US3343882A

US3343882A - Boring type continuous mining machine having rotary boring arms moving into nested relation during certain cycles of rotation of the boring arms

Info

Publication number: US3343882A
Application number: US473946A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gonski Joseph
Original assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Co
Current assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Co
Priority date: 1965-07-22
Filing date: 1965-07-22
Publication date: 1967-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1984-09-26

Description

Sept. 26, 1967 J. GONSKI 3,

BORING TYPE CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE HAVING ROTARY BORING' ARMS MOVING INTO NESTED RELATION DURING CERTAIN CYCLES OF ROTATION OF THE'BORING ARMS Filed July 22, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Pg I INVENTOR.

1 Tose a Gow s| Sept. 26, 196 7 GONSKl 3,343,882 BORING TYPE CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE HAVING ROTARY BORING ARMS MOVING INTO NESTED RELATION DURING CERTAIN CYCLES 0F ROTATION OF THE BORING ARMs I Filed July 22, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ln 7 N Q :t \J

I V I g -aif I I a /I g1 g3 INVENTOR.

} JOSEPH G NsKI III flmw'fw Sept. 26, 1967 J. GONSKI 3,343,882

BORING TYPE CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE HAVING ROTARY BORING ARMS MOVING INTO NESTED RELATION DURING CERTAIN CYCLES OF ROTATION OF THE BORING ARMS Filed July 22, 1965 s Sheets-Sheet s I r :8 BY TosEPH GON KI United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Boring type of continuous mining machine having at least three rotary boring heads. The boring heads are arranged at forwardly extending acute angles with respect to the front face of the support for the boring heads. This positions the cutter supports and cutter bits to move into nested relation with respect to a next adjacent boring head, and enables the boring heads to be spaced close enough to each other, to make it practical to use more than two boring heads in mining low coal.

This invention relates to improvements in a boring type continuous mining machine having a plurality of laterally spaced boring arms moving in nested relation during certain cycles of rotation of the boring arms and advanced into the working face of a mine by the traction devices supporting and propelling the machine.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a novel and more compact arrangement of boring heads for a continuous mining machine of the rotary boring type, in which the cutter support arms of the boring heads are arranged at forwardly extending acute angles with respect to the front face of the support therefor, enabling the boring heads to move into nested relation with respect to each other and be spaced close enough together to permit the use of more than two boring heads for low coal operation, without increasing the width of the mined area to the point where it may be impractical to hold the roof up, during a mining operation.

A further object of the present invention is to improve upon the continuous mining machines of the rotary boring type having more than two rotary boring heads, by reducing the overhang of the boring heads beyond the supports therefor and thereby maintaining the room width mined by more than two boring heads to a width where the roof can be supported, by so arranging the boring heads as to move into nested relation with respect to each other during portions of the cycles of rotation thereof and mine annular kerfs in intersecting relation with respect to each other.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of rotary boring head type of continuous mining machine, having laterally aligned 'bOring heads rotating in the same vertical planes, in which the spacing of the boring heads can be maintained to minimum dimensions, to reduce the cusps left between the boring heads and permit the mining of a seam of coal by three or more laterally aligned boring heads, and maintain the working place to a width that safe mining practice will allow.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved form of continuous mining machine in which maneuverability of the machine and cutting efficiency thereof is increased by reducing the overhang and spacing between the boring heads heretofore present in boring types of continuous mining machines having more than two boring heads, by so constructing and arranging the boring heads as to move into generally nested relation ice with respect to each other, to cut intersecting kerfs in the same general vertical planes throughout the width of the machine.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a continuous mining machine constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the cutting patterns of the boring arms of the machine shown in FIG URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a front end view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the front end of a multiple boring machine, with certain parts broken away and certain other parts shown in horizontal sectional view in order to illustrate a modified form in which the invention may be embodied; and

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic front end view of the machine shown in FIGURE 4.

In FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, I have shown a continuous mining machine of the multiple rotary boring head type including a main frame 11 supported on laterally spaced continuous

traction tread devices

12, 12, which serve to tram the machine from place to place and to feed a series of outer rotary

boring heads

13, 13 and an intermediate boring head 15 into the working face of a mine.

The rotary

boring heads

13, 13 and 15 are rotatably supported on and extend in advance of a cutter frame 16, extending along the front of and in advance of the main frame 11, and supported on the main frame of the machine by conventional elevating jacks 17, 17.

