Apparatus for inserting elongate members into the earth

An apparatus for inserting elongate members into the ground, comprising:

• support means for maintaining the elongate member in a desired orientation with respect to the ground;
• a housing;
• first and second eccentric members securely mounted within the housing;
• rotational drive means for so rotating the first and second eccentric members in opposite directions that the housing vibrates along a vibratory axis;
• shock absorbing means for mounting the housing onto the support means to reduce the transmission of vibratory forces from the housing to the support means;
• means mounted on the housing for so engaging the elongate member that vibratory forces on the housing are transmitted to the elongate member;
• where
• the elongate member passes through an opening in the housing between the first and second eccentric members;
• wherein
• the elongate member comprises first and second drive racks arranged on opposing surfaces thereof;
• and
• the rotational drive means comprises first and second gears, where each of the first and second gears engages one of the first and second drive racks to facilitate driving of the elongate member into the ground.

An apparatus for inserting an elongate member into the ground, comprising:

• a support base for engaging the ground, the support base defining a channel through which the elongate member extends as the elongate member is inserted into the ground;
• a vibratory device comprising first and second eccentric members that rotate in opposite directions to create vibratory forces, where the eccentric members are spaced on opposite sides of the channel from each other;
• a shock absorbing system comprising resilient members operatively connected between the support base and the vibratory device, where the resilient members reduce the transmission of vibratory forces from the vibratory device to the support base, and
• a drive system comprising first and second sets of drive projections operatively connected to opposing sides of the elongate member and first and second drive gears operatively mounted to the vibratory device to engage the first and second sets of drive projections, where vibratory loads generated by the vibratory device are transmitted to the elongate member through the drive gears and drive projections and rotation of the drive gears cause the drive gears to engage the drive projections to displace the elongate member along an axis thereof relative to the support base.

An apparatus for inserting an elongate member into the ground, comprising:

• a support base comprising means for engaging the ground;
• a housing defining an opening through which the elongate member extends as the elongate member is inserted into the ground;
• first and second eccentric members rotatably mounted within the housing on opposing sides of the opening;
• a rotational drive system for so rotating the first and second eccentric members in opposite directions that the housing vibrates along a vibratory axis, where the first and second eccentric members are mounted to the housing on opposing sides of the opening;
• a shock absorbing system comprising resilient members that mount the housing onto the support means to reduce the transmission of vibratory forces from the housing to the support means;
• and
• an engaging system mounted on the housing comprising first and second engaging members arranged on opposite sides of the elongate member to engage the elongate member and transmit vibratory forces from the housing to the elongate member.