Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
;
APPARATUS FOR DRIF~IWG OP~NINGS IN HARD ROCK
The present i~vention relates to heading machiner~ with
a jib-type operatinK mechanism acting selectivel~ and, more
~peci~ically, to apparatus for dri~ting openings in hard rock.
It may be u~ed to ad~antage I~ mining as a means, for
eæampls~ o~ driv~ng openings in hard rock by the percusslve
method of attacking same.
~ nother possible field of applica~ion o~ the present
inv~ntion i8 construction, as well as mi~ing, where ~t can be
emplo~ed i~ machInes with 20 to 200-kJ percussive tools for
disintegrating outsize lump~ of rock, demolishing foundations
a~d walls of buildings, breaking up concrete road pavement,
preparaing bed rock foundation ~or dam~ and other h~dropro-
jects~ etc.
~ here is known an apparatus for drifti~g openings in
hard rock referred to as heading combine (c~. French Pate~t
2~193~138) incorpora~ing a baseplate, a first carriage moun-
ted on said baseplate, a trough-~haped carrier attached to
the first carriage so as to be capable of rotating about the
~ertical axis, a boom ex*ending parallel to the longitudi-
nal a~is of the baseplate and fitted ~ith due regard for ro-
tation on the trough-shaped carrier about the horizontal axis
as ~ell as with due regard for rotation about its own longi-
tudinal axis, a tur~table fitted to the frame with pro~ision
for rotation about the horizontal axis and located at - - or
contiguous with - - the outside end o~ the boom~ a ~econd
~P
,
LZbi~
carria~e servin~ to provide support for an operating mechanism
and fitted ~r~ith provision of sliding relative to the tuxntable.
Apart from that, the combine i~ pro~ided with means o~
mucking comprisi~g a winch and a scraper bucket, the ~i~ch be~
ing arranged in the wake o~ the machine - - pre~errably on tho
ba~epla~e or linked up with same by means of a rope and sheave
- - and the scxaper bucket working ahead of the combine and
being linked up with ~aid winch.
~ he first carriage is capable of travelling along the
baseplate with the aid of double-acting hydraulic jacks.
~ he trough-shaped carrier is capable of tu~ning on the
first carrier to which it is fitted and about the Yertical
axis through an ~le of 45 either side ~rom the longitudinal
axis of the machine also ~ith the aid of double-acti~g h~drau-
lic ~ack~.
~ he boom located on the tro~gh-shaped carrier can be
luf~ed by a paix of double-acting jac~s either through 35
upwards or 10 dow~wards from the horizo~tal axi~. In additio~,
the boom can be rotated through 360 about its own longitudi-
nal axis b~ a mechanism incorporat mg two hJdraulic jacks and
a raok and pinion, the pinion bei~g attached to the ~oom.
~ he tur~table ~itted to the front end of the boom i5
capable of turning wlth respect to said boom starting ~rom a
po~ition parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof and ending
in a position at right angles to same lon$itudinal axis o~ the
boom, being acted upon by respective double-acting jack~.
The second carriage v~hich is ~itted to said turntable
and serves to hold ~ast a means o~ breaking can be displaced
along the longitudinal axis o~ the turntable by a double-act-
ing hydraulic jack.
All the ~acks operate ~rom a hydraulic s~stem incorporat-
ing an oil tank, a pump with a motor, piping, and various cont-
rol and ~afety valves. ~he h~draulic system is manually cont-
rolled ~rvm an operator'~ sea~ a~ailable on the trough-shaped
carrier.
I~ opera~ion, the means o~ breaking i8 ~ed and its tool
is pressed to the rock at the point where this should be bro-
ken by the above component~ of the machine. ~fter that a ram
o~ the means o~ brea~ing ~trike8 against the tool transmits
the energy o~ the ~mpact to the rock which is ccnse~uentl~
disintegrated~ On bre~king of~ a lump o~ rockt the means o~
.breakILg is reset into the worki~g po~ition and the next stroke
is applied. The broken rock i~ remo~ed with the aid of the
scraper bucket a~d winch.
