US796498A - Art of mining coal. - Google Patents

Description

No. 796,498. PATEN'I'ED AUG. 8, 1905. C. R. CLAGHORN'. ART OP MINING COAL.

AYPLIOATIUN rum) nov. 22,1901

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I www )./s e an No. 796,498v Y PATENTED AUG. 8, 1965i C. R. GLAGHORN. ART 0F MINING COAL.

AYPLIUTION FILED NOV. 22! NGL 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' PATENTED AUG. 8, 1905.

G. R. GLAGHORN. ART 0F MINING COAL. APPLIUTION rum: nov. 22.1901.

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PATENTBD AUG 8, 1905.

C. R. CLAGHORN. ART MNING CUAL. PPLIOATION funn Nov. 22,1901K 4 SHEETS-BREST -L CLARENCE R. CLAGHORN, OF VINTGNADALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

ART OF MINING COAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 81905.

Application led lovmher 22, 19H1. Serial No. 83,304.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CLARENCE R. CLAGHORN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vintondalc, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Mining Coal. of which the following is a speciiication, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

'Ihis invention relates to improvements in the art of mining coal, it relating more particularly to that style of operating coal-mines which is generally termed long-wall mining.

In the United States the two plans of operating bituminous coal-mines are known, re spcctively, as room-and-pillar and "longwall work. In the room-and-pillar Work rooms or relatively narrow chambers of from j twenty-live to fifty feet in width are formed,

these being carried from one to another ofthe cross-entries or side entries-namely, the entries that are extended laterally from the main entry. and such rooms are so formed as to leave walls or ribs of coal at their side, and each has butasingleentrance.` Thecoalis removed from its natural bed by first undercutting it along the iioor and then shooting or breaking it down and then loading it into cars which are brought to and from the loading pointon lines perpendicular to the face. This plan of miningis generally followed Where the bituminous veins are comparatively thick. The long-wall system is largely followed Where the coal veins are thinner and where the rooms or chambers formed by the excavating of the coal are shallow. these veins being frequently not more than from thirty to forty inches in thickness. In this systelnof miningitisdesirable to work along a face as prolonged aspos1 sible, because of the difficulties incident to the room-and-pillar plan in veins of this character. Here the cut is made from one entry or passage-way to another, these being generally distant from each other three hundred feet or more, and heretofore the plan has been to iorni u cut from entry to entry under the long wall. then propel small cars along the face and load them with the coal directly at the face. The getting out of the coal by this plan is very tedious and much time is consumed and much labor necessary. I have devised an in'iprovenient in'this branchof the art whereby the diiiiculties and expense incident to long-wall mining as heretofore practiced are overcome.

Figure l is a. diagrammatic view of a coal` mine which is being operated in accordance with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan view, parts being broken away, showing some of the devices in their relations to each other which I employ in carrying out my improvement.- Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the parts also illustrated in Fig. 2. Fig. i is a vertical sectional view, also diagrammatic 0; L conventional in character and illustrating .a part of a mine and parts of the apparatus which I have devised. Figi 5 is a vertical sectional view taken lengthwise of one of the main car-passages and endwise of the carrier. Fig. 6 is a plan diagram showing the reiatiims of the carrier to the natural bed of coal which is being worked. Figs. 7, 8, 9, and iOsho'W details.

