Submerged pipeline entrenching apparatus and control systems for same

Claim 2

The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said ambulatory vehicle includes self-propulsion motor means of the pneumatic type; and wherein said motor means is connected with said compressed air supply through said control means and said pneumatic conduit means.

Claim 3

The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said ambulatory vehicle includes self-propulsion motor means of the pneumatic type; wherein said motor means is connected with said compressed air supply through said control means and said pneumatic conduit means; said motor means comprising first and second pneumatic motors mounted one on each of said hulls; and traction means on each of said hulls in driven connection with respective ones of said pneumatic motors.

Claim 4

The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said ambulatory vehicle includes self-propulsion motor means of the pneumatic type; and traction means extending from said vehicle into engagement with said pipeline; said traction means being in driven connection with said motor means to effect translation of said vehicle along said pipeline.

Claim 5

Trenching apparatus for submerged pipelines, comprising: an ambulatory submerged vehicle having first and second hull sections and a raised frame means maintaining said hulls in substantially parallel alignment, said hulls being adapted to maintain said frame means astraddle a submerged pipeline for translation along said pipeline when the latter is resting on a submerged surface; a fixed platform extending rearwardly from said frame means directly over said pipeline and substantially parallel with said hull sections; said fixed platform comprising an elongated plate having first and second opposed power-actuating cylinders, each having an extensible piston rod, transversely mounted thereon; first and second elongated wing plates pivotally mounted on opposite sides of said fixed platform and including fixed vertical arms connected with the free ends of the respective piston rods of said actuating cylinders, whereby said actuating cylinders effect selective angular orientation of said wing plates with respect to said fixed platform; first And second rotary pneumatic motor means, each having a pressure input and a pressure output, mounted, respectively, on said first and second wing plates; first and second dependent, elongated, rotary, output shafts extending, respectively, from said first and second motor means, said output shafts being substantially perpendicular to the plane of said wing plates; cutter means mounted on each of said output shafts below said wing plates; first and second material conduit means fixed, respectively, in said first and second wing plates adjacent said first and second output shafts, respectively, each said conduit means having a material intake adjacent the lowermost portion of its associated output shaft and cutter means and a material exhaust above and outboard of its respective wing plate; a source of pneumatic pressure connected to the pressure input of each of said motor means; variable flow valve means at the pressure output of each said motor means; pressure conduit means extending from each of said variable flow valve means into a respective one of said material conduit means immediately above said material intake thereof; pipeline engaging and following means suspended below said fixed platform and each of said wing plates; said engaging and following means suspended below said wing plates being so oriented with respect to said cutter means and said material conduit means as to control the orientation of the latter two means to effect a trench cut of a shape and size tailored to the size of a pipeline when said engaging and following means are juxtaposed with said pipeline.

Claim 6

Trenching apparatus for submerged pipelines, comprising: an ambulatory submerged vehicle having first and second hull sections and a raised frame means maintaining said hulls in substantially parallel alignment, said hulls being adapted to maintain said frame means astraddle a submerged pipeline for translation along said pipeline when the latter is resting on a submerged surface; a fixed platform extending rearwardly from said frame means directly over said pipeline and substantially parallel with said hull sections; said fixed platform comprising an elongated plate having first and second opposed power-actuating cylinders, each having an extensible piston rod, transversely mounted thereon; first and second elongated wing plates pivotally mounted on opposite sides of said fixed platform and including fixed vertical arms connected with the free ends of the respective piston rods of said actuating cylinders, whereby said actuating cylinders effect selective angular orientation of said wing plates with respect to said fixed platform; first And second rotary pneumatic motor means, each having a pressure input and a pressure output, mounted, respectively, on said first and second wing plates; first and second dependent, elongated, rotary, output shafts extending, respectively, from said first and second motor means, said output shafts being substantially perpendicular to the plane of said wing plates; cutter means mounted on each of said output shafts below said wing plates; first and second material conduit means fixed, respectively, in said first and second wing plates adjacent said first and second output shafts, respectively, each said conduit means having a material intake adjacent the lowermost portion of its associated output shaft and cutter means and a material exhaust above and outboard of its respective wing plate; a source of pneumatic pressure connected to the pressure input of each of said motor means; variable flow valve means at the pressure output of each said motor means; pressure conduit means extending from each of said variable flow valve means into a respective one of said material conduit means immediately above said material intake thereof; pipeline engaging and following means suspended below said fixed platform and each of said wing plates; said engaging and following means suspended below said wing plates being so oriented with respect to said cutter means and said material conduit means as to control the orientation of the latter two means to effect a trench cut of a shape and size tailored to the size of a pipeline when said engaging and following means are juxtaposed with said pipeline.

Claim 7

The invention defined in claim 6, wherein said variable flow valve means selectively control the rates of rotation of said motor means and said cutter means by controlling the exhaust rate from said motor means and simultaneously effects a flow of compressed air through said pressure conduit means into said material conduit means at a flow rate proportional to the speed of said cutter means, thereby effecting material removal from said trench cut at a rate consistent with the speed of said cutter means.

Claim 8

The invention defined in claim 7, wherein each said cutter means, during rotation, describes a frustoconical surface.

