An upper-mounted automatic loading and unloading drill rod mechanism and a drilling rig using the same

Abstract

The application discloses a top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism and a drilling machine applying the mechanism, and solves the drawbacks of the prior art, and realizes that the automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism is arranged above a drilling machine beam, through more ingenious and reasonable design, the drilling machine realizes the technical mode and effect of automatically carrying a drill rod and automatically loading and unloading are more reasonable, and the automatic drill rod loading and unloading technology currently adopted by the full-automatic horizontal directional drilling machine in Europe and America can be gradually replaced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of drilling rig machinery technology, and in particular relates to an upper-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading machine. Background Technology

[0002] Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technology is being used more and more widely as a trenchless pipeline laying technique. As equipment specifically designed to solve pipeline laying in areas where excavation is inconvenient, HDD rigs require frequent mobile operations.

[0003] A typical horizontal directional drilling rig, taking one with a pullback force of around 40 tons as an example, usually comes with 100 drill rods, each 83mm in diameter, 3 meters long, and weighing around 50kg. The average single-pass length is 150-200 meters, and some even exceed 300 meters. The directional drilling process involves first drilling forward to create a pilot hole to the surface exit point. At this stage, drill rods need to be continuously attached to the rig's spindle. Then, at the exit point, a reaming bit is installed, and the rig performs reverse reaming. During this process, the drill rods need to be removed from the spindle one by one and arranged systematically. Because directional drilling generally requires multiple stages of reaming until the borehole is pulled in, depending on the geological conditions and the borehole diameter, this necessitates repeatedly removing the drill rods required for the entire pass length from the rig – a very arduous task. A typical 40-ton rig often completes a single pass in two or three days, requiring relocation to the next section, and transporting these drill rods is also a very strenuous task. Currently, a 40-ton drilling rig in China typically requires 5 to 6 people, with about two of them being assigned to loading, unloading, and moving drill rods.

[0004] If a fully automatic horizontal directional drilling rig could be developed, capable of carrying a sufficient number of drill rods as it moves or is transported, and automatically feeding the drill rods from the loading position to the main spindle working position and unloading them from the working position back to the loading position, it would greatly reduce labor intensity, reduce personnel costs, and improve the drilling rig's working efficiency. At the same time, the drilling rig could carry its own drill rods when relocating, greatly improving the convenience and efficiency of mobile operations.

[0005] Fully automatic horizontal directional drilling rigs capable of carrying a certain number of drill rods and automatically loading and unloading drill rods have already appeared in Europe and America, but due to their unreasonable overall layout and many defects in use, they have not been popularized in the global market.

[0006] Currently, fully automatic drilling rigs that are widely used in Europe and America can carry drill pipes and have automatic drill pipe loading and unloading functions, such as... Figure 1As shown, two outward-extending brackets are fixed to the outside of the drilling rig mast. A pair of mechanical grippers and a drill rod lifting device are installed on these brackets to control the lateral horizontal movement of the drill rod. A detachable drill rod box is then installed above the mechanical grippers. The drill rods are arranged in several vertical rows within the drill rod box. During drill rod feeding, the drill rod falls vertically from its position into the mechanical gripper, which is located close to the bottom of the drill rod box. The mechanical gripper then feeds the drill rod horizontally to the spindle working position. The drill rod is retrieved in the reverse order, and the lifting device pushes the drill rod upwards from the mechanical gripper back into the drill rod box.

[0007] The above solution has the following drawbacks:

[0008] Defect 1: Limited drill rod loading capacity. Due to the drill rod box being located on one side of the drilling rig, the number of drill rods that can be loaded is limited by transportation width constraints and the rig's unbalanced center of gravity. This is especially true for larger diameter drill rods, where the number of rods that can be loaded is often far from meeting the requirements for a single crossing length. For example, the most common type of horizontal directional drilling rig in China is the 40-ton rig equipped with 83mm diameter and 3m long drill rods. This type of rig, equipped with fully automatic drill rod loading and unloading, can only load about 100M (33 rods), while the standard configuration for this type of rig in China requires 300M (100 rods), a significant difference.

[0009] Defect 2: Adding and removing drill rods from the drill rod box is very inconvenient. The drill rig's rod capacity is insufficient, and it becomes insufficient after a slightly longer drilling distance, making it difficult to add more drill rods to the drill rod box. Similarly, when the drill rig is pulling back, the drill rods return to the drill rod box, and once the box is full, removing the drill rods is equally difficult. This is because with this side-mounted drill rod box, drill rods must either be moved in and out from the top, which is extremely inconvenient and dangerous due to the height, or through a mechanical gripper at the bottom of the box, requiring the drill rig to stop operating. The common solution in Europe and America is to use an auxiliary lifting machine (crane, excavator, loader, etc.) to directly disassemble and replace the entire drill rod box: when the drill rig runs out of drill rods, the empty box is disassembled and lowered, and a full drill rod box is hoisted in; when the drill rig pulls back and the box is full, the operation is reversed. This does solve the problem, but the cost is too high.

