US1630472A - Mining-machine skid - Google Patents

Description

May 31, 1927.

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 15, 1923 Wilkes? MINING MACHINE SKID F11 ed July 13 192:

v NM wm mm Q E. J. DOBERSTEIN May 31, 1927.

y E. J. DOBERSTEIN MINING MACHINE SKID Filed July 13. 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 E. J. DOBERSTEIN MINING MACHINE SKID Filed July 1:5, 1923 May 31, 1927.

y v E. J.,DOBERSTE|N MINING MACHINE SKID Fi-lgd July 15. 1923 5' Sheets-Sheet 5 W a I m" Patented May 31, 1927.

EDVARD J. DOBERSTEIN, OF BLUE ISLAND, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNQR TO GOODMAN ,MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF, ILLINOIS.

MINIlIG-MACHINE SKID.

Application filed July 13, 1923. Serial No. 651,290.

This invention relates to transportation devices for mining machines an'd'rhas tor its principal object to provide auxiliary draft means for transporting; an undercutting machine from place to place alongfthe mine floor for greater distances orat a higher rate of speed than is ordinarily practicable' w th ma chines of this character.

More specifically, my invention is adapted, particularly for use in connection with 'a' continuous cutting or shortwall type of mining machine used primarily tor undercutting coal inthe room and pillar system of mining, and consists in providinga supportinc skid carrying an auxiliarv winding drum and draft cable thereon, adapted to be de-f transporting a cutting mechanism intermediate cutting places I along the ground is commonly referred to as flitting in some localitie Furthermore, the cutting mecha: nism and auxiliary skid may be mounted-and carried bodily upon a wheeled mining machine truck, the latter also having power connections with the mining machine motor, whereby the entire apparatus may be transported along mine tracks in the usual manner, where tracks are available. c

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will appear from time to time as the following description proceeds T he invention may be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings illustral'ing one form in whicn'my invention mav be embodied:

these drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view ofa cutting appa- 4- Sill? 1 1 i twall type, and an auxiliary transport- 11. device constructed in accordance with my invention, both being mounted upon a min- 1 machine truclc Figure 2 is'a side view of the apparatus in Figurc'l, with parts cut away to of gearing ot the cutting appaincluding a cutting mechanism ot'hthe- Figure 3 is a plan view of the transporting unit forming an" important part at, my present invention.

Figure dis a longitudinal line 44 of Figure 3. i

-Figure 5 is a transverse line 55 'ofFigure 3;

Figure 6-is a transverse line 6 6 of Figure 4t.

Figure 7 isa transverse section taken on line 7'7 of Figure 4. i a

Figure Sis an enlarged detail of cablegretaining sheaves shown in Figure 7.

Figure Sis a diagram illustrating a typical method in which my improved apparatus may be utilized in the r'ooniand pillar system of mining.

For the purpose of illustration, my invention is shown as applied to a cutting mecha nism 1O ot'the shortwall type, and a wheeled truck 11, ofthe type usually employed for supporting and carrying such cutting mechanisms, excepting when withdrawn there. from for slidingmoveii ent along the mine floordu'ring actual cutting operations. Cutting mechanisms and machine trucks of the type mentioned may vary widelyin construc tion, butusually have certaincommon charact'eristi'cs. For instance, the cuttiiigniechanism' 10 is provided with a shoe '12 upon which the cutting mechanism is mounted for section takenon section taken on section taken on sliding movement on the mine bottom'during the cutting operations. The cutting mechanism is turther provided with a cutting element, as tor example, a' cutterbar 13 of the ordinary type having an endless cutter chain (not shown) movable thereabout The machine controlled and fed to the Work by means of flexible draft IODes l t and 15, wound respectively on drums to and 17. The cutting and feeding mechanisms are driven by a motor 18, one or both-of the drums 16 and 17 having driving engagen' ent with said motor, as desired, Detailsjot' t-he power gearnig'on the cutting mechan sm need not be described in detail, exceptin to point out by way of illustration the mechanism whereby the motor l8 may be detach.- ablyi connected for operatingthe auxiliary draft device carried the supporting skid and alsoto'torm driving connection with the truck. The power connections carried by the body. of the cutting mechanism 10 may The construction of the supporting skid indicated generally by the numeral will now be described. Said skid is designed to receive andsupport the cutting mechanism 10 and to this end comprises an elongated body portion or frame 26 preferably provided with lateral flanges'or guides '27, 27, extending upwardly so as to receive the bottom plate 12 of the cutting mechanism therebetween. The front end of the frame 26 isopen, the flanges 27, 27 being flared outwardly, so that the cutting 'mechanism 10 may be readily loaded thereon. .An apron 28 is connected to the front end of said frame in position to be dropped into engagement with the ground at its forward edge, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 4, to, facilitate the loading of the cut-ting mechanism thereon. has hinged connection with the frame 26 by means of a pair of downwardly extend ing flanges 29, 29,. extending through slots 30, 30, and having stop members 31,31 securing said flanges in place, but permitting the apron limited vertical pivotal movement as desired.

