AU723289B2 - Uninterrupted airflow ventilation tube installation system - Google Patents

Description

S F Ref: 399360

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name and Address of Applicant: Southem Engineering Pty Limited Montague Street Fairy Meadow New South Wales 2519

AUSTRALIA

Kevin R. Hall r c Actual Inventor(s): Address for Service: Invention Title: ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL [31] Application No(s) P03629 Spruson Ferguson, Patent Attorneys Level 33 St Martins Tower, 31 Market Street Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia Uninterrupted Airflow Ventilation Tube Installation System APPLICATION DETAILS [33] Country

AU

[32] Application Date 14 November 1996 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- 5815 Uninterrupted Airflow Ventilation Tube Installation System Field of the Invention The following invention relates to an uninterrupted airflow ventilation tube installation system. More particularly, though not exclusively, the invention relates to such a system for installation in an underground coal mine.

Auxiliary ventilation is normally required in underground coal mines. This is normally provided by an auxiliary fan and ducting from the fan to the working face.

The ducting is normally of a rigid nature and large in diameter. Additional lengths of ducting are required to be added to the existing duct in the face working area. This creates problems of handling large components in a restricted space. The fan must remain running while men are working at the face.

Object of the Invention It is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method of employing such an apparatus to enable a duct to be longitudinally extended/retracted by 15 adding/removing ducting segments thereto/therefrom at a location remote from the working face while allowing the ventilation fan associated with the duct to remain running.

Disclosure of the Invention There is disclosed herein an apparatus for adding and removing ducting 20 segments to/from an elongate air duct, said apparatus comprising: a housing defining a chamber into which an end portion of said air duct is sealingly receivable, a fan adapted to continuously move air through said air duct and said housing, and 25 delivery/removal means sealingly associated with said housing and adapted to •deliver and remove said ducting segments to/from said chamber for connection/disconnection to the end portion of said duct so as to increase/decrease the length of said duct whilst said fan is operative.

Preferably, the chamber comprises an outlet passage through which the end portion of said air duct sealingly passes.

Preferably, each ducting segment comprises a sealing member at-one end thereof which is adapted to cooperate with the end of an adjoining ducting segment.

Preferably said delivery/removal means comprises a revolving carriage adapted to receive individual ducting segments whilst in one orientation and to rotate to another S orientation to deliver the segments to the chamber, said carriage being sealingly I3 wassociated with the chamber.

e\ L [R:/LIBLL]00629:mzh:KEH 3 Preferably the ducting segments are delivered to the carriage upon an inclined surface or an inclined rail or rails.

Alternatively, the ducts could be moved or lifted mechanically into position to the carriage.

Advantageously, the apparatus as disclosed above will allow the ventilation duct to be extended by the addition of new ducting segments at the rate of the working face advance in a coal mine.

There is further disclosed herein a method of extending an articulated air duct whilst maintaining a flow of air therethrough, the method comprising: providing a housing at one end of the air duct, sealingly delivering a ducting segment to the housing and connecting that segment to an end of the air duct whilst maintaining a flow of air through the air duct and housing during the connection process, and longitudinally transferring the air duct so as to at least partially withdraw the connected ducting segment from the housing and allow the delivery of a further ducting S: segment to the housing for connection thereto.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 20 Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an uninterrupted airflow ventilation tube installation system, and Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are schematic end elevational views of a housing, delivery/removal carriage and delivered ducting segments with the carriage shown in a first, ducting receival orientation, a second transfer orientation and a third delivery 25 orientation respectively.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment roe• In the accompanying drawings there is schematically depicted an uninterrupted airflow ventilation tube installation system 10. The system 10 comprises a housing 17 having an opening at one end through which an air duct comprising segments 13 passes in the direction indicated by arrow A. A sealing member 16 surrounds the ducting segments 13 as they pass from the housing 17. The sealing member 16 may be formed of rubber or other resilient material which forms an air-tight seal around the circular segments 13.

