EXCAVATION SYSTEM AND METHOD
An excavation system has a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of disturbed soil from the ground. Also included is a vacuum arrangement operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground, and a sensor arrangement including at least one sensor configured to detect a presence of at least one type of buried infrastructure in the ground. A shroud arrangement including a shroud disposed over at least a portion of the agitator and may be movable relative to the agitator to selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the agitator.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 62/458,774 filed Feb. 14, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates to an excavation system and method.
BACKGROUNDUtility companies and associated service providers often need to access buried infrastructure such as gas mains, electrical service lines, and water and sewer systems. In some locations—for example, in highly-populated urban centers—buried utility infrastructure is so closely packed together as to make it a challenge to excavate the ground to access a particular infrastructure system, while not damaging surrounding systems. It would be desirable, therefore, to have a system and method for excavation that provided access to buried infrastructure assets, while not adversely impacting other, nearby infrastructure systems.
SUMMARYAt least some embodiments described herein may include an excavation system having a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of the disturbed soil from the ground. A vacuum arrangement may be operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground, and a sensor arrangement including at least one sensor may be configured to detect a presence of at least one type of buried infrastructure or obstructions—including rocks, debris, buried objects, etc.—in the ground. A shroud arrangement including a shroud disposed over at least a portion of the agitator may be movable relative to the agitator to selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the agitator.
At least some embodiments described herein may include a control system including at least one controller and configured to control the operation of at least the soil-agitation arrangement and the vacuum arrangement. The shroud arrangement may be configured to communicate with the control system to provide information related to a reaction force experienced by the shroud. A sensor arrangement may be configured to communicate with the control system to provide information related to the presence of the at least one type of buried infrastructure and the status of the excavation system, including the detection of vacuum levels.
At least some embodiments described herein may include an excavation system having a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator with a cutting portion operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of the disturbed soil from the ground. The soil-agitation arrangement may have a cover portion at least partially surrounding the cutting portion of the agitator when the soil-agitation arrangement operates. The excavation system may further have a vacuum arrangement operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground.
At least some embodiments described herein may include an excavation system having a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of disturbed soil from the ground. The soil-agitation arrangement may also have a force-sensitive portion configured such that damage to a buried infrastructure during operation of the agitator is inhibited. The excavation system may also have a vacuum arrangement operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground.
At least some embodiments described herein may include an excavation system that includes a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of disturbed soil from the ground. The soil-agitation arrangement may further including a flexibly movable portion configured such that damage to a buried infrastructure during operation of the agitator is inhibited. The excavation system may also include a vacuum arrangement operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
Also shown in
Although the agitator in the embodiment illustrated in
As shown in
In at least some embodiments, the disturbed soil will be removed with a vacuum process to clear the area of interest to provide access to the buried infrastructure. In the embodiment illustrated in
The control system 86 may receive any number of inputs and be preprogrammed with various logic algorithms, including artificial intelligence architecture, to make decisions on an excavation being performed by the excavation system 74. The control system 86 may then output signals to control various aspects of the excavation system 74, such as how much force to apply to the soil, and what angle to tilt the shroud 80 as the excavation is proceeding. Because the shroud 80 tilts at an angle relative to the support tube 76, excavation can proceed at various angles without having to manipulate the entire excavation system 74. This may further help to protect buried infrastructure as the agitator 79 is operated because the shroud 80 can be angled with an orientation to protect the infrastructure from the action of the agitator 79.
The shroud 80 shown in
Alternatively, the cylinders 96, 98 may be pressure-sensitive devices that communicate with a control system 100, which itself may communicate with a sensor system, such as by communicating with the sensor arrangement 23 shown in
A method in accordance with embodiments described herein may include some or all of the following steps, which reference the illustrated systems described above, and which may be performed in the order indicated or in a different order depending on the particular application. After a top layer of asphalt or concrete is removed from an excavation site, the excavation system 10 may be moved into position and connected to a control system and vacuum if the connections have not already been made. The sensor system 23 may provide feedback immediately to the control system to indicate the presence of buried infrastructure. Absent any immediate concerns of contacting infrastructure, the drive motor assembly 12 may be operated to drive the auger 66 or other agitator. Depending on feedback from the sensor arrangement 23, and from other sensors—see the suspension arrangement comprising pressure-sensitive cylinders 96, 98 in
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
Claims
1. An excavation system, comprising:
- a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator with a cutting portion operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of disturbed soil from the ground, the soil-agitation arrangement having a cover portion at least partially surrounding the cutting portion of the agitator when the soil-agitation arrangement operates; and
- a vacuum arrangement operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground.
