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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Technical Field  
           [0002]    The present invention relates generally to augering systems which remove coal from seams within a hill by boring long horizontally extending holes into the coal seam using an auger comprising a rotary cutting head and a string of auger flights to convey the cut coal from the coal seam, and more particularly to auger flight supports for reducing boring friction to extend the distance the auger system can bore into the hill.  
           [0003]    2. Background Information  
           [0004]    Augering machines powered by internal combustion engines have been used for mining coal from hills containing a coal seam for many years. These augering machines utilize an auger having a cutting head which is advanced horizontally into the coal seam. The auger is usually made up of a series of sections or auger flights having a helically wound flighting, which removably couple together end-to-end to convey the cut coal from the cutting head to a point of discharge outside the hill. The auger flights are rotationally and axially coupled by having a socket at one end and a mating shank on the opposite end. The shank of one auger flight fits into the socket of the next auger flight. A slidable latch pin extends transversely through a hole in the auger flight and into a hole in the shank of the auger flight to be coupled thereto. A release lever permits uncoupling of the auger flights such as when the cutting head is being withdrawn from the bored hole at the completion of the boring. As the string of auger flights is withdrawn, the auger flights are sequentially removed from the auger string by uncoupling and lifting the rearmost auger flight from the auger machine. Pairs of side-by-side cutting heads and augers have been used recently to form a pair of parallel holes in the coal seam to remove a larger volume of coal at once. Each auger is powered by an auger machine which applies axial as well as rotational forces to the augers to force the augers and the cutting heads into the coal seam and to rotate the cutting heads breaking away the material which the augers then convey out of the hole.  
           [0005]    There is considerable friction developed between the flighting of the auger flights and the bored holes which requires considerable power from the augering machine, and which reduces the power available to the cutting heads and to convey the cut coal. Attempts have been made to reduce such frictional power losses in auger systems. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,036,821 issued to H. D. Letts is disclosed a spider device where bearings are attached between each of the linearly extending augers, and a plurality of legs are attached to the bearings to form a “spider”. The spider somewhat supports the flighting on the bottom of the bored hole so that the flighting does not rub the ground as hard when rotating, thus reducing the power requirements of the auger machine. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,382 issued to Deeter is disclosed a similar auger support having a plurality of radially extending support legs affixed a bearing housing surrounding a bearing. The drive shank of an auger flight is rotatably supported by the bearing at one end of an auger flight, independently of the support provided by the auger flighting, to reduce wear and tear of the flighting and to reduce frictional drag of the auger flights. Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. Re 24,503 to C. E. Compton, which was originally U.S. Pat. No. 2,751,203 is disclosed a spider-type support system for an auger mining system. All of these devices, however, fail to solve a number of problems associated therewith.  
           [0006]    There is thus, a continuing need for a support device which overcomes a number of problems associated with the prior art.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0007]    One of the advantages of the present invention is that it provides reduced frictional losses between the flighting and the bottom of the bored holes resulting in less power required to bore a given length hole.  
           [0008]    A further advantage of the present invention is that it permits longer holes to be bored using the same augering machine due to the reduced friction.  
           [0009]    A still further advantage of the present invention is that it is used for dual auger boring.  
           [0010]    These and other advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    The present invention relates to an auger flight support for unitizing and supporting pairs of auger flights by connecting together respective first ends of each pair of parallel tubular auger flights. The auger flights each include a respective helical flighting affixed exteriorly therearound having a respective outer diameter, and include respective second ends having a drive socket. The unitized auger flights are adapted for use with an augering apparatus of the type used for rotating and advancing a pair of side-by-side cutting heads of a drilling section. The drilling section is driven horizontally into the side of a hill with the cutting heads driven rotationally through the drive sockets by the augering apparatus. The unitized auger flights are inserted between the drilling section and the augering apparatus in a rotationally coupled end-to-end manner as drilling progresses. The auger flight support includes a pair of support posts, each having a tubular bearing housing and a radially dependent support leg. A pair of drive shafts each includes a first end adapted to closely fit within and be affixable to the first end portion of a respective flight auger, a second end portion of mating configuration to the drive sockets, and a middle bearing portion which fits within said bearing housing. At least one bearing is disposed within each of the bearing housings between the respective bearing housing and the bearing portion of the respective drive shaft which bearing rotationally supports and longitudinally retains the respective drive shaft to the respective support post. A tie bar is adapted to rigidly interconnect the support posts at such a spacing that the respective of the outer boring diameters of the flightings which are closely adjacent one another. The support legs extend generally downwardly and coplanar so as to provide support for the auger flights.  
