Hydraulic and earth engineering – Earth treatment or control – Rock or earth bolt or anchor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-26
2002-09-10
Shackelford, H. (Department: 3673)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Earth treatment or control
Rock or earth bolt or anchor
C405S303000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06447210
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to devices for installing resin set bolts into the ceiling and walls of a mine, and more particularly for a device for positioning a resin nozzle for injecting a resin sausage into a pre-drilled bolt hole.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Rock bolts and associated bolt plates are used in underground structures such as mines to reinforce the rock. These rock bolts are installed by a rock bolter having a drill, which bores a bolt hole along a work axis, and a bolt driver, which places a bolt into the hole after the bolt has been brought to the work axis. When the bolt is to be held in place by resin, the rock bolter drills the bolt hole and thereafter a resin sausage is placed into the bolt hole. The casing of the resin sausage is broken by inserting a bolt into the bolt hole, and the resin from the sausage forms a bond between the bolt and the rock. To avoid premature breakage of the resin sausage, it is necessary to align the resin sausage with the hole prior to inserting it. While such alignment can be performed manually, such requires providing an operator access to the site of the hole, which can present safety risks and/or can delay the bolt setting operation. Thus, it is preferred to provide a resin nozzle having a nozzle axis in combination with a mechanism which can move the resin nozzle to align the nozzle axis with the work axis, thus aligning a nozzle passage of the resin nozzle, through which the resin sausage passes, with the bolt hole to guide the resin sausage thereinto. In some cases, a centralizer is provided on the rock bolter to guide the drill and thus define the location of the bolt hole. When a centralizer is provided, the nozzle passage need only be aligned with a centralizer passage of the centralizer, and the centralizer can serve to direct the resin sausage into the bolt hole. To insert the resin sausage, the resin nozzle must be moved into alignment with the bolt hole after the hole has been bored by the drill. After insertion, the resin nozzle must then be moved away from the hole to allow the bolt driver to advance the bolt into the hole. Thus, the resin nozzle must be moved reliably to and from a position where it is aligned with the bolt hole to guide the resin sausage therein.
One approach to the problem of positioning the resin nozzle for single feed track rock bolters is a device by J. H. Fletcher & Co., Inc. which uses a carousel for storage of a number of resin sausages. The resin nozzle is provided at one end of the carousel, and the resin sausages are sequentially rotated into alignment with the resin nozzle. When a resin sausage is so aligned, it is also aligned with a flexible extendable pusher which serves to push the resin sausage through the resin nozzle. The carousel is mounted to a frame of the rock bolter by a link, which is pivotably connected to both a top region of the carousel and to the frame so as to be disposed substantially parallel to a longitudinal nozzle axis of the resin nozzle, and by an arm, which is pivotably connected to a base region of the carousel and to the frame at a substantial inclination to the nozzle axis. The pivotable connection provided by the link and the arm allows the carousel to be moved by an actuator into a position in close proximity to the frame, or a position somewhat spaced apart from the frame to provide clearance for the advancement of the drill and the bolt driver. Thereafter, when the carousel is positioned in close proximity to the frame, it is pivoted about an axis parallel to the nozzle axis to bring the nozzle axis into substantial alignment with the work axis. The multiple actions make accurate alignment between the nozzle axis and the work axis difficult and may inhibit use of the device with some types of centralizers. In addition to requiring complex motion, the Fletcher device is both bulky and heavy, difficult to fabricate, and provides only very limited displacement of the resin nozzle. Additional problems are associated with the pusher for moving the resin sausages through the resin nozzle into the bolt hole.
An alternative approach to inserting resin sausages simplifies the introduction of the resin sausages into the resin nozzle and avoids some of the deficiencies of the Fletcher device by placing each resin sausage into a resin sausage insertion chamber that communicates with a flexible resin hose, which in turn communicates with the nozzle passage of the resin nozzle. The resin nozzle is aligned with the bolt hole and the resin sausage is passed into and through the resin hose and is directed into the bolt hole by the resin nozzle. Further discussion of the injection of resin sausages is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,380, assigned to the assignee of the present application. While this system simplifies the introduction and advancement of the resin sausage through the resin nozzle, the system does not in and of itself offer a solution to the problem of positioning the resin nozzle.
The positioning of the resin nozzle for rock bolters which employ a single feed track has been addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,449, assigned to the assignee of the present application, which provides a solution when the feed track can be employed to guide a carriage on which the resin nozzle is advanced. Because the resin nozzle is advanced along the work axis, the device can be readily employed with a centralizer to guide the resin nozzle into alignment with the bolt hole. However, this approach places undesirable limits on the sizes of tool bases employed to mount the drill, the resin nozzle, and the bolt driver to the carriage for advancement along the feed track.
Thus, there is a need for a resin nozzle positioning device which does not require the use of a feed track, has a simple structure, and provides a large displacement of the resin nozzle to assure that the resin nozzle and related components do not interfere with the drilling or bolt setting apparatus. Furthermore, there is a need for a resin nozzle positioner which moves the resin nozzle onto the work axis with a substantial component of the motion being parallel to the work axis to facilitate the use of a centralizer to guide the resin nozzle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a resin nozzle positioner for use with a rock bolter having a frame which supports one or more feed tracks for the advancement of a drill and a bolt driver along a work axis on which holes are bored and bolts are set into the holes. Preferably, the rock bolter has a centralizer which is also supported by the frame. When a centralizer is employed, it provides guidance and support for a drill rod of the rock bolter when the drill is advanced along the work axis to bore a hole in a rock surface, and thus the centralizer defines the location of the bolt hole. The centralizer can also provide support and guidance of a bolt during the bolt setting operation as the bolt is advanced along the work axis by the bolt driver. When the bolts are to be secured by use of a resin, a resin nozzle guides the insertion of a resin sausage into the hole prior to the setting of the bolt with the bolt driver. To insert the resin sausage into the hole, the resin nozzle is positioned such that the resin sausage is directed along the work axis and is guided into the bolt hole. The use of a centralizer having a centralizer passage with a centralizer axis that is aligned with the work axis simplifies the insertion of the resin sausage, since the resin nozzle need only be brought into registry with the centralizer.
The resin nozzle positioner of the present invention has a positioner base which is mounted so as to be fixable with respect to the frame of the rock bolter. Preferably, to better facilitate the alignment of a nozzle axis of the resin nozzle with the work axis, the positioner base is affixed with respect to the frame or made an integral part thereof.
A pair of arms are pivotably connected to the positioner base. The arms may each be fabricated from single piece of stock or may be fabricated from multiple pieces
Lagman Frederick L.
Oldenburg Cannon, Inc.
Semprebon Jeffrey E.
Shackelford H.
Weins Michael J.
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