Boring or penetrating the earth – Automatic control – Of advance or applied tool weight
Patent
1988-08-23
1990-02-06
Kisliuk, Bruce M.
Boring or penetrating the earth
Automatic control
Of advance or applied tool weight
175 62, 175113, 175122, 175220, 173 4, 173145, 173164, E21B 4400, E21B 302
Patent
active
048982512
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to apparatus for driving boring tools and particularly to apparatus for boring underground.
Public utilities frequently need to bore underground, e.g. under roads for insertion of new conduits. The presently available machine for this purpose includes a frame which rests at the bottom of a hole. The frame has two tracks with chains along their top surface. A carriage is driven manually along the tracks by turning a wheel which in turn is coupled to sprockets meshed with the chains. Debris falling on the tracks interferes with the advancement of the carriage. Also the machine needs to be continuously attended to control the boring operation.
This known machine has a hydraulic motor which drives a rotating drive shaft having a head which bores into the ground. When the shaft is to be lengthened, considerable manual force needs to be applied by means of Stilsons to disconnect the threaded connection between the drive motor and the drive shaft to enable the carriage to be retracted and a drive shaft extension inserted.
If the head engages harder ground, the operator of the drive wheel must detect this increased resistance by sound or feel and lessen the force being applied to allow the head to bore through the obstruction.
It is an object of a first aspect of the present invention to provide a penetrating apparatus which requires less physical effort to utilise and which is capable of use by one person.
It is an object of a second aspect to provide a penetrating apparatus which is capable of automatic compensating response to differing resistances to penetration.
It is an object of a third aspect of the present invention to provide penetrating apparatus which is not as susceptible to debris causing interference with the drive as in the prior apparatus.
According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided an earth boring apparatus for driving a boring tool, the tool having a head for penetrating the earth and a longitudinally extending rotary drive shaft for advancing the head, the apparatus including a support frame, a carriage mounted to the support frame for advancing movement so as to advance the drive shaft and head to penetrate the earth, the carriage furthermore being mounted for retracting movement relative to the frame so as to enable a drive shaft extension to be fitted between the carriage and the drive shaft that has the head thereon thereby extending the effective length of the drive shaft, the apparatus being characterised in that the earth boring apparatus includes a shaft engaging member associated with the frame and selectively operative to engage the shaft having the head thereon and to inhibit rotation thereof thereby enabling the carriage to be retracted and the drive shaft extension to be fitted between the carriage and the shaft.
Preferably the shaft engaging member is operative to frictionally engage with the shaft to inhibit rotation thereof. The shaft engaging member is preferably operative to engage with the shaft to inhibit rotation thereof but to allow relative longitudinal movement of the shaft.
In the preferred embodiment the shaft engaging member is operative to engage the shaft to inhibit rotation of the shaft in a first rotational direction but to allow rotation thereof in the reverse rotational direction. Shaft drive means is preferably provided for rotating the shaft and the head in the reverse rotational direction to effect boring of the earth, the shaft drive means including a reversible drive source and a threaded portion for engaging with a complementary threaded end portion of the shaft, the shaft engaging member being operative when the drive source is reversed to rotate in the first direction to restrain the shaft against rotation in the first rotational direction thereby effecting disengagement of the threaded portion of the drive means from the threaded end of the shaft. The shaft drive means preferably further includes a thrust bearing between the drive source and the threaded portion of the drive shaft whereby upon reversal
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Clark Maxwell J.
McMillan Roy
Ogden Frank J.
Clark Maxwell John
Kisliuk Bruce M.
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