Drill wagon for transporting and erecting rock drilling rigs
United States Patent Reiersdal [76] Inventor: Olav Reiersdal, Sandvatan St. 4480, Kvinesdal, Norway [22] Filed: Oct. 1, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 402,535  
 [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 26, 1972 Norway 3864/72 [52] U.S. Cl 173/23; 173/43 [51] Int. Cl. E214: 11/02 [58] Field of Search 173/23, 28, 43; 180/8 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,828,137 3/1958 Wagner 173/22 X 3,045,771 7/1962 Curtis 173/22 X 3,088,531 5/1963 Garrett et al. 173/43 X 3,189,103 6/1965 Attebo et al. 173/22 X 3,565,184 2/1971 Gustafsson et a1 173/28 3,809,344 5/1974 Kolderup 173/43 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 116,799 5/l969 Norway 173/22 [451 Apr. 15, 1975 Primary Examiner-Frank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-Richard E. Favreau Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ladas, Parry, Von Gehr, Goldsmith &amp; Deschamps [57] ABSTRACT Drill wagon for transporting and erecting rock drilling rigs with a mobile undercarriage and an obliquely upwardly directed boom secured to the undercarriage. A drill feed frame is pivotally mounted to the free end of the boom. One or more support legs capable of being raised and lowered hydraulically are mounted to the undercarriage. The feed frame is adapted to be pivoted from side to side, the undercarriage is supported by two wheel bogies which are pivotally mounted approximately at the centre of their length and which are pivotable about an axis transversely of the longitudinal axis of the undercarriage. The bogies are pivotable independently of one another by means of respective motors, preferably hydraulic cylinders.  
 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures DRILL WAGON FOR TRANSPORTING AND ERECTING ROCK DRILLING RIGS The present invention relates to a drill wagon for transporting and erecting rock drilling rigs, the wagon being provided with a mobile undercarriage and obliquely upwardly projecting boom secured thereto and having a pivotable drill feed frame at the free end of the boom.  
  Drill wagons are previously known of this type where the undercarriage is supported by two wheels and is provided with one or more support legs capable of being raised and lowered hydraulically, the feed frame being adapted to pivot from side to side. Such a drill wagon is described in Norwegian Pat. No. 1 16,799. The prior art in regard to this type of drilling wagon is that the feed frame is driven as propelling member, it being pivotally mounted on the free end, and capable of movement by means of a hydraulic cylinder. When the drill wagon is to be driven forwardly, it is supported by the two wheels and the support leg and, in this position, the feed frame can be pivoted forwardly and lowered into contact with the ground, the support leg being withdrawn. With the support leg in raised position, the feed frame is bent inwardly toward the undercarriage and, during this movement, the drill wagon is pulled towards the feed frame, supported by the wheels. When the undercarriage has arrived as close as possible to the feed frame, the support leg is disposed against the ground and presses the feed frame upwardly from contact with the ground, and the whole operation is repeated. In that the feed frame may be pivoted from side to side, the path may be changed and the position at the location of operation is readily reached.  
  Even though the above described rig has good progress capability in rough terrain, there is a limit to the type of obstacles which can be overcome, and also to the inclination of the terrain on which the rig can be erected. It is difficult, for example, for the rig to pass over large rocks or step-shaped obstacles in the terrain. It is also dangerous to drive along a steep incline. It is also dangerous to erect the rig for drilling on too great an incline, since the centre of gravity of the rig will then be far out to the side of the undercarriage.  
  The aim ofthe present invention is to provide an improvement in a drill wagon of the type described hereinabove. so that it has much greater capacity for progress in particularly rough terrain and so that it can be erected for drilling on steep inclines.  
  In accordance with the invention, this is achieved by a drill wagon for transporting and erecting rock drilling rigs, having a mobile undercarriage and an obliquely upwardly directed boom secured thereto, and a pivotable feed frame at the free end of the boom, the said drill wagon being characterized by the combination of the following features which are known per se:  
  that one or more legs, capable of being raised and lowered hydraulically, are mounted to the undercarriage,  
  that the feed frame is adapted to pivot from side to side,  
  that the undercarriage is supported by two wheel bogies which are pivotally mounted approximately at the centre of their length (longitudinal direction thereof) and which are pivotal about an axis transversely of the longitudinal direction of the wagon,  
  and that the bogies are independently pivotable with respect to one another by means of separate motors. preferably hydraulic cylinders.  
  The hydraulic cylinders are mounted horizontally and engage respective bogies over the centre of rotation thereof so that the bogies may be pivoted approximately The invention is further explained in the following with reference to the drawing where,  
  FIG. 1 is an embodiment example of the invention viewed in perspective.  