The apparatus ~or drifting openings in hard rock descri-
bed above is o~ a rather complicated construction, featuring
numerous h~draulic jacks and pi~oted members. ~he percussi~e
means o~ breaking used in this apparatus ~equires care~ul set-
ting so that its longitudinal axis and the co~nci~;ng axis o~
the tool are essentially at right angles to the solid rock at
the point o~ strikin~. When a lump o~ rock ~all~ d~wn a~ter
the stroke the tip of the tool interacting with the roc~ ~is
likel~ to slip alon$ the sur~ace thereo~ at an angle with the
axis o~ the means o~ bre~king ~hich is ~ar from being a right
one. Said slippage may impose dynamic loads o~ considerable
magnitude on all elements o~ the apparatus, and - - si~ce
these leads are limited only b~ the amount of yielding said
elements are capable of - ~ there is the danger o~ a break-
down.
Obviously, con~tructional i~tricacy and the phenomenon
of slippage of the breaking tool described above impair the
operational dependability of the k~o~n apparatus to a conside-
rable extent.
~ he necessity o~ setting the means of breaking at right
angles to the solid rock each time preparatory to the stroke
entails considerable losses of operati~g time and, consequent-
ly, reduces the efficiency of breaking.
hlso known is another apparatus for drifting openings
in hard rock referred to as hard-rock mining machine (c~. USA
Patent 3,86~,989). It has a m~lipulator frame extendable in
height so as to thrust against the roof and floor of the ope-
nIn~ through the intermediary o~ an upper and a lower means
of support, respectively. ~he manipulator frame carries a per-
cussiYe means of bxeaking with a reciprocating rock-cruæhing
tool, said means being ~itted to the frame so as to be capable
of turning in the horizontal and ~ertical planes ~or working
on the ~ace sy~tematically over its entire breast.
~ inked up with the mea~s of support of the manipulator
frame is a mea~s o~ thrust serv~ng as a carrier with respect
to which said frame is capable of moving along the opening
~ntegrally with the percussive means of bxeaking. Said means
of thrust is provided with a headpiece and skids exte~ding
nex* to and alo~g the side walls of the opening, said head-
piece o~ the means of thrust and the upper means of support
:
L
of the manipulator frame fo~min~ a canop~ which p~ovides sup-
por~ for the roof.
~ he manipulator frame~ in its turn, i~corporates a base
plate ~ith vertically-~itted thrust cylinders and a tran~verse
~irder with uprights which pass through guide sleeves and rest
on the movable parts of the thrust c~linders, including the
pistons and piston rods. ~he guide slee~es are attached to two
~idepieces fitted to said base plats.
~ he percussive means of brea~ing is fitted to a horizon~
tal ~haft supported by b~ari~gs ~n two said sidepieces and ca-
pable of rot~ting in the ~ertical plane b~ virtue of a h~drau-
lic c~linder. ~ spherical joggle provided in the middle of the
tra~s~erse girder of said manipulator rame engages a ~pheri-
cal recess in the upper means of support so that a pi~ot ~oint
is ~ormed which lin~s up the manipulator ~xame with s~id upper
means of support. ~ drum situated at the bottom of the manipu-
lator ~rame below the base plate is gird'ed b~ a chain the
ends w~ereof are connected to a hydraulic cylinder installed
on the lower means of support. Said drum, in conjunction with
the rest o~ above mentioned components interacting therewith,
serves the purpose of tu~ning the manipulator ~rame integrall~
with the percussive mea~s o~ breaki~g in the horizontal pla~e.
Available in the lower end face o~ the drum is a spheri-
cal recess ~hich is en$aged by a spherical joggle secured to
the lower means of support so that a pivot joi~t is provided
between the base plate of the ma~ipulator ~rame and the lower
means o~ support.
3~ 1
Said ~eans of thrust is provided with two hydraulic c~-
linders fitted to the skid~ so that the movable components of
said c~linders provide support for the uprights passing through
the guide sleeves which are attached to struts rigidly li~ked
up with the skids. Resting on the spherical heads of said up-
r~ght~ is the headpiece of the means of thrust. ~he skids are
interl~nked with each other b~ a stack o~ laminate plate
spri~gs capable of an elastic deformation thanks to which the
skids readil~ negotiate ~urface irregularities of the floox
when the machine is on the move~
~ he skids are linked up with the lower means of support
of the manipulator frame through the intermediar~ of two h~d-
raulic cylinders, and another pair of hydraulic cylinder~ in-
terli,nks the upper mean~ o~ suppor~ o~ ~he manipulator ~xame
with the headpiece of the means of thrust.
