AU2005202558A1

AU2005202558A1 - Transfer device for underground mining

Info

Publication number: AU2005202558A1
Application number: AU2005202558A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Frank Fischer; Gerhard Merten; Jorg Wirtz
Original assignee: DBT GmbH
Current assignee: Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH
Priority date: 2004-06-11
Filing date: 2005-06-10
Publication date: 2006-01-05
Also published as: CN1706734A; PL375434A1; DE102004028238A1; RU2005118146A

Description

S&F Ref: 723494

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name and Address of Applicant Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: DBT GmbH, of Industriestrasse 1, D-44534, Lunen, Germany Frank Fischer Gerhard Merten Jorg Wirtz Spruson Ferguson St Martins Tower Level 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) Transfer device for underground mining The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5845c Transfer Device for Underground Mining ;Zl This invention relates to a transfer device for underground mining, comprising a transfer 0 conveyor that is realized in the form of a scraper chain conveyor with an acceptance chute for the acceptance of mining product from a face conveyor, with a discharge or 00 transfer chute that is elevated above the roadway floor for the transfer of the mining V 5 product to a gate conveyor that is installed in the road, with conveyor chutes, some of which form a preferably cantilevered bridge construction to span the vertical distance between the roadway floor and the elevated discharge chute, with a circulating, endless scraper chain between two chain return pulleys, one of which forms the face-side end and the other the discharge-side end of the transfer conveyor, and with a drive system to drive I o a drive chain pulley for the scraper chain.

Transfer devices of the prior art with transfer conveyors are known from DE 36 44 687 C2 and from DE 196 19 659 Al. In underground mining, in particular in coal mining, scraper chain conveyors are used, which are provided on the discharge end in the face/roadway transition with what is called a cross-frame chute, by means of which the coal removed at the face is transferred from the face conveyor to the transfer conveyor, which generally consists of a scraper chain conveyor. Because the drives for the face conveyor must be located at its head end, and consequently also in the face/roadway transition, conditions at that point are extremely cramped. Associated with the transfer z.o conveyor of a transfer device there is usually also a crusher, by means of which the coal extracted at the face is crushed and moistened before it is transferred to the gate Sconveyor, which is frequently formed by a conveyor belt. The mining product is 0 transferred to the gate conveyor by elevating the transfer conveyor with a bridge construction that consists of a plurality of conveyor chutes. The bridge construction oo forms a cantilevered swan neck and comprises a curved or concave trough, intermediate pans, a saddle trough and connecting chutes. the bridge construction can be moved by means of a caterpillar crawler, skids or similar mechanisms relative to the gate conveyor, V) so that the transfer conveyor can accompany the progress of the mining operations. In the transfer conveyors of the prior art, the drive system for the scraper chains is coupled with the chain return pulley mounted on the discharge chute, so that all thedrive components, 1o including the motor, coupling and transmission, are elevated and are at the level of the axis of rotation of said chain return pulley. Conventionally, this occurs in the crossover region, in the area in which the elevated discharge chute is supported on the stationary gate conveyor belt or on a carriage, [and is] more than 2 m high. To reduce this height, the prior art suggests relocating the drive system and/or the transmission for the drive chain wheel so that it or they are no longer located at the level of the drive chain ,wheel, but are oriented at an angle with respect to it or, for example, next to the gate conveyor.

The object of the invention is to create a transfer device with an elevated discharge chute, Qo in which the required height of the structure in the crossover area is reduced, so that the transfer device can be used without problems at faces and on roads with lower ceilings.

The invention teaches that the face-side chain return pulley forms the drive chain wheel that is connected with the drive system, or that an additional chain wheel forms a drive chain wheel that is coupled with the drive system. By relocating the entire drive system, the height of the structure in the crossover area can be significantly reduced. If there is 0 sufficient space at the face/roadway transition, the invention teaches that this is a potential location for the drive system, as a result of which the face-side chain return 00 pulley then forms the drive chain wheel. However, in the preferred embodiment, the drive S 5 of the scraper chain is not provided by one of the two chain return pulleys, but an 0 additional chain wheel forms the drive chain wheel. By providing an additional chain wheel, the drive system, including all the drive components, can be relocated to a place where sufficient space is available to set up all the drive components without creating obstacles for the miners.

