Patent ID: 8439134

Claim:
A cutter assembly for a rotating cone drill bit having a plurality of cutter assemblies, each cutter assembly comprising: a journal having an axis; and a cone arranged and configured to rotate about the axis of the journal, the cone characterized by having a shell thickness and by having a plurality of cutting structures on the cone; wherein the cutting structures comprise a plurality of inserts, where the shell thickness is sufficient to permit a uniform depth of grip as adjusted by a fisheye effect and a uniform grip diameter between the cone and each of the plurality of inserts when thermally fit into the cone regardless of the location of the insert on the cone, so that the thermal fitting of inserts provides a greater cone shell cross section for the same insert grip length due to the reduction of larger lead chamfer on the inserts as compared to traditional press fit methods, effectively allowing reduction of the cone cross section and allowing a reduced overall external envelope size of the cone to create a larger debris clearing volume between the plurality of cutter assemblies.