AU598062B2 - Mine roof supports - Google Patents
Mine roof supports Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- AU598062B2 AU598062B2 AU81437/87A AU8143787A AU598062B2 AU 598062 B2 AU598062 B2 AU 598062B2 AU 81437/87 A AU81437/87 A AU 81437/87A AU 8143787 A AU8143787 A AU 8143787A AU 598062 B2 AU598062 B2 AU 598062B2
- Authority
- AU
- Australia
- Prior art keywords
- load bearing
- mine roof
- forepole
- roof support
- auxiliary load
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Ceased
Links
- 239000003245 coal Substances 0.000 description 15
- 238000005065 mining Methods 0.000 description 14
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000003245 working effect Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000002775 capsule Substances 0.000 description 3
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910052500 inorganic mineral Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000011707 mineral Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000002699 waste material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 241001559589 Cullen Species 0.000 description 1
- 230000010485 coping Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005553 drilling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002401 inhibitory effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002452 interceptive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000004575 stone Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21D—SHAFTS; TUNNELS; GALLERIES; LARGE UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS
- E21D23/00—Mine roof supports for step- by- step movement, e.g. in combination with provisions for shifting of conveyors, mining machines, or guides therefor
- E21D23/04—Structural features of the supporting construction, e.g. linking members between adjacent frames or sets of props; Means for counteracting lateral sliding on inclined floor
- E21D23/0454—Trailing plates; Coal face or goaf side sprags
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
- E21D—SHAFTS; TUNNELS; GALLERIES; LARGE UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS
- E21D23/00—Mine roof supports for step- by- step movement, e.g. in combination with provisions for shifting of conveyors, mining machines, or guides therefor
- E21D23/04—Structural features of the supporting construction, e.g. linking members between adjacent frames or sets of props; Means for counteracting lateral sliding on inclined floor
- E21D23/06—Special mine caps or special tops of pit-props for permitting step-by-step movement
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Architecture (AREA)
- Structural Engineering (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Geology (AREA)
- Conveying And Assembling Of Building Elements In Situ (AREA)
- Lining And Supports For Tunnels (AREA)
Description
_I_
-1- 598062 This document contains the amendments made under Section 49 and is correct for prir'ing.
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA The Patents Act 1952-1969 Name of Applicant(s): GULLICK DOBSON LIMITED Address of Applicant(X): Actual Inventor(s): Address for service: P.O. Box 12, Ince,Wigan, Lancashire,
ENGLAND
Roy Park G.R. CULLEN COMPANY Dalgety House 79 Eagle Street BRISBANE QLD. 4000
AUSTRALIA.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR THE INVENTION ENTITLED: "MINE ROOF SUPPORTS" The following statement is a full description of the invention including the best method of performing it known to us: The invention relates to mine roof supports and particularly to mine roof supports for use in the longwall method of mining. This is a method of working coal seams in which the seam is removed in one series of operations utilising a long working face or wall.
Longwall workings advance or retreat along a line which may be several hundreds of metres in length. The space from which the coal has been removed, variously referred to as the gob, goaf or waste, is either allowed to collapse, known as caving, or may be filled with stone and debris. The Nelson Dictionary of Mining gives more detailed descriptions and definitions.
The space fiom which coal has been removed, prior to the collapse of the roof, is maintained during the removal of the coal by a row of self-advancing mine roof supports.
Between the supports and the long working face is a scraper chain conveyor which serves both as a means of removing the mined coal from the workings and as a track along which the mineral cutting machine traverses during the mining operation.
The mine roof supports are each usually provided with a forwarding projecting cantilever roof-engaging member, to support the mine roof above the conveyor. In this way the roof can be fully supported from the coal face to the waste edge of the workings. Under ideal mining conditions as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, a simple form of support is adequate during the performance of the mining cycle which includes removing a strip of coal from the face, advancing the conveyor 10a, and then lowering, advancing and resetting the support lla ready for the removal of the next strip of coal.
Where roof and face conditions are not sound, additional support must be provided such as a forepole which can be extended from the cantilever to provide immediate support for the newly exposed roof until such time as the roof support itself can be advanced. When the roof support is advanced the forepole is retracted as the cantilever portion of the roof engaging members moves forward to take over the role of supporting the roof up to the mine face. Such a forepole device is described in our U.K.
Patent Specification No. 2 196 371.
Further difficulties may be encountered if the roof is sound but the coal itself is unstable and friable. The coal may collapse or spill along cleats in the coal and it may be necessary to use face sprags such as are shown at 12a in Figure 2.
