US2644573A - Conveyer-propelled supply truck for use with shaking conveyers - Google Patents

Description

Patented July 7, 1953 UNITED STATES CONVEYER-PROPELLED SUPPLY TRUCK FOR USE WITH SHAKING CONVEYERS Joseph F. Joy, Pittsbur gh, Pa., assignor to Joy Manufacturing Company, Pittsburgh, la., a

corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 25, 1949, Serial No, 78,274

Claims. (Cl. 198-220) I This invention relates to a conveyor-propelled supply truck for use with shaking conveyors of the type employed in mining.

Shaker conveyors are extensively employed in mines, and particularly in mines where low head room makes other means of transportation diflioult. Such conveyors extend from the actual point at which mining operations are being carried on to a suitable car loading or discharge point, and accordingly extend along a path over constructed in accordance with my invention which implements, roof supports, and the like mounted uponareciprocating conveyor trough. must be transported. These articles, being heavy Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the supp y truck and and difiicult to handle where the roof is low, are of the portion of the shaker conveyor pan line commonly placedon supply trucks which are shown in Fi v V. moved along the conveyor pan line. The trucks Fi 3 is a vertical transverse section on an may be moved manually. They may be towed by enlarged scale, the section bein aken on the lines, or may be caused to traverse the pan line planes of the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. automatically by motion derived from the pan i s n ed-ira ta y side elevaline itself. Such trucks may be utilized in the l vi w, with parts broken away, showin 8 transportation of passengers also. 2-9 or the intermittent gripping devices emp y in A primary object of this invention is the proeff ctin m v ment of the truck in one direction vision of an improved truck which may be caused along the Da l n to move between the working face and some rela- NOW referring more particularly to the drawtively remote point, and to convey aload, as, for ings, there y be oted at it a portion of a example, mine props or the like, toward the Shaker conveyor trough Da li e. This is working face, and to carry out items which it e i shown as supported not by t ust ma y is desired to remove from the working face. A ball frames but by means of rubber tired wheels further and more specific object of the invention each journaled up n a suitable axle I2 is the provision of an improved truck of such r i y an p i ly i t anscharacter, having supporting wheels adapted to Versely extending Support member 3, to which a be Supported upon t edges of t conveyor pan section is connected, desirably at or adjacent trough and to move therealong, and having imone O the latter and the underlying 11- proved meansfor effecting movement along the p01"t frame 13 has eyes M w ich are adapted conveyor trough. Another object of the inven- P be connected F coflfesponding y s 011 an adtion is to provide an improved truck of the char- J t D S o y the Xten$i0n of bolts acter mentioned which will automatically return to its'starting point remote from the working face unless either detained positively at the Working face or rendered operative, under control means carried thereby, to travel toward the working face. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved feeding means for a truck of the character described having improved means whereby the same may be rendered inoperative at will. Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved feeding means for a truck of the character described having means by which it may be automatically rendered inoperative when it arrives at a desired point, by engagement with abutment means arranged at such point. Still a further object of the invention is to provide an improved truck of the character mentioned having improved feeding means fri'ctionally engageable at will with the bottoms of the flanges at the sides of the pan line. Still anotherobject of the invention is to 4 of the latter.

provide an improved truck of the character de scribed having improved means for conveying a load without requiring excessive height in the mine passages. Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter more fully'appear.

In the accompanying drawings, in which for purposes of illustration a preferred embodiment I of my invention has been shown,

Fig. l is a top plan view showing a supply truck therethrough in a manner readily understood by those familiar with this art.

I he pan line or shaker conveyor trough [0 may be reciprocated by any suitable means.

