Patent Publication Number: US-9850111-B2

Title: Device for supporting and guiding supplying lines for digging devices

Description:
This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/616,605, filed Sep. 14, 2012 and entitled “Supporting and Guiding Device for Feeding Lines for Digging Tools”, which claims priority to Italy Application Number TO2011A 000832, filed Sep. 16, 2011, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     The present invention refers to a device for supporting and guiding supplying lines, for example made up of hydraulic oil circuits and/or of the possible electrical equipment, for a digging device, to be mounted, preferably, on a crane, rope excavators or drilling machine, for making diaphragms or screens in the ground. 
     It is known that, in the field of drilling in the ground, in particular that of diaphragms, usually digging devices are used that move by means of a rope lifting device. 
     In the case of hydromills, which are machines that are normally used to make diaphragms, it is necessary to move a series of supplying lines, like for example hydraulic oil pipes, cables for the electrical equipment and the control, generally also inserted inside hydraulic pipes, or in any case, equipped with constructive provisions so as to be compatible with the construction site. 
     Said pipes and cables, are wound around a drum of a winder which, when rotating, collects or unwinds them, according to the necessary movements required by the excavation. 
     For great depths, indicatively deeper than 100 m, the length and the weight of the pipes have considerable values, making it necessary for them to be guided and supported, both to prevent them from becoming entangled during ascent and descent in the excavation, and to prevent an excessive pulling force, generated by their own weight, from creating excessive stretching of the pipes and cables, causing them, in some cases, to unwonted break. Indeed, if said pipes and cables are too elastic, they do not allow the movement system to be able to react promptly to the winding and unwinding commands, given by the drum of the winch, causing problems to the correct winding. 
     Moreover, again due to their weight, when said pipes are wound around the drum of the winch, every loop of pipe undergoes strong pressure, generated by the weight of all the following loops, on top of it. 
     This ensures that the innermost loop, the one wound directly on the drum with the shortest diameter, is the one subjected to great pressures. 
     In order to allow a fast winding, it is not always possible to make pipes that can withstand said pressures. 
     It is therefore necessary to provide for constraining said pipes to one another, so that they can be wound in a tidy manner, without suffering structural damage, such as crushing, guiding them in a way such as to avoid entangling of the pipes and/or cables themselves when moved. 
     It is known, from European patent EP0518292, for there to be a digging device, for example a hydromill, in which the pipes, for the supplying lines, are kept separated from one another, in a parallel manner, by transversal bars that are fixed along the pipes, at regular intervals; said bars are kept at the right distance by suitably shaped spacers, creating two support branches. 
     The ends of the bars and the shaped spacers are passed through by a rope for each branch. 
     In order to avoid that the spacer elements, wound in the drum, become misaligned, they are equipped with a tooth and with a slot, having a matching shape, so as to couple perfectly when they are wound around the drum. 
     Every shaped spacer, already wound on the drum carries out a guiding function, through the direct coupling between its tooth and the corresponding slot of the spacer which is wound on the drum itself; the latter, in turn, carries out a guiding function for the following one that is wound. 
     When the pipes are laid out inside the excavation, the entire weight of the pipes and of the spacer elements bears down completely on the two lateral ropes. 
     When the weight, weighing down on the ropes, becomes considerable as the digging goes on, it can cause the progressive stretching of the ropes themselves, to the point in which the shaped spacers bundle together, indeed due to their weight, towards the bottom. 
     In this condition, since the spacer elements are no longer guided, they can rotate around the axis of the rope and they can even be arranged in anomalous positions. 
     The rotation of said spacer elements can be caused by the vibrations which are always present when digging, or due to the simple movement of the drilling machine or tool. 
     The rotation of the spacer elements is essentially due to their shape; indeed, said elements have the shape of a parallelepiped without any axial symmetry, thus undergoing twisting moments. 
     Following the rotation of one or more spacer elements, when the pipes are rewound on the drum, it is possible for them to get stuck on the return sheave, thus preventing the rewinding of the pipes themselves. 
     Similarly, in the section going from the drum winder to the return pulley at the top of the arm of the crane, it can occur that the spacer elements, no longer in contact with one another, get closer together after undergoing rotations, taking up an anomalous position. 
     Such an abnormal position prevents the spacers themselves from being arranged in the appropriate configuration, when they are wound in the drum. 
     Moreover, following the rotations, empty spaces can be created between consecutive spacer elements thus complicating, or even preventing, the recovery operation of the pipes through the return sheave. 
