Rotary drill bit

Claim 2

Rotary cutter bit having a generally conical envelope surface carrying a plurality of circumferentially extending rows of cutting elements for cutting circular grooves in a working surface of a formation being cut, said cutter bit adapted to be rotatably carried by a bit body, said envelope surface defining a cone extension measured along a circle formed by one said row of cutting elements when said envelope surface is unrolled in the working surface, said cone extension covering only a portion of said circle, said cone angle exceeding 90° by such an amount that the remaining portion of said circle has a circumferential length whose value is no less than four and no greater than twelve times the pitch of said cutting elements of said one row and being other than an integer multiple of said pitch, said pitch defined as the distance between centers of adjacently disposed cutting elements in said one row, whereby said cutting elements avoid entering already-formed grooves.

Claim 3

A rotary cutter bit according to claim 1, wherein said one row is the radially outermost row of cutting elements.

Claim 4

A rotary cutter bit according to claim 1, wherein the cutting elements comprise inserts.

Claim 5

A rotary cutter bit according to claim 3, wherein cutting inserts each have a dimension in the circumferential direction of said one row, said pitch having a value from about the value of said dimension to about twice the value of said dimension.

Claim 6

A rotary cutter bit according to claim 4, wherein said inserts have a circular cross-section, said pitch being equal to the diameter of said inserts.

Claim 7

A rotary cutter bit according to claim 5, wherein said rows of inserts form concentric circles, said inserts being chisel-shaped with chisel edges thereof oriented in said circumferential direction.

Claim 8

A rotary cutter bit according to claim 1, including two friction bearings for rotatably mounting said cutter bit to a drill bit, one of said friction bearings being conical and extending parallel to said envelope surface, and the other friction bearing being cylindrical and co-axial with the rotary axis of said cutter bit.

Claim 9

A rotary boring head rotatable about an axis and comprising supporting means, a plurality of roller cutters carried by said supporting means for common rotation about said axis, each of said roller cutters having a generally cylindrical envelope surface carrying a plurality of circumferentially extending rows of cutting elements, a first of said roller cutters arranged to engage a working surface of a formation at a first section thereof disposed nearest to said axis whereby said rows of cutting elements cut circular grooves in said section of said working surface, said envelope surface defining a cone extension measured along a circle formed by one said row of cutting elements when said envelope surface is unrolled in the working surface, said cone extension covering only a portion of said circle, said cone angle exceeding 90° by such an amount that the remaining portion of said circle has a circumferential length whose value is no less than four and no greater than twelve times the pitch of said cutting elements of said one row and being other than an integer multiple of said pitch, said pitch defined as the distance between centers of adjacently disposed cutting elements in said one row, whereby said cutting elements avoid entering already-formed grooves.

Claim 10

A rotary boring head rotatable about an axis and comprising supporting means, a plurality of roller cutters carried by said supporting means for common rotation about said axis, each of said roller cutters having a generally cylindrical envelope surface carrying a plurality of circumferentially extending rows of cutting elements, a first of said roller cutters arranged to engage a working surface of a formation at a first section thereof disposed nearest to said axis whereby said rows of cutting elements cut circular grooves in said section of said working surface, said envelope surface defining a cone extension measured along a circle formed by one said row of cutting elements when said envelope surface is unrolled in the working surface, said cone extension covering only a portion of said circle, said cone angle exceeding 90° by such an amount that the remaining portion of said circle has a circumferential length whose value is no less than four and no greater than twelve times the pitch of said cutting elements of said one row and being other than an integer multiple of said pitch, said pitch defined as the distance between centers of adjacently disposed cutting elements in said one row, whereby said cutting elements avoid entering already-formed grooves.

Claim 11

A rotary boring head according to claim 8 including a second roller cutter arranged to engage a second section of said working surface situated immediately radially outside of said first section, said first and second roller cutters including axially forwardmost portions which lie in a common imaginary plane disposed perpendicularly to said axis.