US1445085A - Mining apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 13, 1923.

1,445,085. .1. F. JOY.

MINING APPARATUS.

FILED FEB. 15, 1919. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1- |1I1II|II|Ill llllll 11111111111111111111 lllllllllll Il M ww'yw/f y1 w.

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FILED FEB.15. 1919. e SHEETS-SHEET@l Patented Feb. 13, l923.

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JOSEPH F. JOY, OF NEW BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO JOY MACHINE COMPANY, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

MINING APPARATUS.

Application filed February 15, 1919. Serial No. 277,177.

To all 11i/1.0m t may concern:

Be it known that l',Y J osiirii F. Joi', a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New Bethlehem, in the county of Clarion and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mining Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in mining and apparatus therefor, and has especial reference to an improved method of and apparatusfor forming ventilating crossciitsor breakthroughs in room-and-pillar vmines and an improved stopping for said crosscuts.

In places where coal mining is carried on, there are laws designed to safeguard the miners, and among the most important are those governing the ventilation of the mines. A certain amount of fresh air mustl be delivered to each man per minute and some of the air must be delivered past the working face of each mine room. In order to comply with the requirements of these laws, air passages or crosscuts are formed through the walls separating rooms and entries, and, as the mining proceeds and new crosscuts are formed` it is necessary to close the previously inade crosscuts in order to insure proper iow of the air forced into the inline. 'Ihe closures for crosscuts are usually termed stoppings and are each in the form' of a wall or barrier built in a. crosscut to prevent the air of the ventilating current from passing therethrough.

Prior to my invention, the format-ion of crosscuts and the building and maintenance of 4stopi'iings have been extremely costly items in the development of a coal mine or the production of coal.

It isA an object. of the present invention, therefore. to provide an improved method of and means for forming these crosscuts so as to reduce to a minimum, the amount of time and labor necessary therefor and to consequently greatly reduce the cost of the same..

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine for forming crosscuts whose ope-ration is substantially continuous whereby the work is performed easily and expeditiously.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved stopping for cross'- cuts which is of unitary form, simple in construction, efficient in preventing leakage of air and capable of being easily placed in position or removed for reuse.

lVith the above general objects in view and others that will become apparent as the nature of the. invention is better understood, the same' consists in the novel method, and combination, form and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fullyV described. shown in the accompanying drawings and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in Iwhich like reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several views,

Figure l is a diagrammatic plan view ol' a portion of a room-and-pillar mine formed with crosscuts made in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of the mine shown in Fig.. l and illustrating the machine of the present invention in operation.

F igure 3 is a side elevational view of the machine, partly broken away, and partly in section.

Figure 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional fragmentary detail view of the machine taken sul'istantialliY on line IV-TV of Fig. 5. l y

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse sectiolial fragmentary detail view of the machine taken substantially on line. V-V of Fig. 4 and partly broken away.

Figure. 6 is a plan view .of the machine, partly broken away.

Figure 7 is a. fragmentary detail sectional view of a portion of the machine, taken on line VIIVII of Fig.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the forward portion of the machine with parts removed.

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view, taken substantially on line IX-IX of Fig. G. andv partly broken away.

Figure l0 is an elevational view, partly' broken away and partly in section, ofthe.

Referring more in detail to thc several views, 5 indicates thc main entry of the mine into which air is forced by any suitable. means. As indicated by arrows in Fig. 1, some of the, air Hows in this main entry and the rest is caused b v means of check cloths 5 loosely suspended along entry 5 to pass 'into and through thc rooms the. flow being from room to room through thc open crosscuts 7. The open crosscuts 7 are those nearest the working faces 3 of the mine rooms, it being understood that. 'before said open crosscuts were formed. the stoppings 9 were not used in the closed crosscuts 10.

The back entry or return air course 11 is driven parallel with the main entry requiring connecting hallways as at 12 provided with a. suitable'door 13 to prevent the air from flowing therethrough into the re turn air course from the main entry. In the development of the mine shown7 a series of crosscuts 14 were successively formed through Athe wall separating the ent-ries 5 and 11 and closed by a stopping 9 until the open crosscut 15 was made to allow the air to pass from the inner end of entry 5 to the inner end of entry 11 and then out as shown by arrows to a suitable point of discharge.

