US1726891A - Coal-mining apparatus - Google Patents

Description

p 3, I929. D. T. FISHER 1,726,891

COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYQ Sept. 3, 1929. F H R 1,726,891

COAL MINING APPARATUS Fi led June 8, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 WLKM Sept. 3, 1929.

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D. T. FISHER COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1923 .1zvllllllzllllllllzzzlll 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept. 3, 19 29. 11-11 FISHER 1,726,891

COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 wgw BY 1/ I/ I TTORNEYS- Sept. 3, 1929.

D. T. FISHER COAL MINING APPARATUS Filed June 8, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 n g as ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES.

DUDLEY T. FISHER, OI COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE JEFFREY MANUFACTUR- PATENT OFFICE.

ING COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

COAL-MINING. APPARATUS.

Application filed June 8,

This invention relates to mining and loading machines which are provided with means for undercutting coal in its natural bed, means for breaking it down out of said bed, and means for loading it into cars by which it is removed from the mine, and especially to machines of that class in which the active elements move in a circular path substantially parallel to the curved face of themine room.

The principal object of the invention is to provide in a machine of the class described improved means for breaking down the coal. Another object is to provide improved feeding mechanism. Stillfurther objects of the invention are to provide certain improved features of construction which will be fully apparent from the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings I have.

shown constructions which are intended to be merely illustrative of the invention, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims appended to the specification.

Of the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic general plan view of a mine roomin which my machine is'working;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan view of the forward part of the machine somewhat more in detail than is shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the part of the machine shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4, is a sectional view taken along the line IVIV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5, is a side elevation, partly in section, of the rearward part of the machine.

Fig. 6, is a vertical sectional view of the.

machine taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3 show ing the breaking down mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section of the machine taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3, showing the driving connections;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the gearing by which the loading conveyor is actuated;

Fig. 9 is a cross section on the line 9.9 of Fig. 5. showing the construction of the loading conveyor frame;

Like numerals refer to similar parts in the several figures.

This machine as an entirety is composed of four elements which are combined to form a cooperative whole. They are the undercut- 1923. Serial No. 844,153.

ting mechanism, the breaking down mechanlsm, the feeding mechanism and the loading mechanism.

The undercutting mechanism is of the well known chain cutter type and comprises a chain 1, adapted to carry cutter bits 2, arranged to travel in a suitable groove formed in the edges of a cutter head 3. The chain is driven by a sprocket wheel 4 which is attached to the vertical head shaft 5 journaled in suitable bearings 6, -7, and 8 of the main frame of the machine. The head shaft 5 carries a master gear 9 which is driven by the pinlon 1O fixed to the armature shaft of the motor 11. The cutter head 3 is rigid with the base plate 12 of the machine frame, which is extended over the floor of the mine and into the kerf formed by the cutter head 3, to form a floor upon which the coal may fall when broken down by the breaking down mechanism, and fromwhich it may be readily gathered by the loading mechanism as will hereinafter appear.

Supported bythemain frame of the machine is a secondary cutter head 13 (shown in Fig. 6) having a cutter chain 1&1 adapted to form a kerf perpendicular to the inner end of the under kerf and substantially parallel with the face of the coal. The chain 14 travels over the edge of the cutter head and is guided by chain plates 15 bolted thereto. At the upper rear corner of the cutter head 13 the chain 14 engages with a driving sprocket wheel 16 and at the two forward corners with idler sprockets 17, 17 which act to reduce the friction as the chain passes around the corners of the cutter head. The driving sprocket wheel 16 is carried by the inner end of the shaft 18 which is supported in suitable bearings 19, 20 and 21 secured to or formed on the member 22 of the machine frame. The shaft 18 has at its outer end a bevel gear 23 meshing with a similar gear 241 on the cross shaft 25 which is journaled in bearings 26 and 27 of the machine frame. The cross shaft 25 is driven by a bevel gear 28 from a similar gear 29 carried by the vertical head shaft 5.

The cutter head 13 is composed of two parts 30 and 31, connected together by suitable bolts 32 which pass through slotted holes in the cutter head parts to allow for adjustment by the screws 33 to regulate the tension of the cutter chain 14 in a manner common to chain cutter heads. The part 30 is formed at 34 to conmovement between the wedgers and the cutter I 39 of the floor plate 12 to form a rigid structure of sufficient strength to withstand the strains incident to the breaking down of the coal.