     It is moreover known, from European patent EP0708270 for there to be a support chain for a pipe, used for guiding the pipe for discharging mud and debris from the hydromill. In the device, described by European patent EP0708270, the spacer elements or guiding elements of the tube, preferably U-shaped, are passed through by two lateral ropes. 
     In this way the rotation of the guiding elements around the axis of the tube is prevented by the symmetry of the structure, thanks to the presence of the ropes arranged in a specular manner. 
     In the operative configuration in which the pipe is at the bottom of the excavation, at a great depth, the weight bearing down on the two ropes becomes considerable, in relation to the resistance of the ropes themselves. 
     Under the action of this weight the ropes undergo stretching such as to create an empty space, or gap, between the return sheave and the last of the elements for guiding the pipe, since the guiding elements, subject to their own weight, stack up on one another, sliding on the ropes, until they occupy the lowest points. 
     This sliding of the spacer elements is problematic, since it can cause strong vibrations during the recovery of the pipe, and, in some cases, it can cause one or more U-shaped elements, or even the return sheave to break. 
     Finally, from patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,845,154, a device is known that is suitable for guiding and supporting the weight of a group of pipes for supplying lines, for example for a hydromill. 
     Such a device is formed by two branches of chain, connected by transversal bars to the pipes, which are kept at the desired distance by a series of spacer elements, each of which is passed through by at least one pair of ropes. 
     Usually, in the state of the art existing before this patent, every branch was made up of a single main rope, inserted in the main hole, with a support function. 
     Said patent attempts to solve the problem of the rotation of the spacer elements when the rope is wound on the drum, or when the branch is suspended vertically along the excavation. 
     As described in the patent, it is possible, in order to avoid this problem, to insert in every branch a second rope in a suitable hollow housing, so as to avoid the rotation of the elements. 
     This second rope, due to its function, is always thinner than the main rope since it does not support any suspension or support load. 
     Said second rope also passes through all the spacer elements comprised in the branch. 
     In this case a further problem of alignment and spacing of the spacer elements arises, due to the fact that under the great weight of the pipes and of all the hanging parts, the two ropes absorb axial loads in inverse proportion to their rigidity. 
     The maximum stretching, that the two ropes will undergo, will in any case be associated only to that of the support rope. 
     In the situation of stretching of the absorption ropes, the second rope, the thinner one, is slow, giving the possibility to the spacer elements of rotating around the hole corresponding to the axis of the support rope. 
     Moreover, said solution does not solve the aforementioned problem of the stacking downwards of all the spacers present in the branches which go from the winding drum to the upper pulley on the crane arm. 
     This last patent, moreover, does not solve the problem of the repeated lowering into the excavation, in the case of the progressive stretching of the rope and stacking downwards of the spacer elements, due to their specific weight. 
     The present invention proposes to solve the aforementioned problems by making a guiding device for supplying pipes for a hydromill in which the spacer elements substantially remain close to one another, when the ropes are stressed more during operation, so as to prevent the formation of empty spaces between them. 
     Said spacer elements prevent the rotation around themselves, so as to be arranged in a correct predetermined position. 
     One aspect of the present invention concerns a device for supporting and guiding supplying lines for digging devices with the characteristics of the attached claim  1 . 
     The accessory characteristics are shown in the attached dependent claims. 
    
    
     
       The characteristics and the advantages of the device for supporting and guiding, according to the present invention, shall become clearer from the following description and from the attached figures which respectively illustrate: 
         FIG. 1 , illustrates an overall view of a drilling machine for diaphragms, with a digging tool equipped with cutting wheels, on which a hydraulic supplying line is installed, comprising the supporting and guiding device, according to the present invention; 
         FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D  show three-dimensional views of spacers, wherein  FIG. 2A  is a longitudinal section view of the spacer to be inserted in a support branch,  FIG. 2B  is a plan view from above of the spacer of  FIG. 2A ,  FIG. 2C  is a side view of the spacer of  FIG. 2A ,  FIG. 2D  illustrates a front view of the spacer according to the present invention, respectively; 
         FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C  show, in different views, a support branch of the device, respectively:  FIG. 3A  illustrates a perspective view of a portion of a support branch,  FIG. 3B  illustrates a side view of two branches one on top of the other on a winder;  FIG. 3C  illustrates a section view of the branches of  FIG. 3B ; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an overall front view of the device according to the present invention, comprising two support branches, pipes and crosspieces; 
         FIGS. 5A, 5B  show different views of the spacers, respectively:  FIG. 5A  shows a plan view from above of a spacer in a first embodiment with detachable hooks,  FIG. 5B  illustrates a plan view from above of a spacer in a second embodiment with detachable hooks; 
         FIG. 6 , illustrates a plan view from above of two spacer elements that can be coupled in a further alternative embodiment; 
         FIGS. 7A, 7B  show a plan view from above of three coupled elements in a further embodiment different to those shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIGS. 8A, 8B  show a cross-section view of a variant of the spacer element of  FIG. 7B . 
