Patent ID: 8919460

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a coring tool apparatus having a housing for conveyance within a borehole extending into a subterranean formation, the coring tool apparatus comprising: a core drilling mechanism for cutting cores from a sidewall of the borehole, wherein the core drilling mechanism comprises a hydraulic coring motor having a hollow shaft from which a coring bit on the end of a core-retaining sleeve extends; a pair of support plates each fixed to the housing and each comprising an arcuate slot and a guide slot having a longer leg and a shorter leg, wherein the longer leg extends substantially perpendicular to a central axis of the coring tool apparatus; a pair of leading pins each extending from the hydraulic coring motor into the guide slot of a corresponding one of the support plates, and a pair of follower pins each extending from the hydraulic coring motor into the guide slot of a corresponding one of the support plates; a pair of drive plates each positioned between the housing and a corresponding one of the support plates, wherein each drive plate comprises a slot and is pivoted about a pivot pin wherein the leading pins each extend into the slot of the corresponding drive plate; and a hydraulic cylinder coupled at least indirectly to the pair of drive plates by a member extending through the arcuate slot of each corresponding support plate and extending between the pair of drive plates, wherein actuation of the hydraulic cylinder moves the member upward within the arcuate slot of each corresponding support plate to pivot the drive plates.