EP0169393B1 - Device for producing boreholes at an inaccessible cross-section - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for making small-bore underground tunnels. It contains a working tube which can be advanced in the direction of the developing tunnel, and an excavating unit mounted in the working tube and having an excavating tool. The excavating unit is displaceable in the working tube. The excavating tool has a substantially smaller effective outside cross section than corresponds to the internal cross section of the working tube, and is mounted on the excavating unit so as to be displaceable in directions perpendicular to the working tube axis. Drive means serve for moving the excavating tube within a range of action whose maximum cross section, measured perpendicular to the working tube axis, corresponds at least to the outside cross section of the working tube.

Description

The invention relates to a device of the type defined in the preamble of claim 1.

In civil engineering, it is customary to manufacture underground pipelines for the water, gas and district heating supply or the like in that perforations are carried out in areas near the surface and the perforations obtained are secured by pipes introduced into them. Since the holes cannot be walked on and there is therefore no possibility of controlling the removal tool by an operator standing directly on the respective face, a device of the type described at the outset has been developed (DE-A-3204564) which is automatic, i. H. without having to carry an operator through the soil. The operator only has the task of pushing the working pipe leading the extraction unit in the direction of the resulting cavity from a press pit formed at the beginning of the cavity and, if necessary, pushing further pipes serving as support to the working pipe.

The dismantling unit usually used here leads to a multitude of problems, particularly in the case of different soil conditions. Only in this context, for example, are the slight deformation or destruction of the drilling tool when hitting underground obstacles, the necessary breaking off of bores as a result of obstacles occurring unexpectedly in front of the work pipe in the form of rocks, wood and foundation remains or the like and the deviation of the Drilling points from the given direction due to different soil layers.

The problems mentioned are primarily a consequence of the fact that the known mining unit is provided with a mining tool, the outer cross section of which essentially corresponds to the outer cross section of the through-hole to be produced, so that there is always a full-surface mining. This is not a problem in the case of homogeneous soil conditions on the working face, because the forces occurring on the rotationally symmetrical removal tool cancel each other out during the drilling process. In the case of inhomogeneous soil conditions, on the other hand, the forces on the cutting or chiseling tools of the removal tool are different, which results in a resultant force on the removal tool which tends to displace it in the direction of the bottom layer with the lowest compressive strength and thereby causes a deviation from the desired direction . To avoid this disadvantage, the working pipe of the known device therefore has an additional pipe section connected to it in an articulated manner. As a result, it is possible to avoid any obstacles and, after bypassing an obstacle, by adjusting the angular position of the further pipe section to set the working pipe axis back to the desired axis of the through-hole. With such devices, however, it is impossible to clear away obstacles and penetrate them without deviating from the target axis of the perforation.

Considerable torques are still required to safely release the material present at the working face when using the known device. However, the maximum achievable torques are limited by the dimensions of the gears, which can be accommodated in the tube cross section, so that the forces available per unit area on the face are undesirably small. Furthermore, the known device is provided with a dismantling unit fixedly mounted in the working tube. This has the consequence that a maintenance and repair of their functional parts, a replacement of their wear parts and an adaptation of their removal tool to changing soil conditions is not possible easily or only with great effort, since a removal unit once inserted into a cavity is not accessible due to the fact that it cannot be walked on Cavity cross sections can only be recovered by digging them free from the surface of the section of the route to be drilled. Finally, when using the known device, the removal of the material detached from the working face presents difficulties, since this can only be removed through openings in the excavation tool that are impassable for larger stones, boulders or the like. These therefore remain in front of the removal tool, clog it and make it impossible to continue drilling. The known device can therefore only be used with advantage in water-bearing, soft soil layers.

Similar devices of this type (Wirth-Techn. Description of the pipe jacking system HBG 700, type 1; TIS 8/81, pp. 550-555, 2/83, pp. 60/61 and 3/83, pp. 109-121; DE -C-32 22 880; DE-A-32 49 087) work essentially on the same principle of action and therefore lead to comparable difficulties in practical use.

