US2979319A - Mechanical miner having offset rotary heads - Google Patents

Description

April 11, 1961 E. L. ANDERSON MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET ROTARY HEADS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1A Filed Aug. 7, 1958 /3 INVENTOR. Edward L. Anderson ATTORNE V April 11, 1961 E. L. ANDERSON 2,979,319

MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET ROTARY HEADS Filed Aug. '7, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Edward L. Anderson Q MW April 11, 1961 E. L.. ANDERSON MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET ROTARY HEADS Filed Aug. 7, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Edward L. Anderson TTORNV April 11, 1951 E. ANDERSON 2,979,319

MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET ROTARY HEADS Filed Aug. 7, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 9

Fig. 7

INVENT OR.

Edward L. Ander-'son u) BY United States Patent() MECHANICAL MINER HAVING OFFSET RorARY HEADS Edward L. Anderson, Chicago, lll., assigner to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Aug; 7, 1958, Ser. No. 753,763

1S Claims. (Cl. 262-19) This invention relates generally to mining and loading machines and particularly to machines having rotary cutting and dislodging heads especially adapted to cut and dislodge mineral from low seams by swinging one or more cutter heads sidewise to produce `level roof and Hoor surfaces Without auxiliary core-breaking mechanisms.

The present invention pro-vides a series' of coaxial rotary cutters arranged to swing about an offset pivotal axis in such a manner that the cutters traverse the whole area of a roof or iloor surface, thereby eliminating the necessity for auxiliary reciprocating or core breaking devices to sweep the roof or oor surfaces level.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a cutting head for a mining machine in' which the cutter bits travel in a path oblique to the path of the head in order to cut and dislodge material from a surface extending between a pair of adjacent bits.

A further object is to provide a mining machine havi I ing a rotary cutter head movable' in an arcuate'p'ath and having cutter bits movable in orbits which are oblique to the path of the head, the combined orbital and arcuate movement advancing the bits across an areaito cut a shall arcuateY path taken bylnon-rotating cutter elements in `m'oving across awsurface;

Figure'Z'is a'schernatic representation, similar to vFigure l, showing the path of'contact between a rotaryV cutter element and a surface;

Figure 2a is a'schem'atic representation,` in elevation view, of a rotating cutterin contact with a surface, taken along the' line 20L-,2a of Figure 2;v

Figure 3 isa schematic representation,- in` plan view, o-f the combined-paths of contact of thel swinginghead -of Figure land the rotary cutter of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic representatior'r,` inl section; of a surfaceV cut by a swinging head havingcutters rotating on `anoffset axis; takeu"along the line v4---4'of FigurefS;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a mining and loadingtm'achine having` -a pair -of swing'ab'le'rninin'g heads withi rotayfcut ting anddislodging drums rotatable'about'an offset` axisj Figure 6' is a section viewftaken'along the linev 6*-16 of Figure 5 showing details ofthe gathering and conveyingy meansA of the machine shown' in Figure 5;

Figure`7 is` a side elevationview ofthe machine shown in Figure 5; v

Figure 8 is a schematic repres'exitationA of anl alternate bit and helix arrangement for a'cutte'r drum; andN 5 Figure 9 is a schematicrepresentation comparable to Figure 4`showing a surface cut by the bit arrangement of Figure 8.

Referringnow more particularly to the drawings, the numerals 10 and 11 refer to cutting and dislodging drums having aiseries of cutter bit positions 12 located thereon. Cutter drums 10 and 11 are swingable about pivotal axes 13 and 14 to traverse an area of a working place in a mine seam. As shown in vFigure l, the bit positions 12 move through arcs 16 and 17 circumscribed respectively about axes 13 and 14. As shown in Figures 2 and 2a, thev cutter drums 10 and 11 are rotatable about axes 18 and 19 so that each bit position 12 rotates in a circular orbit 21. Where a bit has cut into a surface as shown in Figure 2a, segment 22 is defined in the bit circle 21'. This segment 22 appears as a straight line when viewed from above asin Figure 2.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shownl a schematic representation o-f av partial' surface pattern produced byr the combined rotating and pivoting motion of cutter drum 11, where the bit positions 12 re'volvevab'out axis 19 which is offset fro-m the pivotal axis 14. For convenience, the segment 22 has been shown in 6 successive positions on the surface which correspond to successive rotations of the cutter drum 11. As the bits moving in bit circles 21 cut successive paths in the surface,.a trough is produced having its lowest point along the line 17 which is the locus of the lowest points reached by the bits. The troughs'cut by bits in a pair of` adjacent positions will intersectfe'ach other in a ridge which followsV an arcuate path circumscribed about the pivotal axis 14. In practice, the arcuate ridge isv an irregular line, having been produced by the cutting anddislodging actio-n of the'bits, however, for purposes of clarity, a median ridge line 23 is -shown asa smooth curve in Figure 3. i

