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US 7,182,407 B1Granted
Rock boring device with an oscillating and nutating rotary disc cutter
AssigneeOdyssey Technology Pty Ltd
InventorsAnthony John Peach, Alwyn Arthur Jones, Anton Josep Jurasovic, Geoffrey Peter Johnstone, Wayne Anthony Cusick, David Burnett Sugden
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A rock boring device (10) including a rotary disc cutter (11). The disc cutter (11) is driven in an oscillating manner and also driven or free to nutate, and the device includes a mounting section (22) for the rotary disc cutter and a driven section (21), and wherein the mounting section (22) is angularly offset from the axis of the driven section whereby the rotary disc cutter will both oscillate and nutate.
Claims47
A rock boring device comprising:
- a boom having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end being pivotable about a first boom axis, wherein said boom is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of the boom;
- a disc cutter pivotably mounted to the distal end of the boom to pivot about a wrist axis and structured to engage a rock face;
- and
- an inertial reaction mass to stabilize the disc cutter;
- wherein said disc cutter is structured to be driven in an oscillating manner and movable in a nutating manner, the disc cutter configured to oscillate about an oscillation axis that is substantially perpendicular to the wrist axis, said disc cutter including a substantially continuous, circumferential cutting edge defining a leading tip and a trailing heel, the leading tip of the disc cutter being movable along a path that is substantially parallel to the rock face and substantially perpendicular to the oscillation axis to effect rock boring, the trailing heel of the disc cutter being spaced from said rock face during cutting.
2 more elements
A rock boring device comprising:
- a disc cutter structured to engage a rock face and an inertial reaction mass to stabilize the disc cutter;
- wherein said disc cutter is mounted on a shaft including a driven section having a first axis of rotation and a mounting section that supports the disc cutter for relative rotation about a second axis of rotation that is offset from the first axis of rotation, so that the disc cutter is driveable in an oscillating manner and movable in a nutating manner;
- and
- a boom to support the disc cutter, said boom being pivotable about a first boom axis so as to translate the disc cutter along a path that is generally parallel to the rock face, the disc cutter being mounted on said boom to pivot about a second boom axis that is substantially perpendicular with the first axis of the driven section, the disc cutter being maintained at a proper attitude relative to the rock face by pivoting of the disc cutter about the second boom axis in a direction that is opposite to a direction in which the boom pivots about the first boom axis during cutting, said disc cutter defining a substantially continuous circumferential cutting edge,
- wherein the boom is structured to pivot about the first boom axis to allow global pivoting of the combined boom and disc cutter,
- the boom is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of said boom, and
- the disc cutter and the inertial reaction mass are structured to pivot about the second boom axis to allow local wrist-like pivoting movement of the disc cutter and the inertial reaction mass with respect to a distal end of the boom.
4 more elements
A rock boring device comprising:
- a disc cutter for engaging a rock face, said disc cutter including a substantially continuous, circumferential cutting edge positioned at a periphery of the disc cutter, wherein said disc cutter is arranged for nutation and rock cutting oscillation about an oscillation axis;
- an inertial reaction mass to stabilize the disc cutter, said reaction mass being relatively large compared to the disc cutter, such that in operation, reactive cutting forces exerted by the rock face on the disc cutter in a generally radial direction are transmitted to and resisted by the inertial reaction mass thereby stabilizing the disc cutter during rock cutting;
- a boom structured to pivot about a first boom axis to allow global pivoting of the combined boom and disc cutter, wherein the boom is rotatable about a longitudinal axis of said boom that is substantially transverse to or perpendicular to the first boom axis, and the disc cutter and the inertial reaction mass are structured to pivot about a second boom axis to allow local wrist-like pivoting movement of the disc cutter and the inertial reaction mass with respect to a distal end of the boom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.