US2375689A - Apparatus for mining coal - Google Patents

Description

May 8, 1945-l D. H. REEDER 2,375,689

APPARATUS FOR MINING COAL Filed Dec. 27, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR,

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May 8,1945- D. H; REEDER 2,375,689

APPARATUS FOR MINING COAL Filed Dec. 27, 1943 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR,

' power grinding unit shown Patented May s, 194s UNITED t STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS Fon MINING cosi. David H. Reeder, Kansas City, Mo. f Application December 27, isiafsenai No. trasse (ci. 26a-m i claims.

`The invention relates to improvement in the apparatus for mining coal or other earth materials and has particular reference to the removal of the coal in a coaiveln.

An object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus whereby a coal vein may be pulverized and the pulverized coal removed therefrom by suction for commercial use.

A further object or the -invention is the provision oi' an apparatus provided with a rotary powdered form direct from the 4 grinding wheel adapted `to be operatively positioned against a vein of coal whereby the coal is pulverized and provided'with a suctiony means grinding wheel to a. receptacle. y A still further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus for pulverizing coal whereby the pulverized coal is moved from said at the coal vein having means for screening the coal dust and means for further grinding the larger particles whereby they will pass through said screen.

Other objects are simplicityand economy of construction, ease and eiliciency of operation, and adaptability for use in mining, tunneling, or removing any earth structure in pulverized form.

Reference will now be h d to the drawings wherein:

Figure l is an elevational view of the apparatus of the present invention in use in a mine.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the in the operative position in a coal mine'.

Fig. 3 is a front end elevation of the power grinding unit.

Fig. d is a cross sectional view taken on line Fig. v.5 is a cross sectional view taken on line V-V oi' Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a modified form of the apparatus wherein the pulverized coal isdelivered to a car within' the mine'adjacent the p ointof mining.

Throughout the several views like reference characters refer to similar parts and the numeral III designates a power grinding unit having a 45l casing I2'openat its forward end I4 and provided at its rear portion with a motor compartment I6 separated from the open `front compartment I8 by a partition wall 20. A passageway 22 is provided to extend from compartment I8 to the rear of the power unit to receive a conduit. 24. Conduit 24 .is made of a exible material and serves as a conductor for conducting the powdered product from the mine and permits of free movement oi the power grinding unit to operate over the \formed in casing I2 serves as a. receptacle for an full face of the coal vein C. A suction device 26 may-be provided at the outer extremity of conlduit 24 to' create a suctional force therein for vmoving the powdered product from the mine.

, Since the power grinding unit will necessarily be' quite heavy itis thought best to counterbalance the same suillciently so that it may be easily handled by the operator during the grinding operation. This counter-balancing means comprises a cable 2E secured at its one end to an eyelei; 30 anchored to casing i2, passed over sheave wheels 32 and 36 and provided at its other end with aweight 36. A frame 38 carrying sheave lwheels 32 and 34 is mounted for free longitudinal movement on track 46 secured in the top oi 'the mine shaft, thus permitting movement; ci the grinding unit to any position on the face of the coal vein.

A motor 42 is operatively mounted in compartment I6 and has an elongated rotor shaft iii which extends through bearing 4S formed in wall 20 and through a bearing 48 supported by arms 50 and disposed adjacent the forward end ci compartment I8, to receive a grinding wheel or?. Wheel 52 is preferably made of a composition shaft 44, to which it is` secured by pin Et.

Mounted on shaft 44 adjacent bearing 4:8 is

fan wheelg62 having blades '64 and peripheral.

band 65 to which is attached a series of spaced apart arcuate grinding members 66. A recess 68 annular grinding wheel 'I which is in operative relation with the rotary grinding members 66. A

screen partition 1I is mounted in spaced relation between partition 2U and---Afanwheel 62 so that the particles of coal ground from the coalwein will be forced against the screen so that the smaller particles will pass therethrough and the particles too large to go through the screen will fall into the inclined surface I2 adjacent the screen and be deposited between u the grinding members 66 and 'I0 where they will be reground and reduced to a sumciently small size so that they will be forced through the screen portion 'I I.

