US3785598A

US3785598A - Means for suspending cables from mine roof

Info

Publication number: US3785598A
Application number: US00228218A
Authority: US
Inventors: P Gillstrap
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-02-22
Filing date: 1972-02-22
Publication date: 1974-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 1991-01-15

Abstract

A hanger for supporting cables or the like adjacent the roof of a mine is shaped for ready attachment to a mine roof plate held by a safety bolt embedded in the roof material. The hanger is provided with an adjustable keeper serving to hold the supported cable on the hanger.

Description

nited States Patent [191 Gillstrap MEANS FOR SUSPENDING CABLES FROM MINE ROOF [76] Inventor: Peteii M. Gillstrap, 325 Walker St.,

Hartford, Ky.

22 Filed: Feb. 22, 1972 21 App]. No.: 228,218

[52] US. Cl. 248/58, 248/68 R;7l;73;218;317 [51] Int. Cl. F161 3/00 [58] Field of Search 248/58, 339, 68,

248/317, 322, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 324, 49, DIG. 3, 218, 71, 73

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,862,368 12/1958 Dempsey 248/D1G. 3 2,933,277 4/1960 Messier 248/D1G. 003 1,767,897 6/1930 Roman et a1. 248/339 X 2,026,312 12/1935 l-louts 248/49 3,620,490 11/1971 Roberts 248/58 Jan. 15, 1974 2,854,824 10/1958 Currey et al n 248/58 X 2,923,508 2/1960 Daugherty 248/58 2,385,296 9/1945 Moore 248/49 X 2,450,147 9/1948 Lawry 248/68 R 2,243,387 5/1941 Livingston 248/90 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 136,691 12/1919 Great Britain 248/58 708,662 '5/1954 Great Britain 248/D1G. 3

Primary ExaminerRamon S. Britts Assistant Examiner-Rodney H. Bonck Attorney-William E. Sherwood 5 7] ABSTRACT A hanger for supporting cables or the like adjacent the roof of amine is shaped for ready attachment to a mine roof plate held by a safety bolt embedded in' the roof material. The hanger is provided with an adjustable keeper serving to hold the supported cable on the hanger.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures MEANS FOR SUSPENDING CABLES FROM MINE ROOF BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION In underground mining operations many forms of electrical cables, hydraulic hoses, compressed air lines, wiring or the like (all collectively herein called cables) are used with the mining equipment. Unless such cables are positioned in a proper space they may interfere with the mining operation and indeed may contribute to an unsafe operation.

The use of roof bolts and plates for improving safety in such mines also is widely practiced and it has heretofore been suggested that these overhead members can be used as a means for supporting the cables. To the best of my knowledge, however, these suggestions have not been entirely satisfactory since they do not meet the requirement for rapid and easy adjustment of the cable after it is once suspended in place. Frequently the cable has to be extended or retracted as the mining operation proceeds, and in a poorly lighted, damp and dirty confined mine passage the adjustment of the suspended cable may require heavy physical exertion on the part of the operator unless the hanger construction is properly designed. v i

It is these and other disadvantages of conventional cable supports which it is a purpose of the present invention to overcome.

SUMMARY The cable suspension means of the present invention comprises a hanger which detachably engages in an aperture within a roof supporting plate held in place with a roof bolt. The hanger may be engaged with the plate by rotation in a vertical plane and beadjusted with respect to the plate by rotation in a horizontal plane. A keeper is adjustably affixed to the hanger and serves to hold a suspended cable in proper place on the hanger.

Among the objects of the invention are the provision of a simple and inexpensive cable hanger which may be used in combination with conventional mine roof supporting means and which may be installed or removed at any time without requiring adjustment of the roof supporting means; the provision of a cable hanger which is rotatable in a horizontal plane with respect to a mine roof supporting plate to which it is attachable; the provision of a cable hanger having a keeper'which is readily adjustable to permit cables to be emplaced on or removed from the hanger and to hold a cable in place thereon; and the provision ofa cable hanger having'a keeper which may be wedged in place to hold a cable suspended on the hanger.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds and when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which FIG. 1 is a side elevation view showing the hanger installed and supporting a plurality of cables.

FIG. 2 is a view to a larger scale and taken at right angle to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the installed hanger taken from the underside thereof, and

FIG. 4 is a sectional detail view showing the engagement of the hanger with the mine roof plate.

Referring first to FIG. 1 a conventional safety bolt is embedded in the material 11 forming the mine roof and has the usual bolt head 12 which is adapted to be 2 tightened with a torque wrench in accordance with standard safety regulations.

A plate 13 with a substantial surface bearing against the exposed face of the material 11 is pushed against that material as the bolt is tightened and thus acts to support the adjacent portion of the roof This plate, in accordance with the invention, is provided with an offset section 14 having an aperture 15 therein and into and from which the hanger may be readily inserted or removed.

'The hanger is of simple and inexpensive construction and preferably constitutes a member having an elongated generally horizontal portion 16 merging at one end into a shorter vertical portion 17 and may be formed of a round metal rod bent into a generally L- shaped configuration and threaded at its distal end 18. If desired, the metal rod may be coated with electrical insulation or may itself be'formed from an insulating plastic material. As a feature of the invention, the end of the hanger portion 17 terminates in a somewhat flattened re-entrant hook-like lip 19 which, as best seen in FIG. 4, may be rotated into or out of engagement with the plate by movement in a vertical plane and may be rotated with respect to the plate by movement in a horizontal plane. Moreover, the length of the lip is such that when the hanger is inserted through aperture 15 the weight of the hanger is sufficient to hold it in place until such time as the operator desires to handle the cable suspension.

The length of hanger portion leg 17 is sufficient to provide a shallow space 20 adjacent the roof' and into which one or

more cables

21, 22 may be housed. If desired, this space may have a sufficient depth so that a cable such as 21 may he slid over the companion cable 22 if one of the cables is to be moved without removal of the other. In order to prevent undesired dislodgment ofa cable resting on the leg 16 of the hanger, a suitable keeper is provided. This keeper may take various forms without departing from the invention, but should be constructed so that vibration, pull on cable, or the like will not permit a cable to be unintentionally dislodged.

A preferred form of keeper may comprise a simple rod 30 including at one end an interiorally threaded nut 31 in engagement with the threaded end 18 of the leg 16 of the hanger. The keeper rod normally will have a length greater than the length of the portion 17 of the hanger so that when suitably rotated the end 32 will wedge against the exposed surface of the mine roof. As

will be understood, the exposed surface of the mine roof will normally be irregular and should the wedging end of the keeper rod meet an obstruction it is a simple matter to rotate the leg portion 17 in the aperture 15 of the plate thereby to permit the keeper rod to avoid such obstruction.

The advantages of the present invention will be apparent to these accustomed to working with conventional cable suspensions in mines or the like. For example, each mine roof supporting plate may be installed in the customary manner without regard to whether it will be used with the hanger. If so used, the hanger will be merely rotated in a horizontal plane to align it with respect to the direction in which the cable is to extend.

Moreover, the hangers are reusable and may be detached from the plate without disturbing the plate in any way.

Having thus described a preferred form of cable hanger and a typical usage thereof in combination with a mine roof supporting plate, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in forms and usages other than that so described.

I claim:

l. A cable hanger adapted for assembly upon a stationary generally horizontally arranged plate having an offset section with a generally vertical aperture of uniform diameter therein, said hanger comprising a memher having an elongated generally horizontal portion merging at one end into a shorter vertical portion, the end of said vertical portion being of a size permitting ready insertion or withdrawal through said aperture and terminating in a re-entrant lip portion adapted to rest upon the upper surface of said offset plate section and to be rotated horizontally within said aperture without disengagement from said plate, and a keeper struction wherein said other end of said horizontal portion of said hanger is threaded and said keeper comprises a rod having a threaded nut in engagement with said threaded end of said horizontal portion, said keeper being rotatable in a generally vertical plane.

2. A cable hanger as defined in claim 1 wherein the length of said keeper rod is greater than the length of said vertical portion of said hanger member.

Claims

1. A cable hanger adapted for assembly upon a stationary generally horizontally arranged plate having an offset section with a generally vertical Aperture of uniform diameter therein, said hanger comprising a member having an elongated generally horizontal portion merging at one end into a shorter vertical portion, the end of said vertical portion being of a size permitting ready insertion or withdrawal through said aperture and terminating in a re-entrant lip portion adapted to rest upon the upper surface of said offset plate section and to be rotated horizontally within said aperture without disengagement from said plate, and a keeper adjustably attached to the other end of said horizontal portion of the hanger and movable between a first position at which a cable can be inserted laterally upon said horizontal portion and a second position at which the cable is secured against lateral removal from said horizontal portion, said hanger and keeper having a construction wherein said other end of said horizontal portion of said hanger is threaded and said keeper comprises a rod having a threaded nut in engagement with said threaded end of said horizontal portion, said keeper being rotatable in a generally vertical plane.