US3721095A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Controllable force method and system of driving piles
Assignee: Teledyne Bolt Inc
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Filing: 1971-08-23
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Granted: 1973-03-20
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Expires: 1991-08-23
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for determining the magnitude of a driving force being exerted on a substantially rigid object being driven into the earth, such as a pile, and controlling the magnitude in response to that determination. Where the pile driver utilizes a massive piston weight reciprocating in a cylinder and bouncing upon pressurized fluid in a chamber, the force magnitude is determinable by sensing pressure values occurring in the bounce chamber. Force control is obtainable by regulating the flow of pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber in response to the determination. Peak pressure values are sensed by pressure gauge or transducer means to determine the peak values of driving force being exerted on the top of the pile and control of the pile driver operation can be manually or automatically obtained.
Inventors
- 👤 S Chelminski
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 22:45
CPC Classifications
E; E02; E02D; E02D13/00; E02D13/06; E02D7/00; E02D7/02; E02D7/06; E02D7/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
152 words
A method for controllably driving an elongated, substantially rigid object such as a pile into the earth comprising the steps of: providing a cylinder having a piston weight therein movable up and down within the cylinder, providing a gas entraping chamber in the cylinder beneath the piston weight, intermittently feeding pressurized fluid into the chamber to cause the piston weight to bounce up and down upon pressurized fluid in said chamber, coupling the thrust generAted by the bouncing piston weight to the elongated object for exerting driving force on the object to drive it into the earth, determining the magnitude of the driving force being exerted on the object during the bouncing of the piston weight, and controlling the flow of pressurized fluid into said chamber in response to said determination to regulate the pressure occurring therein, thereby controlling the magnitude of the driving force being exerted on the object being driven.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
152 words
A method for controllably driving an elongated, substantially rigid object such as a pile into the earth comprising the steps of: providing a cylinder having a piston weight therein movable up and down within the cylinder, providing a gas entraping chamber in the cylinder beneath the piston weight, intermittently feeding pressurized fluid into the chamber to cause the piston weight to bounce up and down upon pressurized fluid in said chamber, coupling the thrust generAted by the bouncing piston weight to the elongated object for exerting driving force on the object to drive it into the earth, determining the magnitude of the driving force being exerted on the object during the bouncing of the piston weight, and controlling the flow of pressurized fluid into said chamber in response to said determination to regulate the pressure occurring therein, thereby controlling the magnitude of the driving force being exerted on the object being driven.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
60 words
A method for controllably driving an elongate, substantially rigid object into a yieldably material such as the earth or the like as claimed in claim 1 in which the magnitude of the force delivered to the object is determined by sensing the pressure values occurring in said chamber beneath the piston weight upon each bouncing movement of the piston weight.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method for controllably driving an elongate, substantially rigid object into a yieldable material such as the earth or the like as claimed in claim 2 wherein the sensed pressure values are peak pressure values and the pressure being regulated in the gas entraping chamber is the peak pressure occurring therein.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
55 words
A method for controllably driving an elongated, substantially rigid object such as a pile into the earth, as claimed in Claim 1, including the step of adjusting the flow of pressurized fluid to provide a maximum driving force at the termination of the driving operation equal to a pre-determined desired terminal value of driving force.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
139 words
A method for controllably driving a pile into the earth comprising the steps of: providing a cylinder having a massive piston weight therein movable up and down within the cylinder, providing a bounce chamber in the cylinder beneath the massive piston weight, intermittently feeding pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber to cause the massive piston weight to bounce up and down upon pressurized fluid in the bounce chamber, coupling the thrust generated by the bouncing piston weight to the pile for driving the pile into the earth, determining the magnitude of the thrust being generated during the bouncing of the piston weight, and controlling the flow of pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber in response to said determination to regulate the pressure occurring therein, thereby controlling the magnitude of the driving force being delivered to the pile being driven.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
139 words
A method for controllably driving a pile into the earth comprising the steps of: providing a cylinder having a massive piston weight therein movable up and down within the cylinder, providing a bounce chamber in the cylinder beneath the massive piston weight, intermittently feeding pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber to cause the massive piston weight to bounce up and down upon pressurized fluid in the bounce chamber, coupling the thrust generated by the bouncing piston weight to the pile for driving the pile into the earth, determining the magnitude of the thrust being generated during the bouncing of the piston weight, and controlling the flow of pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber in response to said determination to regulate the pressure occurring therein, thereby controlling the magnitude of the driving force being delivered to the pile being driven.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
174 words
