Axially Separating Drill Bucket for Simultaneous Drilling and Material Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drilling technologies for foundation holes lack an efficient method to both drill and remove excavated material in a single operation, often causing stress on machinery and requiring separate units for excavation and material removal, which can lead to costly repairs and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The Axially separating drill bucket assembly, which integrates a unique drill head and bucket mechanism that allows for simultaneous drilling and material removal by rotating in one direction to collect material and reversing direction to retain it, with various methods to raise or lower the bucket or drill head, including scissor action, hydraulic, and telescoping mechanisms, to prevent material sticking and ensure clean drilling fluids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate digging buckets and cleanout buckets are used, then excavation and material removal functions are provided, but device complexity increases and time is lost moving between operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the digging bucket and cleanout bucket into a single integrated drill bucket assembly. The drill bucket includes both cutting edges for excavation and internal structures for material retention and removal, eliminating the need for separate buckets and reducing device complexity while maintaining functional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The drill bucket is designed to perform multiple functions: it can dig through hard layers, manage water in the hole, contain loose soils, and remove excavated material. This multi-functional design allows a single device to replace multiple specialized tools, improving efficiency without significantly increasing complexity.
2Productivity
If augers are used for digging large holes, then excavation capability is improved, but the ability to move material to the surface is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the excavation function of augers with the material removal capability of buckets. The drill bucket includes cutting edges similar to augers for effective digging, while also incorporating an open top and internal structure that allows excavated material to be contained and removed to the surface, providing both functions in a single device.
3Reliability
If drilling buckets are used to manage water, then hole stability is improved, but loose soils mix with drill fluids causing contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts loose soils from the drill fluids by providing a contained space within the drill bucket. The bucket's structure allows water to pass through while retaining and removing loose soils, separating the harmful contaminants from the beneficial drill fluids to prevent contamination while maintaining hole stability.
4Object-generated harmful factors
If cleanout buckets are used to remove loose rocks and soil, then hole cleanliness is improved, but separate operation from digging increases time and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the digging and cleanout functions into a single drill bucket assembly. The integrated design allows the operator to perform both excavation and material removal in one continuous operation, eliminating the time and complexity associated with switching between separate digging buckets and cleanout buckets while maintaining hole cleanliness.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an Axially separating drill bucket for drilling large holes in the earth by which a drilling operator can perform the drilling operation with the Axially Separating Drill Bucket, incorporating a spring loaded latching mechanism and a hydraulic cylinder within a drill head casing, and remove the excavated material in one operation. The unit can be raised to the surface where the bucket portion is moved up or down from the drill head to empty the excavated material. A spring loaded latching mechanism is disclosed having a pushrod which activates the latch by making contact with an external force. A centrally located hydraulic cylinder power assists the drill head to be raised and lowered to remove the material collected within the drill bucket.