The rock-breaki~g procedure is as follow~. The rock-
crushing tool is set to reciprocate, striking at the same point
on the ~ace until the rock breaks off within the depth of the
layer exca~ated, After that the means o~ breaking is turned m
either the vertical or horizontal pla~e so as to be aimed at
an adjacent point and the breaking goes on in said sequence o~
e~ents over the entire face brea~t. ~he muck i5 removed ~rom
the working æone b~ any known means of loading and hauling.
When rock is being broken by the percussive means of
breaking~ the manipulator frame is held fast due to its means
of support ~hich are thrust by the relevent hydraulic c~lin-
ders against the roof and floor o~' the opening. ~o advance the
machine, the means of thrust takes over~ its hydraulic c~lin-
~' 7
ders exertiQg a thrusti~g action against the roof and floor,while the manipulator frame is relie~ed of the thrust applied
thereto~ ~ext the manipulator frame is advanced with the aid
of the hydraulic cylinders interl;nki~g the frame with the
means of thrus~. Once in a new position, the manipulator ~rame
is again held ~ast b~ its thrustable means of support whereas
the means o~ thrust is set free and is dragged into a ne~ po-
sition i~ the wake of the manipula~or frame by said h~draulic
cylinder~ interli~king said ~rame with ~aid means of thrust.
~hus~ the machine is advanced over the working in accordance
with the known principle of walking.
In the described apparatus for drifting openin~ ~n hard
rock~ the operation of the percussive means of breaking sets
up high dynamic loads o~ its components, said loads occurring
mainl~ either after oblique strokes, i.e., those ~Ihen the per-
cussion tool travels befare the stroke o~er a path deviating
~rom the normal to the surface of rock at the point of impact,
or after idle strokes when the tool ~ails to meet the rock at
the end of its travel towards the ~ace. ~his latter phenomenon
is a quite ~requent occurence partly observed e~ery third to
fi~th stroke depending on the conditions, ~or the rock breaXs
of~ in a manner which is a rather irregular one.
I~ addition to impairing the dependability of the appa-
ratus to a considerable extent, said loads have also an adver-
se effect on the hydraulic cylinders serving to turn the means
of breakin$ in the course of manipulation in that they trigger
safet~ valves, bring about leaks of fluid ~rom said cylinders
and~ as a result, cause the means of breaking to miss the point
~ 3~
it is neces~ary to strike at. Said devîat~on~ o~ the means of
breaking call for additional manipulation 80 as to aim at the
point and this, in it~ tu~n, reduces the e~iciency of break-
irlg.
It is an ob~ect o~ the present invention to enhance both
the dependability o~ the apparatus for dri~ting openings in
hard rock and the ef~iciency o~ breaking the r~ck when said
apparatus is used for drifting.
~ he essence of the i~ve~tion consists In that i~ an ap -
paratus for drifting openings in hard rock mcorporating a
carrier capable of travelling along the ~loor o~ the openi~g
mounted whereon by means o~ a turnable jib is a means o~ brea~-
ing of the percussi~e type turnable about said jib in .both
the horizontal and ~ertical planes and al~o incorporating a
me~ns of loading with a mucking conveyor it is in accordance
with the invention that the means of breaking is a mean~ o~
breaking with a percussion tool directl~ acting upo~ the rock
so as to break same when the means of breaking is set into a
gi~en position and that means o~ ~hock-absorbing are provided
for which serve to link up movably said means of breaking with
the jib in order to absorb the undesirable de~lections o~ the
means o~ breaking when the percussion tool recoils ~rom tha
rock at right angles to its longitudinal axis and to reseb
the means of breaking into the gi~en position;
The f~ct that m~ns o~ ~hock-absorbing are a~al-abl~ n
the mo~able link-up o~ the means o~ breaki~g with the jib
assures that the intensity of the impact loads the compo~ents
of the apparatus are subject to due to oblique and idle strokes
V~L
o~ the percussion tool is reduced to an allowable level and
that the means oP bre~ki~g is reset into the given position,
thereby RvoidIng the nece~sit~ of manipulating with the means
o~ breaking a~ter every stroke against the rock face.