Positioned on the outer face the'cutter head 13 are wedgingmembers 40, 40, eachiof which has an eye for engagement with pro jectingtongues 41 of'the part 'to form hinges which prevent relative longitudinal head. Connecting rods 42,42 are connected at their inner ends to the wrist pins 43, 43 of the wedgers, and at'their outer ends to suit-I able cranks 44, 44 by the rotation of which the w'edgers are oscillated to dislodge the coal. The cranks 44 which are angularly displaced in relation to each other, are attached to a crank shaft 45, supported in a journal bearing 46 on the machine frame. The crankshaft 45 is driven through a spur gear 47 and a pinion 48 by the worm wheel 49 from the worm 50 mounted on the cross shaft 25 and a suitable clutch 48, controlled by the lever 49 is provided to control the actuation of the wedgers. The worm wheel 49 and the pinion 48 are carried by a shaft 51 the machine frame. I

It will now be apparent that asv the machine advances across the face of'the' coal,

' the cutter head 3 will undermine the coal, the

cutterhead 13 will form a kerf back of the face into which it will carry the forward ends of the Wedgers 40, that the rotation of the cranks 44 will oscillate the wedgers to pry out frag ments of coal which will fall upon the floor plate 12 to be gathered in the manner hereinafter set forth. As the cutterhead 13 bears against the wall of the kerf at 34 it will afford a rigid abutment for the prying action of the wedgers to insure the breaking of the coal without submitting the frame of the machine to unnecessary strain. Furthermore because of the angular displacement of the cranks 44, the breakers are moved outward against the coal one after the other andnot simultaneously so that the load is thrown upon the machine, keeping it at a minimum.

The machine is provided with a pivoting device by which it is limited to movement in a circular path. This pivoting device comprises a pivot post 53 securelyheld in position on the center line ofthe mine working, to

which is connected, for pivotal movement, a strut frame 54 rigidly connected to the flo'or plate 12 of the mining machine. Resting on the rails 55 of the mine track are wheels 56 supporting a truck platform 57 which supjourn'aled 52 on ports the pivot post 53. The upper part of the post 53 is screw-threaded to cooperate with the hand wheel nut 58 to raise the sleeve 59, and With it the cap 60, to force the latter ment along the rails.

The strut frame 54 is composed of angle bars connected together by suitable cross members to form a rigid structure. Attheir inner ends the angle bars 65 are attached to a casting 66 bolted to the floor plate 12, and at their outer ends to a casting 67 on which is formed a sleeve 68 journaled upon the post 53 and vertically supported by a shoul der 69 thereon. The angle bars 65 are arranged to form guides for the endless chain 70 of the gathering conveyor. The chain 70 carries laterally projecting scrapers 71 which travel along the trough 72 to propel the coal th'erethrough. The bottom plate of the trough "72is bent upward and outward to form flaring sides 73. At the outer end of the conveyor the chain 7 0 runs over a sprocket Wheel 74 journaled on the outer surface of the sleeve 68 concentric with the post 53. The sprocket wheel 74 is attached to the sprocket wheel '75 which is connected by the chain 76 to a sprocket wheel 77 on the ver tic-al head shaft 5 to drive the gathering conveyor. At the forward end of the conveyor the chain 70 runs over a sprocket wheel 78 journaled on a shaft 79 in the foot casting 80 secured between the floor plate 12 and the flange 39 of the frame member 37 by bolts 81. The holes through the casting 80 for the passage of the bolts 81 are slotted to admit of longitudinal adjustment to regulate the tension of the chain 70. Means for such adjustment are provided in the adjusting screw 82, which is threaded into the foot casting 80 and bears at its other end in an aperture of the casting 66. A closed conduit 83 is provided along the rear side of the strut frame to protect the return strand of the conveyor chain and flights from accidental contact with the operator. The foot casting 80 is so positioned with reference to the other parts of the machine the scrapers 71 will reach'the extreme inner edge of the floor plate 12 to gather any coal which may fall thereon.

The loading conveyor is of the well known metallic apron type comprising two similar endless chains 84 traveling over sprocket wheels 85 mounted upon the transverse idle head shaft 86 and over other sprockets S7 keyed to a transverse foot shaft 88, and connected together at every link bytransverse overlapping plates or flights 89, so formed at their edges as to allow free movement around the sprocket wheels and maintain sufficiently close articulation to prevent material from falling between adjacent flights. The chains are of the well known roller type, each link having a roller adapted to travel on suitable trackage surfaces to carry the weight ofthe chain and flights and of the material carried thereby.

