Boring apparatus provided with drill bits freely rotatable around their own axis

A boring apparatus for boring holes in the ground comprising a plurality of downward extending drill bits and associated drill bit shafts, and a boring pipe, each said drill bit shaft and said boring pipe being rotatably supported in a casing assembly, each said drill bit shaft being rotatably journaled in an associated means for supporting each said drill bit shaft such that each said drill bit is freely rotatable about the axis of rotation of said associated drill bit shaft, said means arranged and configured such that the axis of rotation of each said drill bit shaft is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of said boring pipe, said means for supporting each said drill bit shaft being coupled to said boring pipe, such that said means is non-rotatable about its own axis, said means being further characterized by an absence of any gear engaging member for engaging said boring pipe disposed along the outer periphery thereof, said boring pipe being disposed in said casing assembly such that said drill bit shafts circumferentially surround said boring pipe, said boring pipe being further characterized by a lack of any gear engaging members for engaging said means for supporting said drill bit shaft, said casing assembly coupling said boring pipe to each said drill bit shaft such that rotation of said casing assembly causes (i) said boring pipe to axially rotate;

• (ii) said means for supporting each said drill bit shaft to revolve about said axis of said boring pipe;
• and (iii) each said drill bit shaft and drill bit to rotate about said axis of said drill bit shaft in a direction of rotation opposite to the direction of rotation of said boring pipe.