GB891780A - Mine shaft transport installations - Google Patents

Abstract

891,780. Mine cage apparatus; winding gear. STAMICARBON N. V. June 3, 1960 [June 3, 1959], No. 19803/60. Classes 78 (3), 78 (4) and 78 (5). Equipment of relatively great length is transported to and from a mine shaft station by means of a cage 3 hinged to the upper part of a frame 1 coupled to shaft-hoisting gear 4, 5. When the cage is lowered to the position in full lines in Fig. 1, the lower end of the cage is swung into the station as shown in dotted lines by means of a rope 11 and appropriate powered haulage means 10, a safety device preventing the means 10 from swinging the cage beyond a certain maximum inclination to the vertical. This ensures that the cage may be pushed or lowered into horizontal position and supported directly or indirectly on the station floor by further downward movement of the frame 1 (Fig. 2). The means 10 may comprise a locomotive and the safety device resides in automatic uncoupling. As shown however, the means 10 comprises a winch (Fig. 5) having a motor-driven shaft 17. A sleeve 21 in slidable splined connection with the shaft 17 has screw-thread connection with the winch drum 20. Teeth 22 carried by the sleeve 21 may have driving engagement with teeth 23 carried by the drum. In operation, the winch is operated by its driving motor to draw the cage to the position shown dotted in Fig. 1, and then the motor drive is terminated. Decrease in load on the rope 11 enables a further rope 19 wound on a second drum portion 24 of the drum 20 to turn the drum under the action of a weight (Fig. 6, not shown) to take up the slack of the rope 11 as further lowering of the frame 1 proceeds and the cage is lowered to the position of Fig. 2. During this rotation of drum 20 due to the screw connection between the sleeve 21 and the drum 20, the teeth 22, 23 are brought out of engagement. When the cage 3 is to be returned to the frame 1 the reverse process takes place. A hook 25 then results in automatic locking of the cage in the frame 1. The hook 25 may be constructed so that the rope 11 cannot be removed until this has taken place. Safety means is provided to ensure that while the shaft door is open the hoisting engine cannot be operated. The cage 3 may have a cover having a lock which is arranged so that when the cover is opened current for creep speed of the hoisting engine is cut-out. The pivot 2 between the frame 1 and the cage 3 is constructed to permit a longitudinal movement of the cage 3 in the position shown in Fig. 2.