(January 6. 2011)

Two Spring inventors are among the team that received a U.S. patent this week for improved drill bearings designed for Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc.

According to the patent, the invention is an improvement to the polycrystalline diamond compact bearings that previously have been used in rock drills. The inventors claim that their improved radial bearings reduce the significant stress and heat that sometimes cause bearings to fail.

The inventors of the device are listed as Aaron J. Dick of Houston, Chih Lin of Spring, Terry J. Kolterman of The Woodlands, Anton F. Zahradnik of Sugar Land, Dan E. Scott of Montgomery, Don Q. Nguyen of Houston, Eric Sullivan of Houston, Scott Shiqiang Shu of Spring, Craig Hodges Cooley of Saratoga Springs and Timothy Nathan Sexton of Santaquin, Utah.

The official patent number is 7,861,805 and it was originally filed on May 15, 2008. The patent is jointly owned by Baker Hughes and Utah-based U.S. Synthetic Corp.

Baker Hughes specializes in technologies designed to help petroleum companies get the greatest value from their wells, and it offers integrated operations and reservoir consulting. Its global headquarters is located in the River Oaks area at 2929 Allen Parkway, Suite 2100. The company's U.S. division also has offices in the Aldine area at 17015 Aldine Westfield Road.

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