US3192721A

US3192721A - Roof supports for mines and the like

Info

Publication number: US3192721A
Application number: US267579A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gaskell Joseph
Original assignee: Gullick Ltd
Current assignee: Gullick Ltd
Priority date: 1962-04-06
Filing date: 1963-03-25
Publication date: 1965-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 1982-07-06
Also published as: GB965172A

Description

y 6, 1965 J. GASKELL 3,192,721

. ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES AND THE LIKE Filed March 25, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORZ JOSEPH g gs/(5L1.

y 1965 J. GASKELL 3,192,721

ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES AND THE LIKE Filed March 25, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JasfPH GASKE'LL BY y 6, 1955 J. GASKELL 3,192,721

ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES AND THE LIKE Filed March 25, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG? Iii

INVENIORi JOSEPH GASKEL'L BY J4me? ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,192,721 ROOF SUPPORTS FOR MINES AND THE LIKE Joseph Gaskeli, Wigan, England, assignor to Guiiick Limited, Wigan, England, a British company Filed Mar. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 267,579 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 6, 1962, 13,258/ 62 Claims. (Ci. 61-45) This invention is for improvements in or relating to roof supports for mines and the like.

The invention is particularly concerned with root supports for use in mining systems or methods of the kind in which, after a cut has been made, a row of such supports is advanced towards the coal face.

In one arrangement of this nature the supports incorpor-ate pressure-fluid devices which serve to push a conveyor over towards the coal face, after a cut has been made, and the conveyor then serves as an anchorage by which the pressure-fluid devices can be utilised to advance the supports up to the conveyor.

Alternatively, the support may be of the kind known as walking supports. In this case each support is in two or more parts, each part when secured between floor and roof serving as an abutment or anchorage to enable a pressure-fluid device or devices, incorporated in the support, to act to move the other part forwardly;

In this case of inclined sea-ms or roadways there is a tendency for the supports, as they are released from their supporting position between floor and roof, to slide laterally down the incline. One object of the present invention is to provide a support or chock with means for correcting any such lateral or downhill movement.

According to the present invention there is provided a roof support or chock having a cam or inclined track and follower arrangement adapted as the support is advanced to correct any objectionable lateral movement of the support which has taken place.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention a telescopic member extends between and is pivoted to an anchorage on the support or chock and .an anchorage on the conveyor, this telescopic member having a wedge or like profile. -A roller or rollers, carried 'by the support or chock, is or are adapted to engage said wedge profile, the arrangement being such that as the chock or support is advanced, towards the conveyor, said roller or one of the rollers follows the wedge profile and causes an uphill movement of the support or chock so as to correct or negative any downhill movement it may have made. In other words, during each movement the chock or support is centralised so that each succeeding position of it is in correct central alignment with its preceding position. Preferebly the hydraulic or other rams which effect pushing over of the conveyor and then the forward movement of the chock are inclined so that they assist the necessary uphill movement of the support or chock.

One particular embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying semidiagrammatic drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view showing the position of the parts immediately after the conveyor has been pushed over towards the coal face,

FIGURE 2 is a further plan View showing the position of the parts after the support or chock has been partially advanced towards the conveyor,

FIGURE 3 is a further plan view and shows the position of the parts after the chock or support has been still further advanced towards the conveyor,

FIGURE 4 is a still further plan view and shows the position of the part-s after the chock or support has been fully advanced up to the conveyor,

3,192,721 Patented July 6, 1965 "ice FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line AA of 'FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 6 is an elevation taken from the rear of FIG- URE 1, and a k FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a detail of FIGURE 6.

Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawing, 10 indicates the chock or support which it may be assumed consists of a baseplate and a roof bar or canopy supported from the baseplate by a plurality of hydraulically extensible props or rams, the arrangement being such that the props are extended so as to secure the chock or support firmly between floor and roof and are retracted when it is required to advance the support.

Mounted one on either side o-fthe lower part of the support 10 are

hydraulic rams

11 and 12 having ra-m members proper 13 and 14. The rams 1'1 and 12 are mounted on lateral extensions 15 of the base of the chock 10 by means of gimbals 16.

The outer ends of the rams proper 13 and 14 are rigidly connected together, as indicated at 1-7, by means of a tie-bar 18 so that the centre-to-cen-tr-e distance between the vclevises 19 (i.e. the distance 2:) remains constant at all times. The clevises 19 are secured to theextremi-ties of the

ram members

13 and 14 and embrace an anchoring bar 20 which extends longitudinally of, and is secured to the conveyor C as shown more particularly in FIGURE 5. a

A telescopic

chock centralising member

21, 22 has one of its ends pivotally or hingedly attached to the support 1b as indicated at 23 and its other end pivotally or hingediy attached to a block'24 adapted to be adjusted along the tie-bar 1'8 and having means for clamping or locking it in any position of adjustment. In other wordsflthe dimensions y and z are variable or can be pre-selected. The block 24 carries a clevis 25 which also embraces the anchoring bar 20 on the conveyor. Thus, the three clevises may slide along the conveyor as a complete unit.

The part 22 of the telescopic

chock centralising memher

21, 22 has inclined profiles 26 and '27 adapted to be engaged by roller fol-lowers 2-8 and 2? respectively on the chock 1t The chock or support above described operates as follows:

Normally, i.e. when the conveyor has been pushed over and the chock advanced and secured between floor and roof ready for a cut to be made, the

centralised member

21 and 22 is in a straightahead, i.e. central position with respect to the support 10 and the two gimbal-mounted

rams

11 and 12 may be inclined uphill as shown in FIG- URE 4. The amount of uphill inclination, if any, of the rams is determined for practical experience and from a consideration of the particular face incline.

