The present disclosure relates to roof supports, and particularly to a connector between mine roof supports.
Longwall mining systems typically include a plough or shearer for excavating or cutting material from a mine face. The cut material is deposited on a face conveyor, which carriers the material away from the mine face for further processing. Multiple powered roof supports may be positioned adjacent the mine face to protect mine operators and equipment against falling material. As the mining operation progresses, each roof support is advanced to support a portion of the mine roof over the mining machine and conveyor.
In one independent aspect, a connector is provided for coupling a plurality of underground roof supports, each roof support including a canopy. The connector includes a guide configured to be coupled to one of the roof supports, and an actuator having a bore and a rod at least partially positioned in the bore. An end of the rod is slidably coupled to the guide. A cable has a first end coupled to the end of the rod and a second end adapted for connection to another of the roof supports.
In another independent aspect, a connector is provided for coupling a plurality of underground roof supports, each roof support including a canopy. The connector includes an actuator having a cylinder including a bore and a rod at least partially positioned in the bore. The actuator is adapted for coupling to the canopy of one of the roof supports. A cable has a first end coupled to an end of the rod, and a second end adapted for connection to another of the other roof supports. Extension of the rod relative to the cylinder increases a tensile force exerted by the cable on the other roof support.
In yet another independent aspect, a canopy for an underground mine roof support includes a canopy body having a surface, and an actuator coupled to the surface. The actuator has a cylinder including a bore and a rod at least partially positioned in the bore. A cable has a first end coupled to an end of the rod and a second end adapted for connection to another roof support. Extension of the rod relative to the cylinder increases a tensile force exerted by the cable on the other roof support.
In still another independent aspect, a roof support system for an underground mine includes a plurality of roof supports. Each roof support includes a base configured to be coupled to a face conveyor, a jack coupled to the base, the jack being extendable and retractable relative to the base, and a canopy. An actuator is coupled to the canopy of one of the roof supports. The actuator has a cylinder including a bore and a rod partially positioned in the bore. A cable has a first end coupled to an end of the rod and a second end adapted for connection to another of the roof supports. Extension of the rod relative to the cylinder increases a tensile force exerted by the cable on the other roof support.
Other aspects will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Use of “consisting of” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof. Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted,” “connected,” “supported,” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings.
The mining operation further includes a face conveyor 22 for moving material excavated by the shearer 10 toward an edge of the mine face 14, wherein the cut material may be transferred to a main gate conveyor (e.g., via a beam stage loader 24-
Powered roof supports 26 are aligned in a row along the length of the mine face 14 to provide protection to operators as well as the components of the mining operation (e.g., the mining machine 10, face conveyor 22). For illustration purposes, some of the roof supports 26 are removed in
Referring now to
With reference to
As shown in
With reference to
As best shown in
Referring now to
In the illustrated embodiment, the frame 130 includes a plate 142, and first and second legs 146A, 146B protruding from a surface of the plate 142. The plate 142 is rigidly coupled to the surface 94 of the canopy 34A. The legs 146A, 146B are spaced apart from one another and oriented parallel. Each of the first leg 146A and the second leg 146B includes an elongated slot 134A, 134B, respectively. The elongated slots 134A, 134B are oriented parallel to the center axis 90 of the bore 84.
The illustrated sliding block 138 includes a body 150 and a plurality of projections 154 (
Referring again to
As shown in
Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment, the connector 60 includes a cord 180 having a first end 184 and an opposite second end 188. The first end 184 is coupled to the first end 104 of the rod 76 (i.e., via the sliding block 138), and the second end 188 is connected adjacent the coupling between the cable 72 and the other roof support 26B. The second end 188 is connected to the other roof support 26B independent of the cable 72. The cord 180 can be helically wound around the cable 72 from the first end 184 to the second end 188. In some embodiments, the cord 180 provides a safety catch of the connector 60.
In some embodiments, a controller (not shown) can be coupled to the actuator 64 to control the movement of the rod 76 relative to the barrel 80. More specifically, the controller selectively controls supply of the pressurized fluid to the bore 84 for exerting pressure on the piston 112 coupled to the rod 76.
In some embodiments, the actuator 64 is configured such that the extension of the rod 76 moves the sliding block 138, and therefore the first end 160 of the cable 72 away from the adjacent roof support 26B. The extension of the rod 76 relative to the barrel 80 increases a tensile force exerted by the cable 72 on the second roof support 26B. As such, the extension of the rod 76 exerts a force to pull or bias the canopy 34B of the second roof support 26B toward the first roof support 26A. The force or bias of the second roof support 26B toward the first roof support 26A is configured to inhibit separation of the first and second roof supports 26A, 26B and prevent the roof supports from leaning too far (e.g., when the roof supports are on an inclined surface), thereby preventing toppling.
Pressurized fluid within the bore 84 acts on the cap side 116 to extend the rod 76 relative to the barrel and increase the tension on the cable 72. Among other things, the surface area of the cap side 116 of the piston 112 is larger than the surface area of the rod side 120, permitting the connector 60 to produce a greater force to prevent toppling than a conventional connector. Alternatively, the connector 60 may utilize a smaller diameter piston and barrel 80 and/or lower fluid pressures than a conventional connector while still providing the same force/tension in the cable 72 to prevent toppling.
In operation, as shown in
The extension of the rod 76 may increase tension in the cable 72 to bias the canopies 34A, 34B toward one another even if the floor 42 is inclined (e.g., upward slope, downward slope). For example, when the mine floor is inclined on a downward slope (
If the cable 72 were to break under load, the actuator 64 is restrained against recoil (e.g., by the guide 68), thereby increasing safety during operation.
The embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles presented herein. As such, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of one or more independent aspects as described and claimed.
This application claims the benefit of prior-filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/752,065, filed Oct. 29, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference.
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