US2721066A

US2721066A - Mining machine anchoring mechanism

Info

Publication number: US2721066A
Application number: US171135A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mary W Miller
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1950-06-29
Filing date: 1950-06-29
Publication date: 1955-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 1972-10-18

Description

Oct. 18, 1955 F. B. MILLER MINING MACHINE} ANCHORING MECHANISM 4 Sheets--Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1950 lNl/ENT'OR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 29, 1950 INVENTOR INVENTOI? F. B. MILLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 18, 1955 MINING MACHINE ANCHORING MECHANISM Filed June 29, 1950 Oct. 18, 1955 F. B. MILLER MINING MACHINE ANCHQRING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 29 1950 mm I II /N l/ENTOE United States Patent MINING MACHINE ANCHORING MECHANISM Frederick B. Miller, Chicago, Ill.; Mary W. Miller, executrix of the estate of said Frederick B. Miller, deceased Application June 29, 1950, Serial No. 171,135

10 Claims. (Cl. 262-9) This invention relates to a machine adapted to'und'ercut coal, break down the coal undercut, and load the coal cuttings from the undercut and the coal broken down above the undercut.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide an improved and etficient form of anchor for releasably anchoring a coal mining machine to the floor of the mine, whereby the machine will effectively resist the reactive force of the wedge plate caused by forward thrusts of the same in breaking down the coal at the mine face.

A further object is to provide anchoring mechanism for a coal mining machine including a pivoted anchor bar carried by the forward kerf cutting end of the machine, said pivoted anchor bar in pressing against the floor of the mine causing the kerf cutting forward end to press against the top side of the kerf with an equal and opposite force, whereby the combined action of said anchor bar and the kerf cutting forward end locks the machine in coal mining position.

These and other objects will be apparent after referring to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the machine taken on line IIll of Figure l and in part section showing the detail of the hydraulic jack in conjunction with an anchor bar pressed against the floor of the mine;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the machine taken on line III-H1 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the conveyor taken on line IV-IV of Figure 1 showing the conveyor in relation to the cutter chains;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary detail, in part elevation and in part section on line V-V of Figure 1 showing details of the hydraulic jack in conjunction with the anchor bar in retracted position;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail of the quadrant gears taken in elevation on line VI-VI of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary detail of the quadrant gears in plan taken on line VIIVII of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the forward end of the cutter chain guide showing shoes in conjunction with the anchor bar; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the forward end of the cutter chain guide in section on line IX-IX of Figure 8.

Reference is now made to the details of the machine of my invention illustrated in the drawings. The main frame 10 is pivotally mounted on a transverse cross member 11, which is formed integral with a pair of longitudinal endless-tread supporting

side frames

12, 12, the side frames beingprovided with a front end idler sprocket or roller 13, a rear drive sprocket 14, fixed to a drive shaft (source of power not shown) and an intermediate shoe 16 for endless treads 17, 17 of well known construction. A second cross member 18 is formed integral with the pair of

side frames

12, 12. A pair of

cylinders

19, 19 is pivotallymounted on the second cross member 18. A piston 20 is reciprocally mounted in each of the

cylinders

19, 19, the piston 20 being fixed to a piston rod 21 pivotally connected to the main frame 10. Hydraulic pressure to the

cylinders

19, 19 for tilting the main frame 10 may be supplied as usual from a pump, under manual control of suitable valves, not shown.

Fixed to the forward end of the main frame 10 is a pair of

cutting chain guides

22, 22. In each

cutting chain guide

22, 22 is a cutter chain 23 of usual construction driven by a sprocket 24 fixed to a shaft 25. The drive shaft 25 is journalled in a housing 26 secured to each of the cutter chain guides (source of power not shown).

Shoes

27, 27, fixed to top and bottom sides of the forward end of each

cutter chain guide

22, 22, are adapted to bear against the top and bottom sides of the kerf to be described.

