US-20260125954-A1 - SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MANUALLY OPERATED DRILLING ON AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SURFACE

US20260125954A1US 20260125954 A1US20260125954 A1US 20260125954A1US-20260125954-A1

Abstract

A drill, a chuck and a method operating the drill in extraterrestrial environments is disclosed. The drill includes a percussive powerhead having a percussion motor, cam assembly, and a hammer section. An auger assembly is provided having a motor. A hammer assembly is provided. A chuck assembly is provided. A drill tool is coupleable to the powerhead. The drill tool includes a plurality of external flutes. An internal bore is configured to collect a sample. A first stem is provided having a toothed distal end having a bit and a proximal end having an opening with internal threads configured to allow attachment of a second drill tool without interrupting the internal bore or the external flutes.

Inventors

Philip CHU
Meredith McCormick
Leo Stolov
Richard Margulieux
Sean O'Brien
Colin Chen
Luke Sanasarian
Kris Zacny
Amelia Grossman
Justin Spring

Assignees

HONEYBEE ROBOTICS, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241105

Claims (20)

1 . A drill for extraterrestrial environments comprising: a percussive powerhead comprising: a percussive assembly having a percussion motor, cam assembly, and a hammer section; an auger assembly having a motor; a hammer assembly; and a chuck assembly; and a drill tool coupleable to the powerhead, the drill tool comprising: a plurality of external flutes; an internal bore configured to collect a sample; and a first stem including a toothed distal end having a bit and a proximal end having an opening with internal threads configured to allow attachment of a second drill tool without interrupting the internal bore or the external flutes.
2 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the percussive assembly is a percussive cone penetrometer.
3 . The drill of claim 1 , further comprising a shear vane.
4 . The drill of claim 1 , further comprising a linear stage configured to selectively couple with the percussive powerhead assembly to move the drill between a raised and lowered position.
5 . The drill of claim 4 , wherein the linear stage is manually operable.
6 . The drill of claim 5 , wherein the linear stage is operable by a foot.
7 . The drill of claim 6 , further comprising a stem rotation lock configured to connect the linear stage to a foot pad configured to operate the linear stage.
8 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the drill is configured to operate in a vacuum.
9 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the drill is convertible to a handheld configuration.
10 . The drill of claim 1 , wherein the drill is powered by a battery.
11 . A chuck for use in a drill for extraterrestrial environments comprising: an auger spindle; a housing situated around the spindle; an actuation sleeve situated around the housing; and a coring bit operably connected to the auger spindle.
12 . The chuck of claim 11 , wherein the coring bit is connected to the auger spindle by a ball lock.
13 . The chuck of claim 11 , wherein the coring bit comprises a distal end including castellations.
14 . A method of collecting samples in extraterrestrial environments comprising: inserting a first stem into a chuck; lowering the chuck to enter the first stem into a surface in the environment; releasing the chuck from the first stem; inserting a second stem into the chuck; lowering the chuck to contact the second stem to the first stem; and extracting the contacted stems to remove a cored section of the surface in the environment.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising: after lowering the chuck to enter the first stem into the surface in the environment, initiating rotation of the first stem.
16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising: after releasing the chuck from the first stem, locking the first stem to prevent rotation of the first stem.
17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising: after lowering the chuck to contact the second stem to the first stem, unlocking the first stem.
18 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising: after releasing the chuck from the first stem, raising the chuck.
19 . The method of claim 14 , wherein extracting the contacted stems to remove a cored section of the sample comprises: removing the second stem from the first stem; and removing the cored section from within the second stem.
20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising: reinserting the first stem into the chuck; raising the chuck to remove the first stem from within the surface in the environment; and removing the cored section from within the first stem.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a drilling system for collecting a regolith sample on an extraterrestrial body. Conventional planetary drilling systems have been designed for robotic missions only. A manual lunar drill was employed in the Apollo missions with limited capabilities. Disclosed herein are drilling systems providing capabilities of shallow rock coring and geotechnical testing while providing vacuum compatibility and improved drilling features as compared to existing solutions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE According to one aspect of the disclosure, a drill for extraterrestrial environments is provided. The drill includes a percussive powerhead having a percussion motor, cam assembly, and a hammer section. An auger assembly is provided having a motor. A hammer assembly is provided. A chuck assembly is provided. A drill tool is coupleable to the powerhead. The drill tool includes a plurality of external flutes. An internal bore is configured to collect a sample. A first stem is provided having a toothed distal end having a bit and a proximal end having an opening with internal threads configured to allow attachment of a second drill tool without interrupting the internal bore or the external flutes. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include the percussive having is a percussive cone penetrometer. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include a shear vane. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include a linear stage configured to selectively couple with the percussive powerhead assembly to move the drill between a raised and lowered position. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include the linear stage being manually operable. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include the linear stage being operable by a foot. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include a stem rotation lock configured to connect the linear stage to a foot pad configured to operate the linear stage. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include the drill being configured to operate in a vacuum. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include the drill being convertible to a handheld configuration. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the drill may include the drill being powered by a battery. According to another aspect of the disclosure, a chuck for use in a drill for extraterrestrial environments is provided. The chuck includes an auger spindle. A housing is situated around the spindle. An actuation sleeve is situated around the housing. A coring bit is operably connected to the auger spindle. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the chuck may include the coring bit being connected to the auger spindle by a ball lock. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the chuck may include the coring bit comprising a distal end including castellations. According to another aspect of the disclosure, A method of collecting samples in extraterrestrial environments is provided. The method includes inserting a first stem into a chuck. The chuck is lowered to enter the first stem into a surface in the environment. The chuck is released from the first stem. A second stem is inserted into the chuck. The chuck is lowered to contact the second stem to the first stem. The contacted stems are extracted to remove a cored section of the surface in the environment. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the method may include after lowering the chuck to enter the first stem into the surface in the environment, initiating rotation of the first stem. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the method may include after releasing the chuck from the first stem, locking the first stem to prevent rotation of the first stem. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the method may include after lowering the chuck to contact the second stem to the first stem, unlocking the first stem. In addition to one or more of the features described herein, or as an alternative, fur