The foregoing description is directed to substantially what is now done in the development of mines, except that t-he crosscuts as now formed are of no particular siZe or uniform shape in cross-section, while those shown are circular so that a standard sized and unitary portable stopping may be used in any of the same.

A. great many types of stoppings are in use in the various coal mines of the United States, the types varying from efficient, but costly, concrete stoppings to inefficient stoppings constructed of powder cans and coal dust. There are nine stoppings which are most prominently used, i. e., (1) rough lumber board` (2) tongue and groove board. (3) planed and painted board, (4) four inch brick. eight inch brick, (6) concrete blocks, (7) concrete monolith. (8)

slate or gob dry wall. and (9) slate or gob faced with cement. All of these stoppings are built in to suit each crosscut and some constantly require repairs while others are the cause of much loss of time when necessarily demolished and removed in the process of securing or mining the pillar coal.

By reason of the fact that I form the crosscuts of uniform or standard sizes and shape in cross-section, I am enabled to practically make use ot unitary portabley and reusable stoppings, sheet metal forms of which are shown in Figs. 11 to 13.

ln Figs. l1 and 12, the stopping is in the form of a metallic disk 1G having a fianged annular band 17 riveted or otherwise concentrically fastened to one face thel'eof. The band 17 is of a slightly smaller diameterthan the disk 16 so as to leave a projecting portion of the latter as at 18 to form a backing against which the oakum or equivalent packing material 19 is packed, which material is placed between the band 17 and the surrounding wall of the crosscut 10 so as to prevent any material leakage of air. A handle 2() may be provided to be grasped in the hand when removing or initially positioning the stopping in the crosscut, and if it is desired to anchor the stopping, set screws 21 may be threaded through the band 17 for engagement with the Wall of the crosscut. It is to be understood that other anchoring means than the screws 21 may be used or the same may be entirely dispensed with.

In Fig. 13 the stopping also includes a disk 16 having an annular fianged band 17 riveted or otherwise concentrically fastened to one face thereof, but the band 17 in this instance is at least equal in diameter to the disk 16 and is reversely'positioned when in use so as to engage the surrounding Wall of the crosscut 10. In order to seal this form of stopping, wood-fiber plaster or other suitable cement may be placed as at 22 where the stopping touches the wall of the crosscut similar to the manner in which putty( is placed adjacent the edges of a glass pane when the latter is secured in a sash. Thisstopping also may have a handle 20.

The machine for forming the crosscuts in accordance with the present inventionincludes a suitable truck formed, of spaced pairs of side bars 23 which are rigidly connected by transverse bars 24 and between each pair of side bars 23 at the forward end of the truck is a flanged traction or supporting wheel 25 mounted upon a short shaft or axle 26 having its ends suitably'carried by the adjacent pair of side bars to extend between the latter. Another shaft or axle 27 is positioned at the rgar of the truck to extend transversely entirely across the same and upon the ends of this shaft between the pairs of side bars are rear iianged supporting or traction wheels 23. Mounted upon the outer side bars 23 are suitable brackets 29 having the ends of a transverse shaft 30 suitably journaled therein. An electric motor 31 is suitably supported by the truck rearwardly of brackets 29 and the armature shaftl of said motor is geared to shaft 3() by sprockets 32 and 33 and chain 34 so as to rotatably drive said shaft 30.

The shaft 30 has a second sprocket 35 journaled thereon adapted to be connected thereto or disconnected therefrom by a suitably actuated clutch 36, and the sprocket 35 is geared to axle 27 by means of chain 37 which passes around the same and a sprocket 38 secured on said axle. A gearing including sprocket Whleels 39 and a.

The pair of upright posts or bars 41 are rigidly carried by the outer side bars ofthe truck forwardly of wheels 28 and the upper ends of said posts are rigidly connected by a transverse bar 42. A forward inclined chain and scraper type of conveyer 43 is pivotally mounted as at 44 upon the bar 42 for vertical swinging movement and a suitable means 45 is provided to raise the forward end of this conveyor when desired. The headshaft 46 of conveyor` 43 has a sprocket 47 secured thereon and a chain 48 passes around the same and also around the sprocket 49 secured on the stub shaft 50 carried bb conveyor 43. A second sprocket 51 is secured on the stub shaft 50 Iand a chain 52 passes around the same and also around the sprocket 53 which is journaled on shaft 30 and adapted to be connected to or disconnected from the latter by a suitably actuated clutch 54. rThus, when motor 31 is in operation and clutch 54 is positioned to connect sprocket 53 to shaft 30, the headshaft,46 will be rotated to drive the endless member of conveyor 43.