A single endless conveyor belt 28 is driven by a pulley 2.9, fixed to a drive shaft 30-, the drive shaft 30 being journalled in the rear end of the main frame 10, source of power not shown. The conveyor belt 28 is trained over a pulley 31 journalled on a shaft 32 fixed in the forward end of the main frame 10, and in the path of the

cutter chains

23, 23, the latter being adapted to rake and crowd the cuttings on the conveyor belt 28.

A pair of hydraulic jacks, each of which includes a cylinder 33, extends through and is fixed in each of the

cutter chain guides

22, 22. A piston 34, reciprocally mounted in each of the

cylinders

33, 33, is provided with a piston rod 35. A piston rod head 36, fixed to each of the piston rods 35', 35, is slidably guided in the end of the

cylinders

33, 33 opposite the pistons 34, 34. A longitudinal slot 37 is provided in each of the

cutter chain guides

22, 22, and an anchor bar 38 is pivotally mounted in each ofsaid slots on a pin 39. The rear end of each

anchor bar

38, 38 is formed to fit into each of the

piston rod heads

36, 36. The forward portion of said anchor bars is adapted toengage and press against the floor of the mine, said anchor bars being actuated in a manner to accomplish this result by the piston rod heads 36 upon. movement of the piston 34 in an upward direction. The

cylinders

33, 33 are each provided with fluid inlet and exhaust pipes 40, 40 through which a pressure fluid may be supplied to the cylinders 33 for imparting movement to the anchor bars 38.

Mounted on the main frame 10 is a mechanism for breaking down the coal, similar to that shown and described in my prior United States Patent No. 2,368,863, dated February 6, 1945. This mechanism consists of a pair of spaced upright supporting brackets or

bearings

41 and 42 and a pair of

horizontal shafts

43 and 44 journalled therein. A pair of

carriage guide members

45 and 46 is pivotally mounted at their rear ends on shaft 43. Quadrant gear 47, keyed to shaft 44, is meshed with quadrant gear 48, the quadrant gear 48 being integral with the guide members 45 and46 so that rotation of shaft 44, by source of power not shown, will cause a swinging movement to the carriage guide members about the shaft 43.

Guide members

45 and 46 are provided with

hearing portions

49 and 50, respectively on which the

ram bars

51 and 52, forming the sides of the carriage, are slidably mounted. The

ram bars

51 and 52 are tied together to complete the carriage by a carriage base plate 53. The

ram bars

51 and 52 are adapted to reciprocate on the bearing portions 49 and and are provided with rack portions 54 meshed with rack pinions 55 keyed to the shaft 43, the shaft 43 being power driven in reversible directions by a source of power not shown. Secured to the carriage base plate 53 is a widge plate 56 adapted to be driven into the coal at the mine face for dislodging the coal by successive thrusts of the wedge plate.

In operation the main frame 10 is fed forwardly to engage the

cutter chains

23, 23 with coal to be mined 'the cutter chains.

'reset in retracted position.

and thereby cut a kerf. Cuttings from the kerf are raked backwardly and crowded onto the conveyor belt 28 by On completion of the cutting of the kerf to a predetermined depth, fluid is directed into the

cylinders

33, 33 for imparting movement to the pistons 34, 34, and thereby cause the forward end of the

anchor bars

38, 38 to be pressed against the mine floor previously cut by the

cutter chains

23, 23.

As a result of the pressure exerted against the floor of the mine by the

anchor bars

38, 38 as described, the forward end of the

cutter guides

22, 22 is caused to bear against the top side of the kerf with an equal and opposite force. For this reason the cutter guides are provided with the

shoes

27, 27 at their forward end and said shoes also reinforce the cutter guides during their cutting action in cutting a kerf. Thus the combined action of the anchor bars in pressing downwardly against the mine floor and that of the shoes on the forward end of the cutter guides in pressing upwardly against the top surface of the kerf locks the machine in a coal mining position and the reactive forces caused by the thrusts of the wedge plate are effectively resisted.

