US2610840A - Machine for mining coal - Google Patents

Description

P 6, 1952 v w. s. GALLOWAY 2,610,840

MACHINE FOR MINING COAL Filed March 11, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET l 24 F/G./. 2s

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Gau w a W1 vim Sh nventor a; Attorney Sept. 16, 1952 w. s. GALLOWAY MACHINE FOR MINING COAL 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed March 11, 1949 oo oo I" 8 MW i Attorneys,

Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED- STATE.

7 MACHINE FOR MINING COAL I William S. Galloway, Glasgow, Scotland, assignor to Mavor &' Coulson, Limited, Glasgow, scotland Application March. 11, 1949-, sear no. 81,063 In Great Britain my 1 1947 a 7 Claims. 1 g

This invention relates to a mining machine of a previously proposed type in use of which cutting of coal or other mineral is effected by a direct shearing or chisel-like action applied by a wedge-like cutter in a horizontal direction behind the face of a mineral seam so as to Shear the mineral away in lumps from the seam to a height approximately from floor to roof of the mine.

The present invention comprises amachine for mining coal and other minerals from a mineral seam, by initially stripping an upperlevel section of mineral from a length of the face of the seam, performing an intermediate operation (or more than one intermediate operation) consisting of stripping'from said length a lower level section of mineral and also a secti'o'n at the upper level but at a greater depth from the face of the seam, and finally stripping a 'lowe'r-level section'of mineralleft projecting liklefa-ledge throughout said length.

,The invention also comprises a mining machine of the type stated which advances along the face of a mineral seam from position to position, the machine having a composite cutter head comprising a group of at least four individual wedge-like cutters that are-arranged a'bove-and-below one another and side-by-side and have cylinder-and-ram units respectively for forcing the'cutters forwards in a determinate order so as to strip mineral section by section from-the face. J The cutter head may-include an inclined bottorncutter for stripping mineral from the mine 'flo'orand lifting it in the manner of a shovel.

The machine is a vehicle which can be advarice'd from position to position and in each position performs the initial stripping and the one or more intermediate stripping operations and which thereafter is advanced to another position to deal-with the next length of the seam. "I-he final stripping may be performed during "each-advance of the machine;

A-coal-mining machine embodying the invention is shown as an example in the accompanyiing drawings, in which: i Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine and Fig. 2isa corresponding plan. Fig: 3 is aside elevation, drawn to a larger scale than Figs. 1 and 2, of a central component of the machine which may be regarded as the propulsive vehicular structure of the machine. Fig. 4" is a diagrammatic plan partly in section, showing one of the wedg liliecutters, the section being approximately on. theline. IV-IV of" Fig; 1

The machine shown is double-ended; that is to say. the machine has a compositejcutter head at each end so that it can; work either to right or left, as viewed. say in Figs. 1 and 2. The propulsive vehicular structure according-to Fig; 23* carries both cutter heads, which project from said structure in opposite directions.

In the drawings, the floor of" the mine is indicated by A, the roof by B and the coal ,seam by C. The machine is shown inFigL-Z po'sition'ed in a plane prepared for it beyond the left hand end oithe seam; the machine being against a face- D which is co-plana'r' with the new face about to he formed by the machine behind and parallel to the. previously formed face E or the seam C.

The o composite cutter heads of the ma chine are similar; a In the example each of: the

endless tracks l2,- or so-called. crawlers. which.

are fitted with rubber" pads I2-A to enh'ance the frictional grip upon themine floor A. The op eration of the tracks I 2 is controlled by means of a handle l3-.' It is from-the frame. I I' that aframework l d carrying the two groups. often cutters extends in opposite directions; 1

Each cutter is secured to the movable cylinder l5 of one of a group'o'f ten hydraulic units',-which 1 are arranged as a compactbatterye The: ram IG of each of these-units is-a' stationary fixture on the framework Mand is provided with :inlet and outlet ports [1 I and: I8! These .portsa're connected to pipes 19 and Zfl for the hydraulic liquid under the control of a distributor valve assembly 2| incorporated in a hydraulic system including as usual a high-pressure pump: 22 which is driven byan electric motor 23-supp'lied through a flexible 'cableizd' andcontrolledby a'starter 25. "It' is this motor 23*which' is: the power unit of the endless tracks" l2. These tracks are driven'under control of the handle by the motor. through gearing which comprises interme'sliing bevel" gears 26, intermeshing gearwheels 21 driven thereby, and pin-wheelsv 28..secured to: the shaft 28 of the second of these gearwh'eels. -These pin-wheels mesh with sprocislet-wheels; 30 which are mounted on a shaft 2-9 and carry the endless tracks I2 at one end-ofthe vehicle frame Ila; r g