     
    
    
     With reference to the mentioned figures the device for supporting and guiding supplying lines  2  illustrated is intended to be used in combination with a digging tool  15 , for example equipped with cutting wheels  17  arranged below the frame. 
     Said tool  15  is mounted on a drilling machine  1 , preferably for making diaphragms, typically a rope or crane excavator, or a tracked drilling machine with a vertical turret. 
     Said drilling machine  1  is, preferably, formed by an undercarriage  11  surmounted by a rotating turret  12  and by a lattice boom  13 . 
     Said device for supplying lines  2  is formed by at least one support branch  4 , like for example shown in  FIG. 4 , formed by a plurality of spacer elements  3 , in which a rope or tie-rod  16  is inserted in at least one housing  31  comprised in said spacer  3  and by at least one supplying pipe  22 , for such at least one line  2 , that is suitable for carrying out both a support function of the weight of the device, according to the present invention, which is downstream of the branch section  4 , and the function of keeping the spacers  3  aligned. 
     Each pair of adjacent spacers ( 3 ,  300 ,  301 ,  302 ), comprises retaining means. Such retaining means comprise at least one retaining element or hook  34 , associated to a first spacer of said pair of adjacent spacers ( 3 ,  300 ,  301 ,  302 ) and at least one slot  35 , having a shape substantially matching the shape of said retaining element or hook  34 , associated to a second spacer of said pair of adjacent spacers ( 3 ,  300 ,  301 ,  302 ). 
     Said at least one retaining element or hook  34 , of each retaining means, during use, engages with said at least one slot  35 , allowing a relative axial movement, in the longitudinal direction of the rope  16 , of a predetermined amount, such as to prevent said pair of adjacent spacers ( 3 ,  300 ,  301 ,  302 ) from moving away from one another, higher than a predetermined value as well. 
     In the preferred, non limiting, embodiment, each spacer  3 , comprises at least one retaining element or hook  34  and at least one slot  35 , having a substantially matching shape with the shape of the hook  34 . 
     Preferably, said hook  34  substantially projects along the longitudinal axis of the housings  31 , with respect to the box-shaped body of the spacer  3 ; whereas, said slot  35  is, preferably, formed in the box-shaped body of the spacer  3  as visible in  FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 5A, 5B and 6 . 
     As visible in the aforementioned figures, said at least one retaining element or hook  34  and at least one slot  35  are arranged on opposite faces of the same spacer  3 . 
     For the purposes of the present invention, by box-shaped body of the spacer  3  we mean the block, preferably monolithic, of the spacer  3  where at least one housing  31  is located, from which the various components comprised in said spacer  3  itself project. 
     Said at least one hook  34 , during use, engages with said slot  35  of at least one adjacent spacer  3 . 
     For the purposes of the present invention by the term slot  35  having a substantially matching shape, we mean a slot  35  having a shape such as to house such hook  34  while leaving a predetermined clearance. 
     Said at least one hook  34  is essentially formed by at least one elongated part and by at least one mechanical abutment or tooth  341 . The elongated parts embrace the adjacent spacer  3 ′, whereas, the mechanical abutment  341  engages in the corresponding slot  35 ′ of the adjacent coupled spacer  3 ′. 
     The hooks  34 , in this first non-limiting embodiment, are arranged at the sides of the box-shaped body of the spacer  3 , keeping the transversal sizes of the spacer  3  substantially unchanged. 
     A further embodiment, not illustrated, is provided with hooks  34  that lie on an upper and lower plane instead of on the lateral ones. The area used for the tooth  341  will have in this case a transversal development and the slot  35  will thus have a horizontal direction. 
     Said at least one supplying pipe  22 , contains for example hydraulic pipes and/or electrical cables for transmitting signals and/or power. 
     The supporting and guiding device comprises cross-connection elements or crosspieces  42 , that are suitable for supporting the supplying pipes  22 , connected to said at least one branch  4 . 