           [0012]    The above description sets forth, rather broadly, the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a hill showing an augering machine positioned adjacent the side of the hill outside the hillside during drilling horizontally into a coal seam using an illustrative embodiment of auger flights and support assemblies according to the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2, a fragmentary exploded side elevational view of an auger flight and a support assembly;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2A, a fragmentary side elevational view corresponding to FIG. 2, but with the auger flight and the support assembly assembled together;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3, a lateral vertical sectional view taken on the line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2A showing a pair of auger flights connected together side-by-side using the bar;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4, a fragmentary top plan view of the ends of the auger flights connected together using the tie bar;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5, a fragmentary side elevational view of a pair of auger flights connected together and supported by a support assembly;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6, a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view to an enlarged scale of the auger flight and the support assembly;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 6A, a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view corresponding to FIG. 6 to a further enlarged scale showing the details of the bearing assembly, and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 7, a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1 but with an additional auger flight added to increase the depth of boring. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]    Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a plurality of auger flight supports  20  illustrative of the invention, as used with a conventional dual auger drilling system  23  which includes an augering machine  26  that drives a plurality of unitized flight sections  29  and a unitized drilling section  32 . The drilling system  23  is used for drilling into a hill  35  that contains a generally horizontally disposed coal seam  38 , and to remove the resulting cut coal chunks  41 .  
         [0024]    The augering machine  26  is of conventional design for providing rotational power through the flight sections  29  to the drilling section  32 . One such machine is the MC-DK Coal Recovery Auger, manufactured by the Salem Tool Company of London, Ky. The augering machine  26  includes a main frame  44  supported on a plurality of downwardly dependent legs  45 . A wheeled carriage  47  which is hydraulically driven to force the flight sections  29  and the drilling section  32  into and from the hill  35  travels longitudinally on the main frame  44  on a pair of parallel rails (not shown) of the main frame. An internal combustion engine (not shown) is mounted on the carriage  47  which drives the flight sections  29  and the drilling section  32  through a pair of power trains (not shown) each of which includes a clutch, a flexible coupling, and a shiftable transmission. The power is output through a pair of power outputs  50  and  51 . Similarly, a triple could be provided having a rotating auger above the above-described pair of augers.  
         [0025]    Each of the unitized flight sections  29  comprises a pair of auger flights  53  each having an elongate tubular body  56  to which is affixed a respective external helical flighting  59 . Within a forward portion  62  of the tubular body  56  is affixed a socket insert (not shown) having a drive socket of square cross-sectional configuration adapted to slidably and non-rotatably fit a mating drive shank (not shown) on an axially adjacent auger flight  53  as is known in the industry. Therefore, adjacent pairs of axially aligned auger flights  53  may be rotationally interconnected and axially coupled to one another end-to-end by inserting the mating shank of one auger flight  53  into the mating socket of the axially aligned auger flight  53  to secure transmission of rotational torque and axial drilling force from one to the other. Respective rearward portions  65  of the tubular bodies  56  are held together in a spaced relationship by an auger flight support  20  as will be explained subsequently.  
         [0026]    The drilling section  29  comprises a pair of the auger flights  53  which are journaled to an elongate T-shaped center frame  68  at a front bearing support bracket  71  thereof. A pair of boring or drilling heads  72  each includes a square shank (not shown) which fits through a pair of thrust bearings  73  in support bracket  71 . The square shanks fit into the drive socket of the tubular body  56  so as to be rotationally affixed to the respective auger flights  53  of the drilling section  29  to bore into the coal seam  38 . Therefore, the adjacent axially aligned auger flights  53  of the unitized flight section  29  may be rotationally interconnected and axially coupled to one another end-to-end by inserting a mating shank of one auger flight  53  into the mating socket of the axially adjacent auger flight  53  to secure transmission of rotational torque and axial drilling force from one to the other. The respective rear portions  65  of the tubular bodies  56  are held together in a spaced relationship by an auger flight support  20  adjacent a plow plate  74  of the center frame  68  (FIG. 1).  
         [0027]    Referring to FIGS.  2 - 3 , auger flight supports  20  comprise a pair of drive shafts  75 , which are each supported on a support post  77  containing a bearing assembly  80 , and connected together by a tie bar  83  (FIG. 3). The drive shafts  75  include a first end portion  86  adapted to closely fit within and be affixable to the rear portion  65  of a respective tubular body  56 . A second end portion  89  of the drive shafts  75  include a square drive shank  92  of mating configuration to the drive sockets. A middle bearing portion  95  is located between the respective first and second end portions  86  and  89 . The first end portion  86  is affixed to the rear portion  65  of the tubular body  56  of a respective auger flight  53  at an annular weld  98 . The first end portion  86  includes an annular recess  101  for reducing the weight of the drive shaft  75 . Referring to FIGS.  6 - 6 A, lock pin hole  104  extends through the drive shank  92  for axially coupling the respective auger flights  53  as will be explained subsequently. The middle bearing portion  95  includes an annular bearing support surface  107  of reduced outer diameter, which abuts the first end portion  86  of the drive shaft  75  at a shoulder  110 . The bearing support surface  107  also abuts the second end portion  89  of the drive shaft  75  at a shoulder  113  of further reduced diameter. A threaded lubrication hole  116  is closable using a removable threaded plug  119  which threads thereinto.  
         [0028]    The support posts  77  each include a tubular bearing housing  122  and a downwardly dependent support leg  125 . The bearing housing  122  includes a tube  128  having a pair of inner shoulders  131  and  134 , and a pair of outer shoulders  137  and  140 . A downwardly dependent leg mounting block  143  and a pair of laterally inwardly dependent tabs  146  extend from the tube  128 . The support leg  125  includes a pair of upright side plates  149  which extend vertically from an upwardly bent foot plate  152 . The side plates  149  are interconnected by a front plate  155 . The respective support legs  125  bolt to the respective leg mounting blocks  143  using respective bolts  158  and locknuts  161 .  
         [0029]    The bearing assemblies  80  each include a pair of annular roller thrust bearings  164 , a pair of seals  167 , a pair of thin spacer sleeves  170 , an annular forward flange ring  173 , and an annular rear flange ring  176 . The flange ring  173  closely fits about the bearing support surface  107  of the drive shaft  75  and includes an O-ring  179  disposed in an O-ring groove  182  which seals against the shoulder  110 . The respective thrust bearings  164  closely fit about the bearing support surface  107  of the drive shaft  75 , disposed against the respective inner shoulders  131  and  134  of the tube  128 . The spacer sleeves  170  closely fit about the bearing support surface  107  of the drive shaft  75  abutting the respective thrust bearings  164  to maintain the proper spacing for the seals  167 . The seals  167  include respective mating halves  185  and  188  which are respectively pressfit within the forward flange ring  173  and the rear flange ring  176 , and against the respective outer shoulders  137  and  140  of the tube  128 . The mating halves  185  and  188  abut to seal out dirt and fluids from reaching the respective thrust bearings  164 . The flange ring  176  closely fits about the second end portion  89  at a shoulder  113  of the drive shaft  75  and includes an O-ring  192  disposed in an O-ring groove  195  which seals against the shoulder  113 .  
         [0030]    The respective drive shafts  75 , the support posts  77 , and the bearing assemblies  80  are held together by a plurality of bolts  196  which extend through the flange ring  176  and which longitudinally thread into the shoulder  113  of the drive shaft  75 . Alternatively, the drive shaft  75  can be externally threaded at the shoulder  113  and the rear flange ring  176  internally threaded so as to threadably engage to retain the respective drive shafts  75 , the support posts  77 , and the bearing assemblies  80 . The support posts are connected together using the tie bar  83  which bolts to the respective pairs of laterally dependent tabs  146  of the bearing housings  122 . The respective auger flights are axially coupled together using a locking pin assembly  198  as is known in the industry, which includes an inwardly biased, spring loaded pin  201  which engages the lock pin hole  104  through the drive shank  92 , and a release lever  204  which is pivotally connected to the forward portion  62  of the auger flights  53 . Depressing the release lever  204  pulls the pin  201  radially outwardly against the spring biasing to permit coupling and uncoupling of axially adjacent auger flights  53 . A longitudinal frame member (not shown) which is disposed between the auger flights  53  can be bolted between the axially adjacent tie bars  33  for additional support.  
         [0031]    Operationally, it can be seen that support post  77 , when positioned along the axially aligned coupled auger flights, will support the weight of the auger flights and the material being transmitted rearwardly along the flights toward the drilling machine. Additionally, support post  77 , by way of bearing assembly  80 , will allow for the smooth rotation of the auger flights, substantially reducing drag and friction, allowing more energy to be transmitted to drilling head  72 . In this manner, the coal may be removed from coal seam  38  within hill  35  quicker and with less energy. Additionally, a significantly longer hole may be drilled into hill  35  along coal seam  38  allowing for more coal to be removed than was otherwise possible before the use of the present invention.  
         [0032]    Additionally, this device could be used on an auger drilling system  23  which drives three unitized flight sections without departing from the spirit of the present invention.  
         [0033]    It can now be seen that the present invention solves many of the problems associated with the prior art. The present invention provides reduced frictional losses between the flighting and the bottom of the bored holes resulting in less power required to bore a given length hole. The present invention also allows longer holes to be bored using the same augering machine due to the reduced friction. The present invention provides for dual auger boring.  
         [0034]    Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of presently preferred embodiments of this invention. The specification, for instance, makes reference to dual auger boring. However, the present invention is not intended to be limited to use only with dual augers. Rather it is intended that the present invention can be easily adapted for use with three or more side-by-side augers by adding more pairs of tabs and additional tie bars, or even by adding augers which are vertically disposed. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given.  
         [0035]    In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.  
         [0036]    Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.

Summary:
An auger flight support for use with an augering systems for mining which bores a pair of side-by-side holes through the coal seam using respective augers. Each auger includes a drilling section which is followed by a series of auger flights for conveying the bored coal back out of the respective hole. The auger flight support includes a pair of thrust bearing and housing assemblies which are tied together and each supported by a respective leg which lowers the friction between the auger flight and the bottom of the bore. This significantly reduces the power required to rotate the augers.