It is expedient that in the apparatus for drifting ope-
ni~gs in hard rock the jib is given the shape of a ~ork and
the means o~ breaki~g is located bet~een the arms thereo~ with
provision for turnîng about an a~is running substantiall~
through the ce~tre of mass of said means of breaking and at
right angles to the longitudinal axis o~ the jib.
B~ suspending the means o~ breaking ~rom the axis run-
ning through the centre of mass thereo~ the moment o~ ~nertia
of said means is reduced to a minimum with the result that the
loads the compo~ents of the means of bre~king are subject to
are significantly lessened. At the same time, the forked ~ib
reduces the size of the apparatus and assures ~airly wide
limits for the manipulation with the means o~ breaking while
workIn~ on the ~ace of the opening dri~en.
It is also expedient that in the apparatus disclosed a
~r~me is ~itted between the arms o~ the jib with provision for
turning, said ~rame surrou~ding the means of breaking, and the
means of shock-absorbing are arranged along the contour of the
~rame in a uniform way with respect to the lo~gitudinal axis
of the means of breaking.
~ he introducti~n of an extra component, i.e. the frame,
attached whereby is the mea~s o~ shock-absorbi~g, into the
movable link-up securing the means of breaking between this
latter means and the ~orked jib make~ it possible to mi~imize
the number of comporlents taking pa:~t i~ the recoil after ~
obli~ue stroke a~d, consequently~ to reduce the moment of iner-
tia of the recoiling compone~ts, reducing thereby the dynamic
loads the components of the apparatus are subject to.
It is furt-her expedient that the frame is secured between
the arms of the jib so that the axis turnable about which is
said frame is o~fset ~rom the centre of mass of the percussi~e
mea~s of breaking, being displaced away from the face of the
openIng drifted.
Said offset of the axis of the frame has a favourable
effect on the shape of the breast of the face of the opening
driven in that it minimizes the need for manipulation, enhan-
cing thereby the efficiency of breaking.
Yet it is also expedient that in the apparatus disclosed
the means of loading with the mucking conveyor is arranged un-
der the jib carr~ing the means of breaking trith provisio~ for
displacement relative to the jib with the means of breaking in
~he direction to~ards and away from the face of the openi~g
drifted.
~ he movability of the means of loading enables one` of the
degrees of freedom to be taken av~ay from the means of breaking
so as to impart same to a component which is loaded to a lesser
extent that the means of breakin~, simplifying thereby the
structural layout of the apparatus and enhancing the dependa-
bilit~ thereo~.
On the other hand, the ability of the means of loading
to mo~e assures the cleari~g of the face from muck sImultaneo-
usly uith bre~{ing the rock at the top o~ the breast, for the
11 `
means of loading can advance into the face immediately after
the means of breaking has finished work at the bottom of the
breast. This cuts the time wasted in removing the muck from
the face and, consequently, enhances the efficiency of breaking.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is pro-
vided an apparatus for drifting openings in hard rock comprising
a carrier capable of travelling, along the floor of the opening,
a jib mounted on said carrier with provision for turning about
said carrier in the horizontal plane, a means for turning said
jib with respect to sai.d carrier in the horizontal plane, a
means of breaking of the percussive type with a percussion tool
directly acting upon the rock so as to break same when the means
of breaking is set into a given position, said means of breaking
being mounted on said jib with.a provision for turning about said
jib in a vertical plane for setting said means of breaking into
said given position, and with a provision for limited turning
about said jib in two mutually perpendicular planes running
through the longitudinal axis of said means of breaking, a
means for turning said means of breaking with respect to said
jib in vertical plane for setting said means of breaking into
said given position, means of shock absorbing mounted between
said jib and said means of breaking and serving said means
to absorb the undesirable deflections of said means of breaking
when said percussion tool recoils from the rock in any direction
perpendicular to the its longitudinal axis and to reset said
means of breaking into said given position after the loading
action of rock causing said undesirable deflection stops and a
~means of loading with including a mucking conveyor being
,~ -12-
arranged on said carrier under said jib.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will
now be described by way of an example with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a disclosed apparatus
for drifting openings in hard rock according to the invention
with a crawler-tracked carrier;
, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig.