It will be understood that when in operation the supporting skid 25 together with the cutting mechanism 10 are" adapted to be unloaded bodily from the mining machine truck 11, to be slid universally over the mine floor, and particularly for flitting from one cutting place to the next; In the form shown, the skid is provided with a pair of runners 35, 35, extending longitudi-' nally along opposite sides of and underneath the frame 26. ,These runners are rigid with respect to the frame 26, being connected thereto by any suitable means, such as welding or riveting.

The auxiliary draftdevice ismounted at the rear endof the skid and comprises a In the form shown this apron 28' been indicated in connection with the foregoing description of the cutting mechanism, the shaft 21 is connected with a socket 20 on the rear end of the power driven shaft 19 operatively connected with the motor 18. The shaft 21 has a squared portion 48 intermediate its ends, fitting within a worm gear 49. Said worm gear is journalled in the central bracket 43 and is meshed with a worm wheel 50, also journalled in bracket 43, as best shown in Figure 5. The worm wheel 50 is keyed on a hollow shaft 51 loosely mounted for rotation on the shaft'41, and having a clutch member 52 at one end thereof adapted for detachable engagement with In the form a co-acting clutch member 53. shown the co-acting clutch members 52 and 58 are of the cone type, but it will be understood that any other suitable clutch device may be provided, as desired. The clutch member 53 is feathered on the shaft 41 so as to provide a driving connection for drum windingdrum 40. In the form shown this,

drum is carried on ahorizontally disposed shaft 41, extending transversely of the skid and suitably supported on brackets 42, 42

at the sides of the frame, and a bracket 43 disposed centrally of the frame. This windingjdrum maybe of relatively large proportions, so as to carry a draft cable 45 much longer than eitherof the draft cables 14 or 15, heretoforeidescribed as being 'part of thefeeding mechanism of the cutting appa-' 40,- keyed on the opposite end of said shaft. From the above description, it will now be clear that the cutting mechanism 10 may be loaded upon the suporting skid 25 in position to form an operative connection between the cutting mechanism motor 18 and the winding drum 40. The cutting mechanism is preferably loaded upon the skid when the latter is resting upon the ground, as'in dicated in Figure 4. In this position, the outer end of the apron 28 at the front end of the skid is dropped into engagement with the ground, as'shown in dotted lines. A pair of longitudinal extending support plates 55, 55, are provided along opposite sides of and above the frame 26, along which plates the bed frame or shoe 12 of the cutting mechanism is'adapted to slide, A pair of stops 56, 56 are secured to the frame 26 to limit the rearward movement of the cutting mechanism 10 respective to the skid at the proper position to form an operative connection between the cutting mechanism and the drum 40, carried by the skid, as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The rear end 60 of the shaft 21 extends rearwardly beyond the support 43 of the skid in position to be detachably engaged by a driving shaft 61 carried by the mining machine truck 11.. The shaft 61 is operatively connected to the supporting wheels 62, 62 of the truck by any suitable mechanism, as for instance, a worm gear 63 and worm 64, the latter mounted on a transverse shaft 65 having sprocket 66 thereon. A drive-chain 67 is trained over sprocket 66 and a'sprocket 68 secured in the usualmanner to the rear'truclk: wheel 62. I

