Pipe Laying Machine With Lateral Feed and Trench-Safe Pipe Setting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for laying plastic pipes in trenches are manually intensive, costly, and pose safety risks due to the need for multiple laborers and construction machines operating near trenches.
Innovation Solution
The development of pipe laying machines equipped with a platform, ambulatory assemblies, a pipe setting station, a pipe feeding assembly, and a pipe ejection assembly, allowing for automated pipe laying above trenches with reduced manual labor and increased safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual pipe laying methods are used with multiple laborers and construction machines operating near trenches, then pipe installation can be completed, but safety risks increase due to potential trench collapses and pipe dropping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the dangerous operations from the trench environment and relocates them to a safe platform above ground. The pipe laying machine positions its platform above the trench, allowing pipe preparation, cutting, and coupling to occur outside the hazardous zone, while only the finished pipe sections are lowered into the trench for installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mechanical intermediary system - the automated pipe laying machine with its platform, feeding assembly, and lowering mechanism - that mediates between pipe storage and trench installation. This intermediary eliminates the need for manual handling by laborers and reduces direct human exposure to trench-related hazards.
2Productivity
If manual pipe laying methods are used, then pipe installation can be completed, but labor intensity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe laying machine performs operations that would otherwise require multiple laborers. The automated pipe feeding assembly retrieves pipe sections, the cutting assembly automatically cuts pipes to length, and the coupling assembly performs joint preparation and coupling. This self-service capability dramatically reduces labor intensity while increasing installation efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations with automated mechanical systems. Instead of laborers manually handling, cutting, and coupling pipes, the machine employs automated assemblies with motors, actuators, and control systems to perform these functions, thereby reducing labor intensity and improving productivity.
3Ease of manufacture
If pipe gluing and coupling operations are performed inside the trench, then pipe installation is completed, but operational difficulties and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs all pipe preparation, cutting, and coupling operations in advance on the platform above the trench, before the pipe sections are lowered into the trench. This preliminary action ensures that coupling operations occur in a safe, accessible environment with proper lighting and workspace, eliminating the hazards associated with performing these operations inside the confined trench space.
Data Source
AI summary
Pipe laying machines are provided. The machines can include: a platform configured to support a plurality of pipe; ambulatory assemblies supporting the platform and sufficiently spaced apart to straddle a trench; a pipe setting station located about a center portion of the platform; a pipe feeding assembly configured to provide pipe laterally to the pipe setting station; and a pipe ejection assembly configured to extend pipe lengthwise from the platform. Methods for laying pipe within a trench using a machine are provided. The methods can include: supporting a plurality of pipe above a trench with a machine; matriculating the trench with the supported pipe and the machine; laterally feeding the pipe to a pipe setting station using the machine; and extending the pipe lengthwise into the trench using the machine.