1,
Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in
Fig~ 1,
Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line A-A of Fig. 1,
illustrating the way the means of breaking is secured to the
frame,
Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the means of shock
absorbing;
` Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1, illustrating
a side elevation of the apparatus inclined for working the bottom
of the face breast,
Fig. 7 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the
apparatus wherein a tunnelling shield is employed as the car-
rier, said shield being shown in a vertical section taken
through the longitudinal axis thereof,
Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in
Fig. 7.
.
-12a-
i3(~1
Referring to Fig. 1, a disclosed apparatus for drifting
openings in hard rock incorporates a movable carrier 1 capable
of travelling along the floor of the opening due to a motive
power obtained from any known drive (not shown). Said carrier
is the base component secured whereto are the rest of components
of the apparatus. Attached to said carrier I by means of sub-
stantially a vertical pivot is a jib 2 of forked shape turnable
relative to said carrier I in essentially a horizontal plane by
two hydraulic cylinders 3. Between the arms of said forked jib
2 (Fig. 2) there is held fast frame 4 turnable relative to the
jib 2 in essentially a vertical plane due to the action of two
hydraulic cylinders 5 (Fig. 1) to which jib 2 means of breaking 11
is attached. The frame 4 has four ports 6 (Figs. 1,2) piercing
its walls, and movanly fitting slideways 7 of said ports 6 are
sliders 8 with holes 9 (Fig. 4) inserted into which with pro-
vision for turning relative to said sliders 8 are fulcrum pins
10 attached whereto is a means of breaking 11. Said fulcrum
pins 10 are located so that a common axis of rotation of each
pair thereof passes essentially through the centre of mass of the
means of breaking 11 and is perpendicular to the longitudinal
axis thereof. The means of breaking 11 is a high-energy per-
cussive means of breaking of the projectile type (the energy of
a single stroke being of the order of several tenth to several
hundredth of kJ), i.e., one the percussion tool 12 whereof is not
in contact with the breast of the face worked before striking
a stroke.
The internal arrangement of the means of breaking 11
(Fig. 3) save the particulars pointed out above, is not concerned
A~
with the essence of the invention and can be of any
-13-
1 12 ~3
kind.
Secured to the abovementioned ~rame 4 (~i~s, 1,2) symmet-
ricall~ ith respect to a plane which is perpendicular to the
longitudinal axi~ of ~he mea~s of breaking II and pa~ses thro-
ugh the axis of the fulcrum pins 10 there are means of shock-
absor.bing 1~ arla~ged ~l t~-o groups sc that every said slidex
8 is prevented ~rom sliding along the respective slideways 7
by thrusters 1~ of said means of shock-absorbing 13, said
thrusters 14 contacting said sliders 8 on either side thereo~
~ he means of shock-absoxbing 13 (~ig~1) serve the purpose
of minimizing the loads the means o~ breaking II (~ig.4) im-
poses on the rest o~ components of the apparatu~ after an ob-
lique or idle stroke of the percussicn tool 12 as well as re-
taining the given direction of the longitudinal axis o~ the
means o~ breaking 11 should an~ of the aboYe phe~omena occur.
Internall~, the means of shock-absorbing can have an~ arrange-
ment9 ~or this does not impair the essence of the in~ention.
In the pre~erred embodiment thereo~ the means o~ shoc~-
absorbing incorporates two oppositely located air cyli~ders
the piston rods whereo~ are the thrusters 14 (~ig.5) attached
to pistons 19 ~itti~g into cylinder bores 20 filled with a
compressed gas. If none of the sliders 8 exerts an action,
each o~ the associated thrustexs 14 is pressed against the
respective front end face 21 of the c~linder bore 20 b~ the
pressure of gas applied to the piston 19.
~ he compressed ~as is admitted into and released from the
cylinder bores 20 through openi~gs 22. Suitable ~or use as
the means o~ shock-absorbing are h~draulic c~linders, springs,
14
rubber elements, etc.
~ he ~rame 4 (Fig. 1) i~ so secured to the jib 2 that the
axis of rotation of said frame is offset from the centre of
mass of the mea~s of breaking II, being displaced away from
the rock face of the opening driven.