i In connection'with the improved supporting skid and auxiliary draft mechanism forming apart of the present invent-ion, I provide means whereby cable 45 "carried "thereby may be extended either forwardly or rearwardly of the cutting mechanism and skid when the latter are cooperatively engaged for movement along the mine floor. This means comprises suitable guides mounted on'the skid about which the draft cable 45 may be trained. In the form shown said draft cable may be extended for wardly ofthe apron by means of a sheave carried on the floor f the skid and immedi ately in front of the drum Said sheave is preferably mounted upon an inclined axis, as shown in Figure at, in positionto permit the rope 45 to be passed thereabout and thence laterally about a vertically disposed sheave 71, disposed centrally of the frame 26. The central portionofthe frame 26 between plates '55, 55, is preferably open, as indicated at 73, so as to permit the rope 45 to pass freely underneath the bottom shoe 1230f the cutting mechanism when it is mounted on the skid. A pair of oppositely disposed sheaves 72, 72, are mounted on a bracket 7 7 extending across the opening 73 at the forward end of the skid, these latter sheaves being arranged below the top surface'of and between the plates 55, 55, upon which the bottom plate 12 of the cut ting mechanism rests. The free end of the rope may thus pass beneath the apron 28 where it may be anchored in advance of the skid and cutting mechanism to pull the enthe mechanism bodily in a direction longitudinally of the cutting mechanism and cutter bar. Y p

In order to assure proper alignment of the draft rope 45 when extended underneath the cutting mechanism, as described, the oppositely disposed sheaves 72, 7 2, at the forward end of the pan are arranged with their peripheries sufliciently close to each 'otherto retain said draft rope therebetween. The sheaves are normally retained in place by suitable means, such as retaining pins 75, 75,, extending through the respective studs 76,

76, upon which said sheaves are nounted' and journalled in the bracket 71 It will-be seen that when the cutting mechanism is unloaded from the skid, the pins 75, 75 may be removed so as to permit the sheaves 72, 72 to be withdrawn and thus release the cable 4L5. v v I Suitable guide devices are also provided to permit the cable 45to'loe extendedtoward the rear of the apparatus, as for instance by a sheave mounted on an inclined axis behind the drum, and a co-acting sheave 81 disposed centrally of' the skid and about which the cable 45 may be trained,as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 8. v

The use and advantages of the device abovede crib-ed are as follows When the supporting skid 25 is on the mine flooras shown in Figure i, the cutting mechanism may be loaded thereon by means of the draft cables 14 :or lfcarried on the machine and operated in the usualmanner' under power of the machine motor 18, The apron'28of'the 'skidis dropped into position anism is drawn rearwardlyuntil the rear end of the shoe 12 engages the'stopl'ti on the skid; In this position the motor is stopped, and the tongue 21 of driving shaft 21 is fitted in the socket 20, carried by the cutting mechanisml When loaded on the supporting skid in the position shown in Eigure 1, the apron 28 will' be raised into horizontal position, owing "to "the "pressure of the forward portion of the shoe 152, which maintains said airon in a horizontal posi tionin alignment with the supporting strips 55, 55. The cutting inechanisn'i'may be then looked from endwise movement respectii e to the skid by insertinga'lockingpiii 85 through the side flange 2? of the skid and the underfranie 86 of: the cutting mechanism, 'lhecutting mechanism, and skid are then, in position to be moved or flitted along the mine floor, and for this purpose the draft rope etam'ay be trained either forwardly over sheaves 70, 71 and 72' or 1'ea1rw:;u'dly over sheaves 80 and 81. The cutting mech- J00 anism maybe unloaded from the skid by'the reverse of the loading operation described. The drive gearing for the drum iOis such as to wind the draft rope' laat a considerably higher speed than that usually provided fcrby feeding drums '16 CF17 on the cutting mechanism during the usual cutting operation and movement 'ofthe machineacb jacent the working face." This greater flitting speed has been foundhighly desirable under most conditions. In, the presentinstance, the higher tiitt' speed is allor ded without adding any]mechanism to the body of the cutting mechanism, such as'might materially affect its usefulness byincreasing its dimensions: or weight The present ar'- rangement provides this additional gearing in the" form of a detachable unit, which-is brought into operationjonly" when required, for flitting, after the cutting mechanism has been w-ithdawn from its cutting operations at the face." It will be further noted that it is possible toprovide a winding drum having a much larger capacity, for flitting over much greater (d stances than would be practicable if applied directly to the; cutting mechanism, "it being understood that in machines of theishortwall or con itinuons cutter type it is desirable to limit the' siz e of the winding drum as near p0ssible to the actual requirements for cutting across a relatively short working face, say 30 to 50 feet. On the other hand, it is usually necessary to flit the machine much greater distances, as for instance, the entire length of a mine room, ranging from 100 to 300 or more feet in length, as illustrated'in Figure 9. In this diagram the mine tracks 90, 9 are not extended into the room 91, so

skid between the point of unloading at the room entrance 92 and the working face 93, where it is in turn. unloaded from the skid to perform its cutting operations in the usual manner.