Referring to Fig. 1A indicates the entrance to the mine,y B being the main entry extending indefinitely in the direction ofthe coal vein and horizontally through the same. From this main entry there are turned oli' side entries C C','extending. as far as .isy de# sired to the right orl the left of the main en# try, generally running to the. boundary-line of the tract which is to be. worked. "Ot-her passage-ways or courses are formed at D D' paralisi to those at C and also communicating with the main entry. The passages, entries, or courses C and .D are 'n pairs, ose'ocs'eir pair being comparatielyciese togethen and i are connected by eros. courses di' kAftelthe ,l entries, main and side,\have been carried as flacas is necessary the taking out of the coal rapidly and in large quantities isjaccompl ished asfollows: Iform cross entries or pas Y sage-ways E substantially at right angles to the side entries C DA and connecting one of them with the next. These 1 form, preferably, considerably deeper than the coal vein, as Y shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. I then lay tracklrails etherein, these communicating with the track-rails d in the adjacent entry or course D and also with the track-rails c in the next adje` cent entry or course C. At a' a' there are switches interposed between the main trackrails B and the tracks d, and at eirth'ei: a-e switches interposed between the tracks B and the tracks at c. It wiil be seen that cars can be carried continuousl yi n one direction around an area of cosh-that is, can be taken from the track-rail B', overa switch e', around the sections des, and through a switch a2, back to the main track B Without being reversed in direc? tion at any point. 1 have indicated several e? the areas or sections of the mine by letters F, F', F2, and F3, that at F hein g the region where as yet the main masses of coal have not been surrounded by the entries, tunnels, or courses, those at F' being sections which are not yet ready for operating, although they are surrounded by entries or courses of the general system, those at F2 F2 being blocks or masses of coal which are being operated upon, and the areas at F3 F3 being those which have been worked over, from which the coal has been withdrawn, and where there is stored the "gob or refuse, rock, slate, zc., which are more or less depended upon to support the roof. f indicates the face of the long wall which is being cut. It extends from the inner cross entry or course E to the outer one tt E'. In the territory F2 the working is Lproceeding in The direction of the arrow f'. The coal is being carried from the face in the direction of the arrow f2. The loaded cars are being transported in the direction of the arrow f3.

Turning to Figs. 2 to 5, there will be seen a set of devices which I have found to be satisfactory and eldcient for carrying out my improved manner of operating longfwall mines. The fact above referred todnamely, that the cross entry or passage-way E is formed consjgierabl y deeper than the thickness of the coal vein-is well illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, The distance from g, the top of the coal vein, to g', the bottom, is so small that cars of any particular capacity cannot be transported through the space occupied by the vein. At

:the same time it is impossible in practice to employ small cars on an upper level and larger cars in the entry or courseE on a lower level, as such smaller carswould have to be fre- 'qnehtly run` forward and back and double tracks and numerous switches would be necessary; but there is not room for such a system of tracks and switches, as the mine must be posted as close up to the face as possible, as is shown at L L, these letters illustrating the posts which are driven into vertical position between the roof and the floor of the mine to temporarily support the roof and which must be brought up as close to the face fas is possible, and no system of withdrawing the coal from the face which depends upon carshas been found practicable, except the ordinary plan, in accordance with which the same cars that are used at the face are carried to the mouth of the mine or to the shaft. Among the objects of the presentinvention are these: to provide a method of withdrawing the coal from the face of the shallow vein to which there shall be incident a greater easein shoveling or otherwise transferring it from the ground to the transporting device, whereby the entire face can be cleaned up rapidly; which shall require but a small amount of space back from the face; which shall permit ''xlcoal to be readily cleaned-that is, allow the blocks or pieces of slate, rock, and other foreign material to be readily passed backward over the transporting device; which shall take the ncwly-loaded coal in a substantially continuous stream on lines parallel to the face and deliver it to large cars adapted to carry it away on lines at right angles tothe face and deliver it in measured quantities; which shall permit the withdrawal of the newly-cut coal without requiring the presence of a temporarily-ixed track or requiring such track to be first fixed, then loosened and moved, and again fixed, and which shall permit the employment of a large number of loading operatives. In all of these respects the system heretofore followed of removing newly-cut coal from the long wall has been of inferior nature-that is, the system requiring cars passing along the face. 1n such case the cars to be at all economical in capacity must be so high as to bring their top edges close to the roof, so that it is with diiculty that the blocks of slate, pieces of rock, &c., can be passed backward to the gob-piles, this relative height of the cars also interfering seriously with the rapidity of the Shoveling or loading of the coal into the cars. Again, ifV the attempt be made with such Acars to have a relatively long train of them in position in front of a face, with a correspondingly large number of loading operatives, there is liability of loaded cars being blocked by those that are not fully loaded. Moreover, the car system requires the presence of guiding-tracks, with their ties or other framework, which must be temporarily fixed in one position and then must be moved laterally up toward the face and again fixed. I employ a laterally-movable adjustable endless eontinuously-travelingconveyer and prefer to have the parts thereof and those that are adjunct thereto constructed and arranged as follows: The endless conveyer proper is indicated as a whole by M. 1t has an upper run. m, moving toward the entry E, and a lower run m', moving backward therefrom, both substantially parallel to the face being operated on. At its inner end it is supported upon a guiding lidler wheel or drum M' and at its outer end upon a guiding and driving wheel or drum M2, which preferably overhangs the entry E somewhat. The upper run in. of the conveyer is placed in a trough N, having the bottom n and the sloping sides a'. The lower run hasa support N. The trough n/ of the upper run is through the greater part of the length of the conveyerthat is to say, over the greater part of the distance of three hundred feet-low, as shown at N2, Figs. 3 and 4; but a few feet in from the deeper entry E the trough and conveyer are gradually inclined upward, as shown at N2, Figs. 3 and 4. By having the convcyer arranged over the greater part of its length, as at N2, an abundant freedom ofspaceis provided,over which there can be passed backward from the face of the coal the blocks of slate, pieces of rock, &c., which it is not desired to load with the coal` and there is also ample room for the shovelers to rapidly lift either their shovels of coal or the large blocks thereofl which they pick up by hand. As the conveyer is moving continuously, loading operatives can be distributed over the whole three hundred feet of face, and the material which is placed in the conveyor by one will not interfere with that loaded by another, in contradistinction from the blockage that results when a series of separable cars are employed. each car for one or two of the operatives. The framework of the conveyor, which is illustrated, consists of girdcr-sections O O O' O2. Each girder-section consists of a bottom cross-bar o, vertical leg-bars o', and outwardly inclined or flared bars o. The trough-sections are made of sheety metal each bent to have the bottom n and the flared side walls n', the latter being bolted or riveted to the aforesaid inclined bars o2. Each girder-frame thus formed is braced by means of a cross brace-rod Q and a spacing-tube q, secured to the upper parts of the vertical bars o'. These latter also carry angle-bracliets or angle-bars R, which sup port the links or sections of the lower run of the conveyor. Each girder-section is provided on the bottom with runner-like devices, as shown at R', these serving as shoes adapted to support the conveyor and its frame and` permit the ready lateral adjustment thereof.

Each conveyer-frame section is secured to the next by bolts or rivets, preferably in such manner that there shall be a flexibility at the places of union. Such flexibility permits the conveyer to be moved laterally and adjusted from one position to another in following up the face of the coal and avoids the necessity of having to overcome the weight and resistance of the entire structure at times when parts of it only are being moved. .By reference to Fig. 6 it will be seen that in consequence of this llexibility the conveyer can be moved up by the application of crowbars to one section thereof after another successively. The upwardly-inclined part of the conveyer at N3 at the discharge end is constructed with parts substantially similar to those above described for the 'lower part N2, the exception being that the cross-girder frames at O' 02 gradually increase in height, so as to bring the upper end of the conveyer trough to lines well above the large-coal-cars S, which, as aforesaid, travel to 'and from the conveyer, moving continuously in one direction. The movable part or carrier proper consists of the linirs or hinged sections forming an endless chain T. l prefer to use a chain adapted to drag the material in massesof various-sized particles from comparatively' linely reduced slack extending up to large lumps, and for this purpose a chain having links which are open at the centers and have laterally-projecting wings I (ind to be very eliicient; butin this respect there can be such variation as preference or circumstances dictate. Power is imparted to the chain by the drive-chain T, which at one end meshes with the sprocketwheel t on the driving-shaft t' of the conveyer T and which at the other end engages with the sprocketwheel t". This wheel t2 is on a shaft t3. mounted on the frame which supports the motor and its gearing and shafting. U is an electric motor having the pin ion u on the armature-shaft meshing with the wheel u' on a counter-shaft u2. u is a gearwheel mounted loosely on the shaft u2 and meshing with the gear-wheel t on the shaft t. At V there is a friction-clutch adapted to connect the shaft u with the gear .at u, and V' is a lever for operating the clutch V, whereby the operatorcan instantly stop and again readily start the conveyor, such stopping and starting being required when one of the cars S has been filled and when the next is brought into position for loading. The motor-frame has a base U', which is also provided with runners or shoes Uz.- The motor-frame and then conveycr-frameat the delivery end of the latter are provided with mutually litting parts-as shown at W3 W, which are loosely fittedftogether and permit the two frames to be independently adjusted laterally and then brought into proper relative position and tern-VV porarily fastened. The motor considered as an entirety being constructed `of sections Hex ibly connected together, it becomes advantageous to provide an adjustable and movable holding or anchoring device,together W i th tension-adjustingmeans. Asshowmthereisatthe inner end of the conveyer a framework (indicated as a whole by X) which carries boxes X for the shaft of the wheel ordrumrMv, these boxes being mounted in a ,guidewayr formed by the guides su' and' being adjustable therein bymeans of screws d, with which engage the nuts ars, .The bottom of this'frame X is provided with shoes or slideplates of such nature that it canbe readily moved in either direction-that is, toward the face of the coal or on lines inward or outwardparah lel to said face. Y indicates an adjusting mechanism for e'ecting this last-mentioned movement of the inner end of the conveyer and its frame. Y' is a section of chain connected to a post Y and provided lat its end with a threaded bar y. y is a threaded bar connected by the yoke y to the frame X. ys is a turnbuclile having nuts which fit with the threaded rods y y'. By these devices the conveyer as a whole can be stretched taut and held irrnly in position notwithstanding the fact that over its great length it may rest upon an uneven bottom or ground surface and at places be more or less out of theoretically true line, and when thus held it resists the distorting actions of the power devices when they are driving the carrier.

At theV same time they permit the ready releasing of the inner end of the conveyer structure and a refastening thereof in the new position after a lateral adjustment has been effected toward a newly-cut face. If a post such as shown at Y' is employed, it can be readily detached and reset, if it be made in the common way, with jacking-screws for fastening it to or releasing it from the 'loor or the roof of the mine, or instead of such post for securing the inner end of the conveyer the latter may be anchored at one point and then at another in a vertical wall of the coal--as, for instance, in the wall e'won the outer side of the break-entry E', this anchoring being ell'ected by drilling or forming a hole in said coal wall and then inserting an anchor-stem and wedges, which coact to prevent the stem from being drawn out although a powerful strain thereon be exerted.

rl`he method of getting' out coal which I have devised will be readily understood from the above description in connection with the drawings when l illustrate one of the numerous mechanisms which can be employed therein. The long-wall-mining machine (not shown) is lirst caused to traverse the face of the coal, it making a cut along the bottom of a vein of several feet in depth horizontally and a few inches in depth vertically, the conveyer apparatus at such time being immediately adjacent to the path of the mining-machine and because of its narrowness allowing the roof to be supported by posts up to aline relatively close to the face. After the miningmachine has effected its cut of three hundred or more feet the coal above the cut is broken down either artificially or because of the squeeze or downward pressure from the roo f.V The con veyer apparatus is then moved liy sliding it over the floor close up to the newly-loosened coal The above-described ilcxibility incident to the conveyer-frame permits it, notwithstanding its great length, to be thus brought up, one section being adjustable or movable more or less independently of those adjacent, although the structureisat all times integral throughout. The shoes under the ginder-frames obviate resistance from the floor or ground. Thehigher part of the frame at N3 at the delivery end is similarly moved up, it temporarily moving away from the motor or engine frame. The latter vframe is thereafter also moved up to the new position, and by means of the guiding and spacing devices at -W it is immediately brought into proper working position relative to the conveyer and is again secured for the next operation. lhe tension and adjusting devices at Y are released from the post or the anchor which fastens them to the roof and bottom or to the coal wall and the frame X is brought up to a proper position, and the anchoring and tension devices are again set. A car or train of cars S having been brought from the main entry B over the track rl into the crossentry E, the carrier is put in motion and the loading is effected. A large number of operatives are distributed along the face. The slate, rock, and other materials foreign to the coal are readily passed backward over the conveyer into the area behind the same. The coal can be rapidly shoveled from the foot of the face into the conveyer-trough.

1t will be seen that the conveyer structure is not to be regarded as of a permanent character or permanently secured in place. 1t is arranged adjacent to the working face as closely as possible, and between them there is a substantially unobstructed space which permits thc utmost rapidity in working and economy of labor, but principally permits the immediate readjustment of the conveyer to a new position by sliding it bodily laterally toward the coal-face as soon as the mass of coal previously broken down has been loaded. In fact, when my system is followed and a long conveyer of more or less flexibility is employed it can be'moved at either of its ends in such way as to permit it to be used in loading and carrying out the coal even before the undercutting-machine has completed its transit along the face. It will be understood that to make this system available to the utmost an undercutting-machine adapted to travel along the face of the coal and form a continuous kerf is used and the only space between the conveyer and the face that is requisite is the two or three feet occupied by that part of the cutting-machine which is outside of the coal. After the machine has advanced from either end a sucient distance in making a cut the adjacent end of the conveyer can be moved up, as shown in Fig. 6, and the undercut coal behind the machine as it falls or is broken down can be at once loaded and carried out, the parts of the conveyer being such that the coal can be transported by it even though some of its parts be somewhat out of line, its length as a whole being so great that the parts will accommodate themselves to such lack of perfect alinement. As the machine advances farther other sections of the conveyer may be bodily moved over and the loading continued. Where, however, the coal is of such character as to require the elapsing of some time for it to be properly broken down,the entire cutof the machine can be accomplished before the moving up of the conveyer. In fact, to my improved system there is incident great latitude, as it can be adapted without material modifications to the getting out and removal of coal of different sorts and in veins that differ with respect to their roofs, floors, &c.

It will be borne in mind that the time consumed in the labor is the principal factor involved and every moment must be economized. XV ere the conveyer of such character as to require attachment to the roof or floor or attachment to the posts or to framework, so as to necessitate its being taken to pieces and rcerccted in new posts after posts have been permanently inserted between it and the coal face, the loss in time would he such as to prohibit the employment of this system; but this is obviated by having the conveyor, as above fully described, practicall, immediately adjacent to the coal-face, wit i an unobstructed space between them, and the conveyer itself so constructed and arranged that it can be bodily moved laterally by sliding it along the ground and Without its requiring to he taken to pieces and rebuilt from time to time.

What I claim is- 1. The herein-described improvementin the art of' mining coal and removing it from its natural bed to the exterior of the mine, it consisting in formingamain tunnel passage-way or entry, two side entries extending laterally from the main entry and a cross-entry connecting the said side entries, then undercutting and breaking down on elongated lines the mass of coal outside of and adjacent to the qnadrilateral of the aforesaid entries, said elongated lines being transverse to the aforesaid cross-entry` transporting the brokendown coal along the face of the natural bed on said elongated lines in relatively small masses in an approximately continuous stream` forming relatively large masses ot' the coal in the said cross-entry and transporting thelast said masses su ccessively to the exterior ofthe mine, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described improvement in the art of mining coal from its natural bed and removing it to the exterior o the mine, it consisting in orminga main entry tunnel or passageway, two side entries extending laterally from the main entry and across-entry connecting the said-side entries, the said entries forming together a quad rilateral passage-way, then undercutting and breaking down on elongated lines the coal in its natural bed adjacent to the cross-entry. said elongated lines being transverse to said entry, removing the broken-down coal from the face of the natural bed along the said elongated lines in relatively small masses in an approximatelyr continuons stream, forming relatively larger masses oi' coal in the said cross-entry and .transporting said relatively larger masses successively from said entry to the exterior ol' the mine, substantially as set forth.

3. The lierein-described improvement in the art ot' mining coal and removing it from its natural bed to the exterior ofthe mine, it con sisting in formingl tunnels, passage-ways or entries through the said coal-bed and deeper than the same, thon undercutting and breaking down on elongated lines the coal adjacent and transverse to the said relatively deeper tunnels or entries, advancing coal-transporting devices continuously in one direction through the said tunnels or entries, removing the broken-down coal from the face of its natoral bed in asubstantially continuously moving conveyer, depositing the coal from the said conveyor in the relatively large vehicles in the deeper tunnels or entries and transporting said vehicles to the exterior of the mine, substantially' as set forth.

4. The herein-d escribed improvement in the art of mining coal and removing it from its natural bed to the exterior of the mine, it consisting in first forming a relatively deep main tunnel, entrance or passage-Way, two side entrances on lines transverse to thoseof the main entry, a supplemental tunnel or entry transverse to the said side entries, all of 'the aforesaid entries being relatively deeper than the coal-bed and extending horizontally through the same, then undercutting and breaking down on elongated lines the coal adjacent to the last said entry or tunnel,transporting the broken-downcoal f rom'the face along said eloi.

gated line in asuhstantially contin uousstream, and delivering the coal of the said stream to vehicles or carrying devices in the said relatively deep cross-entry, said vehicles traveling on lines transverse to said stream and transporting the coal thereby to the exterior of the mine, substantially as set forth.

