Underground directional drilling apparatus

Abstract

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for horizontal directional drilling. In some aspects, an elongated housing includes an interior, a front, a rear, and a longitudinal axis passing through the front and rear. A sonde transmitter is mounted in the interior. Additionally, a main fluid channel extends in the interior of the housing in a direction along the longitudinal axis to permit a flow of a fluid therethrough. A connecting region is used for attaching the drilling tool to the elongated housing, wherein the connecting region comprises a projection and a pocket, at least a portion of the projection being a mating rounded polygon, the pocket being shaped and sized to mate with the projection, and wherein the mating rounded polygon is configured to transmit torque between the transmitter housing and the drilling tool. The projection is located on one of the elongated housing and the drilling tool, and the pocket is located on the other of the elongated housing and the drilling tool.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.