drive unit comprising: a rotary drive section which includes a rotatably mounted spindle that extends downward therefrom and is driven by a motor to rotate about a central axis; and a power chuck section connected beneath said rotary drive section and disposed around a portion of said spindle, said power chuck section including a plurality of slidably mounted jaws with associated drive means, which jaws are radially operable with respect to said central axis, wherein a drill segment in said drilling position is connectable to the lower end of said spindle and the casing segment associated with said connected drill segment is connectable to said power chuck section by the operation of said jaws and in which said power chuck section includes stop means against which the upper end of the connected casing bears.

Claim 7

The drive unit as recited in claim 4 wherein said spindle extends downward, completely through said power chuck section.