US1200204A - Method of mining coal. - Google Patents

Description

' Patented Oct. 3,1916.

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METHOD OF MtNlNG COAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9. m5.

1 00,204. Patented Oct. 916.

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ww'massss HARRY A. KUHN, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF MINING- COAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Application filed December 9, 1915. Serial No. 65,941.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY A. KUHN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Minin Coal; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to a method of mining coal.

he object of my invention is to provide a method of mining bituminous coal by means of which the coal is expanded and separated along lines of its cleavage without the preliminary under-cutting, and the coal removed and conveyed away in lumps without the use of pick or shovel, thereby dispensing with the great amount of manual labor heretofore involved in mining such coal.

In some seams of coal where there are slate bands extending horizontally through the seam it requires greater expanding forces to be placed within the body of the coal in order to separate it along lines of its cleavage on account of the fact that the bands act as a reinforcement throughout the body of the coal when an attempt is made to expand the coal into a horizontal out. When explosives are used it therefore.

requires an additional quantity which shatters the coal to a greater extent than would be necessary if the bands were already severed. It is extremely important in coal mining on account of the "alue of the product to secure a maximum quantity of lump coal.

The invention consists, generally stated, therefore, in cutting a kerf inthe wall of the coal at an angle to the floor of the mine whereby the cutting is reduced in amount and any bands Wl'llCll are extending horizontally are severed, a minimum amount of expanding forces placed within the body of the coal being then required to secure a maximum er cent. of lump coal. Openings are drilled in the solid body of the coal and expanding forces, such as common explosives, placed therein. The coal is then expanded along lines of its cleavage and the adhesions more or less released, the kerf giving the coal an opportunity to expand, and the coal when expanded moving toward the kerf. After the coal has been expanded along lines of its cleavage and the adhesions more or less rel ase in this manner,

the coal is then removed largely in lump form by under-cutting the coal and dislodglng the same by forces applied within the last-mentioned under-cut and then conveycd away by the use of the machine, such as; 1s 1llustrated and described in an appllcatlon filed by me on the 18th day of May, 1914, Serial No. 839,333.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional v1ew of a mlne showing the wall of coal and the lrerf made therein, together with the openings for the insertion of the explosive or expanslve forceyFig. 2 is a like view after the coal has been, expanded; Fig. 3 1s a modified form of my invention in which two kerfs are made in the wall of coal; F g. 4 1s a longitudinal sectional view; Fig. 5 1s a plan View of the machine for dislodglng and removing the coal; Fig. 6 is a side v1ew of same; and Fig. 7 is a modified form of my invention.

In the drawings, the numeral 2 designates the rock or slate formation in which the seam or body of coal 3 is embedded and from which it is to be removed.

The numeral 4 indicates the floor of the mlne, 5 the sides and 6 the top. The wall of coal 3 may have the slate-bands 7 separating the coal 1I1t0 upper and lower layers. A kerf 8 is made in the wall of coal by any suitable device and for this purpose the cutter-bar 9 of the machine shown in Figs. 5 and 6 1s adapted. This kerf is shown as vertlcal with reference to the floor of the mine, but may be at any angle thereto.

The machine illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 Is on the same general type as one which forms the subject of the application for Letters Patent of the United States, filed by me as above on the 18th day of May, 1914, Serial No. 839,333, and it has not been deemed necessary to illustrate the same in detail, but only generally. The frame 10 is mounted on a truck 11 which has the traction-wheels 12, the frame 10 being supported on an incline in normal position. A motor 13 has its shaft 14 connected up by suitable gearing with the traction-Wheels 12 by means of which the frame 10 is advanced to and from the coal, and the shaft 14 is also connected up by suitable gearing with the shaft 15 which is provided with the beveled pinion 16 meshing with the beveled gear 17. The beveled gear 17 has the sprocket-wheel 18 around which the chain 19 passes. At he forward end of the frame 10 are the sprocket-wheels 20 around which the chain 19 passes. The chain 19 is providedwith the flights 21 and said flights have the cutters 22. The flights 21 are also provided with the shoes 23 which are adapted to pass under the mass of coal, as fully hereinafter set forth, to lift and disrupt the same, said shoes forming the subject of a separate ap plication filed by me on the 18th day of May, 1914, Serial No. 839,335.

