E
SECTION E — FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  
EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
 E21
EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
 E21

Note(s)

In this class, the following term is used with the meaning indicated:

  • "drilling" covers boring and vice versa.

 E21B
EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING (mining, quarrying E21C; making shafts, driving galleries or tunnels E21D); OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS  [5]
 E21B

Note(s)

  1. This subclass covers[7]
    • primarily equipment for drilling of earth or rock in their natural formation; [7]
    • similar equipment for drilling of man-made structures in situ, e.g. of road surfaces or concrete structures. [7]
  2. This subclass does not cover[7]
    • hand-held drilling machines, e.g. for domestic use; [7]
    • drilling equipment for manufacturing operations, i.e. where an article is worked, e.g. for further processing; [7]
    which are covered by relevant subclasses of section B, e.g. B23B[7]
  3. Processes using enzymes or micro-organisms in order to: [8]
    1. liberate, separate or purify a pre-existing compound or composition, or to [8]
    2. treat textiles or clean solid surfaces of materials [8]
    are further classified in subclass C12S[8]
 E21B
Subclass index
METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR DRILLING 1/00 - 7/00
DRILLING TOOLS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR 10/00, 11/00; 12/00
OTHER EQUIPMENT OR DETAILS FOR DRILLING; WELL EQUIPMENT OR MAINTENANCE
Derricks; drilling rods or the like 15/00; 17/00, 19/00
Flushing or cleaning; sealing; heating or cooling 21/00, 37/00; 33/00; 36/00
Valve arrangements; fire-fighting 34/00; 35/00
Other equipment or details 23/00 - 31/00, 40/00, 41/00
OBTAINING FLUIDS FROM WELLS 43/00
CONTROL; SURVEYING OR TESTING 44/00; 45/00 - 49/00
 E21B 1/00 - 
E21B 7/00
Methods or apparatus for drilling
P:210 E21B 1/00
Percussion drilling (drives used in the borehole E21B 4/00)  [3]
P:200 E21B 3/00
Rotary drilling (drives used in the borehole E21B 4/00; rotary drilling machines in general B23B)  [3]
P:180 E21B 4/00
Drives for drilling, used in the borehole (hydraulic turbines for drilling wells F03B 13/00)  [3]
P:190 E21B 6/00
Drives for drilling with combined rotary and percussive action (drives used in the borehole E21B 4/00; portable percussive machines with superimposed rotation B25D 16/00)  [3]
P:150 E21B 7/00
Special methods or apparatus for drilling (supports for the drilling machine, e.g. derricks or masts, E21B 15/00)  [1,7]
 E21B 7/02
·  Drilling rigs characterised by means for land transport, e.g. skid mounting or wheel mounting (portable drilling rigs for use on underwater floors E21B 7/12)  [1,7]
 E21B 7/04
·  Directional drilling
 E21B 7/12
·  Underwater drilling (telescoping joints E21B 17/02; using heave compensators E21B 19/00; well heads specially adapted for underwater installations E21B 33/03)  [1,7]
 E21B 7/14
·  Drilling by use of heat, e.g. flame drilling
 E21B 7/18
·  Drilling by liquid or gas jets, with or without entrained pellets (E21B 7/14 takes precedence; hydraulic monitors E21C 45/00)  [5]
 E21B 7/20
·  Driving or forcing casings or pipes into boreholes, e.g. sinking; Simultaneously drilling and casing boreholes (surface means for applying to-and-fro rotation movements to the casing E21B 3/00; placing piles E02D 7/00; sinking shafts while moving the lining downwards E21D 1/00)  [3]
 E21B 10/00 - 
E21B 12/00
Drilling tools
P:260 E21B 10/00
Drill bits (specially adapted for deflecting the direction of boring E21B 7/04; with means for collecting substances E21B 27/00)  [3,8]
 E21B 10/08
·  Roller bits (roller core bits E21B 10/00; with leading portion E21B 10/26; characterised by wear resisting parts E21B 10/46)  [3]
 E21B 10/26
·  Drill bits with leading portion, i.e. drill bits with a pilot cutter; Drill bits for enlarging the borehole, e.g. reamers (percussion drill bits with leading portion E21B 10/36; augers with leading portion E21B 10/00)  [3]
 E21B 10/36
·  Percussion drill bits (characterised by wear resisting parts E21B 10/46)  [3]
 E21B 10/46
·  characterised by wear resisting parts, e.g. diamond inserts  [3]
P:280 E21B 11/00
Other drilling tools
P:290 E21B 12/00
Accessories for drilling tools  [3]
 E21B 15/00 - 
E21B 41/00
Other equipment or details for drilling; Well equipment or well maintenance
P:230 E21B 15/00
Supports for the drilling machine, e.g. derricks or masts  [1,7]
P:270 E21B 17/00
Drilling rods or pipes; Flexible drill strings; Kellies; Drill collars; Sucker rods; Casings; Tubings (drilling pipes with plural fluid passages for flushing boreholes E21B 21/00; rod couplings in general F16D; tubes or tube couplings in general F16L)
 E21B 17/02
·  Couplings; Joints
P:220 E21B 19/00
Handling rods, casings, tubes or the like outside the borehole, e.g. in the derrick; Apparatus for feeding the rods or cables (surface drives E21B 1/00, E21B 3/00)
P:100 E21B 21/00
Methods or apparatus for flushing boreholes, e.g. by use of exhaust air from motor (freeing objects stuck in boreholes by flushing E21B 31/00; well drilling compositions C09K 8/02)  [2,7]
P:80 E21B 23/00
