System for conveying bulk material and people in a mine

A conveyor system has a track defining an endless path traversing a loading station and an unloading station and having a transport stretch therebetween, an annular succession of longitudinally spaced trucks riding on the track, and an endless conveyor belt extending along the track and having a pair of longitudinally extending edges one of which is suspended from every other truck and the other of which is suspended from the remaining trucks. A drive element extends along the track and engages the trucks to advance the belt in a longitudinal transport direction from the loading station through the transport stretch to the unloading station and then back to the loading station. At least one carrier is connected to the lower end of at least one hanger having an upper end releasably attachable to the belt so as to suspend the carrier from the belt in the transport stretch. The carrier can be a flat rigid pallet having corners each connected to the lower end of a respective such hanger. It can also be an upwardly open material-carrying vessel similarly having corners each connected to the lower end of a respective such hanger or a simple skilift-type chair suspended from a rigid hanger, a system which makes it very convenient for individuals to move along the often very long transport stretch in a mine.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a belt-type conveyor. More particularly 
this invention concerns such a conveyor which is used in a mine for the 
transport of bulk material such as ore. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A belt-type conveyor is known from commonly owned U.S. patent applications 
Nos. 385,065, 388,592, and 461,534 respectively filed June 4, 1982, June 
15, 1982, and Jan. 27, 1983 which is used for transporting bulk material 
mainly underground along a closed path traversing at least one loading or 
unloading zone. Such a conveyor system has a track on the path and 
including a main rail following the path outside the zone and having ends 
at the zone, respective intersections at the zone connected between the 
rail ends and respective right and left rail branches extending between 
the intersections. An endless conveyor belt extends along the path and 
through the zone and has right and left longitudinal edges provided with 
respective endless rows of longitudinally spaced right and left trucks 
alternating with one another along the path and each having a lower end 
attached to the respective belt edge and an upper end riding on and 
displaceable longitudinally in the rail. An endless and flexible 
tension-transmitting drive element extends along the path and through the 
zone and is connected at least indirectly to the belt and trucks. A drive 
is connected to the drive element for advancing the belt and trucks along 
the path in a transport direction. Relative to the transport direction, at 
the upstream intersection the right trucks pass into the right branch and 
the left trucks into the left branch. The belt is closed and tubular 
outside the zone when its right and left trucks are all in the main rail 
and is open in the zone when the right trucks are in the right branch and 
the left trucks are spaced therefrom in the left branch. 
Such a conveyor can move bulk material in a mine relatively neatly, 
normally along underneath the mine roof. The bulk material is well 
contained as it is transported in the belt when its edges are pulled 
together to make the belt tubular and can be loaded into the belt and 
unloaded from it relatively easily when the belt edges are pulled apart, 
making the belt flat. 
This type of system, nonetheless, is invariably wholly independent of any 
type of conveyor or transporter for other then bulk material. Thus people, 
tools, and equipment must be moved about by a wholly different transport 
system, typically by means of automotive tractors. These tractors are 
expensive both as regards first costs and operation expenses, and 
therefore are not provided in sufficient quantities to make then 
convenient. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved 
conveyor system for underground use. 
Another object is the provision of such a conveyor system for underground 
use which overcomes the above-given disadvantages, that is which can also 
be used to transport people and/or objects at least along the transport 
stretch between the location where the bulk material is loaded onto the 
belt and the location where it is unloaded therefrom. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A conveyor system according to the invention has a track defining an 
endless path traversing a loading station and an unloading station and 
having a transport stretch therebetween, an annular succession of 
longitudinally spaced trucks riding on the track, and an endless conveyor 
belt extending along the track and having a pair of longitudinally 
extending edges one of which is suspended from every other truck and the 
other of which is suspended from the remaining trucks. A drive element 
extends along the track and engages the trucks to advance the belt in a 
longitudinal transport direction from the loading station through the 
transport stretch to the unloading station and then back to the loading 
station. At least one carrier is connected to the lower end of at least 
one hanger having an upper end releasably attachable to the belt so as to 
suspend the carrier from the belt in the transport stretch. 
It therefore is possible for the system of this invention to be used in 
transporting tools and people as well as bulk material. As the 
load-carrying capacity for such a conveyor system is very great, hanging a 
carrier on it will not overload it, as the additional load of at most a 
few hundred kilograms is minor compared to the weight of the bulk material 
the conveyor normally contains and moves. Typically such belt conveyors 
are run just underneath the mine roof in any case, so there is ample room 
beneath them for the carriers to move. Since the carrier is supported from 
the belt, not from the drive element, connection is simple and convenient. 