Gn said carrier 1 (Figs. 1,2,3), under the jib 2 carr~-
i~g the means of breaking II, there is arranged a ~eans of
loadi~g 15 with a mucking con~eyor 16. Said means of loading
1~ is capable of displacing relative to the jib 2 with the
meanæ of breakIng II along the longitudinal axis of the appa-
ratus towards and a~ay from the face of the openIng driven due
to the actio~ of h~draulic cylinders 17 ~nd is also capable o~
lifting and lowering its front part due to the action of hydra-
ulic cylinders 18 (Fig. 1). In the embodiment of the in~en-
tion depicted in ~igso 1~ 2, 39 the means of load;ng ~5 is of
the type featuring gathering arms and the mucking conveyor 16
is a scraper conveyor. A poInt to be noted is that a means of
loading as well as a conveyor of an~ other known type can be
used in the disclosed apparatus, implying that the above spe-
ci~ic materializatio~ of the means of loading neither affects
the essence of the invention nor limits the scope thereof.
In addition to the abovementioned components t the appa-
ratus incorporates a power plant supp~ying the mechanisms and
a hydraulic sys~em with piping, safety and control valves as-
suring the functioning o~ the h~draulic cylinders the appara-
tus is fitted with~ Said means can be accommodated on the car-
rier I or packaged as a separate unit, and they are not shown
in the accompanying drawings.
!
~ he fact that the means o~ brea~ing II (Fig. I) is at-
tached with the aid o~ the me~ns o~ ~hock-absorbing 13 crea-
tes the prospect of reducing the loads set up by the oblique
and idle strokes o~ the percussion tool 12 and transmitted
from the means o~ breaking II to the rest of components to an
allowable and, what is particularly importantg readily control-
lable level. ~his, in its turn, improves the conditions under
which the components o~ the apparatus are bound to operate and,
consequently, adds to the dependability of the apparatus.
Another point is that the continuing resetting of the
means of breaking II into the given position ef~e~ted through
the intermediary o~ the means of shock-absorbing a~ter side-
wise recoils caused by oblique strokes cuts to a m;nimum the
time waqted in manipulating with the means o~ breakLng II and
enables all the subsequent strokes to be applied at a point
where the rock structure has been disturbed in the course of
the preceeding dstrokes. Said ~actors provide ~or enhancIng
the efficiency of breaking in a signi~icant way.
B~ virtue of giving the jib 2 the shape o~ a ~ork and
securing the means of breaking II so as to enable it to turn
about an axis passing essentially through the ce~tre of mass
thereo~ after a sidewise recoil a noticable descrea~e in the
moment of întertia o~ the means o~ breaking II is obtained
with a simultaneous decrease in the loads exposed whereto are
the components of the means o~ breaking and other components
o~ the apparatus l;nked up directly with said means. It goes
without sa~ing that this all has a positi~e ef~ect on the de-
pendabilit~ of the apparatus as a whole.
16
~ he inherent feature of assigning different compo~ents
the ~unctiQn of m~nipulating ~nd that of absorbing the side-
wise recoil materialized through the introduction of the frame
4 simplifies the design of said components on one hand and en-
ables the means of shock-absorblng 13 to cope Y1ith absorbing
both the sidewise recoil after oblique strokes and the idle
strokes of the percussion tool 12 on the other hand so that an
enhanced dependability of the structure is the outcome.
~ he introduction of the frame 4 into the unit serving to
attach the means of breaking II to the ~orked jib 2 provides
the opportuni~ty of separating the horizontal axis of turning
of the means of breaking II in the ~ertical plane in the course
of manipulating from the hori~ontal a~is of turni~g at the ins-
tant o~ a sidewise recoil thereol in the same plane. On the
other hand, in the interests of enhancing ~he efficiency of
breaking it is desirable that the ~ace of the opening driven
has a minimum area7 for the time wasted i~ manipulating depends
among other things on the area of the face worked. ~he fact
that the axis of the ~rame 4 is offset from the centre of mass
of the means of breaking II, being displaced away from the face,
is conducive to exte~ding the length of that portion of the
means of breaking II which consists of the jib. This, in its
turn, reduces the area o~ the face at a gl~en inner diameter
of the opening and, consequently, taking into account the afore-
said, contributes to an enhanced efficienc~ of breaking.