A suitable rearwardly extending frame 55 braced as at 56, is pivotally mounted as at 57 upon the rear end of the truck so as to be capable of swinging horizontally, and this frame rigidly supports a second or car loading conveyor 58. The conveyor 58 has the footshaft 59 thereof driven by motor 6() and gearing 61, and the same has a landing hopper 62 at the forward end thereof to receive the material from the upper rear or discharge end of conveyor 43.

A frame 63 is arranged at the forward portion of the machine above the truck and the shoe portion 64 of conveyor 43. This frame includes converging side rails having a platform 65 secured upon the forward portion thereof and rigidly connected at their rear ends by a transverse rail or bar 66. (see Figs. 4 and 6). The rail 68 is pivotally connected to the bar 42 as at 67 so that the frame 63 may have lateral tilting movement. A suitable means, such as screws 68, is provided to support the forward portion of frame 63. and by properly operating handles 69 of the screws 68, said frame may he tilted for purposes which will become apparent. C

ltightener 86.

A base or supporting plate 70 is anti-frictionally mounted as at 71 upon the platform 65 for'horizontal rotation and a motor 72 is rigidly secured upon this base.. A two-part boxing 73 is alsoV secured on the base 70 and the same has a journal box 74 thereon through which is journaled a shaft 75 having gears 76 and 77 secured on one end and a pulley 78 on the other end, the gear 76 meshing with gear 79 secured on the armature shaft of motors 72.

An .internally threaded screw feed box 80 is arranged within one end of the boxing 73 and the projecting end thereof has a pulley 81 splined thereon. Suitable anti-friction bearings 82 and thrust bearings-83 are provided between the feed box 8() and boxing 73 and a feed screw 84 of a left-hand pitch extends through said feed box in threaded engagement with the latter. The pulley 81 has a belt .85 passed therearound and said belt also passes around the smaller 'pulley 78 to transmit rotation from shaft 75 to feed box 80 if the belt is tightened by the belt- A large spur gea-r 87 meshes with gear 77 and has a hub 88 positioned withinthe other end of boxing 73, suitable anti-friction bearings 82 and thrust bearings 83 being also placed between said hub and the boxing 73.

The gear 87 carries a key 89 (see Fig. 3)

which slidably engages in the longitudinal groove or keyway 90 of feed screw 84 (see Fig. 8), andthe hub 88 of said gear loosely surrounds said feed screw.

A cylinder 91 is provided having radial twisted spokes 92 rigid with a central socket 93 adapted for detachable connection with one end of the feed screw 84 or with one end of the extension piece 94, to be later described. The inner face of cylinder 91 is provided with a spiral rib 95 to convey material to the inner end thereof, which material is cut away by the bits 96 suitably fastened on the outer end or'edge of said cylinder. I The arms 92 are twisted in order to assist the material out of the cylinder 91. In operation, the bits 96 make a circular cut in the coal, thus. producing a solid core within the cylinder 91, and heretofore the core has been the source of failure of circular tunnelling machines because no adequate means was provided to break the same up and convey it away as the operation of bits 96 proceeded. However, I have found that this difficulty is well overcome by using my coal winning device, shown and described in U. S.Patent No. 1,273,869, dated July 30, 1918, within cylinder 91 by slight modifications. ()ne modification is embodied in the present drawings, wherein the threaded cone-shaped wedging element is shown at 97 connected to socket 93 and arranged centrally of cylinder 91 to rotate therewith, a suitable drill 98 being providedrigid with desi red;

the smaller end of said element to first enter the core and form a hole so that the element 'may readily enter and split the-core.

