Patent ID: 7127885

Claim:
An assembly adapted for use in mining operations and particularly an underground self-advancing roof support system, said assembly comprising: a hydraulic component; a plurality of actuators and/or sensors, each having a housing and adapted for communication with a control unit via a data transmission system, each actuator configured to actuate a respective function of the hydraulic component, and/or each sensor configured to measure the hydraulic state of a respective variable of the hydraulic component or another measurable variable associated with said self-advancing roof support system; a plurality of reader units, each said unit associated with a corresponding actuator or sensor, each said reader unit disposed proximate said corresponding actuator or sensor, each said reader unit comprises a transmitting module and a receiving module and said transmitting module and/or said receiving module comprises a coil; and a plurality of information elements, each information element being associated with a particular function or measuring point of the hydraulic component, information in each information element being readable by a corresponding reader unit and transmittable to the control unit.