The supporting frame work upon which this apron is mounted consists of longitudinal angle bars 90 and 91 upon which the chain rollers travel, connected together by suitable transverse angle bars 92 and by substantially perpendicular angle bars 93 and 94. The angle bars 94 are secured to the truck platform 57 in any preferred manner such as by bolts or rivets. The head shaft 86 is journaled in take up journal boxes 95, supported on plates 96 attached to the longitudinal angle bars, to regulate the tension of the chains 84, by means of the screws 97 in the manner common tosuch journal boxes. The foot shaft 88 is journaled on pillow blocks 98 attached to the truck platform, and

carries on its extended end a spur gear 99 meshing with a pinion 100 attached to an intermediate shaft 101 which carries a gear 102 engaging the armature pinion 103 of the motor 104, by which the conveyor is driven. A hopper 105 receives the coal from the gathering conveyor and delivers it to the apron conveyor while side plates 106 prevent its falling off the sides. A car 107 may be placed below the rear end of the conveyor to receive material discharged therefrom.

Attached to each corner of the base plate 57 of the pivot truck are radially extending arms 108 which are connected at their outer ends to the segmental curved rail 109 lying on the floor of the mine, concentric with the pivot post 53. This rail is securely held in its relation to said pivot post by the arms 108 and suitable screw jacks 111 connected to the ends of the rail and clamped between the floor and roof of the mine. The screw jacks 111 may be of any of the well known constructions common in mine practice and need not be further described. The rail 109 comprises a foot flange 112 adapted to rest upon the floor of the mine, a vertical web 113 having spaced apertures for a purpose which will presently appear, and a head 114 adapted to the trackage of rollers 115 mounted in brackets 116 of the machine, whose principal function is to maintain the'vertical relation of the feed rail 109 and the'mining elements of the machine.

Journaled in suitable bearings 117 of the machine frame is a vertical'shaft 118 to the lower end of which is fixed a sprocket wheel 119 having teeth which engage theapertures of the web 113 of the curved feed rail. At its upper end the shaft 118 carries a worm wheel 120 meshing with a worm 121 onthe outer end of a horizontal shaft 122. The shaft 122 is journaled in bearings 123 and 124 of the machine frame, and has at its other end a bevel gear 125 meshing with two bevel pinions 126 and 127 mounted for free rotation on the vertical head shaft 5, Positioned between the bevel pinions 126 and 127 and slidable on a suitable key of the vertical shaft 5, is a clutch member 128 having clutch jaws 129 and 130 engageable with similar clutch jaws 131 and 132 on the pinions 126 and 127. A lever 128 is provided for shifting the clutch. By shifting .the clutch 128 into engagement with the pinion 126 the bevel gear 125 will be rotated in one direction and by shifting the clutch 128 into engagement with the pinion 127 the gear 125 will be rotated in the opposite direction. By this arrangement the sprocket wheel 119 may be caused to rotate in either direction at the discretion of the operator, and will, by its engagement with the apertures of the feed rail 109 cause the machine to move about the pivot post 53 in the desired direction. When the clutch 128 is in a central position and engages neither of the pinions, the sprocket 119 will not be rotated and the machine will remain at rest.

It will readily now be seen that as the machine moves around the pivot post the cutting and breaking .downmechanisms will be brought into contact with thecoal, and break it'out of its natural bed, the conveyors will gather it from the floor plateand load it into the cars which may be placed in appropriate position to receive-it.

When a cut across the face of the coal has been completed, the feedmechanism will be reversed to return the. machine to the place of beginning, the hand wheel 58 loosened to release the pivot post, the jacks 111 removed from the ends of the rail, the brake shoes 61 loosened and the pivot truck with the post 53 and the feed rail 109 advanced an amount equal to the desired depth of undercut. The pivot post will then be readjusted, the jacks 111 reset and the operation repeated.

I am aware that it ha's'been heretofore proposed to construct machines similar in many respects to the one embodying my invention. For instance, it has been proposed to construct a machine adapted to travel parallelly with a coal face and having an under cutting mechanism, aback cutting mechanism, and a breakingdown device adapted to operate in the'kerfcut by theback cutting mechanism. Bymyinvention, however, I have provided an improved means whereby the breaking down of the coal is efiected. 'It has also been proposed to provide a machine having an under cutting mechanism, anda back cutting mechanism, and a central pivot device about which the cutting mechanisms can swing. By my-invention, however, I have provided an improved anchoring means for the pivot devices and an improved means whereby the machine can be swungabout the said pivot device. I

What I claim is 1. The combination in acoal cutting and breaking mechanism, of a main frame adapted to travel parallellywith a coal: face, a vertical kerf cutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coal parallelto the coal face, a plurality of breaking devices located behind the vertical kerf cutter in different elevations in the said vertical kerf, and means for moving the said breaking devices laterally one after another to break out the coal outside of the said kerf. v

2. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, of a main frame adapted to travel parallelly with a coal face, a vertical kerf cutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coal parallel to the coal face, a plurality of breaking plates located behind the vertical kerf cutter at different elevations in the said vertical kerf, means for supporting the forward edges of theplates for movement wabout vertical axes, and means engaging the rear part of the plates for swinging them outward one after another about thesaid axes into engagement with the outer kerf wall to break out the coal outside of said kerf.

