Portable earth boring machine
AssigneeThe Richmond Manufacturing Company
InventorsThomas W. Barnes, Albert R. Richmond
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A portable earth boring machine for the horizontal boring of shafts and the insertion of pipeline casing sections in installations where excavation from the surface is undesirable. The machine is characterized by a steering head particularly adapted for rock drilling operations which head is positioned at the front of the casing with such steering head being automatically controlled so as to directionally control the direction of extension of the pipeline as the drilling operation progresses.
Claims8
In an earth boring apparatus of the type that forms horizontal holes and pushes sections of casing into said holes, the combination of casing means comprising a lead casing section provided with a plurality of side openings;
- bearing means mounted in said lead casing section;
- a rock head mounting shaft journaled in said bearing means;
- a rock drilling head mounted on the forward end of said mounting shaft;
- a wedging means radially moveably mounted at each of said side openings and extendable outwardly therefrom;
- wedge driving means for said wedging means for extending and retracting said wedging means against and away from the rock surrounding said lead casing section;
- sensing means for progressive extension into the earth fill;
- gauge means for location adjacent the earth fill and connected to the sensing means, said gauge means including read-out indicia for informing the operator of grade deviations of the sensing means;
- and automatic control means for energizing said wedge driving means responsive to sensing of a deviation in grade by said sensing means.
In an earth boring apparatus of the type that forms horizontal holes and pushes sections of casing into said holes, the combination of casing means comprising a lead casing section provided with a plurality of side openings;
- bearing means mounted in said lead casing section;
- a rock head mounting shaft journaled in said bearing means;
- a rock drilling head mounted on the forward end of said mounting shaft;
- a wedging means radially moveably mounted at each of said side openings and extendable outwardly therefrom;
- wedge driving means for said wedging means for extending and retracting said wedging means against and away from the rock surrounding said lead casing section;
- sensing means for progressive extension into the earth fill and including a fluid passage for establishing a fluid level corresponding with grade deviations of the progression into the earth fill;
- gauge means for observation by the boring machine operator and including a gauge tube communicating with said fluid passage and containing a fluid, said gauge tube being provided with indicia, the level of the fluid in said gauge tube corresponding with said fluid level in said sensing means;
- and automatic control means for energizing said wedge driving means responsive to deviations in said fluid level.
In an earth boring apparatus of the type that forms horizontal holes and pushes sections of casing into said holes, the combination of casing means comprising a lead casing section;
- bearing means mounted in said lead casing section;
- a rock head mounting shaft journaled in said bearing means;
- a rock drilling head mounted on the forward end of said mounting shaft;
- wedging means on said lead casing section and including a moveably mounted wedging element laterally extendable and retractable relative to said casing section;
- a fluid motor for driving said wedging element;
- means forming a source of pressurized fluid in circuit with said fluid motor;
- motor control valve means for the flow of pressurized fluid in said fluid circuit;
- sensing means for progressive extension into the earth fill and including a fluid passage for establishing a fluid level corresponding with grade deviations of the progression into the earth fill;
- gauge means for observation by the boring machine operator and including a gauge tube communicating with said fluid passage and containing a fluid, said gauge tube being provided with indicia, the level of the fluid in said gauge tube corresponding with said fluid level in said sensing means;
- and automatic control means for operating said motor control valve means responsive to deviations in said fluid level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.