US3812681A

US3812681A - Mine roof supports

Info

Publication number: US3812681A
Application number: US00270617A
Authority: US
Inventors: A Allen
Original assignee: Gullick Dobson Ltd
Current assignee: Gullick Dobson Ltd
Priority date: 1971-07-16
Filing date: 1972-07-11
Publication date: 1974-05-28
Anticipated expiration: 1991-05-28
Also published as: GB1394675A; AU464062B2; AU4459772A; DE2233751A1

Abstract

Advancing means of a self-advancing mine roof support, or a part of the support which is moved thereby, is connected to or carries a section of rail adapted when advanced to register or line-up with a similar and separate section of rail connected to or carried by the advancing means, or a part moved thereby, of a neighbouring or adjacent support. The section of rail may be provided with means for temporarily connecting it to a neighbouring or adjacent section of rail. The sections of rail may serve as a means for connecting one support to a neighbouring or adjacent support so that one support will provide an effective abutment or anchorage for the advance of the other or a part thereof. The section of rail may include or be in the form of a spill plate or baffle. The spill plates or baffles, which are moved forwardly individually by the advancing means of their supports, then form a continuous barrier or wall in front of the supports and serve to prevent mineral spilling into the supports.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Allen 11 1 3,812,681 1451 May 28,1974

8/1965 Great Britain 61/45 D [5 1 MINE ROOF SUPPORTS 1,000,732 Inventor: Archelaius Dawson Allen, Preston 183,164 11/1966 U.S.S.R 61/45 D England r Primary ExammerDenn1s L. Taylor Asslgnee: Gulhck Pobson Llmltedv Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Berman, Bishoff & Platt Lancashn'e, England [21] Appl' 270617 Advancing means of a self-advancing mine roof sup-' port, or a part of the support which is moved thereby, [30] Foreign Application Priority Data is connected to or carries a section of rail adapted July 16, 1971 Great Britain 33424 71 when advanced register or -"P with a Similar and separate section of rail connected to or carried by [52 us. (:1 61/45 D the advancing means, O a P moved thereby, of a 51 Int. (:1 E2ld 15/44 neighbouring 9r j pp The'sectiml of rail [58] Field 61 Search 61/45 D; 299/31, 33; may be Provided with means for temporarily connect- 5 91/170 p ing it to a neighbouring or adjacent section of rail. The sections of rail may serve as a means for' connecting 5 References Cited one support to a neighbouring or adjacent support so UNn-ED STATES PATENTS that one support will provide an effective abutment or anchorage for the advance of the other or a part ff t 3 thereof. The section of rail may include or be in the M970 61/45 D form of a spill plate or baffle. The spill plates or baf- 3:534559 10/1970. Seddon et 81 61/45 D fles, which are moved forwardly individually by the 3,5361433 10 1970 Grebe 61/45 1) x advancing means of their Supports/Then form a 3,603,098 9/1971 Groetschel 61/45 D tinuous barrier or l in nt of the supports and FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS serve to prevent mineral spilling into the supports. 892,179 3/1962 Great Britain 61/45 D 5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures QQQOQQQ Q900 9.0.00.0000 0000000 i X +++T+++++++++++ PATENTEDIAY28 m4 1812.681 SHEET 3 OF 8 ---FIG. 3--

memenme lw sis-12.581

SHEET'B [1F 8 MINE ROOF SUPPORTS This invention is for improvements in or relating to self-advancing mineroof supports. The invention is more particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with mine roof supports of-the kind'(hereinafter referred to as the kind specified) comprising at least two units which are advanced. in turn by a pressure-fluidoperated device (e.g., a hydraulic ram), one unit serving when secured between floorand roof as an abutmentor anchorage'forsaid pressure-fluid-operated device when it is advancing the other unit.

Self-advancing roof supports are used=extensively in mining where mineralis being'extracted by the longwall or shortwallmethod.

According to the present invention there'is provided a self-advancing mine roof support in which the advancing means or a part of the support moved thereby is connected to or carries a section of rail adapted when advanced to register. or line-up with a similar and separate section of rail connected to or carried by the advancing means, or a part moved-thereby, ofa neighboring or adjacent support. Said sections of rail may serve as a means for connecting one support to a neighboring or adjacent support so that one support will provide an effective abutment or anchorage for the-advance'of thev other. Conveniently, the sectionof rail is provided with means for temporarily connecting-it to a neighboringor adjacent section of rail.

According to a further feature of the invention there is provided a mine roof support of the kind specified wherein at least one-of the units'is provided with connecting means whereby'it'can be connected to a unit of a neighbouringor adjacent support or supports so that it will serve effectively as an abutment or anchorage for the advancing means of thesupport. Such a facility is of great advantage-where roof and/or floor conditions are bad and said'unit cannot be effectively secured between floor and roof so'asto form 'a-satisfactory abutment or anchorage for the advance of its associated unit of the support.

Conveniently, said section of rail or said connecting means includes, or is in the form of, a spill plate or baffle at the front of thesupport or the unitof the support which is advanced first man advancing sequence.

