Patent ID: 7407343

Claim:
A method of driving a sheet piling that allows continuous force for preloading or extraction of the piling during installation comprising the steps of: providing an elongated bi-directional, hydraulic telescoping boom that creates a controlled downward or upward vertical force, the boom comprising: a) a telescopic lower portion, including a plurality of hydraulic double-acting cylinders for raising the boom from a horizontal to a vertical orientation and an internal hydraulic cylinder for extending and retracting a telescopic segment from a receptacle segment to accommodate differing lengths of sheet piling; b) a middle portion pivotally connected to the telescopic lower portion, the middle portion including a hydraulic double-acting cylinder providing control over the positioning of a modified resonance-free vibratory hammer and providing additional reach to the boom; and c) a free hinged portion having a first end pivotally connected to the middle portion, the free hinged portion being actuated by a hydraulic double-acting cylinder creating the downward or upward force to drive sheet piles; providing a weighted base carrier that vertically supports the boom for counterbalancing a downward or upward, hydraulically-harnessed force from the base carrier through said boom to said sheet piling; providing an articulated connector at a second end of the free hinged portion for connecting the boom to the sheet piling through the modified resonance-free vibratory hammer; connecting the resonance-free vibratory hammer to the sheet piling to be installed or removed; applying a continuous downward or upward force from the boom on the sheet piling; and simultaneously vibrating the sheet piling to drive the sheet piling into soil under the sheet piling, or to forcefully extract the sheet piling from the ground.