Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A hose and cable reel arrangement for a rock drilling
apparatus ~ -~
The invention relates to a hose and cable reel
arrangement for a rock drilling apparatus, comprising ~ ~-
at least two reels mounted in the rock drilling ap~
paratus so as to rotate relative to a frame of the
apparatus and relative to each other, one reel being
provided for each hose and/or cable; and rotation
means for each reel for rotating said reel relative -~
to the frame.
The operation of a rock drilling apparatus re-
guires supply of electric energy through an electric -~
cable and supply of flushing water or air through a
water or air hose. The electric cable is usually
reeled on a separate cable reel mounted to the ap-
paratus. For the water hose, instead, there is not ~-~
necessarily provided a reel, but the hose is gathered ~ `
and put in place manually or by means of a manually
operated water hose reel. It is also possible to use -~
a combined cable and hose reel on which a separate
space is provided for the cable and the hose while
the reel is a fixed entity mounted in bearings to a
separate reel frame fastened to the carrier of the
apparatus. It is further known to use two separate
reels mounted in parallel and rotatably about a hor-
izontal axis. In this case, both reels have a separ- `
ate frame structure attached to the carrier of the ;~
drilling apparatus and, correspondingly, a separate
rotation machinery.
A drawback of the prior art is that when a reel
is provided for the electric cable only, the handling
of the hose is heavy, difficult and time-consuming, ;~
which affects the drilling timetable and involves
waste of time.
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20048~76
When two separate reels are used, two separate
frame structures are required as well, which in~
creases costs and complicates the construction. Man-
ual reeling of the hose, in turn, is heavy and time-
consuming. Furthermore, if one reel only is to be
used, the frame structure of the drilling apparatus
has to be designed and modified for one reel, whereby
it is necessary to manufacture one and the same
drilling apparatus with two different frame struc-
tures. With two separate reels, the frame structures
take plenty of space, which increases the overall
dimensions of the drilling apparatus, thus deterio-
rating its movability in tunnels.
A drawback of a single fixed reel structure for
two hoses is that the electricity and water supply
means are usually located at different points in tun-
nels. The cable and the hose thereby have to be un-
reeled to such an extent as is required for the
longer distance while the surplus cable or hose
length, respectively, for the shorter distance has to
be spread on the floor of the tunnel in order to pro~
vide a sufficient length of the cable or the hose for
the longer distance. If the hose and the cable are
unreeled so that the hose extending over a longer
distance is fastened to its point of fixation, the
hose or cable requiring the shorter distance tends to
tangle on the reel and get entangled with the struc-
tures, which involves extra work and problems as well
as waste of time.
CA Patent 1,213,870 discloses a solution in
which the cable is reeled around a platelike base
rotating about a vertical axis and disposed above the
apparatus. A drawback of this solution is that the
space occupied by the arrangement above the apparatus
cannot be utilized for any other purpose and the
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20048~6
cable or hose is liable to damage by dropping dirt,
stone dust and stones.
The object of the present invention is to pro-
vide an arrangement for reeling a cable or a hose
onto a reel in such a manner that the above problems
will be avoided and the hose and the cable can be
reeled independently of each other. Another object of
the invention is to provide a reel mounting arrange~
ment which enables the mounting of one or two reels
within one and the same frame structure of the ap-
paratus and in which the hose and/or the cable are
protected against damage and less space is required
within the frame of the apparatus. This is achieved
according to the invention by mounting the reels
mutually coaxially on top of each other under the
frame of the rock drilling apparatus so as to rotate
about a vertical axis.
The basic idea of the invention is that a reel
for the cable and/or the hose is mounted under the
frame of the drilling apparatus so as to rotate about
a vertical axis coaxially but independently of each
other, so that each reel can be rotated by means of a
separate rotation motor independently of the other
reel. An advantage of the solution according to the
invention is that the reels are protected against
dust, dirt and falling stones, as they are positioned
under the drilling apparatus. Another advantage of
the invention is that the reels require less space
outside the drilling apparatus, which reduces the
outer dimensions of the apparatus and the apparatus
can be shaped so as to suitably taper backwards, so
that it moves more easily in tunnels. Still another
advantage of the invention is that the reels can be
so constructed that one or two reels can be mounted
under the carrier according to the requirements in
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;~004876
each particular case without any need to modify the
frame structure. Moreover, the solution is cheaper
than prior art solutions because the same frame
structure can be used irrespective of whether one or
two reels are used. By means of the invention it is
also possible to maintain the tightness of the cable
and the hose at a desired constant value irrespective
of the location of the point of fixation of the hose
or the cable in the tunnel since both of them can be
unreeled and reeled independently. Other machineries
and devices needed in the drilling apparatus can be
positioned on the frame of the drilling apparatus
above the reels for appropriate utilization of the
space available for the drilling apparatus.
The invention will be described in greater de~
tail in the following drawings, wherein
Figure 1 is a schematic view of the invention
when applied to a drilling apparatus;
Figure 2 is a more detailed partial sectional
view of an arrangement according to the invention;
and
Figure 3 is a schematic view of a hydraulic
connection for driving the rotation motors of the
arrangement of the invention in such a manner that a
substantially equal tightening force acts on both the
cable and the hose.
