Earth boring system and apparatus
First Claim
1. An earth boring system for cutting an earthen bore and installing a string of underground pipe casings joined together to form a cased bore hole in earth by pushing and guiding said string of pipe casings through said earthen bore, said system including:
- a mechanical power unit for forcing said pipe casings through said earthen bore;
a front casing disposed directly in front of a lead pipe casing of said string of pipe casings, said front casing including at least an outer front casing wall;
a steering head directly in front of said front casing for guiding said string of pipe casings, said steering head including at least an outer steering head wall;
a cutter head carried forward of said steering head for cutting said earthen bore;
an axially aligned earth removal channel defined through an interior portion of said front casing and said steering head;
a conveyor associated with said cutter head for removing excess earth through said earth removal channel;
said conveyor driven within said string of pipe casings by said power unit;
an interface gap defined by opposing end faces of said outer steering head wall and said outer front casing wall to provide for displacements of said steering head relative to said front casing within said earthen bore for guiding said string of pipe casings;
a plurality of hinge assemblies connecting said steering head and said front casing at a plurality of locations adjacent said interface gap for providing relative movements between said steering head and said front casing;
a first connector part of each hinge assembly associated with said front casing;
a second connector part of said each hinge assembly associated with said steering head; and
a hinge formed between said first and second connector parts for providing rotations of said steering head relative to said front casing;
a protective enclosure associated with said plurality of hinge assemblies for protecting said hinge assemblies from loose earthen material cut from said earthen bore and from said excess earth moving within said earth removal channel, and said protective enclosure having an enclosure which generally prevents earthen and foreign material originating within the interior of said steering head and front casing from contacting said hinges assemblies as said steering head articulates relative to said front casing;
enclosure elements of said protective enclosure covering said interface gap to exclude said loose earthen material and said excess earth from entry into said protective enclosure; and
said enclosure elements including a retainer ring assembly for closing said interface gap adjacent said earth removal channel, and a closure ring for closing said controlled interface gap at an outer pipe adjacent said earthen bore, such that said protective enclosure completely encloses at least said first and second connector parts of said hinge assembly.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An earth boring system is disclosed for guiding and steering a string of pipe casings to form an underground cased bore. The string of pipe casings are guided by a boring end assembly including a front casing and a steering head connected at an interface gap by a plurality of hinge assemblies each having an actuator and a pair of connector parts. A protective enclosure protects the hinge assemblies from loosened earth from the earthen bore and from the earth being removed from within the pipe casings. The protective enclosure can be formed by an inner pipe and an outer pipe of both the front casing and the steering head, plus a closure ring and a retainer belt at the interface gap. Guidance sensors are provided to determine the location of the string of pipe casings and a computer control center computes steering head axial and angular displacements for guiding the string of pipe casings and controlling the extent of the interface gap.