Such shaker conveyor drives are well known to' the art, and as the details of the pan line reciprocating mechanism do not per se'form a part of my invention, they are not illustrated. It will be understood, however, that the pan line will be alternately moved outwardly away from the working face at a relatively slow speed, and moved inwardly at a relatively higher speed whereby material carried on the pan line will move with the latter on its outward movements but will have the latter slide beneath itduring the more-rapid inward movements, with a'result that the material will be moved in a series of short steps progressively from the place of its deposit on the pan line to the The pan line trough or conveyor pan sections point of discharge 3 H] are provided with outturned, rounded flanges 16 which constitute rails or guides along which the truck in which my invention is incorporated is adapted to move. 1

The supply car is generally designated 26. It is supported by wheels 2 ltwo, as illustrated, at either end thereof, the wheels being supported by suitable bearings 22 on axle elements 23. The axle elements are fixed between angle plates 24 and spaced upright plate portions 25 which are parts of inverted U-shaped frame or bracing elements 26, herein shown as of built up construction and provided with downwardly sloping opposite ends 27. The plates 24 and bracing eiements 25 are herein shown as welded together. The upright plate portions 25 are secured at their lower, inner ends as by welding to angle irons or other suitable sill or mainframe members 22 extending longitudinally of the truck. A suitably shaped top and cover and reinforcing member 29 extends lengthwise between the frame or bracing elements 26 and is suitably secured to them. This, with its angularly related bottom portions 3c secured to the ends 2'1, forms the inner side walls and bottoms of storage compartments later mentioned. Fixed to the outer ends of the downwardly sloping ends 2? of the frame elements 26 are the vertical legs 32 of inverted U-shaped frames 33 which have hinge pin receiving openings 34 at their opposite top corners, by means of which there may be provided bearings for the pivot rods of side covers 35 for upright side compartments 33 of the truck body located outwardly of the upright plate portions 25. These side covers are provided between their ends with pivot mountings '37 for lock bars 38 which are tiltableby an operating portion 39 so as torelease them from looking engagement with sockets 40 provided by keeper elements ii welded or otherwise suitably held to the uprights 32. It will be noted that the side compartments 3B are adapted, since they extend at their bottoms down below the axles of the supporting wheels I i, to carry a substantial load of mine props or other articles without having any of the load piled a substantial distance above the top of the truck proper. The truck can, of course, where headroom permits, be also loaded by superimposing upon its top additional items to be moved. However, it is noteworthy that the main enclosed load carrying chambers are disposed to the outside of the conveyor trough or pan line and extend actually below the bottom of the latter.

I have found that with an arrangement such as has been so far described the truck, if arranged on the shaker conveyorpan line at a point between the ends thereof, will, if the pan line is reciprocated in the manner above described, move promptly out towards the outer end of the pan line, that is, away from the'working face. This I attribute to the fact that during the relatively slow outward movements of the flanges oi the pan line the wheels 2| may roll outwardly, whereas during the rapid inward movement of the pan line beneath the wheels, there will be initiated, as it were, a spinning of the wheels in a direction to cause the supply truck to roll away from the workingface. In other words, the wheels during the relatively rapid inward movement of the pan line beneath them have two things happen; the wheels are caused to tend to rotate in the direction they would rotate in carrying the truck out of the mine, and, after the velocity of the pan line gets 52,644,573 M h W 4 such as to cause a slippagev relative to the wheels and beneath the latter, there is a bodily relative movement of the pan line relative to the truck inwardly, so that only inthe event that there should be a corresponding outward movement of the pan line relative to the truck would there be no net outward movement of the truck at the end of a complete cycle of reciprocation. During the relatively slow outward movement of the pan line the relative velocities are not great enough to cause slippage of the pan line relative to the wheels, and instead the wheels, which have a tendency to roll outwardly because of the rotative movement previously imparted to them, do roll along the relatively outwardly moving pan line with a result that there is a progressive outward movement of the truck as a whole. The explanation I have given may unduly simplify matters, and is to be understood as being merely my best understanding of what takes place, but if the explanation is not wholly correct, this does not derogate from the factof operativeness and isnot .to prejudice the inven-. tion whose structure is illustrated and described.