Apparatus for displacing, setting, locking, releasing or removing tools, packers or the like in boreholes or wells (setting of casings, screens, or liners E21B 43/02)
P:40 E21B 25/00
Apparatus for obtaining or removing undisturbed cores, e.g. core barrels, core extractors (core bits E21B 10/00; using explosives or projectiles in boreholes E21B 49/00; side-wall sampling or coring E21B 49/00)
P:250 E21B 27/00
Containers for collecting or depositing substances in boreholes or wells, e.g. bailers for collecting mud or sand; Drill bits with means for collecting substances, e.g. valve drill bits  [6,8]
P:0 E21B 28/00
Vibration generating arrangements for boreholes or wells, e.g. for stimulating production (for drilling E21B 7/00; for transmitting measuring-signals E21B 47/12; for geophysical measurements G01V 1/02)  [6]
P:60 E21B 29/00
Cutting or destroying pipes, packers, plugs, or wire lines, located in boreholes or wells, e.g. cutting of damaged pipes, of windows (perforators E21B 43/11); Deforming of pipes in boreholes or wells; Reconditioning of well casings while in the ground
P:90 E21B 31/00
Fishing for or freeing objects in boreholes or wells (provisions on well heads for introducing or removing objects E21B 33/03; locating or determining the position of objects in boreholes or wells E21B 47/00)
P:140 E21B 33/00
Sealing or packing boreholes or wells
 E21B 33/02
·  Surface sealing or packing
 E21B 33/03
·  ·  Well heads; Setting-up thereof (valve arrangements therefor E21B 34/00)
 E21B 33/10
·  in the borehole
 E21B 33/12
·  ·  Packers; Plugs (used for cementing E21B 33/13)
 E21B 33/13
·  ·  Methods or devices for cementing, for plugging holes, crevices, or the like (dump bailers E21B 27/00; chemical compositions therefor C09K 8/00)  [1,8]
 E21B 33/138
·  ·  ·  Plastering the borehole wall; Injecting into the formation
P:130 E21B 34/00
Valve arrangements for boreholes or wells (in drilling fluid circulation systems E21B 21/00; blow-out preventers E21B 33/03; oil flow regulating apparatus E21B 43/12; valves in general F16K)  [3]
P:70 E21B 35/00
Methods or apparatus for preventing or extinguishing fires (cutting or deforming pipes to control fluid flow E21B 29/00; controlling flow of fluid to or in wells E21B 43/12; fire fighting in general A62C, A62D)
P:10 E21B 36/00
Heating, cooling, or insulating arrangements for boreholes or wells, e.g. for use in permafrost zones (drilling by use of heat E21B 7/14; secondary recovery methods using heat E21B 43/16)  [3]
P:110 E21B 37/00
Methods or apparatus for cleaning boreholes or wells (E21B 21/00 takes precedence; cleaning pipes in general B08B 9/02)
P:120 E21B 40/00
Tubing catchers, automatically arresting the fall of oil-well tubing
P:240 E21B 41/00
Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B 15/00-E21B 40/00
 E21B 43/00
Obtaining fluids from wells  [3]
P:20 E21B 43/00
Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells (applicable only to water E03B; obtaining oil-bearing deposits or soluble or meltable materials by mining techniques E21C 41/00; pumps F04)
 E21B 43/02
·  Subsoil filtering (E21B 43/11 takes precedence; chemical compositions for consolidating loose sand or the like around wells C09K 8/56)  [1,8]
 E21B 43/11
·  Perforators; Permeators
 E21B 43/12
·  Methods or apparatus for controlling the flow of the obtained fluid to or in wells (E21B 43/25 takes precedence; valve arrangements E21B 34/00)
 E21B 43/16
·  Enhanced recovery methods for obtaining hydrocarbons (fracturing E21B 43/25; obtaining slurry E21B 43/00; reclamation of contaminated soil in situ B09C)
 E21B 43/25
·  Methods for stimulating production (dump bailers E21B 27/00; vibration generating arrangements E21B 28/00; chemical compositions therefor C09K 8/60)  [1,8]
 E21B 43/34
·  Arrangements for separating materials produced by the well (separating apparatus per se, see the relevant subclasses)  [3]
 E21B 44/00
Automatic control; Surveying or testing  [3]
P:160 E21B 44/00
Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems (for non-automatic drilling control, see the operation controlled; automatic feeding from rack and connecting of drilling pipes E21B 19/00; controlling pressure or flow of drilling fluid E21B 21/00); Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions (means for transmitting measuring-signals from the well to the surface E21B 47/12)  [3]
 E21B 45/00 - 
E21B 49/00
Surveying or testing
P:170 E21B 45/00
Measuring the drilling time or rate of penetration
P:30 E21B 47/00
Survey of boreholes or wells (monitoring pressure or flow of drilling fluid E21B 21/00; geophysical logging G01V)
 E21B 47/02
·  Determining slope or direction (clinometers or direction meters G01C)
 E21B 47/04
·  Measuring depth or liquid level (measuring liquid level in general G01F)
 E21B 47/06
·  Measuring temperature or pressure (measuring temperature in general G01K; measuring pressure in general G01L)
 E21B 47/10
·  Locating fluid leaks, intrusions, or movements
 E21B 47/12
·  Means for transmitting measuring-signals from the well to the surface, e.g. for logging while drilling (remote signalling in general G08)
P:50 E21B 49/00
Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells (apparatus for obtaining undisturbed cores E21B 25/00; sampling in general G01N 1/00)