The machine also has an endless conveyor 19 extending along the main frame 11 from a position adjacent the ground in advance of the forward end of said main frame in an upwardly inclined direction and along the top of the main frame in a generally horizontal plane. The conveyor 19 extends beneath and along a throat 20 formed in the underside of the cutter frame structure 16 between the

boring heads

13, 13, for picking up the mined material progressed in front of the conveyor by said boring head-s. The conveyor 19 may be of any conventional form and preferably is of the laterally flexible single strand endless chain and flight type, to enable the discharge end of the conveyor to be moved from side to side and load into suitable material transporting means in a conventional manner.

An upper trimmer bar 22 is mounted on the cutter frame structure 16 in advance of the forward end thereof and behind the

cutter heads

13, 13 and 15 on hydraulic jacks 23, mounted on the front face of the cutter frame structure 16 and supporting and vertically adjusting said trimmer bar and holding said trimmer bar in a selected position of adjustment. A lower trimmer bar 25 extends across the front of the conveyor 19 and is mounted on the cutter frame 16 in a conventional manner, for vertical adjustment with respect thereto to raise the trimmer bar 25 to clear the ground and accommodate the machine to be trammed from working place to working place, and maintain said trimmer bar in a required position of adjustment with respect to the ground. A trimmer chain 26 is trained along the lower trimmer bar 25 around corner sprockets 27 at opposite ends of said trimmer bar. One end of the trimmer chain 26 is trained around a suitable tension idler 28 and around a corner sprocket 29 at one end of the trimmer bar 22. The chain is trained from the corner sprocket 29 along the trimmer bar 22 and around a similar corner sprocket 29 at the opposite end of said trimmer bar, and angularly downwardly and inwardly therefrom around a drive sprocket 31. From thence the chain 26 extends angularly downwardly and outwardly of said drive sprocket to and around a corner sprocket 27, to the trimmer bar 25. The drive sprocket 31 may be driven from the drive gearing for driving the

boring heads

13, 13 and 15 and contained in the cutter frame 16. The drive to said drive sprocket is no part of the present invention and may be of any convention-a1 form, so need not herein be shown or described further.

The outer

boring heads

13, 13 each include a hollow hub 32 rotatably journalled in a collar or sleeve 33 formed integrally with a front face 35 of the cutter frame 16 and extending forwardly therefrom. Each hub 32 is rotatably driven by an individual motor 36, driving reduction gearing contained within the cutter frame 16, through a flexible drive connection 37. A motor 36 is provided on each side of the conveyor 19 and extends therealong. The intermediate boring head 15 is driven from gear reduction mechanism (not shown) contained within the cutter frame 16 and connecting the

boring heads

13, 13, together to be driven in timed relation with respect to each other. The gearing contained within the cutter frame 16 and the drive connection from said gearing to the

boring heads

13, 13 and 15 are conventional and are no part of the present invention so need not herein be shown or described further.

Each outer boring head 13 is shown in FIGURES 1 and 3 as having two diametrically extending boring arms 39, 39 extending angularly forwardly of the axis of rotation of the boring head and at acute angles with respect to the front face 35 of the cutter frame 16 and the extended axes of rotation of said boring heads.

As shown in FIGURE 1 a forwardly facing plate 40 connects the forward end portions of the arms 39, 39 together, and is connected with said arms as by a gusset 41. Cutter support

arms

42, 42 are mounted at opposite ends of said plate and extend forwardly therefrom in parallel relation with respect to the axis of rotation of the boring head. The cutter support arms 42 have the usual cutter bits 43 projecting from the ends thereof and inclined with respect to the longitudinal center lines of said cutter support arms to cut clearance for said cutter support arms and to cut an annular kerf within which said arms may advance endwise during a boring operation. Extending in front of the plate 40 coaxial with the axis of rotation of the boring head 13 is a pilot cutter support 44 having cutter bits 45 projecting forwardly therefrom, for cutting an annular pilot kerf in advance of the center of the borning head.

The arms 39 each have a telescopic arm 46 adjustably mounted therein for varying the cutting diameter of the boring head. The

telescopic arms

46, 46 are held in fixed relation with respect to the boring arms 39, 39 and are extensibly and retractibly moved with respect to said boring arms by a conventional form of adjusting mechanism, which is no part of the present invention, so need not herein be shown or described.