I0 In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the additional chain wheel, together with its drive system and the drive components, is located in the vicinity of the bridge construction. In that case, the drive system can be placed on the roadway floor underneath the bridge construction, and consequently in an area in which the miner has to 1' be in any case, and in which there are in any case no abutment devices for the gate conveyor. The drive system could in particular also be supported on such abutment devices. The additional chain wheel is preferably associated with the bottom strand of the scraper chain and interacts with it.

In one variant configuration of the invention with an additional chain wheel as the drive chain wheel, a chain return pulley can be installed upstream of the chain wheel coupled with the drive system in the bottom strand. In this configuration, the chain return pulley is then located above the drive chain wheel and the bottom strand of the scraper chain, coming from the discharge-side chain return pulley, starting at which point it runs as the return strand of the scraper chain belt to the face-side chain return pulley. Between the discharge-side chain return pulley and the drive chain wheel, the bottom strand also O forms a portion of the traction strand of the scraper chain. In this case, it is particularly advantageous if the additional chain return pulley and the discharge-side chain return oo pulley are arranged so that the bottom strand between them runs essentially parallel to the In roadway floor. The chain return wheel can hereby be located immediately above the drive 1, chain wheel, and the two axes of rotation of said chain wheels then lie parallel in a plane t that extends vertically. An even lower overall height inthe crossover area can be achieved if the chain return pulley is positioned so that the returning bottom strand first runs into the chain return pulley and is then fed to the drive chain wheel, whereby the position of the chain return pulley is between the drive chain wheel and the face-side to chain return pulley. It is then particularly advantageous if the chain return pulley is offset from the drive chain wheel so that the bottom strand always runs essentially parallel to the roadway floor between the discharge-side reversing chain wheel and the drive chain wheel. It is further advantageous if the chain return pulley is located approximately in the center between the two chain return pulleys and/or on the saddle pan of the bridge construction or a chute that is adjacent to the saddle pan.

In an alternative configuration taught by the invention with an additional chain return pulley, the chain return pulley is located in the return strand downstream of the drive chain wheel that is coupled to the drive system. This configuration has the special 2o advantage that a chain tensioning device to take the sag out of slack chains can be associated with the chain return pulley. In this configuration, the segment of the bottom strand to which the tension forces are applied, coming from the discharge-side chain return pulley, first runs to the drive chain wheel, and then continues in the form of the return strand. A slack chain can then occur only between the chain return pulley downstream of it and the face-side chain return pulley, whereby said slack chain can then Sbe tensioned and the slack eliminated by changing the distance of the chain return wheel with respect to the drive chain wheel and to the face-side chain return pulley. In one particularly preferred configuration, the arrangement can be such that the return strand between the different chain wheels always runs essentially parallel to the roadway floor, 00 tV 5 while the vertical distance is compensated in the return strand (only) by means of the C drive chain wheel and the chain return pulley.

Additional advantages and configurations of the inventions are described below, with N, reference to the exemplary embodiments that are illustrated schematically in the o accompanying drawings, in which:, Figure 1 is a schematic overhead drawing of a transfer device as taught by the invention in a first exemplary embodiment; Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the transfer device illustrated in Figures 1; Figure 3 is a schematic side view of a portion of a transfer device that corresponds to a second embodiment; ;O Figure 4 is a schematic view of a portion of a transfer device that corresponds to a third embodiment; Figure 5 is a schematic side view, in partial section, of a transfer device that corresponds to a fourth embodiment.

Figure 1 shows, in a simplified overview drawing, the end region of a longwall face 1 for the extraction of coal with a face conveyor 3 placed in front of the coal face 2, whereby in the preferred embodiment, the face conveyor 3 consists of a scraper chain conveyor and can be backed up in the direction A of face advance by means of additional devices (not shown). The drive end, which is designated 4 overall, of the face conveyor 1 is located together with its motors 5 at the transition between the face 1 and the roadway 6.

