US2274698A - Drill steel centralizer - Google Patents

Description

March 3, 1942. A. FEucHT El'AL DRILL STEEL CENTRALIZER Original Filed March 3, 1939 ATTORNEY INVENTOES ALBERT f'fl/CHT THEOOOQEA. SCI/M07 Patented Mar. 3, 1942 UNl'lfE- S ninLL. STEEL CENTRALIZER.

' Albert Feucli-t, Garfield Heights, and Theodore A. Schmidt, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to The Cleveland Rock Drill Company,

Cleveland,

' Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Substitute for. abandoned application Serial No. 259,614, March 3, 1939. This application May 19, 1941, Serial No. 394,172

(iClaims.

coaxial alignment with the rock drill during the starting of a drill hole.

This application is a substitute forour prior application Serial No. 259,614 filed March 3,1939, and since abandoned.

One object of this invention is to provide a' rockdrill with an efiicient drill steel centralizer cooperating with the drill steel for maintaining it in perfect alignment with the rock drill when starting a drill hole.

Another object of this invention is to produce a drill steel centralizer constructed and disposed in a' manner enabling it' to be automatically moved into inoperative position by the rockdrill duringv its feeding motion to'the work, the centralizer being characterized by a simple construction which is. strong, durable and efficient.

Other objects and advantages mor or less ancillaryto the foregoing reside in theispecific construction and aggroupment of ther elements peculiar to this structure, as will become apparent from a more complete examination of this specification.

In the drawing:.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the: front portion of a rock drill embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View looking in the direction of' the arrows 22 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken in a plane indicated by line 33 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental longitudinally sectional view taken in a plane indicated by line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 taken in: a plane indicated by line 5.5 in' Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a view similarito Fig. 1 illustrating the centralizer in inoperative position.

Fig. '7 is an end view looking in the direction of the arrows l'l in Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing, [0 represents the front end of a stationary shell on which is slidably mounted a rock drill, the front head ll of which is shown in Fig. 1. Mounted within this front head ll, there is the usual drill steel l2 extending longitudinally therefrom and terminated by a bit [3 engageable with th work. In practice, when the drill steel, which is loosely mounted within the front end II, is rotated and fed to the work in the usual manner, its bit l3 engaging the uneven face In of the work will cause the drill steel to move laterally relative to the center axis of the drill, thereby making it difficult for the operator to start the drill hole at a predetermined or given location. To overcome this difficulty, there is fastened to the end of the shell 10 a longitudinally extending support l5 connected to the end of the shell by bolts [-6. This support extends under the drill steel l2 about six inches from the end of the shell [0 and has its front end provided with two laterally spaced lugs IT having a cross bolt l B extending therethrough and secured in position by' 'a nut l9. Mounted on the bolt is, there is a pivot orbushing locked to one of the lugs l'l-by a key 2|. On this bushing is rotatably mounted a guid arm 22 capable of location within the path of the rock drill front end' I l, and having its upper end formed with semicircular groove 23 of a dimension enabling it to fit partly around the drill steel. On one side of the bushing 20, there is also mounted on the bolt it a stationary spiral gear 24; clamped between the stationary bushing 20 and an enlarged cylindrical portion or head 25'formed on the bolt 18', which head together with the gear 24 extend into a counter bore 26 formed onone side of the arm 22.

Intermediate its ends, the bushing 20 is provided with two flats 21 and 28 disposed at 90 from one other and engageable by a spring pressed plunger 29 located within a plug 30 which is screwed in the lower portion of the arm 22.