The forward end of the main frame carrying the cutter guides 22, 22is adapted to enter the kerf to an extent wherebythe said forward end is located beyond the mate- 'rial to be presently dislodged by the operations of the wedge plate 56. This is important since the action of the anchor bars'38, 38 is to thus cause said forward end of the main frame to engage solid material for holding the mining machine and which material is not dislodged by the reciprocating movements of the wedge plate to presently follow but remains intact, performing said holding function until the next succeeding operation of the mining machine.

-Upon completion of the breaking down of the successive portions of coal to a predetermined height above the kerf the fluid in

cylinders

33, 33 is released. The pressure in the

cylinders

33, 33 being released, pressure on the anchor bars is removed and the anchor bars are With the anchor bars in retracted position, the machine is free to be moved forwardly to provide a successive kerf. When the machine is being moved forwardly for cutting the successive kerf, the broken down coal restingon the

cutter chain guides

22, 22 is moved up inclined portion 57 ,of main frame and onto conveyor belt 28 by reason of the cutter chain guides entering the successive kerf. The

flared ribs

58, 58, forming part of main frame 10, are adapted to guide the flow of coal into the path of the conveyor belt 28 which extends longitudinally of main frame 10.

The invention'is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawings as various forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chain guides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket in each ofsaid guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guides adapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for moving said cutter chains forwardly to cut a kerf in the material to be mined, a shoe disposed on the top side of at least one of said guides, an anchor bar pivotally mounted in at least one of said guides, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame for breaking down the material to be mined above said kerf and rear-wardly of said shoe, means for imparting movement to said anchor bar for pressing said anchor bar into the bottom side of said kerf, said shoe being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerf with a force which is equal and opposite to that exerted by the anchor bar against the bottom side of said kerf, whereby said anchor bar and shoe provide an abutment for resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

2. In a mining machine having a main frame, undercutting means positioned at the forward end of said main frame and adapted to be moved forwardly to cut a kerf in the material to be mined, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame for breaking down material to be mined above said kerf, said forward end of said main frame being adapted to enter said kerf in advance of that portion of said kerf above which material is broken down by said breaking down mechanism, an anchor bar mounted adjacent the undercutting means at the forward end of the main frame for vertical swinging movement,

in the material to 'be mined, said forward end of said main frame being adapted to enter'said kerf, an anchor bar mounted adjacent the undercutting means at the for-' ward end of the main frame for vertical swinging movement and being adapted to bear against the bottom side of said kerf, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame, said breaking down mechanism being adapted to break down material to a predetermined depth but less than that of said kerf, whereby the material above the remaining depth of said kerf provides a backing for the anchor bar, said forward end of said main frame being adapted to bear against said backing with a force that is opposite to that exerted by the anchor bar when pressed into the bottom side of said kerf, whereby said anchor bar provides an abutment for resisting the reactive force .of said breaking down mechanism.

4. In a mining machine having a main frame, undercutting means positioned at the forward end of said main frame and adapted to be moved forwardly to cut successive kerfs in the material to be mined, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame for breaking down material to be mined above each successive kerf, said forward end of said main frame being adapted to enter each successive kerf beyond the material to be broken down, an anchor bar mounted adjacent the undercutting means at the forward end of the main frame, means for impartingswinging movement to said anchor bar for pressing said anchor bar into the bottom side of each successive kerf, said forward end of said main frame being adapted to bear against the top side of each successive kerf to provide a backing for saidanchor bar, whereby said anchor bar provides an abutment for resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

5. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chain guides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journalled in each of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guides adapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for moving said cutter chains forwardly to provide a kerf in the material to be mined, a shoe disposed on the top side of each of said guides, an anchor bar for each guide pivotally mounted in a slot provided in each of said guides, a carriage mounted for vertical swinging movement relative to said main frame, a dislodging member mounted on said carriage and adapted to break down the material to be mined above said kerf and rearwardly of said shoes, a cylinder fixed to each of said guides, a piston, mounted in each of said cylinders, each of said pistons being connected to the rear end of its respective anchor bar, said pistons upon actuation in a certain direction being adapted to press the forward end of said anchor bars against the bottom side of said kerf, and said shoes 3 being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerf to provide a backing for holding said anchor bars against the bottom side of said kerf, whereby said anchor bars provide abutments for resisting the reactive forces of said dislodging member during operation thereof.

6. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chain guides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journalled in each of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guides adapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for moving said cutter chains forwardly to provide a kerf in the material to be mined, at least one shoe being disposed on the top and bottom sides respectively of each of said guides, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame for breaking down the material to be mined, an anchor bar for each guide mounted in a slot provided in each of said guides, a cylinder fixed to each of said guides, a piston in each of said cylinders, each of said pistons being connected to the rear end of one of said anchor bars, said pistons upon actuation in a certain direction being adapted to press the forward end of said anchor bars against the bottom side of said kerf, and said shoes being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerf to provide a backing for holding said anchor bars against the bottom side of said kerf, whereby said anchor bars provide abutments for resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

7. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chain guides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journalled in each of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guides adapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for moving said cutter chains forwardly to provide a kerf in the material to be mined, at least one shoe being disposed on the top side of each of said guides and adapted to enter said kerf, an anchor bar for each guide pivotally mounted in a slot provided in each of said guides, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame adapted to break down the material to be mined above said kerf, means for imparting movement to each of said anchor bars for pressing said anchor bars into the bottom side of said kerf, said shoes being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerf to provide a backing for bolding said anchor bars against the bottom side of said kerf whereby said anchor bars provide abutments for resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

8. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chain guides extending from said main frame, a drive sprocket journaled in each of said guides, an endless cutter chain in each of said guides adapted to be trained over its respective sprocket, means for moving said main frame forwardly to force the operative sections of said cutter chains against the material to be mined to cut a kerf in the material to be mined, shoes disposed on the top and bottom sides of said guides adapted to enter said kerf, an anchor mounted in each of saide guides, a breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame adapted to break down the material to be mined above said kerf and rearwardly of said shoes, said shoes being adapted to bear against the top and bottom sides of said kerf for guiding said operative sections of said cutter chain to cut said kerf in substantially the same plane as said shoes, said anchors being adapted to press against the floor of the mine relatively adjacent the rear of said shoes, and cause said shoes to press uniformly against the top side of said kerf, whereby said shoes are adapted to provide a uniform backing for holding said anchors pressed against the floor of the mine and thereby cause said anchors to resist the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

9. In a mining machine having a main frame, a pair of cutter chain guides extending from said main frame, an endless cutter chain trained in each of said guides and adapted to cut a kerf in the material to be mined, at least one shoe being disposed on the top side of each of said guides, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame adapted to break down the material to be mined above said kerf, at least one anchor bar mounted in each of said guides for vertical swinging movement relative to said guides, means for imparting swinging movement to said anchor bars for pressing said anchor bars into the bottom side of said kerf, said shoes being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerf to provide a backing for holding said anchor bars pressed into the bottom side of said kerf, whereby said anchor bars provide abutments for resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

10. In a mining machine having a main frame, a platform extending from said main frame, at least one shoe disposed on the top side of said platform, undercutting means positioned at the forward end of said platform adapted to be moved forwardly to cut a kerf in the material to be mined, breaking down mechanism mounted on said main frame, said breaking down mechanism being adapted to break down the material to be mined above said kerf and rearwardly of said shoe, at least one anchor bar pivotally mounted in a slot provided in said platform, means for imparting movement to said anchor bar for pressing said anchor into the floor of the mine adjacent the kerf, said shoe being adapted to bear against the top side of said kerf to provide a backing for holding said anchor bar pressed into the floor of the mine, whereby said anchor bar provides an abutment for resisting the reactive force of said breaking down mechanism.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 630,388 Miller Aug. 8, 1899 1,555,464 Farne Sept. 29, 1925 2,212,289 Farmer Aug. 20, 1940 2,308,517 Konnerth Jan. 19, 1943 r 2,329,875 Carflidge Sept. 21, 1943 2,368,863 Miller Feb. 6, 1945 2,537,331 Cassell Jan. 9, 1951