In the light of the fact that the means of loading 15 with
the mucking con~e~or 16 the apparatus disclosed is pro~ided
with i~ capable of displacing relative to the jib 2 attaehed
17
~ 3~
whereto is the means o~ break~ng II towards and away from the
face, there is ~o need to provide ~or the mobility of the mean~
of breaking II towards and awa~ ~rom the face. ~he con~equence
is a simplicity of the suspension o~ the means o~ breaking II
i~ spite o~ the fact that said means is subject to su~ficient-
ly high impact loads~ Another adva~tage is that the mobile
means of loading 15 can remove the broken rock ~rom the face
while the means o~ breaking II is at work at the top o~ the
face. ~hi~ cuts unproductive wastage of working time and again
results in an enhanced efficiency of breaking.
~ he disclosed apparatus for drifting openings in hard
roc~ operates on the ~ollowing lines.
~ he apparatus, traYelling along the opening, approaches
the ~ace within a certain distance and then the mPans of load-
ing 15 (Fig.6) i~ shifted integrally with the mucking conveyor
16 bg the hydraulic cylinders 17 away from the face while the
me~n~ of breakin~ II is aimed, using the manipulating cylin-
ders 3 and 5, at a point in a lo~er corner o~ the face breast.
On being set into operation, the means of breaking II recipro-
cates integrally with the percussion tool 12 so that the latter
strikes at one point until the rock breaks of~ to the depth
of a layer removed. Next, the means of` breaking 11 is aimed at
the next point on the horizontal, using the jib-turning hyd-
raulic c~l m der 3, and the process of breaking continues. On
finishing with the lowermost part o~ the face breast, the means
of breaking II is turned vertically by an amount equal to the
specified pitch, using the h~draulic cylinders 5, and the means
o~ loading 15 with the mucking co~veyor 16 is advanced by the
18
hydraulic cylinders 17 towards the face. After that the means of
breaking 11 continues its operation by analogy with the above
pattern and operating simultaneously therewith is also the means
of loading 15, clearing the face of the muck. When the breaking
is completed over the entire face breast, the above cycle is re-
peated.
When the means of breaking 11 (Fig. 1) is in operation,
the bulk of the strokes the percussion tool 12 whereof delivers
against the rock face are oblique strokes, i.e., those character-
ized by a deviation of their path from a normal to the surface
of rock at the point of stroke. Every oblique stroke is always
accompanied by a sidewise recoil. Said recoil ocurring in a
horizontal plane causes the means of breaking 11 to pivot about
a vertical axis passing through the centre of mass thereof on a
pair of fulcrum pins 10 turnable in the sliders 8 located above
and below the means of breaking 11. At the same time, those
sliders 8 which are located at the sides of the means of breaking
11 are acted upon by the fulcrum pins 10 fitting thereinto and
consequently slide along the slideways 7, exerting an action on
the thrusters 14 of the means of shock-absorbing 13. When the
sidewise recoil comes to an end, i.e. the energy of the sidewise
recoil of the means of breaking 11 is absorbed by a pair of means
of shock absorbing 13 and the means of breaking 11 ceases to
pivot, the means of shock absorbing reverse the process of pivot-
ing of the means of breaking 11 under the action of the means of
shock absorbing 13, resetting same into the given position. A
sidewise recoil in a vertical plane occurs in an analogous way,
the horizontal pair of sliders 8 remaining at standstill
--19--
3~ ~
and the ver-ti.cal one displacing in opposite directions. I~ a
sidewise recoil occurs in a plane between the horizontal and
~ertical one, set into operation axe si~ultaneously the two
vertical and the two horizontal means of` shock-absorbing 1~.
I~ a stroke the percussion tool 12 o~ the means of brea-
king II deli~ers is an idle one either fully or partly, i.e.,
the percussion tool 12 either misses the rock face or is short
of time to utilize the entire energ~ it posse~ses for break-
in~ the rock, the means of breaking II te~ds to follow its
percussion tool 12 and, consequently, acts upon the thrusters
14 of the forward group of the means of shock-absorbing 13
through the intermediary of its fulcrum pins 10 and the asso-
ciated sliders ~ said pins fit into. When the means of break-
ing II is brought to a halt, the p~ocess is reversed, i.e.,
the sliders 8 associated with the thrusters 14 of the forward
group o~ the mear~æ o~ shock-absorbIng 1~ are caused by said
thrusters 14 to slide over the slideways 7 in the respective
ports 6 of the frame 4 so that the means of breaking IIJ urged
b~ the corresponding fulcrum pins 10 to follow said sliders 8,
is reset into the given position. ~hus, it is possible to li-
mit the loads imposed on the frame 4 and the rest of compo-
~ents o~ the apparatus by setting the parameters of the means
of shock-absorbing 1~.