At the other end of housing 17 or remotely located and connected by tubing to the housing, there is provided a fan 19 which draws air through the ducting in the direction indicated by arrows B. As an alternative, and in different installations, the fan 3i SC/iight direct the air in the direction opposite to that indicated by arrows B.

[R:/LIBLL]00629:mzh 4 Associated with the housing 17 is a ducting segment delivery/removal carriage 18 which is rotatingly sealingly associated with an extension 11 of housing 17. To this end, a seal 21 is provided between the rotating carriage 18 and extension 11.

Situated transversely alongside the housing 17 and its extension 11 is a pair of inclined tracks 14 upon which ducting segments 13 are individually delivered to the carriage 18. The ducting segments 13 are typically fabricated from metal or a composite material. At the forward end or alternatively reverse end of each ducting segment 13 there is typically provided a sealing skirt 15 which is initially folded back upon itself as shown in Fig. 1. Alternatively, the sealing skirt 15 can be internally located in each ducting segment 13. The skirt may be formed of rubber or other resilient material.

As shown in Fig. 2, a first ducting segment 13 rolls into the receiving carriage 18 and is retained there until it is desired to extend the overall length of the articulated duct.

As shown in Fig. 3, the carriage 18 has rotated in an anticlockwise direction towards its orientation which is depicted in Fig. 4 allowing delivery of the ducting segment 13 to the chamber 17. In this location, a sealing means is fitted. The duct can then be drawn manually out of the chamber 17 by pulling thereon, or otherwise extended. For example roller means could be provided within the housing 17 to push 20 the articulated duct out through seal 16.

Throughout the above process, fan 19 can be operative so that air continuously flows through the ducting whilst it is being extended.

This procedure can be reversed to remove duct segments from the system whilst the fan remains operative.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention.

For example, rather than providing a revolving carriage 18, a pair of air-lock doors can be provided, one either side of a ducting segment being delivered to chamber 17.

As used herein, the word "comprising" means "including, although not limited to". Similarly, the word "comprises" means "includes, although is not limited to".

[R:/LIBLL]00629:mzh

Claims (8)

1. An apparatus for adding and removing ducting segments to/from an elongate air duct, said apparatus comprising: a housing defining a chamber into which an end portion of said air duct is sealingly receivable, a fan adapted to continuously move air through said air duct and said housing, and delivery/removal means sealingly associated with said housing and adapted to deliver and remove said ducting segments to/from said chamber for connection/disconnection to the end portion of said duct so as to increase/decrease the length of said duct whilst said fan is operative.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chamber comprises an outlet passage through which the end portion of said air duct sealingly passes.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each ducting segment S 15 comprises a sealing member at one end thereof which is adapted to cooperate with the :iii end of an adjoining ducting segment.

4. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said delivery/removal means comprises a revolving carriage adapted to receive individual ducting segments whilst in one orientation and to rotate to another orientation to deliver 20 the segments to the chamber, said carriage being sealingly associated with the chamber.

The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising an inclined surface or an inclined rail or rails upon which the ducting segments can be delivered to the carriage. f

6. A method of extending an articulated air duct whilst maintaining a flow of air therethrough, the method comprising: 25 providing a housing at one end of the air duct, sealingly. delivering a ducting segment to the housing and connecting that segment to an end of the air duct whilst maintaining a flow of air through the air duct and housing during the connection process, and longitudinally transferring the air duct so as to at least partially withdraw the connected ducting segment from the housing and allow the delivery of a further ducting segment to the housing for connection thereto.

7. An apparatus for adding or removing ducting segments to/from an elongate air duct, the apparatus being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A method of extending an articulated air duct whilst maintaining a flow of air therethrough, the method being substantially as hereinbefore described with t ference to the accompanying drawings. [R:/LIBLL]00629:zh:KEH 6 Dated 10 November, 1997 Southern Engineering Pty Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON [n:/IibIl]00629:KEH