Thehydraulic systemalso includes a. tank 3! for the hydraulic liquid. The pump 22 as'usual .face E). half feet long, so that in each position of the I a pair of the hydraulic units I5, I6 at each end of the machine, namely the units operating the Each of four of these valves, namely 4 ated; and its valve handle 2I may be manipulated so that the cutter I is operated either by itself or simultaneously with the next advance of the machine by operation of the endless tracks I2 under control of the handle I3 to an extent of one-and-a-half feet into its next position. In the advance of the machine, the bottom 35 of the wedge-like head strips and scoops up any bed of coal left on the floor A by the lower cutters 2 to III, and the entire head forces the broken down coal outwards above the ramp 36. The complete cycle of operations may be I designed to occupy about one minute. Thus, it

following four pairs of cutters; 2 and 3; 4 and 5; 6

and 1; and 8 and 9. The extreme cutters of each group of ten, namely the cutters I and I0, have their hydraulic units I5, [6 controlled individually by the valves with the handles 2I and 2|. In Fig. 4, the pipes I9 and for two units, one at each end of the machine, and the one handle 2| controlling them are shown. It is also shown that the pipes I9, 20 connected to the piston I6 of the cutter 2 have extensions I9A, 20A which are connected to the piston of the simultaneously operating cutter 3 (not shown in Fig. 4). In distinction the pipes I9, 20 for the extreme cutters I and I0 have no such extensions seeing that these cutters operate individually.

The cutters I to II! are wedge-like in form .(Figs. 2 and 4) and are so arranged that when all of them are fully withdrawn they present an inclined front face which inclines outwards and rearwards to give an overall wedge effect. In Fig. 1, the pair of cutters 4 and 5 are shown advanced, whereas Fig. 2 shows two upper- row cutters 3 and 5 advanced, the others being all fully withdrawn. The assembly of cutters rests upon a bottom cutter whose front face is similarly inclined. v

A coal-deflecting ramp 36 secured to the outer side of the'machine at each end thereof inclines upwards from the bottom cutter, being located alongside the lowermost level of the coal face.

In the example, the total width of the cutter head measures five feet so that each cutter is designed to cut out a section of coal to a depth of one foot (perpendicular to the plane of the The stroke of each ram is one-and-amachine it strips from the coal face a length of one-and-a-half feet to a depth of five feet.

. In operation, atthe starting end (say, the

left hand end) of the seam C a place is cut for the machine, and it is manoeuvred into position; say, as shown in Fig. 2. Assume that the right-hand end cutters are fully withdrawn and that they come more or less against the left- .hand end of the seam C. The operator turns the handle 2| to set only the first cutter I.in operation, this cutter being in the upper row and at the outer side of the group of ten cutters. This cutter I strips out from the seam C an upper section of coal to a depth of one foot from the coal faceE. .After a full advance of the cutter, the handle 2I is turned so that the cutter is quickly withdrawn. Next, the handle M is manipulated so that the. first lower and second upper cutters 2 and 3 forming a pair simultaneously are advanced and thereafter withdrawn. Next, the handle 2I is manipulated so that the second lower and third upper cutters 4 and 5 simultaneously are advanced and withdrawn. This procedure is continued. Eventually all but the fifth lower cutter I0 have been operwill be manifest that the machine advances stepwise along the coal seam, stripping off coal to a depth of about five feet after each step, the length of which step is about one-and-a-half feet.

Coal above the level of the upper row of cutters. can be stripped off from the roof manually without difliculty When the machine reaches the right-hand end of the coal seam, it is again manoeuvred into a prepared position at that end but five feet further into the coal seam, and thereafter the machine is driven so as to return stepwise in the opposite direction. In this return motion, prior to each step the cutters I to II] at the left hand end of the machine are operated in the order already described under the control of their valve handles 2I to 2I This method of coal-getting is facilitated by use of a conveyor arranged alongside the coal face, between it and a row of roof props; and this conveyor receives from the machine the coal stripped by it as it works along the coal face.