Extending forwardly of each telescopic arm 46, parallel to the cutter supports 42, 42 is a cutter support 47 having cutter bits 48 carried thereby and projecting forwardly therefrom, to cut clearance for said cutter supports and to out large diameter annular kerfs from the mine floor to the mine roof, as shown in FIGURE 2.

Each telescopic arm 46 also has an impeller plate 49 mounted thereon and extending generally radially therealong in rearwardly spaced relation with respect to the cutter support 47. The impeller plates 49 are on the leading sides of the telescopic arms 46 and are inclined with respect to the plane of the cutter supports 47 to impel the mined material inwardly along th ground toward the center of the machine into the path of the conveyor 19.

The boring head 15 is shown in FIGURE 1 as having a hub 50 journalled in a sleeve 51 extending forwardly of the front face 35 of the cutter frame 16. A boring arm 52 extends angularly forwardly of the hub 50 and is inclined at an acute angle with respect to the front face 35 of the cutter frame 16 at the same angle of inclination as the angles of inclination of the boring arms 39, 39 With respect to said front face. The boring arm 52 has an inner axially extending cutter support 53 carrying the usual cutter bits 54 and a radial outwardly spaced axially extending cutter support 55 having the usual cutter bits 56, 56 mounted on the ends thereof and extending forwardly therefrom.

The boring arms 52 being spaced laterally from the boring arms 39 and being parallel to certain of said boring arms may be nested by the boring arms 39 and the telescopic arms 46 of one boring head when said arms are diametrically aligned and may also move into nested relation between the boring arms of the next adjacent boring head. The three

boring heads

13, 13 and 15 are also all driven in timed relation with respect to each other, the boring head 15 rotating at twice the speed of the

boring heads

13, 13 so that a boring arm 52 is diametrically aligned with a boring arm 39 during one phase of each cycle .of rotation of the inner boring head 15. The boring head 15 is also 90 out of phase with respect to the opposite outer boring head 13. The three

boring heads

13, 13 and 15 thus rotate together to mine in the same vertical planes in such timed relation that the inner boring head may be nested by a boring arm of an outer boring head and may be nested in the space between the boring arms of the opposite boring head and produce the intersecting cutting patterns shown in FIG- URE 2.

In FIGURES 4 and 5, the principles of the invention are shown as applied to a relatively wide continuous mining machine, particularly operable for mining wide working places in low seams and having four mining heads 60, extending forwardly of a front face 61 of a cutter frame 63. The cut-ter frame 63 may be like the cutter frame 16 and may be adjustably mounted on the front end of the main frame of a continuous mining machine in a manner similar to which the cutter frame 16 is mounted on the front end of the main frame 11. I have also shown a lower trimmer bar 64 having a trimmer chain 65 guided for movement therealong. The trimmer chain 65 is driven in a conventional manner and is also guided for movement along an upper trimmer bar (not shown) extending along the mine roof, as is conventional with continuous mining machines of the boring type.

Each boring head 60 is shown as including a central hub 66 extending along a hollow shaft 67, and having an inner radial flange 69 abutting a flange extending radially of the hollow shaft 67 in inwardly spaced relation with respect to the outer end thereof. The

flanges

69 and 70 may be bolted or otherwise secured to each other to retain the boring head 60 to the hollow shaft 67. The hub and hollow shaft 67 may also be keyed or otherwise secured to each other. The hub 66 is shown as having a hollow boring arm 71 extending angularly outwardly and forwardly therefrom at an acute angle with respect to the front face 61 of the cutter frame 63. The hollow boring arm 71 has a cutter support 72 extending forwardly therefrom parallel to the axis of rotation of the boring arm, and having the usual cutter bits 73 projecting forwardly therefrom. The boring arm 71 also has a telescopic arm 75 mounted for telescopic movement with respect thereto and having a cutter support 76 projecting forwardly therefrom in parallel relation with respect to the cutter support 72 and carrying the usual cutter bits 77. As shown in FIGURE 4 the telescopic arm 75 is extensibly and retractably moved with respect to the arm 71 as by a link 79 pivotally connected with an extensible operator 80 at its inner end, and extensibly and retractably moved with respect to the hub 66 and hollow shaft 67 through suitable extensible mechanism, which may be a fluid pressure operated cylinder and piston (not shown).