3. In a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, the combination of a main frame adapted to vtravel along the face of the coal, a kerf cutter mounted on the main frame in position to cut a horizontal kerf in the coal, a vertical kerf cutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coal parallel to the coal face, a plurality of movable breaking plates disposed behind the vertical kerf cutter at different elevations in the vertical kerf, and means to move the break- ;er plates outward one after another to break the coal lying outside the vertical'kerf.

4. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, of a main frame, means for guiding the frame in an arcuate path substantially parallel to a semi-circular coal face, power mechanism for moving the frame from one end to the other of said semi-circular path,a vertical kerf cutter mounted to cut a vertical kerf in the coal face substantially parallel to the coal face, a laterally movable breaking device located behind the vertical kerf cutter in the said vertical kerf and serving to break out the coal outside of said kerf, and power means for oscillating said breaking device. v

5. The combination in a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, of a main frame, means for guiding the frame in an arcuate path substantially parallel to a semi-circular coal face, power mechanism for moving the frame from one end to the other of said semi-circular path, a horizontal kerf cutter mounted to cut a horizontal kerf in the coal, a vertical kerf cutter mounted near the inner end of the said horizontal kerf cutter to cut a vertical kerf in the coal substantially parallel with the coal face, a laterally movable breaking device located behind the vertical kerf cutter in said vertical kerf and serving to break out the coal outside of said'kerf, and power means controllable independently of said cutter for oscillating said breaking device.

face, a laterally mova le breaking device 10- cated behind the vertical kerf cutter in the said vertical kerf and serving to break out the coal outside of said kerf, power means controllable independently of said cutter to oscillate said breaking device, and a conveyer mounted on the frame and serving to remove the coal broken out by the said breaking device.

7. In a coal cutting and breaking mechanism, the combination of a main frame adapted to travel along the coal face, means carried by the main frame for cutting a vertical kerf parallel to the coal face, said means comprising an upright cutter frame and an endless cutter chain mounted to travel in vertical planes around the periphery of the cutter frame, a breaker plate'movably mounted on the cutter frame at points inside the cutter chain so as to enter the kerf formed thereby, and power means for moving the plate outward and inward to break out the coal outside of the said kerf.

8. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutter chain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successive substantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enable material to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a member disposed to the rear of the advancing edge of said frame and movable with the latter into the kerf formed thereby, said member being pivotally mounted for movement transversely of the kerf, and means for oscillating said member to break out an increment as it is cut.

9. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutter chain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successive substantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enable material to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a member carried by said frame to the rear of the advancing edge thereof, said member being pivotally mounted for movement transversely of the kerf, and means for oscillating said member to break out an increment as it is cut.

10. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutter chain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successive substantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enable material to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a rearwardly extending lever fulcrumed on said frame for oscillatory movement transversely of the kerf, means for oscillating said lever for exerting breakingdown pressure on one of the walls of a kerf as it is cut, and abutment means carried by said frame adjacent the fulcrum of said lever adapted to abut the other wall of said kerf, for the purpose described.

11. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutter chain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successive substantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enable material to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a pair of members disposed to the rear of said frame and movable with the latter into the kerf formed thereby, said members being pivotally mounted for movement transversely of the kerf, and means for non-coincidentally oscillating said members to break out an increment as it is cut.

12. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutter chain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successivesubstantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enable material to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a pair of rearwardly extending members carried by said frame, said members being pivotally mounted for movement transversely of the kerf, and means for non-coincidentally oscillating said members to break out an increment at it is cut.

13. In a mining machine, a cutter frame, an endless traveling cutter chain on said frame, means for moving said frame to form successive substantially parallel kerfs in the working face of a mine to enable material to be removed therefrom in successive increments, a pair of rearwardly extending levers fulcrumed on said frame for oscillatory movement transversely of the kerf, means for noncoincidentally oscillating said levers to exert breaking-down pressure on one of the walls of a kerf as it is cut, and abut-ment means carried by said frame adjacent the fulcrums of said levers adapted to abut the other wall of said kerf, for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

DUDLEY T. FISHER.

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