Mining or in situ disintegration of hard material – Hard material disintegrating machines – Sidewall-working
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-04
2001-06-19
Bagnell, David (Department: 3673)
Mining or in situ disintegration of hard material
Hard material disintegrating machines
Sidewall-working
C299S085100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06247758
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a longwall coal cutting and loading machine for mining coal in longwalling operations, with a machine body which is drivable along a longwall coal conveyor in the longitudinal direction of the longwall working operation, and with at least two cutting rollers complementing or overlapping each other with their cutting sections.
2. The Prior Art
Longwall coal cutters and loaders are, in most cases, equipped with two horizontal rollers. The axes of rotation of the rollers extend parallel with the roof and perpendicular to the surface being worked, whereby the cutting sections of the cutting rollers, which are arranged one after the other in the working direction of the machine, complement or overlap one another in a way such that the material being mined is collected as the longwall cutter and loader is passing through.
The material cut loose is transferred onto a longwall conveyor for transverse conveyance. The longwall conveyor extends parallel with the traveling direction. The transverse conveyance of the material cut loose often has a hampering effect on the efficiency of such roller-equipped longwall coal cutting and loading machines because for such cross conveyance or transfer, a component of movement extending transversely to the driving direction of the mining machine has to be forced upon the material cut loose. For this purpose, the cutting tools are usually arranged on the circumference of the cutting rollers on helically extending, thread-like elements, which are intended to impart onto the material cut loose the required component of movement in the direction of the conveyor. In addition, it is customary in many cases to arrange a broaching plate or a loading chute behind the cutting roller (viewed in the direction of travel); however, such supplemental equipment is often overloaded.
With cutting rollers designed with cutting tools arranged on helical thread-like elements it is not possible to select an optimal arrangement of the cutting tools in view of the cutting process, because it is always necessary to find a compromise that ensures, on the one hand, that the material being mined is cut loose, and adequate transverse conveyance, on the other.
If the cutting tools nonetheless are to be arranged in an optimal way in view of cutting loose the material being mined, it is known in the prior art to arrange behind the cutting roller (again viewed in the direction of travel) separate transverse conveyors, for example in the form of conveyor belts, chain conveyors or similar equipment, which actively take over the required crosswise transport of the material being mined. However, such additional conveying equipment is very complicated and costly, and makes the roller-equipped cutting and loading machine susceptible to trouble accordingly.
According to the state of the art, longwall coal cutting and loading machines with vertically arranged cutting rollers are known as well, especially in Eastern Europe. The axes of rotation of the cutting rollers extend perpendicular to the roof or floor. With such vertical rollers, the bits can be arranged without taking into account in any special way the transverse conveyance because the cutting tools, when operating, generate a throwing motion in the direction of the longwall conveyor. These longwall cutters and loaders with vertical rollers, however, failed to gain wide acceptance in practical life because in spite of numerous technical tests, it has not been possible with satisfactory results to cut free, in a reliable and operationally safe way, the supporting arm carrying the vertical roller and housing the gearing required for driving the vertical roller. Within the range of the supporting arm, an uncollected strip of the material being mined is consequently left behind and obstructs the work of this longwall coal cutting and loading machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the problem addressed by the invention is to provide a longwall coal cutter and loader on which the arrangement of the cutting tools on the cutting rollers can be optimized in view of cutting the material loose without having to depend on a separate transverse conveyor, and without leaving behind any material that has to be cut loose on the surface.
The object of the invention is a roller-equipped longwall coal cutter and loader for longwalling mining operations, with a machine body drivable along a longwall conveyor in the longitudinal direction of the longwall, and with at least two cutting rollers complementing or overlapping one another with their cutting sections. The device has a horizontal roller for cutting the roof of the seam loose, with its axis of rotation extending parallel with the roof, which cooperates with a vertical roller for cutting free the sill or floor of the seam, with its axis of rotation extending perpendicular to the sill. The horizontal roller is arranged above the vertical roller and, viewed in the direction of the travel of the machine, ahead of the vertical roller.
With the longwall coal cutter and loader as defined by the invention, the horizontal roller, which is the leading roller in the direction of travel of the machine, first cuts and breaks into the surface in the known way exposing the roof of the seam. In this process, the material cut loose by the leading horizontal roller drops onto the trailing vertical roller below. The vertical roller, by its rotational motion, provides the material being mined with a component of motion in the direction of the longwall conveyor. At the same time, the vertical roller cuts the material loose down to the sill of the seam. During this entire process, the supporting arm carrying the vertical roller is present in the space cut free by the leading horizontal roller, so that unlike the prior art, the supporting arm cannot obstruct the mining work. Of course, the cutting tools can be arranged both on the horizontal and the vertical roller in such a way that the material being mined is cut loose in an optimal manner. In contrast to the prior art, it is basically not necessary any longer to take into account the transverse transport of the material. By virtue of the proposed combination of a horizontal roller and a vertical roller as defined by the invention, the two rollers complement each other with respect to their functions in such a way that the advantages of the different arrangements come fully to bear, and the drawbacks are eliminated.
According to an advantageous further development of the invention, the horizontal roller and the vertical roller as well as their drive motors and gearings are mounted on a common support construction. This arrangement results in a particularly compact type of construction for this novel cutting roller combination including the drive.
So that the longwall coal cutter and loader can be adapted to different sizes or thicknesses of a seam, the horizontal roller and/or the vertical roller can be mounted at different vertical levels with respect to the supporting construction. By fixing the rollers at different vertical levels it is possible to set the range of overlap of the two cutting sections in different ways, so that different overall thicknesses of a seam can be cut free. The greatest possible thickness is reached when the two cutting sections still barely touch each other.
So as to be able to adapt the machine in the course of the mining operation to a deviating course of the seam being mined, if necessary, the supporting construction in its totality may be vertically adjustable with respect to the body of the machine. In this way, the zone cut free by the longwall cutter and loader can be raised or lowered, following the course of the seam as required. The desired vertical adjustability is realized optimally by swivel-mounting the common support construction on the body of the machine in such a way that it is capable of pivoting about an axis of swivel extending perpendicular to the surface of the seam being mined. A hydraulic cylinder is usefully employed
Bagnell David
Collard & Roe P.C.
Eickhoff Maschinenfabrik GmbH
Singh Sunil
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