Since the truck will run out of the mine While the conveyor pan line is reciprocating unless it is prevented from doing so, it will evidently be necessary to provide some means for causing it to move into the mine. This can be done by providineffective at will, and it isalso desirable that they be capable of being 'rendered inoperative automatically upon attainment of the truck to any desired point at which its movement into Intermittent grip devices are associated with the truck at points adjacent each wheel thereof. Each includes, pivotally mounted at A3 upon one of the axles 23, betweenthe wheel. 2i thereon and the vertical plate 25, a depending arm as, which is connected pivotally as at 5 at its lower end to a pin 46 mounted in an angle elelhe angle elements i! at either side;

ment M. of the truck are considerably elongated and they extend from a point beyond the wheel at the end of the-truck which is the front end as the truck moves into'the mine, to a point beyond the wheel which is toward the back end of the truck It will be appreciated, therefore, since the eifective lengths as the latter moves into the mine.

of the arms are'the same, that these angle bars or elements 41 have a parallel motion connection with the truck axles. -Each element d l carries,

as shown, a pair of upwardly extending, elongated friction members 48, these being transversely curved, and adapted to cooperate-with the concave bottom surfaces of the flanges 56, and each arranged in a position generally beheath a truck wheel. The length ofthe arms M or, more mathematically stated, the distance between the axes of the pivotsfilS and 45, is such that when the arms 44 hang vertically there will be no frictional gripping by the members 4 8 with the bottoms of the flanges !6, but when the arms ts are swung through even a relatively few degrees out of the vertically depending position, there will be a lifting of the angle elements t? and the friction members 48 relative to the flanges l 6 sufficient to cause a gripping action.

Means is provided for yieldingly forcing the angle elements 4 1 towards the right in Figs. 2 and 4, so as to cause an automatic gripping between the friction members 48. and the flanges i t to take place,'and this means has associated with it means for rendering it inoperative at will. Noting Figs. 1, 2 and 4, it will be seen that rods 58 are loosely guided at their ends'remote from the angle elements 4'! in holes 5! in members 52 fixed to the frame of the truck. At their other ends the rods 59 are threaded. as at 53, and their threaded ends are secured to members 5% fixedly connected to the angl frames 4?. Longitudinal adjustment of the rods 58 with respect to the angle elements 47 may be effected by reason of the threaded connection, and the parts may be held in fixed relation when adjustment has been effected by lock nuts 55. Springs 56 act between members 52 and adjustable nuts 57:, carried one on each threaded portion 53, and these springs normally tend to move the rods Elli, the members 54, and the angle elements ll to the right. Were no more mechanism present, the springs would always hold the members 45 in frictional engagement with the flanges I6. 'Under such circumstances the truck would automatically run into the mine. In order that it may run out of the mine, means is provided for positively moving the arms i t to vertical positions, thereby to dis engage the friction members 48 from th flanges it. To this end toggle devices to are provided at either side of the truck. These devices each consist of an armi?! mounted on a pivot E32 carried by an ear 53 in fixed relation to the frame of the vehicle, said arm 6! pivotally connected at its other end at 6 3 to an angled member '55 pivotally connected at it to the member 56. The angled members 95 have, as portions thereof, upstanding levers Ghand the upper ends of the levers 3? at the opposite sides of the truck are connected by a cross bar 58 which has projecting handle portions 58A. It will be understood that but one toggle device is provided at either side of the truck. An adjustable stop screw 69 is carried by a shelf-like portion it secured to each of the levers El, and these stop screws are engageable with the members 5i to control the degree that the toggle device 66 can move across center. By the provision of the cross bar 58 the toggle mechanisms at both sides of the truck may be operated simultaneously by means of either handle por-.

tion 68A.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 it will be observed that one angle element 4'! has at its end away from its associated toggl mechanism an outwardly directed arm 1!, which is adapted to engage a boss 12 formed on a column 0: jack 73 which may :be located alongside the pan line H3 at any desired point. When the truck in its movements toward the face reaches the position of the column 73, the arm M will engage the abutment 12 and thrust the angle member 41 to which the arm ii is connected longitudinally of the truck and move the friction member 48 out of gripping relation to the flange i6, compressing the spring 55 as necessary. The other angle member will be similarly moved, and its friction 6 member will also be disengaged. 'I'hu's inward travel toward the face will be interrupted; and to hold the truck stationary and to prevent out-. ward travelthereof, the truck may desirably be provided with laterally spaced brackets 15 having a cross pin 15 engageable by a releasable latch member Tl supported on a manually rotated-shaft 18 at the lower end of the column 13. A handle ms provided for releasin the latch when desired and the latch has-a slopingnose 30 so thatthe pin 16 may lift it, and it has a shoulder or short arm 8! forpreventing the. latch from dropping down too low at its free end. Evidently the truckthe truck willrun out of the mine if it is not held in position after the levers 67 have been moved to the position shown in Fig. 4, and the engage ment of the arm "H with the abutment 1'2 in fact compresses the springs 56 sufficiently to move the pivots 66 far enough to the left relative tothe truck to permit the toggles to move across center and look the friction grip devices in inoperative position.

