Pipe-laying vehicle with rotator platform leveling system
AssigneeMiller Towing Equipment, Inc.
InventorRalph Edward McConnell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A self-propelled vehicle used to lay pipe sections within trenches located on sloped terrain, and a method for using it, including: an undercarriage carrying a vehicle chassis and capable of climbing sloped terrain; a rotating platform which can be maintained level relative to the sloped terrain; and a boom with an angled boom head, capable of using two independent winch cables to lift and position individual pipe sections having differing lengths and diameters. The vehicle may be used to sequentially lift two or more pipe sections, one at a time, and to swing and position the pipe sections in a trench, end-to-end.
Claims22
A self-propelled vehicle used to lay pipe sections within trenches located on sloped terrain, comprising:
- an undercarriage supporting a vehicle chassis, the undercarriage capable of climbing the sloped terrain;
- a rotating platform carried by the vehicle chassis;
- two independent winch cables configured to lift and position individual pipe sections;
- a boom carried by the rotating platform, the boom having an angled boom head, wherein the angled boom head is capable of using the two independent winch cables to lift and position the individual pipe sections;
- whereby the vehicle is useable to sequentially lift two or more unaligned pipe sections, one at a time, and to swing and position the pipe sections in a trench, end-to-end, without the need to relocate the vehicle.
A method for using a self-propelled vehicle to lay pipe sections within trenches located on sloped terrain, the vehicle having an undercarriage capable of climbing the sloped terrain, a vehicle chassis supporting a rotating platform, and a boom carried by the rotating platform, the boom having an angled boom head, comprising the steps of:
- while maintaining the rotating platform in a substantially level, horizontal plane relative to the sloped terrain, using the boom and the angled boom head to manipulate two independent winch cables in order to lift and position individual pipe sections, whereby the vehicle is useable to sequentially lift two or more unaligned pipe sections, one at a time, and to swing and position the pipe sections in a trench, end-to-end, without the need to relocate the vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.