In the pre~erred embodiment o~ the invention, any load a
thruster 14 (~ig. 5) of the means of shock-absorbing 13 (Fig.
1) is subject ~o causes said thruster 14 (Fig. 5) to displace
inside the cylindrical bore 20 so that the associated piston
19 compresses the compressed gas contained in said bore 20.
3531
~ny sidewise recoil or idle stroke of the means of breaking II
is absorbed by the compression o~ the gas in the respective
c~lindrical bore 20 of the mea~s of shock-absorbing 13. ~cted
upon by the compressed gas, the respective thrusters 14 cause
the associated sliders 8 to slide ove~ the slideways 7 in the
respective ports 6 of the frame 4 and said sliders 7 reset the
meQns of breaking II into the ~iven position through the In-
te~mediary of the respective fulcrum pins ~0.
~ aking into account the aforesaid, there axe good rea-
sons to claim that the disclosed apparatus fox drifting open-
~ngs in hard rock is not only by fax more dependable than
other apparatus kno-~m before but also displays a much more
higher efficiency of breaking.
In another embodiment o~ the invention, used as the car-
rier I capable o~ travelling along the floor of the openi~g is
a tunelling shield. (Fig~. 7,8)~ Referring to ~ig. 7, attached
to the carrier I by means of essentially a vertical pivot is
the jib 2 of ~orked shape t~rnable relati~e to said carrier I
i~ essentially a horizontal plane by the two hydraulic c~lin-
der~ 3. Bet~een the a~ms of said jib 2 there is held fast the
frame 4 turnable relative to the jib 2 in essentially a verti-
cal plane due to the action of the two hydraulic c~linders 5.
~ he construction of the frame 4 and the way the means
of breaking II is secured to said frame in the apparatus il-
lustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 are the same as in the apparatus
depicted in ~igs~ I through 4.
~ he frame 4 is so attached to the jib 2 that the axis
of rotatio~ of the frame is of~set from the centre of mass o~
21
~ 3~ ~
the means of breaking II, being displaced a~ay from the face
of the opening drive~.
0~ said carrier I (Figs. 7, 8), under the jib 2 carry-
ing th~ means of breakIng II, there is arranged the means o~
loading 15 with the mucking conveyor 16. Said means o~ load-
ing 15 is capable o~ displacing relative to the jib 2 vJith the
means of breaking 11 and along the longitudinal axis o~ said
movable carrier I towards a~d awa~ from the face of the open-
ing driven due to the ac~io~ o~ the h~draulic cylinders 17.
~ he me~ns o~ loading 15 used in the apparatus illustra-
ted in Fig~. 7 and 8 has gather~ng arms and the mucking con-
veyor 16 is of the scraper type. However, a means of loading
and a mucking conveyor of any other kno~n kind can be used in
the apparatus disclosed, implying that the above speci~ic ma-
terialization o~ the mean~ o~ loading neither a~fects the
essence o~ the invention nor limits the scope thereo~.
In addition to the abovemen~ioned components, the appa-
ratus shown in ~igs. 7 and 8 also incorporates a power plant
supplying the mechanisms amd a hydraulic system with piping~
sa~ety and control valves assuring the ~unctioning o~ ~he hyd-
raulic cylinders the apparatus is provided with. Said compo-
nents can be accommodated either on the carrier I or packaged
as a separate unit, and they are nob shown in ~igs. 7 and 8.
~ he apparatus o~ ~igs. 7 and 8 operates i~ the same wa~
as the aforesaid appara-tus illustrated in ~igs. 1,2,~. The
practice of ~sing the apparatus with the mea~s of dri~ing II
emplo~ing a tunnelling shield as the movable carrier I is con-
ducive to expanding the ~ield of application o~ said shield
31~Z~
to a considerable extent, render~ng it capable o~ operating in
bed rock of extra hardness.
