Electric Power Research Institute Incorporated

Gas Research Institute

Edward E Fischer

Bruce B Gamble

Allan T Fisk

Thomas H Mann

Richard M Wiesman

Steven J Kozminski

Robert T Hsiung

Richard R Fontana

A cornering pipe traveler includes a tractor having a pair of carriages, a leading carriage and a trailing carriage, each carriage including a clamping device for positively engaging the inner surface of the pipe, and structure for propelling the carriage along the pipe; interconnected between the pair of carriages there is a device for exerting a curling force between the two carriages for mechanically compelling the lead carriage to curl and enter a turn in the pipe; also included is structure for aligning the lead carriage so that the curling force compels the pipe traveler to enter a selected turn to be made.

Cornering pipe traveler

Boring apparatus for forming a generally horizontal underground passage for a utility conduit or the like that includes a tool head with elongated body structure and a cutting face of ellipto-conical form at one end of the elongated body structure. The cutting face has a major axis and a minor axis and cutting bit structure is fixed to and projects forwardly from the cutting face and extends substantially the full width of the cutting face generally along the major axis. The tool head also includes coupling structure for attaching the tool head to a drill string such that the cutting tool face is offset from the drill string axis. Structure in the cutting face defines a cutting fluid orifice adjacent the cutting bit structure for directing a high velocity jet of cutting fluid forwardly of the cutting tool face. The tool body is adapted to be advanced and concurrently driven in rotation to move the cutting face in orbital boring action about the drill string axis to bore an underground passage and to be advanced without rotation to produce a change in direction of the underground passage in the direction of offset from the drill string axis.

Horizontal boring apparatus and method

Growing community of inventors

Acton, MA, United States of America

Edward E Fischer