Patent ID: 6068426
Filing Date: 2000-05-30
Classification: E21B,F16L

Abstract:
A method of connecting a section of buried main conduit, said buried main conduit being buried in the ground, to a secondary conduit, comprising the steps of:digging a starting pit and a finishing pit, the starting pit having a certain length and being dug to a depth at least until a section of said buried main conduit is cleared, and the finishing pit being dug to at least the same depth as the starting pit;providing a drilling device including a plurality of drilling rod elements to be arranged end to end along an axis thereby constituting a train of drilling rods having a common axis and suitable for being pushed forward through the ground in a drilling direction to create a borehole between said pits;lowering said device into the starting pit, said drilling rod elements being selected to have individual axial lengths shorter than the length of said starting pit in the direction of drilling;positioning the axis of said drilling rod train so as to drill said borehole substantially horizontally and transverse to said main conduit, at a position a predetermined distance from said main conduit;laterally gripping said drilling rod train with laterally disposed gripping means;simultaneously pushing and rotating said gripping means, thereby pushing and rotating said drilling rod train substantially along said axis formed connecting said starting and finishing pits;passing said secondary conduit through said borehole such that one end of said secondary conduit is positioned above the starting pit in which said main conduit section is exposed;fixing to said one end of said secondary conduit a first section of a branch connector;lowering said branch connector into said starting pit;fixing a second section of said branch connector to said main conduit in said starting pit; andclosing up said pits.