[0010] Defect 3: Uneven weight. Due to the limited width of the overall machine for transport, the lateral width of the drill rod box on the side of the drilling rig is limited. To load a certain number of drill rods, the height of the drill rod box must be increased. This inevitably leads to an uneven weight of the entire machine when the drill rod box is fully loaded.

[0011] Defect 4: Difficulty in replacing manual labor and inconvenience in maintenance. The side-mounted drill pipe box almost completely blocks one side of the drilling rig mast, making maintenance and repair difficult. Especially when the automatic rod feeding mechanism malfunctions, manual loading and unloading of drill pipes is impossible without removing the drill pipe box, forcing a work stoppage. Directional drilling is highly susceptible to interruptions; prolonged interruptions can lead to project failure and increase construction risks.

[0012] With the continuous increase in domestic labor costs, users of horizontal directional drilling have increasingly strong demands for reducing personnel costs, lowering labor intensity, and improving automation levels, and urgently need more rational fully automatic drilling rigs. Summary of the Invention

[0013] The purpose of this invention is to provide an upper-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism and a drilling rig using this mechanism, thereby overcoming the shortcomings of the prior art. By setting the automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism above the main beam of the drilling rig, and through a more ingenious and reasonable design, the drilling rig can achieve a more reasonable technical method and effect of carrying drill rods and automatically loading and unloading them. This technology can gradually replace the automatic drill rod loading and unloading technology currently used in fully automatic horizontal directional drilling rigs in Europe and the United States.

[0014] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0015] An upper-mounted automatic drill pipe loading and unloading mechanism includes a drill pipe box, a rod feeding mechanism, and a rod pushing device.

[0016] The drill rod box is a box-shaped structure consisting of two front and rear crossbeams and several upper and lower longitudinal beams. The inner sides of the front and rear crossbeams are provided with several opposing layers of support plates for holding the drill rods. The drill rods are arranged in layers inside the drill rod box, with both ends resting on their corresponding support plates. The drill rod box is tilted laterally at a certain angle, allowing the drill rods to roll from the higher side to the lower side on the support plates under their own weight. Several observation holes are provided on the crossbeam cross-section, each corresponding to the center position of the drill rod position formed by each layer of support plates, for observing the amount of drill rod stored in the box. Additionally, pins can be inserted into the observation holes to fix some drill rods, allowing the drill rods to slide out of the box in an orderly manner for easier removal.

[0017] The rod feeding mechanism includes a rod feeding robotic arm and a mechanical gripper. The rod feeding robotic arm is slidably mounted on the drill rod box and is positioned close to the lower end of the rod support plate in the horizontal projection. It can also tilt up and down. The mechanical gripper is located at the lower end of the rod feeding robotic arm.

[0018] Preferably, the rod feeding mechanism further includes a swing arm, which is an arc-shaped robotic arm positioned close to the lower end of the support plate in its lateral projection. One end of the swing arm is connected to the upper end of the arc-shaped robotic arm, and the other end is connected to a support on the upper surface of the drill pipe box via a rotating pin. The axis of the rotating pin of the swing arm coincides with the center of the arc of the arc-shaped robotic arm. A mechanical gripper is located at the lower end of the arc-shaped robotic arm. The swing arm is driven to swing up and down by a hydraulic cylinder located above the drill pipe box, causing the arc-shaped robotic arm to move up and down along the arc surface. To ensure the stability of the drill pipe feeding and receiving, the rod feeding mechanism is composed of at least two sets of parallel arc-shaped robotic arms, mechanical grippers, and swing arms.

[0019] Alternatively, the rod-feeding robotic arm can also be a sliding straight arm with a rack on it, which is mounted on the drill rod box via a sliding frame. The drill rod box has a drive shaft with a drive gear that matches the rack, used to drive the rod-feeding robotic arm to slide up and down along the side wall of the drill rod box.

[0020] The push rod device is located on the drill rod box near the rod delivery robot arm. It consists of a sliding support fixed to the upper surface of the drill rod box and an L-shaped push rod. The L-shaped push rod consists of a pull rod that passes laterally through the sliding support and an arc-shaped push rod arm that extends longitudinally downward. The length of the push rod arm is not less than the height of the drill rod box. The L-shaped push rod is driven by a push rod cylinder that is laterally set on the drill rod box to slide along the sliding support. When sliding from the outside to the inside, the push rod arm can push the drill rod in the mechanical gripper to the support rod partition of the drill rod box. After the mechanical gripper moves down, the push rod cylinder drives the L-shaped push rod to slide back to its original position from the inside to the outside. To ensure the balance of the pushing force applied by the push rod arm to the drill rod, there are no fewer than two L-shaped push rods. The pull rods of different L-shaped push rods are fixedly connected by a connecting rod. The piston rod of the push rod cylinder is hinged to the connecting rod. By pushing and pulling the connecting rod, the L-shaped push rod is driven to move inward or outward.