The for creating cavities with walkable cross sections, for. B. tunnels, known devices (GB-A-1 180 910, DE-A-24 62 542) «can not be used accordingly in the manufacture of cavities with non-accessible cross sections. This is mainly due to the fact that such devices are either manned on site or are accessible to the operating personnel at least at all times because of the accessibility of the cavities and are therefore neither automatic, by a u. Control devices which can be operated several hundred meters from the face of the site still require problems with regard to the repair, maintenance or adaptation work which can be carried out on site.

The invention has for its object the device of the type mentioned to further develop that it is also suitable for drilling through inhomogeneous, obstacle-containing soil layers, can exert large forces per unit area without the axis of the working tube being displaced from the desired axis, and simple replacement of the removal tool and simple repair and maintenance of the entire dismantling unit are possible.

The characterizing features of claim 1 serve to achieve this object.

Further advantageous features of the invention are characterized in the subclaims.

The invention has a number of advantages. Due to the use of a removal tool, the outer cross section of which is considerably smaller than the outer cross section of the working tube and thus the cross section of the bore to be produced, comparatively small gears can apply large forces per unit area. By means of the controlled movement of the removal tool, it is possible to gradually increase the cross section of the bore and to remove obstacles without the resulting forces exerted on the removal tool exceeding a critical value with regard to the deviation from the direction. Finally, it is easily possible to replace the dismantling tool, since the entire dismantling unit only needs to be moved to the end of the working tube that is distant from the working face and needs to be transported from there by means of rail systems or the like through the tube sections that may follow the working tube to the press pit from which drilling is started.

• Fig. 1 eine Vorderansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung;
• Fig. 2 die Draufsicht der Vorrichtung nach Fig. 1 ; und
• Fig. 3 eine Seitenansicht der Vorrichtung nach Fig. 1.

The invention is explained in more detail below in connection with the accompanying drawing using an exemplary embodiment. Show it :

• Fig. 1 is a front view of the device according to the invention;
• Fig. 2 is a top view of the device of Fig. 1; and
• 3 shows a side view of the device according to FIG. 1.

1 to 3, the device according to the invention contains, for example, a steel working tube 1 with a rail system 2 fastened in it, with which a dismantling unit 3 can be moved back and forth parallel to the longitudinal axis 4 of the working tube 1. The rail system 2 contains two diametrically opposite, parallel to each other and to the axis 4 of the working tube arranged guide rails 5, which on the inner wall of the. Working tube 1 are attached. On both guide rails 5, several rollers 6 of a frame 7 roll from both sides, in which the dismantling unit 3 is mounted and which in the area of both guide rails 5 each has a U-shaped recess 8 directed towards the longitudinal axis 4. These recesses 8 encompass a turntable 9 on two diametrically opposite sides, which has a cylindrical outer surface, is rotatably supported in the recesses 8 of the frame 7 by means of bearing rollers 10 and has a radial recess 9a at its front end. The bearing rollers 10 are arranged in the frame 7 on a circular arc, the diameter of which corresponds to the diameter of the slewing ring 9. The axis of rotation 11 of the turntable 9 intersects the axis 4 of the working tube 1 at a right angle.

2, the turntable 9 is hollow or open on the inside and is provided with two pivot bearings 12, the common pivot axis 13 of which passes through the intersection of the axes 4 and 11 and is arranged perpendicular to both the axis 4 and the axis of rotation 11. The pivot bearings 12 are used for the pivotable mounting of a removal head 14 which projects radially through the recess 9a and carries at its front end a removal tool 15 which, for example, consists of a milling head which can be rotated at high speed and whose outer diameter is significantly smaller, preferably at least half smaller than that Inner diameter of the working tube 1. The removal tool 15 is fastened to the removal head 14 in an easily replaceable manner by means of a quick-action chuck, which essentially consists of a transmission housing 16, a drive motor 17 flanged onto it, for example a hydraulic motor, and a transmission arranged in the transmission housing 16.

