Thrust support for a fluid motor used in drilling wells

Claim 1

A thrust support for a fluid motor used in drilling wells, which is fitted onto the shaft of said motor inside its housing, having a rolling-contact thrust bearing, comprising: inner and outer races rigidly attached to said housing and said shaft of the motor, respectively; rolling-contact bodies disposed between said inner and outer races; at least one mechanical seal positioned near said thrust bearing at least at the op end face thereof, and having at least one friction pack consisting of an outer friction disc and an inner friction disc rigidly attached to said outer and inner races of the thrust bearing, respectively, and rigidly attached to said housing and said shaft of the motor, respectively; said arrangement working so that when said fluid motor is set in operation said shaft or housing starts spinning and imparts rotary motion to said inner or outer races of the thrust bearing and the inner or outer friction discs, whereas mud fed under a pressure equal to the bit differential pressure reaches said mechanical seal, but since said rotating races of the thrust bearing are rigidly attached to said rotating discs of the mechanical seal, these components take up the hydraulic and drilling loads jointly with the result that the service life of said thrust support is extended and so is the period of continuous drilling of the well by means of said fluid motor which can successfully operate in conjunction with jet bits.