Abstract: Apparatus for making foundation pilings includes a lead section with screw threads, at least one extension section, and a bit carried by the first of the extension sections. The bit slides onto the first, lower end of the extension section and is operable to compress the soil laterally to the extension sections and form a lateral groove in the soil. Grout fills the annular region of the hole bored by the apparatus including the grooves for lateral stability. Each extension section is formed to fit into the next one and to be secured to it by lateral bolts. The bolt heads prevent the bit from moving vertically as the lead section advances into the soil. Bits may be added to increase the size of the opening bored.

Abstract: A wireline drilling system for the hydrocarbon exploration and production industry incorporating a drilling cuttings removal system which acts to remove and store cuttings displaced by a drill bit during drilling operations. The cuttings removal system may employ a screw member having a tapered lower portion and a narrow upper portion to transport drilling cuttings to a cuttings basket and distribute the cuttings therein. Embodiments of the invention include an integral tractor to progress the wireline drilling system and provide weight-on-bit, as well as assist in retrieval of the wireline drilling system if the tool should become stuck.

Abstract: A system and method for installing casing in a blind horizontal well for blind horizontal directional borings. The system and method may include an example of an offset transmitter sonde assembly that contains an open central passage through which well casing can be inserted, and an example of a drill bit assembly that may be remotely uncoupled from a drill string, leaving the bit in the bore created. Remote uncoupling of the drill bit assembly tends to allow a casing to be installed in the bore while the drill string and bit remain in the bore for support during casing installation. After installation of the casing the drill bit assembly may be uncoupled from the drill string, allowing the drill string to be withdrawn from the bore, with the drill bit assembly remaining in the bore.

Abstract: An impact dissipation tool for supporting a downhole tool in downhole applications. The tool includes a base and a housing. The tool also includes a carriage located within the housing and coupled to the base, the carriage being movable relative to the housing upon a predetermined impact force. A dissipator disposed inside the housing is collapsible due to the relative movement of the carriage and the housing. The collapse of the dissipator dissipates the impact force transferred to the downhole tool.

Abstract: A drill bit assembly comprising a bit body connectable to a tubular drill string, and provided with a longitudinal passageway for an operating tool; an externally removable closure element for closing the passageway for the operating tool; and a passage tool attached to or connectable to the closure element in its closing position, wherein the passage tool comprises a lower part to which the closure element is attached or connectable, which lower part is arranged so that it can be moved out of the bit body together with the closure element, and an upper tubular part which is arranged so that it can be moved along the passageway in the bit body, the upper tubular part forming a passage with a downstream opening for the operating tool when the lower part of the passage tool has been moved out of the bit body.

Abstract: Drilling assemblies include a drill bit and a reamer apparatus in which the drill bit is configured to rotate in rotational direction about a longitudinal axis of a drill string and the reamer apparatus is configured to rotate in an opposite rotational direction about the longitudinal axis. Methods of forming a drilling assembly include configuring a drill bit to drill a subterranean formation when rotating in a counter-clockwise direction and configuring a reamer apparatus to ream a wellbore within the subterranean formation when rotating in a clockwise direction. Methods of drilling wellbores in subterranean formations include rotating a drill bit in a first rotational direction about a longitudinal axis of a drill string to drill a wellbore and rotating a reamer apparatus in an opposite rotational direction about the longitudinal axis of the drill string to ream the wellbore.

Abstract: Disclosed drilling systems offer multiple methods providing access to the open borehole without first tripping the drill string. In some embodiments, a drill bit has a tool port that is blocked by a plug during normal drilling operations. When a tool is deployed through the interior of the drill string, the tool port opens, enabling the tool to enter the borehole beneath the drill string and perform logging or sampling operations. The plug may be attached to the drill bit by a hinge or pivot, or alternatively, the plug may be discarded and a replacement seated in place after the tool is retracted into the drill string. In other embodiments, the drill bit itself is detachable, allowing the bit to be parked in the hole or in a side bore. If desired, the bit can be re-attached by lowering the drill string to the bottom of the hole.

Abstract: A transport assembly configured to be attached to downhole apparatus has a support assembly configured to be attached to the downhole apparatus and a ground engaging assembly, which may be a roller wheel configured to contact with and move in relation to a surface of a wellbore. The roller wheel may engage with the support assembly so as to provide for their relative rotation. The transport assembly also includes a retaining member disposed between the roller wheel and the support assembly, and the retaining member is operable to resist separation of the roller wheel from the support assembly. The transport assembly is further configured such that, when the transport assembly is in use moving along a wellbore, the roller wheel bears against the retaining member, which in turn bears against the support assembly. The retaining member is a ball-bearing.