[0021] The drill rods in the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism of this invention are arranged in a multi-layered, horizontally arranged manner. The drill rod box can be set directly above the drilling rig, so that the axis of the drill rig's power head drive spindle is on the arc trajectory of the mechanical gripper. When it is necessary to continue the drill rod, the mechanical gripper is first moved to the gripping position of the bottom support plate of the drill rod box. Since the drill rod box is tilted to one side of the arc mechanical arm, the first drill rod of this layer will roll into the mechanical gripper under the action of gravity. Then the mechanical gripper holds the drill rod and moves it down to the axis of the drill rig's power head drive spindle. This process is repeated until the bottom layer of drill rods is used up, and then the drill rods of the previous layer are used up layer by layer. When drilling is completed and the drill rod needs to be retrieved, the mechanical gripper removes the drill rod from the axis of the drill rig's power head drive spindle, then moves the drill rod upwards to the gripping and feeding position corresponding to the uppermost support rod partition of the drill rod box. Then, the push rod device is controlled to push the drill rod into the drill rod box. This process is repeated until the uppermost support rod partition is full, and then the drill rod is loaded into the next support rod partition layer by layer.

[0022] To ensure that the mechanical gripper can accurately stop at the corresponding gripping position of each layer of drill rod when the arc-shaped robotic arm moves up and down, an adjustable limiting device is provided between the arc-shaped robotic arm and the upper edge of the drill rod box. The limiting device consists of stepped limiting blocks on the arc-shaped robotic arm and a telescopic stop bar on the upper edge of the drill rod box. The number of steps of the limiting blocks is the same as the number of layers of the support rod partition. When the extension length of the telescopic stop bar matches the lowest step of the limiting blocks, the mechanical gripper can move up and stop at the gripping position of the highest layer of the support rod partition in the drill rod box. Similarly, when the extension length of the telescopic stop bar matches the highest step of the limiting blocks, the mechanical gripper can only move up to the gripping position of the lowest layer of the support rod partition in the drill rod box. When the telescopic stop bar is fully retracted, the arc-shaped robotic arm can move up to the highest position, exposing the drill rod positions on the entire side of the drill rod box.

[0023] To ensure that the drill rod can roll smoothly and automatically into the gripper under its own weight when the mechanical gripper retrieves the rod from the side of the drill rod box without the possibility of it falling out, this patented mechanical gripper needs to have three working states: in addition to the traditional gripper's tightened and open states, a third state—a semi-open state—is also required. The tightened state is needed when the mechanical gripper grips the drill rod and moves up and down, and when it engages with the threaded connection / disengagement between the drill spindle and the drill rod. The open state is needed when the mechanical gripper returns to its original position after rod loading and when it enters the spindle position during rod unloading. The semi-open state is the required state when the drill rod enters the mechanical gripper from the drill rod box. In this state, the concave opening formed by the mechanical gripper needs to be larger than the diameter of the drill rod to allow it to enter unimpeded. Simultaneously, it needs to maintain the same gripping force as a full grip to hold the drill rod and prevent it from falling. To achieve this, this patent provides a novel mechanical gripper structure, including a gripper block and a drill rod clamping block. The gripper block is connected to the lower end of the mechanical arm via a pin and is driven to rotate along the pin by a gripper cylinder on the mechanical arm, realizing the opening and closing of the gripper. The middle part of the drill rod clamping block is fixed to the machine via a fixed shaft. At the lower end of the robotic arm, an opening for clamping the drill rod is formed by matching the gripper block. The drill rod clamping block can rotate along a fixed axis and is equipped with a spring-loaded reset device. This spring-loaded reset device can be a torsion spring between the drill rod clamping block and the fixed axis, or a tension spring or other elastic element between the drill rod clamping block and the machine. The tail end of the drill rod clamping block has an upward-facing trigger rod. The upper end of the trigger rod is connected to a trigger block with the same shape as the limiting stop block. The trigger block is tightly fitted to the limiting stop block by a sliding groove and is slightly higher than the limiting stop block. Under the action of the spring-loaded reset device, the drill rod clamping block remains in the slave position. When the robotic arm is in the extended state (normally extended state), the gripper block rotates upward to its final position, creating a gripping state. When the robotic arm moves upward to the position set on the drill rod box, the telescopic stop bar on the drill rod box contacts the trigger block before contacting the limit stop on the robotic arm. After being pressed, the trigger block presses down on the tail end of the drill rod pressure block through the trigger rod, causing the drill rod pressure block to rotate and the head end to tilt upward, making the robotic gripper appear in a semi-open state. When the drill rod enters the gripper and the robotic gripper moves downward, the trigger block is released from pressure, and the drill rod pressure block automatically resets under the action of the elastic reset device, and the robotic gripper automatically returns to the gripping state.