It will be manifest that the machine performs the following method of mining coal length by length from the seam C, namely: initially the cutter I strips an upper-level section of mineral from a length of the face of the seam; the pairs of cutters 2 and 3, 4 'and 5 and so on, acting In succession, perform an intermediate series of operations each consisting of stripping from said length a lower-level section of coal and simultaneously a section at the upper level but at a greater depth from the original coal face; finally the cutter [0 strips a lower-level section of coal left-projecting like a ledge throughout said length.

In the example shown, the machine has a group of five upper and five lower cutters at each end. However, there may be any other practicable number of cutters. There would be two upper and two lower cutters in the simplest construction of the machine. In use of such a machine, there would be only one pair of simultaneously acting upper and lower cutters, and they would perform only one intermediate operation of stripping a lower-level section and simultaneously an upper-level section at greater depth.

In the example, the machine is a vehicle of the crawler type.- Instead, it may have any other means of propulsion or haulage; and it may include means such as jacks for anchoring it between the fioor and roof in each working position.

The machine itself may have means for stripping coal'from the roof. For instance, a horizontally extending roof cutter may be connected to or embodied in the top of the wedge-like head.

Although in the example shown the hydraulic units of the cutters are operated in proper order by hand operation of the valve handles 2 I to 2I', the arrangement may be such that the valves may be operated in the proper order and at the proper times under the control of any conventional timing mechanism driven from the motor 23.

I claim:

1. A mining machine of the type stated for shearing mineral from the face of a seam throughout approximately the full height from floor to roof of the seam, comprising an assembly including four wedge-like cutters, two of them being arranged side-by-side at an upper level and the other two being arranged side-by-side at a lower level, the upper cutters being directly above the lower cutters respectively, cylinder-and-ram units connected to said cutters, each to each, so that when said units are operated they thrust forward the cutters respectively, and control means connected to said units and designed to operate them in the following sequence: initially an outer first cutter at one level is advanced individually to wedge out a section of mineral from the face of the seam, thereafter an outer second cutter at the other level and an inner third cutter at the said one level are advanced simultaneously so that the second wedges off mineral left out-standing by the first and the third wedges out a new section and finally the fourth cutter, namely the inner cutter at said other level, is advanced to wedge oil the mineral left out-standing by the third.

2. A mining machine according to claim 1 in which there are a series of four or other even number of wedge-like cutters, half of them at an upper level and the other half of them at a lower level, in which the control means includes two terminal controllers connected to the cylinder-and-ram units of the first and last cutters of the series at different levels for operation of said cutters individually, and in which the cylinder-and-ram units of the remaining cutters at different levels and at different depths in relation to the face of the seam are connected as a pair or pairs to one or more intermediate controllers so that said cutters operate as a pair or in pairs.

3. A mining machine as claimed by claim 2 in which it is the cylinder-and-ram units of the outermost upper cutter and the innermost lower cutter, respectively, that are individually connected to the two terminal controllers for operation of said cutters individually as the first and last members of the series of cutters.

4. A mining machine according to claim 1 in which the cylinder-and-ram units and their Wedge-like cutters are so arranged that said cutters when in retracted position combine to form a single large wedge.

5.A mining machine of the time stated for shearing mineral from the face of a seam throughout approximately the full height from fioor to roof of the seam, comprising an assembly of an even number, being at least six, of wedgelike cutters, half of them being arranged side-byside at an upper level and the other half of them being arranged side-by-side at a lower level, each upper cutter being directly above a lower cutter and all of said cutters forming a series starting with one of the two outermost cutters at one of said levels and ending with that one of the innermost cutters which is at the other of said levels, cylinder-and-ram units connected to said cutters, each to each, so that when said units are operated they thrust forward the cutters respectively, and control means connected to said units and comprising two controllers connected to the cylinderand-ram units of the first and last cutters of the series for operation of said cutters individually. and a plurality of additional controllers each connected to the cylinder-and-ram units of a pair of adjacent cutters at different levels and sidewise offset so that the cutters of the series excepting the first and last will be operated in pairs, the cutters of each pair acting simultaneously.

6. A mining machine as claimed by claim 5 in which it is the cylinder-and-ram units oi the outermost upper cutter and the innermost lower cutter, respectively, that are individually connected to the two first-mentioned controllers for operation individually of said cutters as the first and last members of the series.

7. A mining machine according to claim 5 in which the cylinder-and-ram units and their wedge-like cutters are so arranged that said outters when in retracted position combine to form a single large wedge.

WILLIAM S. GALLOWAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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