Directional drilling machine with multiple pocket rod indexer

Details Directional drilling machine with multiple pocket rod indexer Directional drilling machine with multiple pocket rod indexer

2000-06-23

2002-11-05

Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3651)

Material or article handling

Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...

Unstacking apparatus

C414S797800, C414S798000, C414S745700

Reexamination Certificate

active

06474931

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to underground drilling machines. More particularly, the present invention relates to rod loaders for feeding rods to and from horizontal directional drilling machines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Utility lines for water, electricity, gas, telephone and cable television are often run underground for reasons of safety and aesthetics. Sometimes, the underground utilities can be buried in a trench that is later back filled. However, trenching can be time consuming and can cause substantial damage to existing structures or roadways. Consequently, alternative techniques such as horizontal directional drilling (HDD) are becoming increasingly more popular.
A typical horizontal directional drilling machine includes a frame on which is mounted a drive mechanism that can be slidably moved along the longitudinal axis of the frame. The drive mechanism is adapted to rotate a drill string (i.e., a length of interconnected rods) about its longitudinal axis. Sliding movement of the drive mechanism along the frame, in concert with the rotation of the drill string, causes the drill string to be longitudinally advanced into or withdrawn from the ground.
In a typical horizontal directional drilling sequence, the horizontal directional drilling machine drills a hole into the ground at an oblique angle with respect to the ground surface. During drilling, drilling fluid can be pumped through the drill string, over a drill head (e.g., a cutting or boring tool) at the end of the drill string, and back up through the hole to remove cuttings and dirt. After the drill head reaches a desired depth, the drill head is then directed along a substantially horizontal path to create a horizontal hole. After the desired length of hole has been drilled, the drill head is then directed upwards to break through the ground surface. A pull-back sequence is then initiated. During the pull-back sequence, a reamer is attached to the drill string, and the drill string is pulled back through the hole. As the drill string is pulled back, the reamer enlarges the hole. It is common to attach a utility line or other conduit to the drill string so that it is dragged through the hole along with the reamer.
A typical horizontal directional drilling machine includes a rod box (i.e., a rack or magazine) for storing rods (i.e., pipes or other elongated members) used to make the drill strings. A rod transfer mechanism is used to transport rods between the drive mechanism of the directional drilling machine and the rod box. During a drilling sequence, the rod transfer mechanism transports rods from the rod box to the drive mechanism. During a pull-back sequence, the rod transfer mechanism transports rods from the drive mechanism back to the rod box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,280 discloses a prior art rod handling device adapted for use with a horizontal directional drilling machine. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the rod handling device includes a rod box
24
having five vertical columns
41
-
45
. Bottom ends of the columns
41
-
45
are open so as to define five separate discharge openings
41
a
-
45
a
through which rods can be fed. A selection member
50
is mounted beneath the discharge openings
41
a
-
45
a
.The selection member
50
has five pockets
41
b
-
45
b
, and functions to index or feed rods
20
to and from the rod box
24
. For example, during a drilling sequence, the selection member
50
indexes rods
20
from the rod box
24
to a pickup location where the rods are individually picked up and carried to a rotational drive head
16
of the drilling machine by a transfer arm
51
. During a pullback sequence, the transfer arm
51
carries rods
20
from the rotational drive head
16
back to the pickup location, and the selection member
50
indexes the rods from the pickup location back beneath the rod box
24
. To move the rods from the selection member
50
back into the rod box, a lift is used to push pipes upwardly into the columns
51
-
54
of the rod box
24
.
During a typical drilling sequence, the rod box is unloaded starting with column
45
. After column
45
has been unloaded, column
44
is unloaded. Thereafter, column
43
, column
42
and column
41
are sequentially unloaded. During a pull-back sequence (i.e., a sequence in which rods are transferred from the drive head
16
back to the rod box
24
), the columns are typically sequentially loaded starting with column
45
and finishing with column
41
. Once column
45
has been loaded, a block or plug is manually inserted into pocket
45
b
of the selection member
50
to prevent additional rods from being loaded into column
45
. Thereafter, column
44
is loaded. Once column
44
has been filled, a plug or block is manually inserted into pocket
44
b
of the selection member
50
to prevent additional rods from being loaded into column
44
. Column
43
is then loaded. After column
43
has been loaded, a block or plug is inserted into pocket
43
b
of the selection member to prevent additional rods from being loaded into column
43
, and column
42
is loaded. Once column
42
has been fully loaded, a block or a plug is manually inserted into pocket
42
b
of the selection member
50
to prevent additional rods from being loaded into column
42
, and column
41
is loaded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One aspect of the present invention relates to a horizontal directional drilling machine including a multi-column magazine, a feed structure for indexing rods to and from the magazine, a rotational driver for propelling rods into the ground, and a lift unit for loading the magazine by lifting rods from the feed structure into the magazine. The lift unit includes a first portion that extends beneath all of the columns of the magazine, and a second portion that projects outward from beneath the magazine toward the directional driver. A retaining structure is provided on the second portion for holding a rod on the second portion of the lift unit.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a horizontal directional drilling machine including. a magazine having a plurality of columns each having a separate bottom opening, and a feed structure for indexing rods to and from the magazine. The feed structure includes a plurality of upwardly opening pockets for receiving rods. One of the plurality of pockets comprises an end pocket. The end pocket is formed by a pivot member that can be pivoted between a raised position and a lowered position. When the pivot member is in the raised position, a rod can be held within the end pocket. By contrast, when the pivot member is in the lowered position, one side of the pocket is open such that a rod can be laterally removed from the pocket. A transfer member is provided for laterally moving a rod from the end pocket to a rotational drive head of the horizontal directional drilling machine.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to a horizontal directional drilling machine including a magazine having a plurality of columns each with a separate bottom opening, and a feed structure positioned beneath the magazine. The feed structure includes a plurality of upwardly opening pockets corresponding to the columns of the magazine. The feed structure functions to index or feed rods between the magazine and a staging location. The feed structure also includes a rod holder for picking up rods at the staging location, and a drive mechanism for moving the feed structure such that a rod held by the rod holder can be moved from the staging location to a rotational drive head of the drilling machine. Thus, the feed structure provides both an indexing function and a rod transport function. The feed structure can also be used to convey rods from the rotational drive head to the magazine during a pull-back sequence of the directional drilling machine. A lift is preferably provided for lifting the rods up and down relative to the magazine.
A variety of advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the desc

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