According to this invention the carrier is a flat rigid pallet having 
corners each connected to the lower end of a respective such hanger. It 
can also be an upwardly open material-carrying vessel similarly having 
corners each connected to the lower end of a respective such hanger. It 
can also be a simple skilift-type chair suspended from a rigid hanger, a 
system which makes it very convenient for individuals to move along the 
often very long transport stretch in a mine. Such a chair can be provided 
with a a hook engageable over the belt edges between adjacent trucks so 
that the would-be rider need merely hook it over the belt and sit in it, a 
maneuver no more difficult than mounting a standard T-bar lift, especially 
considering the relatively slow travel speed of the standard mine belt 
conveyor. For transporting a number of passengers the carrier is an 
upwardly open person-carrying gondola having corners each connected to the 
lower end of a respective such hanger. 
The belt according to this invention is provided along each of its edges 
with a row of pockets open toward the edges and the attaching means is 
constituted as hooks engageable in the pockets. The hanger can include a 
stiff rod portion pivoted at the lower end on the carrier or it can be a 
cable or chain that is flexible and substantially inelastic. 
In another system according to this invention the belt is provided between 
its edges with a flexible and inextensible elements forming a succession 
of laterally open apertures and the attaching means is a hook engageable 
through the apertures. 
The system of this invention is normally provided with a boarding station 
adjacent the loading station and adapted for attaching the carriers to the 
belt and a disembarking station adjacent the unloading station and adapted 
for disattaching the carriers from the belt. 
According to another feature of this invention closing means is provided at 
the loading station for moving the edges from a spaced-apart position with 
the belt lying open therebetween to a juxtaposed position with the belt 
tubular. Thus the belt is tubular as it enters the transport stretch. 
Opening means is similarly provided at the unloading station for moving 
the edges from the juxtaposed position to the spaced-apart position. Thus 
the belt is flattened out at the output stretch so that bulk material 
loaded onto the flattened out belt at the loading station is transported 
by the belt through the transport stretch and discharged from the belt at 
the unloading station. The track branches into two branch tracks at the 
loading and unloading stations. In addition a deflector is provided 
upstream of the loading zone on the track for deflecting alternating 
trucks into the loading-zone branch tracks.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION 
As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 the conveyor according to this invention extends 
in a mine 1 and has an endless flexible drive element 2, here a steel 
cable, that moves along an annular path indicated at dot-dash line P to 
entrain a conveyor belt 3 that is also endless and that has two 
longitudinal edges 4 that also extend along the path P. Respective roller 
trucks 5 suspend the edges 4 from a track 6 suspended here from the mine 
roof by J-shaped hangers 8, although it would be possible to provide 
appropriate gallows-like support posts or stancheons if appropriate. At a 
loading zone 9 and an unloading zone 10 the track 6 splits into two 
transversely spaced branch rails 6' and 7. 
The trucks 5 are formed as C-shaped hangers each having a straight upper 
arm forming a diametral central pivot for a ball roller 12 and an arcuate 
lower arm with a center of curvature in the center of the respective ball 
roller 12 and connected to the respective edge 4 at a location lying on a 
plane including the ball center and perpendicular to the straight arm. The 
roller ball 12 rides on the upwardly concave and U-shaped track 6, 6', or 
7 which is of the same radius of curvature as the balls 12. One of the 
track branches 6' or 7 can move from an upwardly concave position to a 
laterally and then downwardly concave one and then back as it passes the 
unloading zone 10. The other tracks 6, 6, or 7 all remain upwardly concave 
at all times. The C-shaped hangers 5 are open toward the left, as seen in 
the travel direction, and the J-shaped suspenders 8 to the right, so they 
can pass each other. 
The belt 3 is moved along the path P by means of the drive element 2 which 
passes through guides 28 that have downwardly open slots down through 
which entrainment or pusher tabs 11 fixed on the cable 1 project. The 
lower arms of the belt hangers 5 are engaged and pushed along by these 
tabs 11. At the loading zone 9 and unloading zone 10 the guides 28 are 
provided on the branch track 6'. With such a system the drive element 2 is 
connected to the belt 3 along its entire length so it is put under minimal 
tension. Drive stations can be provided at several locations along the 
path P. 
In the transport zone 27 defined between the loading and unloading zones or 
stations 9 and 10 where the conveyor merely is moving the material from 
one place to another the trucks 5 are interleaved, that is they alternate, 
on the main rail 6 as shown in FIG. 1 so that the belt 3 is a virtually 
closed U-shape or tube. 
In the loading zone 9 every other truck 5 is deflected by a mechanism 
described in more detail below into the one branch 7 while the other 
trucks 5 continue to travel in the rail 6'. As they move apart they 
therefore open up and spread out the belt 3 so it can receive material 
14--coal, ore, or the like--to be conveyed. As the belt 3 moves out of the 
zone 9 it is closed up as the two branches 6' and 7 converge and reunite, 
again interleaving the trucks 5. In this position the belt travels along a 
transport stretch 27 which may be very long and extend horizontally as 
well as on an incline. 
As the closed-up belt 3 moves into the unloading zone 10 the rail 6 again 
splits into a pair of branches 6' and 7 which separate slightly 
horizontally and also vertically. Finally the trucks 5 can move into a 
position in the zone 10 in which they are vertically superposed or at 
least offset and the belt 3 is tight between them. In this latter position 
the bulk material 14 carried by the belt 3 is dumped from it. The rails 6' 
and 7 then reconverge and the belt 3 returns in the return stretch back to 
the loading zone 9. 
