Method and apparatus for concentrated energy drilling, core drilling, automated mining and tunneling

Abstract

A system, method, and apparatus for creating core samples, including a core bit; and a high-energy source disposed at a perimeter of the cutting head. That system, method, and apparatus allows removing much less material using much less energy than the current state of the art. A reason for this is that prior attempts tried to accomplish this via drilling just from the surface with a very large device or to send down hole a very large device. This invention makes it feasible to send high energy down hole is a relatively tiny device such as an optical fiber with a laser beam to cut the peripheral part of the hole to remove an intact center core or to bore a very small hole without a center core. With this invention it is feasible to drill a very small hole such as 0.25 inches diameter hundreds of feet through rock, or a 4 inch hole with less than 0.5 inch outer part of the hole being destroyed leaving a core in the center than can be removed. This invention has many more capabilities beyond these.

1 . An apparatus for creating core samples, the apparatus comprising:
 a core cutting head  1100   a ; and   a concentrated energy beam/s ( 1340 ) such as a laser beam/s  1340  disposed at a perimeter of the cutting head of the core bit.   
     
     
         2 . A method for drilling that creates core samples and drills holes only destroying the perimeter of the hole, the method comprising:
 cutting materials with concentrated energy beams such as laser beams wherein the energy source is disposed on a perimeter of a cutting head.   
     
     
         3 . An apparatus for drilling, the apparatus comprising:
 a concentrated energy beam drill pipe such as laser beams for transporting cores to the surface; wherein:   the laser drill pipe is capable of being zippered open to be non-circular for ease of rolling and/or storage or it is a non zippered continuous drill pipe.   
     
     
         4 . A method for assisting core drilling, the method comprising:
 providing a differential fluid pressure for raising cores, rock dust and rock chips or other materials inside a drill pipe by having a double wall pipe or more than two walls with a hollow pressure channel so that pressure is not lost in porous materials in the borehole, instead the pressure is maintained to the bottom which aids both core recovery and purging the laser cutting head or other concentrated energy beam cutting head,