A method for controllably driving a pile into the earth comprising the steps of: providing a cylinder having a massive piston weight therein movable up and down within the cylinder, providing a bounce chamber in the cylinder beneath the massive piston weight, intermittently feeding pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber for causing the massive piston weight to bounce up and down upon pressurized fluid in the bounce chamber, coupling the thrust generated by the bouncing piston weight to the pile for exerting driving force for driving the pile into the earth, sensing the pressure values occurring in the bounce chamber upon the bouncing movement of the massive piston weight for determining the magnitude of the force being delivered to the pile, and controlling the flow of pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber in response to said determination to control the peak pressures occurring therein and thereby controlling the driving force being applied to the top of the pile to obtain the most efficient driving mode without exceeding the maximum desired stress on the pile.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
174 words
A method for controllably driving a pile into the earth comprising the steps of: providing a cylinder having a massive piston weight therein movable up and down within the cylinder, providing a bounce chamber in the cylinder beneath the massive piston weight, intermittently feeding pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber for causing the massive piston weight to bounce up and down upon pressurized fluid in the bounce chamber, coupling the thrust generated by the bouncing piston weight to the pile for exerting driving force for driving the pile into the earth, sensing the pressure values occurring in the bounce chamber upon the bouncing movement of the massive piston weight for determining the magnitude of the force being delivered to the pile, and controlling the flow of pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber in response to said determination to control the peak pressures occurring therein and thereby controlling the driving force being applied to the top of the pile to obtain the most efficient driving mode without exceeding the maximum desired stress on the pile.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 6 wherein the sensed pressure values are peak pressure values.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 7 wherein the peak pressure values occurring are temporarily held after they have occurred for gauging the peak pressure values.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of controllably driving a pile into the earth comprising the steps of bouncing a mass up and down upon a cushion of comprEssible pressurized fluid, determining the pressure values of said pressurized fluid cushion, controllably injecting additional pressurized fluid into the cushion beneath the mass in response to the pressure value determination, and controllably utilizing the downward thrust in the cushion of compressible fluid for driving the pile.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of controllably driving a pile into the earth comprising the steps of bouncing a mass up and down upon a cushion of comprEssible pressurized fluid, determining the pressure values of said pressurized fluid cushion, controllably injecting additional pressurized fluid into the cushion beneath the mass in response to the pressure value determination, and controllably utilizing the downward thrust in the cushion of compressible fluid for driving the pile.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
132 words
In a system for controllably driving an elongate substantially rigid object such as a pile into the earth including a driver having a cylinder with a piston weight of large mass reciprocatably within it, a gas entraping chamber in the cylinder beneath the piston weight, means for coupling the driver to the object being driven to transmit the thrust generated by the bouncing piston weight to the object, and means for determining the magnitude of the driving force being delivered to the object, and the further invention comprising means for controllably feeding pressurized fluid into the chamber in response to said determination to cause the piston weight to bounce upon controlled values of pressurized fluid in the chamber, for controlling the driving force applied to said object as it is being driven.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
132 words
In a system for controllably driving an elongate substantially rigid object such as a pile into the earth including a driver having a cylinder with a piston weight of large mass reciprocatably within it, a gas entraping chamber in the cylinder beneath the piston weight, means for coupling the driver to the object being driven to transmit the thrust generated by the bouncing piston weight to the object, and means for determining the magnitude of the driving force being delivered to the object, and the further invention comprising means for controllably feeding pressurized fluid into the chamber in response to said determination to cause the piston weight to bounce upon controlled values of pressurized fluid in the chamber, for controlling the driving force applied to said object as it is being driven.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
56 words
In a system for controllably driving an elongate substantially rigid object into a yieldably material such as the earth or the like, as claimed in claim 10, the means for determining the magnitude of the driving force being applied to the object including means for sensing the peak pressure values occurring in the gas entraping chamber.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
137 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth including a piston weight of large mass adapted to reciprocate up and down within a cylinder, said cylinder having a second piston adapted to reciprocate up and down within the lower end of the cylinder and adapted to be coupled in thrust transmitting relationship to the pile being driven, said piston weight and second piston defining a bounce chamber between them, means for introducing pressurizes fluid into the bouncing chamber, the further invention comprising means for determining the magnitude of the driving force being delivered by the second piston to the pile during the bouncing action, and means for controlling the pressure of the pressurized fluid being introduced into the bounce chamber controlling the magnitude of the driving force being applied to the pile being driven.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