     Said at least one pipe  22 , when the lengths are great so as to reach the greatest depths, is divided into elements with a predetermined length, in relation to the length size, with which they are manufactured. The length of each pipe element  22  can be moreover influenced by the modularity, so as to obtain the end lengths as combinations of smaller lengths, by the transportation conditions of the pipes  22 , themselves or by the cost-effectiveness of the overall solution. 
     On average it is possible to obtain, from pipe elements  22  with variable lengths, from 20 m to 60 m, pipes  22  for supplying lines  2  that are suitable for reaching depths from 100 m to 300 m. The electric cable, placed inside the tube  22 , can be made as a single piece, or be divided into the single sections equal to the number of pipe elements  22 . 
     Said crosspieces  42 , comprised in the supporting and guiding device, are suitably separated by a plurality of spacers  3 . 
     Said crosspieces  42  comprise at least one seat, preferably having a cylindrical shape, suitable for holding the pipes  22 . Said seats, in one non-limiting embodiment, are preferably spaced at equal distances from one another, in a way such as to create a tidy array of pipes  22  also substantially equally spaced apart. Said crosspieces  42  are advantageously made like a clamp, or pincer that can be opened and can be mounted on the rope  16  even when this has already passed in all the spacers  3 . 
     In the embodiment of each branch  4 , at every spacer  3  the rope  16  is inserted through the suitable housings  31 . 
     In the detail illustrated in  FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 6 , each hook  34  of a spacer  3  is positioned inside the slot  35 ′ of the following spacer  3 ′, and in turn the hooks  34 ″ of the previous spacer  3 ″ are housed in its own slots  35 . 
     In one non limiting embodiment of the present invention, the drilling machine  1 , illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a sheave  14  is preferably mounted on the lattice boom  13 , which returns one or more pipes  22 , for the supplying lines  2 , in which hydraulic pipelines and/or at least one electrical wire run. 
     The device for supporting and guiding supplying lines  2 , is suitable for connecting said drilling machine  1  to the digging tool  15 , which is moved by a winder  21 , preferably motorized, which is installed on board of the rotating turret  12 . 
     As an alternative to the machine illustrated in  FIG. 1  it is possible to use a classic drilling machine with a vertical turret, as a replacement of the lattice boom  13 . Moreover, the winder  21  could, in an alternative embodiment, be fixed to a suitable fixed or mobile means which is placed in a predetermined configuration with respect to the machine, so that the supplying lines  2  can move and wind regularly. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3A , for each spacer  3 , the dimension of each slot  35  is such as to allow the previous spacer  3 ″ to move away from the spacer  3  in the longitudinal direction of the rope  16 , within predetermined values. When such a predetermined value has been reached, the hook  34 ″ abuts against an inner face of said slot  35 , thus preventing further movement of the two spacers away from one another. 
     Each spacer  3  of said branch  4 , in a first non-limiting embodiment, comprises at least one projection  32  and at least one recess  33 , having matching shapes with one another. 
     Said projection  32  and said recess  33 , arranged on faces that are opposite one another, preferably on the upper and lower faces, are suitable for collaborating to keep the spacers  3  fixedly attached when the branch  4  is wound on the drum  21  of the winder. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D , each spacer  3  comprises two protuberances  32 , having a triangular vertical section, arranged at the ends of a face of the spacer  3  and just as many matching recesses  33 . The two projections  32  and the two recesses  33  are arranged symmetrically with respect to the middle plane, as visible in  FIG. 2B , contributing to keeping the size of the spacer  3  as small as possible. Differently from the conventional solutions with a single tooth and single groove arranged on the plane of symmetry, this solution with two protuberances and two recesses prevents weakening the spacer  3  around the through housing  31 . 
     When the branch  4  is wound on the drum winder  21 , the projections  32  of the spacers  3  present on a given layer, engage with the grooves of the spacers on the following layer. In such a way, the winding of the supporting and guiding device occurs in a tidy manner, thus preventing, for example, the central section of the branch  4  between the two crosspieces  42 , from resting on the pipes  22 , causing the crushing or the wrong positioning of the parts being wound. 
     In one embodiment that has not been illustrated, the spacer  3  comprises many teeth  32  and many recesses  33  arranged on the suitable faces, in a way such as to increase the properties of supporting and guiding of the device, according to the present invention during the winding. 
     One variant of the spacer  3  that has not been illustrated comprises the projections  32  and the recesses  33  on the lateral arched faces, laterally with respect to the through housing  31 . 
