Moling system

• US 5,002,137 A
• Filed: 08/29/1989
• Issued: 03/26/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Advantica Intellectual Property Limited
• Original Assignee: British Gas Trading Limited (Centrica PLC)
• Inventors: Dickinson, Alan J., Ward, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Hoang C.
• Application Number:
  US07/399,876
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 175/19, 175/45, 175/61, 175/73, 175/75, 324/346, 324/326
• US Class Current: 175/19
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/0232 at least one of the energy sources or one of the detectors being located on or above the ground surface
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/024 of devices in the borehole determining slope or direction of the borehole E21B47/022
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/068 drilled by a down-hole drilling motor down-hole drives per se E21B4/00, E21B7/067 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/26 Drilling without earth removal, e.g. with self-propelled burrowing devices E21B7/30 takes precedence

Abstract

A percussive-action mole 10 is energized by compressed air supplied through hollow rods 36 in a string 12 connected to the mole. A hydraulic motor 18 rotates the string and mole. The mole head 30 has a slant face 32 and a transverse permanent magnet 34. After each new rod is added to the string, the air is stopped to halt the mole which continues to be rotated. The field fluctuations from the magnet are detected by a magnetometer 24 using its probe at three positions 50, 52, 54 determiend by a triangular frame 22 placed flat on the ground. Calculations using the three readings each representing the distance of the magnet from the respective position on the frame enable the position and depth of the magnet to be determined. After completion, the passage 38 can be reamed to larger diameter to receive a gas pipe or other service.

Claims

1. A moling system comprising a mole having a slant face at the leading end of the mole and means for obtaining indications representative of the plan and depth position of the mole and the angular position of the mole about a roll axis extending lengthwise of the mole, said mole comprising permanent magnet means having its magnetic axis transverse to said roll axis and producing a magnetic field extending away from the mole and penetrating into the ground surface in a zone about the mole and said indications obtaining means comprising magnetometer means transversable over the ground surface following the mole and operable in response to fluctuations of said magnetic field above the ground surface due to rotation of said mole about said roll axis to provide said indications representative of said angular position of the mole.

2. A system according to claim 1, said magnetometer means comprising two magnetometer detectors one with its sensitive axis horizontal and the other with its sensitive axis vertical, the outputs from the detectors being passed to filter and conditioning means and then combined in a resolver which drives a magnet coupled to a pointer to indicate the angular position of the mole about said roll axis.

3. A moling system according to claim 1 comprising a reference device providing detector positions in a predetermined relationship and detector means operable at each of said detector positions in response to fluctuations of said magnetic filed due to rotation of said magnet means with said mole about said roll axis to provide an indication at each detector position representative of the distance of said magnet means from said detector position.

4. A system according to claim 3, said detector means being magnetometers which at each of said detector positions provides indication of the amplitude of the magnetic field, the peak amplitude of which is representative of said distance, and the amplitude together with the direction of change of the amplitude of said indication is representative of the angular position of said mole about said roll axis.

5. A system according to claim 3 or claim 4 said reference device providing three detector positions in a predetermined triangular relationship.

6. A system according to claim 1 said means for obtaining indications comprising transmitter means in the mole operable to emit an alternating electro-magnetic field and receiver means operable to detect said alternating field to obtain indications representative of the plan and depth of the mole.

7. A moling system comprising a mole having a roll axis extending lengthwise of the mole and a slant face at the leading end of the mole, said mole further comprising permanent magnet means, comprising a single permanent magnet having its magnetic axis transverse to said roll axis, for producing a magnetic field extending away from the mole, and penetrating, in use, into the ground surface around the mole;

means for rotating said mole so as to thereby cause rotation of said permanent magnet means around said roll axis; and

measuring means for producing indications representative of the plan and depth position of the mole and the angular position of the mole about said roll axis, said measuring means comprising magnetometer means, traversable over the ground surface following the mole and responsive to fluctuations of said magnetic field above the ground surface due to rotation of said mole about said roll axis, for providing said indications representative of said angular position of the mole.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said magnetometer means comprises two magnetometer detectors, one with the sensitive axis horizontal and the other with the sensitive axis thereof vertical, for producing respective outputs;

filter and conditioning means for receiving the outputs of said detectors and for producing first and second further outputs; and

a resolver means for combining said first and second further outputs; and

for driving a magnet coupled to a pointer to indicate the angular position of the mole about said roll axis.

9. A moling system according to claim 7, further comprising a reference device providing a plurality of detector positions in a predetermined relationship and detector means, operable at each of said detector positions in response to fluctuations of said magnetic field due to rotation of said permanent magnet means of said mole about said roll axis, for providing an indication at each detector position representative of the distance of said permanent magnet means from that detector position.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein said detector means comprises a plurality of magnetometers for, at each of said detector positions, providing an indication of the amplitude of the magnetic field, the peak amplitude of said indication being representative of said distance, and the amplitude of said indication together with the direction of change of the amplitude of said indication being representative of the angular position of said mole about said roll axis.

11. A system according to claim 9 wherein said reference device provides three detector positions in a predetermined triangular relationship.

12. A system according to claim 7 wherein said measuring means comprises transmitter means in the mole for producing an alternating electro-magnetic field and receiver means for detecting said alternating field to obtain indications representative of the plan and depth of the mole.