Abstract: A cutter drum for profiling a surface includes a cylindrical body extending along an axis from a first end to a second end. The cylindrical body includes a circumferential outer surface encircling the axis. A plurality of cutter mounts are attached to the circumferential outer surface of the cylindrical body. A rotary cutter is rotatably coupled to each cutter mount of the plurality of cutter mounts. A plurality of carbide picks are secured to the circumferential outer surface of the cylindrical body. Each of the carbide picks has a fixed position relative to the circumferential outer surface of the cylindrical body.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an air cleaning system for an off-road excavation apparatus. The off-road excavation apparatus includes an excavating component and a shroud assembly that at least partially covers the excavating component. The shroud assembly includes a first shroud component and a second shroud component. The first shroud component is moveable relative to the second shroud component to allow access to the excavating component. The air cleaning system draws air from inside the shroud assembly and includes an air cleaner, an air conduit and an air moving device that are all carried by the first shroud component as the first shroud component is moved relative to the second shroud component.

Abstract: A cutter head segment for use at the front of a train of conveyor segments for high wall mining includes at least one fluid transporter connected to a fluid distribution chamber. A pump segment for use in a train of conveyor segments for high wall mining as a segment following the cutter head segment is provided with a second fluid transporter and at least one front connector and at least one rear connector for connecting the second fluid transporter to adjacent fluid transporters. An assembly includes a cutter head segment and a pump segment, and a train of conveyor segments.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to an auger boring machine for boring through the earth. The auger boring machine includes a cutting head for engaging a working face of the earth to cut a bore. The cutting head is rotatable about a drive axis so as to cut the earth at the working face. The auger boring machine further includes an auger that is rotatable about the drive axis for transporting spoil resulting from the operation of the cutting head away from the cutting head. Additionally, the auger boring machine includes a casing housing the auger which is urged to move into the bore behind the cutting head. The cutting head and the auger are movable along the drive axis relative to the casing. Furthermore, the auger boring machine includes a steering member positioned near the cutting head for directing movement of the casing into the bore in a steered direction transverse to the drive axis.

Abstract: A loading arm assembly for directing material removed by a mining machining having a cutting head and a conveyor assembly includes one or more wear resistant plate assemblies at a terminal end of the loading arm. The wear resistant plate assembly includes a wear resistant plate arranged on a surface of arms of the loading arm assembly designed for directing the material to the conveyor. The assembly also has wear resistant inserts along a bottom surface of at least the arm end to protect the bottom surface of the arm from wear as well as the attachment of the wear resistant plate to the arm end.

Abstract: The dual axis grinder includes a support frame with a plate and a mast. The mast is connected to the boom of an excavator and to a hydraulic stick control cylinder. An auger tube is journaled in a bore through the support frame plate for rotation about a vertical axis. Auger flighting may be attached to the auger tube. A central support housing is attached to the bottom of the auger tube. Two cylindrical drums with grinder teeth are journaled on the central support housing for rotation about a horizontal axis that intersects the vertical axis. The auger tube is rotated by a reversible hydraulic motor. The cylindrical drums are driven by one or two reversible hydraulic motors. Hydraulic fluid is provided to drive the two drums cylindrical through a rotary hydraulic manifold. Chemicals to treat environmental contaminates are supplied through a nozzle adjacent to the cylindrical drums.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An underground augering system comprising a drill unit adjustably connected to a retrieving unit by interchangeable and adjustable connectors to provide for simultaneous drilling of one hole and the removal of auger flights from a previous drilled hole, a crowd mechanism within each unit to move the drill and retrieval carriages to and from holes, a transfer arm to move auger flights to and from a staging rack within the retrieval unit and belly pan within the drill unit, and belly pan within the retrieval unit, a mechanism and staging rack for the storage of auger flights, and a delatch mechanism within the drill unit and retrieval unit to disengage the latch lever in an auger flight for removal of the auger flight from a string of auger flights.