Abstract: A substrate and a method of making a substrate having a functionally gradient coefficient of thermal expansion are described herein. A system having a silicon die, an organic package substrate, and a substrate having a functionally gradient coefficient of thermal expansion, connecting the silicon die and the organic substrate is also described. The coefficient of thermal expansion at the upper surface of the substrate matches the coefficient of thermal expansion of the die, the coefficient of thermal expansion at the lower surface of the substrate matches the coefficient of thermal expansion of the package substrate, and the substrate has one or more coefficients of thermal expansion between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the upper and lower surfaces.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a more efficient and economically superior earth auger head in which a percussive excavation mechanism part (down-the-hole hammer) is incorporated in order to break up portions that are unsuitable for rotary excavation by the auger, and an excavation method using this auger head. The auger head comprises a rotary excavation mechanism part (1) in which a spiral vane (12) used for earth discharge is provided to the circumferential surface of a rotary tubular part (11), and in which an excavating bit (13) whose outer circumferential side protrudes further downward than the central side is provided to the lower end of this spiral vane; and further comprises a pneumatic percussive excavation mechanism part (2) that is installed inside the rotary tubular part and is disposed so that a percussive body (23) is accommodated in a position that is higher than the lower tip end of the excavating bit.

Abstract: A drill head has a domed leading face and carries cutting teeth. A tubular drill string can be used to drive the head into the ground. An off-center aperture communicates with the bore of the string, by means of a connecting passage, which defines an oblique cone. During drilling, a flushing medium can be pumped down the bore and out through the aperture. As the drill string and head are withdrawn, an elongate member can be introduced down the bore, out through the aperture, to be left in the passage drilled by the head. The form of the mouths and connecting passage avoid the elongate member encountering any discontinuities which would prevent it leaving the head. The elongate member could be reinforcing bar for a cast-in-situ pile, or part of a ground loop for a ground heat energy system.

Abstract: An apparatus that facilitates the insertion of a stanchion into the ground. The apparatus comprises a first side including a plurality of connection apertures, a second side including a plurality of connection apertures, and at least one connector engaging the connection apertures to removably engage the first side to the second side. The first and second sides reposition the ground and substantially separate the stanchion from the ground during insertion. Additionally, the apparatus maintains the integrity of the hole into which the stanchion is placed during insertion of the stanchion into the ground. Preferably, the first and second sides define a substantially circular opening when engaged to one another. Additionally, each side includes a length and the connector substantially spans the length and vertically connects the first side to the second side along the length.

Abstract: A method of drilling a borehole into a subsurface earth formation, using a tubular drill string which includes at its lower end a bottom hole assembly comprising a drill bit, a drill steering system, and a surveying system. The drill string includes a selectively closable passageway for passing an auxiliary tool from a first position interior of the drill string above the bottom hole assembly to a second position. In the second position, at least part of the auxiliary tool is exterior of the drill string below the bottom hole assembly. The drill string is progressed into the earth formation by drilling. When a tool operating condition is met the passageway is opened and the auxiliary tool is passed through the passageway from the first position to the second position, where the auxiliary tool is operated.

Abstract: A method of drilling a borehole into a subsurface earth formation is-provided, the method including using a tubular drill string which includes at its lower end a bottom hole assembly comprising a drill bit, a drill steering system, and a surveying system, wherein the drill string includes a passageway for an auxiliary tool from a first position interior of the drill string above the bottom hole assembly to a second position wherein at least part of the auxiliary tool is exterior of the drill string below the bottom hole assembly, which passageway can be selectively closed, and which method also includes drilling so as to progress the drill string into the earth formation, until a tool operating condition is met; opening the passageway; passing an auxiliary tool from the first position through the passageway to the second position, and operating the auxiliary tool at the second position.

Abstract: A screw pier has an elongated shaft with a screw adjacent one end thereof. Soil displacing members are disposed on the shaft. The soil displacing members may be drawn through soil by turning the screw. A soil displacing member closer to the screw may be smaller than one or more soil displacing members farther from the screw. A driving tool may be provided for turning the screw.

Abstract: A drill pipe (1; 12) has a journal (2; 15) formed thereon. Integrally formed stop collars (10, 11; 16, 17) are provided at each end of the journal (2; 15). The arrangement enables rotatable tools (18) to be fitted directly to a journal (2; 15) to reduce friction between the rotatable tool (18) and the journal (2; 15). The journal (2; 15) may be of a substantially greater length than the length of the rotatable tool (18) to facilitate lubrication and cooling. Alternatively removable stop collars (30; 31) are secured adjacent the ends of a journal (28) formed on the drill pipe (25). Methods of forming the journal surface (2; 15) during manufacture of a drill pipe are disclosed. There are also disclosed methods for reconditioning an existing drill pipe (20) to form a journal (21) thereon.

