GB1359855A - Method of and apparatus for laying pipes - Google Patents

Abstract

1359855 Laying and supporting pipes JOHN LAING & SON Ltd 4 May 1972 [17 May 1971] 15192/71 Heading F2P A method of laying pipes, e.g. for waveguide tubes comprises forming a trench to receive the pipe, aligning supports in the bottom of the trench by means of a datum signal and positioning a pipe on said supports. Apparatus (Fig. 2) for positioning the pipe supports may comprise a guideway 19 having a carriage 21 slidably mounted thereon and adapted to receive a pipe support to be driven into the trench bottom, an optical system 29, 30, 31 adapted to receive a signal, e.g. a light beam from apparatus 25 mounted on previously aligned pipe supports 15a and means for positioning said guideway relative to the light beam to enable the carriage to be correctly positioned with respect to the previously aligned supports 15a. Pipe supports 15, 15a are in the form of a wooden stake 15 having a metal saddle 17 and are inserted into the floor of the trench by the carriage 21 operated by chain 22 passing around sprockets 39, the top sprocket being driven by hydraulic motor 23. The apparatus preferably forms a part of a vehicle 18 which is followed by a pipe laying machine (Fig. 3, not shown) which lays the pipe in the aligned saddles 17a which are then crimped around the pipe by a suitable tool to hold the pipe in position. An initial trench filling layer is then compacted around the pipe by a further machine (Fig. 4, not shown) and the rest of the trench is then in-filled. The signal producing device can be a laser beam producing device (Fig. 8, not shown) which is supported on previously aligned pipe supports and is adjustable vertically and laterally to position the beam accurately so that the next pipe support can be positioned thereby. In an alternative arrangement (Fig. 9, not shown) the pipe support driving apparatus is adapted to be lowered into a trench by a crane and comprises a beam with paddle means (93) for positioning it in the trench and a pneumatically operated carriage for driving the pipe support into the trench, and, associated therewith, an optical receiving apparatus (Fig. 10, not shown) for accurately positioning the stake and for fixing the saddle to the stake. A tool (Fig. 12, not shown) is also provided for crimping the ends of the saddle 17 around the pipe, after it has been laid therein, and for engaging a clip across the ends of the saddle to retain it around the pipe. In the alternative form of pipe support, Figs. 6 and 7, the metal saddle part 51, 52 is secured to the wooded stake 50 by spikes 53 and the clip 144 applied after the saddle limbs have been crimped around the pipe.