US-20260126131-A1 - A PIPE JACKING MACHINE

US20260126131A1US 20260126131 A1US20260126131 A1US 20260126131A1US-20260126131-A1

Abstract

A pipe jacking machine, comprising a flange for connecting the rear section of the locomotive part, a housing, and pipes; one end of the housing is connected to the flange and the other end is connected to said pipe; a first shield tail brush is provided surrounding outside of the housing at the end close to the flange. By providing the first shield tail brush on the outside of the housing, the first shield tail brush effectively prevents rock fragments cut by the cutter disk from falling into the outer wall space behind the pipe, thereby preventing the accumulation of spoil and avoiding impacts on the construction; the configuration not only ensures the normal operation of the equipment and extends the service life of the equipment.

Inventors

Lung Wong

Assignees

HK CK Development Limited

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251028
Priority Date: 20241106

Claims (11)

1 . A pipe jacking machine, comprising: a flange, for connecting to a rear section of the locomotive part, a housing, and pipe; one end of the housing is connected to the flange and the other end is connected to said pipe; a first shield tail brush is provided surrounding outside of the housing at the end close to the flange.
2 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 1 , wherein a drive cylinder for driving a cutter disc forward is disposed within the housing, one end of the drive cylinder is connected to the flange, and the other end bears against the pipe, the flange is configured to be driven by the drive cylinder to extend and retract relative to the housing.
3 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 1 , wherein the housing is a tubular body divided into a first pipe section and a second pipe section, one end of the first pipe section is connected to the flange, and the other end is connected to the second pipe section; the second pipe section is sleeved over the outside of the pipe, the first shield tail brush is surrounding the exterior of the first pipe section.
4 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 3 , wherein the inner wall of the second pipe section is provided with a sealing assembly, the sealing assembly comprises a second shield tail brush circumferentially and evenly arranged at the connection portion between the second pipe section and the pipe.
5 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 3 , wherein reinforcing ribs are provided between the connection of the first pipe section and the second pipe section.
6 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 5 , wherein the diameter of the first pipe section is smaller than that of the second pipe section, and a stepped transition is provided between the connection of the first pipe section and the second pipe section, the reinforcing ribs are divided into outer reinforcing ribs and inner reinforcing ribs; the outer reinforcing ribs are located on the outer side of the first pipe section and are connected respectively to the first pipe section and the stepped transition, forming a supporting part, the inner reinforcing ribs are located on the inner side of the second pipe section and are connected respectively to the second pipe section and the stepped transition, forming another supporting part.
7 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 3 , wherein a sealing ring is circumferentially arranged on the inner wall of the second pipe section.
8 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 3 , wherein a supporting ring is provided on the inner wall of the second pipe section for supporting the pipe.
9 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 8 , wherein the supporting ring is divided into a full supporting ring and a half supporting ring, the full supporting ring is arranged on the inner wall of the second pipe section, the half supporting ring is located on the lower inner wall of the second pipe section to support the bottom of the pipe.
10 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 1 , wherein the flange is provided with an internal cavity, within which uniformly distributed supporting reinforcing ribs are arranged.
11 . The pipe jacking machine of claim 1 , wherein a groove for installing a waterproof rubber ring is set on the outer annular surface of the flange.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the technical field of pipeline excavation engineering equipment, specifically a pipe jacking machine. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the continuous advancement in pipeline construction, the demands for crossing challenging areas such as highways, railways, and complex building clusters have become increasingly urgent. Historically, pipe jacking construction methods relying on manual excavation have gradually been phased out due to their susceptibility to collapse accidents, low construction efficiency, and high environmental sensitivity. Against this backdrop, pipe jacking technology, with its unique advantages, plays a crucial role in trenchless crossing construction. As the core equipment for construction, a pipe jacking machine typically consists of components such as a cutter disc, a cutter housing, a power unit, a muck removal device, and a steering/correction device. During operation, the pipe jacking machine first utilizes a power unit, located within the cutter housing, to drive the cutter disc and excavate the tunnel. Subsequently, the excavated soil or slurry is discharged from the tunnel via the muck removal device. Next, tunnel segments are installed within the newly advanced tunnel. This cycle repeats until the pipe jacking machine successfully advances from the launching shaft to the receiving shaft. However, in actual application, pipe jacking machines have also exposed some problems. Due to the design characteristic where the locomotive part's diameter exceeds the pipe diameter, coupled with the unavoidable gap between the pipe wall and the excavated tunnel wall, rock fragments cut by the locomotive part often fall into the annular space behind the pipe during construction, leading to the accumulation of spoil. This not only increases the risk of the pipe getting jammed by rock fragments/spoil, pipe locking/seizure, and increased jacking force, but also leads to significant loss of lubrication slurry in downward sloping straight sections. This severely impairs the drag reduction effect and can even result in the failure of the pipe jacking operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a pipe jacking machine configured to effectively block rock fragments and spoil, avoiding their accumulation in the annular space behind the pipe, and thus ensuring the smooth execution of construction. The invention introduces a pipe jacking machine, comprising: a flange for connecting to a rear section of the locomotive part,a housing, andpipe;one end of the housing is connected to the flange and the other end is connected to said pipe; a first shield tail brush is provided surrounding outside of the housing at the end close to the flange. Preferably, a drive cylinder for driving a cutter disc forward is disposed within the housing, one end of the drive cylinder is connected to the flange, and the other end bears against the pipe, the flange is configured to be driven by the drive cylinder to extend and retract relative to the housing. Preferably, the housing is a tubular body divided into a first pipe section and a second pipe section, one end of the first pipe section is connected to the flange, and the other end is connected to the second pipe section; the second pipe section is sleeved over the outside of the pipe, the first shield tail brush is surrounding the exterior of the first pipe section. Preferably, the inner wall of the second pipe section is provided with a sealing assembly, the sealing assembly comprises a second shield tail brush circumferentially and evenly arranged the connection portion between the second pipe section and the pipe. Preferably, reinforcing ribs are provided between the connection of the first pipe section and the second pipe section. Preferably, the diameter of the first pipe section is smaller than that of the second pipe section, and a stepped transition is provided between the connection of the first pipe section and the second pipe section, the reinforcing ribs are divided into outer reinforcing ribs and inner reinforcing ribs; the outer reinforcing ribs are located on the outer side of the first pipe section and are connected respectively to the first pipe section and the stepped transition, forming a supporting part, the inner reinforcing ribs are located on the inner side of the second pipe section and are connected respectively to the second pipe section and the stepped transition, forming another supporting part. Preferably, a sealing ring is circumferentially arranged on the inner wall of the second pipe section. Preferably, a supporting ring is provided the inner wall of the second pipe section for supporting the pipe. Preferably, the supporting ring is divided into a full supporting ring and a half supporting ring, the full supporting ring is arranged on the inner wall of the second pipe section, the half supporting ring is located on the lower inner wall of the second pipe section to suppor