It will be further understood that the supporting skid 25'may be used for flitting between c'utting places without a wheeled truck, for under some conditions it has been found entirely impracticable to use a truck of any description, especially in some mines where no tracks are available, and in other conditions where the overhead clearance is not sufficient to permit the use of a wheeled truck. In extremes of the latter conditions, it will be obvious that the overall height of the entire cutting mechanism and skid truck may be reduced to a minimum by reducing the height of the runners 35, on'the'bottom of the skid.

Although I have shown and described one form in which my invention may be em-, bodied, it will be understood that the con-. struction and arrangement of the parts may be Varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I do not therefore, wish to be understood as limiting myself to the specific construction illustrated herein, excepting as specifically limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention;

1. In combination with a draft operated cutting element, adapted for movement along the mine floor, a supporting skid, and auxiliary winding devices on said skid located within prolongations of. the longitudinal boundaries of said cutting element.

2.' In combination with a cutting mechanism having power devices thereon, an auxiliary winding device bodily detachable from and connectible with said power devices at one end of said cutting mechanism within prolongations of the longitudinal boundaries of the latter. 7

3; In combination with a cutting mechanism, having flexible draft feeding means and an actuator for operating the came, an auxiliary winding device bodily detachable fromv and connectable with said cutting mechanism and having geared connection with sai olactuator independentofsaid feeding means to drive said auxiliary draft means at a greater rate of speed than said feeding devices on the cutting mechanism.

4.. In combination with a cutting mechanism having flexible draft feeding means ineluding a winding drum, an auxiliary winding device including a winding drum of greater capacity than the feeding drum on the cutting mechanism, and means detachably connecting said auxiliary draft device bodily with said cutting mechanism within the prolongations of the longitudinal boundaries ofthe latter.

5. The combination with a cutting mechanism having flexible feeding devices for moving the same universally over the mine floor during the cutting operation, and pr0- vided with an actuator, of a supporting skid upon which said cutting mechanism may be carried, having auxiliary flexible, draft means thereon, detachably connectible with said actuator.

6. The combination with a cutting mechanism having flexible feeding. devices for moving the same universally over the mine floor during the cutting operation, and provided with an actuator, of a supporting skid upon which said cutting mechanism may be carried, having auxiliary flexible draft means thereon detachably connectible with said actuator, andguide devices on said skid about which the auxiliary flexible draft means may be trained longitudinally of the skid in either direction.

7 In j combination with a cutting mechanismhaving an actuator'thereon, a wheeled truck for said cutting mechanism, a skid upon which the cutting mechanism. may be mounted in interposed relation between said mechanism and said truck, a power device on said skid including an auxiliary flexible draft device, detachable power connections between said actuator and said power devices, and other detachable power connections between said power device and the truck wheels. 7 v I r 8. In combination with a cutting mechanism havingan actuator thereon, a wheeled truck for said cutting mechanism, a skid upon which the cutting mechanism may be mounted in interposed relation between said mechanism and said truck, a power device on said skid including an auxiliary flexible draft device, d'et'achable power connections between said actuator and said power dey vices, other detachable power connections between said power deviceand the truck wheels, and-aclutch interposed between said power device'on said skid and the auxiliary draft means, wherebythe latter may be disconnected and the mining machinetruckbe cluding a winding drum, a skid upon which said cutting mechanism may be mounted, an actuator for said Winding drum, an auxiliary draft device on said skid including a Winding drum of greater capacity than the feeding drum on the cutting mechanism, means detachably connecting said auxiliary draft device and said cutting mechanism,

and detachable speed reducing gearing connections between said auxiliary Winding drum and said actuator.

Signed at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 9th day of July,

EDWARD J. DOBERSTEIN.

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