dust therebetween. y Cover r ot which the operator may direct the grinding wheel against the surface of the coal-vein. Other hand gripping means may be provided whereby the power grinder may be manipulated to properly grind the earth structure. It will be noted that the face of the grinding wheel adjacent its outer periphery is slightly beveled at Il to allow transverse movement oi' the wheel across the face of the coal; The inner portion of the grinding wheel will have a much slower movement than the outer portion of the wheel and will not grind as rapidly. For this reason it will be found advisable to maintain a slow transverse movement of the grinding wheel across the face of the coal so that all portions of the vein being ground will be in contact with both the slow and fast moving portions Vof the grinding wheel, thus z nalringl it possible to maintain the exposed surface of' the an vein in substantially a planar form. In the operation of the device the operator mayexert any desired force against the grinding wheel to obtain a rapid or slow cutting of the coal. The contour of the grinding wheel I! may he varied to obtain any desired cutting effect without departing from the 'spirit of the invention.

Another method of determining the speed of cut will be by` varying the speed of the motor.-

When the device is in operation and the wheel is rotated against the coal surface air will be drawn in through the slots i6 of the grinding wheel by the action of the fan wheel l2, thence through the screen H and into conduit 2l where it will be acted upon by the suction caused by the suction device 26.

. The apparatus for mining coal just described contemplates the delivery of the pulverizedY coal to a point remote from the surface of the lcoal vein being min'ed and provides for suction means for delivery of the coal product.

It is quite apparent that several stages of suction units might be provided where the mine shaft is of considerable length. In some instances it might be desirable to collect the pulverized coal adjacent the coal vein and for this purpose the modified form shown in Flg is provided. The power grinding unit may be the same as provided in the modified form and is provided ywith a flexible conduit 82 which is operatively connected with the upper end portion 8l of a mine car 8i which is adapted to be moved on its wheels along the mine .shaft 9 0 to the elevator (not shown). This -mine car is ofthe ordinary box type and is provided with a cover member 92 which is adapted to be secured substantially air tight thereon to prevent the passage of'coal l2 has a'depending nange 94 provided with a hanged sleeve Sl to which the conduit I2 is in register with a notch 9B formed in the end wall of the car. Within the car I. and adjacent j A the notch 98 is .a suction fan III driven by a motor llllrmounted in fan housing Il! which is rigidly secured to the underside of cover l2.

:,avacao is attached. This sleevev Whenfan iltisoperateditwillcreateasuctlon incondult I2 thus causingthepowderedcoaland 'airtobeforced into theclosedcarll.

. An opening lll formed in the cover $2 has'a 5 peripheral iiange lli to which is -secured a woven bag Ill. This bag is of the. ordinary vacuum cleaner type which permits the air to pass there-through but retains the dust particles.

Ascreen Ill carried by the cover 92 is so posil0 tioned over opening' l as to intercept the-major portion of the coal dust delivered to the car so that as the operationy of grinding is continued,

tnecarwmbegraduauynnedwnneoaldust m..

A slight accumulation of dust may be encomi- 15' tered in bag lll; however, this may be removed when the quantity therein becomes objectionable.

l The suctionfan illwillbeofsufllcientsu'ength to normally deliver all of the coal dust to the car 8i and in many instances it may be possible go to eliminate the fan wheel 62 in the grinding head by increasing the suction of fan lll. It is conceivable that the grinding operation within the power grinding unit maybe eliminated when the exact size of the powdered coal is immaterial or when it is found more convenient to classify the powdered particles after they leave the mine. The cover 92 with its attached conduit may be removed from the car and fitted on another car for iilling. Clamping means IM and IIB may be utilized to insure a proper sealing of the cover member on the car. When a car is illled, it may be delivered from the mine so that the powdered coal may be sacked or otherwise disposed of for delivery.

It will benoted that with these forms of mining devices the air is drawn from the mine shaft lt through the power grinding unit thence into' the car where substantially all the foreign particles are filtered therefrom and the air is then o again delivered to the shaft. Whenvusing the` -conduit type as shown in Fig. 1, the air delivered to the power grinding unit passes from the mine through the conduit 24, thus constantly causing a now of fresh air to the face-of the coal vein.