     In general, the shapes of said at least one slot  35  and of said at least one hook  34  of each single spacer  3 , are such that the clearance existing between every hook  34  and the respective slot  35  allows the branch  4  to bend, taking up a predetermined minimum radius of curvature, as illustrated in  FIGS. 3B and 3C . 
     The coupling of such a slot  35  and hook  34  allows the branch  4  to be able to bend in a preferential plane that is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the drum winder  21 . As visible in  FIG. 3A , the hooks  34  embrace the adjacent spacer  3  and engage in the respective slots  35 . 
     This indeed allows the guiding and supporting device according to the present invention, to be wound on said drum  21  with a circular section. 
     As illustrated for example in  FIG. 2C , said slot  35  takes up two inclined profiles in a specular manner with respect to the longitudinal axis of the through housing  31 , so as to allow a bending of the branch  4 . In particular, said slot  35  is a groove that is open on both sides facilitating the mounting of the coupled retaining element or hook  34 ″, allowing the correct relative mobility between two adjacent spacers when the branch  4  is inflected. 
     The transversal height size of the hook  34 , are smaller than the transversal height size of the box-shaped body of the spacer. In such a way, when the spacer  3  takes up a rotated configuration due to the winding on the drum  21 , the bulk of the hook  34  remains inside the contour of the upper curved surface lying on the upper planes of the spacer elements  3  of a winding. Or rather, since the hook  34  is proportionally lower with respect to the overall height of the spacer  3 , in relation to the minimum radius of curvature on the winder, and consequently with respect to the rotation angle induced on the element, it is obtained that in every wound configuration, said hook  34  does not project beyond the upper plane of the elements belonging to a winding layer. The shape of the hook  34  makes it possible to avoid jamming, interferences, wearing or concentrated points of stress when the following layer is wound on them. 
     As visible in  FIG. 3B , in the winding on the drum  21 , every hook  34  is positioned at the box-shaped bodies of the spacer  3  arranged in the previous and following loop. Moreover, in such an embodiment, the compression forces, caused by the layers of the supporting device subsequently wound on the drum  21 , bear down on strong areas of the spacer  3 , like for example the box-shaped body of the spacer  3  itself, preventing said forces from acting on the teeth  34  of the spacers  3 . 
     Normally, during use, when the loads are small, two adjacent spacers  3  are in contact. The contact between the spacers occurs on the inner faces on which said at least one through housing  31  lies, suitable for the passing of the support rope  16 , more clearly visible in the section of  FIG. 3C . These contact faces are, preferably, rounded so as to allow the bending of the branch  4  and its winding around the drum  21  of the winder. 
       FIG. 2C  illustrates the spacer  3  in a side view, which clearly shows the curved lateral surface, near the slot  35  of the spacer element  3 . Since the branch  4  must pass from the rectilinear configuration to the curved configuration when wound on the winder  21 , it therefore comprises spacers  3  having a surface like that represented, so as to generate a free rotation around an axis that is perpendicular to the axis of the rope  16 , between the contiguous elements and a correct coupling between the various spacers  3 . 
     Said faces of the spacers  3  have shapes such as to ensure a coupling, for example they can both be convex, or matching: one convex and the adjacent one concave, or again one convex and the adjacent one flat for example, the lateral faces of the spacer  3  passed through by the housings  31 , are arched so as to ensure the possibility of rotating around the middle plane of the spacer  3  itself. 
     When on the other hand the branch  4 , during use, undergoes a heavy load such that the spacers tend to move away from one another, the hook  34  and the slot  35  come into contact in such a way that two adjacent spacers  3  do not move away from each other excessively. 
     Indeed, during operation the loads applied to the branch  4  ensure that the supporting rope  16  stretches out and that the spacers  3  tend to move away from one another. In this device, the hooks  34  and the respective slots  35  of two adjacent spacers come into abutment with one another and prevent both an excessive movement away and a relative rotation, even of a few degrees, differently from what happens in conventional devices previously described. 
     The bending of the branch  4  in the other two directions can be completely prevented, or be very  15  limited. Indeed, there can be small clearances in the coupling between the slots  35  and the hooks  34  of a spacer  3  and of those that come before/after it ( 3 ′,  3 ″) such as to allow the branch  4  to have small deviations in its path from the drum winder  21  to the digging tool  15 . 
     In particular, the shape of the slots  35  and of the hooks  34  comprised in the spacers  3  are designed so as to avoid an even partial relative rotation, between two adjacent spacers  3  around the axis of the rope  16 , even when this rope  16  is stressed during the operative steps of the operating machine  1 , for example due to the involved loads. 