Claim 9

The invention defined in claim 6, wherein said pipeline engaging and following means comprise a vertically adjustable dependent bracket and pipeline engaging roller means on each said fixed platform and said wing plates: said roller means beneath said fixed platform comprising an index roller adapted to first engage said pipeline and said roller means beneath said wing plates being adapted to engage and disengage said pipeline upon displacement of said wing plates by said power actuating cylinders; whereby, said engaging and following means is selectively adaptable to a variety of pipeline diameters.

Claim 10

The invention defined in claim 6, wherein said variable flow valve means selectively control the rates of rotation of said motor means and said cutter means by controlling the exhaust rate from said motor means and simultaneously effects a flow of compressed air through said pressure conduit means into said material conduit means at a flow rate proportional to the speed of said cutter means, thereby effecting material removal from said trench cut at a rate consistent with the speed of said cutter means; wherein said pipeline engaging and following means comprise a vertically adjustable dependent bracket and pipeline engaging roller means on each said fixed platform and said wing plates; said roller means beneath said fixed platform comprising an index roller adapted to first engage said pipeline and said roller means beneath said wing plates being adapted to engage and disengage said pipeline upon displacement of said wing plates by said power-actuating cylinders; whereby, said engaging and following means is selectively adaptable to a variety of pipeline diameters.

Claim 11

The invention defined in claIm 10, wherein each said cutter means, during rotation, describes a frustoconical surface.

Claim 12

The invention defined in claim 6, wherein each said cutter means, during rotation, describes a frustoconical surface.

Claim 13

The invention defined in claim 6, wherein, in said ambulatory vehicle, each of said hull sections includes traction means engaging said submerged surface.

Claim 14

The invention defined in claim 6, wherein, in said ambulatory vehicle, each of said hull sections comprises elongated skid means.

Claim 15

The invention defined in claim 6, wherein, in said ambulatory vehicle, each of said hull sections comprises elongated skid means; and wherein said raised frame portion includes a substantially fixed central frame means mounting said fixed platform and an outrigger frame means for each said hull section, vertically pivoted to said fixed central frame means; each said outrigger frame means comprising, in vertical section, a parallelogram linkage having selectively extensible diagonal link means controlling the vertical and horizontal displacement of said hull sections from said fixed central frame means.

Claim 16

The invention defined in claim 15, wherein said selectively extensible diagonal link means comprises at least one compressed air actuated cylinder means having an extensible actuating rod, said cylinder means effecting a compressible action permitting its associated hull section to displace independently of the other hull section in response to changes in the topography of said submerged surface.

Claim 17

Trenching apparatus adapted to be carried by a vehicle over a submerged pipeline for entrenching the latter beneath a submerged surface, said apparatus comprising: pipeline engaging and following means; rotary cutter means adapted to effect a trench cut beneath said pipeline; material removal means associated with said cutter means to evacuate material from said trench cut adjacent said cutter means; first power means juxtaposing said engaging and following means with said pipeline; and second power means, common to said cutter means and said material removal means effecting coordination of the speed of said cutter means with the rate of removal of material from said trench cut by said material removal means.

Claim 18

Trenching apparatus adapted to be carried by a vehicle over a submerged pipeline for entrenching the latter beneath a submerged surface, said apparatus comprising: pipeline engaging and following means; rotary cutter means adapted to effect a trench cut beneath said pipeline; material removal means associated with said cutter means to evacuate material from said trench cut adjacent said cutter means; first power means juxtaposing said engaging and following means with said pipeline; and second power means, common to said cutter means and said material removal means effecting coordination of the speed of said cutter means with the rate of removal of material from said trench cut by said material removal means.

Claim 19

The invention defined in claim 17, wherein said engaging and following means are adjustable to a variety of pipeline diameters. 19. The invention defined in claim 17, wherein said material removal means comprises at least one substantially vertical airlift conduit having a material intake at its lower end adjacent the lowermost portion of said cutter means and a material exhaust at its upper end; and wherein said second power means comprises a pneumatic motor driving said cutter means and having a pressure input, a pressure output and a selectively variable flow rate exhaust valve at said pressure output; and a pneumatic conduit interconnecting said pressure output through said exhaust valve and into said vertical airlift conduit above and adjacent to said material intake; said exhaust valve varying the speed of said pneumatic motor means and said cutter means by controlling the exhaust rate from said pressure output and simultaneously varying the rate of pneumatic flow from said pressure output into said airlift conduit to effect a rate of material removal therethrough in direct proportion to the speed of said cutter means.

Claim 20

The invention defined in claim 17, wherein said cutter means and said material removal means are coordinated with said engaging and following means such that a trench cut is effected, beneath said pipeline, of a depth and width particularly adapted to the diametric size of said pipeline to effect a given trenching depth; wherein said material removal means comprises at least one substantially vertical airlift conduit having a material intake at its lower end adjacent the lowermost portion of said cutter means and a material exhaust at its upper enD; and wherein said second power means comprises a pneumatic motor driving said cutter means and having a pressure input, a pressure output and a selectively variable flow rate exhaust valve at said pressure output; and a pneumatic conduit interconnecting said pressure output through said exhaust valve and into said vertical airlift conduit above and adjacent to said material intake; said exhaust valve varying the speed of said pneumatic motor means and said cutter means by controlling the exhaust rate from said pressure output and simultaneously varying the rate of pneumatic flow from said pressure output into said airlift conduit to effect a rate of material removal therethrough in direct proportion to the speed of said cutter means.

Claim 21

The invention defined in claim 20, wherein said engaging and following means are adjustable to a variety of pipeline diameters.