Patent ID: 6474931
Filing Date: 2002-11-05
Classification: B65G,E21B

Abstract:
A horizontal directional drilling machine comprising:a magazine for holding a plurality of elongated rods, the magazine including a plurality of columns in which the rods are held, each of the columns having a separate bottom opening; a rotational driver for driving rods into the ground; a feed member for feeding the rods to and from the magazine, the feed member including at least one upwardly opening pocket sized for receiving a rod, the feed member being moveable from a retracted position in which the pocket is located beneath the magazine to a staging position in which the pocket is laterally offset from the magazine in a direction toward the rotational driver; and a lift unit for loading the magazine by lifting the rods from the pocket of the feed member up through the bottom openings of the columns, the lift unit including a first portion that extends beneath all of the columns of the magazine and a second portion that projects laterally outward from beneath the columns to adjacent the staging position, the lift unit being moveable to lift a rod held at the staging position by the feed member to a location above the feed member; and a retaining structure for retaining a rod on the second portion of the lift unit.