     The shape of said at least one hook  34  partly winds at least one side of at least one adjacent spacer  3 , in order to abut against said slot  35 , thus preventing pivoting around the axis of the rope  16  of the spacers  3 . As visible in  FIG. 3A , the hooks  34  embrace the adjacent spacer  3  and engage in the respective slots  35 . 
     In such a way, the two adjacent spacers  3  are prevented from taking up an abnormal position, warding off possible breaking and jamming during the of the digging tool  15 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, said at least one retaining element or hook  34  is made at the same time as the spacer, obtaining a monolithic block. 
     Such a monolithic spacer  3  is made for example, through a mould, or through fusion, or, alternatively, it is made through mechanical machining. 
     In the embodiment of  FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D  the spacer  3  is equipped with two hooks  34  and with two slots  35 . 
     In  FIG. 2B  it is visible how the hooks  34  and the slots  35 , made to be suitably coupled are specular with respect to the plane of symmetry of the spacer  3 . 
     In the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , said at least one retaining element or hook  34  and said slot  35  are removable or dismountable, in a rigid manner, being able to be installed subsequently to the making of the box-shaped body of the spacer  3 . 
     Said hook  34  is fixed with a forced rigid mechanical connection like for example coupling with pressure, grooves, gluing, or with removable mechanical connections such as screws, pins, etc. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5A  said hooks  34  are fixed to the box-shaped body of the spacer positioned through screws  342 , which are positioned perpendicular to the axis of the housing  31 . 
       FIG. 5B , illustrates an embodiment in which the slot  35  is made by fixing a plate  351  to the substantially “C”-shaped box-shaped body of the spacer  3  through said screws  342 , arranged parallel with respect to the axis of the housing  31 . 
     Such an embodiment makes it possible to obtain the hooks  34  and the slots  35  with a different material with respect to that of the box-shaped body of the spacer  3 , for example a more resistant material, without increasing the overall weight of the spacer itself. In such a way the branch  4  can advantageously support a greater load. 
     The number of spacers  3 , comprised in the supporting and guiding device, therefore, depends on the depth of the excavation which is to be carried out, on the number of crosspieces  42  installed and on the mounting pitch of the latter. 
     Preferably, the device, according to the present invention, comprises two support branches  4  that are kept equally spaced by a plurality of crosspieces  42 , connected to them. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the spacers  3  of each branch  4  are provided with a through housing  31  for the rope  16  to pass through, for example a hole. 
     Advantageously, the through housing  31 , where the rope  16  is inserted, has a tapered shape with maximum opening towards the outside, in a way such as to prevent the rope  16  from coming into contact with the outermost corner of the housing  31 , once the branch  4  is wound on the winder  21 , rotating with respect to the previous configuration. In detail, the optimal angle of aperture of the housings  31  is, for example, of between 4° and 15°, where 5° is the preferred value. 
     In the preferred embodiment, said through housing  31  is arranged at the centre of the spacer  3  itself, at an axis of symmetry of the spacer  3 .  FIG. 2A  illustrates one of the spacers  3  on the lateral faces of which there is a through housing  31 , advantageously made with a diameter that is slightly greater than the diameter of the rope  16 , conically flared towards the end edges. The spacer  3 , in this preferred embodiment, is equipped with a plane of symmetry and the axis of the through housing  31  is contained in said plane. 
     In an alternative embodiment of the spacers  3 , illustrated in  FIG. 6  these comprise, on the lateral faces, at least two through housings  31 , for example holes or slots, which are used for passing through the rope or tie-rod  16 . Such a spacer  3  is equipped with at least one plane of symmetry, in which said two through housings  31 , are arranged parallel and in a symmetrical manner with respect to the structure of the spacer  3  itself. Said housings  31  are advantageously made with the same diameter. In this case, the hook  34  and the slot  35  are internal with respect to the housings  31  on which the ropes  16  pass. 
     In such an embodiment, one branch  4  of the rope or tie-rod  16  enters from below, passes through all the spacers  3  of the considered portion, passing inside the housings  31  which are on one side of the middle plane, for example the right side, to then turn around a return pulley  41  and pass back through the spacers  3  again in reverse order, passing in the housings  31  on the other side with respect to said plane. 
     The rope  16 , therefore, creates a sort of closed ring, passing at least two times each single spacer  3 . 
     Moreover, the rope  16 , passing through the spacers  3  for at least two times, prevents the spacers from rotating with respect to the predetermined position. 
