Patent ID: 6840585

Claim:
A rotary cutting head for a mineral mining machine, said head comprising a drive shaft, a central drum carried by said drive shaft, said central drum having two opposed ends, with an outer drum located beyond each of said ends, an array of pick boxes being provided on said central and said outer drums, each said pick box to receive an individual pick, characterized in that water is admitted to said cutting head at a single location only, which location is beyond an outer end of one of said outer drums where a water admission cartridge is interposed between said outer end of said one of said outer drums and an end face plate of that drum to supply water to all three said drums via a longitudinal bore provided along said drive shaft with at least one water conveying tube located within said bore in communication with a water distribution network, with any water leakage from said cartridge being external to said drums and hence incapable of effecting any collateral damage.