The cumulative effect of a series of cutter bits rotating about an axis of rotation while the whole series is'be'ing swung about a' pivotal axis'offset from the axis of rotation is to produce a scalloped surface pattern oriented in arcs of circles drawn about ther pivotal axis. Figure 4 shows a prole of such a surface. Where thel bit positions 12 are spaced axially along the cutter drum 11 in even increments such as b in Figure 3, the' height of the ridges between successive troughs decreases in a direction' toward the pivotal axis 14. Further, as shown inFiguresfSfand 9, where the pitch of the bit spacing increases in adirection toward the pivotal axis, the ridges increase inl height "and the troughs become wider. A bit spacingcan be selected which will provide equal heightridges as shown in Figure 9. Such a bit spacing is illustrated in Figure 8 where,` for example, the dimension b may be equal to 213/16 inches and b-l-c equal to 2195.6 and b-l-Zc equal to 31A@ and so forth. In such an arrangement, it is also convenient to provide a helical web o-f increasing pitch which willV move a greater volume of material as the material accumulates along its axis. Where the above illustratedr bit spacingV is employed, the helix pitch can be increased as for example 12, 14 and 16 inches to provide a mounting base for the bits while still lmaintaining the bits at even angular spacings. In other cases vit would be desirable to have u11- even angular bit spacings, in which voase it would not be necessary to correlate the pitch of the bits with the pitch of the helix. Obviously other bit spacings could be selected which would produce other modifications of the scalloped surface pattern.vv

Referring now to Figures 5, 6 and 7, the numeral 30 designates a mining and loading machine constructed in accordance with the foregoing principles. The machine is built on a mobile frame 31 which is movable about a mine seam by means of tractor treads 32. Tractor treads 32 may be driven in various well known' ways such as a hydraulic motor 33 and gear reducer 34. A conveyor 36 is mounted midwayk of the frame terminating in an overhanging rear end portion for discharge into a shuttle car, conveyor or other haulage device. The front end of conveyor 36 terminates in throat 38 which directs broken and dislodged material onto the conveyor. A pair of feeder scrolls 39 and 41 are arranged on either side of throat 38 to urge dislodged material into the throat in a steady stream.

Power for driving the tractor treads, conveyors, scrolls and auxiliary devices can be provided by an electric motor driving one or more hydraulic pumps located, for example, under the conveyor 36. A housing 42 is provided to enclose resistors, circuit breakers, contactors, etc., necessary for the operation of electric motors.

A pair of mining heads 43 and 44 are pivotally mounted on booms about upright axes 13 and 14 on frame 31. The pivotal mountings for the booms and mining heads comprise posts 46 and 47 which project upwardly from the frame `31, and outer telescoping sleeves 48 and 49 on the respective heads 43 and 44 and concentric with the respective posts 46 and 47. Sleeves 48 and 49 may be in the form of closed end hollow cylinders which cooperate with the respective posts to form piston and cylinder devices for elevating heads 43 and 44. A pair of jacks 51 and 52 are connected between frame 31 and the respective heads 43 and 44 for the application of power to swing the heads about their respective upright axes 13 and 14. One

end of jack 51 is pivotally connected to frame 31 by means of a horizontal pin 53 to allow for vertical adjustment of the other end of jack 51 which is connected to head 43. The connection between jack 51 and head 43 is made by means of a universal coupling member 54 which has a horizontal pin 56 connected to jack 51 and a vertical pin 57 connected to heads 43 and 44.