137 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth including a piston weight of large mass adapted to reciprocate up and down within a cylinder, said cylinder having a second piston adapted to reciprocate up and down within the lower end of the cylinder and adapted to be coupled in thrust transmitting relationship to the pile being driven, said piston weight and second piston defining a bounce chamber between them, means for introducing pressurizes fluid into the bouncing chamber, the further invention comprising means for determining the magnitude of the driving force being delivered by the second piston to the pile during the bouncing action, and means for controlling the pressure of the pressurized fluid being introduced into the bounce chamber controlling the magnitude of the driving force being applied to the pile being driven.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
44 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 12, the means for determining the magnitude of the driving force being delivered to the pile including means for sensing the peak pressure values occurring in the bounce chamber.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 13, the pressure sensing means including a check valve and a pressure gauge.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
24 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 13, the pressure sensing means being a pressure transducer.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
155 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth including a cylinder wall defining a cylinder, a massive piston weight movably up and down within said cylinder wall and positioned below said piston weight adapted to be coupled in thrust transmitting relationship to the pile to be driven, said piston weight and cylinder bottom assembly defining a bounce chamber between them, compressible pressurized fluid storage chamber means adapted to communicate with said bounce chamber, the further invention comprising means for determining the pressure values of the fluid in the bounce chamber, a valve for blocking communication between said storage chamber and said bounce chamber, input means for controllably feeding pressurized fluid into said storage chamber from a remote source of supply in response to said determination, and means for opening said valve for injecting pressurized fluid from said storage chamber into said bounce chamber when the piston weight is descending within the cylinder.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
155 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth including a cylinder wall defining a cylinder, a massive piston weight movably up and down within said cylinder wall and positioned below said piston weight adapted to be coupled in thrust transmitting relationship to the pile to be driven, said piston weight and cylinder bottom assembly defining a bounce chamber between them, compressible pressurized fluid storage chamber means adapted to communicate with said bounce chamber, the further invention comprising means for determining the pressure values of the fluid in the bounce chamber, a valve for blocking communication between said storage chamber and said bounce chamber, input means for controllably feeding pressurized fluid into said storage chamber from a remote source of supply in response to said determination, and means for opening said valve for injecting pressurized fluid from said storage chamber into said bounce chamber when the piston weight is descending within the cylinder.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
52 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 16, the preSsure value determining means including a pressure gauge communicating with the bounce chamber through a conduit containing a check valve so that the peak pressure valves in said bounce chamber are registered on the gauge.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
57 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 16, the pressure valve determining means including a transducer in communication with the bounce chamber which senses the pressure values in the chamber and transforming the same into a function of an electrical signal which registers as a reading on an indicator.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
53 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 18, further including a means for automatically regulating the input means for controllably feeding pressurized fluid into the storage chamber as a predetermined response to the determination of the pressure valves of the fluid in the bounce chamber.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
117 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth including a pile driver coupled to the pile in a force transmitting relationship and including a massive piston weight reciprocable within a cylinder to bounce up and down on pressurized fluid in a bounce chamber, the further invention comprising means for determining the magnitude of the force transmitted to the pile by sensing the pressurized fluid pressure values occurring in the bounce chamber, means for communicating the sensed pressure value to an observer, a compressed gas supply means, an intermediate reservoir, and means for controllably feeding pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber in functional response to the determinations of the pressure values in the bounce chamber.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
117 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth including a pile driver coupled to the pile in a force transmitting relationship and including a massive piston weight reciprocable within a cylinder to bounce up and down on pressurized fluid in a bounce chamber, the further invention comprising means for determining the magnitude of the force transmitted to the pile by sensing the pressurized fluid pressure values occurring in the bounce chamber, means for communicating the sensed pressure value to an observer, a compressed gas supply means, an intermediate reservoir, and means for controllably feeding pressurized fluid into the bounce chamber in functional response to the determinations of the pressure values in the bounce chamber.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
37 words
In a system for controllably driving a pile into the earth as claimed in claim 20, further including means for automatically regulating the feeding of pressurized fluid as a predetermined function of the bounce chamber pressure value.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-03-19 | 1976-09-18 | 1977-03-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-03-19 | 1980-09-18 | 1981-03-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-03-19 | 1984-09-18 | 1985-03-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |