US3456984A - Coal cutting machine with cutting rollers equipped with tiltable arms - Google Patents

Description

July 22, 1969 w, L M NN 3,456,984-

COAL CUTTING MACHINE wLTII CUTTING ROLLERS EQUIPPED WITH 'IIL'PABLE ARMS Filed Jan. 2, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG-I 8 INVENTOR.

X04 erz vawa Julyzz, 1959 w. LANFERMANN 3,

COAL CUTTING MACHINE WITH CUTTING ROLLERS EQUIPPED WITH TILTABLE ARMS- Filed Jan. 2, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l N V15 N TOR. ,(ay/Arwor;

United States Patent Oifice 3,456,984 Patented July 22, 1969 Int. Cl. E211/02, 13/01 us. Cl. 299-53 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mining machine, particularly adapted for cutting coal, in which a frame is provided having one or more arms pivoted thereto for movement in a vertical plane and with a rotatable cutting roller on the outer free end of each arm and with drive means extending from the frame through the arm to the respective rotary cutter, each arm having its frame end end secured to a shaft which is tiltable in the frame and a fluid motor or the like for tilting each arm in the frame between predetermined limits. The invention is particularly concerned with the connection of each arm to its respective shaft, the connection being such that the arm can be adjusted on the shaft about the axis of the shaft thereby to modify the range of vertical movement of the respective arm for the fixed range of movement of its supporting shaft whereby the machine can readily be adapted to coal layers and the like of different height and different disposition relative to the machine and without exchanging the rotary cutters and without adjusting the position of the machine in the vertical direction.

This invention relates to coal cutting machines of the type illustrated in the United States Lanfermann Patent No. 3,219,389 and the disclosure of that patent, insofar as it pertains to the present invention, is incorporated herein by reference.

In the coal cutting machine illustrated in the patent, cutting rollers are mounted on arms that are swingable in a vertical plane so as to cut a substantial height of a vein of ore, or coal, or the like, to be mined.

In the patent referred to, cutting rollers are mounted on the outer end of arms and the arms are supported at their inner ends on the frame of the machine with a train of drive gears for the cutting roller being located in the arm. The arms are pivoted about their connection with the frame of the machine and in this manner the elevation of the rollers is adjusted.

In the usual machine, the tilting range of the rollers is such that the rollers engage the bottom of the vein at about a level of 350 millimeters below the bottom level of the machine, while when tilted upwardly, as high as possible, the rollers can cut the roof of an ore vein or coal layer which is about 2.5 meters high. The foregoing dimensions are based on a conventional diameter of cutting rollers of about 1300 millimeters.

The tilting range of the cutting rollers is not symmetrical about a horizontal plane extending through the tilting axis of the pertaining arm but extends more toward the roof than toward the bottom. Coal layers which are thicker than 2.5 meters cannot be cut through their entire height of cutting rollers of the nature referred to and can only be completely mined if the cutting rollers of the machine are exchanged for cutting rollers of a larger diameter or if the machine body is elevated to a greater height.

A particular object of the present invention is the provision of a construction for the cutter roller supporting arms which will make it possible with one and the same machine slide or carriage and with the same cutting rollers, to cut out deposits or layers which are thicker than 2.5 meters, while at the same time providing a coal cutting machine in which the cutting rollers can be brought to a lower level than heretofore.

The invention further purposes the construction of a coal cutting machine, as described above, in which adjustment of the arms is possible to vary the range through which the arms sweep whereby with one and the same level of the coal cutting machine or carriage layers of various heights or deposition can be readily cut and with the adjustment capable of being accomplished quickly and in a simple manner. I

The nature of the present invention will be more clearly understood upon reference to the following specification taken'in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view of a coal cutting machine of the type adapted to employ the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through an adjustable arm of the machine and is indicated by line IIII on FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic view showing more in detail the range of adjustability of the roller carrying arms according to the present invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view showing more in detail the adjustable feature of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail and in particular to FIGURE 1 and 2, the coal cutting machine, generally indicated at 1, rests on a slide 2 having skids 4 which, in turn, rest on a long wall conveyor 3. Skids 4 are adjustable as by cylinders 5 for tilting the machine in a known manner.

In about the center of the machine there is a frame part 6 which carries a pair of supporting arms, only one of which is shown at 7, and each of which arms is tiltable about the axis of a respective shaft member 24 to which the arm is attached and which shaft member is rotatably supported in portion 6 of the machine as on bearings 43.

Each shaft 24 has a respective arm 44 fixed thereto and pivotally connected between the outer end of each arm 44 and a point 46 on the adjacent slide 2 of th machine is a fluid motor 15. Fluid motor 15 is adapted for reversible energization thereby to tilt the shaft 24 connected thereto whereby the arm 7 connected to the said shaft will be moved in a vertical plane.

Within the portion 6 of the machine is drive motor means which drives a shaft 28 in rotation. Shaft 28 carries a spur gear 29 on the axis of rotation of shaft 24 and a train of gears 31, 32, 33 and 34 within arm 7 drivingly connect gear 29 with rotary cutter 8 which is rotatably mounted on the outer end of the said arm. It will be evident that the arm 7 is freely tiltable about the axis of shaft 24 without in any way interfering with the driving connection existing between the motor driven shaft 28 and the coal cutter 8.

As will be seen in FIGURES 1 to 4, each shaft 24 has a fan-like flanged end 17 adjacent the pertaining arm 7. The arm, in turn, has a flange 16 thereon which fits against flange 17 in face to face relation. Flange 17 is provided with a plurality of holes 11 for receiving clamping bolts and power transmitting pins. The flange 16 of the pertaining arm is provided with holes 19 through which the clamping bolts and power transmitting bolts pass.

As will be seen in FIGURE 4, the flanges 16 and 17 are provided with sets of the aforementioned holes such that the arm 7 can be clamped to its respective shafts 24 in a median position indicated by line 20 and is, furthermore, provided with other groups of the said holes such that the arm can be adjusted relative to the shaft so that the axis of the arm is located either on the line marked 21 or the line marked 21.

Reference to FIGURE 3 will show that the adjustment of the arm 7, as described above, will substantially adjust the range of movement of the cutting roller mounted thereon so that the total range in the vertical direction the machine can cut is substantially increased. At the same time because of the arrangement of clamping bolts and power transmitting bolts the assembly is fully as strong as it could possibly be if only one adjusted position of the arm on its tiltable shaft was provided as has been the practice heretofore.

Flange 17 of shaft 24 is provided with further holes 23 and these holes are adapted for receiving bolts 25 carried by flange 16 of the arm for additionally clamping the arm in place on its tiltable shaft.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mining machine particularly adapted for cutting coal; a frame, a shaft tiltable in said frame, an arm having a rotary cutter on one end, connecting means connecting the other end of the arm to the said shaft, power means connected between said frame and shaft for tilting the shaft in the frame and thereby tilt said arm and adjust the position of the cutter relative to the frame, drive means extending from the frame through said shaft and arm to said cutter to drive the cutter in rotation in any tilted position of said arm, said connecting means comprising means to adjust the position of the arm on the shaft thereby to adjust the tilting range of the arm.

2. A mining machine according to claim 1 in which said shaft is tiltable on a horizontal axis and said arm is tiltable in a vertical plane.

3. A mining machine according to claim 2 in which said shaft has a flange adjacent said arm, and said arm has means adapted for connection to said flange in ad justed position of said arm about the axis of said shaft.

4. A mining machine according to claim 2 in which said shaft has a first flange thereon adjacent said arm and said arm has a second flange thereon parallel to and adjacent said first flange, and securing and power transmitting means fixing said first flanges and second flanges together in different rotated positions thereof.

5. A mining machine according to claim 4 in which said securing and power transmitting means comprises bolt-like elements extending axially through said flanges.

6. A mining machine according to claim '5 in which said flanges include a group of holes for receiving said bolt-like elements and at least one of said flanges has circumferentially spaced groups of holes with each thereof adapted for registration with the group of holes in the other of said flanges to permit interconnection of the said flanges in fixed power transmitting relation in different adjusted positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 521,263 6/1894 Greenwood 29954 3,219,389 11/1965 Lanfermann 299-53 ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 299-81

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