Pneumatic excavator
US5966847A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 14, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 19, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 14, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T137/87804
- WIPO fieldCivil engineering
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A portable excavator having a tube to point a supersonic gas stream at a buried object. The excavator includes a movable member disposed within the conduit to pulse gas passing through the conduit and a supersonic gas nozzle at the exit of the conduit. Compressed gas delivered to the conduit exits the nozzle in a pulsed manner at two to three Hz. The movable member includes a piston which blocks gas from flowing through the conduit by the biasing force of a spring. When the force from the pressure differential across the piston exceeds the biasing force, the piston moves and allows gas to flow through the conduit until the force from the pressure differential across the piston is less than the biasing force.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.