The two

boring heads

60, 60 on each side of the longitudinal center of the machine are rotatably driven in opposite directions to progress the mined material toward the center of the machine to be picked up by the conveyor (not shown) of the machine and loaded in a usual manner. l

With the arrangement shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, it is possible to place the boring heads 60, 60 close enough together so that the boring heads will all be in nested relation with respect to each other twice during each cycle of rotation thereof when in their extended cutting positions. The boring heads may thus be placed close enough together to efficiently mine all of the material from the seam without making it necessary to place the central boring heads in leading or trailing relation with respect to the outer boring heads.

The construction shown, like that of FIGURES l and 3, thereby reduces the overhang of the boring heads, heretofore necessary in continuous boring machines having more than two boring heads, provides ample rib clearance to enable the machine to readily drive entries at angles with respect to the main entry or room, and is particularly adaptable for mining thin seams of coal where it is desirable to provide more than two boring heads on the machine to mine a wide enough working place to compensate for coal that would otherwise be lost, due to reduction in thickness of the seam and to hold the machine to a width where the roof mined by the machine can be safely supported.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which the invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a cutter frame structure mounted on said main frame and extending in advance thereof, the improvement comprising:

a plurality of laterally spaced rotary boring heads mounted on said cutter frame structure and extending in advance thereof to mine in intersecting relation with respect to each other in the same vertical planes and having central hubs and angularly extending boring arms extending angularly forwardly and laterally of said hubs at acute angles with respect to the extended axes of rotation thereof and having cutter bit carrying supports extending axially forwardly therefrom,

said boring arms positioning said cutter supports to extend partially over a portion of a next adjacent boring arm, in one position of rotation of said boring arms.

2. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a cutter frame structure mounted on said main frame and extending in advance thereof and having a front face extending across the forward end of said main frame, the improvement comprising:

a series of laterally spaced horizontally aligned rotary boring heads mounted on said cutter frame structure and extending in advance of the front face thereof to mine in the same general vertical planes,

each boring head including a central hub and at least one angular boring arm extending laterally outwardly and forwardly therefrom at an acute angle with respect to the front face of said cutter frame structure,

and having at least one cutter support extending forwardly therefrom in parallel relation with respect to the axis of rotation of said boring head and having cutter bits on the end thereof,

said boring arms positioning said cutter supports and cutter bits to extend partially over a portion of a next adjacent boring head and to overlap the cutting path of the next adjacent boring head.

3. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a cutter frame structure mounted on said main frame and extending in advance thereof,

a conveyor extending along said main frame from a position adjacent the ground in advance of the forward end of said main frame and beneath said cutter frame structure,

a plurality of laterally spaced rotary boring heads mounted on said cutter frame structure for rotation about parallel axes extending longitudinally of said main frame and on opposite sides of said conveyor,

said boring heads each including a central hub,

an angular boring arm extending radially therefrom and laterally outwardly and forwardly with respect to said hub at an acute angle with respect to the front face of said cutter frame,

and at least one cutter bit carrying cutter support extending from said boring arm in parallel relation with respect to the axis of rotation of said hub,

said boring arms positioning said cutter bits to at least extend partially over a central hub of a next adjacent boring head to cut in overlapping cutting paths and moving into generally nested relation with respect to each other during each cycle of rotation thereof.

4. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a cutter frame structure mounted on said main frame and extending in advance'thereof,

a conveyor extending along said main frame from a position adjacent the ground in advance of the forward end of said main frame,

a plurality of laterally spaced boring heads rotatably mounted on said cutter frame on each side of said conveyor for rotation about parallel longitudinally extending axes, in directions to progress the mined material toward the center of the machine in front of said conveyor,

each rotary boring head including a hub rotatably journalled in and projecting forwardly of a front face of said cutter frame,

a boring arm extending radially of said hub and inclined laterally outward of said hub in a forward direction at an acute angle with respect to said front a face and having at least one cutter bit carrying cutter support extending axially forwardly of said boring arm parallel to the axis of rotation thereof,

said boring arms all extending in parallel relation with respect to each other and said boring arms positioning said cutter bits to extend over at least a portion of a next adjacent boring head, at least once each cycle of rotation of said boring heads and to move into generally nested relation with respect to each other.