[0024] The present invention also provides a horizontal directional drilling rig using the above-mentioned top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism, which consists of a tracked chassis, a mast, a front anchor, a power head, a power station, a cab, a push-pull mechanism, and the aforementioned top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism. The mast is mounted on the tracked chassis, the front anchor is mounted at the front end of the mast, the power head is mounted on the mast, the cab is mounted on the front anchor, and the push-pull mechanism is mounted on the mast to drive the power head to slide back and forth along the mast.

[0025] Each side of the mast is equipped with a track beam parallel to the mast. The drill rod box of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism 170 has grooved slides on both sides below it. These grooved slides are slidably embedded in the track beams on both sides of the mast. The track beam on the side closer to the robotic arm of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism is slightly lower than the track beam on the other side. A pair of connecting lugs are provided on the top surface of the drill rig's power head and the rear end face of the drill rod box. A pair of short connecting rods can temporarily connect the power head and the drill rod box. Thus, using the pushing and pulling force of the power head, the drill rod box is moved forward to the working position and fixed during drilling operations; when the drilling rig needs to move, the drill rod box is moved backward above the tracked chassis, aligning the drill rig's center of gravity.

[0026] To lower the overall center of gravity of the drilling rig, the drill pipe box needs to be positioned as low as possible while also accommodating the space required for the power head to operate below it. This invention employs a side-push-pull mechanism, which consists of two sets of combined hydraulic cylinders symmetrically arranged on both sides of the mast. Each set of combined hydraulic cylinders is composed of a forward hydraulic cylinder and a backward hydraulic cylinder with the same cylinder diameter and stroke. The piston rod of the forward hydraulic cylinder extends forward and is connected to the front anchor seat; the piston rod of the backward hydraulic cylinder extends backward and is connected to the rear end of the power head. The cylinder barrels of the forward and backward hydraulic cylinders are fixed together by a connecting plate. Rollers are fixed to the lower part of the connecting plate and are embedded in C-shaped slide rails. The C-shaped slide rails are fixed to the bracket supports extending outward on both sides of the mast, bearing the weight of the combined hydraulic cylinders and the torque that balances the forces of the upper and lower combined hydraulic cylinders.

[0027] To further reduce the space required below the drill pipe box and optimize the layout of the follow-up hydraulic pipeline connecting the power head, the mast adopts a variable cross-section design. The front half, which is subjected to greater stress, has a rectangular cross-section, while the rear half, which is subjected to less stress, has a concave cross-section. The concave part is used to house the hydraulic oil pipes connected to the power head.

[0028] To ensure good visibility for the operator and easy access, the cab is mounted on the front anchor via a rotating base. The rotating base is equipped with an angle adjustment device, which allows the cab to be adjusted to a horizontal working position regardless of the angle at which the drilling rig mast is operating.

[0029] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0030] 1. This invention provides a top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism, arranged above the mast. It can fully utilize the width of the drilling rig itself to meet the drill rod box's width requirements, thus achieving a larger drill rod capacity with fewer layers. Taking the most common 40-ton drilling rig in China (standard drill rod length 3 meters, diameter 83mm) as an example, the design width is generally controlled at 2.25 meters (required for container loading and unloading). If the drill rod box is placed on the side, the maximum width that can be squeezed out of the drilling rig's cross-section for the drill rod box can only meet the width of 4-5 rows of drill rods. Even if 8 layers are placed in the height direction, it can only accommodate 96-120 meters of drill rods. However, with the top-mounted drill rod box using this patented technology, at least 15-16 drill rods can be arranged horizontally, and with 4 layers in height, it can accommodate 180-192 meters of drill rods, greatly increasing the drill rod capacity. Due to the top-mounted arrangement, there are no concerns about weight distribution, and customers can add more layers if needed.

[0031] 2. The present invention adopts an upper-mounted drill pipe box arrangement, which eliminates the problem of unbalanced weight distribution and makes the vehicle's movement and climbing safer and more stable. The weight of the drill pipe box is distributed on both sides of the drilling rig mast, which is more reasonable than the side-mounted drill pipe box.

[0032] 3. Compared with the traditional drill rod box with an opening on the top, the drill rod box of this patent has a side opening, which greatly facilitates adding or removing drill rods from the drill rod box when the drilling machine is working.

[0033] 4. The drill rod box is positioned on top, leaving space on the side between the drill rod box and the mast. If the automatic drill rod loading and unloading device of the drilling rig malfunctions or is accidentally damaged, manual emergency loading and unloading of drill rods can be carried out to ensure that the drilling operation is not interrupted; the maintenance of the drilling rig is also more convenient.

[0034] 5. Compared with the fixed automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanisms of the original European and American technologies, the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism of this invention can move back and forth, which is impossible for the traditional side-mounted drill rod box. This not only allows the drill rig to adjust its center of gravity and become more stable when walking and climbing, but also greatly increases the convenience and flexibility of the drill rig when it needs maintenance, repair, or emergency manual loading and unloading of drill rods. The movable drill rod box basically eliminates the negative impact of adding a top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism to the original functions of the drill rig.