One particular embodiment of the'in-v'ention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a support with the units of the support in the position they occupy after a web of material has been cut from the mineral face,

FIG. 2 shows the support withits units in the position they occupy ready for a further web of material to be cut from the mineral face,

FIG. 3 isplan view of a pair of neighboring supports of the construction shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view showing a series of the supports at the mineral face. the units of the supports being in the position they occupy during the passage of a mineral cuttingmachine in front of them along the mineral face.

FIG. 5 is an end view of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is a further diagrammatic plan view, the units of the supports on the left-hand side beingv in the position they occupy immediately after they have been passed by the mineral mining machine,

FIG. 7 is an end view of FIG. 6,

onit four hydraulically extensible telescopic props or legs 13 which support on their upper ends, in the usual way, a roof-engaging canopy 14. The base 12, of the rear unit, also hasmounted on it, in side-by-side relationship, two hydraulically extensible

telescopic props

15 and 16 which support respectively cantilever roofengaging

members

17 and 18. The

cantilever members

17 and 18 are pivotally connected to the canopy 14 at I 19 and 20 respectively.

The forward unit 11 of the support comprises a base 21 on which is mounted a single hydraulically extensible telescopic prop 22 having mounted on its upper part a roof-engaging member 23 which is substantially shorter than the roof-engaging

members

17 and 18 in the direction of advance. The roof-engaging member :23 is movable longitudinally of and is guided between the roof-engaging members 17 and '18 of the rear unit. During such movement the roof-engaging member23, of the forward unit, is also guided by wirerope guides 24 having their ends securedto the cantilever members 17 and 18m 25 and 25a and passing through vertically elongated slots in brackets or lugs 26 and 27 (see FIG. 2) on the roof-engaging member 23. Thisprevents the roof-engaging member 23rotating about the axis of the 1 prop 22 andengaging under or over the

bars

17 and 18 and, therefore, simultaneously preventing roofengagement of all three roof-engaging members. Similarly, when the rear unit is beingadvanced it is guided by the rope guides 24 moving through the slots in the guide lugs 26 and 27.

The wire rope guides 24 serve the purpose described and at the same time permit any necessary movement of the units due to floor or roof irregularities.

Relative movement between the rearward and

forward units

10 and 11, to advance the support as hereinafter described, is effected by upper and lower. double acting

hydraulic rams

28 and 29. The ram 28 has its cylinder secured by trunnions 30 in the roof-engaging member 23 of the forward unit and its piston connected at 31 to the canopy 14 of the rear unit. The cylinder of the lower ram 29 is secured inthe base 12 by trunnions (not shown) and its piston is connected to the base 21 of the forward unit 11 at 32.

For the purpose of the present invention a connecting means 33, which includes a spill plate or baffle 34 for preventing mineral spilling into the support is connected, by slot and'pin means 34a, to the front of the base 21 of the forward unit..The slot and pin means 34a allow for some vertical movement or adjustment of the spill plate.

Referring now to FIGS. 4m 8 of the drawings, FIG. 4 shows the condition in which the forward units 11 have been advanced relatively to the rear units 10 and the roof support system is ready for the machine M to remove a web of mineral from the face F.

As the machine passes the supports their rear units are advanced, by retracting the

rams

28 and 29, so that the cantilever roof-engaging members 17 and l8pro- 'vide immediate support under the newly exposed roof secured between floor and roof, serve as anchorages for the

rams

28 and 29 so that they can advance the rear units which have temporarily been released from between floor and roof. If roof and/or floor conditions are bad there is a possibility of a forward unit being dislodged during this advance of its associated rear unit. To guard against this, such a forward unit may be connected, by its connecting device 33, to the corresponding connecting devices of the. forward units of supports on either side of it as indicated at 33a. For example, the ends of the spill plate may have lugs provided with holes which register to receive bolts for connecting two spill plates together.

As the machine flit's back from the tail gate the front units of the supports are advanced behind it, as shown in FlG.-9, by extending the

rams

28 and 29 so that when the machine arrives back at the, main gate the roof support system is in the condition shown in FIGS. 4 and ready for the machine to cut a further'web of material from the face.= g a It will be noted that the spill plates or baffles 34, which are moved forward individually by their-supports, form a continuous barrier or wall or walls in front of the supports and will prevent-mineral spillinginto the supports. I P

The further embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 9 is similar in some respects to that already described and where applicable like reference figures have been used to designate like parts. in this embodimerit, however, the supports are single unit-supports which operate in pairs and have been designated A1 and B1, A2 and B2 etc. Eachsupport comprises a base 35 and four hydraulic props 36 mounted on said base and which-support a roof-engaging structure or canopy on their upper'parts in the usual way. The extensible members 37 of the advancing rams 38, of each pair of supports, are connected to a section of rail 39 which may carry'or be in the form of a spill plate. Means are provided at 40'for temporarily connecting'neighbouring sections of rail together. 1

The operating sequence maybe as follows:

The ramsof the pair of supports Al,Bl are extended so as to advance'their section of rail from the position shown in full lines to the position shown in chain lines. That section of rail is then connected by the means 40 to the section of rail of a neighbouring previously advanced pair of supports, not shown, to the right of the pair of supports ALBl. The props-of the support B1 are then lowered and its'ram is retracted so that it is advanced, following which it is re-set' between floor and roof. The props of the support A1 are then lowered and its ram is retracted so that it also is advanced and then reset between floor and roof. The connecting means 40 will not be removed until it is again necessary to advance the section of rail.

The pairs 'of supports A2,B2 etc. are similarly advanced. v

It will be understood thatthe connected rail sections, in combination with supports secured between floor and root, provide an anchorage for the advance of the supports by their advancing rams.

I claim: l. A self-advancing mine roof support system com prising a series of hydraulically extensible selfadvancing roof supports each having hydraulic ram means, operative to advance it inturn in relation to other supports of the system, and a section of an upstanding retaining wall at its forward part, to keep mined mineral clear of the support system and confine it to an area being worked, connected to or carried by the advancing means of the support or by a part of the support which is advanced thereby, and disconnectable connecting means connecting said upstanding retaining wall sections together so that each section can be disconnected fromits neighbour for its advance and subsequently be connected to the retaining wall section of i a neighbouring previously advanced support whereby said previously advanced support provides an anchorage or abutment for the advance of the next support, or part thereof, in the series.

2. A mine roof support system comprising a series of pairs of independently operable hydraulically extensible self-advancing roof supports, each pair having hydraulic ram means for advancing first one and then the other of the pair, each support of a pair serving in turn when secured between floor and roof, as an abutment or anchorage-for the advanceof the other, an'upstanding retaining wall positioned in front of the series of supports to keep mined mineral clear. of the support system and confine it to an area being worked, said retaining wall being in separate sections, there being one such section connected with the hydraulic ram means of each pair of supports so as to be .advanced thereby, and disconnectable connecting means connecting said upstanding retaining wall sections together so that each section can be disconnected for its advance and subsequently reconnected to a neighboring wall section and thereby to the neighbouring pair of supports having said neighboring wall sections, whereby an anchorage is provided, for the advance of at least one support of each pair, which comprises the other of the pair and also-a neighbouring pair of supports.

3. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim 2 ing retaining wall section, of said pair of supports, and

extended simultaneously for the. advance thereof, ahead'of the supports, and attached to the roof supports and retracted successively for the advance of the supports of the pair in turn.

5. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim I wherein the upstanding retaining wallsections are con nected to the advancing means of the supports or to parts of the supports which are advanced thereby, by I a pin and vertically elongated slot arrangement which allows for some vertical movement of said retaining wall sections.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,812,681 Dated May 28, 1974 Inventor) ARCHELAIUS DAWSON ALLEN It is cer tified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In Claim 4, line 1, which is column 4, line 48,

delete "Claim 3" and insert therefor -Claim 2--.

- Signed and sealed this 1st day of October. 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. 0. MARSHALL. DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC sank-Poo U... .WIIIIIIT PIIITII O'HCI I". 0-1004 ORM PC4050 (10-69)

Claims

1. A self-advancing mine roof support system comprising a series of hydraulically extensible self-advancing roof supports each having hydraulic ram means, operative to advance it in turn in relation to other supports of the system, and a section of aN upstanding retaining wall at its forward part, to keep mined mineral clear of the support system and confine it to an area being worked, connected to or carried by the advancing means of the support or by a part of the support which is advanced thereby, and disconnectable connecting means connecting said upstanding retaining wall sections together so that each section can be disconnected from its neighbour for its advance and subsequently be connected to the retaining wall section of a neighbouring previously advanced support whereby said previously advanced support provides an anchorage or abutment for the advance of the next support, or part thereof, in the series.

2. A mine roof support system comprising a series of pairs of independently operable hydraulically extensible self-advancing roof supports, each pair having hydraulic ram means for advancing first one and then the other of the pair, each support of a pair serving in turn when secured between floor and roof, as an abutment or anchorage for the advance of the other, an upstanding retaining wall positioned in front of the series of supports to keep mined mineral clear of the support system and confine it to an area being worked, said retaining wall being in separate sections, there being one such section connected with the hydraulic ram means of each pair of supports so as to be advanced thereby, and disconnectable connecting means connecting said upstanding retaining wall sections together so that each section can be disconnected for its advance and subsequently reconnected to a neighboring wall section and thereby to the neighbouring pair of supports having said neighboring wall sections, whereby an anchorage is provided, for the advance of at least one support of each pair, which comprises the other of the pair and also a neighbouring pair of supports.

3. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim 2 wherein each pair of roof supports comprises a rear support and a forward support connected together by the hydraulic ram means, the upstanding retaining wall section being attached to the front of the first to be advanced support of the pair.

4. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim 3 wherein each pair of supports comprises two side-by-side supports each having a hydraulic advancing ram, the two advancing rams being attached to the upstanding retaining wall section, of said pair of supports, and extended simultaneously for the advance thereof, ahead of the supports, and attached to the roof supports and retracted successively for the advance of the supports of the pair in turn.

5. A mine roof support system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upstanding retaining wall sections are connected to the advancing means of the supports or to parts of the supports which are advanced thereby, by a pin and vertically elongated slot arrangement which allows for some vertical movement of said retaining wall sections.