  FIG. 2 is the same embodiment example during progress in difficult terrain and FIG. 3 is the same embodiment example erected for drilling in steeply inclined terrain.  
  The drill wagon consists of a predominantly V- shaped frame 1, to the rearwardly directed arms 2, 3 of which pivotal wheel bogies 4, 5 are secured. The bogies are rotatable about a shaft 6 and are, at their free ends. provided with drive wheels 7, 8. Between the said two wheels, further wheels 9, 10 may be mounted of somewhat smaller diameter than the wheels 7, 8 so that, on even ground, the wheels 9, 10 are not in contact with the ground. Each bogie 4, 5 is provided with an arm 11 which projects upwardly above the centre of rotation 6. A hydraulic cylinder 12 engages the said arm so that the bogies can be rotated in vertical plane, independently of one another.  
  ln known manner, the drill wagon is further supported by a support leg 13 which is adapted to be raised or lowered by means of a hydraulic cylinder 14. Further, the drill wagon has a forwardly directed boom I5 at the free end of which a feed frame 16 is mounted for a drilling rig 17. The feed frame 16 may be pivoted from side to side by means of a hydraulic cylinder 18. The bogies are sufficiently short and arranged sufficiently far out at the end of the undercarriage opposed to the boom, that the plumb-line through the center of gravity of the entire is outside the support surface of the bogies.  
  If a steep obstacle is to be overcome, the rig is brought close to the obstacle and the forward wheels on both bogies are raised so that the bogies rest on the rear wheels as adjacent as possible to the obstacle. The rig is then pulled further forward so that the fore wheels of the bogies are engaged at the top of the obstacle. The rear wheels are thereafter raised, the fore wheels resting meanwhile on top of the obstacle. When the bogies are approximately in horizontal position, both bogies are pulled in onto the top of the obstacle by means of the feed frame.  
  It is also possible to move the bogies one at the time onto an obstacle as illustrated on FIG. 2. The bogies 4, 5 are here pivoted such that the undercarriage l is raised and the entire drill wagon is supported by the rear wheels 8 on the bogie, the forward wheels 7 resting on the edge of the steep obstacle. In this position, one bogie, for example, 5, is pivoted to approximately normal horizontal position. The drill feed frame 16 is then pivoted to the left so that the fore wheel 7 on the bogie 5 rolls over the top of the steep obstacle. Thereafter, the bogie 4 can be pivoted back to vertical position and the fore wheel on the bogie 4 made to roll inwardly in that the feed frame 16 is pivoted to the right. The drill wagon according to the invention may then climb equally well down over rough terrain as upwardly, the  
 operation being carried out in opposite sequence of that described hereinabove.  
  in FIG. 3 it is seen how the drill wagon according to the invention can be erected for drilling on inclined terrain. The bogie 4 located at the top of the incline rests against the ground in normal horizontal position. The second bogie 5 is rotated so that it is in a more vertical position and such that the rear wheel usually rests on the ground. In this manner. it is possible to compensate for inclines in the terrain while retaining normal horizontal position of the drill wagon.  
  During normal driving. where the terrain is not too difficult, the hydraulic pressure on the cylinders 12 may be disconnected so that the drill wagon moves forward in normal manner supported by the wheel bogies 4, 5 which give the drill wagon an improved mobility in the terrain than conventional single wheels, as described in Norwegian patent No. 1 16.799. During driving. the operator stands behind the motor housing 19 and the various movements are carried out by means of a plurality of levers 20 by means of which hydraulic control valves can be operated for the different cylinders.  
 Having described my invention, I claim:  
  1. An improved drill wagon for transporting and erecting rock drilling rigs comprising a mobile undercarriage and an obliquely upwardly directed boom secured thereto, a drill feed frame pivotally mounted to the free end of the boom, and at least one support leg mounted on the undercarriage and capable of being raised and lowered hydraulically wherein the improvement comprises the following further features in combination&#39;:  
 a. two bogies are provided for the undercarriage. said bogies being pivotally mounted approximately at the centre of their length and being pivotable about an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the undercarriage b. said bogies are pivotable independently of one another respective driving means, and  
 c. said bogies are sufficiently short and arranged sufficiently far out at the end of the undercarriage opposed to the boom. that the plumb-line through the centre of gravity of the entire apparatus is outside the support surface of the bogies.  
  2. Drill wagon according to claim I in which the driving means for said bogies comprises hydraulic cylinders arranged horizontally and respectively engaging the bogies through an arm projecting over the center of rotation, so that the bogies can be rotated through approximately 3. Drill wagon according to claim 1, in which each bogie is provided with drive wheels at the ends thereof. and is also provided with wheels of smaller diameter than the drive wheels located between said drive