The removal head 14 can be rotated on the one hand by means of the slewing ring 9 about the axis of rotation 11, which is subsequently regarded as the Y axis of an imaginary coordinate system, and on the other hand, by means of the pivot bearing 12, about the pivot axis 13 subsequently viewed as the X axis of the imaginary coordinate system. At the same time, the dismantling unit can be displaced by means of the rail system 2 in the direction of the axis 4 in accordance with the Z axis of the imaginary coordinate system. It follows that the extraction tool 15 protruding sufficiently far beyond the front end of the extraction unit 14 and having its own axis of rotation within an effective range, the maximum cross section of which corresponds at least to the outer cross section of the working tube 1, in the direction of these three axes, i. H. can be moved in the X, Y and Z directions. In the embodiment shown, the rearward extension of the axis of rotation of the removal tool 15 always runs through the intersection of the three axes 4, 11 and 13.

A control device which has three separately controllable drives, preferably designed as cylinder / piston arrangements 18, 19 and 20, is used to produce these movements of the removal tool 15. The cylinder / piston arrangement 18 has a cylinder 21 articulated on the frame 7 and a piston rod 23 articulated on a holder 22 of the extraction head ° 14 and is for pivoting the extraction head 14 about the pivot axis 13 or for moving the extraction tool 15 in Y direction responsible. The cylinder / piston arrangement 19 also has an attached to the frame 7 steered the cylinder 24 and a piston rod 26 articulated on a holder 25 of the rotating ring 9 and is responsible for rotating the rotating ring 9 or pivoting the attached removal head 14 about the axis of rotation 11 and thus for moving the removal tool 15 in the X direction .

Finally, the cylinder / piston arrangement 20 has a cylinder 28 articulated on a slide 27 and a piston rod 29 articulated on the frame 7 and serves to move the frame 7 or the removal unit 3 in the direction of the longitudinal axis 4 and thus to move the removal tool 15 in the Z direction. All cylinders and piston rods are each articulated to the components assigned to them in such a way that all swiveling or rotating movements can be carried out individually and / or in combination.

The carriage 27, like the frame 7, is slidably mounted on the guide rails 5 by means of rollers 30. It is also provided with a locking device by means of which it can be immovably locked in the working tube 1. The locking device comprises, for example, two cylinder / piston arrangements 31 with cylinders 32 mounted on the slide 27 and piston rods 33 arranged perpendicular to the working tube axis 4, which can be pressed in a clamping manner against the inner wall of the working tube 1 or the guide rails 5, around the slide 7 on any one Place in the direction of axis 4. Alternatively, recesses 34 can be formed in the guide rails 5 at preselected intervals, into which the outer ends of the piston rods 33 or pins fastened thereon can be inserted in order to lock the slide 27 at predetermined points in the direction of the axis 4 by positive locking instead of positive locking.

A preferably mechanical conveying device, which is expediently arranged in a space 36 (FIG. 1) below the turntable 9 or the entire dismantling unit 3, is used to remove the material detached from the excavation tool 15 on the working face. This can include, for example, a shovel that can be moved by chains, a conveyor belt or a push rod system that has a plurality of pivotable flaps arranged at a distance, which in each case gradually transfer the dissolved material to a subsequent flap. The funding takes place in each case parallel to the working tube axis 4 and in such a way that the actual conveying element can be moved up to approximately the front end of the working tube 1 and thus up to the working face in order to accommodate the detached and falling material. Due to the fact that the removal tool 15 and the removal head 14 have a sufficiently small effective outer cross section in comparison to the inside cross section of the working tube 1, conveying devices of this type can easily be accommodated in the space 36.

The method of working with the device according to the invention is as follows: first, press pits are excavated at both ends of the underground bore to be produced. In a press pit, the working tube 1 is now placed in such a way that its front end rests against the wall of the press pit to be drilled, the axis 4 coincides with the axis of the through hole to be produced and the two guide rails are arranged at the same height so that they meet the Axis 4 form a horizontal plane dividing the working tube into an upper and lower half. In addition, the arrangement is such that the dismantling unit 3 is essentially above this level, whereas the conveyor device is essentially below this level. Finally, the axis of rotation of the removal tool 15 is expediently arranged coaxially to the axis 4 at this time.

