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:
Dec. 01, 1992
Filed:
Sep. 28, 1990
Paul A Crafton, Norman, OK (US);
Other;
Abstract
The present invention is a system for the robotic fabrication of a set of parallel pipelines or tunnels along a curvilinear path without limitation as to distance, direction and depth. A large diameter bore is made by a boring unit as the boring unit moves tangentially along the path through the earth. Prefabricated segments of the pipeline body or tunnel body are then installed by the system at a plurality of locations in the bore, such that their axes are instantaneously parallel to each other and to the large diameter bore, as extensions of the duct body already installed. The annular space between the extensions and the large diameter bore is then occasionally filled along the ducts with a composite material thereby supporting the several smaller diameter structurally independent permanent ducts in the large diameter bore. The prefabricated duct segments function as the structural body of the ducts. Along those segments of the path not through solid material, the prefabricated segments, as successively installed, structurally function as a cantilever bridge through the non-solid region of the path.