Patent ID: 7686104

Claim:
A drill bit for drilling through earthen formations and forming a borehole, the bit comprising: a bit body having a bit axis; a plurality of cone cutters, each of the cone cutters being mounted on the bit body and adapted for rotation about a different cone axis; wherein each cone cutter on the bit comprises a first array of bottomhole cutter elements mounted in a first band and a second array of bottomhole cutter elements mounted in a second band that is axially spaced apart from the first band relative to the cone axis in rotated profile view; wherein the cutter elements in each array are mounted in a plurality of differing radial positions relative to the bit axis: wherein each cone cutter further comprises a backface, a nose opposite the backface, a non-intermesh region adjacent to the backface, and an intermesh region between the non-intermesh region and the nose; and wherein at least one array is mounted within the intermesh region.