Horizontal directional drilling machine and method employing configurable tracking system interface

• US 6,484,818 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2001
• Issued: 11/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vermeer Manufacturing Company
• Original Assignee: Vermeer Manufacturing Company
• Inventors: Alft, Kevin L., Kelpe, Hans, Draper, Gregory W.
• Primary Examiner(s): PEZZUTO, ROBERT ERIC
• Application Number:
  US09/867,952
• Publication Number:
  US 20020005297A1
• Time in Patent Office: 545 Days
• Field of Search: 702/6, 702/7, 702/9, 702/16, 324/369, 367/81, 367/92, 175/48, 175/50, 175/24, 175/95, 175/25, 175/27, 175/29, 166/255.2, 166/250.16, 731/52, 73/46
• US Class Current: 175/45
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/00 Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/005 Below-ground automatic control systems
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/022 of the borehole, e.g. using geomagnetism
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/046 horizontal drilling drilling with mechanical conveying means E21B7/003
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 7/28 Enlarging drilled holes, e.g. by counterboring

Abstract

A system and method for controlling an underground boring tool involves the use of one or more of a gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer sensor provided in or proximate the boring tool. The location of the boring tool is detected substantially in real-time. A controller produces a control signal substantially in real-time in response to the detected boring tool location and sensed parameters of a boring tool driving apparatus. The control signal is applied to the driving apparatus to control one or both of a rate and a direction of boring tool movement along the underground path. The gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometers may be of a conventional design, but are preferably of a solid-state design. Telemetry data is communicated electromagnetically, optically or capacitively between the navigation sensors at the boring tool and the controller via the drill string or an above-ground tracker unit. The tracker unit may further include a re-calibration unit which communicatively cooperates with the navigation sensors to reestablish a proper heading or orientation of the boring tool if needed. The controller determines a location of the boring tool in at least two of x-, y-, and z-plane coordinates and may also determine an orientation of the boring tool in at least two of yaw, pitch, and roll. A hand-held remote unit may be used by an operator to control all or a sub-set of boring system functions.

Claims

1. A horizontal directional drilling machine, comprising:

a base machine capable of propelling a drill string rotationally and longitudinally during a boring operation, a drilling tool coupled to the drill string;

an operator control station with which a machine operator can control the base machine; and

an interface comprising a display, the interface configurable to receive information from a plurality of tracking systems of differing types, the interface receiving machine information from the base machine and location information from a particular tracking system of a particular type, the display displaying the machine and location information for use by the machine operator.

2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tracking systems comprises a plurality of walkover tracking systems of differing types, the interface configurable to receive the location information from a particular walkover tracking system of a particular type.

3. The machine of claim 1, wherein the particular walkover tracking system transfers data to the interface using a wireless communication link.

4. The machine of claim 3, wherein the wireless communication link comprises a one way wireless communication link over which data is transferred from the particular walkover tracking system to the interface.

5. The machine of claim 3, wherein the wireless communication link comprises a two way wireless communication link over which data is bi-directionally transferred between the particular walkover tracking system and the interface.

6. The machine of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tracking systems comprises a plurality of down-hole tracking systems of differing types, the interface configurable to receive the location information from a particular down-hole tracking system of a particular type.

7. The machine of claim 6, further comprising a communication link communicatively coupling the particular down-hole tracking system with the interface, the communication link comprising a conductor passing through the drill string.

8. The machine of claim 6, further comprising a communication link communicatively coupling the particular down-hole tracking system with the interface, the communication link comprising an acoustic system utilizing the drill string as an acoustic communication link.

9. The machine of claim 6, further comprising a communication link communicatively coupling the particular down-hole tracking system with the interface, the communication link comprising a mud pulse system.

10. The machine of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tracking systems comprises a down-hole tracking system and a walkover tracking system, further wherein first locating information is communicated between the down-hole tracking system and the interface and second locating information is communicated between the walkover tracking system and the interface.

11. The machine of claim 10, wherein a drill string communication link communicatively couples the down-hole tracking system with the interface and a wireless communication link couples the walkover tracking system with the interface, further wherein the first and second locating information is communicated to the interface concurrently via the drill string communication link and wireless communication link, respectively.

12. The machine of claim 1, wherein the display displays bore plan information developed prior to initiating the boring operation.

13. The machine of claim 1, wherein the display displays information indicative of an actual position of the boring tool relative to a planned position.

14. The machine of claim 13, wherein the interface facilitates modification to the information during the boring operation based on information generated during the boring operation.

15. An underground boring system, comprising:

a boring tool;

a driving system for driving the boring tool to produce an underground path during a boring operation;

a tracking system for producing data indicative of the position and orientation of the boring tool;

an operator control station with which a machine operator can control the driving system to affect the location and direction of the underground path; and

an interface comprising a display, the interface receiving the data and displaying the data for use by the machine operator, the interface adapted to receive the data from a plurality of tracking systems of varying types.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the display displays bore plan information developed prior to initiating the boring operation.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the display displays information indicative of an actual position of the boring tool relative to a planned position.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the interface facilitates modification to the information during the boring operation based on information generated during the boring operation.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of tracking systems comprises a plurality of walkover tracking systems of differing types, the interface configurable to receive the data from a particular walkover tracking system of a particular type.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the particular walkover tracking system transfers the data to the interface using a wireless communication link.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the wireless communication link comprises a one way wireless communication link over which the data is transferred from the particular walkover tracking system to the interface.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the wireless communication link comprises a two way wireless communication link over which the data is bi-directionally transferred between the particular walkover tracking system and the interface.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of tracking systems comprises a plurality of down-hole tracking systems of differing types, the interface configurable to receive the data from a particular down-hole tracking system of a particular type.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising a communication link communicatively coupling the particular down-hole tracking system with the interface, the communication link comprising a conductor passing through the drill string.

25. The system of claim 23, further comprising a communication link communicatively coupling the particular down-hole tracking system with the interface, the communication link comprising an acoustic system utilizing the drill string as an acoustic communication link.

26. The system of claim 23, further comprising a communication link communicatively coupling the particular down-hole tracking system with the interface, the communication link comprising a mud pulse system.

27. The system of claim 15, wherein the plurality of tracking systems comprises a down-hole tracking system and a walkover tracking system, further wherein first locating information is communicated between the down-hole tracking system and the interface and second locating information is communicated between the walkover tracking system and the interface.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein a drill string communication link communicatively couples the down-hole tracking system with the interface and a wireless communication link couples the walkover tracking system with the interface, further wherein the first and second locating information is communicated to the interface concurrently via the drill string communication link and wireless communication link, respectively.