Honeybee Robotics, Ltd.

Other

Thomas M Myrick

Roopnarine

Kin Yuen Kong

Stephen Gorevan

Kinyuen Kong

Shaheed Rafeek

A rock core removal method and apparatus allows efficient, safe, and reliable removal of a rock core sample. An inner collet tube and an outer ground tube, within a drill tube, protect the core sample during drilling. At depth, the collet tube is raised with respect to the ground tube so that the conical wall of the ground tube pushes constricting fingers on the collet tube inward, gripping the core sample within. The collet tube and ground tube are then raised, rotated, or raised and rotated, applying the necessary force to break the core sample off of the substrate. After retracting the tubes, the collet tube is lowered with respect to the ground tube to release the core sample. An ejection rod then pushes the core sample out of the collet tube. The ground tube may also act as the actuating means for a quick-change drill-bit release feature.

Rock core removal method and apparatus

A roll-ring conductive wheel is used to conduct electricity between the inner and outer races of rotating or moving parts. The conductive wheel is a thin-walled metal cylinder with a plurality of spokes connecting the outer cylindrical wall to a central hub. The preferred spokes are arcuate and the wheel is made flexible so that it can be compressed to an elliptical shape between the inner and outer conductive races for good electrical contact and to absorb slight deflections or gap variations between the races. The conductive wheel can have other shapes depending on the configuration of moving parts, such as a truncated cone shape for conical or wedge-shaped races.

Roll-ring conductive wheel

An autonomous subsurface drilling device has spaced-apart forward and rearward 'feet' sections coupled to an axial thruster mechanism between them to operate using an inchworm method of mobility. In one embodiment, forward and rearward drill sections are carried on forward and rearward 'feet' sections for drilling into material in the borehole in both forward and rearward directions, to allow the device to maneuver in any direction underground. In another embodiment, a front drill section has a drill head for cutting into the borehole and conveying cuttings through a center spine tube to an on-board depository for the cuttings. The feet sections of the device employ a foot scroll drive unit to provide radial thrust and synchronous motion to the feet for gripping the borehole wall. The axial thrust mechanism has a tandem set of thrusters in which the second thruster is used to provide the thrust needed for drilling, but not walking. A steering mechanism composed of concentric inner and outer eccentric rings provided with the rearward feet section allow small corrections in both direction and magnitude to the drilling direction as drilling commences.

Self-propelled instrumented deep drilling system

A mechanism for breaking off and retaining a core sample of a drill drilled into a ground substrate has an outer drill tube and an inner core break-off tube sleeved inside the drill tube. The break-off tube breaks off and retains the core sample by a varying geometric relationship of inner and outer diameters with the drill tube. The inside diameter (ID) of the drill tube is offset by a given amount with respect to its outer diameter (OD). Similarly, the outside diameter (OD) of the break-off tube is offset by the same amount with respect to its inner diameter (ID). When the break-off tube and drill tube are in one rotational alignment, the two offsets cancel each other such that the drill can operate the two tubes together in alignment with the drill axis. When the tubes are rotated 180 degrees to another positional alignment, the two offsets add together causing the core sample in the break-off tube to be displaced from the drill axis and applying shear forces to break off the core sample.

Core break-off mechanism

A system for capturing and docking an active craft to a passive craft has a first docking assembly on the active craft with a first contact member and a spike projecting outwardly, a second docking assembly on the passive craft having a second contact member and a flexible net deployed over a target area with an open mesh for capturing the end of the spike of the active craft, and a motorized net drive for reeling in the net and active craft to mate with the passive craft's docking assembly. The spike has extendable tabs to allow it to become engaged with the net. The net's center is coupled to a net spool for reeling in. An alignment funnel has inclined walls to guide the net and captured spike towards the net spool. The passive craft's docking assembly includes circumferentially spaced preload wedges which are driven to lock the wedges against the contact member of the active craft. The active craft's docking assembly includes a rotary table and drive for rotating it to a predetermined angular alignment position, and mating connectors are then engaged with each other. The system may be used for docking spacecraft in zero or low-gravity environments, as well as for docking underwater vehicles, docking of ancillary craft to a mother craft in subsonic flight, in-flight refueling systems, etc.

Spacecraft capture and docking system

A clutch or brake device has locking sprags engageable between its inner and outer races which have a three-dimensional wedge shape with respect to the rotational (Z) axis. The 3D locking sprags have contact surfaces shaped to make rectangular area contact with the corresponding surfaces of the inner and outer races for reduction and improved distribution of contact stresses. The 3D sprags are also shaped with a constant-angle contact surface in cross-section in a plane normal to the Z-axis for self-compensation with wear and maintenance of effective locking angles under loads.

Clutch/brake having rectangular-area-contact 3D locking sprags

A flexible band-gear system has an ring gear assembly with bands in electrical contact with and a ring gear in mechanical engagement with corresponding bands and gears of planet gear assemblies which are in turn in electrical contact and geared engagement with a sun gear assembly mounted to a rotating shaft. Electrical power and/or an electrical signal can thus be conducted across a rotating joint which also transfers mechanical power. The flexible band-gear system can also be used in linear applications to transfer electrical power/signal via rolling contact with a linear band. The geared aspect of the system simplifies axial alignment and maintains the relative positions (within the ring annulus) of the planet gears. Electrical power and signal capacity can be varied with the number of planet gears in the system. Multiple channels are added using segmented contact bands and/or multiple contact band layers.

Growing community of inventors

Warren, NJ, United States of America

Thomas M Myrick