Patents by Inventor William Vail

William Vail has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20080041631
    Abstract: The steel drill string attached to a drilling bit during typical rotary drilling operations used to drill oil and gas wells is used for a second purpose as the casing that is cemented in place during typical oil and gas well completions. Methods of operation are described that provide for the efficient installation a cemented steel cased well wherein the drill string and the drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass down into the earth. The normal mud passages or watercourses present in the rotary drill bit are used for the second independent purpose of passing cement into the annulus between the casing and the well while cementing the drill string into place during one single pass into the earth. A one-way cement valve is installed near the drill bit of the drill string that allows the cement to set up efficiently under ambiently hydrostatic conditions while the drill string and drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass into the earth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 11, 2007
    Publication date: February 21, 2008
    Inventor: William Vail
  • Publication number: 20060201711
    Abstract: The steel drill string attached to a drilling bit during typical rotary drilling operations used to drill oil and gas wells is used for a second purpose as the casing that is cemented in place during typical oil and gas well completions. Methods of operation are described that provide for the efficient installation of a cemented steel cased well wherein the drill string and the drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass down into the earth. Methods of operation are described wherein at least one geophysical parameter is measured with a geophysical parameter sensing member located within the drill string. A one-way cement valve is installed near the drill bit of the drill string that allows the cement to set up efficiently under ambient hydrostatic conditions while the drill string and drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass into the earth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2006
    Publication date: September 14, 2006
    Inventor: William Vail
  • Publication number: 20060185906
    Abstract: The steel drill string attached to a drilling bit during typical rotary drilling operations used to drill oil and gas wells is used for a second purpose as the casing that is cemented in place during typical oil and gas well completions. Methods of operation are described that provide for the efficient installation of a cemented steel cased well wherein the drill string and the drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass down into the earth. A stabilizer is attached to the drill string that is used to centralize the drill string in the well during cementing operations. A one-way cement valve is installed near the drill bit of the drill string that allows the cement to set up efficiently under ambient hydrostatic conditions while the drill string and drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass into the earth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2006
    Publication date: August 24, 2006
    Inventor: William Vail
  • Publication number: 20060137911
    Abstract: The steel drill string attached to a drilling bit during typical rotary drilling operations used to drill oil and gas wells is used for a second purpose as the casing that is cemented in place during typical oil and gas well completions. Methods of operation are described that provide for the efficient installation a cemented steel cased well wherein the drill string and the drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass down into the earth. The normal mud passages or watercourses present in the rotary drill bit are used for the second independent purpose of passing cement into the annulus between the casing and the well while cementing the drill string into place during one single pass into the earth. A one-way cement valve is installed near the drill bit of the drill string that allows the cement to set up efficiently under ambiently hydrostatic conditions while the drill string and drill bit are cemented into place during one single drilling pass into the earth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2005
    Publication date: June 29, 2006
    Inventors: William Vail, James Chitwood
  • Publication number: 20060124306
    Abstract: A method of drilling and completing a wellbore in a geological formation to produce hydrocarbons from a well comprising at least the following four steps: drilling the well with a retrievable drill bit attached to a casing; removing the retrievable drill bit from the casing; pumping down a one-way valve into the casing with a well fluid; and using the one-way valve to cement the casing into the wellbore. Other methods are described to drill and complete wellbores in a geological formation with different types of pipes following the removal of retrievable, or retractable, drill bits from the pipes by using pump-down one-way valves.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2006
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventor: William Vail
  • Publication number: 20050215858
    Abstract: The Personal Pelvic Viewer™, abbreviated PPV™, is a hand-held instrument which a woman may place by herself into her own vagina to conveniently view images of the interior of her vagina, cervix, and external os. The PPV provides a convenient instrument that allows a lone female to observe the interior of her own vagina in total privacy for educational purposes, to determine her own fertility, and to observe her sexual response. Different types of tubular Personal Pelvic Viewers may be used by a lone female to view the interior of her vagina by using a mirror and a hand-held light. Those images may also be recorded with a camera or video camera. Other types of Personal Pelvic Viewers incorporate a sealed video camera and use wireless communications to display images of the interior of the vagina on a television set or video monitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 24, 2005
    Publication date: September 29, 2005
    Inventor: William Vail
  • Publication number: 20050158411
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided to prevent, treat, and cure chemotherapy induced nausea in human beings. The inhalation of an effective amount of vaporized essential oil from Mentha piperita (peppermint oil) has been shown in practice to prevent, treat, and cure chemotherapy induced nausea. A simple hand-held apparatus provides the vapors to be inhaled through the nostril to prevent, treat, and cure chemotherapy induced nausea.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2004
    Publication date: July 21, 2005
    Inventors: William Vail, Marilyn Vail
  • Patent number: 5637972
    Abstract: A rotor position encoder for an electric motor includes a discate member mounted to rotate with the rotor shaft. The encoder has a set of radially extending features formed with angularly evenly spaced leading edges and unevenly spaced trailing edges. The leading edges induce a signal in a sensor that corresponds to the relative timing of power switches for each motor phase, The trailing edges define a cyclical code by which motor controlling circuitry is able to determine the phase of rotation of the rotor and thus establish the correct power switch actuation sequence. An electric motor control system and methods of starting electric motors also provide significant advantages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 10, 1997
    Assignee: Switched Reluctance Drives, Ltd.
    Inventors: Steven P. Randall, David M. Sudgen, William Vail, Geoffrey T. Brown