Abstract: Apparatus for boring a hole from an inside of a tube outwardly perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tube comprises a drill shoe having a longitudinal axis and being positionable in the tube, the shoe having an inlet, an outlet perpendicular to the shoe longitudinal axis and a passageway connecting the inlet and outlet, a torsional load transmitting element having no torsional flexibility in relation to its bending flexibility, having a longitudinal axis and being disposed in the passageway, the torsional load transmitting element being movable relative to itself with no resistance about first and second perpendicular axes both of which are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the torsional load transmitting element, a hole saw connected to one end of the torsional load transmitting element and a motor rotatably connected to the other end of the torsional load transmitting element.

Abstract: A screw pier has an elongated shaft with a screw adjacent one end thereof. Soil displacing members are disposed on the shaft. The soil displacing members may be drawn through soil by turning the screw. A soil displacing member closer to the screw may be smaller than one or more soil displacing members farther from the screw. A driving tool may be provided for turning the screw.

Abstract: Apparatus for boring a hole from an inside of a tube outwardly perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tube comprises a drill shoe having a longitudinal axis and being positionable in the tube, the shoe having an inlet, an outlet perpendicular to the shoe longitudinal axis and a passageway connecting the inlet and outlet, a torsional load transmitting element having no torsional flexibility in relation to its bending flexibility, having a longitudinal axis and being disposed in the passageway, the torsional load transmitting element being movable relative to itself with no resistance about first and second perpendicular axes both of which are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the torsional load transmitting element, a hole saw connected to one end of the torsional load transmitting element and a motor rotatably connected to the other end of the torsional load transmitting element.

Abstract: A downhole impact drill having a drill bit head with a drill bit sector for drilling an enlarge hole upon rotation of the drill. The bit is mounted within a chuck for movement between a retracted, working position in which the bit is coaxially mounted for drilling and an extended, non-working position in which the bit is loosely mounted within the chuck to permit the bit to swing laterally to reduce the diameter of the drill bit head envelope. In its extended, non-working position, the bit is supported on the chuck at a 3.degree. angle at which the drill bit sector is positioned inwardly to facilitate installation and withdrawal of the drill.

Abstract: A well bore annulus wiper plug is disclosed. The wiper plug has a central body and inner and outer elastomeric ribs. The ribs are generally in the shape of truncated cones. To operate the device, it is inserted in the annular space between well casing and a drill string. Fresh drilling mud is circulated downwardly through the annular space above the wiper plug. The wiper plug scrapes both the outside of the drill pipe and the inside of the casing free of a previous well fluid.

Abstract: A process for establishing a clear, generally horizontal borehole path in a subterranean formation includes drilling a generally horizontal borehole using a drill pipe, drill bit and an uphole drilling device and lubricating the drill bit and pipe by pumping a mud down the center of the drill pipe in sufficient quantity to carry cuttings, created by the drilling, from the horizontal borehole using a mud capable of creating a cake on the borehole wall. Throughout drilling of the borehole, the total solids content of the efflux is adjusted to preselected levels and recirculated through the drill pipe to continually create the borehole wall cake. After drilling, the drill bit and drill rod are removed and the drilling bit replaced with a casing shoe. Thereafter, the drill pipe is reinserted into the borehole with a liner therein.

Abstract: A rotary well-drilling bit lowered through a drill string to a special orienting, positioning and aligning sub attached to the bottom of the drill string with the aid of mud pressure with the bit approximately 90.degree. from its normal operating position. The drill bit is prepositioned before entering the drill string and utilizes a drill bit positioning means to properly orient and position the drill bit at the bottom of the borehole. Once properly positioned and oriented, a wireline attached motor turns an assembly shaft which raises the drill bit into its bit receptacle. Removal of the drill bit is accomplished by relowering the wireline attached motor and turning the assembly shaft to loosen the shaft from the drill bit and raising the wireline, wireline motor, assembly shaft and drill bit through the drill string.

Abstract: A soil excavating and utility pole securing sleeve is disclosed which will, when rotated around a standing utility pole, excavate an annulus of soil between the pole and the interior of the sleeve. The excavating sleeve defines an elongated hollow cylinder having teeth and inwardly bent excavating doors or flaps at one end which moves the soil between the utility pole and the sleeve out the door or flap and compacts the soil into the earth surrounding the sleeve. The sleeve is rotated into the ground around the utility pole for half its length, left there, and the evacuated annulus of soil then filled with a mixture of epoxy, resin, fungicide, and aggregate, allowed to cure and harden in order that the utility pole, the filling, and the sleeve become one single structure with a strength greater than that possessed by the original utility pole when new.

Abstract: An improved boring tool comprising a longitudinal groove in its shaft and a two-armed tool within the groove is provided for boring an enlargement within a hole. The two-armed tool has a rear actuating arm and a forward cutting arm and is tiltably supported in the groove for tilting between an ineffective position, in which its actuating arm extends out of the groove for cooperating with the edge of the outer end of the hole, and effective positions in which the cutting arm reaches out of the groove for cutting the enlargement into the wall of the hole when the edge of the open end of the hole forces the actuating arm into the groove.