The carriage 27 is now locked in the working tube 1 by means of the cylinder / piston arrangements 31, so that it forms an abutment for the displacement of the frame 7 in the Z direction. By actuating the cylinder / piston assembly 20, the frame 7 is advanced to the removal tool 15 through the front end of the working tube to the wall to be drilled, i.e.. H. to put on the current face. The drilling process is initiated by switching on the motor 17. In this case, a partial cut milling head is used as the removal tool 15, for example, which detaches the material lying in its area of effect. By suitable control of the cylinder / piston assemblies 18, 19 and 20, the mining tool 15 is then moved in the X, Y and Z directions such that it gradually creates a borehole with an ever increasing cross section. It is expedient to let the removal tool move first by controlling the cylinder / piston arrangements 18 and 19 on spherical surfaces with gradually increasing radii, and by means of the frame 7 or the cylinder / piston arrangement 20 and the slide 27 in Hold the Z direction until a through-hole section with a cross section corresponding to the outer cross section of the working tube 1 is reached, then advance a little in the Z direction and then repeat the drilling process.

The through-hole sections created by the removal tool 15 and extending in the Z direction must be secured by pipes. This is done by pushing the working tube 1 with a hydraulic press or the like from the press pit as far as the respective piercing section allows. If the working tube 1 has completely disappeared into the through-hole, further tubes are inserted into the part of the through-hole that becomes free on the back of the working tube. Before pushing the working pipe 1 or the other pipes, the removal tool 15 is pulled back into the working pipe 1 by means of the cylinder / piston arrangement 20. Is it desirable to slide the carriage 27 at a different location within the To position the working tube 1, all that is required is to release the associated locking device and to apply the cylinder / piston arrangement 20 accordingly, since the comparatively heavy removal unit 3 remains at a standstill. Alternatively, it would also be possible to assign a locking device to the removal unit 3.

During the drilling process or also in the breaks between successive drilling processes, it is necessary to remove the dissolved material from the face, which accumulates partly on the bottom of the working tube 1 and partly on the bottom of the drilled hole and would make further dismantling impossible. For this purpose, the automatic conveying device is set in motion, which picks up the dissolved material and transports it under the mining unit 3 to the other end of the working tube 1. Behind the mining unit 3 or the rear end of the working tube 1, the conveyed material can be transferred directly to a conveyor belt arranged in the press pit.

The effective range of the conveying device expediently extends only over the length of the working tube 1, so that it can be advanced together with the latter. Therefore, after the working pipe has disappeared into the through hole, further devices are required to take over the material transported with the conveying device to the rear end of the working pipe and to move it to the press pit. For this purpose, provision can be made, for example, to provide the tubes pushed behind the working tube with guide rails for a carriage that can be moved back and forth.

The work of the removal tool 15 is expediently monitored by means of a television camera or the like mounted on the removal unit 3. When an obstacle occurs, the type and position of the obstacle can therefore be determined precisely by means of the television camera and the dismantling tool 15 can be acted on via the control device such that this gradually removes the obstacle. Because of the small size of the dismantling tool, a favorable angle of the dismantling tool to the obstacle can always be produced and avoided that forces are exerted on the working tube 1 to such an extent that it is laterally displaced from its desired path. Apart from this, the desired feed direction of the working tube can be adhered to very precisely, for example by using a laser beam to define a target axis for the through-drilling and controlling the movement of the removal tool with respect to this target axis. Since in this case the axes of the through-hole sections produced by the removal tool are centered by the laser beam, it is practically impossible for the actual through-hole axis to deviate from the desired axis.

