US 12,460,746 B2
Method and apparatus for trenchless extraction of pipe
Shawn Gaunt, Kamloops (CA); and Elliott Brown, Kamloops (CA)
Assigned to The Tunneling Company Inc., Alberta (CA)
Filed by The Tunneling Company Inc., Alberta (CA)
Filed on May 10, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/315,393.
Claims priority of application No. CA 3158674 (CA), filed on May 11, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0366485 A1, Nov. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. F16L 1/028 (2006.01)
CPC F16L 1/028 (2013.01) 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
4. A method of trenchless extraction of horizontal pipe, said method comprising:
providing a pipe extraction apparatus, said pipe extraction apparatus comprising:
a percussive hammer supported by a housing in alignment with a striker plate, said striker plate mounted to said housing, said hammer longitudinally displaceable relative to said housing;
a tension helmet disposed over said striker plate and connected to said hammer by one or more tensile elements; and
a shock absorber disposed between said striker plate and said tension helmet; mounting said pipe extraction apparatus to an exposed end of a pipe to be extracted from a surrounding substrate; and
operating said hammer to strike said striker plate repeatedly in a direction away from said surrounding substrate, thereby displacing said pipe out of said surrounding substrate incrementally, said shock absorber urging said tension helmet away from said striker plate after each successive strike, said one or more tensile elements thereby urging said hammer toward said striker plate after each successive strike.