Vibratory driver for pipe piling

A pile driving machine, comprising:

• a mobile base;
• a boom having a first end connected to the mobile base, and a second end spaced from the mobile base, said boom being movable relative to said base and said second end of the boom being movable up and down;
• and
• a vibratory pile driver, comprising:
• a vibrator having an upper portion that is connected to the boom at said second end of the boom, and further having a lower portion;
• and
• a chuck assembly connected to the lower portion of the vibratory, said chuck assembly including:
• a pair of horizontally disposed linear hydraulic actuators, each said actuator comprising a fixed outer end portion and a retractable/extendable/rotatable inner end portion, and
• a pair of piling-engaging clamps connected to the inner end portions of the actuators, said clamps confronting each other and being adapted to receive a piling between them,
• whereby the actuators can be retracted to move the clamps apart and provide between them a pile receiving space, and the actuators can be extended to move the clamps towards each other and into clamping engagement with a piling that has been placed in said space between the clamps.

A pile driving method, comprising:

• providing an elongated piling having first and second ends;
• providing a pile driver having a vibrator and laterally spaced apart clamp jaws below the vibrator;
• positioning the clamp jaws so as to define between them a space for receiving the first end of the piling;
• moving the vibrator to place the first end of the piling between the clamp jaws;
• moving the clamp jaws together into a clamping engagement with the first end of the piling;
• lifting the vibrator and the clamp jaws so as to lift up the piling, and continuing the lifting until the piling is substantially vertically oriented;
• placing the second end of the piling on the ground and holding the vibrator and the clamp jaws in a position that maintains the piling in a substantially vertical position;
• providing contact between the vibrator and the first end of the piling, above the clamp jaws;
• and
• operating the vibrator to apply a vibration force on the upper end of the piling, so as to drive the piling downwardly into the ground;
• lowering the vibrator and the clamp jaws as the piling moves downwardly into the ground;
• said method including the clamp jaws together into a clamping engagement with the first end of the piling when the piling is in a position other than a substantially vertical position, and rotating the clamp jaws as the vibrator and the clamp jaws are lifted, and using the weight of the piling to cause the clamp jaws to rotate and follow the movement of the piling from its initial position up into a substantially vertical position.