Claims
- 1. A conveyor system for transporting mined material in a mine comprising,
- a plurality of longitudinally extending conveyor assemblies each having an independent endless conveyor,
- said endless conveyor assemblies each having a receiving end portion and a discharging end portion,
- said receiving end portion of each of said endless conveyor assemblies having an enlarged surface area maintained in underlying relation with said discharging end of an adjacent endless conveyor assembly for receiving the mined material discharged therefrom,
- drive means positioned on each conveyor assembly for rotating said endless conveyor at a preselected speed to transport the mined material from said receiving end portion to said discharging end portion,
- said discharging end portion of each of said conveyor assemblies arranged in overlapping relation with said receiving end portion of an adjacent conveyor assembly,
- said receiving end portion pivotally connected to said discharging end portion to permit conveyance of mined material along a curved path formed by said endless conveyors,
- a roof engaging member for supporting each of said conveyor assemblies for longitudinal movement adjacent the mine roof,
- ground engaging means for securing said roof engaging member to the mine roof,
- each of said endless conveyor discharging end portions having a yoke member extending from said respective conveyor discharging end portion into overlying relation with said receiving end portion of an adjacent conveyor assembly,
- each of said endless conveyor receiving end portions having an upwardly extending bracket member with a pivot plate extending forwardly therefrom,
- said pivot plate being secured at one end to said upwardly extending bracket member and extending above said endless conveyor receiving end portion into underlying relation with said yoke member,
- a conveyor support member secured at one end to said roof engaging member and detachably secured at the other end to said upwardly extending bracket member,
- said conveyor support member arranged to connect said endless conveyor receiving end portion to said roof engaging member and support said endless conveyor receiving end portion in an elevated position for longitudinal movement on said roof engaging member,
- said conveyor support member having connecting members rotatably supported on said roof engaging member and extending vertically downward toward each of said conveyor assemblies,
- a pivot support extending upwardly from said receiving end portion of each of said conveyor assemblies adjacent to the lower end portion of said connecting members,
- means for connecting said pivot support to said connecting members and thereby suspend each of said conveyor assemblies from the mine roof for longitudinal movement relative thereto,
- a vertical pivot pin connecting said pivot plate to said yoke member, and
- said yoke member being pivotally connected to said pivot plate by said pivot pin to permit horizontal pivotal movement of the adjacent end portion of said endless conveyor assembly about a vertical axis and support said adjacent endless conveyor discharging end portion from a common conveyor support member.
- 2. A conveyor system for transporting mined material in a mine as set forth in claim 1 which includes,
- a C-frame member having a telescoping body portion with a lower end portion engaged to the mine floor and an upper end portion engaged to the mine roof,
- said C-frame upper end portion extending transversely across the roof of the mine,
- a series of roof engaging beam members rigidly secured to said upper end portion and extending longitudinally in end to end relation adjacent the mine roof, and
- each of said conveyor assemblies being movably connected to said series of roof engaging beam members by said conveyor support member.
- 3. A conveyor system for transporting mined material in a mine as set forth in claim 1 which includes,
- said receiving end portion of each of said endless conveyors being positioned relative to the mine roof at a lower elevation than said discharging end portion of each of said endless conveyors to provide an upward conveying path for each conveyor assembly to control the flow rate of the mined material from said receiving end portion to said discharging end portion.
- 4. A conveyor system for transporting mined material in a mine as set forth in claim 1 which includes,
- an endless belt conveyor positioned on the mine floor in underlying relation with at least one of said conveyor assemblies, and
- said drive means operable to rotate a selected one of said conveyor assemblies endless conveyor in a preselected direction to discharge the mined material from said selected conveyor assembly onto said endless belt conveyor for removal from the mine.
- 5. A conveyor system for transporting mined material in a mine as set forth in claim 1 which includes,
- said series of conveyor assemblies having a material receiving section and a material discharge section,
- a plurality of connected intermediate sections connecting said material receiving section with said material discharge section,
- a continuous mining machine operable to dislodge material from the mine face and convey the mined material rearwardly therefrom,
- said material receiving section being connected in material receiving relation with said continuous mining machine so that the mined material is continuously conveyed from said material receiving section to said intermediate and material discharge sections at the rate said continuous mining machine dislodges material from the mine face, and
- said conveyor assembly sections being movable with said continuous mining machine.
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 809,858, now abandoned, filed on June 24, 1977 entitled "Cascading Conveyor System" by Will B. Jamison and David R. Hazen, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 679,007 filed on Apr. 21, 1976 entitled "Cascading Conveyor System" by Will B. Jamison and David R. Hazen, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
2722409 |
Bergmann |
Nov 1955 |
|
2805760 |
Von Stroh et al. |
Sep 1957 |
|
3920115 |
Craggs |
Nov 1975 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1210515 |
Mar 1960 |
FRX |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
809858 |
Jun 1977 |
|
Parent |
679007 |
Apr 1976 |
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