Following the cut the

rams

11 and 12 are fully extended so as to push over the conveyor to the newly exposed face and as a result the cen-tralising

member

21, 22 is also fully extended as shown in FIGURE 1.

It is now necessary to advance the support 10 up to the conveyor. To do this the support is lowered, so as to release it from between floor and roof, and hydraulic pressure is applied to the

rams

11 and 12 so as to draw the support 10 forwardly. As a result, and presuming that the support is mounted on an incline sloping in a direction from top to bottom of the drawing, after a small amount of forward movement the chock through the action of gravity will slide down hill until the roller 28 makes contact with the inclined profile 26 of the member 22 as shown in FIGURE 2. When this occurs further lateral sliding of the support is prevented and during further forward movement of the chock the latter is caused to move in an uphill direction due to the roller 28 follow- ,7 3 7 ing the inclined profile 26 of the member 22. It will be observed, see FIGURE 3, that as the chock moves uphill so also does the anchorage 23 thereon of the centralising

member

21, 22 so as to bring said centralising member towards its normal position at right-angles to the conveyor. The uphill movement is assisted by the inclination of the

rams

11 and 12.

The forward movement of the support is continued until the rams are fully retracted, the \centralising

member

21 and 22 is square with the conveyor and the complete chock is in a position directly in front of the position from which it has been moved, ie it is neither uphill or downhill of its original datum line. The final position is the advancing movement of the chock is shown in FIG- URE 4 and when the chock has reached this position it is re-secured between floor and roof ready for the next cut of the coal face to be made.

It will be appreciated from the above description that the setting of the

clevis

24, 25 of the centralising

member

21, 22 on the conveyor anchorage 20 predetermines the forward position of the chock. By an appropriate setting the chock may be moved straight-ahead, downhill or uphill during its forward travel and brought to rest wherever required within reasonable limits.

During operation the chock centre line should be kept parallel with the conveyor and in order to make this possible both arms are equipped for independent operation.

It will be appreciated that one chock or support constructed as above described may be positioned at the linermost or downhill end of a row of supports on an incline and may be adapted to prevent or correct any downhill movement of the support-s above it.

I claim:

1. A mine roof support comprising a base member supporting vertically extensible and retractable props, a pressure fluid ram means pivotally mounted on said base member at one end, the other end having pivoted attachment means for securement to an anchorage whereby said ram means is operative, when supplied with pressure fluid, to advance the base memberhorizontally toward the auchorage, an aligningdevice having a pair of telescopic elements, one of said telescopic elements being pivotally attached to said base member and the other of said telescopic elements being provided with securing means slideably mounted relative to said attachment means, and cooperating inclined track means and follower means, said inclined track means facing laterally and being mounted on one of said aligning device and 'base member and engagcable with said follower means, said follower means being mounted on the other of said aligning device and base member, whereby when the aligning device is telescoped, during advance of the support base member, said track means and the follower means co-operate to correct lateral movement of the support as resulting from inclination of a mine floor.

2. A mine roof support according to claim 1 wherein said laterally facing inclined track means is mounted on one of said telescopic elements and said follower means is mounted on said base member.

3. A mine roof support according to claim 1 wherein is additionally provided means pivotally mounting said ram means on the base member for lateral angular adjustment of the ram means.

4. A mine roof support according to claim 1 wherein is additionally provided a tie 'bar, means adjusta'bly se curing said attachment device of the ram means and said securing means of said other telescopic element to said tie bar so as to permit their securement in predetermined spaced relationship.

5. A mine roof support according to claim 1 wherein said pressure fluid ram means includes a pair of rams spaced apart by said base member on which they are mounted, said aligning device being located between aid rams.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,644,311 7/53 Malloy 61-452 EARL I. WITMER, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A MINE ROOF SUPPORT COMPRISING A BASE MEMBER SUPPORTING VERTICALLY EXTENSIBLE AND RETRACTABLE PROPS, A PRESSURE FLUID RAM MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASE MEMBER AT ONE END, THE OTHER END HAVING PIVOTED ATTACHMENT MEANS FOR SECUREMENT TO AN ANCHORAGE WHEREBY SAID RAM MEANS IS OPERATIVE, WHEN SUPPLIED WITH PRESSURE FLUID, TO ADVANCE THE BASE MEMBER HORIZONTALLY TOWARD THE ANCHORAGE, AN ALIGNING DEVICE HAVING A PAIR OF TELESCOPIC ELEMENTS, ONE OF SAID TELESCOPIC ELEMENTS BEING PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAID BASE MEMBER AND THE OTHER OF SAID TELESCOPIC ELEMENTS BEING PROVIDED WITH SECURING MEANS SLIDEANLY MOUNTED RELATIVE TO SAID ATTACHMENT MEANS, AND COOPERATING INCLINED TRACK MEANS AND FOLLOWER MEANS, SAID INCLINED TRACK MEANS FACING LATERALLY AND BEING MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID ALIGNING DEVICE AND BASE MEMBER AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FOLLOWER MEANS, SAID FOLLOWER MEANS BEING MOUNTED ON THE OTHER OF SAID ALIGNING DEVICE AND BASE MEMBER, WHEREBY WHEN THE ALIGNING DEVICE IS TELESCOPED, DURING ADVANCE OF THE SUPPORT BASE MEMBER, SAID TRACK MEANS AND THE FOLLWER MEANS CO-OPERATE TO CORRECT LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE SUPPORT AS RESULTING FROM INCLINATION OF A MINE FLOOR.