When it is desired to obtain a lmiform grindr ing of the coal that is a coal dust that will all `pass through a predetermined size screen, then it is found most convenient `to use the secondary grinding means shown in Fig. 1 wherein no particle of coal can pass through the screen which4 is larger than the screen opening. y

In the operation of this device, the operator simply moves the grinding wheel over the surface of the coal vein in such a manner as to maintain Vthe face of the coal vein of substantially planar form. By properly mounting and counterbalanc' ing the power grinding unit it is quite apparent that the unit may be manually operated without any great fatigue to the operator.

co The use of this' apparatus and method den- 'nitely eliminates several operations in the production of the powdered coal, eliminates much of the former cost and insures a much safer mining operation. Never at any time during the 6 mining operation` is there any large volume of dust laden air which might cause a major accident should it be exploded.

It is conceivable that many minor changes might be made in the structure of the apparatus 7o without departing from the maior purpose oi this invention which contemplates the miningof coal or any other earth material by grinding it from its natural position within the earth.

I claim:

1. A mining device comprising a motor driven I asraose grinding wheel adapted urbe positioned against theearthstructuretobemined.suctionmeans.

including a screen to draw the ground earth material from said grinding, wheel and torce it against said screen. whereby it is screened and forced outwardly therefrom, and means whereby the particles of earth material too large to pass through said Ascreen is ground sumclently iine tov pass through said screen.

A2. In a mining apparatus of the character desented a grinding wheel adapted to be positioned means to reduce the larger particles of earth material whereby they will pass through said screen.

3. In a mining apparatus of the character described a grinding wheel adapted to be positioned with its face against' the earth structure to be mined, a motor operable to rotate said grinding' wheel whereby to pulverize said earth structure, a suction means including a screen operable by said motor to draw said pulverized earth material from said wheel and fonce it against said screen located adjacent thereto and grinding means to reduce the larger particles of earthmaterial whereby they will pass through said screen,V

and suction means operable whereby the pulverized earth material passing through said 4screen is moved to a remote position.

4. In a mining apparatus of the class described an elongated casing open at its one end, amotor mounted in one end portion ofsaid casing, a grinding whel mounted for rotation on the motor shaftwith its operating face extended beyond the open end of said casing and adapted to be positioned against .the earth structure to be mined, a transverse screen partition mounted in said casing, a fan wheel mounted on said motor shaft between saidgrinding wheel and screen, whereby earth material ground from said earth structure will be drawn from said grinding wheel and forced against said screen, and grinding elements carried by said fan wheel disposed in optor shaft with its operating face extended beyond -theopenend otsaid casingand adaptedtobe positioned against the earth structure to be mined, a vertically disposed transverse screen partition mounted in said casing, atan wheel mounted on said Y motor shaft. between said grinding wheel and screen, whereby earth material ground from said earth structure will be drawn Vfrom said grinding wheel and forced against said screen. and grinding elements carried by said fan wheel disposed in operative relation with a grinding element can'ied by said lcasing whereby .particles too large to pass through said screenwill be reground to a size that will permit their passage through said screen, and a downwardly inclined wall integral with said casing to guide the large particles of ground material from said screen to said grinding elements.

6. In a mining apparatus of the class described an elongated casing open at its one end, a motor mounted in one end portion of said casing, a grinding wheel mounted for rotation on the motor shaft with its operating face extended beyond the open end of said casing and adapted to be positioned against the earth structure to be mined, a. vertically disposed transverse screen partition mounted in said casing, a fan wheel mounted on said motor shaft between said grindingvvheel and screen, whereby earth mate-rial i ground from said earth structrewill be drawn r from said grinding wheel and forced against said screen, and grinding elements carried by Vsaid ian wheel disposed in operative relation with a grinding element carried by said casing whereby particles too large to pass through said screen will be reground to a size that will permit their passage through said screen, and a downwardly inclined wall integral with said casing to guide l the large particles of ground material from said erative relation with a grinding element carried mounted in one end portion of said casing, a

grinding wheel mounted for rotation on the moscreen to said grinding elements, and suctionv means operable to move all the pulverized 'mate rial passing through said screen to a container.

7. Ina mining' device a motor driven grinding wheel having spaced apart radially disposed arms adapted to be positioned against and to be moved transversely of the earth structure to be mined, a screen disposed in axial alignment with said wheel, suction means positioned intermediate said screen and wheel to draw the ground earth material from said grinding wheel and to force it against said screen to screen the ground r. earth structure. and means associated with said suction means operable to reduce the larger par-l ticles of earth structure so .that they will pass through said screen.

" DAVID H. REEDER.

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