5. In a mining system, 'a main entry extending approximately horizontally through the bed of coal, two .side entries extending laterally from the main entry, a cross-entry con- A necting said side entries` a car-trackage system in the said main, side and cross entries arranged substantially as set forth to permit empty cars to be taken from the main entry and moved continuously in one direction through the side and cross entries andl back to the main entry, arelatively elongated portable adjustable endless conveyer arranged on lines transverse to the aforesaid tracks and adapted to de liver coal from a relatively extended face .of the natural bed of coal adjacent to the said tracks, substantially as set forth.

6. In a mining system, a main entry, two side entries extending laterally therefrom, and a cross-entry connecting the side entries, all said entries being tunnels traversing the natural bed oi' coal, a line of car-track extending continuously from the main entry along one of the side entries. thence through the crossentry thence along the other side entry to the.

main entry, and a coal-carrying apparatus adapted to transport coal on line-s transverse to the said tracks in the cross and side entries and to elevate the said coal at points ad jacent to the said track and to empty or deliver it, after elevating it, to vehicles or receptacles on the said track, substantially as set forth.

7. The herein-described improvement in the art of mining coal and removing it from its natural bed to the exterior of the mine, it consisting in first forminga relatively deep entry or beading adapted to receive a car-track and to deliver trains of empty cars to the loading region and to receive the loaded cars therefrom, a supplemental relatively deep headingl or entry adapted to receive a ear-track and to carry the said empty cars past the loadingpoint in their transit back to the aforesaid entry or heading, forming a prolonged working room or space along lines transverse to the last said entry, said working space permitting access to a prolonged working face ot' coal which is also transverse to the said entry, supporting the roofl of the mine by posts at points remote from the working face ofthe coal, Linden-cutting the coal on elongated lines transverse to the last said entry, and breaking it down from its natural bed, removing the loosened coal from be fore the face of the natural bed by an endless conveyer directly adjacent to said face and arranged independently of the roof-supporting posts in the space between said posts andthe working face with a substantially unobstructed space between the conveyer and the workn ing face` and from time to time bodily moving the conveyer structure laterally across the said unobstructed space up to the new working faces, substantially as set forth.

8. In a coal-mining system, a main entry of relatively greater depth cnt through the natural bed of coal, a series of laterally-extending entries or headings connecting with the said main entry, and each adapted to receive trains of empty cars from the lattel and to i deliver trains of loaded cars thereto, a su pplemental entry or car-passage adapted to hold the trains ot' empty cars while they are passing the loading-point from a lateral entry or heading back toward the main heading, an elongated working room or space extending transversely to the supplemental entry and communicating therewith, said working room being' adjacent to a prolonged face ot' the coal which is tf1-be gotten out, a relatively elongated conveyer comprising a flexible frame and troughwith an endless carrier mounted thereon, said conveyer being situated on lines transverse to the travel of the aforesaid cars through the supplemental heading and immediately adjacent to the working face of the coal with a substantially unobstructed space between the conveyer and the coal whereby the coal after being undercut and broken down on the elongated lines of the working face can be loaded along al1 parts of the said line into the said carrier and be delivered thereby to the aforesaid vehicles in the relatively dee-per supplemental entry, and the said conveyer structure can be thereupon moved bodily laterally through the said unobstructed space directly toward the new Working face, substantially as set forth.

9. The herein-described method in the art of mining coal, it consisting in forming a main tunnel passage-Way or entry, and side entries extending laterally therefrom, then undercutting the coal on elongated lines between the said side entries and breaking it down from its natural bed, removing the loosened coal from before the face ot' the natu ral bed in a substantially continuous stream by means of an endless conveyer immediately adjacent to the working face of the coal and with a substantially unobstructed space between said conveyer and said working face, and from time to time bodily moving the conveyer structure laterally across said unobstructed space up to the new working face, and from time to time supporting the roof of the mine at points on the opposite side of said conveyer from said working face ot' the coal, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE R. CLAGHORN.

itnessesz H. G. BRowNINe, H. L. VAUGHAN.

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