A particularly complex combination of conditions may be encountered when the roof and coal face are both 6 unstable. If the instability is unchecked, the condition shown in Figure 3 results, where the face 13a is breaking down in advance of the normal face line (see Figure 1 for comparison purposes). Furthermore, the unstable roof oo breaks, and it becomes difficult to advance the support to a roof engaging position without using wooden blocks or the like above the normal roof engaging structure. It is not unknown to drill the face and roof and inset wooden dowels to hold the face and roof in position to allow mining to continue, but this is both costly and 25 time consuming, and is not considered desirable in 0 o current mining practice.
The invention provides a mine roof support having a main roof engaging member and first and second C 0 auxiliary load bearing members whici are pivotally 30 connected to each other, one of the auxiliary load bearing members being pivotally connected to the main roof engaging member and each of the auxiliary load bearing members being movable between a first, substantially horizontal, roof supporting position, and a Ssecond, substantially vertical, face supporting position.
Sa' 0EJ~ The use of such auxiliary load bearing members makes it possible to make use, in a very effective and versatile manner, of a combination of support techniques such as forepoling and spragging, in such a manner that it is possible to copy with adverse conditions where the required strata control could not otherwise be achieved without resorting to drilling and dowelling.
It is possible with the invention to provide horizontal spragging support, or vertical forepoling support, and/or a combination of both, in varying configurations which can be adjusted to the mining conditions experienced at the mine roof support location.
pivotally mounting the auxiliary load bearing members on the main roof engaging member, it is possible to provide the necessary support for the strata without interfering with the mining cycle, for example without inhibiting the free passage of a mining machine along a conveyor positioned in front of the support.
Preferably the said one auxiliary load bearing member is connected to an extensible part of the main roof engaging member.
Preferably there is at least one hydraulic jack operable to move the auxiliary load bearing members from an inoperative position to a load bearing position.
Each auxiliary load bearing member may be provided with its own associated hydraulic jack.
The auxiliary load bearing members together with any associated hydraulic jack or jacks are preferably retractable into a compact stowage position on the underside of the main roof engaging member.
The auxiliary load bearing members may be provided with a series of links arranged to reduce loads on the, or each, hydraulic jack.
Each auxiliary load bearing member may be capable of bearing a load in any position, including not only the -4said first and second positions, but also any inclined position therebetween.
Preferably the main roof engaging member of the mine roof support has an extensible forepole, a first load bearing plate is pivotally connected to the forepole and a second load bearing plate is pivotally connected to the forepole and a second load bearing plate is pivotally connected to the first load bearing plate, hydraulic jacks being provided which are operable to move the plates such thatach plate is capable of operating as a face sprag and/or as an extension of the forepole.
Preferably means are provided to pivot the forepole, together with the load bearing plates, with respect to the main roof engaging member, for example to c 15 move the f orepole and load engaging plates into engagement with a concavity in the mine roof.
By way of example, a specific embodiment of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 to 3 illustrate diagrammatically three types of known mining condition; Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side view, partly in cross-section, of part of the roof engaging structure of a known form of mine roof support; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the roof engaging structure of an embodiment of mine roof suppoLt according to the invention in a stowed position; Figure 6 is a view of part of Figure 5 to a greater scale; Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing the forepole extended; Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but showing part of the support acting as a face sprag; and 3 Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 5 but P showing the roof engaging structure fully extended.
Figures 1 to 3 have already been referred to in the introduction to this specification.
Referring to Figure 4, reference numeral illustrates a main roof engaging member in the form of the canopy part of a roof engaging structure which in use 'I is attached to roof supporting hydraulic jacks (not shown) at 11 and 12.
At the forward end of the canopy 10 is an articulated extension 13 pivotally attached to the canopy at 14. Relative movement between the canopy 10 and the extension 13 is controlled by a slidable wedge which is attached to a hydraulic actuator (not shown) at 16. Within the extension 13 is a forepole bar 16 which is slidably operable by a hydraulic jack 17. When the forepole bar 16 is at least partially extended from the extension 13 it can be pivoted upwardly slightly to set it to the mine roof by means of a hydraulically operable capsule 18 which is attached to the forepole bar 16.
The underside of the extension 13 is open at 18 which exposes and gives free access to the underside of the forepole bar 16.
