ARTICULATED CONDUIT LINKAGE SYSTEM

摘要

AN ARTICULATING CONDUIT LINKAGE SYSTEM (80) FOR MAINTAINING A FLUID CONNECTION BETWEEN A FLUID SOURCE AND DISPLACEABLE CONDUIT THAT HAS BEEN BURIED IN A SUBSIDING PERMEABLE BODY (30). A FLUID SOURCE CAN SUPPLY A WORKING FLUID THROUGH A SOURCE OUTLET (72), AND WHICH IS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PERMEABLE BODY (30). A DISPLACEABLE CONDUIT CAN RECEIVE THE WORKING FLUID THROUGH A CONDUIT INLET (74), AND BE BURIED AT A DEPTH WITHIN A SUBSIDING PERMEABLE BODY (30) THAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN A PERMEABILITY CONTROL INFRASTRUCTURE (12).; A PLURALITY OF ARTICULATING CONDUIT SEGMENTS (82,84,86) CAN COMPRISE: AN OUTER CONDUIT SEGMENT (82) THAT IS OPERABLY COUPLED TO THE SOURCE OUTLET (72) WITH A FIRST SINGLE-AXIS SWIVEL JOINT, AN INNER CONDUIT SEGMENT (84) THAT IS OPERABLY COUPLED TO THE CONDUIT INLET (74) WITH A SECOND SINGLE-AXIS SWIVEL JOINT, AND AT LEAST ONE MIDDLE CONDUIT SEGMENT (86) THAT OPERABLY CONNECTS THE OUTER (82) AND INNER SEGMENTS (84), RESPECTIVELY, WITH AT LEAST ONE SINGLE-AXIS SWIVEL JOINT TO ESTABLISH A WORKING FLUID CONNECTION BETWEEN THE FLUID SOURCE AND THE DISPLACEABLE CONDUIT (70).; IN THE EVENT OF A SUBSIDENCE OF THE PERMEABLE BODY WHICH CAUSES A RELATIVE DISPLACEMENT BETWEEN THE SOURCE OUTLET (72) AND THE CONDUIT INLET (74) THAT IS PERPENDICULAR TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXES OF BOTH THE OUTLET AND THE INLET, THE PLURALITY OF ARTICULATING CONDUIT SEGMENTS (82,84,86) ARE CONFIGURED SO THE OUTER (82) AND INNER (84) CONDUIT SEGMENTS ROTATE IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS TO EXTEND THE CONDUIT LINKAGE SYSTEM WHILE MAINTAINING A WORKING FLUID CONNECTION BETWEEN THE SOURCE OUTLET (72) AND THE CONDUIT INLET (74). THE MOST ILLUSTRATED DRAWING IS