Heads 43 and 44 are similar to each other, having similar parts arranged in right and left hand assemblies. The description of head 43 will apply also to head 44. Head 43 comprises a base member 58 which is structurally united with a stiflening web 59 and sleeve 48 to form a rigid boom structure on which a head motor 61 is mounted. A flange mounted speed reducer 62 is drivingly connected to and supported by motor 61 and in turn is drivingly connected to and supports cutter drum 10, the motor 61 and reducer 62 providing power means for rotating cutter drum 10. Cutter drum 10 is arranged to revolve about a substantially horizontal rotational axis 18 which is offset from upright pivotal axis 13. The cutter drum 10 includes a helical or spiral web or spiral blade 64 wrapped about the axis of rotation 18, and providing a spiral conveyor for moving dislodged material toward the scroll 39 and conveyor throat 38. A plurality of bits 63 are mounted on the web or blade 64 in several axially spaced apart bit positions. As hereinbefore described, the axial spacing of bits 63 determine the shape of the pattern cut in a lateral surface such as the oor or Vroof of the seam. Where an uninterrupted helical web is used as a mounting surface for the bits 63, the pitch of the axial bit positions can be varied in any desired amount by arcuate displacement along the helicoid. As previously pointed out, the pitch of the bit spacing can be increased in a direction toward the throat to produce a more uniform surface pattern and the pitch of the helicoid can be increased in the same direction to provide a conveying means of increasing capacity as more material accumulates on the way to the conveyor throat. The bits may also be mounted on spokes or discontinuous helical sheets with good effect. The forward end of cutter drum 10 has a group of forwardly projecting bits 66 which are effective to cut clearance in the face of a mineral seam for insertion of the cutter drum 10. A shield 67 extends along the back side of cutter drum 10 to confine broken and dislodged material within the reach of helical web 64 for movement toward conveyor throat 38.

In operation, heads 43 and 44 are opened'up to a position where their outer extremities extend full width of the working place in the seam. Cutter drums 10 and 11 are drivingly rotated and the whole machine is urged forwardly to sump the cutter drums into the face of the seam. Cutter bits 66 cut initial clearance for the insertion of cutter drum 10 into the face of the seam. When cutter drum 10 has penetrated the seam a sufficient amount, heads 43 and 44 are urged toward each other in arcuate paths to cut and dislodge the material of the seam in a side cutting operation. The principle of this side cutting operation, by which the side cutting bits 63 traverse the whole area of the working place to cut a scalloped fioor and roof surface, has been set forth earlier in this application.

While the invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. For use in a mining and loading machine, a cutting and dislodging member comprising a body rotatable about an axis having a plurality of cutter bits mounted thereon with an axial spacing which progressively increases toward one end of the body.

2. For use in a mining and loading machine, a cutting and dislodging member comprising a body rotatable about an axis having spiral blade means wrapped about said axis, and a plurality of cutter bits mounted on said blade means with an axial spacing which progressively increases toward one end of the body.

3. The structure according to claim 2 in which the spiral blade means comprises a multithread spiral conveyor, each thread having a plurality of cutter bits mounted thereon with an axial spacing which progressively increases toward one end, the cutter bits on one thread being in axial alignment with corresponding cutter bits on an adjacent thread.

4. For use in a mining and loading machine, a cutting and dislodging member comprising a body rotatable about an axis having a spiral blade wound about said axis in a plurality of axially spaced wraps, the spacing between succeeding wraps progressively increasing in an axial direction toward one end of said body; and a plurality of cutter bits mounted on said blade with an axial spacing which progressively increases toward one end of the body.

5. In a mining and loading machine, a mining apparatus comprising a boom swingable about a pivotal axis at one end thereof; a cutting and dislodging member mounted at the other end of said boom for rotation about an axis of rotation, said member having one end portion closer to said pivotal axis than its other end portion; and a plurality of cutter bits mounted on said cutting and dislodging member with an axial spacing which progressively increases toward said one end portion, said axis of rotation and said pivotal axis being disposed at right angles to each other in spaced parallel planes.

6. In a mining and loading machine, a mining apparatus comprising a boom swingable about a pivotal axis at one end thereof; a cutting and dislodging member mounted on the other end of said boom for rotation about an axis of rotation, said member having one end portion closer to said pivotal axis than its other end portion; said member including blade means wrapped about said axis of rotation extending toward said one end; and a plurality of cutter bits mounted on said blade means with an axial spacing which progressively increases toward said one end portion, said axis of rotation and said pivotal axis being disposed at right angles to each other in spaced parallel planes.

7. In a mining and loading machine; a portable frame; a boom mounted on said frame for horizontal swinging movement about an upright pivotal axis; a rotary cutting and dislodging member, having front and rear portions, mounted on said boom and being rotatableA about a generally horizontal rotational axisintersecting said frontand rear portions; saidupright pivotal axis disposed behind said cutting and dislodging member and being offset from said rotational axis; and a plurality of cutter bits mounted on said cutting and dislodging member and disposed along said rotational axis with any axial spacing which progressively increases toward said pivotal axis.

' 8. In a mining and loading machine; a portable frame;

ya forwardly extending booml mounted at its rear end on sa1d frame for horizontal swinging movement about` an upright pivotal axis;` a rotary vcutting and dislodging member mounted; on ,said, boomtiwith aft-rear portion thereof ,closer to. said uprightpivotal',` axis .thanva front portion.V thereof, said cutting: andtvdislodging member being rotatable about a generallyhorizontaltrotational axisintersecting saidjfront and rear portions; `said up,-` right pivotal axis beinggoifset from said rotational axis behind said cutting and dislodging member; a plurality of cutter bits mounted .on `said cutting-and dislodging member and disposed along said rotational axis with an axial spacing which progressively increasesfin a rearward direction; power means for swinging said boom sidewise about said.` upright pivotal. axis; tandpower means for rotating said .cuttingand dislodging member about its rotational axis to drive all of said bits in circular paths for cutting and deiiningV agenerally horizontal surface in a minerseam as the boom is swung from side to side.

9; In a mining and loadingmachine; a portable frame; a forwardly extending boommounted at its rear end on said frame for horizontal swinging. movement about an upright pivotal axis; a cutter drum mounted on said boom with a rear portion thereof closer t'o saidupright pivotal axis than a front portion thereof, said cutter drum being rotatable about a generally horizontal rotational axis and having a spiral blade extending from a front to a rear portion thereof wound about said rotational axis; said upright pivotal axis being offset from said rotational axis behind said cutter drum; a plurality of cutter bits mounted on said spiral blade and spaced along said rotational axis with an axial spacing which progressively increases in a rearward direction; power means for swinging said boom sidewise about said upright pivotal axis; and power means for rotating said cutter drum about its rotational axis to drive said bits in circular paths for cutting and defining a generally horizontal surface in a mine seam as the boo-m is swung from side to side.

l0. In a mining and loading machine; a portable frame; a pair of forwardly extending booms mounted for horizontal swinging movement about spaced upright pivotal axes disposed on said frame; a conveyor on said frame between said pivotal axes having a throat near the front end of said frame; a cutter drum mounted on each boom for rotation about a generally horizontal rotational axis; each drum having front and rear portions spaced along and intersected by its respective rotational axis and having a spiral blade wound about said rotational axis extending between said front and rear portions; each cutter drum being disposed with its rotational axis laterally offset from its respective pivotal axis toward said conveyor and each rear portion of each cutter drum being in proximity to said conveyor throat for receiving material dislodged by said cutter drum in all positions of swinging movement of its respective boom; a plurality of cutter bits mounted on each of said cutter drums and disposed along said drum with an axial spacing which increases in a rearward direction; power means for swinging each boom sidewise about its upright pivotal axis; and power means for rotating each of said cutter drums about its rotational axis to drive all of Said bits in circular paths to cut and define a generally horizontal surface in a mine seam as the booms are swung relative to each other.

11. In a mining and loading machine, a mobile frame,

ay conveyor extending along said frame and havinggare'e sidesof said conveyorin advance thereof, meansforY mounting vsaid mining heads on said frame for pivotal movement Iabout upright axes including a separate boom for each mining head pivotally mountedon said frame outside of said conveyor and rearwardly of said receiving throat, each mining head includingva cutter drum ro' tatable` about a generally horizontal axis-and having a plurality'of projecting cutter bits axially spaced along its periphery and supported wholly in advance of said throat, `individual power means connected with each forswingingigsaid booms from laterally extended positionsv with respect tof said conveyorfinwardly toward each other during rotation offsaid'cutter drums,v the axis ofrotation. of; ,each-cutter dr-urn` being, latera'lly,.loifset from the upright axissof lateral swinging movement of said ,boom and mining'head,v andrbeing angularly offset withrespect: to a center line intersecting the upright axis ,of-lateral `swinging movement ofsaid boom and the transverse center ofsaid cutter drum along theaxis of-rrotation4 thereof-at an Vangle o f substantially lessthan and mai-ntainingthgelcutting patterns of the individual cutter bits to cut clearance `for eachl other during angular feeding movement 'of said cutter drums 'across the. front of Asaid-frame toward each other. y

