Rod loader with transfer member raised and lowered in concert with rod lift
AssigneeVermeer Manufacturing Company
InventorWilliam V. Rush
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A horizontal directional drilling machine including a magazine, a feed member for indexing rods to and from the magazine, a rotational drive head for propelling rods into the ground, and a transfer mechanism for moving the rods between the rotational drive head and the feed member. The transfer mechanism includes a rod holder for holding the rods, and a drive mechanism for moving the holder between the rotational drive head and the feed member. The drilling machine also includes a lift unit for raising and lowering rods held within the columns of the magazine. The transfer mechanism is raised and lowered in concert with the lift unit.
Claims15
A horizontal directional drilling machine comprising:
- a magazine for holding a plurality of elongated rods, the magazine including a plurality of columns in which the rods are held, each of the columns having a separate bottom opening;
- a feed member for feeding the rods to and from the magazine, the feed member including a plurality of upwardly opening pockets sized for receiving the rods, the feed member being moveable from a retracted position in which all of the pockets are positioned beneath the magazine to an index position in which at least one of the pockets is laterally offset from the magazine;
- a lift unit for loading the magazine by lifting the rods from the pockets of the feed member up through the bottom openings of the columns;
- a rotational drive head for propelling the rods into the ground;
- and
- a transfer mechanism for moving the rods between the rotational drive head and the feed members the transfer mechanism including a transfer member having a rod holder, and the transfer mechanism being mechanically operatively connected to the lift unit so as to be raised and lowered relative to the feed member by the lift unit.
A horizontal directional drilling machine comprising:
- a magazine for holding a plurality of elongated rods, the magazine including a plurality of columns in which the rods are held, each of the columns having a separate bottom opening;
- a lift unit for loading rods into the magazine through the bottom openings, the lift unit including a rod support structure having portions positioned beneath all of the columns of the magazine, the lift unit including a lift drive for raising and lowering the rod support structure;
- a rotational driver for propelling the rods into the ground;
- and
- a transfer mechanism including a transfer member having a rod holder, the transfer mechanism being mechanically coupled to the rod support structure so as to be raised and lowered by the lift drive when the rod support structure is raised and lowered, and the transfer member being moveable relative to the lift unit between a first position in which the rod holder is in general alignment with the rotational driver, and a second position in which the rod holder is positioned adjacent to the magazine.
A horizontal directional drilling machine comprising:
- a magazine for holding a plurality of elongated rods, the magazine including a plurality of columns in which the rods are held, each of the columns having a separate bottom opening;
- a rotational driver for propelling the rods into the ground;
- a transfer mechanism for moving the rods between the magazine and the rotational driver, the transfer mechanism including a transfer member having a rod holder, the transfer member being moveable between an extended position in which the rod holder is positioned adjacent to the rotational driver, and a retracted position in which the rod holder is positioned adjacent to the magazine;
- and
- a lift unit, the lift unit including a rod support structure positioned beneath the magazine, and a lift cylinder that vertically raises and lowers both the rod support structure and the transfer mechanism relative to the magazine.
A method for moving a rod from a magazine to a rotational driver of a directional drilling machine, the magazine including a plurality of columns having lower openings, the directional drilling machine including a lift unit for lifting rods into the columns through the lower openings, the lift unit including a lift member having portions positioned beneath all of the columns of the magazine, the directional drilling machine further including a transfer mechanism having a rod holder, the transfer mechanism being mounted to the lift member, the method comprising:
- positioning a rod at a location offset from the magazine;
- positioning the rod holder beneath the offset rod;
- actuating the lift unit to lift both the offset rod positioned within the rod holder and the rods within the magazine;
- and
- conveying the lifted offset rod and rod holder to a position in general alignment with the rotational driver.
A method for loading a rod into a magazine, the magazine including a plurality of columns having lower openings, the directional drilling machine including a lift unit for lifting rods into the columns through the lower openings, the lift unit including a lift member that extends beneath all of the columns of the magazine, the directional drilling machine further including a transfer mechanism having a transfer member, the transfer mechanism being mounted to the lift member, the method comprising:
- moving the rod from a drill string to a staging position that is laterally offset from the magazine, the rod being moved by the transfer member that holds the rod;
- actuating the lift unit to lower both the rod held by the transfer member, and the rods within the magazine;
- conveying the lowered rod from the staging position to a position located beneath one of the lower openings of one of the columns of the magazine;
- and
- lifting the rod through the lower opening of the column with the lift unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.