Bore head for microbore operation
First Claim
1. A boring apparatus for drilling laser guided microbore tunnels using a liquid stream to remove soil and an airstream to remove the soil and liquid mix created by the liquid stream, the boring apparatus having a bore head comprising:
- a substantially cylindrical body with a leading end wall and a trailing end wall,an axial wall dividing the body into a component compartment and a flow compartment,a passage through the flow compartment for liquid and soil mix,a passage through the flow compartment for air,the component compartment housing a steerable boring shaft which projects through the leading end wall to support a cutter,a shaft bearing fixed to the axial wall near the trailing end,a liquid path through at least part of the shaft which exits beyond the leading end wall,a laser target mounted on the shaft close to the leading end wall and the cutter and a camera mounted on the axial wall for shooting the target,the shaft being steered by rams mounted on the axial wall and acting at 90°
to each other, up and down steering being provided by a first ram acting substantially parallel to the shaft and side to side steering being provided by a second ram acting transversely to the shaft.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Boring apparatus for drilling laser guided microbore tunnels uses a liquid stream to remove soil as slurry and an airstream to conduct the slurry away from the bore head. The cylindrical head houses a drill shaft steered by a pair of remotely controlled rams according to the position of a laser spot on a target fixed close to the end of the drill shaft. Small arcuate steering movements shift the cutter up and down through a first ram alongside the shaft working through a linkage. Side to side steering is provided by a second ram acting directly on the shaft. The components are mounted on an axial base wall which gives repair access and camera view of the target. A drilling platform has rams for advancing the cylindrical head.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A boring apparatus for drilling laser guided microbore tunnels using a liquid stream to remove soil and an airstream to remove the soil and liquid mix created by the liquid stream, the boring apparatus having a bore head comprising:
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a substantially cylindrical body with a leading end wall and a trailing end wall, an axial wall dividing the body into a component compartment and a flow compartment, a passage through the flow compartment for liquid and soil mix, a passage through the flow compartment for air, the component compartment housing a steerable boring shaft which projects through the leading end wall to support a cutter, a shaft bearing fixed to the axial wall near the trailing end, a liquid path through at least part of the shaft which exits beyond the leading end wall, a laser target mounted on the shaft close to the leading end wall and the cutter and a camera mounted on the axial wall for shooting the target, the shaft being steered by rams mounted on the axial wall and acting at 90°
to each other, up and down steering being provided by a first ram acting substantially parallel to the shaft and side to side steering being provided by a second ram acting transversely to the shaft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification