Patents
US 8210774 B1: Guided boring machine and method
- Granted
- 2012-07-03
- Filed
- 2010-05-20 application 12800669
- Type
- Utility · 17 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A guided boring machine includes a cutter head, a steering head and an internal casing with an auger therein for conveying material cut by the cutter head towards the rear end of the auger. The boring machine bores a tunnel from a launch pit to a target pit along a desired boring direction and simultaneously installing a selected one of a plurality of differently-sized product casings in the tunnel. When the internal casing is placed within a selected product casing with its internal casing longitudinal axis coincident with the longitudinal axis of the selected product casing, an annular space is formed with respect to the selected product casing. The guidance assembly includes a laser that is mounted behind the boring machine and oriented so as to direct its beam in a desired boring direction within the annular space. A target mount is mounted to the steering head inside surface. The target mount includes a roll correction slot which is parallel to the adjacent steering head inside surface. A target is mounted to the target mount and adapted to move with respect thereto. The target has a target point which is intersected by the laser beam when the cutter head is properly oriented with respect to the desired boring direction. A gradiometer is mounted to the target to indicate the roll orientation of the steering head, and a roll correction assembly is provided to roll the steering head, if desired, to adjust its roll orientation.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg120703.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astec Industries, Inc. 26 patents | US company or organization | Chattanooga, TN | ASTEC INDUSTRIES INC SEC filer EXACT medium confidence: identical full name, one of each nationally | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David A. Vidovic | West Salem, OH | 4 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Michael W. Thomas | Warsaw, OH | 11 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| E21D | Shafts; tunnels; galleries; large underground chambers | E21D9/1093 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-03-02 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | AMERICAN AUGERS, INC. signed 2020-02-28 | THE CHARLES MACHINE WORKS, INC. PERRY, OK | 51982/379 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2012-12-03 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | ASTEC INDUSTRIES, INC. signed 2012-11-30 | AMERICAN AUGERS, INC. WEST SALEM, OH | 29391/376 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2010-05-20 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | THOMAS, MICHAEL W. signed 2010-05-11 VIDOVIC, DAVID A. signed 2010-05-11 | ASTEC INDUSTRIES, INC. CHATTANOOGA, TN | 24471/944 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.