The frame 10 is providedwith the pan 24 over which the flights 21 travel and the cutters 22 project beyond said pan at the forward end thereof, so as to cut in under the mass of coal to enable the machine to travel forward and dislodge the coal so that it is moved along the pan by the flights 21 to be deposited in the pit-car 25 at the rear'of the machine. The cutter-bar 9 is connected up with the motor 13 to be driven thereby and to provide for the projection of the cutterbar beyond the end of the frame a sufiicient distance to give the desired depth of cut, the shaft 26 is substituted for the shaft 14, whereupon the motor and cutter-bar take the position indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 6.

In carrying out my improved method, the shaft 26 is adjusted in position so that the cutter-bar 9 projects beyond the front end of the frame 10 and the machine is then advanced into the coal the desired distance as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 6, whereupon the front end of the machine is raised and the cutter-bars being rotated, the kerf is. cut in the wall of the coal. When this kerf has been made, the holes 27 are then drilled in the wall of coal at each side of the kerf 8 extending preferably upwardly and outwardly as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 1. A suitable explosive or other expansive is inserted in the openings 27 andthe coal is shot or expanded, the, result being to separate the coal along lines of its cleavage as.

indicated in Fig. 2, and, at the same time, the coal expanding toward or into the kerf 8, gives the coal an opportunity to move toward said kerf. In the meantime, the machine has been withdrawn and the motor brought up into the position indicated in full lines, Fig. 6, the shaft 14 having been substituted for the shaft 26 and the cutterbar accordingly withdrawn into the position indicated in said Fig. 6. Power is then applied to operate the chain 19, and the ma.- chine is again advanced to the wall of coal, the cutters 22 cutting under and undermining the coal which has been separated along lines of its cleavage, while the shoes 23 act to disrupt and separate the coal into lumps, the action of said shoes being to undulate the coal and assist in the breaking up of the same into lumps. The coal thus undermined and broken up is dropped onto the pan 24 and moved along said pan and discharged over same at the rear end into the pit-car 25.

The forward end of the machine may be raised gradually during this operation so as be shot and the coal on that side removed before the second shot is fired.

By making the kerf 8 the slate-bands 7 are severed and the shooting will tend to crack or break the same so that when the machine is brought into operation the slate is removed with the coal.

In Fig. 3, I have illustrated two kerfs in the wall of coal which will act to cut the slate bands into smaller sections and in this case, three shots are employed instead of two, the increased number of kerfs giving greater opportunity for the coal to expand in, the shooting operation.

' In Fi 1, I have illustrated the kerf 8 over to one side and close to the side wall. In this case the coal when expanded will move toward the kerf.

What I claim is:'

1. The method .of mining coal consisting inmakingakerf in the wall of coal at an angle to the floor of the mine, expanding and disrupting the coal along lines of its traveling laterally 1n the plane of the floor to further disrupt the mass along the lines of its cleavage, and simultaneously therewith dislodging the mass of disrupted coal and conveying it away.

2. The method of mining coal consisting in making a kerf, in the wall of coal at an angle to the floor of the mine, expanding the coal and disrupting it along lines of its cleavage whereby it moves in the direction of said kerf, subsequently under-cutting this mass of coal, and lifting the settled'mass with a vertical force traveling laterally in the plane of the floor, and'simultaneously therewith dislodging the mass of coal and conveying it away.

3. The method of mining coal consisting in making a kerf in the wall of coal at an angle to the floor of the mine, expanding and disrupting the coal along lines of its cleavage whereby it moves in the direction of said kerf, subsequently under-cutting this mass of settled coal along the plane of the floor, and simultaneously therewith dislodging the mass of disrupted coal and conveying it away.

. 4. The method of mining coal consisting in making a kerf in the wall of coal at an angle to the floor of the mine, expanding and disrupting the coal along lines of its cleavage whereby it moves in the direction of said kerf, subsequently under-mining this settled mass of coal with a force traveling laterally along the floor of the mine, simultaneously therewith dislodging the mass of disrupted coal, and conveying it away.

5. The method of mining coal consisting in making a kerf in the wall of coal at an angle to the floor of the mine, expanding and disrupting the coal along lines of its cleavage whereby it moves in the direction of said kerf, subsequently making an opening in the expanded and disrupted mass of coal, and simultaneously therewith introducing into said last mentioned opening, conveying and dislodging forces working in the plane of said last mentioned opening 15 whereby the coal is dislodged and conveyed away.

In testimony whereof I, the said HARRY A. KUHN, have hereunto set my hand.

HARRY A. KUHN.

Witnesses:

JOHN F. VVILL, S. F. ARMSTRONG.

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