Macro assisted control system and method for a horizontal directional drilling machine
First Claim
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1. A method of controlling a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine having a cutting tool coupled to a drill pipe, comprising:
- controlling the HDD machine to move the culling tool along an underground path in accordance with a pre-established bore plan;
detecting, from above-ground, cuffing tool movement;
accessing, during HDD machine operation, one or more control programs, each of the control programs causing the HDD machine to execute a sequence of pre-defined HDD machine actions; and
executing a particular control program of the one or more control programs to augment movement of the drill pipe or cutting tool.
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Abstract
A system and method for controlling an HDD machine to move a cutting tool along an underground path in accordance with a pre-established bore plan. Cutting tool movement is detected from above-ground. During HDD machine operation, one or more control programs are accessed. Each of the control programs can cause the HDD machine to execute a sequence of pre-defined HDD machine actions. A particular control program of the one or more control programs is executed to augment movement of a drill pipe or the cutting tool.
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. A method of controlling a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine having a cutting tool coupled to a drill pipe, comprising:
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controlling the HDD machine to move the culling tool along an underground path in accordance with a pre-established bore plan;
detecting, from above-ground, cuffing tool movement;
accessing, during HDD machine operation, one or more control programs, each of the control programs causing the HDD machine to execute a sequence of pre-defined HDD machine actions; and
executing a particular control program of the one or more control programs to augment movement of the drill pipe or cutting tool. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for controlling a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine having a cutting tool coupled to a drill pipe, comprising:
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an above-ground locator, a user interface comprising a user input device; and
a controller, communicatively coupled to the user interface, configured to control the HDD machine to move the cutting tool along an underground path in accordance with a pre-established bore plan, the controller, during HDD machine operation, accessing one or more control programs each causing the HDD machine to execute a sequence of pre-defined HDD machine actions, the controller executing a particular control program of the one or more control programs to augment movement of the drill pipe or cuffing tool. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A system for controlling a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) machine having a cutting tool coupled to a drill pipe, comprising:
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means for controlling the HDD machine to move the cutting tool along an underground path in accordance with a pre-established bore plan;
means for detecting cutting tool movement from above-ground;
means for accessing, during HDD machine operation, one or more control programs, each of the control programs causing the HDD machine to execute a sequence of pre-defined HDD machine actions; and
means for executing a particular control program of the one or more control programs to augment movement of the drill pipe or cutting tool. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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Specification