The manner in which the rail 6 splits upstream of the loading and unloading 
zones 9 and 10 is identical and is shown in detail in FIGS. 1a and 1b. A 
deflector 16 provided in a Y-intersection or fork 13 has a single input 
connected to the rail 6 and two outputs connected to the branch rails 6' 
and 7, which are identical in construction in the loading zone 9 as in the 
transport zone 27. The upstream Y-intersection 13 is split parallel to the 
left-hand branch 7 so that the hangers 5 can move along this branch 7 and 
a similar split is provided at the other end of the loading and unloading 
zones 9 and 10. This split is so narrow that it does not interfere with a 
ball 12 rolling into the branch 6'. In the unloading zone 10 the rails 6' 
and 7 are somewhat differently constructed but not in a manner relevant to 
the instant invention. 
The deflector 16 here is a fork pivoted about an upright axis at the cleft 
in the Y-intersection 13 between the branches 6' and 7. This Y-shaped 
element 16 has a central leg 15 that extends upstream relative to the belt 
travel direction and that can swing from the FIG. 1a position blocking the 
trucks 5 from rolling from the main rail 6 onto the branch 7 to an 
opposite position shown in FIG. 1b blocking them from entering the branch 
6'. The fork 16 also has downstream of its pivot two arms which can extend 
across the branches 6' and 7, each such arm extending across whichever 
branch the upstream leg 15 is deflecting the trucks 5 into. 
Thus assuming the system is in the position of FIG. 1a, as a roller 12 
moves from the rail 6 into the Y-intersection 13 it will be forced by the 
leg 15 into the branch 6' where it will engage the downstream arm of the 
deflector 16 and pivot it into the position of FIG. 1b. When as shown in 
FIG. 1b the next roller 12 comes to the fork 13 it will be deflected into 
the branch 7 and will pivot the deflector 16 back into the FIG. 1a 
position. In this manner all the trucks 5 of the right-hand edge 3 are 
deflected into the right-hand branch 9 and all the left-hand trucks 6 of 
the edge 4 are deflected into the left-hand branch 10, opening up the belt 
3. This alternate feeding is perfectly automatic and virtually 
failure-proof. 
According to this invention other carriers 17 for material or people can be 
suspended from the conveyor for travel along the transport stretch 27 
which may be one or more kilometers long. To this end immediately 
downstream of the loading zone 9 there is a further loading or boarding 
zone or station 25 and immediately upstream of the unloading zone is 
another unloading or disembarking zone or station 26. 
The carrier 17 of FIG. 2 is a rigid square pallet having upright 
material-retaining sides 20 meeting at corners 21 to which four cables 18 
have their lower ends connected. The upper ends of these cables 18 are 
provided with hooks 19 that can engage in upwardly open pockets or slots 
10 formed on the underside of the belt 3 adjacent its edges 4. The belt 3 
normally moves fairly slowly so it is a simple manner to catch the hooks 
19 in the pockets 24 to hang the carrier 17 on the belt, and to unhook it 
at the downstream station 26, although of course it is possible to stop 
the belt if desired for such loading or unloading. 
The carrier 17a of FIG. 3 is formed like a ski-lift chair. It is suspended 
via an upright straight beam 23 from a downwardly arcuate upper arm 22 
that is simply poked through the space defined vertically between the bent 
edges 4 and the guide 23 and horizontally between adjacent trucks 5. Since 
the belt edges 4 are normally reinforced with a heavy steel cable, the 
relatively light load of one person in such a chair 17a can easily be 
carried by them. 
In FIG. 4 two rails 6b and 7b replace the single rail and diverge from each 
other at the loading and unloading stations 9 and 10. These rails 6b and 
7b are of C-section and open toward each other, and the trucks 5 have 
cylindrical wheel-type rollers 12b confined in the rails 6b and 7b. There 
are two traction cables 2b carrying releasable grippers 11b making it 
possible to stop the hangers momentarily easily. In this arrangement the 
carrier 17b is an upwardly open square vessel suspended at its corners 21 
by cables 18 from eyes 24b formed on the trucks 5. The vessel 17b is 
capable of holding highly fluent and even liquid materials. 
The arrangement of FIG. 5 is identical to that of FIG. 1 except that the 
belt 3 is provided on its underside midway between its edges with a cable 
24a secured at longitudinally spaced locations, forming the cable 24a in 
effect into a succession of eyes into which can be engaged the hook 19c of 
a carrier 17c formed as a simple flat platform secured by a rigid J-shaped 
rod 18c to the hook 19c. This carrier 17c is suitable for someone to stand 
on, while holding onto the hanger rod 18c, for easy movement in the mine 1 
along the transport stretch 27. It is a relatively easy task to hook on 
the carrier 17c and step onto it, even when the belt 3 is moving.