Patent ID: 8186925

Claim:
A drilling system comprising a drilling mast which is to be associated with drill string located in a bore hole and a drill rod handling device which in use is intended to be mounted adjacent the drilling mast, the drill rod handling device comprising: a base adapted to be supported from the drill rig; a movable clamp coupled to the base, the moveable clamp being configured to grasp a drill rod from a first, storage position with a first orientation; a first drive for rotating the moveable clamp about a first axis that is parallel and offset from the drill rod when grasped in the moveable clamp; a second drive for rotating the moveable clamp about a second axis to move the drill rod from the first orientation toward a vertical orientation and into a second orientation; a third drive for rotating the moveable clamp about a third axis to move the drill rod into a second, drilling position while maintaining the drill rod in the second orientation, the third axis being parallel and offset from the drill rod when in the second orientation, wherein when the drill rod is in the second orientation the third axis is parallel and offset from the first axis and when the drill rod is in the first orientation the third axis is transverse to the first axis.