GB2097302A - Drilling rig - Google Patents

Abstract

A drilling rig comprises a vehicle adapted to be mounted and to run on rails 12, said vehicle incorporating at least one support structure 15 upon which a drilling machine 17 is mounted, said support structure enabling the drilling machine to be adjusted for vertical height relative to the vehicle. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Drilling rig This invention relates to drilling rigs and more particularly concerns a rig for use in drilling or coring the walls or floor of a tunnel.

According to one aspect of the present invention a drilling rig comprises a vehicle adapted to be mounted and to run on rails, said vehicle incorporating at least one support structure upon which a drilling machine is mounted, said support structure enabling the drilling machine to be adjusted for vertical height relative to the vehicle. Advantageously, said drilling machine is pivoted to a carrier which is mounted for vertical movement relative to said support structure. Desirably, said pivotal axis is substantially parallel to the vehicle axis and the drilling machine is arranged to operate in a plane transverse to the pivotal axis.

Preferably, the drilling machine may be rotated about its pivotal axis through an angle of at least substantially 180 .

In a preferred rig the vehicle carries two support structures each being provided with a drilling machine and a carrier therefor, and conveniently one support structure is disposed at a higher level than the other support structure.

It is preferred that the rig is self-powered and to this end it may be provided with hydraulic motors on one or more wheels.

The/or each drilling machine may comprise a tool chuck mounted on a tool carrier which is movable axially of the tool in order to provide for a powered advance and retraction of a drill or corer. Conveniently, the powered advance and retraction is provided by a screw threaded member upon which the tool carrier is mounted, so that rotation of the screw threaded member causes axial movement of the tool carrier.

Preferably, the tool chuck and the screw of the advance and retraction mechanism are driven in rotation by independent individual hydraulic motors.

The drilling rig may be fitted with a turntable so that the rig may be lifted clear of the rails and rotated to a suitable orientation for the desired operation.

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a rig according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section of part of the support structure of the rig shown in Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a schematic side elevation of part of an angular adjustment feature of the support structure; Figure 4 is a schematic end elevation of the feature shown in Fig. 3; and Figure 5 is a schematic side elevation of a drilling machine.

The rig comprises a chassis 10 having four flanged wheels 11 for running on rails 1 2.

One or more wheels are provided with hydraulic motors 60 (only one of which is illustrated in Fig. 1). The frame 10 supports a water tank 13, an oil reservoir 14, an engine (not shown) beneath the oil reservoir 14, an air compressor (not shown) and an hydraulic pump (not shown). Control means (not shown) may be provided at a convenient position such as adjacent the water tank 1 3.

The vehicle has two drilling machines and support structures therefor, one at each end of the vehicle. A first support structure 1 5 is provided with a carrier 1 6 for a first drilling machine 1 7 and a second support structure 1 8 is provided for a second support carrier and a second drilling machine (not shown) similar to the first support carrier and drilling machine.

Each support structure comprises a pair of vertical pillars 1 9 upon which the support carriers are slidably mounted by means of a pair of bearing guides 26 (see Fig. 2). Each pillar 1 9 extends between upper and lower pillar supports 20 and 21 respectively the pillar supports being mounted on a frame 22.

The upper pillar supports 20 provide mountings for the hydraulic rams 49 which control the movement of the carrier 1 6 with respect to the pillars 19.

The carrier 1 6 comprises a pair of spaced parallel channel elements 23 in which a carrier plate 24 is movable, the plate 24 being supported on rollers 25. The carrier plate 24 supports two upright plates 27 on which a pair of triangular pivot support frames 28 are mounted, each pivot support frame 28 including a lower frame element 28a.

The pivot support frames 28 support a pivot bar 29 which is cantilevered out forward of its channel element 23 and upon which the drilling machine 1 7 is mounted.

The position of the carrier plate 24 and hence the drilling machine 1 7 can be adjusted transversely relative to the axis of the rig by moving the plate 24 in the channel elements 23 and the plate 24 is then locked in the desired position by means of the locking screws 30 which can bear against the bars 31.

The drilling machine 1 7 is carried by the pivot bar 29 on the carrier 1 6 and comprises an arm 32 having an end plate 33 with an aperture for the passage of a drilling or coring tool 34 and an end plate 35 supporting a hydraulic motor 36 arranged to drive an advance/retract screw 37.

A tool carrier 39 is slidable along the arm 32 and is mounted on the screw 37 by a threaded boss 38 so that when the screw is rotated by the hydraulic motor 36 the tool carrier 39 can be advanced or retracted at the required rate. The tool carrier 39 comprises an hydraulic motor 40 arranged to drive the chuck 41 in rotation, the drilling or coring tool 34 being held by the chuck 41.

