Abstract:
A drilling rig is constructed into modules for ease of mounting and removing from the bed of a vehicle such as a truck and includes a sled module that horizontally moves the drill fore and aft of the bed, and an integrated boom support tower that includes platens that pivotally mount the boom for storing and deployment. The controls are mounted on the support tower in a convenient location for ease of operating the drill.

Description:
DESCRIPTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     This invention relates to drilling rigs intended for use in drilling into the ground and particularly to a drill rig configuration and the construction thereof. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     As is well know by those skilled in this technology that the small drill rigs that are utilized for drilling into the ground in depths of 20-100 feet are typically built from component parts that are added to a truck bed or other type of vehicle. This type of drilling rig is generally used in geothechnical investigations, preliminary site investigations, building pad borings, densities and certification, site improvement, roadway and underground utilities, test pits, excavations, pilings, etc. The units generally comprise a boom, a boom support, a sled that moves rectilinear relative to the truck bed, the gasoline engine, the hydraulics (lines and control levers), the auger that is mounted to the boom and controls for rotating the auger at finite speeds and the other components incidental to this technology. The method in which these units are made is by combining these elements in a step-by step fashion until a satisfactory unit is erected. The drill rig typically is made in much the same way that an item is put together by an erector set, namely, each element is added to the assembly until completed. Typically, for example, the gasoline engine is located in the vicinity and the controls therefor are typically located adjacent thereto. The boom is generally attached to a platen that is attached to the main support structure. The problem with these heretofore known drill rig is that they are is expensive and time consuming to erect. And if a sub-assembly is not located probably or is not structurally sufficient, the unit fails or requires undue amount of maintenance. 
     I have found that I can obviate these problems enumerated above by building the unit in a modular manner so that the sled is formed as an integral unit and the boom support, control system attached to the boom support are all attached to the sled as an integral unit. This assures that the major components are matched and the structural integrity is achieved prior to being attached to the bed of a truck or other moving vehicle. Moreover, the entire can be removed from the truck bed to free-up the truck so that it can be used for other purposes when the drill rig is not being used. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of this invention is to provide a drill rig that is made in modular sections that can be mounted on the bed of a light truck or other type of vehicle and can easily be removed therefrom. 
     A feature of this invention is that the boom support is made as an integral unit with the sled of the drill rig and is an integral unit that supports the boom that serves to facilitate the mounting and removal of the boom and the auger for ease of assembly and maintenance thereof. 
     A still further feature of this invention is the drill rig is configured to include all of the controls for operating the piston engine and power units of the drill rig and is judiciously mounted on one of the faces of the boom support structure. 
     Another feature of this invention is that its weight is relatively light, its size is relatively compact and it is inexpensive to fabricate and assemble. 
     The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a view in elevation and schematic illustrating this invention being mounted in the stored position on the bed of a utility truck; 
     FIG. 2 is a view identical to the view depicted in FIG. 1 with the auger and boom in the deployed position. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the sled module and boom module in perspective illustrating the details of this invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the assembled drill rig of this invention mounted on the bed of a truck; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial view in elevation and schematic illustrating the interface between the boom and the tower support module; 
     FIG. 6 is an end view of the sled and boom module; and 
     FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating the control panels of this invention. 
    
    
     These figures merely serve to further clarify and illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope thereof. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     While this invention describes in the preferred embodiment the drill rig mounted on the bed of a light haul truck, it will be appreciated that it is contemplated that the drill rig of this invention can be mounted on any type of vehicle that has the space for holding the hardware. As will be understood by those skilled in this technology the hydraulic pistons, motors and controls therefor are all commercially available items and the details thereof will be omitted from this description for the sake of convenience and simplicity. 
     The invention can best be understood by referring to all the figures illustrating the details of this invention comprised of the drilling rig generally indicated by reference numeral  10  having a boom  12  a boom support generally indicated by reference numeral  14  and sled generally indicated by reference numeral  16  mounted on the bed  15  of the light haul truck  17 . As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the drilling rig  10  is fabricated in modular construction which consist essentially of the first module  22  consisting of the sled  16 , the boom support  14  the gasoline engine  18  and its attendant components hereinafter referred to as the sled module and the second module  24  of the boom  12  and its attendant components herein after referred to as the boom module. 
     This portion of the description will first describe the sled module and boom module. As seen in FIG. 3 sled includes a pair of C-shaped tracks  26  suitably attached, say by welding, to the cross bars  28  that traverse the tracks  26  and extend beyond. Drilled holes  30  are discretely located in the cross bars and serve to receive suitable nut and bolt assemblies  19  (FIG. 6) that serve to attach the tracks to the bed  15  of the truck  17 . A transverse back support bar  36  is suitably attached, say by welding, to the ends of the tracks  26 . The hydraulic piston  38  has one end attached to a lug extending from the back bar (not shown) via clevis  40  and the other end is attached to the sliding sled portion  42  that will be described immediately below. As is apparent from the drawings and the foregoing, the tracks  26  are parallelly spaced and serve to support the sled portion  42  for rectilinear movement. Grease mountings  36  are located axially along the tracks to assure that the sled is well lubricated. The opposite end of the hydraulic piston  38  is mounted via clevis  45  to the lug  44  that is suitably attached, say by welding, to the cross bar  46  of the parallelly spaced rails  48  of the sled portion  40 . The rails  48 , which are rectangularly shaped beams that fit into the channel of the c-shaped tracks  26  for slidable motion and are supported thereby. Obviously, actuating the hydraulic piston  38  serves to move the sled portion  40  fore and aft. (All the hydraulic pistons are similarly mounted using a lug, a clevis and an axle/cotter pin or nut/bolt assembly, which are commercially available and standard fittings). 