[0035] 6. The novel drilling rig structure design provided by this invention adopts a side-push-pull mechanism, which is set on both sides of the mast. Compared with the traditional structure where the mechanism is set at the bottom of the power head, this reduces the height of the power head and perfectly combines with the layout of the fewer-layered, top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism. In terms of vertical layout, compared with the layout of traditional European and American drilling rigs where the drill rod boxes are towering on one side with multiple layers, this design is more coordinated, with a lower center of gravity and greater stability. The new mast structure adopted by this invention enables the power head pipeline to be centrally arranged, making the planar structural layout of the new fully automatic drilling rig more reasonable in terms of stress distribution and reducing costs.

[0036] 7. The two sets of combined hydraulic cylinders of the push-pull mechanism of the present invention are symmetrically driven on both sides of the power head. The resultant force of the forces acting on both sides is completely coincident with the reaction force of the drill rod on the main shaft of the drilling rig. The support reaction force of the push-pull mechanism acts directly on the front anchor. This design greatly reduces the number of structural components that need to bear force, significantly reduces the internal force of the entire drilling rig structure, lowers the stress requirements on components, and saves costs. At the same time, the combined hydraulic cylinder of the present invention is composed of a fixedly connected forward hydraulic cylinder and a backward hydraulic cylinder, which are slidably connected on the side of the mast. The two can work simultaneously to provide greater push-pull force, or only one hydraulic cylinder can work during low-intensity operations to save energy.

[0037] 8. The present invention adopts an adjustable-angle cab set at the front anchor seat, which is more humane than the traditional drilling rig that sets the cab at the front of the power station: (1) Reduce driver fatigue. When the driver operates the drilling rig, his line of sight moves back and forth with the power head and patrols back and forth throughout the drilling rig. The driver's field of vision needs to be rotated about 120 degrees in the position of the traditional cab, which is very tiring when done frequently; the new drilling rig's unique front-positioned cab design can greatly reduce the range of rotation of the driver's field of vision and reduce fatigue; (2) The cab is positioned at the front anchor seat and is kept at a distance from the power station, which reduces the noise damage of the engine to the driver; (3) The base of the cab in the traditional design must be above the drilling rig track chassis. The cab base of the present invention is closer to the ground, making it more convenient for the driver to get on and off. Attached Figure Description

[0038] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the embodiments are described and introduced below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a fully automatic drilling rig that is widely used in Europe and America and can carry drill rods and has automatic drill rod loading and unloading functions.

[0040] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0041] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the drill pipe box structure;

[0042] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the rod feeding mechanism.

[0043] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the mechanical gripper structure;

[0044] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism of the present invention, which uses a different rod-feeding robotic arm structure.

[0045] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a horizontal directional drilling rig structure with an upper-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0046] Figure 8 This is a structural diagram of the mast and front anchor. Detailed Implementation

[0047] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Example 1

[0048] This embodiment provides an upper-mounted automatic drill pipe loading and unloading mechanism, including a drill pipe box 1, a rod feeding mechanism 2, and a rod pushing device 3.

[0049] The drill rod box 1 is a box-shaped structure consisting of two front and rear crossbeams 11 and several upper and lower longitudinal beams 12. The inner sides of the front and rear crossbeams 11 are provided with four opposing layers of support rod partitions 13 for supporting drill rods. The drill rods are arranged in layers inside the drill rod box, with both ends of the drill rod resting on the corresponding support rod partitions 13. The drill rod box 1 is tilted laterally at a certain angle, allowing the drill rods to roll from the high side to the low side on the support rod partitions 13 by their own weight. Several observation holes 14 are provided on the crossbeams 11, each observation hole corresponding to the center position of the drill rod position formed by each layer of support rod partitions 13, for observing the amount of drill rod stored in the box. At the same time, a pin can be inserted into the observation hole 14 to fix part of the drill rod, thereby allowing the drill rods in the box to slide out in an orderly manner and making it easier to remove the drill rods.

[0050] The rod feeding mechanism is composed of two sets of parallel arc-shaped robotic arms 21, a mechanical gripper 22, and a swing arm 23. The arc-shaped robotic arms 21 are positioned close to the lower end of the support rod partition 13 in the horizontal projection. One end of the swing arm 23 is connected to the upper end of the arc-shaped robotic arms 21, and the other end is connected to the support 25 on the upper surface of the drill rod box 1 by a rotating pin 24. The axis of the rotating pin 24 of the swing arm 23 coincides with the center of the arc of the arc-shaped robotic arms 21. The mechanical gripper 22 is located at the lower end of the arc-shaped robotic arms 21. The swing arm 23 is driven to swing up and down by a hydraulic cylinder 26 located above the drill rod box, which drives the arc-shaped robotic arms 21 to move up and down along the arc surface.