A load bearing assembly illustrated generally by the. reference numeral 9 is pivotally connected to the forepole bar 16 at The arrangement is shown in more detail in Figure 6. A first auxiliary load bearing member comprises a plate-like member 19 which is pivotally attached to the forepole 16 at 20. A second auxiliary load bearing member in the form of a second plate-like member 21 is hingedly attached to the plate 19 at 22. Both the plate-like members are substantially the same width as the canopy A primary link 24 is pivotally connected to the underside of the forepole 16 at 23. A secondary link is pivotally connected to the pr3mary link at 26, is pivotally connected to the plate 19 at 27, and is pivotally connected at 28 to the piston of a hydraulic jack 29. The cylinder 30 of the hydraulic jack is connected to the forepole bar 16 by means of a pivot 31.
A further hydraulic jack 32 has its cylinder connected to the first plate at 33 and has its piston rod connected to the second plate 21 at 34 by means of a bracket The plates 19 and 21 may be moved to various positions by means of the jacks 30 and 32 to add greatly to the versatility of the mine roof support.
Figure 7 shows that the extension 13 and forepole bar 16 may be used in a conventional manner if desired, S 15 the plates 19" and 21 remaining in a stowed position underneath the forepole bar 16.
o 00 Si
I
Alternatively, as shown in Figure 8. the rams 29 and 32 may be actuated such that the plate 19 operates as an extension of the forepole bar 16 while the plate 21 operates as a face sprag.
In the fully extended position shown in Figure 9, both the plates 19 and 21 act as forward extensions of the forepole bar 16.
The mine roof support according to this embodiment is capable of coping with all the mining conditions shown in Figures 1 to 3. For example, plate 19 can be moved to a vertical position to act as a face sprag in a similar manner to the member 12a shown in Figure 2. If it is necessary to provide support in a situation such as that shown in Figure 3, the plate 19 may be moved into a substantially horizontal position, the plate 21 being moved to a position in which it is at an angle of, for example, 700 to plate 19. After a strip of coal has been removed the forepole bar 16 can then be extended, with appropriate adjustment of the plates 19 and 21 if necessary, to provide similar support for the newly cut face and The position of the support shown in Figure 9 of course gives the maximum reach into the workings, which may be necessary for some conditions.
One sequence of operation of a mine roof support according to the invention will now be described with particular application to adverse mining conditions.
In the first stage the mining machine passes a given mine roof support according to the invention and the forepole 16 is extended by means of its associated hydraulic jack (which may be single or double telescopic to meet the distance requirements) after which a capsule such as 18 is operated to set the forepole bar 16 into contact with the mine roof.
During a second stage the hydraulic jack 29 is operated and acts on links 25 and 24 about the pivot point 20. This operation transmits the force to the pin 27 which pivots the plate 29 about the pin 23. In this way the plate 19 can be transposed into a vertical position. Sequentially the jack 32 is extended and if the coal face is vertical then both plates 19 and 21 will exert a supporting force against the face. In other words they will become aligned in the vertical plane.
in a third stage, if the face is not vertical then plate 19 will pass through the vertical plane and if no resistance is met it will continue to a horizontal plane and will consequently support the mine roof. When the plate 19 reaches an obstruction, which may be the mineral face, for example at an angle of 450, the plate 21 will again become placed against the face by retracting the ram 32 from its previous position. If on the other hand the plate 19 becomes roof engaging, then the ram 32 retracts still further, sufficient to permit plate 21 to operate as a face support sprag.
In a fourth stage, in extreme conditions, where neither plates 19 nor 21 engage with an upwardly extending coal face, then both rams 30 and 31 will continue to extend until both the plates 19 and 21 become roof engaging.
It will be noted that the forces from the rams 29 and 32 are transmitted through links which have a leverage effect, some of the links being self-locking, which relieves load on the rams 29 and 30 but may transmit load to the capsule 18.
The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing eiibodiment. For example, there may be a single centrally located jack 29 and a pair of jacks 32, one arranged at each side of the jack 29.
Although the load supporting members are shown mounted on the forepole bar 16, it may be possible with narrower 8.
seams to utilise a mine roof support which has an extension 13 which is not fitted with a forepole bar.
In such a case the load bearing members may be connected directly to the extension 13.
1_
Claims (9)
1. A mine roof support having a main roof engaging member and first and second auxiliary load bearing members which are pivotally connected to each other, one of the auxiliary load bearing members being pivotally connected to the main roof engaging member and each of the auxiliary load bearing members being movable between a first, substantially horizontal, roof supporting position, and a second, substantially vertical, face suppo.'ting position.