     The boom support  14  consist of a generally box-like three sided frame  50  affixed to the rails  48  that support the tower generally referenced with numeral  52  which, in turn, support the boom as will be described in detail hereinbelow. Tower  52  is formed from a pair of A-frame members  54  having suitable cross brackets  56 , the number of which depends on the particular size and weight of the boom. Of importance in the tower  52  is the pair of L-shaped parallelly spaced platens  60  that are integrally formed with the tower and preferably the tower and platens are formed as an integral unit. Each of the platens  60  include an upstanding portion  62  at the top end having drilled holes  64  having a common axis for accepting suitable axles that serve to support the boom for rotary motion. A pair of axles  66  fit into these holes  64  and are held into position by nuts suitably threaded to threads formed at the opposite ends of the axle and serve to support the bifurcated bracket or yoke  68  that is suitably attached to the boom  12  which will be described in more detail herein below. The bifurcated bracket or yoke  68  carries a pair of downwardly extending spaced portions  69  that are dimensioned to fit between the upstanding portions  62  and are disposed so that the outer faces lies adjacent thereto. Complementary holes  63  formed in each of the downwardly projecting portions  69  and have a common axis aligned with the holes  64  when assembled. Bushings  72  are inserted into the holes  64  for supporting the axles  66  to assure that the boom  12  is free to rotate and assume the stored and deployed positions. By virtue of this invention, the boom mounted as described immediately above eliminates the necessity of utilizing ball or roller bearings, which were heretofore required and as consequence reduces the overall cost of the unit, without sacrificing longevity and maintenance of the unit. 
     As best seen in FIGS. 1,  2  and  3  the boom  12  is fabricated from an H-shaped beam  80  and the outer face  82  defines a flat surface suitably adapted to support the yoke  68  and affixed thereto by a suitable means, such as welding. The boom supports the bracket or drill sled  82  that supports the hydraulic motor  84  which in turn, supports the auger/drill bit  86 . The chain  88  that is fitted around the toothed pulleys or sprocket gears  90  and  92  is driven by the hydraulic motor  94  affixed to the top of the boom  12  and serves to raise and lower drill sled  82  which, in turn, raises and lowers the auger/drill bit  86 . The hydraulic motor  84  serves to rotate the auger/drill bit  86  and the RPM (revolutions per minute) are finitely adjustable. 
     The hydraulic piston  96  has one end attached to the bracket  99  suitably affixed to the A-frame boom support and the other end attached to the lug  98  via the clevis  100  for causing the boom to rotate about the axles  66  for deploying the boom and placing it in the stored position. A brace  101  may be included to allow the boom to rest thereon in the stored position. 
     Another aspect of this invention is that the drill rig is configured so that all the controls are grouped together and supported to the boom support. Since these heretofore known drilling rigs were constructed in piece-meal fashion, the controls for the hydraulic motors, hydraulic pistons and gasoline piston engine would have their individual controls and the controls tended to be located in proximity to the particular machinery being operated. For example, the gasoline piston engine would typically be mounted on the flat bed at any given location and the controls would remain on the engine. In this configuration, because of the modular construction, all the controls lend themselves to be mounted to the boom support  14 . As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7 to this end the shelf  106  is affixed to one side of the A-frame  54  and supports all of the control handles for operating the various power units of the drilling rig. The handles for the various hydraulic units are mounted on the shelf  106 , and are configured to allow the operator to conveniently operate the drilling rig. While the number of and location of the control handles are dictated by the particular requirements of the drilling rig, for example the handle  110  serves to operate a well known commercially available cat head (not shown as this is an option that can be utilized with the drilling rig), handle  112  and  114  controls the footer  115  which is also a well known device that lowers to the ground to support the truck bed, handle  116  controls the position of the sled, handles  118  deploys and stores the boom  12 , handle  120  controls another footer (not shown), handle  122  controls the up and down position of the drill sled, handle  124  controls the rotational speed of the auger/drill bit. 
     Also according to this invention the control panel  136  for the gasoline piston engine is likewise mounted to the A-frame  54  for a convenient and efficient location for the operator. The control panels supports the controls for the gasoline piston engine  18  which can be any suitable commercial engine similar to those typically used for lawn mowers or other garden machinery. This panel includes the ignition lock  126 , the throttle lever  128 , the choke  130  and suitable gauges and lights, as needed. 
     While not an important aspect of this invention, the hydraulic liquid tank  140  may be mounted to the rear end of the truck bed  15 , as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 and the gasoline tank (not shown) for the gasoline piston engine  18  may be attached to the A-frame  52  of the boom support. In operation the gasoline engine  18  is actuated which, in turn, drives the hydraulic pumps (not shown) for pressurizing the hydraulic fluid lines which is then utilized for powering the hydraulic pistons and the hydraulic motors all of which are well known devices and the details thereof are omitted herefrom for the sake of simplicity and convenience. 
     What has been shown by this invention is a modular constructed drilling rig that allows for the easy assembly and disassembly of the drilling rig from the supporting moving vehicle, that is characterized as simple and convenient to operate and less costly to construct in comparison to heretofore known drilling rig assemblies. Also, because of the modular construction of the drilling rig, the size, in terms of horse power, of the truck is held to a minimum. 
     Although this invention has been shown and described with respect to detailed embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention.