Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Description
Title of Invention: MINING INSTALLATION FOR EXTRACTING
SEAM-TYPE OR MASS-DEPOSIT MINERAL MATERIALS,
AND MINING MACHINE FOR THE SAME
[1] The invention relates to a Mining installation for extracting seam-type
or mass-
deposit mineral materials, comprising a conveyor device for carrying away
mined
material, and comprising a mining machine that can be moved along the conveyor
device and that comprises at least one drum, which is equipped with extracting
tools, is
rotatable about its drum axis and is adjustable in height relative to a
machine frame by
means of a swivel arm. The invention also relates, in particular, to the
mining machine
for the same.
[2] For the purpose of extracting seam-type mineral deposits, it is known
practice to use
a mining installation with a so-called shearer loader as mining machine, which
has a
machine frame that is guided on the machine carriageway of a conveyor and on
which
there are disposed two vertically pivotable ranging arms, on each of which
there is
mounted a cutting drum that can be driven, in particular, by means of a drive
motor
located in the machine frame and by means of a gear transmission disposed in
the
ranging arm. The machine frame of the shearer loader is moved, in each case
par-
allelwise in relation to the conveyor device, or to the machine carriageway,
on the
conveyor device, and the drum axes of the cutting drums, which on their
circumference
have helically fitted cutting tools, are perpendicular to the direction of
travel; during a
drum run, differing height adjustment of the two cutting drums enables
material to be
extracted over the entire extraction height of the deposit and loaded into the
conveyor.
Such shearer loaders are distributed, for example, by the applicant, under the
brand
name 'ELEKTRACY, in differing dimensions and drive powers.
131 A shearer loader, as a mining machine, is normally used together with a
support,
which consists of a multiplicity of support frames, which are set up next to
each other
and on which the conveyor abuts, via self-advancing or shift cylinders, in
order either
to shift the conveyor forward together with the machine carriageway or, if the
travel of
the self-advancing cylinders has been used up, to draw along the support
frames indi-
vidually, as is known to persons skilled in the art.
[4] In addition to the extraction of seam-type deposits by longwall mining,
e.g. by means
of shearer loaders, it may be necessary to use a suitable mining appliance to
first
undercut a mass deposit that is subsequently to be extracted by a bunker
discharge
method. For this purpose, it is possible to use, for example, a mining
installation such
as that described in DE 100 46 497 C2 for ore mining, and which has a drilling
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appliance, coupled to a face conveyor, for producing blast holes, and has a
loading
appliance for charging the face conveyor.
151 The object of the invention is to create a mining installation for
extracting seam-type
mineral deposits or for undercutting mass deposits, by means of which high
extraction
capacities can be achieved with, at the same time, reduced tool wear.
[6] To achieve this object and possibly also to obtain further advantages,
there is
proposed, according to the invention, a mining installation in which the drum
axis of
the drum of the mining machine is substantially parallel to the direction of
travel of the
mining machine, the extracting tools that effect removal of the material being
mounted
in groups on tool carriers, which are disposed on the circumference of the
drum so as
to be rotatable about rotation axes disposed transversely in relation to the
drum axis.
171 Unlike shearer loaders in which the drum axis of the drum is
perpendicular to the
direction of travel of the mining machine and in which passive extracting
tools are
used, the mining installation according to the invention proposes an
arrangement of the
drum axis that is substantially parallel to the direction of travel of the
mining machine,
each drum being additionally provided with activated extracting tools, namely,
ex-
tracting tools disposed on rotatable tool carriers. The use of cutting drums
having
activated working tools, in which the rotation axes of the tool carriers are
disposed
transversely in relation to the drum axis, is known, for example, from US
2010/0001574A1 of the applicant, to the disclosure of which reference is made
supple-
mentally. By overlaying the travel motion with a rotational motion of the
cutting drums
and with a rotational motion of the tool carriers, it is possible to achieve
the result
whereby, at any one time, only one extracting tool, or only an extremely small
number
of extracting tools, is performing extraction work on the front of the
material to be
extracted, such that the mining installation as a whole can be equipped with a
reduced
drive power, for example in comparison with a shearer loader. It is
particularly ad-
vantageous if, during the mining tun, although the drum axis of the at least
one drum is
substantially parallel to the direction of travel, there is nevertheless a
certain in-
clination of the drum axis in relation to the direction of travel, thereby
enabling the in-
dividual working tools to break out material from the extraction front to be
removed,
while maintaining a clearance angle, as a result of which the wear on the
individual
working tools can be reduced.
[8] According to the particularly preferred design, during the mining run
the drum axis is
inclined in relation to the direction of travel, the angular offset between
the drum axis
and the direction of travel preferably being equal to or less than 6 , in
particular
equal to or less than approximately 3 . In order to achieve this for both
directions of
travel, it is particularly advantageous if the alignment of the drum axis
relative to the
direction of travel is adjustable about a tilt angle, which is preferably
equal to or less
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than a tilt angle of 6 , in particular equal to or less than a tilt angle of
approximately
30.
[91 According to a particularly preferred design, the rotation axes of the
tool carriers are
at an angle of inclination in relation to the normal to the drum axis of the
associated
drum, the angle of inclination preferably being equal to or less than
approximately
6 . Expediently in this case, the angle of inclination and the tilt angle are
matched to
each other, the angle of inclination preferably being greater than the angular
offset,
during the mining run, between the direction of travel and the drum axis, by
reason of
the tilt angle.
[10] The inclination of the rotation axes has advantages, in particular, if
a drum pair is
rotatably mounted on each swivel arm, the rotation axes of the tool carriers
on the first
drum then, according to a particularly advantageous design, being at an angle
of 90 - y
in relation to the drum axis and the rotation axes of the tool carriers on the
second
drum being at an angle of 90 + y in relation to the drum axis. In the case of
an angle
of inclination of 6 , this would therefore result in an inclination of 84 of
the rotation
axes of the one tool carriers and in an inclination of 96 of the rotation
axes of the
other tool carriers. Through an 0-shaped twin arrangement of a drum pair, in
which the
rotation axes of the tool carriers on the one drum are inclined in one
direction relative
to the radial direction and the rotation axes of the tool carriers on the
other drum are
inclined in the opposite direction, the tool carriers are used to span conical
surfaces
around the drum axes, which conical surfaces are open towards opposite sides,
or
towards opposite directions relative to the normal to the drum axis, such
that, for both
angular offset positions, by reason of the tilt angle, and therefore for both
directions of
travel of the mining machine, it is possible to achieve an optimal alignment
of the
working tools to the material to be removed. It is understood that in this
case the first
drum is in each case provided only for the mining run in the one direction and
the
second drum is in each case provided only for the mining run in the other
direction.
For the purpose of further optimisation, it is advantageous if the tool
carriers on the
first drum rotate in the opposite direction to the tool carriers on the second
drum, with,
at the same time, both drums of a drum pair having the same direction of
rotation.
[11] In order to reduce the mechanical resource requirement for driving the
drums of a
drum pair, it is particularly advantageous if a rotary drive and/or a
transmission for the
two drums of a drum pair are/is positioned, or disposed, centrally between the
first
drum and the second drum.
[12] In the case of the particularly preferred design, two height-
adjustable and tiltable
swivel arms, each supporting a drum pair, are disposed on the machine frame.
Two
drum pairs enable material to be extracted simultaneously in two differing
banks
during one mining run, or the drum that is trailing in the direction of travel
can be used
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in an extraction level, or bank, already to remove material in the next cut-
depth plane.
The adjustment in height of the swivel arms is preferably effected by means of
toggle
lever joints, to enable the drums to be positioned in a stable manner, with
the least
possible travel, at differing extraction heights, and to be locked in respect
of the
reaction forces during the extraction work. An actuating cylinder is
preferably assigned
to each toggle lever joint. In order, at the same time, to ensure that the
tilt function of
each drum pair is effected substantially parallelwise in relation to the
direction of
travel, it is particularly advantageous if the swivel arms and the toggle
lever joints,
together with the drums supported by them, are mounted on slides, which are
held in a
tiltable manner in guides on the machine frame. It is particularly
advantageous if the
actuating cylinders are articulated, at one end, to the slide and, at the
other end, to a
middle joint of the toggle lever joint, as a result of which the associated
swivel arm and
the drum axis of the associated drum can be adjusted in height relative to the
slide, and
therefore also relative to the machine frame.
[13] In addition, preferably, a pair of thrust cylinders is assigned to
each slide, which
thrust cylinders are articulated, at one end, to the machine frame and, at the
other end,
to the slide, such that actuation of the thrust cylinders makes it possible,
if necessary,
to telescope the slide, together with the swivel arm and drum pair, and
therefore to
effect an adjustment of the cut depth, without shifting the conveyor device.
The thrust
cylinders can be dimensioned, in particular, in such a way that at least one,
and
possibly even two, cut-depth adjustments can be effected without the necessity
of
moving the conveyor device. As a result of this, the mining machine is able to
execute
both uphill and downhill runs between a head road and an auxiliary road in a
relatively
short time, and the entire conveyor device, on which the machine carriageway
for the
mining machine is mounted, is moved only subsequently.
[14] A twofold adjustment of the cut depth is particularly advantageous if
two drums are
being used to remove material in differing extraction levels or banks.
Adjustment of
the cut depth by extension of the thrust cylinders can be effected,
advantageously, at
the reversal point in the auxiliary road, while the shifting of the conveyor
device and,
at the same time, retraction of the thrust cylinders and of the slide are then
each
effected, in particular, in the main road. In the case of material being
removed from the
same bank by means of two drums with the thrust cylinder pairs, or slides, at
differing
stages of extension, shifting is effected after each mining run. In order to
save energy,
the mining machine can be switched off for a short period during the shifting
operation. It is particularly advantageous if the thrust cylinders can be
operated
separately and the tilt angle of the drum axis, relative to the direction of
travel, can be
adjusted through differing extension lengths of the thrust cylinders. In the
case of this
design, therefore, the thrust cylinders can perform a dual function, namely,
on the one
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hand, adjustment of the cut depth and, on the other hand, tilting of the
slide, and
therefore of the drum axis, upon each reversal of the direction of travel.
1151 Expediently, the mining machine is provided with travel drives, to act
together with a
pin gear rod arrangement attached to the conveyor device, and/or clearing
elements,
such as clearing blades or clearing brushes, are disposed on the machine frame
in order
to clear the cutting path of lumps of material that have been left lying and
that have not
been loaded into the conveyor by means of the drums. Further rigid or movable
clearing elements, for example clearing blades disposed on both end faces of
the
machine frame, can also be used to clear lumps of rock from the top side of
the
conveyor device that is spanned by the machine frame in the manner of a
gantry.
Further, preferably, the height of the machine frame can be less than the
diameter of
the drums equipped with tools. In order to achieve a high extraction capacity,
it is par-
ticularly advantageous if each tool carrier is equipped with a plurality of
extracting
tools on a plurality of circle segments, the number of extracting tools and
the angular
spacing between the extracting tools preferably being constant on each circle
segment.
1161 Further advantages and designs of a milling installation according to
the invention
are given by the following description of an exemplary embodiment, shown
schematically in the drawing. In the drawing:
[17] Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of a mining installation according
to the
invention, in use in underground operation;
1181 Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the mining machine used in the case
of the mining
installation according to Fig. 1;
1191 Fig. 3 shows a side view of the mining machine from Fig. 2;
1201 Fig. 4 shows the mining machine from Fig. 3, with omission of a front
drum pair;
1211 Fig. 5A shows, in a bottom view of one of the two drum pairs, the
inclination of the
drum axis in the one direction of travel; and
[22] Fig. 5B shows, with the same drum pair, the inclination of the drum
axis for the
opposite direction of travel.
[23] In Fig. 1, reference 1 denotes in general a mining installation
according to the
invention, which can be used to extract materials, e.g. by longwall mining, in
particular
abrasive materials, at a mining or extraction wall 2 in an underground face 3
or the
like. In order to hold the face 3 open, the mining installation 1, in a manner
known per
se, comprises a multiplicity of shield support frames 4, of any design, whose
shield cap
can be used to hold the underground face 3 open in such a way that material
can be
extracted at the extraction wall 2 by means of extracting tools on a mining
machine 10.
The mining machine 10 itself can be moved along a conveyor device 5, which is
supported on the filling side by means of a shift beam 4A on the shield
support frame
4, as is known to persons skilled in mining, in order alternately to shift the
conveyor 5
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forward according to the progress of extraction at the extraction front 2 or
to draw
along individual shield support frames 4 of the shield support. In the
exemplary em-
bodiment shown, the conveyor device 5 consists of plate belt conveyor, of
relatively
flat construction, revolving in which there is a conveyor belt, not shown,
having
connected conveyor plates. The conveyor device 5, by means of which materials
extracted from the face by means of the mining machine 10 can be carried away
and
then transferred to belt conveyors or the like set up in the road, has a guide
rail 6 on the
extraction wall side, and a guide track 7 on the filling side, and has a pin
gear ar-
rangement 8, acting together with which there are travel drives on the mining
machine
10, not shown in detail, in order to move the mining machine 10 between a head
road
and an auxiliary road in the face 3. As shown clearly by the side view in Fig.
1, the
plate belt conveyor device 5 used here requires only an extremely low loading
height
for the material removed by the extracting tools of the mining machine 10,
since the
conveyor plates run in the conveying side 9, open on the extraction wall side,
of the
conveyor device 5, which is delimited on the extraction wall side by a loading
ramp 9A
that projects only a few centimetres. However, instead of the conveyor device
5,
operating here with plate belts, it would also be possible to use other
conveyor devices,
including scraper chain belt conveyor devices.
[24] The present invention relates, in particular, to the structure of the
mining machine 10,
as explained in the following with additional reference to the figures that
follow, and to
the mode of operation of the same that is made possible as a result. The
mining
machine 10 has a comparatively elongate machine frame 11, which is parallel to
the
mining breast in the direction of travel of the mining machine 10, and which
has a
structural length of, for example, approximately 5 m to 7 m with, at the same
time, a
comparatively low frame height of, preferably, less than 1 m. Provided on the
back
side of the machine frame 11 there is a mountingbox 12 , in which, for
example, drive
motors 13 for travel drives 13A can be accommodated. Realized on the back side
of
the machine frame 11, at least close to both outside ends, there are guide
shoes 14, by
means of which the mining machine 10 is guided on the filling-side guide track
(7, Fig.
1) of the conveyor device. The driving toothed wheel of the drive device that
acts
together with the pin gear arrangement (8, Fig. 1) can be disposed, for
example
centrally in the middle box element, centrally between the two guide shoes 14
or, alter-
natively, as shown, a respective hydraulic travel drive 13A can be disposed
close to
each guide shoe 14, the pump of the travel drive being driven by means of the
drive
motor 13. For the purpose of guiding the mining machine 10 and supporting the
machine frame 11 on the guide rail (6, Fig. 1), guide rollers (15, Fig. 1) can
be
disposed on the front side of the machine frame 11, which guide rollers are
mounted,
for example, on the underside of holding brackets 16.
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[25] The extraction of material at the working breast 2 is effected by
means of individual
extracting tools 17, preferably constituted by round-shank picks, a
multiplicity of
preferably identical extracting tools being disposed on a rotatable tool
carrier 18 in
each case and, further, a plurality of tool carriers 18, of identical
structure, being
disposed on the circumference of a drum 19 that is rotatable about a drum axis
W. In
the exemplary embodiment shown, eight tool carriers 18, for example, are
disposed on
each drum 19, and each tool carrier 18 is equipped with three picks, as
extracting tools
17, on each of three circle segments around the rotation axis of the tool
carrier 18. The
overlaying of the rotation of the drum 19 with the rotation of the tool
carriers 18
enables material to be extracted at the extraction wall 2 by means of
activated ex-
tracting tools 17, each individual pick cutting out, or picking out, a
material chip at the
extraction wall; the rotational motion of the tool carrier 18 in this case
moves the pick
further in the direction of action and, at the same time, the rotation of the
drum 19 then
causes another pick, on the same tool carrier 18 or on the tool carrier
succeeding in the
circumferential direction of the drum 19, to excavate material. The mode of
operation
of a corresponding drum is described, for example, in US 2010/001574 Al, to
the
disclosed content of which reference is made supplementally.
[26] The mining machine 10 according to the invention for the mining
installation 1
according to the invention is designed for longwall mining of seam-type
deposits or for
undercutting mass deposits, in which the mining machine 10 is moved along the
conveyor device 5, by means of which the mined material is carried away out of
the
extraction region. The travel path of the mining machine 10 is therefore
determined by
the position of the conveyor device, and although the machine frame 11 is
guided with
motional play on the conveyor device 5 by the guide shoes 14 and the guide
roller 15,
there is otherwise no degree of freedom between the machine frame 11 and the
conveyor device 5.
[27] For advantageous extraction in both directions of travel of the mining
machine 10, in
each case in the exemplary embodiment shown, two drums 19, constituting a drum
pair, are provided per drum axis W, each drum pair 20 being adjustable in
height
relative to the machine frame 11 by means of a swivel arm 21. In order then to
achieve
favourable and advantageous extraction conditions in the case of the mining
machine
10, having activated working tools 17, for both directions of travel, the
position of the
drum axis W about which the respective drum 19 can be rotated can be altered
slightly,
by a few angular degrees, relative to the direction of travel of the machine
frame 11,
the direction of travel of the machine frame 11 being basically parallel to
the alignment
of the conveyor device 5. The two slightly tiltable drum pairs 20, with the
associated
swivel arms 21, have the same structure, and the structure of the drum pair 20
is now
to be explained with reference, in particular, to Figs. 5A and 5B.
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[28] To better distinguish them, in Figs. 5A and 5B one drum of the drum
pair 20 is
denoted by reference 19A, and the other drum is denoted by reference 19B. The
two
drums 19A, 19B of a drum pair 20 are rotatably mounted at the front ends of
the fork-
like swivel arm 21, the rotary drive 22 for simultaneously driving both drums
19A,
19B in the same direction of rotation being disposed centrally between the two
drums
19A, 19B, but offset to the filling side between the rear ends of the swivel
arm 21. The
output shaft of the rotary drive 22 can be coupled, via a clutch 23, to a
transmission
disposed in the transmission housing 24, centrally between the two drums 19A,
19B.
Fig. 5A shows the drum pair 20 in the operating position during the mining run
in the
direction of travel F from right to left. The drum axis W (or the normal N to
the drum
axis W) is inclined by the tilt angle + a relative to the direction of travel
F, as a result
of which the extracting tools 17 on the tool carriers 18 of the drum 19A are
located
closer to the extraction front than the tools on the drum 19B. In Fig. 5A,
therefore,
during the mining run of the mining machine 10 in the direction of travel F,
it is ex-
clusively the activated working tools 17 on the drum 19A that effect
extraction work,
while the drum 19B runs freely and has no contact with material to be removed.
At the
same time, none of the rotation axes R of the tool carriers 18 on the drums
19A, 19B is
perpendicular to the drum axis W, the rotation axes R being instead inclined
in relation
to the normal N to the drum axis W, at an angle - y in the case of the drum A
and at an
angle + y in the case of the drum 19B. The two rotation axes R therefore taper
towards
each other, and the two drums 19A, 19B, with their tool carriers, form an 0 ar-
rangement. The angle of inclination y can be equal in magnitude to the tilt
angle a,
and be approximately 6 , as in the exemplary embodiment shown, but, in
particular, it
can also be greater than the tilt angle. Because of the 0 arrangement of the
rotation
axes R of the tool carriers 18 on the drum 19A relative to the drum 19B, it is
possible,
with additional inclination of the drum axis W relative to the direction of
travel F, or
relative to the opposite direction of travel F' (Fig. 5B), to achieve an
extremely
favourable contact ratio between the individual picks on the tool carriers 18
and the
material to be removed from the extraction front during the mining run, each
individual
tool pick 17 having a sufficient clearance angle, during the contact with the
material, to
break out material chips from the extraction wall. As the mining machine 10
runs in
the opposite direction of travel F', the drum axis W is accordingly inclined
by the tilt
angle - a relative to the direction of travel F', such that, in the case of
this direction of
travel, it is exclusively the tools 17 on the drum 19B that perform mining
work, while
none of the tools on the drum 19A has any contact with material. In order also
to
ensure, at the same time, that the material broken away by the individual
working tools
17 on the tool carriers 18 is broken away in the same direction in each case
and that the
extraction conditions produced are the same for both directions of travel, the
directions
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of rotation of the tool carriers 18 on the drum 19A are opposite to those on
the drum
19B.
[29] In the exemplary embodiment shown, in the case of the mining machine
10 the
ability of the drum axis W to be tilted relative to the direction of travel F,
or relative to
the opposite direction of travel F', is achieved in that the drum pairs 20,
together with
the swivel arm 21 and a swivel device for the swivel arms 21, are mounted on a
slide
30, which is accommodated and guided in a laterally tiltable manner in
associated slide
guides 31 that are fixedly connected to the machine frame 11. For the purpose
of
adjusting, or tilting, the slide 30 inside the guide 31, two thrust cylinders
32 are
provided for each drum pair 20, or for each slide 30, which thrust cylinders
are ar-
ticulated, by their front end 33, to the slide 30 and, by their rear end 34,
to the machine
frame 11. The rear end 34 of the thrust cylinders 32 is mounted so as to be
rotatable
about an axis projecting vertically from the machine frame 11, and the two
hydraulic
thrust cylinders 32 can be operated in such a way that their cylinder rods 35
attain
differing extension lengths, making it possible to achieve tilting of the
slide 30 relative
to the machine frame 11. The length of the slide guide for the slide 30 on the
machine
frame 11 and the delivery length of the thrust cylinders 32 is preferably
selected in
such a way that, not only can the slide 30 be tilted relative to the machine
frame 11, but
at least one cut depth adjustment can also be achieved at the same time, in
that
telescoping of both thrust cylinders 32 causes the entire slide 30, together
with the
swivel arm 21 and the drum pair 20, to be pushed forward relative to the
machine
frame 11, and thus also relative to the direction of conveyance, in the
direction of the
material wall. Telescopic extension of the slide 30 and, consequently,
advancing of the
drum axis W therefore makes it possible, e.g. for the return run (uphill
travel), without
movement of the conveyor device, for material again to be removed during the
return
run, over the entire length of the conveyor device, and therefore from the
entire ex-
traction wall, to the same cut depth as during the downhill run. Shifting of
the
conveyor device 5 is preferably effected only when the entire mining machine
10 is
back in the main road. Since the slide 30 can be telescoped, it is also
possible, during a
mining run, to effect a second removal of material in the same bank by means
of the
active drum 19 of the succeeding drum pair 20, such that twice the cut depth
is
extracted during one mining run. A method variant in which both the downhill
run,
from the main road to the auxiliary road, and the uphill run, from the
auxiliary road to
the main road, are effected with removal of material, without the conveyor
device of
the mining installation being moved, or a method variant in which removal of
material
is effected in the same bank by means of differing telescoped drum pairs or
drums,
may be of independent inventive significance.
[30] Each drum 19 is dimensioned in such a way that the diameter of the
drum 19,
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equipped with tool carriers 18 and tools 17, is greater than the height of the
machine
frame 11, as particularly evident from Figs. 1, 3 and 4. A mining machine 10
could, in
principle, be provided with only one drum pair 20, disposed so as to be
tiltable on a
slide, since it is then already possible to remove material in both directions
of travel by
means of the activated tools 17 on each drum 19. In order that flexibility can
also be
achieved in respect of the extraction height, however, it is particularly
advantageous if
two drum pairs 20 are disposed on a machine frame 11, each drum pair 20 being
ad-
justable in height by means of a separate swivel arm 21, independently of the
other
drum pair. During the mining run, the swivel arms 21 for the drum pairs 20 are
set in
such a way that in each case the drum pair 20 that is leading in the direction
of travel is
higher than the trailing drum pair 20, such that the trailing drum pair can
also addi-
tionally assume a loading function and push material, removed by the leading
drum
pair 20, over the loading ramp and onto the conveyor belt of the conveyor
device 5.
[31] Figs. 2 to 4 show the mining machine 10 for drum travel from left to
right, or into the
plane of the drawing, since the respectively rear swivel arm 21, with an
associated
drum pair 20, is higher than the front swivel arm 21. The swivelling of the
swivel arms
21 is effected, utilizing the advantages of a toggle lever, by means of a
toggle lever
joint 40, a lower toggle lever arm 41 being connected in a jointed manner to
the slide
30 so as to be swivellable about a substantially horizontal swivel axis, a
second toggle
lever arm 42 being articulated to the swivel arm 21 so as to be swivellable
about a
horizontal axis, and the first toggle lever arm 41 and the second toggle lever
arm 42
being connected to a middle joint 43, acting upon which, at the same time,
there is also
an actuating cylinder 44, in order to lower or raise the swivel arm 21 by
extension or
retraction of the actuating cylinder 44 and simultaneous contraction or
spreading of the
toggle lever arms 41, 42. The swivel arm 21 in this case is swivelled about
the pivot
point of the swivel arm 21 at the rear end relative to the slide 30. Each
swivel arm 21
in this case is supported, on both sides of the rotary drive 22, by means of a
respective
toggle lever joint 40 and associated toggle lever arms 41, 42, and provided on
both
sides there are actuating cylinders 44, which act on a middle joint 43 of the
toggle
lever joint 40. The rear end 45 of each actuating cylinder 44 is supported on
a
mounting part 39 of the slide 30, as shown clearly by Fig. 4.
[32] In addition, provided on the front side, or extraction wall side, of
the machine frame
11 there are clearing brushes 46 for both directions of travel, which clearing
brushes
are connected to the machine frame 11 via cantilever arms, and which may
optionally
be rotatable.
[33] The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment shown, and,
for persons
skilled in the art, numerous modifications, intended to be included within the
protective scope of the appended claims, ensue from the preceding description.
The de-
CA 02835172 2013-11-05
WO 2012/156884 PCT/1B2012/052358
11
scription has been based primarily on the use of the mining machine in
longwall
mining for the extraction of seam-like deposits, the front length also being
any optional
short length. The machine could also be used, however, for opening or
undercutting
mass deposits that are subsequently to be extracted by a bunker discharge
method, par-
ticularly when, for example, highly abrasive material is found there.
