Embodiments described herein generally relate to horizontal directional drills and methods. Specific examples may include securing systems for horizontal directional drills.
Directional drills are used for a number of types of jobs. A bore is made in the ground by piercing with a drill stem. In one use, new pipe may be drawn back through the bore that was formed. In this way, new pipe may be installed without the need to dig a trench in the ground first. For example, a utility line may be installed beneath a roadway without the need to close the road during the installation process. Progress of a directional drill stem may be monitored, and the tip of a drill stem may be steered to direct the bore over long distances. As a bore progresses, commonly, drill stem segments are added to increase a length of the drill stem until the bore reaches its intended destination. After the bore is complete, the drill stem may be retracted from the bore, and drill stem segments may be removed as the drill stem is retracted.
It is desirable to have a reliable system to secure the directional drill in place during a bore. It is further desirable to have a securing system that is configurable for different soil conditions, and uses less energy to use.
The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.
A power supply 154 is coupled to the directional drill 100 to drive the drill stem 110, and to operate other aspects of the directional drill 100. A cockpit 150 is further included in the directional drill 100, the cockpit 150 including a number of controllers and gauges to control and monitor a drilling operation. In on example, a track system 152 is included on the directional drill 100 to move and position the directional drill 100. A stake down system 130 is also shown coupled to a front end of the directional drill 100 in the example of
A first linear actuator 210 and a second linear actuator 220 are shown adjacent to the drill stem magazine 144. In one example, the linear actuators 210, 220 are coupled to a pair of drill stem grippers. Although two linear actuators are shown, the invention is not so limited. Other configurations may include a single linear actuator, or more than two linear actuators. In one example, the directional drill vice 120 includes a slot that coordinates with the first linear actuator 210 and a second linear actuator 220 to load a drill stem segment laterally into the directional drill vice 120.
A drill head 142 is shown at a rear of the drill stem loader 140. The drill head 142 is mounted to a carriage frame 143 along a drill carriage track 145. In one example, a drill fluid supply system 160 is coupled to the directional drill 100, adjacent to the drill head 142. During a drilling operation, the drill head 142 is operated to both rotate the drill stem 110, and to drive the drill stem 110 forward into the ground. The drill stem vice 120 is shown at a front end of the drill stem loader 140. During a drilling operation, the directional drill vice 120 selectively holds or releases individual segments of the drill stem 110 to aid in the adding or removal of drill stem segments (by screwing or unscrewing a threaded joint at either end of the drill stem segment).
The first staking implement 310 includes a first auger 314, and the second staking implement 320 includes a second auger 324. Although spiral auger flights are shown in
The stakedown device 300 includes a proximal end 302, and a distal end 304. In operation, the staking implements 310, 320 are selectively driven into or out of the soil along a range of motion 301. In one example, one or more actuators such as hydraulic cylinders may be used to drive the staking implements 310, 320 along the range of motion 301. Although hydraulic cylinders actuators are described, other examples of actuators include, but are not limited to, gear driven actuators, rack and pinion actuators, electric actuators, etc.
In the example shown, a pair of hydraulic cylinders 332, 334 are utilized. In the example shown, a first hydraulic cylinder 332 is mounted with a piston facing the distal end 304 of the stakedown device 300, and a second hydraulic cylinder 334 is mounted with a piston facing the proximal end 302 of the stakedown device 300.
One advantage of using a pair of hydraulic cylinders includes the ability to select a depth for the augers 314, 324 in a middle portion of the range of motion 301. While other systems of actuation may also be capable of selectable depth, the use of the pair of hydraulic cylinders 332, 334 provides depth selection ability without the use of more expensive components. Hydraulic cylinders are relatively inexpensive and more reliable compared to other actuators such as gear driven actuators. Another advantage of using a pair of hydraulic cylinders over the use of a single hydraulic cylinder includes reduced cost and improved reliability. The shorter length of each cylinder 332, 334 reduces the cost of the actuation system over a single, larger, hydraulic cylinder, and reduces the likelihood of a long piston bending due to high stress during operation.
In the auger examples shown in
A drive motor 340 is shown in
A plurality of smaller augers are easier to drive into the soil than a single large auger of equal auger surface area. In one example, by using a plurality of smaller augers, a similar staking force is achieved with a lower force required to drive the augers. In one example, an equal driving force is used to drive multiple augers, and an increased staking force is achieved as a result of using multiple augers. Again, while augers are used as an example other staking implements may be used with similar gains in efficiency.
The staking implement 410 includes an auger 414. Similar to the examples discussed above in
In operation, the staking implement 410 is selectively driven into or out of the soil along a range of motion 401. In the example shown, a pair of actuators 430, 434 drive the staking implement 410 along the range of motion 401. Although hydraulic cylinders actuators are described, other examples of actuators include, but are not limited to, gear driven actuators, rack and pinion actuators, electric actuators, etc.