The mode of operation of the invention as so far described will be readily understood from what has been said. Let it be assumed that the vehicle is at the point from which it is desired to transport a load of material to the working face, and that it has been loaded, and that the side doors to the compartments 36 have been latched in closed position. The miner will then throw the levers $7 from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. .2. This will permit the springs 56 to cause the friction gripping devices vto be .:moved into frictional contact with the -lower surfaces of the flanges l6. During the movement to the rightinward movementof the pan line, the friction elements 48will be caused to grip the flanges 16 tightly and the truck will therefore be moved inward a certain distance. When the opposite movement of the pan line occurs, the gripping will be released and the pan line will move between the'then freely rotatable wheelsZl. On the next inward thrust of the pan'line, gripping will again occur and a further movement of the truck in an inward direction will be effected. This process will be repeated; of course, over and over, many times a minute,- and the truck will move into the mine with its load. When it reaches a jack arranged as above described, the arm H will engage the V abutment l2 and the intermittent grip devices will be forced to released position, and held released.

The latch El will preventthe truck from running back away from the jack. The side covers of the compartments can then be opened and the load discharged. When it is desired to have the vehicle travel out of the mine, it is simply necessary to unhook the latch T! and the vehicle will promptly travel outwardly as above described.

From what has been said above, it will be evident that I have provided a very effective conveyor-propelled supply truck-one which requires the establishment of a gripping relation with the pan line only during movement in one direction; one which can be rendered operative or inoperative at will in a very simple manner;

one which has its propulsive. effort terminated automatically on reaching a desired position; and

one which isprevented by latch means associated therewith from starting back away from the face prior to the positive unlatching thereof. 4 1

While there is in this application specifically described one form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration and that the invention may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. In combination, a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side walls, a car adapted to traverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for riding on said walls, and intermittent grip devices co-acting with the flanges of said side walls for effecting movement of said car along said conveyor trough including" shoes arranged beneath at least some of said wheels, links pivotally connected to said shoes and pivotable about the axes of said wheels, resilient means for yieldingly moving said shoes to positions with said links at an angle to the vertical and said shoes in contact with said flanges, and means for at will moving said shoes to position their pivots vertically beneath the axes of pivotal movement of said links including a toggle mechanism positioned to react on said oar and'against said resilient means;

2. In combination, a conveyor trough having side walls, a car adapted to traverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for riding on said side walls, and material storage compartments at the outer sides of said walls and extending below the tops thereof.

3. In combination, a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side ,walls, a car adapted to traverse the' conveyor trough and having wheels for riding on said walls, at least one intermittent grip device coeacting with one of the flanges of said side Walls for efiecting movement of said car along said trough, resilient means for thrusting said intermittent grip device into gripping relation to said flange, and means engageable, as said car traverses said trough by an extraneous stationary abutment for overcoming said resilient means and moving said intermittent grip device to an inoperative position.-

4. In combination, a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side walls, a car adapted to traverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for riding on said walls, intermittent grip devices co-acting with the flanges of said side walls for efiecting movement of said car along said trough, toggle controlled resilient means for eflecting gripping operation of said intermittent grip devices, and means engageable with an extraneous abutment for overcoming said resilient means and permitting said toggle to move to locked position for interrupting the operation of said intermittent grip devices.

5. In combination,'a shaker conveyor trough having flanged side walls, a car adapted to traverse the conveyor trough and having wheels for riding on said walls, intermittent grip devices coacting with the flanges of said side Walls for effecting the movement of said car along said conveyor trough, means engageable, when said car attains to a predetermined position along said trough, by an extraneous element relative to which said car is movable along said trough, for rendering said intermittent grip devices inoperative, and means also engageable with an extraneous element relative to which said car is movable along said trough, for holding said car against retrograde movement when said intermittent grip devices are rendered inoperative.

JOSEPH F. JOY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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