2. The excavation system of claim 1, wherein the soil-agitation arrangement includes a flexibly movable portion configured to inhibit damage to a buried infrastructure when the soil-agitation arrangement operates.
3. The excavation system of claim 2, wherein the flexibly movable portion includes the cover portion.
4. The excavation system of claim 3, wherein the cover portion is movable relative to the agitator to selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the cutting portion of the agitator.
5. The excavation system of claim 4, further comprising a sensor system including a sensor arrangement configured to receive input related to a reaction force on the cover portion when the cover portion contacts an object, and further configured to facilitate movement of the cover portion to selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the agitator based at least in part on the reaction force.
6. The excavation system of claim 5, wherein the soil-agitation arrangement further includes a support structure having at least one linear actuator attached to the cover portion and operable to move the cover portion relative to the agitator.
7. The excavation system of claim 6, wherein the at least one linear actuator is configured to provide feedback to the sensor arrangement related to the reaction force.
8. The excavation system of claim 7, wherein the sensor arrangement is configured to provide output to facilitate operation of the at least one linear actuator based at least in part on the reaction force.
9. The excavation system of claim 2, wherein the flexibly movable portion includes the agitator.
10. The excavation system of claim 9, wherein the agitator is configured as an elongate member supported on at least one end, and deflectable on contact with the buried infrastructure such that damage to the buried infrastructure from contact with the agitator is inhibited.
11. An excavation system, comprising:
- a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of disturbed soil from the ground, and further including a force-sensitive portion configured such that damage to a buried infrastructure during operation of the agitator is inhibited; and
- a vacuum arrangement operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground.
12. The excavation system of claim 11, wherein the force-sensitive portion includes the agitator.
13. The excavation system of claim 12, wherein the soil-agitation arrangement further includes a vacuum hood, and the agitator includes a flexible elongate member supported on the vacuum hood such that damage to a buried infrastructure is inhibited during contact between the buried infrastructure and the soil-agitation arrangement.
14. The excavation system of claim 11, wherein the force-sensitive portion includes a shroud arrangement disposed at least partly over the agitator and being movable relative to the agitator to selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the agitator.
15. The excavation system of claim 14, further comprising a sensor system configured to process information related to a presence of the buried infrastructure, and wherein the shroud arrangement is configured to provide feedback to the sensor system related to a reaction force when the shroud arrangement contacts an object.
16. The excavation system of claim 15, wherein the sensor system is configured to provide output to facilitate operation of the shroud arrangement based at least in part on the reaction force.
17. An excavation system, comprising:
- a soil-agitation arrangement including an agitator operable to disturb soil to facilitate removal of disturbed soil from the ground, and further including a flexibly movable portion configured such that damage to a buried infrastructure during operation of the agitator is inhibited; and
- a vacuum arrangement operable to remove the disturbed soil from the ground.
18. The excavation system of claim 17, wherein the flexibly movable portion includes a shroud arrangement disposed at least partly over the agitator and being movable relative to the agitator to selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the agitator.
19. The excavation system of claim 18, further comprising a sensor system configured to receive input related to a reaction force on the shroud arrangement when the shroud arrangement contacts an object, and further configured to facilitate movement of the shroud arrangement to selectively cover and uncover at least a portion of the agitator based at least in part on the reaction force.
20. The excavation system of claim 19, wherein the soil-agitation arrangement further includes a vacuum hood, and the flexibly movable portion includes the agitator, the agitator being configured as a flexible elongate member supported on the vacuum hood such that damage to the buried infrastructure is inhibited during contact between the buried infrastructure and the soil-agitation arrangement.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 14, 2018
Publication Date: Aug 16, 2018
Inventors: G. Gregory PENZA (Old Field, NY), George LOHR (Commack, NY), Robert E. Kodadek, III (Long Beach, NY)
Application Number: 15/896,592