If it is desired to replace the removal tool 15, be it because of wear, or because of a change in the soil layer to be removed, the entire removal unit 3 is moved by means of the cylinder / piston arrangement 20 to the rear end of the working tube, there to a cart or . The like. Coupled, which is inserted into the tubes following the working tube, and transferred from this into the press pit. Alternatively, it would be possible to provide the pipes following the working pipe with rail systems corresponding to the rail system 2 and to transport the dismantling unit into the press pit solely by corresponding actuation of the cylinder / piston arrangement 20. If a particularly critical obstacle that cannot be removed with conventional dismantling tools appeared, it would even be conceivable to provide the dismantling unit with a jackhammer or an explosive device. All of these measures can be carried out automatically under observation by the television camera and without inspection of the perforation.

The invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment described, which can be modified in many ways.

This applies in particular to the conveying device, the transport devices required to replace the removal tool and the hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder / piston arrangements, but also, for example, to the manner in which the removal tool 15 is moved in its area of action. It would be possible, for example, to move the removal tool linearly in the X and Y directions or to move it with the aid of guides or linkages in the form of parallelograms, instead of causing the movements in these directions by rotating or pivoting movements. Apart from this, the control device can be designed in any way and can be provided with automatically working computers or microprocessors for calculating the movements of the removal tool. It would also be possible to omit the rail system 2 and the frame 7 and the slide 27 in another way, for. B. by means of simple sliding or roller guides, slidably stored in the working tube 1.

Claims (10)

1. Device for producing underground boreholes having inaccessible cross-sections and having a preset nominal axis and a preset nominal cross-section, with a working pipe (1) which can be advanced in the direction of driving and whose external cross-section corresponds to the nominal cross-section of the boreholes, with a frame (7) which is disposed in the workings pipe and can be fixed therein and removed therefrom rearwardly and on which is mounted a working unit (3) which is slidable parallel to the working pipe axis and comprises a working tool (15) which is slidable in the axial direction of the working pipe, can be advanced out of the working pipe in the direction of driving and is mounted on and rotatable by a working head (14), and with a control device for controlling drive elements of the working unit, characterised in that the frame (7) is slidable parallel to the working pipe axis (4) by means of a guide device (5, 6) and is mounted removably together with the whole working unit (3) in the working pipe (1), the working tool (15) consists of a part-section tool which, like the working head (14), has a substantially smaller effective diameter than the working pipe (1), and drive elements (18, 19) for moving the working tool in directions perpendicular to the working pipe axis and for sliding the working tool in the axial direction of the working pipe are controllable by means of the control device relative to the nominal axis in such a way that a cavity section coaxial with the nominal axis and having the nominal cross-section can gradually be produced in front of the working pipe (1).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterised in that a rail system (2) which is disposed in the working pipe and extends parallel to the axis (4) thereof is provided as the guide device, and the frame (7) is mounted slidably in the rail system (2).

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the working unit (3) comprises a working head (14) which carries the working tool (15) and which is movable about two axes (11, 13) perpendicular to each other and to the working pipe axis (4).

4. Device according to claim 3, characterised in that the frame (7) comprises an open ring mount (9) which is rotatable about an axis of rotation (11) intersecting with the working pipe axis (4) perpendicularly, and the working head (14) is mounted in the ring mount (9) so as to pivot about a pivot axis (13) which intersects with the working pipe axis (4) and the axis of rotation (11) perpendicularly.

5. Device according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the drive elements each contain a piston and cylinder assembly (18, 19) for rotating the ring amount (9) and for pivoting the working head (14).

6. Device according to claim 5, characterised in that the piston and cylinder assembly (18) is linked to the frame (7) and the working head (14) for pivoting the working head (14).

7. Device according to claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the piston and cylinder assembly (19) is linked to the frame (7) and the ring mount (9) for rotating the ring mount (9).

8. Device according to one or more of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the working tool (15) is mounted on the working unit (3) so as to allow easy changing.

9. Device according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the effective external cross-section of the working tool (15) is smaller than half the internal cross-section of the working pipe (1).

10. Device according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that in the working pipe (1) and beneath the working unit (3) is provided a mechanical conveying device for removing the material loosened by the working tool (15).

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