As the limited space in coal mines Will/not often permit the use of a feed screw 84 sufficiently long to feed the cutting tools entirely through the wall in which the crosscut is m'ade, it is necessary to place an extension piece 94 between the feed screw and cylinder 91 after the crosscut has been partially formed. This extension piece merely includes a shaft section provided with a rib* bon conveyor 99 to move the material out of the crosscut, one end of the shaft section being adapted for reception within socket 93 and the other end thereof having a socket 100 for reception of an end of screw 84.

lt will be noted that pulley 78 is larger than gear 77 and that pulley 81 is smaller than gear 87 so that, when motor 72 is in operation, and belt 85 is tightened, the screw 84, and members 91, 97, and 98 will not onlybe rotated by gear- 87, but will also be fed forwardly to the work at a rate of Speed depending upon how much faster feed box`8() is rotated than screw 84 and also upon the form or size of the threads upon screw 84. By letting the belt 85 run loose, the feed box 80 may be held against rotation by brake shoe 85 while screw 84 rotates, thus quickly withdrawing the cutting tools from the vcrosscut.

VVhenthe machine has been brought into the i mine` the shoe 64 of conveyor 43 is lowered to a point near the floor and the machine is advanced along the rails 101 until said shoe is opposite the point where the crosscut is to bemade. An empty pit car is moved into place at the rear of the machine to receive the coal from the conveyor 58, and base 70 is swung around to direct the cutting tools laterally as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The screws 68 are then adjusted to tilt frame 63 so that the cnt made will be either horizontal or at an inclination,y as lVith motors 60, 31 and 72 in operation, clutch 36 disengaged, and clutch 54 enggiged` the machine will remain in position and conveyors 43 and 58 and menibers 84, 91, 97 and 98 will be driven. A s bits 96 cut into the coal and form a core, said core is penetrated by drill 98 and then broken up by ele-ment 97 to be conveyed rearwardly by rib 95. Most of the coal will land on shoe 64 and the rest may be placed thereon in any suitable Way to be transferred K by conveyors 43 and 58 to the pit carwhich takes the coal out of the mine.

From the foregoing description, it is thought that the many advantages as well as the construction, ope-ration and use of the present invention will be readily and clearly understood by those skilled in the art, and while the forms of the invention herein shown and described are what are believed to be the preferred embodiments thereof, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made in part or in who-le without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

lVhat I claim as new is z- 1.' A machine of the class described com` prising a threaded substantially cone-shaped wedging element adapted to be screwed into material with its small end in advance, and a cylinder surrounding said element provided with bits to form a. core to be split by said element.

` 2. A machine of the class described comprising a supporting frame, a base mounted for horizontal rotation on said frame, a motor mounted on said base, a boxing carried by said base, a. screw feed box journaled in said boxing and geared to saidmotor, a gear having a hub journaled in said boxing and geared to said motor, a feed screw slidably positioned within and keyed to the hub of said gear. a cone-shaped wedging element connected to one end of said feed screw, and a cylinder provided with bits and surrounding` said wedging element, said cylinder being connected to said feed screw.

3. A machine of the class described comprising a laterally tiltable supporting frame, a base mounted for horizontal rotation on said frame, a. motor mounted on said base, a boxing carried by said base, 'i screw feed box journaled in said boxing and geared to said motor, a gear having a hub journaled in said boxing and geared to said motor, a feed screw sli'dably positioned within and keyed to the hub of said gear, a. cone-shaped wedging element connected to one end of said feed screw, and a cylinder provided with bits and surrounding said wedging element, said cylinder being connected tosaid feed screw.

4. A machine of the class described comprising conveying means to load coal into a pit car, a laterally tiltable frame supported above the forward end of said conveying means, a motor supported by said frame,

and a core-forming means and a. core-split-y ting means operatively connected to said motor.

5. A- machine of the class described com- )rising a sunort a motor and a boxingl ciated core-forming means and core-split(- ting means operatively connected to said motor.

7. A machine of the class described comprising means to continuously form a core, means operating with Said core-forming means tov continuously break up the core formed thereby, means operating with said core-forming means and said core breaking means to comrey the broken core to a distant point, and means located at said distant point to receive the broken core and transfer the same. laterally into a pit car. said last named meansv comprising a portable conveyor upon the forward end of which the core-forming and core breaking means are mounted.

8. A machine of the class described comprising means to continuously form a core, means operating with said core-forming means to continuously break up the core formed thereby, means operating with said core-forming means and said core breaking means to convey the broken core to a distant point, and means located at said distant point to receive the bro-ken core and transfer the same laterally into a pit car, said last named means comprising a portable conveyor upon the forwardl end of which the core-forming and core breaking means are mounted for horizontal rotation.

