Handheld Water Drill for Precise, Low-Disruption Utility Locating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tools for locating and installing subterranean utilities are either large and destructive or small and difficult to steer, posing a risk to existing utilities, and methods like potholing result in excessive soil disruption and labor.
Innovation Solution
A handheld water drilling system with a non-metallic hollow shaft and a distal tip, connected to a pressurized water source, that allows for precise probing and boring by thrusting into the ground with controlled water discharge to minimize soil disruption and damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If large tools like HDD or trenchers are used for excavation and utility installation, then productivity is improved, but the risk of damaging existing utilities increases and soil disruption becomes excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the excavation process into two distinct phases: first using a handheld water drill for precise, minimal-disruption locating and small-diameter boring, then using larger HDD or trenching equipment for main utility installation. This segmentation allows each tool to be used for its optimal function, reducing overall risk and soil disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The handheld water drill performs preliminary locating and small-diameter boring operations before the main excavation or utility installation. This preliminary action identifies utility locations and creates pilot holes, allowing subsequent larger operations to proceed with reduced risk of utility damage and minimized soil disruption.
2Loss of time
If electronic locating tools are used to identify utility locations, then the need for manual potholing is reduced, but measurement precision is insufficient for precision excavation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines electronic locating tools with the handheld water drill system. The water drill is steered based on electronic locating data, merging the speed of electronic detection with the precision of physical drilling to achieve both time efficiency and location accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The handheld water drill changes the parameter of location verification from indirect electronic detection to direct physical contact drilling. By actually drilling to the located position and verifying utility contact or proximity, the system transforms electronic coordinates into confirmed physical locations with high precision.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If manual soft excavation with shovels is used to avoid utilities, then the risk of utility damage is reduced, but labor requirements and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses pressurized water delivered through the handheld drill to perform soft excavation and utility locating. This hydraulic approach replaces manual shovel work, providing both the gentleness needed to avoid utility damage and the mechanical efficiency to maintain productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical system of manual shoveling with a pressurized water delivery system contained in a handheld drill. This substitution maintains the non-destructive nature of soft excavation while dramatically improving labor efficiency and reducing time consumption.
4Reliability
If potholing is performed to visually confirm utility locations and HDD boring safety, then reliability is improved, but soil disruption and labor requirements become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential verification function from traditional potholing by using the handheld water drill to create small-diameter boreholes that provide sufficient visual confirmation of utility locations without removing large amounts of soil. Only minimal soil disturbance is needed to verify utility positions and ensure HDD safety.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables precise location of underground utilities with minimal soil disturbance, reduced labor, and non-destructive boring, allowing for quick and efficient installation of utilities with minimal spoils and no need for remedial processing.
Implementation Method 1
A handheld water drill includes a hollow shaft configured to be thrust into ground soil and having an outside diameter less than an outside diameter of a distal tip. A nozzle at the distal tip discharges a jet of pressurized water to cut the ground soil.
Data Source
AI summary
A water drilling system includes a handheld wand having a handle portion and a distal tip. A hose connects the handheld wand to a pressurized water source. The handheld wand is controllable to selectively discharge pressurized water from a nozzle at the distal tip. A non-metallic hollow shaft of the handheld wand is configured to be thrust into ground soil. The hollow shaft extends between the handle portion and the distal tip, and the hollow shaft has an outside diameter less than an outside diameter of the distal tip.