[0051] The push rod device 3 is located on one side of the drill pipe box near the arc-shaped robotic arm 21. It consists of a sliding support 31 fixed to the upper surface of the drill pipe box 1 and two parallel L-shaped push rods 32. Each L-shaped push rod 32 consists of a pull rod that passes laterally through the sliding support and an arc-shaped push rod arm that extends longitudinally downward. The length of the push rod arm is not less than the height of the drill pipe box. The pull rods of the L-shaped push rods are fixedly connected by a connecting rod. The connecting rod is hinged to the piston rod of the push rod cylinder located on the drill pipe box. The push rod cylinder 33 pushes and pulls the connecting rod to drive the L-shaped push rod to move inward or outward along the sliding support. When sliding from the outside inward, the push rod arm can push the drill pipe in the mechanical gripper onto the support rod partition 13 of the drill pipe box. After the mechanical gripper 22 descends, the push rod cylinder 33 drives the L-shaped push rod to slide back to its original position from the inside outward.

[0052] In this embodiment, the drill rods of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism are arranged in a multi-layered, horizontally arranged manner. The drill rod box can be set directly above the drilling rig, so that the axis of the drill rig's power head drive spindle is on the arc trajectory of the mechanical gripper's movement. When it is necessary to continue the drill rod, the mechanical gripper is first moved to the position corresponding to the bottom support plate of the drill rod box. Since the drill rod box is tilted to one side of the arc-shaped mechanical arm, the first drill rod of this layer will roll into the mechanical gripper under the action of gravity. Then, the mechanical gripper holds the drill rod and moves it downward to the axis of the drill rig's power head drive spindle. This process is repeated until the bottom layer of drill rods is used up, and then the drill rods of the previous layer are used up layer by layer. When drilling is completed and the drill rod needs to be retrieved, the mechanical gripper removes the drill rod from the axis of the drill rig's power head drive spindle, then moves the drill rod upwards to the gripping and feeding position corresponding to the uppermost support rod partition of the drill rod box. Then, the push rod device is controlled to push the drill rod into the drill rod box. This process is repeated until the uppermost support rod partition is full, and then the drill rod is loaded into the next support rod partition layer by layer.

[0053] To ensure that the mechanical gripper 22 can accurately stop at the corresponding gripping position of each layer of drill rod when the arc-shaped robotic arm moves up and down, an adjustable limiting device is provided between the arc-shaped robotic arm 21 and the upper edge of the drill rod box 1. The limiting device consists of stepped limiting blocks 27 set on the arc-shaped robotic arm 21 and a telescopic stop bar 28 set on the upper edge of the drill rod box 1. The number of steps of the limiting blocks 27 is the same as the number of steps of the support rod partition 13. When the telescopic stop bar 28 extends to the specified length... When matched with the lowest level of the limit stop 27, the mechanical gripper 22 can move up and stop at the position corresponding to the highest level support rod partition 13 of the drill pipe box 1 to grip and feed the drill pipe. Similarly, when the extension length of the telescopic stop 28 matches the highest level of the limit stop 27, the mechanical gripper 22 can only move up to the position corresponding to the lowest level support rod partition of the drill pipe box to grip and feed the drill pipe. When the telescopic stop is fully retracted, the arc-shaped mechanical arm can move up to the highest position, exposing the drill pipe position on the entire side of the drill pipe box.

[0054] To ensure that the drill rod can roll smoothly and automatically into the gripper under its own weight when the mechanical gripper retrieves the rod from the side of the drill rod box without the possibility of it falling out, this patented mechanical gripper needs to have three working states: in addition to the traditional gripper's tightened and open states, a third state—a semi-open state—is also required. The tightened state is needed when the mechanical gripper grips the drill rod and moves up and down, and when it engages with the threaded connection / disengagement between the drill spindle and the drill rod. The open state is needed when the mechanical gripper returns to its original position after rod loading and when it enters the spindle position during rod unloading. The semi-open state is the required state when the drill rod enters the mechanical gripper from the drill rod box. In this state, the concave opening formed by the mechanical gripper needs to be larger than the diameter of the drill rod to allow it to enter unimpeded. Simultaneously, it needs to maintain the same gripping force as a full grip to hold the drill rod and prevent it from falling. To achieve this, this patent provides a novel mechanical gripper structure, including a gripper block 41 and a drill rod clamping block 42. The gripper block 41 is connected to the lower end of the arc-shaped mechanical arm 21 via a pin and is driven by a gripper cylinder on the arc-shaped mechanical arm 21 to rotate along the pin, realizing the opening and closing of the gripper. The drill rod clamping block 42 is positioned at the lower end of the arc-shaped robotic arm 21 via a fixed shaft 43, and forms an opening for clamping the drill rod by matching the gripper block 41. The drill rod clamping block 42 can rotate along the fixed shaft 43 and is equipped with a spring-loaded reset device 44. The tail end of the drill rod clamping block 42 is provided with an upward-facing trigger rod 45. The upper end of the trigger rod 45 is connected to a trigger block 46 with the same shape as the limiting block 27. The trigger block 46 is closely attached to the limiting block 27 by a sliding groove and is slightly higher than the limiting block 27. Under the action of the spring-loaded reset device 44, the drill rod clamping block remains in contact with the mechanical arm 21. When the arm is extended (normally extended state), the gripper block rotates upward to its final position, creating a gripping state. When the robotic arm moves upward to the position set on the drill rod box, the telescopic stop bar on the drill rod box contacts the trigger block before contacting the limit stop on the robotic arm. After being pressed, the trigger block presses down on the tail end of the drill rod pressure block through the trigger rod, causing the drill rod pressure block to rotate and the head end to tilt upward, making the robotic gripper appear in a semi-open state. When the drill rod enters the gripper and the robotic gripper moves downward, the trigger block is released from pressure, and the drill rod pressure block automatically resets under the action of the elastic reset device, and the robotic gripper automatically returns to the gripping state. Example 2

