Drill rod handling device

A drill rod handling device adapted for attachment to a feed frame of a drill rig assembly of the kind which includes a rotation unit and a rod holder mounted on top of the feed frame and which are used to feed drill rods in and out of the ground, said drill rod handling device comprising;

• elongated guide means which extend longitudinally of the feed frame along one side thereof;
• mounting means for attaching said guide means to said feed frame;
• a carriage assembly guided for sliding movement lengthwise along said guide means;
• drive means for effecting said sliding movement of the carriage assembly;
• a head assembly comprising a head support frame, holder means for supporting a drill rod on the head assembly, gripper means for gripping the drill rod, when supported by said holder means, and roller means for feeding the drill rod longitudinally when thus supported, the holder means comprising an elongated support arm extending to opposite sides of the head support frame and attached thereto, and guide members mounted at or adjacent to the ends of the support arm for supporting the drill rod at spaced apart locations along its length and for guiding the drill rod longitudinally, and the gripper means comprising two opposing pivotal rod gripping jaws, each of which houses respective said roller means, said gripping jaws being moveable between open and closed positions by means of an hydraulic power cylinder mounted on the head support frame;
• a pivotal swing arm pivotally supported on said carriage assembly and extending laterally outwards therefrom;
• swivel attachment means between the head support frame and the outer end of said swing arm whereby the head assembly can tilt relative to the swing arm about a transverse axis;
• tilt actuator means for effecting said tilt movement of said head assembly;
• and
• swing actuator means for effecting bodily rotation of said swing arm and said head assembly about a generally longitudinal axis;
• arranged and constructed so that a drill rod can be loaded, eg manually, onto the head assembly at a side load position relative to the feed frame, and bodily moved to a loading position on top of the feed frame for axial alignment with the drill string.

A drill rod handling device adapted for attachment to a feed frame of a drill rig assembly of the kind which includes a rotation unit and a rod holder mounted on top of the feed frame and which are used to feed drill rods in and out of the ground, said drill rod handling device comprising;

• elongated guide means which extend longitudinally of the feed frame along one side thereof, the guide means comprising a pair of parallel spaced apart elongated guide rails or rods along which the carriage assembly is guided for sliding movement by means of slides;
• mounting means for attaching said guide means to said feed frame;
• a carriage assembly guided for sliding movement lengthwise along said guide means;
• drive means for effecting said sliding movement of the carriage assembly;
• a head assembly comprising a head support frame, holder means for supporting a drill rod on the head assembly, gripper means for gripping the drill rod, when supported by said holder means, and roller means for feeding the drill rod longitudinally when thus supported;
• a pivotal swing arm pivotally supported on said carriage assembly and extending laterally outwards therefrom;
• swivel attachment means between the head support frame and the outer end of said swing arm whereby the head assembly can tilt relative to the swing arm about a transverse axis;
• tilt actuator means for effecting said tilt movement of said head assembly;
• swing actuator means for effecting bodily rotation of said swing arm and said head assembly about a generally longitudinal axis;
• and
• said drive means for the carriage assembly comprising an hydraulic traverse cylinder mounted to one side of said guide means and extending parallel therewith, said traverse cylinder being arranged to move the carriage in a direction towards or rearwardly away from the rotation unit in the feed frame whereby the swing arm and head assembly can be moved to a position far enough away from the load/unload position so that they clear the back of the rotation unit on the feed frame and the rod string when making and breaking threads;
• arranged and constructed so that a drill rod can be loaded, eg manually, onto the head assembly at a side load position relative to the feed frame, and bodily moved to a loading position on top of the feed frame for axial alignment with the drill string.

A drill rod handling device adapted for attachment to a feed frame of a drill rig assembly of the kind which includes a rotation unit and a rod holder mounted on top of the feed frame and which are used to feed drill rods in and out of the ground, said drill rod handling device comprising;

• elongated guide means which extend longitudinally of the feed frame along one side thereof;
• mounting means for attaching said guide means to said feed frame;
• a carriage assembly guided for sliding movement lengthwise along said guide means;
• drive means for effecting said sliding movement of the carriage assembly;
• a head assembly comprising a head support frame, holder means for supporting a drill rod on the head assembly, gripper means for gripping the drill rod, when supported by said holder means, and roller means for feeding the drill rod longitudinally when thus supported;
• a pivotal swing arm pivotally supported on said carriage assembly and extending laterally outwards therefrom;
• swivel attachment means between the head support frame and the outer end of said swing arm whereby the head assembly can tilt relative to the swing arm about a transverse axis;
• tilt actuator means for effecting said tilt movement of said head assembly;
• and
• swing actuator means for effecting bodily rotation of said swing arm and said head assembly about a generally longitudinal axis through an angle of approximately 180°;
• arranged and constructed so that a drill rod can be loaded, eg manually, onto the head assembly at a side load position relative to the feed frame, and bodily moved to a loading position on top of the feed frame for axial alignment with the drill string.