Patent ID: 11867056
Assignee: THE TORO COMPANY
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E | IPC E

Claim 0:
1. An underground directional drill comprising:
a frame;
a drill spindle operably connected to the frame;
a pipe rack operably connected to the frame; and
a pipe loading frame operably connected to the frame, wherein the pipe loading frame is movable between a manual loading position and a drill string position, and wherein a pipe positioned within the pipe loading frame maintains continuous contact with the pipe loading frame during movement of the pipe loading frame between the manual loading position and the drill string position, the pipe loading frame further comprising:
a first pipe receiver; and
a second pipe receiver, the first pipe receiver and the second pipe receiver each defining a primary axis, wherein the primary axes of the first and second pipe receivers are coaxially aligned when the pipe loading frame is in the manual loading position, and are coaxially misaligned when the pipe loading frame is in the drill string position,

wherein the pipe loading frame, when in the manual loading position, is adapted to receive the pipe from a position outside of the pipe rack, and when in the drill string position, is adapted to position the pipe in coaxial alignment with the drill spindle.