     The load is distributed on the two sections of rope  16 , allowing a rope  16  with a smaller diameter with respect to the solution with a single rope to be used. 
     The device, according to the present invention, makes it possible to discharge the stress applied on the supply lines  2  on both the sections of rope  16  forming the closed ring. 
     Advantageously, the rope  16  is of the non-rotating type, so as to prevent it during the stretching, in operation, from rotating on itself. Moreover, said rope is advantageously pre-stretched so that the plastic yielding is already present at the moment of first assembly. 
     One first variant of the spacer  3 , not illustrated, is provided with through housings  31  made like semi-open lateral notches. In such an embodiment it is 25 possible to mount the ropes  16  with a lateral inlet, in a facilitated manner. 
     The support rope  16  can undergo a preload, for example generated by the insertion of at least one tensioning element, preferably axial spacer tensioners  43 ,  45 , or additional crosspieces  42  or additional spacer elements  3 . 
     The preloaded rope, advantageously, helps to reduce the cases in which the spacer elements  3  can move away from one another. This indeed occurs only when the overall applied load on the rope  16  is greater than the preload value. 
     The preload value, applied on the rope  16 , is a function of the weight that each branch  4 , or portion thereof, must support, and in particular, of the weight that each portion, of which every branch  4  is constituted, must support. 
     Preferably, the first section of support branch  4 , closest to the winder  21 , is preloaded with a very high preload value and greater with respect to the other portions of branch  4  near to the digging tool  15 ; indeed, such a value decreases when moving towards the digging tool  15 . 
     Both in the case of a preloaded rope  16  and in the case in which the rope  16  is not preloaded, the spacers  3  are almost in direct contact with one another, or at least they have a minimum clearance equal to the predetermined one. The rope  16  used in the device, according to the present invention, is preferably a rope or tie-rod that is in an already pre-stretched state, in which the proportional stretching of a certain axial load is much lower and easier to control. In one variant the ropes  16  passing through the spacer elements represented in  FIG. 6  can be two. The spacer elements  3  themselves can be equipped with teeth  32  and slots  33 , as already indicated in the preferred  30  embodiment. 
     The digging tool  15  is for example a hydromill that can be used for making diaphragms rectangular/parallelogram section, or a tool equally shaped, for example for the mechanical mixing, used in the consolidation methods through the injection of cementing material. One variant of the tools equipped with cutting and mixing wheels, previously described, is provided with excavation of piling screens, made with tools with a vertical rotation axis, with excavation methods with a single or guided hole. 
     Each branch  4  comprises, moreover, end elements ( 50 ,  51 ), that are arranged at the ends of each element or portion of branch  4 . 
     Two contiguous elements, constituting a support branch  4 , are fixed to their contiguous ends, through the end elements  50  or  51 . 
     The connection of the elements constituting a support branch  4  occurs through a jointed element  441  that joins the end elements  50  or  51 . 
     Said jointed element  441  comprises, for example, hinges which allow a relative rotation thereof, which is necessary when the supporting and guiding device is wound in the winder  21 . 
     A second alternative embodiment of the interconnection between the portions constituting a support branch  4  is illustrated in the right branch of  FIG. 4 , where the connection between contiguous elements is formed through the end elements  51  and the jointed element  441 , also connected through pins forming a hinge. 
     Said axial tensioning spacers  45  are especially made with a thickness that is modified with respect to the spacers  3 . 
     These axial tensioning spacers  45  are necessarily open on one side so as to be suitably inserted and embrace the two portions of rope  16 . 
     One method for pre-loading the rope  16  comprises fixing at least one end element  50 ,  51  or at least one cable press  44  of the rope or tie-rod  16 , once the rope  16  itself has been suitably preloaded, by pulling one of the two ends. 
     Preferably, said end elements  50 ,  51  have an equivalent diameter that is greater with respect to the diameter of the rope  16  and of the housings  31  of the spacer  3 . 
     In the end elements  50  or  51 , there is the return pulley  41  that is suitable for allowing the rope  16  to create a closed loop. 
       FIG. 4  shows an overall group of a section of the device according to the present invention, in which there are two support branches  4 , arranged laterally and connected by a plurality of crosspieces  42 . Said crosspieces act as retaining clamps of the pipes  22 , where the hydraulic pipes run and sometimes at least one electrical cable. 
     A plurality of axial tensioning spacers  45  are installed against the crosspieces  42 , so as to create a continuity between the spacers  3  and the crosspieces  42 . 