5. A continuous mining machine in accordance with claim 4,

wherein the rotary boring arms include telescopic arms telescopically extensible with respect thereto and having cutter bit carrying cutter supports extending from the ends thereof, and adjustable to vary the cutting height of the machine.

6. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a cutter frame structure mounted on said main frame and extending in advance thereof and having a front face extending across the forward end of said main frame,

two widely spaced rotary boring heads mounted on said cutter frame structure on opposite sides of said conveyor and rot'atably driven to rotate toward each other and progress the cuttings toward the conveyor,

each rotary boring head including a central hub rotatably journalled in said cutter frame structure for rotation about an axis extending longitudinally of the machine,

and at least one telescopic boring arm extending radially of said hub and inclined laterally outwardly with respect to said hub at an acute angle with respect to the front face of said cutter frame structure and including a telescopic arm having a cutter bit carrying cutter support extending forwardly therefrom parallel to the axis of rotation of said hub,

and a third rotary boring head rotatably journalled in said cutter frame structure between said two rotary boring heads and in alignment therewith and including a central hub having an angular rotary boring arm extending radially therefrom at an acute angle with respect to the front face of said cutter frame structure with at least one cutter bit carrying support extending axially therefrom,

said third rotary boring head rotating about an axis in general alignment with the center of said conveyor and cutting in intersecting relation With respect to said two rotary boring heads in the same general vertical plane as said two rotary boring heads, and said telescopic arms being positionable to position the cutter supports carried thereby to move into nested relation with respect to said intermediate boring head, in at least one position of rotation thereof.

7. In a continuous mining machine,

a main frame,

a conveyor extending along said main frame beneath said cutter frame structure from a position adjacent the ground in advance of the forward end of said main frame,

two widely spaced outer rotary boring heads mounted on said cutter frame structure on opposite sides of said conveyor for rotation about parallel aligned horizontal axes,

each including a hub having a pair of telescopic boring arms extending diametrically therefrom and inclined laterally and forwardly with respect to said hub at acute angles with respect to the extended axis of rotation of said hub,

cutter supports extending axially forwardly of said boring arms and having forwardly projecting cutter bits carried thereby,

an intermediate boring head disposed between said two boring heads for rotation about an axis parallel to the axes of rotation thereof in general horizontal alignment therewith and in general alignment with the longitudinal center of said conveyor,

said intermediate boring head rotating in timed relation with said outer boring heads at twice the speeds of rotation thereof and including a hub having a boring arm extending radially therefrom inclined at an acute angle with respect to the extended axis of rotation of said hub and at the same angle of inclination as the angles of inclination of said diametral boring arms, and having a cutter support extending forwardly therefrom having cutter bits carried thereby and cutting in intersecting relation with respect to the cutter bits of said .widely spaced outer boring heads and along the same general vertical plane as the cutter bits of said widely spaced outer boring heads, and said telescopic arms being positionable to position the cutter supports carried thereby to overlap at least a portion of said intermediate boring head in at least one position of rotation thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,802,654 8/1957 Gonski 29957 2,825,544 3/1958 Ahlson 299 59 X 2,841,377 7/1958 Hagenbook 29959 X 3,231,310 1/1966 Santucci 299 X FOREIGN PATENTS 123,111 1959 U.S.S.R.

ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. IN A CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE, A MAIN FRAME, A CUTTER FRAME STRUCTURE MOUNTED ON SAID MAIN FRAME AND EXTENDING IN ADVANCE THEREOF, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACED ROTARY BORING HEADS MOUNTED ON SAID CUTTER FRAME STRUCTURE AND EXTENDING IN ADVANCE THEREOF TO MINE IN INTERSECTING RELATION WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER IN THE SAME VERTICAL PLANES AND HAVING CENTRAL HUBS AND ANGULARLY EXTENDING BORING ARMS EXTENDING ANGULARLY FORWARDLY AND LATERALLY OF SAID HUBS AT ACUTE ANGLES WITH RESPECT TO THE EXTENDED AXES OR ROTATION THEREOF AND HAVING CUTTER BIT CARRYING SUPPORTS EXTENDING AXIALLY FORWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID BORING ARMS POSITIONING SAID CUTTER SUPPORTS TO EXTEND PARTIALLY OVER A PORTION OF A NEXT ADJACENT BORING ARM, IN ONE POSITION OF ROTATION OF SAID BORING ARMS.