This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/091,353 entitled “High Pressure Water Jet Add-On to Hydrovac Boom Hose,” filed Apr. 5, 2016, the subject matter all of which is incorporated herein by reference.

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The present invention relates to the field of excavating, and more specifically to the field of tools used for excavating holes.

Large vertical columns or vertical structures are used to build many types of buildings or structures. Such buildings or structures may include fences, bridges, arches, aqueducts, roadways, buildings etc. In order to create an adequate foundation for these vertical columns, vertical holes are required to be dug into the ground in order to receive a lower end of these vertical columns or structures.

Pilot holes are required to dig vertical holes. In the past, pilot holes have been dug utilizing shovels, post hole shovels and other types of tools that use mechanical force to shovel or remove dirt and other earthly material from the ground in order to form a hole. However, using shovels and other related tools can cause problems. For example, buried assets such as utility cables and conduits may be damaged by a shovel or other tool when digging a hole.

More recently, hydrovacs have been used to remove dirt in order to form holes. However, hydrovacs use a two-man system. One man runs the boom and the other runs the wand. This means that there are two men within the touch potential zone if the wand or the dig tube came into contact with an underground power source.

However, may not have enough suction power in order to remove some items from the ground. In order to decrease the size of the items, water has been used in order to facilitate the removal process by using water to the erode or decrease the size of the earthly material so that the suction power of a vacuum can be used to remove earthly material.

However, one problem of using water with vacuum power is that it may be difficult to combine water erosion power with the vacuum suction power. Another problem with combining water power with vacuum suction power is that the size of the hole may be too small to incorporate both a vacuum and sufficient water erosion power. Another problem associated with existing systems for combining water and suction power is that the existing uses of combined water and suction power do not adequately confine the water and suction power to a defined area.

As a result, there exists a need for improvements over the prior art and more particularly for a more efficient way of digging or excavating pilot holes.

A system and method for excavating holes is disclosed. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of disclosed concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description including the drawings provided. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this Summary intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope.

In one embodiment, a system for excavating holes is disclosed. The system comprises a device for coupling to a working end of a hydrovac boom hose. The device includes a cylindrical suction tube configured for removably coupling to the working end of the hydrovac boom hose, such that an opening of the working end remains unobstructed. A plurality of high pressure rotating turbo nozzles are located around the outside circumference of the cylindrical suction tube, such that the high pressure rotating turbo nozzles surround the working end of the device. The high pressure rotating turbo nozzles are configured for emitting high pressure water that dislodge earthly material. A plurality of air vents are presented on the outer housing. The air vents allow the flow of ambient air to the area being excavated by the device. A conduit is coupled with the outer housing. The conduit is for allowing ingress of water to the plurality of high pressure rotating turbo nozzles.

Additional aspects of the disclosed embodiment will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosed embodiments. The aspects of the disclosed embodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While disclosed embodiments may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting reordering, or adding additional stages or components to the disclosed methods and devices. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosed embodiments. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosed embodiments is defined by the appended claims.

The disclosed embodiments improve upon the problems with the prior art by providing a device for coupling to a working end of a hydrovac boom hose. The system provides a safer, and more efficient way to non-destructively dig into soft soils to unearth and expose underground pipelines, fiber-optics and utilities, for the purpose of digging holes and removal of earthly materials. The system provides a device that combines the use of water jet power and vacuuming power in one device to reduce the space necessary to accommodate an excavating device. The system may also include an outer sleeve that surrounds the rotating turbo nozzles and boom hose, that is configured to confine fluid exiting the rotating turbo nozzles and suction force of the hydrovac boom hose to a defined area. The system also improves over the prior art by allowing the hole to be excavated without having to expose the operators to the dangers of the touch potential zone of the hydrovac boom which could possibly lead to electrical shock or electrocution, and flying debris. The system also improves over the prior art by reducing the amount of energy required to excavate a hole.

Referring now to the Figures, FIGS. 1 and 2 will be discussed together. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device 100 coupled to a working end 103 of a hydrovac boom hose 105. In FIG. 2, the device is also coupled to a working end of a boom hose and further illustrates the flow of fluid, air and materials within the device. The hydrovac boom hose is an elongated tubular like structure. The second end or vacuum end 210 of the hydrovac boom hose is communicatively coupled to a vacuuming device 140 (as illustrated in FIG. 4). The device 100 may comprise a motor (405 as illustrated in FIG. 4) that is configured to provide suction force in direction of line A. The device 100 may also direct the earthly material and water removed to a reservoir 170 that may be configured to receive and removably store earthly material and water (as illustrated in FIG. 4).

A suction tube at the center of the device 100 is configured for removably coupling to the working end of the hydrovac boom hose, such that the opening 104 of the hydrovac boom hose remains unobstructed. Similar to the hydrovac boom hose, the suction tube may be collapsible, accordion like, telescoping, etc., and may be extendable, lengthened, shortened, raised, or lowered. Similar to the hydrovac boom hose, the suction tube may be fabricated from any number of flexible and/or resilient materials such as plastic, polymer, neoprene, or rubber. Additionally, the suction tube may also be fabricated from a metal or other rigid or partially rigid material constructed to flex or bend. The suction tube may be configured to span only a small portion of the hose, or the entire or substantial amount of the vacuum hose.

