Patent ID: 8316968

Claim:
A rolling cone drill bit for drilling a borehole in earthen formations, the bit comprising: a bit body having a bit axis; a plurality of rolling cone cutters mounted on the bit body, each of the plurality of cone cutters having a cone axis of rotation; wherein each of the plurality of cone cutters includes a plurality of gage cutting elements and a plurality of bottomhole cutting elements arranged in a first inner row radially adjacent the plurality of gage cutting elements relative to the bit axis; wherein each of the plurality of gage cutting elements has a base portion with a central axis, a cutting portion extending from the base portion to an extension height measured perpendicularly from a respective cone cutter of the plurality of gage cutting elements; wherein each of the plurality of gage cutting elements contacts a gage curve defined by the drill bit at a gage curve contact point in a composite rotated profile view disposed in a layout plane, the layout plane containing the axis of one of the plurality of cone cutters and being parallel to the bit axis; wherein a base reference plane is perpendicular to the layout plane and tangent to the gage curve at the gage curve contact point in the composite rotated profile view; wherein each of the plurality of gage cutting elements has a cross-sectional area A 1 in a first offset reference plane parallel to the base reference plane and offset from the base reference plane by an offset distance d 1 measured perpendicularly from the base reference plane, the offset distance d 1 being equal to 10% of the extension height; wherein the base portion of each of the plurality of gage cutting elements has a cross-sectional area A b in a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the base portion; wherein the ratio of A 1 to A b is less than 11%.