[0055] like Figure 5 As shown, the rod feeding robot arm in this embodiment is a sliding straight arm 51 with a rack 52 on it. It is mounted on the drill rod box 1 via a sliding frame 53. The drill rod box 1 is provided with a drive shaft 54, and the drive shaft 54 ​​is provided with a drive gear 55 that matches the rack 52, which is used to drive the rod feeding robot arm to slide up and down along the side wall of the drill rod box. Example 3

[0056] This embodiment provides a horizontal directional drilling rig using the above-mentioned top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism. It consists of a tracked chassis 110, a mast 120, a front anchor 130, a power head 140, a cab 150, a push-pull mechanism 160, and the aforementioned top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism 170. The mast 120 is mounted on the tracked chassis 110, the front anchor 130 is mounted at the front end of the mast 120, the power head 140 is mounted on the mast 120, the cab 150 is mounted on the front anchor 130, and the push-pull mechanism 160 is mounted on the mast 120 to drive the power head 170 to slide back and forth along the mast.

[0057] Each side of the mast 120 is provided with a track beam 121 parallel to the mast. The drill rod box of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism 170 is provided with a grooved slide seat 171 on both sides. The grooved slide seat 171 is embedded and slidably connected to the track beam 121 on both sides of the mast. The track beam on the side closer to the mechanical arm of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism 170 is slightly lower than the track beam on the other side.

[0058] To lower the overall center of gravity of the drilling rig, the drill pipe box needs to be positioned as low as possible while also accommodating the space required for the power head to operate below it. This invention employs a side-push-pull mechanism. The push-pull mechanism 160 consists of two sets of combined hydraulic cylinders symmetrically arranged on both sides of the mast. Each set of combined hydraulic cylinders comprises a forward hydraulic cylinder 161 and a backward hydraulic cylinder 162 with equal cylinder diameter and stroke. The piston rod of the forward hydraulic cylinder 161 extends forward and is connected to the front anchor 130; the piston rod of the backward hydraulic cylinder 162 extends backward and is connected to the rear end of the power head 140. The cylinder barrels of the forward hydraulic cylinder 161 and the backward hydraulic cylinder 162 are fixed together by a connecting plate 163. Rollers are fixed to the lower part of the connecting plate, and the rollers are embedded in C-shaped slide rails. The C-shaped slide rails are fixed to the outward-extending brackets on both sides of the mast, bearing the weight of the combined hydraulic cylinders and the torque balancing the forces of the upper and lower combined hydraulic cylinders.

[0059] To further reduce the space required below the drill pipe box and optimize the layout of the follow-up hydraulic pipeline connecting the power head, the mast 120 adopts a variable cross-section design. The front half, which is subjected to greater stress, adopts a rectangular cross-section, while the rear half, which is subjected to less stress, adopts a concave cross-section. The concave part is used to house the hydraulic oil pipes connected to the power head.

[0060] To ensure good visibility for the operator and easy access, the cab is mounted on the front anchor via a rotating base. The rotating base is equipped with an angle adjustment device, which allows the cab to be adjusted to a horizontal working position regardless of the angle at which the drilling rig mast is operating.