The drive end 4 is flange-mounted to a cross-frame trough 7. This cross-frame trough 7 simultaneously forms the acceptance chute for a transfer conveyor which is designated overall and is placed at the face-roadway transition of the road 6. The mining product transported by the face conveyor 1 in the direction indicated by the arrow S is transferred to the cross-frame chute (acceptance chute) 7 on the transfer conveyor 10. The transfer conveyor 10 is an intermediate conveyor between the face conveyor 1 and an additional stationary conveyor belt 30 which is located along the road 6 and only the end portion of which, with the belt return pulley 31, is shown in Figure 1. The transfer conveyor transports the mining product accepted from the face conveyor 3 to its transfer chute 11, where it is thrown from above onto the gateconveyor 30 and transported away in the direction indicated by the arrow F. Because the face conveyor 3 advances in the direction A of the face advance as the coal is removed from the coal face 2, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment the transfer chute 11 is movably supported by means of the roller ;o sled 12 illustrated in Figure 2 on the belt pulley 31. Figure 2 also shows the return drum 32 for both strands of the endless belt 34 of the conveyor belt An examination of Figures 1 and 2 together shows clearly that the coal transported by the face conveyor 3 away from the face 1 is thrown from above onto the top or conveyor strand 13 of the transfer conveyor 10 which is realized in the form of a scraper chain conveyor, and is then transported onward in the direction indicated by the arrow P to the discharge chute 11. The discharge chute 11 is at some distance from the roadway floor 8, so that the coal can in turn be transferred from above onto the stationary conveyor belt To span this vertical distance between the roadway floor 8 or the transfer chute 7 and the discharge chute 11, some of the conveyor chutes of the transfer conveyor 10 are 00 .n 5 connected to form a cantilevered bridge construction 20 in the first illustrated C, embodiment. The conveyor chutes of the transfer conveyor 10 that form the bridge NI construction 20 are, among other things, a concave pan or convex line pan lying on the roadway floor 8, a plurality of intermediate chutes 22, 23, a saddle pan 24 and a plurality of connecting chutes 25 to 27, to which the transfer chute 11 that forms the discharge end is attached. The scraper chain conveyor of the transfer conveyor 10 runs in all the conveyor chutes on one hand in the form of the top or conveyor strand 13, and on the other hand as the bottom or return strand 14, except that they are separated by a conveyor or false floor (not shown), endlessly between the chain wheel 15 on the acceptance-side end of the transfer conveyor 10 and the chain wheel 16 on its transfer-side end. The chain wheel 16 hereby forms a non-driven chain return pulley, which is rotationally mounted on the frame of the transfer chute. On the other hand, the chain wheel 15 which is located on the acceptance-side end of the transfer conveyor 10, forms the driven drive chain .wheel, which is coupled with a drive system 17 that is indicated schematically by means of a motor and transmission. In contrast to the prior art, in which the drive was associated.

with the transfer chute and was consequently supported above the conveyor belt, the location of the drive system 17 on the other end of the transfer conveyor, in this case immediately adjacent to the transfer chute 7, makes it possible for the distance between the roadway floor 8 and the axis of rotation of the chain return pulley 16 to be less than in the prior art. The overall result of these measures is that in the vicinity of the belt pulley 30 and of the transfer chute 11, an Soverall height of only 1.8 m is necessary. However the drive 17 must be equipped with a relatively high output, because the drive forces must be transmitted with the interposition of the entire bottom strand of the driven chain wheel 15 from the driven chain wheel to the conveyor strand 13 of the transfer conveyor that actually transports the load.

00 t n c i Figure 3 shows an alternative exemplary embodiment of a transfer conveyor 110. The same or equivalent components are identified with the same identification numbers plus 100. In contrast to the first exemplary embodiment, in this case the drive is not located on C the acceptance-side end (not shown) of the transfer conveyor 1 10, but the drive 117 is located underneath the bridge construction 120. The transfer chute 111 and the nondriven chain return pulley 16 mounted on it, including the connecting chutes 125 to 128, can be realized as in the first exemplary embodiment. The drive 117 is supported on the roadway floor 8 and the axis of rotation of the drive chain wheel 115 is of approximately the same height as the chain return pulley (not shown) on the acceptance-side end of the I~ transfer conveyor 110. To span the difference in height, there is a deflector chain wheel 118 which is located upstream of the drive chain wheel in the bottom strand 1 14, whereby the axis of rotation of the deflector chain wheel 11 in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figure 3 is offset parallel above the drive chain wheel 115. The deflector chain wheel 118 can preferably be mounted on the saddle pan 124. Because the Z0 drive 117 is in an area which has sufficient space on account of the bridge construction 120, the transfer chute 111 can be placed lower and/or built so that the over height can be reduced. The return of the return strand or bottom strand 114 into the concave pan 121 can be effected by means of special chutes. 129.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, a section of the transfer conveyor 210 is shown which is realized in a manner largely identical to Figure 3. Here, too, the drive 217 with the drive chain wheel 215 connected with it is located underneath the saddle pan 224 of the bridge construction 220. However, the deflection chain wheel 218 which is located upstream of the drive chain wheel 215 has been moved in the direction of the acceptance-side end of the transfer conveyor 210, as a result of which the bottom strand 2114 runs back in a short intermediate strand 214' approximately parallel to the roadway floor 8 to the drive chain wheel 215, before it loops around the drive chain wheel 215 and runs in the form of the return strand to the acceptance-side chain return pulley (not shown).