2. A mine roof support as claimed in Claim 1, in which the said one auxiliary load bearing member is o connected to an extensible part of the main roof engaging member.
3. A mine roof support as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which there is at least one hydraulic jack operable to move the auxiliary load bearing members from an inoperative position to a load bearing position.
4. A mine roof support as claimed in Claim 3, in which each auxiliary load bearing member is provided with its own associated jack.
A mine roof support as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4 in which the auxiliary load bearing members together with any associated hydraulic jack or jacks are retractable into a compact stowage positilon on the underside of the main roof engaging member.
6. A mine roof support as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 4, in which the auxiliary load bearing members are provided with a series of links arranged to (L s reduce loads on the,oreach, hydraulic jack.
7. A mine roof support as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, in which each auxiliary load bearing member is capable of bearing a load in any position, including not only the said first and second positions, but also any inclined position therebetween.
8. A mine roof support as claimed in Claim 1, in which the main roof engaging member of the mine roof support has an extensible forepole, a first load bearing plate is pivotally connected to the forepole and a second load bearing plate is pivotally connected to the first o0 S" load bearing plate, hydraulic jacks being provided which are operable to move the plates such that each plate is capable of operating as a face sprag and/or as an extension of the forepole.
9. A mine roof support as claimed in Claim 8, in which means are provided to pivot the forepole, together with the load bearing plates, with respect to the main roof engaging member, for example to move the forepole and load engaging plates into engagement with a concavity in the mine roof. A mine roof support, constructed and arranged substantially as described herein, with reference to Figures 4 to 9 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this 25th day of January 1990 GULLICK DOBSON LIMITED By their Patent Attorneys G.R. CULLEN CO. 1 C U;
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB8627853A GB2197678B (en) | 1986-11-21 | 1986-11-21 | Mine roof supports |
GB8627853 | 1986-11-21 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
AU8143787A AU8143787A (en) | 1988-05-26 |
AU598062B2 true AU598062B2 (en) | 1990-06-14 |
Family
ID=10607701
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
AU81437/87A Ceased AU598062B2 (en) | 1986-11-21 | 1987-11-20 | Mine roof supports |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
AU (1) | AU598062B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE3739395A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2197678B (en) |
Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
AU5531280A (en) * | 1979-02-14 | 1980-08-21 | Voest-Alpine A.G. | Mine roof supporting cap |
Family Cites Families (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1037914A (en) * | 1962-05-12 | 1966-08-03 | Groetschel Karl Maria | Improvements relating to roof supports for mine workings |
FR2042958A5 (en) * | 1969-04-09 | 1971-02-12 | Gewerk Eisenhuette Westfalia | |
HU167711B (en) * | 1973-12-07 | 1975-12-25 | ||
GB1507311A (en) * | 1974-09-12 | 1978-04-12 | Gullick Dobson Ltd | Mine roof supports |
DE2928728A1 (en) * | 1978-07-18 | 1980-01-31 | Fletcher Sutcliffe Wild Ltd | Pit prop cap support screen - has cantilevered bar hinged via guide rods to pistons and cylinders which are on each side of support plate |
DE2900981B2 (en) * | 1979-01-12 | 1980-10-30 | Hermann Hemscheidt Maschinenfabrik Gmbh & Co, 5600 Wuppertal | Pre-pledging device for hydraulic support racks |
GB2087964B (en) * | 1980-11-26 | 1984-03-21 | Dowty Mining Equipment Ltd | Roof support for use in mines |
GB2129476B (en) * | 1982-10-29 | 1986-08-06 | Dowty Mining Equipment Ltd | Self-advancing support and control means therefor |
DE8434257U1 (en) * | 1984-11-23 | 1985-02-21 | Gewerkschaft Eisenhütte Westfalia, 4670 Lünen | LOCKING DEVICE FOR CARBON BUMPER |
-
1986
- 1986-11-21 GB GB8627853A patent/GB2197678B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1987
- 1987-11-20 AU AU81437/87A patent/AU598062B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1987-11-20 DE DE19873739395 patent/DE3739395A1/en not_active Ceased
Patent Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
AU5531280A (en) * | 1979-02-14 | 1980-08-21 | Voest-Alpine A.G. | Mine roof supporting cap |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB2197678A (en) | 1988-05-25 |
DE3739395A1 (en) | 1988-06-01 |
AU8143787A (en) | 1988-05-26 |
GB2197678B (en) | 1990-04-11 |
GB8627853D0 (en) | 1986-12-31 |
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