One of the longest sides of the arm 22 is pro-- vided with a boss 3| extending the full length thereof and having rotatable therein a pivot or stem 32-. The lower end of the boss 3| is counterbored as at 3i to accommodate the corresponding end of the stem 32, which has mountedthereon against relative rotation a pinion 33 meshing with the gearv 24'. This pinion is held against endwise movement by a washer 34'engaging the bottom of the counterbore 3|" and by a nut 35 threaded on the extreme endof'the stem 32. The pinion 33 may be assembled on the lower end of the shaft 32 by removing a plug 36 threaded into the counterbore 3i. Formed integrally with the stem 32, there is a guide finger 31 resting on theupper end of the boss 3|, which finger is formedwith a semicircular groove 38 capable of being swung laterally over the drill. steel I2 to prevent upward movement of the drill steel relative to the guide arm 22. I In the operation of the device, when the centralizer is positioned as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, it will be understood that the drill steel l2 now located within the groove 23 of th guide arm 22 and in the groove 38 of the guide finger 31, is guided against lateral movement and made to remain in coaxial alignment with the center axis of the rock drill, thereby enabling the operator to start the drill hole at any given location without danger of the drill bit [3 walking away from the intended spot. In this operative position of the centralizer, th arm 22 is located within the path of the drills front end H, thus causing the arm, during the feeding motion of the drill, to be contacted by the front end H and swung thereby in a clockwise direction in Fig. 1 around the pivot 20. In this instance, the spring pressed plunger 29 normally engaging the fiat 21 of the stationary bushing 20, will be made to pass over the junction of th flats 21 and 28, and thereafter to engage the portion of the flat 23 adjacent the flat 21 to cause a camming action resulting in the centralizer being moved into the inoperative or horizontal position shown in Fig. 6. As the arm 22 is swung into a horizontal position, the pinion 33 engaging the stationary spiral gear 28 will cause rotation of the shaft 32 and consequently of its finger 31 in a counterclockwise direction in Fig, 2. This movement of the finger resulting from the swinging movement of the arm 22 is calculated to take place at a rate of speed enabling movement of the finger 31 away from the drill steel, while the arm 22 together with the finger 31 are swung downwardly or into inoperative position to enable free passage of the rock drill front end ll over the centralizer.

After the drill has been moved back preparatory to the drilling of another hole, the centralizer may be brought back into operative position with respect to the drill steel by manually swinging the guide arm 22 from the position in Fig. 6 to the position in Fig. 1. During this swinging motion of the arm 22, the pinion 33 engaging the gear 26 will transmit rotation to the finger 31, causing it to move from the position in Fig. 7 to the position in Fig. 2, that is into operative position relative to the drill steel l2.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that with the centralizer in operative position, the drilling operation may take place without requiring the operator to move the centralizer out of the path of the rock drill. In other words, the centralizer is automatically shifted into inoperative position to enable free passage of the rock-drill front end ll. Due to the operative engagement of the spring pressed plunger 29 with the fiats 21 or 28 of the stationary bushing 20, the centralizer is normally held in operative or inoperative position against accidental rotation. The movable parts of the centralizer, such as the shaft 32, the pinion 33 and the locking plunger 29, being entirely enclosed within the arm 22, are protected from dust or other foreign matter which would otherwise affect their free operation.

Although the foregoing description is necessarily of a detailed character, in order to completely set forth the invention, it is to be understood that the specific terminology is not intended to be restrictive or confining and it is to be further understood that various rearrangements of parts and modifications of structural detail may be resorted to without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as herein claimed.

We claim:

1. A centralizer for drill steels, comprising a support, a pivot in said support, a guide arm operatively mounted on said pivot, a pivot in sail arm, a guide finger operatively mounted on said last pivot, interengaging means on said pivots preventing rotation of said finger independently of said arm, and resilient means operatively associated with said arm for resisting its rotation on its pivot.

2. A centralizer for drill steels, comprising a support, a guide arm rotatably mounted on said support, a guide finger rotatably mounted on said arm, a stationary gear on the support, and a pinion on said finger meshing with said gear for automatically effecting rotation of said finger upon rotation of said arm. a

3. A centralizer for drill steels, comprising a support, a drill steel engaging arm rotatably mounted on said support, a drill steel engaging finger mounted on said arm for rotation therewith in one direction and relative thereto in another direction, and interengaging cog-wheels on said support and finger effecting rotation of said finger relative to said arm upon rotation of said support, a drill steel engaging arm rotatably including a member deriving rotation relative to said arm from the rotation of said arm, said member being drivingly connected to said finger.

6. A drill steel centralizer comprising a support, a drill steel guiding arm and finger rotatable relative to said support on axes perpendicular to each other, and a rotation mechanism for said finger including a member drivingly connected to said finger deriving rotation relative to said arm from the rotation of said arm.

ALBERT FEUCHT. THEODORE A.; SCHMIDT.

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