[0061] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the scope of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A top-mounted automatic drill pipe loading and unloading mechanism, comprising a drill pipe box, a pipe feeding mechanism, and a pusher device, characterized in that: The drill pipe box is a box-shaped structure consisting of two front and rear crossbeams and several upper and lower longitudinal beams. The inner sides of the two front and rear crossbeams are provided with several opposing layers of support rod partitions. The drill pipe box is tilted laterally at a certain angle. The rod feeding mechanism includes a rod feeding robotic arm and a mechanical gripper. The rod feeding robotic arm is slidably mounted on the drill rod box and is positioned close to the lower end of the rod support plate in the horizontal projection. The mechanical gripper is located at the lower end of the rod feeding robotic arm. The push rod device is located on the side of the drill rod box near the rod delivery robot arm, and consists of a sliding support fixed to the upper surface of the drill rod box and an L-shaped push rod. The L-shaped push rod consists of a pull rod that passes through the sliding support laterally and an arc-shaped push rod arm that extends downward longitudinally. The length of the push rod arm is not less than the height of the drill rod box. The L-shaped push rod is driven by a push rod cylinder that is laterally set on the drill rod box to slide along the sliding support. The rod delivery mechanism also includes a swing arm, which is an arc-shaped robotic arm. The arc-shaped robotic arm is positioned close to the lower end of the support plate in its lateral projection. One end of the swing arm is connected to the upper end of the arc-shaped robotic arm, and the other end is connected to a support on the upper surface of the drill pipe box via a rotating pin. The axis of the rotating pin of the swing arm coincides with the center of the arc of the arc-shaped robotic arm. A mechanical gripper is located at the lower end of the arc-shaped robotic arm. The swing arm is driven to swing up and down by a hydraulic cylinder located above the drill pipe box. The rod delivery mechanism is composed of at least two sets of parallel arc-shaped robotic arms, mechanical grippers, and swing arms. An adjustable limiting device is provided between the arc-shaped robotic arm and the upper edge of the drill pipe box. The limiting device consists of stepped limiting blocks on the arc-shaped robotic arm and a telescopic stop bar on the upper edge of the drill pipe box. The number of steps of the limiting blocks is the same as the number of layers of the support rod partition. When the extension length of the telescopic stop bar matches the lowest step of the limiting blocks, the mechanical gripper can move up and stop at the position corresponding to the highest layer of the support rod partition in the drill pipe box. Similarly, when the extension length of the telescopic stop bar matches the highest step of the limiting blocks, the mechanical gripper can only move up to the position corresponding to the lowest layer of the support rod partition in the drill pipe box.

2. The top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of L-shaped push rods is not less than two, and the pull rods of different L-shaped push rods are fixedly connected by a connecting rod. The piston rod of the push rod cylinder is hinged to the connecting rod.

3. The top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The mechanical gripper includes a gripper block and a drill rod clamping block. The gripper block is connected to the lower end of the robotic arm via a pin and is driven to rotate along the pin by a gripper cylinder on the robotic arm. The middle part of the drill rod clamping block is located at the lower end of the robotic arm via a fixed shaft, matching the gripper block to form an opening for clamping the drill rod. The drill rod clamping block can rotate along the fixed shaft and is equipped with a spring-loaded reset device. The tail end of the drill rod clamping block is provided with an upward-pointing trigger rod. The upper end of the trigger rod is connected to a trigger block with the same shape as the limiting block. The trigger block is closely attached to the limiting block by a sliding groove and its height is slightly higher than that of the limiting block.

4. A horizontal directional drilling rig, comprising a tracked chassis, a mast, a front anchor, a power head, a power station, a cab, a push-pull mechanism, and the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism as described in claim 1, wherein the mast is mounted on the tracked chassis, the front anchor is mounted at the front end of the mast, the power head is mounted on the mast, the cab is mounted on the front anchor, and the push-pull mechanism is mounted on the mast for driving the power head to slide back and forth along the mast, characterized in that: Each side of the mast is provided with a track beam parallel to the mast. The drill rod box of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism is provided with a grooved slide on both sides. The grooved slide is embedded and slidably connected to the track beams provided on both sides of the mast. The track beam on the side closer to the mechanical arm of the top-mounted automatic drill rod loading and unloading mechanism is slightly lower than the track beam on the other side.

5. A horizontal directional drilling rig according to claim 4, characterized in that: A pair of connecting lugs are installed on the top surface of the drilling rig's power head and the rear surface of the drill pipe box.

6. A horizontal directional drilling rig according to claim 5, characterized in that: The push-pull mechanism consists of two sets of combined hydraulic cylinders symmetrically arranged on both sides of the mast. Each set of combined hydraulic cylinders is composed of a forward hydraulic cylinder and a backward hydraulic cylinder with the same cylinder diameter and stroke. The piston rod of the forward hydraulic cylinder extends forward and is connected to the front anchor seat. The piston rod of the rearward cylinder extends backward and is connected to the rear end of the power head. The cylinder barrels of the forward and rearward cylinders are fixed together by a connecting plate. A roller is fixed at the lower part of the connecting plate. The roller is embedded in the C-shaped slide rail. The C-shaped slide rail is fixed on the brackets extending outward on both sides of the mast.

7. A horizontal directional drilling rig according to claim 6, characterized in that: The mast adopts a variable cross-section design, with the front half having a rectangular cross-section and the rear half having a concave cross-section; the cab is mounted on the front anchor via a rotating base, and the rotating base is equipped with a tilt adjustment device.

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