GB1582390A

GB1582390A - Self-advancing roof supports

Info

Publication number: GB1582390A
Application number: GB5337977A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Gullick Dobson Ltd
Current assignee: Gullick Dobson Ltd
Priority date: 1977-12-22
Filing date: 1977-12-22
Publication date: 1981-01-07

Description

(54) SELF-ADVANCING ROOF SUPPORTS (71) We, GULLICK DOBSON LIMITED, a British Company, of Ince, Wigan, Lanca shire, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The invention relates to self-advancing mine-roof supports.

Self-advancing mine-roof supports often operate by way of fore-and-aft acting advan cing ram means operative between the sup port itself and a forward anchorage therefor, often a snakable face conveyor, so as to effect both forward movement of the anchor age when the support itself is in a roof sup porting condition and forward movement of the support when released from the roof, the anchorage then being located by other sup ports. Invariably, such supports have floor engaging and roof-engaging structures, i.e.

bases and canopies, with props acting to urge them apart for fib or-to-roof support, and it is found to be an advantage if their advan cing ram means is also operative to apply a lifting force component to the fronts of the bases when advancing the support, whether bodily for a monolithic support or part-by part for a side-by-side walking frame arrange ment of support. This is readily achieved using a rearwardly directed and down wardly inclined advancing ram or rams coupled to a forward part of the support and connected to the anchorage by a relay bar.

However, the relay bar will then be of sub stantial length and thus particularly subject to sideways bending forces' on anchorage advance due to snaking of the anchorage or even relative changes of anchorage and sup port positions in a transverse direction, i.e.

along the min face concerned.

According to this invention there is prbvided a self-advancing mine-roof support having advancing ram means within the sup port directed to its rear and inclined towards its base, and a relay bar arrangement for' coupling to an anchorage forward of the support, which relay bar arrangement is coupled to the advancing ram means for movement thereby and is hinged or pivoted intermediate its ends for swinging movement parallel with a floor on which the support stands in operation.

Such a relay bar arrangement is particularly well suited to achieving and maintaining desired relative positions of an anchorage and a support, as desired during each (and successive) advances, and without undue strain on the relay bar arrangement, as a relatively rearward part thereof can be closely guided within-the support and a relatively forward part thereof can have guides, e.g.

flights, to disengage and reengage the support during advances.

In a preferred implementation, where the advancing ram is pivoted to a bridge or arch like forward support base part; under which a relay bar passes from its rearward pivotal coupling to the free end of the -ram, it is particularly convenient to provide guides limiting lifting of the rearward coupling and/ or specific lifting ram means at the bridge or arch operative perpendicularly to the supporting floor Embodiments of the invention will now be specifically described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a complete support and Figures 2 and 3 are part sectional side views of particular preferred relay bars.

In Figure 1, a monolithic self-advancing mine-roof support 10 has a base 11 in the form of parallel fore-and-aft cross connected skids 12, a main roof-supporting canopy 13 cantilevered at 14 forwardly of the base 11, and forward and rearward pairs of hydraulic props 15, 16 acting between the skids and the canopy. -Rear and side shielding are indicated generally at 17, and comprise canopy-coupled parts 18, base-connected parts 19, and intermediate parts 20 with suitable pivotal couplings and intercouplings to achieve telescoping and outward rearward folding thereof to give protection at all canopy heights and also allow a very low minimum canopy height.

The canopy has a forwardly extendible roof bar 30 usually equipped with one or more hydraulic capsule type upward force-applying means.

Forward cross-connection of the skids 12 is by way of a raised bridge or arch 34 which affords passage therebelow for a forward part 35 of a relay bar 36 having its rearward part 37 pivotted at 38 to the end of a hydraulic double-acting ram 39 having its cylinder 40 pivotted at 41 to the bridge or arch 34. The ram is thus disposed within the support 10 directed fore-and-aft and inclined downwardly towards the rear of the support.

The forward and rearward parts 35 and 37 of the relay bar 36 are pivoted together at 43 for sideways relative swinging. The rearward part 37 is of bifurcated frame form with longitudinal sides 44 closely fitting between the skids 12, and rearward edge parts 45 have upward radiussed projections to engage guides 46 on the facing surfaces of the skids 12 to control and limit raising of the rearward end of the relay bar when acted upon by the advancing ram.The foreward part 35 of the relay bar 36 has an anchorage coupling 47 at its end and laterally extending guide flights 48 flatted at 48 to locate between the skids 12 below the bridge or arch 34, and tapered at 50 to allow both sideways pivoting of the front part on extension of the relay bar to advance the anchorage and accurate relocation on extension of the ram to advance the support when the relay bar effectively retracts into the support base.

In the preferred forms of Figures 2 and 3 the same or similar parts bear the same references as used in Figure 1, but the bridge or arch structure 34 is shown in greater sectional detail, and skid side flanges 52 are shown for attachment of particular shielding systems, for example of a type using two-arm linkages at each side of the support to control front alignment of the support, typically via endpivotted arms between, respectively, upper pivots of parts 20 and 19 and lower pivots of of these parts. In Figure 2, the bridge or arch 34 has a main cross piece 55 with mounting and housing members of and for a clevis type ram cylinder coupling incorporating blocks 56, 57 that are shaped to assist in limiting the arcuate movement permitted or required of the ram cylinder.Figure 3 is generally similar save for incorporation, instead of blocks 56, 57, of a normally vertically acting ram 60 with a piston rod thrust bar or plate 61 and a cylinder (62) thrust collar or flange 63 cooperating with the underside of a bearing plate 64 of the bridge or arch structure and through which the cylinder passes. The plate 64 is rigid with the pivotal clevis type mount for the advancing ram cylinder, and the cylinder 62 is secured thereto with the plate or piston bearing pad 61 capable of slidingly engaging the relay bar to give added lift to the front of the support should that be requied in order to clear floor obstructions.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A self-advancing mine-roof support having advancing ram means within the support directed to its rear and inclined towards its base, and a relay bar arrangement for coupling to an anchorage forward of the support, which relay bar arrangement is coupled to the advancing ram means for movement thereby and is hinged or pivoted intermediate its ends for swinging movement parallel with a floor on which the support stands in operation.

2. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claim 1, wherein said hinging or pivoting is to a rearward part of the relay bar itself coupled to the advancing ram means.

3. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claim 2, wherein said hinging or pivoting is about a single axis perpendicular to said floor.

4. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claims 2 or 3, wherein the rearward part of the relay bar arrangement is closely guided within the support against movement sideways of the support.

5. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claim 4, wherein said rearward part comprises spaced parallal side surfaces slidingly accommodated between interior facing sides of ground-engaging spaced skids of the support.

6. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a forward part of the relay bar arrangement has a guide means relative to the support that is effective to progressively increase or decrease permitted sideways movement of that forward part during extension and retraction respectively of said relay bar arrangement.

7. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claim 6 when appendent to claim 5 when said guide means comprises side guides or flights that taper towards the rear of the support from dimensions such as to give close engagement with front parts of said skid sides.

8. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to any preceding claim, wherein said advancing ram means is pivotally coupled to a raised forward part of a groundengaging structure of the support under which said relay bar arrangement passes.

9. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claim 8, when appendant to claim 3, wherein said raised part comprises a bridge or arch interconnecting front parts of the skids.

10. A self-advancing mine-roof support

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. give protection at all canopy heights and also allow a very low minimum canopy height. The canopy has a forwardly extendible roof bar 30 usually equipped with one or more hydraulic capsule type upward force-applying means. Forward cross-connection of the skids 12 is by way of a raised bridge or arch 34 which affords passage therebelow for a forward part 35 of a relay bar 36 having its rearward part 37 pivotted at 38 to the end of a hydraulic double-acting ram 39 having its cylinder 40 pivotted at 41 to the bridge or arch 34. The ram is thus disposed within the support 10 directed fore-and-aft and inclined downwardly towards the rear of the support. The forward and rearward parts 35 and 37 of the relay bar 36 are pivoted together at 43 for sideways relative swinging. The rearward part 37 is of bifurcated frame form with longitudinal sides 44 closely fitting between the skids 12, and rearward edge parts 45 have upward radiussed projections to engage guides 46 on the facing surfaces of the skids 12 to control and limit raising of the rearward end of the relay bar when acted upon by the advancing ram.The foreward part 35 of the relay bar 36 has an anchorage coupling 47 at its end and laterally extending guide flights 48 flatted at 48 to locate between the skids 12 below the bridge or arch 34, and tapered at 50 to allow both sideways pivoting of the front part on extension of the relay bar to advance the anchorage and accurate relocation on extension of the ram to advance the support when the relay bar effectively retracts into the support base. In the preferred forms of Figures 2 and 3 the same or similar parts bear the same references as used in Figure 1, but the bridge or arch structure 34 is shown in greater sectional detail, and skid side flanges 52 are shown for attachment of particular shielding systems, for example of a type using two-arm linkages at each side of the support to control front alignment of the support, typically via endpivotted arms between, respectively, upper pivots of parts 20 and 19 and lower pivots of of these parts. In Figure 2, the bridge or arch 34 has a main cross piece 55 with mounting and housing members of and for a clevis type ram cylinder coupling incorporating blocks 56, 57 that are shaped to assist in limiting the arcuate movement permitted or required of the ram cylinder.Figure 3 is generally similar save for incorporation, instead of blocks 56, 57, of a normally vertically acting ram 60 with a piston rod thrust bar or plate 61 and a cylinder (62) thrust collar or flange 63 cooperating with the underside of a bearing plate 64 of the bridge or arch structure and through which the cylinder passes. The plate 64 is rigid with the pivotal clevis type mount for the advancing ram cylinder, and the cylinder 62 is secured thereto with the plate or piston bearing pad 61 capable of slidingly engaging the relay bar to give added lift to the front of the support should that be requied in order to clear floor obstructions. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A self-advancing mine-roof support having advancing ram means within the support directed to its rear and inclined towards its base, and a relay bar arrangement for coupling to an anchorage forward of the support, which relay bar arrangement is coupled to the advancing ram means for movement thereby and is hinged or pivoted intermediate its ends for swinging movement parallel with a floor on which the support stands in operation.

10. A self-advancing mine-roof support

according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein said forward part further incorporates a substantially vertical ram means to act between the coupling of the advancing ram means and a forward part and the relay bar arrangement.

11. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to any preceding claim, wherein the coupling between the advancing ram means and the relay bar arrangement is limited in its permitted upward movement during relay bar movement.

12. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claim 11 when appendant to claim 5, wherein said limiting is effected by cooperation between guides or ledges on the interior sides of the skids and abutments on said rearward part of the relay bar

13. A self-advancing mine-roof support according to claim 11, wherein said abutments are radiussed at their upper surfaces.

14. A self-advancing mine-roof support arranged and adapted to operate substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.