Excavating – Scoop or excavating and transporting container – Dipper-type
Patent
1992-07-29
1994-12-13
Strecker, Gerard R.
Excavating
Scoop or excavating and transporting container
Dipper-type
37906, 414385, 324326, E02F 926, G01V 311
Patent
active
053719590
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a pointer for attachment to the digging arm of a mechanical excavator or digging machine, or to some other appropriate part of said machine.
Valuable assets are lost annually as a result of severing or destroying underground cables and underground conductors during ground excavating work carried out with the aid of excavating or digging machines. Hitherto, no effective method has been proposed which will enable the extension of underground cables, etc., to be detected and marked-out before commencing the excavation work. For instance, hitherto, the presence of an underground cable has been localized by detecting its magnetic field in accordance with standard methods and determining the position and the geometric extension of the cable on the basis thereof. The extension of the cable is then marked with the aid of pegs driven into the ground. In the case of cables which are not conducting or in the case of waterpipes or optical cables which are either surrounded by a metal screen or include an aluminium strip, the underground object has been detected with the aid of an active transmitter and receiver with the aid of overhead induction, whereafter the position of the cable or conduit is again marked with the aid of pegs driven into the ground.
One drawback is that the pegs become broken or are inadvertantly moved, or quite simply removed, causing uncertainty as to the actual position of the cable. The cable is often severed or dug up even when the pegs remain in position.
The object of the present invention is to provide a pointer which will constantly point to or indicate the location of an underground cable during an excavating operation, so that the machine operator can avoid cutting through or digging-up the cable or conduit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to an exemplifying embodiment thereof and also with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates schematically the pointer attached to the digging arm of an excavating machine;
FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a detail of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the detail illustrated in FIG. 2; and
FIGS. 4 and 5 are schematic illustrations of the working method of the device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference is made first to FIGS. 4 and 5, which illustrate the method of operation of the invention schematically. A digging arm 2 of an excavating machine 1 carries a bucket 3 which is equipped with a pointer 4 constructed in accordance with the invention. The reference numeral 5 identifies an underground cable. The pointer 4 has the form of an elongated arm which can be swung about an axle which extends generally at right angles the plane of the paper, by means of a drive means. A receiver 6 receives and converts the signals produced by an antenna system mounted on the pointer 4, the signals received deriving from the magnetic field generated by the cable 5. The receiver output signals are processed in computers and are used to control drive means, in the form of a servomechanism 7, in a manner to position the pointer in the direction in which the strongest magnetic field is detected, i.e. towards the cable 5. Thus, by observing the pointer 4, the machine operator is able to determine the position of the cable 5 precisely during the whole duration of an excavating operation, irrespective of the movement of the digging arm 2 and the bucket 3.
In those cases when the cable 5 is not current-conducting or consists of an optocable, which is normally provided with a metal screen or an aluminium strip, or when the underground object is a water pipe instead of a cable 5, there is used a transmitter for generating a magnetic field whereby an electric current can be induced in the non-conducting cable, the optocable or the water pipe, and the magnetic field generated by this current can be detected in the aforedescribed manner. The transmitter is preferably mounted on the excavating machine.
The
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patent: 4652861 (1987-03-01), Domes
patent: 5027108 (1991-06-01), Gray
Edmonds Warren S.
Servoindikator HB
Strecker Gerard R.
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