The pivotal movement of the drilling machine 1 7 relative to the carrier 1 6 is controlled by a hydraulic ram 42, the extension and retraction of this ram causing angular movement of the axis of the drilling machine about the pivot bar 29. The degree of angular movement is limited however by the stroke of the ram 42 and in order to extend the range of angular movement to the desired 180 the system illustrated schematically in Figs. 3 and 4 is employed.

The ram 42 is connected by a pin 45 to an arm 43 extending from a collar 44. The collar 44 is axially slidable on the pivot bar 29 between the position shown in Fig. 4 in which it is keyed to the pivot bar 29 by one or more keyways and a position to the left of that shown in Fig. 4 in which the collar is rotatable relative to the bar 29. The bar 29 also carries an apertured disc 46 to receive a locking pin 47. By this means, when the ram 42 is fully extended or retracted, the collar 44 can be moved to its relatively rotatable condition whilst the position of the pivot bar 29 and the drilling machine 1 7 is locked with the locking pin 47 passing through the lug 48 and the disc 46 as shown in Fig. 4.The ram 42 can then be retracted or extended, the collar moved back to the position shown in Fig. 4 and the locking pin 47 removed to permit a further arc of movement of the machine under control of the ram 42.

The second support structure 1 8 is arranged at a higher level than the first support structure 1 5 but the carrier and drilling machine are the same as carrier 1 6 and drilling machine 1 7 described above. For this reason and for the sake of clarity the second carrier and drilling machine are not shown in Fig. 1, The vehicle is provided with conventional braking systems and also includes a manually operated hand-brake 50.

The vehicle shown in the drawing is also provided with a plurality of lights 51 to facilitate working in a tunnel and may also be provided with off-tracking and cross-tracking facilities including a turn table (not shown) mounted beneath the chassis 10 whereby the rig may be lifted clear of the rails and rotated to a suitable orientation for the desired operation.

In an alternative embodiment, the pillar support and ram arrangement may be replaced by a conventional fork lift-type mast in which the forks are substituted by a carrier such as carrier 16. such an arrangement provides for a height range which is double the stroke of the operating ram and also employs a single centrally located ram in place of the two rams 49 shown in the drawings.

The drilling machines are able to pivot about their pivot axis through a large angle so that they can drill vertically into the floor and can also drill into the walls or vertically into the roof of the tunnel. This is extremely convenient as a single rig can be employed which is sufficiently versatile to enable drilling and core samples to be taken at any position along the tunnel.

Furthermore, the rig is self-powered and carries all the necessary drilling and/or coring equipment. The water tank 1 3 provides water for cooling the coring tool and suppresion of dust. For drilling operations cooling air blown by means of suitable compressor may be used. This alleviates the problem of filling and replenishing the water tank when only drilling operations are required.

Claims (14)

1. A drilling rig comprises a vehicle adapted to be mounted and to run on rails, said vehicle incorporating at least one support structure upon which a drilling machine is mounted, said support structure enabling the drilling machine to be adjusted for vertical height relative to the vehicle.

2. A drilling rig according to Claim 1, in which the drilling machine is pivoted to a carrier which is mounted for vertical movement relative to said support structure.

3. A drilling rig according to Claim 2 in which the pivotal axis is substantially parallel to the vehicle axis.

4. A drilling rig according to claim 3 in which the drilling machine is arranged to operate in a plane transverse to the pivotal axis.

5. A drilling rig according to any of the preceding claims in which the drilling machine can be rotated about its pivotal axis through an angle of at least substantially 180 .

6. A drilling rig according to any of the preceding claims in which the vehicle carries two support structures, each support structure being provided with a drilling machine and a carrier therefor.

7. A drilling rig according to Claim 6, in which one support structure is disposed at a higher level than the other support structure.

8. A drilling rig according to any of the preceding claims which is self powered.

9. A drilling rig according to Claim 8, which is provided with hydraulic motors on one or more wheels.

10. A drilling rig according to any of the preceding claims in which the drilling machine(s) comprise a tool chuck mounted on a tool carrier which is movable axially of the tool in order to provide for a powered advance and retraction of a drill or corer.

11. A drilling rig according to Claim 10, in which the powered advance and retraction is provided by a screw threaded member upon which the tool carrier is mounted, so that rotation of the screw threaded member causes axial movement of the tool carrier.

1 2. A drilling rig according to Claim 11, in which the tool chuck and the screw of the advance and retraction mechanisms are driven in rotation by independent individual hydraulic motors.

1 3. A drilling rig according to any of the preceding claims in which there is a turntable provided in order to enable said drilling rig to be lifted clear of the rails and rotated to a desired orientation.

14. A drilling rig substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.