9. A machine of the class described comprising means to continuously form a core,

. prising means to continuously form a core,

means operating with said core-forming means to continuously break upr the core formed thereby, means operating with said core-forming means and said co-re breaking means to convey the broken core to a distant point, and means located at said distant point to receive the broken core and transfer the same laterally into a pit car, said last named means comprising a portable conveyor upon the forward end of which the core-forming and core breaking means are mounted for horizontal rotation and for lateral tilting movement.

11. A machine for forming mine ventilating cross cuts including means for cutting through a pillar of coal so as to form a solid core, means operating simultaneously with said cutting means to break up the core formed thereby, means for conveying the broken core out of the cross cuts, said cutting means comprising a cylinder with cutter bits upon its forward edge, and said conveying means comprising a spiral rib interiorly of and rigid with said cylinder.

121 A machine for forming mine ventilating cross cuts including means for cutting through a pillar of coal so as to form a solid core, means operating simultaneously with said cutting means to break up the core formed thereby, means for conveying through a pillar of coal so as to form a solid core, means operating simultaneously with said cuttingmeans to break up the core formed thereby, means for conveying the broken core out of the cross cuts, said cut-ting means comprising a cylinder with cutter bits upon its forward edge, said conveying means comprising a spiral rib interiorly of and rigid with said cylinder, said core breaking means comprising a wedging element arranged axially of said cylinder, and means operating in advance ofsaid element to form a hole in the core of a larger size than that of the small end of said element.

14. In combination with a portable conveyor with a longitudinally arranged inclined conveying means, means supported above the forward lower end of said conveying means for forming mine Ventilating cross cuts through a pillar of coal at. right angles to said conveying means, and means to deliver material produced by the formation of said cross cut onto the forward end of said conveying means.

15. yIn a machine of the class described, the combination of a cylinder having cutter bits upon its forward edge, means to rotate said cylinder and to feed the same forwardly for cutting an annular path whereby a core is formed to project into said cylinder, a rotatable wedging element disposed axially of the cylinder for breaking the core formed by the later, said element. being operatively connected with the cylinder rotating and feeding means, said wedging element being in the form of a4 tapered threaded cone adapted to be screwed with its small end in advance into coal, and means operating in advance of said element for forming a clear ance space in the coal of slightly larger size than the smaller end of said element.

16. In a machine of the class described,`

zontal rotation of the cylinder and its 1'0- V tating and feeding mechanism whereby said is formed to project into said cylinder, a rov tatable wedglng element disposed axially of the Cylinder for breaking the core formed by the latter, said element being operatively connected with the cylinder rotating and feeding means, and a spiral rib fixed to the interior of said cylinder for conveying the broken core out. of the rear end of said cylinder.

17. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a cylinder having cutter bits upon its forward edge, means to rotate said cylinder and to feed the same forwardly for cuttingan annular path whereby a core is formed to project into said cylinder, a rotatable wedging element disposed axially of the cylinder for breaking the core formed by the latter, said element being operatively connected with the cylinder rotating and feeding means, a spiral riblixed to the interior of said cylinder lfor conveying the broken core out of the rear end of said cylinder, a portable conveyor having a longitudinal inclined conveying means, and means supporting the cylinder for discharging the broken up core onto the forward end of said conveying means and for permitting horicylinder may be positioned forwardly of or to one side of the forward end of said conveying means.

18. In combination with a cylinder having cutter bits upon its forward edge portion, means to rotate and forwardly feed said cylinder for causing the bits to cut an annu'- lar path whereby a core is formed to project into said cylinder, said means including.

a threaded feed box,l a feedscrew threaded through the feed box, a hub loosely surrounding the feed screw and slidably keyed on -said feed screw, and means for rotating said feed box and Asaid hub in reverse directions at differing speeds.

19. A machine for forming mine ventilation cross cuts including means for cutting through a pillar of coal in an annular path so as to form a solid cylindrical core, means operating within and simultaneously with said cutting means to expand said core for breaking vthe same embodying a threaded substantially cone-shaped Wedging element arranged to be screwed into the core with its small end in advance, and means operating in advance of said element to form a hole in the core of a larger diameter than that of the small end of said element.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH F. JOY.

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