A drive motor 440 and drive motor gear 442 is shown in
In the example directional drill 100 shown in
One advantage of having a different number of staking implements on different lateral sides of a drill carriage includes the potential for several staking level options. For example, in loose soil conditions, all staking implements on both lateral sides may be used. The higher number of staking implements provides a higher staking force to accommodate the loose soil conditions. In hard soil conditions, it may be difficult to drive a staking implement into the soil. In this example, it may be desirable to drive only a single staking implement into the soil. Using examples of staking devices shown, in intermediate conditions, it may be desirable to drive an intermediate number of staking implements into the soil.
In the example of
The dashed lines shown in
The example of
In addition to angling staking implements beneath a drill stem, the same formula of adjacent staking implements may be used for two or more staking implements on the same side of a drill stem, such as shown in
To better illustrate the method and apparatuses disclosed herein, a non-limiting list of examples is provided here:
Example 1 includes a directional drill. The directional drill includes a drill carriage, a rotating spindle coupled to the drill carriage, wherein the rotating spindle is adapted to translate along a surface of the drill carriage, and a stakedown system coupled to an end of the drill carriage. The stakedown system includes a first stake implement located on a first lateral side of the drill carriage, and a plurality of second stake implements located on a second lateral side of the drill carriage, opposite the first lateral side.
Example 2 includes the directional drill of example 1, wherein the first stake implement includes a plurality of first stake implements located on the first lateral side.
Example 3 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 1-2, wherein the plurality of first stake implements includes two first stake implements.
Example 4 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 1-3, wherein the plurality of second stake implements includes two second stake implements.
Example 5 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 1-4, wherein the first stake implement includes an auger.
Example 6 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 1-5, wherein the plurality of second stake implements includes at least one auger.
Example 7 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 1-6, wherein the plurality of second stake implements each include an auger.
Example 8 includes a directional drill. The directional drill includes a drill carriage, a rotating spindle coupled to the drill carriage, wherein the rotating spindle is adapted to translate along a surface of the drill carriage, and a stakedown system coupled to an end of the drill carriage. The stakedown system includes a plurality of stake implements located on both a first lateral side of the drill carriage and a second lateral side of the drill carriage, wherein the first lateral side of the drill carriage includes a larger number of stake implements than the second lateral side.
Example 9 includes the directional drill of example 8, wherein the first lateral side of the drill carriage includes one stake implement.
Example 10 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 8-9, wherein the second lateral side of the drill carriage includes two stake implements.
Example 11 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 8-10, wherein the plurality of stake implements includes at least one auger.
Example 12 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 8-11, wherein the plurality of second stake implements each include an auger.
Example 13 includes a method of operating a directional drill, including positioning a drill carriage and a rotating spindle coupled to the drill carriage along a drilling axis, selecting an optional desired number of stake implements from a plurality of stake implements located on both a first lateral side of the drill carriage and a second lateral side of the drill carriage wherein the first lateral side of the drill carriage includes a larger number of stake implements than the second lateral side, and staking down the directional drill using the selected number of stake implements.
Example 14 includes the method of example 13, wherein selecting an optional desired number of stake implements includes selecting a single stake implement on the first lateral side of the drill carriage.
Example 15 includes the method of any one of examples 13-14, wherein selecting an optional desired number of stake implements includes selecting two stake implements on the second lateral side of the drill carriage.
Example 16 includes the method of any one of examples 13-15, wherein staking down the directional drill includes rotating at least one auger into the ground.
Example 17 includes a directional drill, including a drill carriage, a rotating spindle coupled to the drill carriage, wherein the rotating spindle is adapted to translate along a surface of the drill carriage, and a stakedown system coupled to an end of the drill carriage. The stakedown system includes a first stake implement located on a first lateral side of the drill carriage, and a second stake implement located on a second lateral side of the drill carriage, opposite the first lateral side, wherein the first stake implement is angled with respect to the second stake implement.
Example 18 includes the directional drill of example 17, wherein the first stake implement and the second stake implement are angled towards each other beneath a drill stem axis.
Example 19 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 17-18, wherein the first stake implement and the second stake implement are angled towards each other within a plane.
Example 20 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 17-19, wherein the plane is oriented substantially perpendicular to a ground surface.
Example 21 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 17-20, wherein the first stake implement and the second stake implement are both augers having auger flight diameters.
Example 22 includes the directional drill of any one of examples 17-21, wherein the first stake implement and the second stake implement are configured to converge beneath the drill stem axis at a distance between auger flights of about 0.5 and 1.0 times the flight diameter.
The above detailed description includes references to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. These embodiments are also referred to herein as “examples.” Such examples can include elements in addition to those shown or described. However, the present inventors also contemplate examples in which only those elements shown or described are provided. Moreover, the present inventors also contemplate examples using any combination or permutation of those elements shown or described (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to a particular example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect to other examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein.
In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one, independent of any other instances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In this document, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that “A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unless otherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, device, article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements in addition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemed to fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.
The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72(b), to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. This should not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosed feature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter may lie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment, and it is contemplated that such embodiments can be combined with each other in various combinations or permutations. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/880,001, filed Jan. 25, 2018, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15880001 | Jan 2018 | US |
Child | 17349309 | US |