On the transfer device with a transfer conveyor 310 taught by the invention shown in Figure 5, the drive system 317 is again located in the vicinity of the bridge construction 320. However, the bottom strand 314 runs from the discharge-side chain wheel 316, coming first into the drive chain wheel 315 which is driven by means of the drive system 317, before it then, with a short strand section 314' that is approximately parallel to the roadway floor 8 enters a deflector chain wheel 315 which is downstream of the drive chain wheel 315 in the return strand 314. The deflection chain wheel 318 can be moved parallel to the roadway floor 8 by means of a tensioriing device which in this case is formed by Spann cylinders 350, as a result of which any slack in the bottom strand 314 can be easily removed by applying tension. It goes without saying that Figure 5 is only a schematic illustration of one exemplary embodiment for a suitable chain tensioning 2o device.

For a technician skilled in the art, numerous variants of the invention will be apparent from' the above description and will fall into the scope of protection of the dependent claims. The drive chain wheel and the deflector chain wheel can also be positioned elsewhere, so that it becomes possible to install the transfer device in seams of even relatively low thickness, in which case the invention teaches that the additional drive chain will can be inserted into the bottom strand at some distance from the transfer chute.

Claims

1. Transfer device for underground mining, comprising a transfer conveyor that is 00realized in the form of a scraper chain conveyor with an acceptance chute for the acceptance of mining product from a face conveyor, with a discharge chute (11; 111; 211; 311) that is elevated with respect to the roadway floor for the transfer of the mining -product to a gate conveyor that is placed in the road, with conveyor chutes, some of which form a preferably cantilevered bridge construction (20; 120; 220; 320) to span the vertical distance between the roadway floor and the elevated discharge chute, with a circulating, endless scraper chain between two chain return pulleys, one of which forms 1O the face-side end and the other the discharge-side end of the transfer conveyor, and with a drive system to drive a drive chain pulley for the scraper chain, characterized in that the face-side chain return pulley forms the drive chain wheel (15) that is coupled with the drive system or that an additional chain heel (115; 215; 315) forms the drive chain wheelthat is coupled with the drive system (117; 217; 317). Is

2. Transfer device as recited in Claim 1, characterized in that the additional chain wheel (115; 215; 315) is located with its drive in the vicinity of the bridge construction (120; 220; 320). Qo

3. Transfer device as recited in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the additional chain wheel (115; 215; 315) interacts with the bottom strand (114; 214; 314) of the scraper chain.

S4. Transfer device as recited in one of the Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a deflector chain wheel (118; 218) is located upstream of the chain wheel (115; 215) that is coupled with the drive system. 00 t

5. Transfer device as recited in Claim 4, characterized in that the deflector chain wheel (118; 218) and the discharge-side deflector chain wheel (116; 226) are arranged so N that the bottom strand of the scraper chain runs between them essentially parallel to the Sroadway floor.

6. Transfer device as recited in Claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the deflector chain wheel is located approximately centrally between the two deflector chain wheels and/or on the saddle pan of the bridge construction or to a pan that is next to the saddle pan. I 1

7. Transfer device as recited in Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a deflector chain wheel (318) is located in the return strand (314) downstream of the drive wheel (315) that is coupled with the drive system (317).

8. Transfer device as recited in Claim 7, characterized in that a chain tensioning .O device (350), in particular for the prevention of chain sag, is associated with the deflector chain wheel (318).

9. Transfer device as recited in Claim 8, characterized in that by means of the chain tensioning device (350), the distance between the drive chain wheel (315) and the aS deflector chain wheel (318) can be varied.

Transfer device as recited in one of the Claims 3 to 9, characterized in that the return strand runs between the return strand and parallel to the roadway floor. 12

11. Transfer device as recited in one of the Claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the C transfer chute is realized in the form of a cross frame and/or that the discharge-side n reflector chain wheel 816 [sic should be 116; 216; 316) is mounted on the discharge chute (11; 111; 211; 311). 0

12. Transfer device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the embodiments as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 or Fig. 3 or Fig. 4 or Fig. 5 of the Saccompanying drawings. Dated 7 June, 2005 DBT GmbH Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON FR:\IBI 141131 dnc-KJr