The outer housing 110 comprises a cylindrical shaped structure that surrounds and protects the device components. The outer housing is tapered at the top to allow it to be connected to the suction tube. The outer housing may comprise a plurality of slots covered by louvers 150 along the body of the outer housing to allow ambient air to travel down through between the outer housing and the suction tube to the face of the device and then back up through the suction tube. The plurality of air vents allows for air to move through the annular space 155 between the outer housing and the hydrovac boom hose. In operation, as earthly material is suctioned into the working end of the hydrovac boom hose, ambient air flows into the slots from outside the outer housing towards the working end of the hose and into the working end of the hydrovac boom hose. It should be appreciated that the slots may define any shape and can thereby be formed in a square, rectangular, circular, oval or any other shape, and such variations are within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. Additionally, the dimensions and number of slots may vary depending on the amount of air required to travel into the working end of the hose.

A conduit 125 is coupled with the outer housing. The conduit is a pipe that supplies water to a plurality of high pressure rotating turbo nozzles 115 and is configured for emitting a stream of pressurized water through the ends 120 of the rotating turbo nozzles. The conduit may be connectively attached/removed from the hydrovacs high pressure water pump system. The conduit may comprise flexible materials such PVC, acrylic, butyrate, neoprene, polycarbonate, Polyurethane, Nylon, PVC (Vinyl) and Polyethylene, copolymers, fiber-reinforced polymers, or any combination thereof. Additionally, other materials having flexible properties can be used and are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The conduit may be easily removeable and may be easily replaceable.

The high pressure rotating turbo nozzles are configured to provide a pressurized stream of water to a designated area. In operation, the stream of water emitted from the high pressure rotating turbo nozzles are able to erode earthly materials so that the materials may be suctioned through the opening 104 of the working end of the suction tube, which is held in place in the center of the annular space 155 between the outer housing and the hydrovac boom hose via a holder 203 attached via fasteners 205 and 207 to the end 209 of housing 110. The nozzles surround the outside of the suction tube and are connected to the conduit, which may be removeable. A first end 125 of the conduit may be attached to a water source 160 for delivering water to the high pressure rotating turbo nozzles (as illustrated in FIG. 4). A water pump may be used (as illustrated as 405 in FIG. 4) for pressurizing and/or pumping the water to the nozzles and controlled by a control unit comprising a processor (as illustrated as 415 in FIG. 4). The nozzles emit a pressurized water stream at a 15-degree angle while spinning to create a full cone spray pattern to allow the water to make contact with the entire surface area beneath the device. The nozzles may also be configured to emit water at a plurality of pressures and emitting rates (including varying intervals of pressure). The nozzles may be configured emit water between 0 pounds per square inch (PSI) and 3000 PSI and between 0 gallons per minute (GPM) and 80 GPM. Additionally, the nozzles have an adjustable element or an element that allows a user to adjust the pressure of the water stream emitted from the nozzle tip and the area of the ground contacted by the stream of water. The nozzle adjustability allows the operator to increase or decrease the area that the water emitted from the nozzles contacts.

The device may also include an onboard locating sensor device 215 that is mounted on the outer housing and positioned between the suction tube and the high pressure rotating nozzles. The onboard locating sensor device is made up of a transmitter, receiver and audible warning alarm. The onboard locating sensor device emits a magnetic frequency into the ground which then bounces back to the receiver, for monitoring, locating, or detecting utilities, conduits, or buried assets within the ground, and for providing an alarm for such upcoming utilities, conduits, and buried assets. As the device approaches closer to the utilities, conduits, and buried assets, the alarm volume increases. The sensor is adapted for communicating to a processor of the device (within a control unit) that is configured to provide an alarm to notify the operator of any underground utility or cable. Such sensors are well known to those skilled in the art and may include a resistivity sensor, a permittivity sensor, a conductivity sensor, and a magnetometer. Additionally, other sensor and circuitry may be used and are within the scope of the present invention. The alarm may be a visual or a sound alarm, however other types of alarms are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The processer may integral with or conductively coupled or wirelessly coupled with a control unit of the device 415 (further illustrated in FIG. 5 and explained below).

The outer housing covers the high pressure rotating turbo nozzles. The outer sleeve 305 is attached to the outside edge of the outer housing to create a non-destructive/non-conductive bumper on the working end of the device. The outer sleeve is also used to set a distance between the working end of the device and high pressure rotating nozzles to protect any pipelines, fiber-optics, or utilities from being damaged by the high-pressure water stream emitted from the rotating turbo nozzles. The outer sleeve is made of non-conductive material to help eliminate electric shock and electrocution. The outer sleeve is an elongated tubular shaped body that is fabricated from any number of flexible and/or resilient materials such as a plastic or polymer, neoprene, or a rubber. Additionally, the outer sleeve may also be fabricated from a metal or other rigid or partially rigid material constructed to flex or bend.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, in operation, an operator that intends to excavate a hole may attach a tubular suction tube to the device. The first end of the conduit is attached to the water source 160 so that water can communicate and flow to the nozzle end 410 of the conduit. The second end or vacuum end 210 of the vacuum boom hose is attached. Next, the operator will position the working end of the device proximate to the area to be excavated. Thereafter, the operator will activate the motor of the vacuum so that suction force in the direction of line A will force earthly materials, water, and air up the working end of the hose toward the vacuum and, in some embodiments, into the reservoir or storage bin 170. Simultaneously, pressurized water from the water source in the direction of line B is moved towards high pressure rotating turbo nozzles 115 and is emitted from the tips 120 of the high pressure rotating turbo nozzles. The pressurized water from the rotating turbo nozzles may erode the earthly material so that that water and earthly materials can be suctioned into the opening 104 of the hose. Ambient air can enter into annular space between the suction tube and the outer housing (in direction of line D) through the 

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