Mud motor assembly
A longer-lasting, lower cost, more powerful, all metal, mud motor than the presently available progressing cavity type mud motors for drilling boreholes into the earth. A mud motor apparatus possessing one single drive shaft that turns a rotary drill bit, which apparatus is attached to a drill pipe which provides high pressure mud to the mud motor, wherein the drive shaft receives at least a first portion of its rotational torque from any high pressure mud flowing through a first hydraulic chamber within the apparatus, and receives at least a second portion of its rotational torque from any high pressure mud flowing through a second hydraulic chamber within the apparatus. The mud motor apparatus possesses two hydraulic chambers, each having its own power stroke, and return stroke, and acting together in a controlled fashion, provide continuous power to a rotary drill bit.
1. A method to provide torque and power to a rotary drill bit rotating clockwise attached to a drive shaft of a mud motor assembly comprising at least the following steps:
a. providing relatively high pressure mud from a drill pipe attached to an uphole end of said mud motor assembly;
b. passing at least a first portion of said relatively high pressure mud through a first hydraulic chamber having a first piston that rotates a first crankshaft clockwise about its own rotation axis from its first relative starting position at 0 degrees through a first angle of at least 210 degrees, but less than 360 degrees during its first power stroke;
c. mechanically coupling said first crankshaft by a first ratchet means to a first portion of said drive shaft to provide clockwise rotational power to said drive shaft during said first power stroke; and
d. passing at least a second portion of said relatively high pressure mud through a second hydraulic chamber having a second piston that rotates a second crankshaft clockwise about its own rotation axis from its first relative starting position of 0 degrees through a second angle of at least 210 degrees, but less than 360 degrees during its second power stroke;
e. mechanically coupling said second crankshaft by a second ratchet means to a second portion of said drive shaft to provide clockwise rotational power to said drive shaft during said second power stroke; and
f. providing first control means of said first ratchet means, and providing second control means of said second ratchet means, to control the relative timing of rotations of said first crankshaft and said second crankshaft so that at the particular time that said first crankshaft has rotated from its first relative starting position through 180 degrees nearing the end of its first power stroke at 210 degrees, said second crankshaft begins its rotational motion from its relative starting position of 0 degrees were it begins its second power stroke;
wherein said first piston possesses a first flared portion that forms a moving hydraulic seal within said first hydraulic chamber so as to reduce any flow rate of fluids bypassing said first piston, and
wherein said second piston possesses a second flared portion that forms a moving hydraulic seal within said second hydraulic chamber so as to reduce any flow rate of fluids bypassing said second piston.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first piston, first flared portion, second piston and second flared portion are made of the same material.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first flared portion and second flared portion are made from the group comprising steel, metallic alloys, elastomers and fiber-reinforced materials.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the material is selected from the group comprising steel, metallic alloys, elastomers and fiber-reinforced materials.