     One alternative embodiment of the supporting and guiding devices, suitable for low depth excavations, comprises a single support branch  4 , preferably mounted at the centre of the supplying line  2 ; whereas, in the case of greater excavation depths, it is preferable to use at least two branches  4 . 
       FIG. 7A  shows a variant embodiment of the spacers  3  previously described. 
     In the detail there is a first spacer element  301  shaped with at least two retaining elements or hooks  34 , preferably arranged on two opposite faces of said first spacer element  301 . Such a first spacer element  301  is mounted along the support branch  4 , alternately to a second spacer element  300  made up of at least two slots  35 , preferably arranged on two opposite faces of said second spacer element  300 . 
     In such a way said first element  301 , couples with said element  300 , ensuring that its retaining element or hook  34  is inserted, during use in abutment in the slot  35  of the second element  300  that precedes it. Vice versa the first element  301 , couples with the following second element  300 , ensuring that the other retaining element or hook  34  is inserted during use in abutment in the slot  35  of the second element  300  that follows it. 
     The support branch  4  is thus made up of an alternated sequence of first elements  301  and second elements  300  that are equipped with couplings in abutment that are suitable for allowing a relative axial movement, in the longitudinal direction of the rope ( 16 ), of a predetermined amount, such as to prevent the two spacers themselves from moving away from one another, higher than a predetermined value as well. 
     In the variant represented in  FIGS. 7A, 7B  the housings  31  for the ropes  16  are at least two and are positioned at the ends. It should be understood that such a solution can be made like spacers  3  represented in  FIGS. 2A-2D, 3A-3C  or  FIGS. 5A-5B . 
       FIG. 7B  shows a further variant embodiment of the spacers  300  and  301  of  FIG. 7A . The second spacer elements  300  are made up of at least two slots  35  and are mounted along the support branch  4 , alternated to the first spacer elements  302  shaped with at least two retaining elements or hooks  34 , but having longitudinal dimensions that are very compact. 
     This variant make is possible to obtain the spacer elements  302  with highly resistant materials, like for example steel, alloy, or in any case with materials having low specific weight but that are generally more costly, such as aluminum, titanium, carbon fibre, concentrating the maximum stress on this component of the chain and allowing the second elements  300  to be less stressed and geometrically stronger, so as to make them with low-cost materials, like for example steel, cast iron, or lighter ones, like plastic materials. Indeed the lightness is a parameter that determines the size of ropes and consequently all the elements that fit together, and therefore being able to reduce the weight, makes it possible to structurally simplify the retaining elements. 
     An application variant is therefore that through which the spacer elements  3 ,  300 ,  301  are made with floating materials, or box-shaped materials that are empty inside, so as to allow an overall lightening of the supplying line  2  when it is inserted in the hole that is generally filled with liquid, like for example water or thixotropic mixtures. 
     In the variant shown in  FIG. 7B , the compression contact between the spacer elements advantageously occurs between the transversal surfaces of the elements  300  mounted alternately. In the case in which, on the other hand, the contact occurs at the centre, between the abutment element  34  and the internal face of the element  300 , such a central part of the spacer element  300 , could be made with the insertion of hard material so as to ensure a suitable resistance to loads and prevent wearing. 
     In order to prevent the spacer element  302  from also being fixed in a direction perpendicular with respect to the axis of the rope  16  (i.e. in the insertion direction of the couplings during assembly), the abutment elements  341  have at least half-slots open at the edges, as represented in  FIG. 8B , with the function of partially housing the rope  31 , near to the middle plane, so that the rope  16  inserted in the housings  31 , prevents the aforementioned movements. 
     In the variant with a central rope,  FIG. 8A , the spacer element  302  is passed centrally from one housing  31 , in the considered case a hole, so that the rope  16  inserted in it, supports the spacer, allowing it to keep the reciprocal transversal position, with respect to the adjacent elements  300 . 
     The invention proposed makes it possible to solve the main problems that affect the solutions known to this day in the field. In particular, the spacers  3  can never separate from one another since every spacer  3  comprises a retaining element or hook  34  which during use engages with said at least one slot  35  of the adjacent spacer  3 . 
     The spacers  3  and the crosspieces  42 , which are passed through by the rope  16 , have a thickness which is slightly greater than that of the pipes  22 , making it possible to install a winder  21  on board of the machine with smaller dimensions and lower weight, with respect to known solutions. This is possible since the supporting and guiding device, comprising the supply lines  2 , has a minimum thickness, taking up less space when it is wound on the drum of the winder  21 .