Patent GB-671654-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in haulage apparatus for mining machines
IPC: E21C29/12
Filed: 1946-03-25
Abstract: 671,654. Power rope grips for coal cutters; rope railways. MAYOR & COULSON, Ltd., and SPROUL, J. C. May 2, 1949. [March 25, 1946] No. 9067/46. Classes 78 (ii) and 104 (ii). A gripper for a mining machine haulage rope comprises a movable jaw to grip the rope, an adjustable support, toggle mechanism interposed between said support and said jaw, and means for moving said support both to and from said jaw and also length-wise of the jaw between alternative positions at opposite sides of a neutral position the toggle mechanism in said alternative positions being set at mutually opposite inclinations to the jaw so that the toggle mechanism will constrain the jaw to exercise its grip on the rope in either of two propulsion directions but will free the jaw in the return direction. General (Fig. 1). The niming machine is fitted with shearing cutters 10, 11, 12, 13 and is moved along the coal face on a skid plate 18 by the action of three hydraulic cylinders 19 which act upon gripper E so that the latter alternately grips and ungrips the anchored rope 25 and so advances the machine step by step. Reversible Grippers (Fig. 4). The rope 25 is gripped between upper jaws 26 and single lower jaw 27 ; the upper jaws being suspended by springs 56 and by pins 54 vertically slidable in lugs 55 of the gripper casing 33 and being operated by cams 38, and the lower jaw 27 being mounted on springs 39 and being operated by toggles 30. Cams 38 and toggles 30 are both actuated by movement left or right of "floating" operating handle 28, the handle being pivoted at 101 to freely-supported wedge bar 41 and at 100 to support bar 40. The latter bar is pivoted at 69 to vertical lever 66, which lever pivots at 67 in the casing and is freely jointed at 65 to cam bar 61, and the cam bar 61 slides freely in the gripper casing 33 so that cams 38 are actuated in that pins 62 on the cams work between centralising spring's in slots 64 of the cam bar 61. Movement of handle 28 to the right effects the following : (i) it displaces support bar 40 (with wedge bar 41) to the right so that the vertical toggles 30 are pushed to incline over to the left : (ii) at the same time, this movement of support bar 40, acting through lever 66, causes cam bar 61 to move to the left, and this causes the setting of upper jaws 26, by the rolling of cams 38 thereon, and (iii) (by further movement of handle 28 to the right) causes pivotting about stop 52, and the consequent movement of wedge bar 41 relative to support bar 40 causes lower jaw 27 to be raised to grip the rope 25. Fig. 8. Rope 25 is inserted into a gripper through slots 37 in gripper casing 33, part 34 being pivoted at 35. Haulage (Figs. 1, 3). Two grippers E and F are mounted on the mining machine 17 ; F being fixed to the machine, and E having its casing 33 mounted to slide in slides 23 fixed to the machine, the casing of E being integral with a body 22 incorporating hydraulic cylinders 19 of which the rams 21 are fixed to the machine 17. To advance the machine to the right, handles 28 and 29 are moved over to the right. This sets both sets of toggles as shown. When hydraulic pressure is applied to expand the cylinders 19, the latter tend to move to the left and to take gripper E with them. Gripper E therefore tightens on rope 25, so that rams 21 react against the rope and move the machine one step to the right whilst gripper F allows the rope to pass freely. When cylinders 19 contract, gripper F seizes the rope so that the cylinders are free to move gripper E over to the right (relatively to the machine) since the gripper E now passes the rope freely. And so on. Alternatively, the whole unit is separate from the machine and hauls in a rope secured to the cutting machine ; or a single gripper can be used thus, the rope being secured at the other end by a spring to a fixture so that the spring action permits a step-by-step movement along the rope.