The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 22, 1985
Filed:
Jul. 03, 1984
John Turner, Renton, WA (US);
The Robbins Company, Kent, WA (US);
Abstract
A tunnel boring machine including the following elements: (a) a full face rotary cutterhead; (b) a cutterhead support on which the cutterhead is mounted; (c) a gripper system carried by a gripper support frame for reacting thrust, steering, roll correction, and torque forces; (d) a conveyor system for transporting muck from behind the rotary cutterhead to a dump point rearwardly of the machine; (e) primary propel cylinders for advancing the cutterhead which are mounted between the gripper support frame and the cutterhead support, the primary propel cylinders consisting of a series of at least three pairs of double acting hydraulic cylinders arranged annularly in equally spaced apart locations and in a series of V-shaped configurations between the gripper support frame and the cutterhead support, each such pair of primary propel cylinders having an included angle between the cylinders of about 15.degree. and 60.degree. and with a line bisecting the included angle between the cylinders extending generally parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the machine; and (f) a hydraulic control system for controlling the pairs of primary propel cylinders to effect (1) axial forward thrust on the cutterhead by simultaneous actuation of all the primary propel cylinders while transmitting the reaction torque exerted on the cutterhead support by rotation of the cutterhead, (2) steering of the cutterhead support and the cutterhead by selective actuation of only a portion of the primary propel cylinders, and (3) roll corrections of the cutterhead support and the cutterhead by selective actuation of alternate members of the primary propel cylinders.