In Figure 1, the reference numeral 1 indicates
a drilling apparatus comprising one or more drilling
booms 2 known per se. A cable reel 3 and a hose reel
4 are mounted at the rear end of the drilling ap-
paratus under it.
Figure 2 is a more detailed view of the mount-
ing of the cable reel 3 and the hose reel 4 rotatably
about a vertical axis 5 in a frame 6 of the drilling
apparatus. As used in the present patent application
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200487fi . ~ .
and claims, the term "vertical" means a vertical
direction or a direction slightly deviating from it.
A slip ring housing 7 is provided above the frame 6,
whereby slip rings mounted coaxially to the cable
reel 3 extend within the housing 7. The slip rings
are connected to a cable 8, current from the cable 8
being supplied to the drilling apparatus 1 through
the slip rings. This structure and its operation are
widely used and known per se, so it will not be de~
scribed in greater detail.
The cable reel 3 under the frame 6 is fastened
to the frame 6 by means of a bearing 9. The bearing
9, which is a circumferential bearing, comprises an
inner and outer bearing ring 10 and 11, bearings 12
being positioned between them. Both bearing rings 10
and 11 are provided with a flange, the flanges being
positioned on opposite sides relative to a plane de~
fined by the bearings 12. The flange of the inner
bearing ring 10 is fastened to the frame 6 while the
flange of the outer bearing ring 11 is fastened to
the reel 3 in a manner known per by means of bolts or
other similar means (not shown). A gear ring 13 is
provided around the bearing 9. The gear ring 13 is
also fastened to the reel 3, preferably with the same
bolts as the outer ring 11 of the bearing 9. Further-
more, a rotation motor 14, to which a sprocket wheel
15 is attached, is fastened to the frame 6 for the
cable reel 3. The sprocket wheel 15 extends below the
frame 6 so as to be positioned in level with the gear
ring 13, and a chain 16 is arranged to extend around
both the sprocket wheel 15 and the gear ring 13 for
rotating the reel 3 during the rotation of the motor
The hose reel 4 is similarly mounted to the
cable reel 3, a bearing 17 being provided between the
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reels. The inner ring 18 of the bearing 17 is fas~
tened to the cable reel 3 and the outer ring 19 cor-
respondingly to the hose reel 4 with bolts or the
like (not shown). A gear ring 21 is fastened to the
hose reel 4 so as to be substantially in level with
the bearings 20, and a motor 22 comprising a sprocket
wheel 23 and a chain 24 extending around the sprocket
wheel 23 and the gear ring 21 is mounted in the frame
for rotating the gear ring 21. When either one of the
motors 14 or 22 is rotated, it rotates the chain 16
or 24, respectively, and therethrough the cable reel
3 or the hose reel 4. If the cable 8 only is un-
reeled, the hose reel 4 does not rotate, because the
hydraulic motor 22 prevents its rotation. Correspond-
ingly, after the cable 8 and the hose 25 have been
unreeled, either one of them can be reeled without
tightening the other.
Figure 3 is a schematic view of a hydraulic
connection which provides equal rotative moment for
both reels 3 and 4 irrespective of the number of
cable turns 8 or hose turns 25 on the reel 3 or 4,
respectively. The connection shows schematically
motors 14 and 22, which are hydraulically connected
in parallel with each other. Pressure fluid is
supplied to both motors 14 and 22 simultaneously by
means of a pump 26. In order to maintain the pressure
of the pump 26 on a desired level and, as a con~
sequence, to maintain the moment in the motors at a
desired value, a pressure regulation valve 27 is pro-
vided in the pressure fluid conduit. As the motors 14
and 22 are connected in parallel with each other, the
same moment acts on both of them, so that the hose or
the cable which offers less resistance is more easily
reeled until the same force acts on both of them.
In the solution of the invention the reels are
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20048'7f~ : ~
fitted in a small space within the drilling apparatus
with a simple construction while the reels are well~
protected against damage. On account of the construc-
tion, the drilling apparatus can be provided with one
or more reels without having to modify the frame
structure itself. Additionally, the bearings of the
reels are similar so that it can be decided in each
particular case whether one or two reels are needed
and a reel can be added or removed simply by re-
leasing a few bolts. Furthermore, if the cable reels
are positioned on top of the hose reels, possible
damage to the water hose will not damage the electric
cables and associated components.
The above description and the drawings are con-
cerned with one preferred embodiment of the arrange-
ment according to the invention and the invention is
in no way restricted to it. The bearing arrangement
need not be realized in such a manner as described
above. In place of supporting the reels by bearing
rings, each reel can be mounted to a separate shaft
by constructions known per se. The lower reel need
not be fastened to the upper reel; instead, it can be
connected directly to the above-mentioned shaft simi-
larly as the upper reel. The number of the reels may
be greater than two, and they can be mounted similar-
ly, whereby they can be mounted to a separate shaft
or in such a manner that the uppermost reel is mount-
ed to the frame while each one of the lower reels is
mounted to the reel above it. Even though one cable
or hose only is positioned on each reel in the above
solution, it is likewise possible to position on the
reel a bunch of hoses or cables or a combination of a
hose and a control cable or the like forming an
integral whole so that the hose and the cable are
always used in combination. In cases where no elec-
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20048~76
tric cables are used, the necessary hose rails can
be mounted similarly.~. ~
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