l2. In a mining machine 'of the class described, al mo-` bile frame, a side cutting mining head extending in advanceof said frame and mounted on said-frame for rotation about a laterally swingablel generally horizontal axis, said 'mininghead including a rotatable drum having axial-ly and circumferentially spaced bits projecting from the-surface thereof, powermeans for rotatably; driving said drum, a rigid boom pivotally mounted on said frame for movement about an upright axis and forming a laterally swingable support for said mining head and extending rearwardly of said drum, power means for swinging said boom and mining head laterally, to feed said drum across a working face, said drum being retained from reciprocating movement along its axis during rotation thereof and said upright axis of said boom and drum being spaced a substantial distance rearwardly of said drum, the axis of rotation of said drum being offset angularly with respect to a line intersecting said upright axis at an angle of 90 and intersecting the axis of rotation of said drum between the ends of said drum at an angle of less than 90 to position said drum at an oblique angle with respect to said line.

13. In a mining machine of the class described, a mobile frame, a side cutting mining head extending in advance of said frame and mounted on said frame for rotation about a laterally swingable generally horizontal axis, said mining head including a rotatable drum having axially and circumferentially spaced bits projecting from the surface thereof, power means for rotatably driving said drum, a rigid boom pivotally mounted on said frame for movement about an upright axis and forminga laterally swingable support for said mining head and extending rearwardly of said drum, power means for swinging said boom and mining head laterally, to feed said drum across a working face, said drum being retained from reciprocating movement along its axis during rotation thereof and said upright axis of said boom and drum being spaced a substantial distance rearwardly of said drum, said drum being oriented with its axis of rotation angularly offset at an angle of substantially more than 0 and substantially less than 90 relative to any plane which includes said upright` axis and which intersects the axis of rotation of said drum within the limits of said drum, to position said drum at an oblique angle with respect to said plane, so that the kerfs made by adjacent cutter bits are'of sutiicient width to lap one another without overlapping substantially more than adjacent kerfs. j 1 V 1 14; In a mining and loading machine, a mobile frame, a conveyor having a receiving throat on the forward end portion of said frame, a pair of mining heads disposed in side-by-side relationship forwardly of the conveyor throat and including forwardly projecting cutter drums mounted for rotation about generally horizontal axes, an individual boom for each mining head and cutter-drum mounted on said frame for movement about an upright pivotal axis and mounting said mining heads and cutter drums on said frame for movement toward and from each other, each cutter drum being retained from reciprocatf ing movement along its axis of rotation during operation thereof and having a plurality of cutter bits axially spaced along its periphery, each cutter drum having front and rear portions spaced along and intersected by its respective rotational axis, power means for swinging said booms inwardly during rotation of said cutter drums to effect the cutting of a series of kerfs in the floor by said cutter bits and to sweep the cuttings in front of the conveyor throat, each cutter drum being oriented with its axis of rotation angularly offset at an angle of less than 90 relative to any plane which includes said upright axis and which intersects the axis of rotation of said drum within the limits of said drum to `position the cutting paths of the individual cutter bits in a diagonal direction across the kerfs produced by the cutter bits in the oor.

15. In a mining and loading machine, a mobile frame, a conveyor having a receiving throat on the forward end portion of said frame, a pair of mining heads disposed in side-by-side relationship forwardly of the conveyor throat and including forwardly projecting cutter drums mounted for rotation about horizontal axes, an individual boom for each mining head and cutter drum, said booms being mounted on said frame onopposite sides of said conveyor`for pivotal movement about upright pivotal axes spaced a substantial distance rearwardly of the associated cutter drum and mounting said mining heads and cutter drums on said 4frame for movementtoward and from each other, each cutter drum having a plurality of cutter bits'axially spaced along its periphery, and having front and rear portions spaced along and intersected by its respective rotational' axis, power means for swinging said booms inwardly during rotation of said cutter drums to effect the cutting of a series of kerfs in the oor by said cutter bits to sweep the cuttings in front of the conveyor throat, the axis of rotation of each cutter drum being olset angularly from the upright axis of lateral swinging movement of said boom and mining head with respect to a line intersecting said upright axis at an angle of 90 and intersecting the axis of rotation of said drum between the ends of said drum at an angle of substantially more than 0 and substantially less than 90, to position adjacent cutter bits to cut kerfs of sucient width to lap one anotherwithout overlapping substantially more than adjacent kerfs.

.References Cited in the file of this patent France Apr. l, 1930

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