42 Citations
34 Claims
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1. An earth boring system for cutting an earthen bore and installing a string of underground pipe casings joined together to form a cased bore hole in earth by pushing and guiding said string of pipe casings through said earthen bore, said system including:
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a mechanical power unit for forcing said pipe casings through said earthen bore; a front casing disposed directly in front of a lead pipe casing of said string of pipe casings, said front casing including at least an outer front casing wall; a steering head directly in front of said front casing for guiding said string of pipe casings, said steering head including at least an outer steering head wall; a cutter head carried forward of said steering head for cutting said earthen bore; an axially aligned earth removal channel defined through an interior portion of said front casing and said steering head; a conveyor associated with said cutter head for removing excess earth through said earth removal channel;
said conveyor driven within said string of pipe casings by said power unit;an interface gap defined by opposing end faces of said outer steering head wall and said outer front casing wall to provide for displacements of said steering head relative to said front casing within said earthen bore for guiding said string of pipe casings; a plurality of hinge assemblies connecting said steering head and said front casing at a plurality of locations adjacent said interface gap for providing relative movements between said steering head and said front casing; a first connector part of each hinge assembly associated with said front casing; a second connector part of said each hinge assembly associated with said steering head; and a hinge formed between said first and second connector parts for providing rotations of said steering head relative to said front casing; a protective enclosure associated with said plurality of hinge assemblies for protecting said hinge assemblies from loose earthen material cut from said earthen bore and from said excess earth moving within said earth removal channel, and said protective enclosure having an enclosure which generally prevents earthen and foreign material originating within the interior of said steering head and front casing from contacting said hinges assemblies as said steering head articulates relative to said front casing; enclosure elements of said protective enclosure covering said interface gap to exclude said loose earthen material and said excess earth from entry into said protective enclosure; and said enclosure elements including a retainer ring assembly for closing said interface gap adjacent said earth removal channel, and a closure ring for closing said controlled interface gap at an outer pipe adjacent said earthen bore, such that said protective enclosure completely encloses at least said first and second connector parts of said hinge assembly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In an earth boring system for cutting an earthen bore and installing a string of underground pipe casings joined together to form a cased bore hole in earth by pushing and guiding said pipe casings through said bore, a boring end assembly comprising:
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a front casing disposed directly in front of a leading pipe of said pipe casings in said cased bore hole, said front casing having a first inner pipe and a first outer pipe; a steering head directly in front of said front casing for steering said pipe casings, said steering head having a second inner pipe and a second outer pipe; a continuous annular cavity formed by axially aligning said first and second inner pipes and said first and second outer pipes an outer interface gap associated with said annular cavity defined by opposing end faces of said first and second outer pipes; an inner interface gap associated with said annular cavity defined by opposing end faces of said first and second inner pipes; a cutter head carried forward of said steering head for cutting said earthen bore; an earth removal channel defined through an interior portion of said first and second inner pipes; a conveyor associated with said cutter head for removing excess earth through said earth removal channel; a plurality of hinge assemblies at least partially disposed within said annular cavity to connect said steering head and said front casing and provide for axial and angular displacements of said steering head relative to said front casing; a protective enclosure for protecting said plurality of hinge assemblies from loose earthen material cut from said earthen bore and from excess earth moving within said earth removal channel, said protective enclosure including a portion of said annular cavity in which said hinge assemblies are disposed; an outer enclosure element of said protective enclosure associated with said outer interface gap to exclude entry of said loose earthen materials into said annular cavity; and an inner enclosure element of said protective enclosure associated with said inner interface gap to exclude entry of said excess earth into said annular cavity. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An earth boring assembly for cutting an earthen bore and installing a string of underground pipe casings joined together to form a cased bore hole in earth by pushing and guiding said pipe casings through said earthen bore, said boring assembly comprising:
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a front casing disposed directly in front of a lead pipe casing of said string of pipe casings and having a central axis; a steering head directly in front of said front casing for guiding said string of pipe casings and having a steer axis; a cutter head carried forward of said steering head for cutting said earthen bore; an axially aligned earth removal channel defined through at least an interior portion of said front casing and said steering head; a conveyor associated with said cutter head for removing excess earth through said earth removal channel, said conveyor being positioned within said string of pipe casings; an interface gap between said front casing and said steering head for displacing said steering head relative to said front casing within said earthen bore for guiding said string of pipe casings; a uniform gap width associated with said interface gap for controlling effective steer angles of said steering head relative to said casing; a plurality of first connector parts associated with said front casing for connecting said steering head to said front casing adjacent said interface gap; a plurality of second connector parts associated with said steering head for connecting said steering head to said front casing adjacent said interface gap; a plurality of actuators associated with said front casing and steering head, and an actuator control simultaneously actuating said actuators for causing relative linear axial displacements between said front casing and said steering head to varying a width of said uniform gap; and a plurality of hinges associated with said front casing and said steering head for providing relative angular displacements between said front casing and said steering head about at least one axis of rotation so that said angular displacements are varied with varying said gap width of said interface gap. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification