U.S. patent application number 10/315809 was filed with the patent office on 2003-06-19 for method of mining and an improved mining machine with a shovel moveable relative to a vehicle chassis.
This patent application is currently assigned to Joy MM Delaware Inc.. Invention is credited to Eddowes, Will, Furniss, William A., Neilson, Brad, Phillips, Guy.
Application Number | 20030111892 10/315809 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 3833094 |
Filed Date | 2003-06-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030111892 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Neilson, Brad ; et
al. |
June 19, 2003 |
Method of mining and an improved mining machine with a shovel
moveable relative to a vehicle chassis
Abstract
A continuous miner having a cutting head and a conveyor mounted
on a moveable chassis, the miner including a shovel mounted on a
supporting structure, the shovel being translatable relative to the
miner, and means for translating the shovel relative to the
moveable chassis so as to be able to be moved from a rearward
location to a forward location relative to the moveable
chassis.
Inventors: |
Neilson, Brad; (Gwyneville,
AU) ; Furniss, William A.; (Bowral, AU) ;
Eddowes, Will; (Bowral, AU) ; Phillips, Guy;
(Wollongong, AU) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JAMES EARL LOWE, JR.
15417 W NATIONAL AVE # 300
NEW BERLIN
WI
53151
US
|
Assignee: |
Joy MM Delaware Inc.
|
Family ID: |
3833094 |
Appl. No.: |
10/315809 |
Filed: |
December 10, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
299/11 ; 299/33;
299/95 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E21C 31/08 20130101;
E21C 27/24 20130101; E21D 20/003 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
299/11 ; 299/95;
299/33 |
International
Class: |
E21C 037/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 13, 2001 |
AU |
PR 9478 |
Claims
1. A continuous miner comprising a cutting head and a conveyor
mounted on a moveable chassis, said miner also including a shovel
mounted on a supporting structure, said shovel having mounted
thereon at least one bolting apparatus, said shovel being
translatable relative to said miner, and means for translating said
shovel relative to said moveable chassis from a rearward location
to a forward location relative to said moveable chassis whereby
said bolting apparatus can be operated in said forward
location.
2. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein when said
shovel is moved to a forward location, a work space for an operator
of said bolter is created.
3. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 2 wherein said bolting
apparatus are mounted on at least one cross slide which is in turn
mounted to said shovel.
4. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 3, wherein said work
space is created between said shovel and said chassis.
5. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein a plurality of
bolting apparatus is located on said shovel.
6. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 5, wherein said bolting
apparatus are mounted on at least one cross slide which is in turn
mounted to said shovel.
7. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bolting
apparatus are mounted on at least one cross slide which is in turn
mounted to said shovel.
8. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein one or more rib
bolting apparatus is provided on said miner.
9. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein controls are
provided so that only when said cutting head is not operating said
shovel can be moved to said forward position.
10. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein controls are
provided so that only when the cutting head is located at an
appropriate height above said shovel, that said shovel are moveable
to a forward location, so as to prevent collision between said
shovel and said cutting head.
11. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said shovel
has at least one coal loading arm associated therewith.
12. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said conveyor
has a frame which has a portion pivotally mounted to said
supporting structure.
13. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1, wherein said conveyor
moves with said shovel.
14. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said conveyor
is mounted above the rear of said moveable chassis and said
conveyor and is able to be raised or lowered relative to the rear
of said chassis.
15. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 14, wherein said
conveyor is raised or lowered by a lifting means connected between
said moveable chassis and said conveyor which includes a three
point linkage which will pass through an arc.
16. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 15 wherein said lifting
means includes a bearing which will engage the frame of said
conveyor.
17. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
translation means includes an arm pivotally connected to said
supporting structure at one end and to said chassis at the other
end.
18. A continuous miner as claimed in claim 19, wherein said arm is
rotated by means of a hydraulic cylinder.
19. A continuous miner comprising a cutting head and a conveyor
mounted on a moveable chassis, said miner also including a shovel
mounted on a supporting structure, said shovel being translatable
relative to said miner, and means for translating said shovel
relative to said moveable chassis so as to be able to be moved from
a rearward location to a forward location relative to said moveable
chassis.
20. A method of mining a mine entry with a continuous miner, said
method including the steps of: mining said mine entry with a
cutting head mounted on said miner and gathering the ore thus
mined; and moving bolting apparatus relative to said cutting head
from a location occupied while the cutting head is mining to a
forward location so that said bolting apparatus can perform bolting
operations.
21. A method as claimed in claim 20, wherein moving said bolting
apparatus relative to said cutting head is performed by translating
a supporting structure on which said shovel is mounted from a
location occupied while the cutting head is mining to a forward
location.
22. A method as claimed in claim 21, wherein said step of moving
said bolting apparatus relative to said cutting head is performed
while simultaneously moving said shovel, and a conveyor associated
with said shovel.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to continuous miners and
improvements in relation thereto. The invention also relates to a
method of mining particularly utilizing a continuous miner with the
improvements described herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Present continuous miners have a moveable chassis with a
shovel fixed to the front end of a moveable chassis, coal loading
arms, and a conveyor extending from the shovel to the rear of the
moveable chassis. Some continuous miners also have roof bolters
attached to the moveable chassis. The location of the roof bolters
on the chassis of existing continuous miners leads to problems for
the progression of the continuous miner through a mine entry,
because by having the bolters at a fixed location relative to the
moveable chassis prevents bolting close to the mine face.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention provides a continuous miner comprising
a cutting head and a conveyor mounted on a moveable chassis, the
miner also including a shovel mounted on a supporting structure,
the shovel being translatable relative to the miner, and means for
translating the shovel relative to the moveable chassis so as to be
able to be moved from a rearward location to a forward location
relative to the moveable chassis.
[0004] More particularly, the shovel has mounted thereon at least
one bolting apparatus, the shovel being translatable relative to
the miner so as to be able to be moved from a rearward location to
a forward location whereby the bolting apparatus can be operated in
the forward location.
[0005] The shovel can be mounted on the miner by translation means
to translate or move the supporting structure relative to the
miner.
[0006] The supporting structure or shovel can be moved to a forward
location, to create a work space for an operator of the bolter. The
work space created can be between the shovel and the chassis.
[0007] A plurality of bolting apparatus can located on the shovel.
The bolting apparatus can be mounted on at least one cross slide
which is in turn mounted to the shovel. The bolting apparatus can
be able to attend to rib bolting or alternatively one or more rib
bolting apparatus is provided on the miner.
[0008] Controls can be provided so that only when the cutting head
is not operating the shovel can be moved to the forward position.
The controls can also provide that only when the cutting, head is
located at an appropriate height above the shovel, that the shovel
are moveable to a forward location, so as to prevent collision
between the shovel and the cutting head.
[0009] The shovel can have at least one coal loading arm associated
therewith. The conveyor can have a frame which supports the
conveyor belt, which frame has a portion pivotally mounted to the
supporting structure by means of a pivot.
[0010] The supporting structure can includes means to mount
components associated with supporting the conveyor belt of the
conveyor between the pivot and the shovel, and the conveyor can
move with the shovel.
[0011] The rear of the conveyor can be able to be raised or lowered
relative to the rear of the chassis. The conveyor also is raised or
lowered by a lifting means which includes a three point linkage
which will pass through an arc.
[0012] The translation means can include an arm pivotally connected
to the supporting structure at one end and to the chassis at the
other end, the arm being able to rotate between at least a first
and a second position. The arm can rotated by means of a hydraulic
or pneumatic cylinder.
[0013] The present invention also provides a method of mining a
mine entry with a continuous miner, the method including the steps
of: mining the mine entry with a cutting head mounted on the miner
and gathering the ore thus mined; moving bolting apparatus relative
to the cutting head from a location occupied while the cutting head
is mining to a forward location so that the bolting apparatus can
perform bolting operations.
[0014] The method can include the step of moving the bolting
apparatus relative to the cutting head being performed by
translating a supporting structure on which the shovel is mounted
from a location occupied while the cutting head is mining to a
forward location. This step of moving the bolting apparatus
relative to the cutting head can performed while simultaneously
moving the shovel, and a conveyor associated with the shovel, due
to the bolting apparatus, the shovel and conveyor being
connected.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] An embodiment of the present invention will now be
described, by way of example only, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates a rear perspective view of a continuous
miner with roof bolters mounted on the supporting structure of a
shovel having its cutting head and associated structure
removed;
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a side elevation of the continuous miner
of FIG. 1 with the shovel retracted and cutting head elevated;
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates a side elevation of the continuous miner
of FIG. 1 with the shovel extended and cutting head raised to where
it is clear of the shovel;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the continuous miner of FIG. 1 with
the shovel in a forward position;
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates a rear view of the continuous miner of
FIG. 1 showing the bolting apparatus;
[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates a side elevation of the mechanism to move
the shovel, bolters and conveyor of the miner of FIG. 1 in the
extended condition;
[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates the mechanism of FIG. 6 in a retracted
position;
[0023] FIG. 8 illustrates a conveyor support mechanism;
[0024] FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of the attachment
bracket and cross slides to carry a bolting apparatus which is not
shown for the purpose of illustrating the features of the
attachment bracket; and
[0025] FIG. 10 illustrates a plan view of the continuous miner with
the shovel in the extended condition.
[0026] Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in
detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in
its application to the details of the construction and the
arrangements of components set forth in the following description
or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other
embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various
ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and
terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and
should not be regarded as limiting. Use of "including" and
"comprising" and variations thereof as used herein is meant to
encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as
well as additional items. Use of "consisting of" and variations
thereof as used herein is meant to encompass only the items listed
thereafter and equivalents thereof. Further, it is to be understood
that such terms as "forward", "rearward", "left", "right", "upward"
and "downward", etc., are words of convenience and are not to be
construed as limiting terms.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4 is a continuous miner 10 which
can engage a coal face 12 by means of a cutting head 14. The
cutting head 14 is rotatably mounted and driven on a pivoting arm
16 which can be raised and lowered by hydraulic piston 17 so as to
raise and lower the cutting head 14 between a position such as that
shown in FIG. 3 to a higher position as shown in FIG. 2, which
locates the cutter head approximately 4.5m above mine floor level
11, measured at the top of the cutter 14. The cutting head 14 can
also be rotated to a location below ground level but this is not
illustrated.
[0028] The arm 16 is pivotally mounted by pivots 13 to a chassis 15
of tracked vehicle 18, as is common in the art and will not be
described in any particular detail here.
[0029] Underneath the cutting head 14 is a shovel 20 which includes
coal loading arms 22 to assist with the loading of coal in the
shovel 20 onto a central conveyor 19.
[0030] A central conveyor 19 passes through the centre of the
vehicle 18 and extends from the shovel 20, through to the rear of
the vehicle 18 as can be seen in FIG. 4. The front of the central
conveyor 19 receives coal from the shovel 20, when in the position
shown in FIG. 2 which is assisted by two rotating coal loading arms
22. The shovel 20 and the coal loading arms 22 are mounted on to a
shovel carriage frame or supporting structure 24 which is
constructed from plates which form a full boxed structure.
[0031] The supporting structure 24 is translatable, as later
described, relative to the vehicle 18 so as to be able to move from
a rearward position shown in FIG. 2 to a forward position shown in
FIG. 3.
[0032] As shown in FIGS. 1, 6 and 7, the supporting structure 24
includes two pentagonal plates 25 through which pass, and which
support, pivots 27, at lower portions thereof. Also mounted to the
pivots 27 are the distal ends 31 of pistons 33 and chevron shaped
arms-35. The proximal ends 37 of the pistons 33 and the other ends
39 of arms 35 are all rotatably connected by pivots 43 and 45
respectively to the chassis 15 of the tracked vehicle 18.
[0033] The central conveyor 19, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, is
in its raised orientation. This raised orientation occurs when the
cylinders 70 are fully extended which causes the rear portion 73 of
the conveyor 19 to pivot around forward pivots 71. These forward
pivots 71 are also respectively mounted to the plates 25 above the
pivots 27. As the cylinders 70 lower, irrespective of the position
of the shovel 20, the base surfaces 75 of the frame (which supports
the rollers that carries the conveyor belting) of conveyor 19 will
slide over translating and rotating pivot bearings 77 (see FIG. 8).
The rotating and translating pivoting bearings 77 accommodate a
change in the distance between the bearings 77 and pivots 71 as the
cylinders 70 extend or retract.
[0034] As is illustrated in FIG. 8, the raising and lowering
mechanism of the conveyor 19 also includes struts 79 which rotate
as the cylinders 70 extend or retract. The struts 79 are pivoted to
the vehicle 18 by pivots 171, while the cylinders 70 are pivoted to
the vehicle 18 by pivots 170. Third pivots 172 complete the
mechanism, to which the bearings 171, distal ends of the pistons of
cylinders 70, and the other ends of struts 79 are rotatably
mounted.
[0035] To move the shovel 20, coal loading arms 22, bolters 26,
supporting structure 24 and conveyor 19 from a retracted to an
extended condition, the pistons 33 receive hydraulic pressure to
rotate the arms 35 to the orientation of FIG. 6. This moves the
conveyor 19 from left to right over the bearings 77 as the plates
25 are translated also from left to right. The shovel 20 follows an
arcuate path with the tip or forward end of shovel 20 maintaining
contact with the mine floor 11. The mine floor 11 will bear the
weight of the shovel 20 until such time as the shovel 20 is fully
retracted (by pistons 33 retracting to the position illustrated in
FIG. 7) and pistons 81 are extended thus lifting the shovel 20 from
the mine floor 11 and making the vehicle 18 ready for tramming.
[0036] Other mechanisms could be used for moving the supporting
structure 24, such as slides or rails (not illustrated) which can
include replaceable bronze bearings or hardened steel bearing
plates. If desired other motivating mechanisms can be provided such
as rack and pinion drives, power threads etc.
[0037] The central conveyor 19 is preferably driven by a motor and
transmission (not shown) which is located on the support structure
24. The motor and transmission is also used to drive the coal
loading arms 22. If desired, a separate motor and drive (not shown)
can be provided for the coal loading arm 22 which can be mounted on
the moveable support structure 24. In other embodiments, the
central conveyor motor and transmission can be located at other
locations along the conveyor, such as above the vehicle 18.
[0038] As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 6, two bolting apparatus 26
are mounted on cross slides 28. While only two bolters 26 are
indicated, a-second bolter on each cross slide 28 can be added to
provide four bolters 26 mounted on two forward cross slides 28. The
cross slides 28 are attached to the support structure 24 via an
attachment bracket 91. The attachment bracket 91 allows the bolters
26 to be mounted via their bases or as close thereto as possible.
As can be seen from FIG. 5, by so mounting the bolters 26 at their
base, a greater useful range of indexing positions of the bolters
26 can be achieved. The indexing or positioning of the bolters 26
in the clockwise/anticlockwise directions in FIG. 5 (inboard and
outboard directions) is controlled by the cylinders 97, while
indexing into and out of the page of FIG. 5 (in-by and out-by
directions) are controlled by cylinders 95. As illustrated in FIG.
9, the ability to rotate the bolter 26 in the inboard direction
100, outboard direction 101, in-by direction 102 and out-by
direction 103 is a result of the three attachment points 104, 105
and 106.
[0039] Attachment point 105 consists of a channel cross section
bracket 107 (to receive a forward portion of the bolter 26) which
is mounted via a spherical bearing 108 to the attachment bracket
91. The spherical bearing 108 will allow rotation of the bracket
107 in each of the directions 100, 101, 102 and 103. The bearing
108 is housed in the bracket 91 and is not able to move translate
relative to the bracket 91.
[0040] Attachment point 106 consists of a channel cross section
bracket 109 (to receive a rearward portion of the bolter 26) which
is connected to a spherical bearing 110. The spherical bearing 110
is mounted in a housing 111 which is attached to the end of a
piston 114 which moves into and out of the cylinder 95 to control
the movement in the in-by and out-by directions 102 and 103. The
housing 111 is constrained to translate relative to the bracket 91
in the vertical direction only, and to guide and reduce friction
vertically oriented bearing guides 112 and 113 are provided on
either side of the housing 111. Attachment point 104 connects to a
side, a front face or a rear face of the bolter 26 by means of a
bracket 115. The bracket 115 is connected to the cylinder 97 by
means of a pin 116. The pin 116 accommodates the rotation between
the cylinder 97 and the bracket 115, when movement in the inboard
and outboard directions 100 and 101 are performed.
[0041] The bracket 91 is mounted to a carriage 120 which in turn
slidably engages cross slides 121 and 122. The carriage 120 is
moved along the cross slides 121 and 122 by means of a hydraulic
cylinder 123, which provides inboard and outboard translation
capability to move the bolters 26, by means of bracket 91, across
some of the width of the mine entry.
[0042] Illustrated in FIG. 10 is a plan view of the continuous
miner 10, showing the location of the control boxes 130 which house
the control systems and hydraulic valves to control the components
described above. Banks of control valves 132 are also shown by
which the operator can activate the levers of the valves to cause
the components to move as desired. A rib bolter 133 is also
attached to the side of the vehicle 18.
[0043] Thus, from the figures it can be seen that the forward
movement of the shovel 20 and its supporting structure 24 also
moves the cross slides 28 and thus the bolter 26 to a forward
position.
[0044] This movement of the shovel 20 and its support structure 24
has three advantages over prior art continuous miners. One
advantage is that when the miner 10 is mining (that is the cutting
head 14, conveyor 19 and coal loading arms 22 are functioning), the
roof bolters 26, cross slides 28, shovel 20, supporting structure
24, and the coal loading arms 22 and associated drives are in a
retracted position thus assisting in maintaining a centre of
gravity which is conducive to the operation of the cutting head
14.
[0045] A second advantage of moving the shovel 20 and its
supporting structure 24 to a forward location away from the vehicle
18, is that this creates or increases the amount of space available
to an operator as a work area to operate the bolter 26.
[0046] Another advantage however is the ability to get the roof
bolters 26 bolting at a location which is much closer to the face
12 of the mine entry and or closer to the cutting head than in the
prior art.
[0047] If desired, a work platform (not shown) can be provided on
the supporting structure 24 so that mine workers do not have to be
on the mine floor 11 and to keep them clear of possible pinch
points that may arise due to the movement of the shovel 20 and its
supporting structure 24.
[0048] The controls of the miner 10, in addition to all the control
facilities that are usually provided, can also provide:
[0049] 1. when the cutting head 14 and or the conveyor 19 is
operational, then the shovel 20, its supporting structure 24 and
all other components mounted thereon, cannot be moved out of the
retracted condition.
[0050] 2. trip interlocks to ensure that the cutting head 14 is
raised to a sufficient height before the shovel 20, its supporting
structure 24 and all other components mounted thereon, are able to
be moved from the retracted condition to the forward or extended
location.
[0051] 3. that the cutting head 14 and the conveyor 19 can only be
operated once the shovel 20, its supporting structure 24 and all
other components mounted thereon, are in the fully retracted
condition.
[0052] As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3 and its associated
description, a method of mining a mine entry with a continuous
miner is also provided, the method including the steps of mining
said mine entry 12 with a cutting head 14 mounted on the miner 10.
The ore thus mined can be gathered until the cutting head 14 can
mine no more ore in that location. Then the roof bolting apparatus
26 can be moved relative to the cutting head 14 from their location
occupied while the cutting head 14 is mining, to a forward location
so that the said roof bolters 26 can perform roof bolting
operations. These steps can be performed in any order. The step of
moving the roof bolting apparatus 26 relative to said cutting head
14 is performed by translating the supporting structure 24 on which
shovel 20 is mounted from a rearward location occupied while the
cutting head 14 is mining, to a forward location.
[0053] While the embodiment illustrated in the figures has the
conveyor 19 moving with the support structure 24 and shovel 20, if
desired the continuous miner can be constructed so that the
conveyor remains stationary, while the support structure 24, shovel
20 and bolting apparatus 26 moves forward and rearward. More
particularly, the support structure 24 could have its own conveyor
(not shown) with a rearward portion that overlaps a conveyor (not
shown) on the vehicle 18, so that as the shovel 20 moves forward,
the two conveyors continue to overlap so that the mined material
will still be conveyed through the miner.
[0054] It will be understood that the invention disclosed and
defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or
more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text
or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various
alternative aspects of the invention.
[0055] The foregoing describes embodiments of the present invention
and modifications obvious to those skilled in the art can be made
thereto, without departing from the scope of the present
invention.
* * * * *