Abstract: A mining machine (20) inclu ding a launch vehicle (11) which drives an auger flight (21). The extremity of the Auger flight (21) is a cutter head (22). An inert gas is delivered to adjacent the cutter head (22) by a tube (50). The cutter head (22) is also provided with a ground penetrating radar antenna (42) as well as a microwave transmitting/receiving device (47) which transmits and receives microwave signals for the purposes of controlling the cutter head (22) and transmitting information gathered by means of the antenna (42).

Abstract: An auger mining machine (10) including a cutter head (11) from which there extends an auger train (12) consisting of a plurality of axially aligned auger modules (13). The cutting head (11) includes a cutting assembly (21) driven by electric motors (38). The cutting assembly (21) is supported on a housing (22) for movement relative thereto to move the cutting assembly (21) into material being mined. There is further provided a launch vehicle (120) from which the auger train (12) extends. Said launch vehicle (120) is provided with a motor (113) to drive the auger train. The launch vehicle (120) has cylinders (123) which engage a mine face to retain the launch vehicle (120) in a desired position.

Abstract: A device for drilling into the ground for the in-situ production of columns of stabilized and compacted soil, which comprises at least two parallel shafts, each shaft driving in rotation one auger, each auger being fitted with a loosening drill head. The shafts and the shanks of the augers include a bore and at least one orifice for discharging a filler material, the augers having opposite hands and being driven in counterrotation, and which furthermore have a drive for reversing the direction of rotation of the augers, said device including an even number n, at least equal to 4, of augers and in that, as seen in cross-section, the axes of the augers are centered at the vertices of a regular n-sided polygon.

Abstract: The open cast mining apparatus comprises two sets of running gear between which a cutting drum is provided on a chassis. The conveyor tract is formed by an axial discharge conveyor inside the cutting drum, a vertical worm conveyor and a conveyor in the discharge jib or in the connecting bridge. The latter is supported on a loading carriage travelling parallel to a working face belt. The cutting drum is so designed that the mining machine can excavate and pick up material to be conveyed in both travelling directions.

Abstract: A road excavator is a drivable vehicle equipped with an excavating apparatus which has a rotary cutter for excavating a paved highway surface, first and second conveyors for exporting an excavated material outside of the excavator, a collector which is placed between the cutter and the first conveyor for gathering the material as much as possible. The collector has a casing having a discharge port at the center thereof for receiving the excavated material and a helical screw, incorporated within the casing, having two sets of spiral blades for gathering the excavated material toward a discharge port and expellers for expelling the material forcibly to the first conveyor through the opening according to the rotation of the screw.

Abstract: An improved method and equipment of removing a minable product, such as coal, from an underground seam of minable product, such as a coal seam, includes the steps of drilling a vertical hole from the earth's surface through the seam of minable product, installing in the recovery hole an improved recoverable down hole tool, having a vertical auger and a hollow shaft extending from the earth's surface to the auger in the down hole tool, water pumped down the hollow shaft exiting through nozzles mounted from below the auger segments in the down hole tool and spaced vertically along the length of the hollow shaft to the earth's surface through the seam of minable product, the injection holes being drilled in a pattern extending from the recovery hole inserting and sequentially igniting explosives in the injection holes, injecting water sequentially in the injection holes and removing the fractured minable product by operating the down hole tool and water nozzles in the recovery hole and raising said minable produ

Abstract: A mining machine for mining coal from outside a hill containing a coal seam wherein a plurality of cutter drums and rotary cutters are pivotally and detachably connected to a pan having an auger conveyor rotatably mounted therein. Certain cutter drums and the rotary cutters are movable in a vertical plane to allow the operator to control the direction of the hole being drilled, and to accommodate the machine to different seam thicknesses or hole heights. A plurality of thrust and torque transmitting units are connected end-to-end between the auger conveyor drive shaft and a prime mover positioned outside the seam tunnel for conveying the cut coal out of the tunnel.

Abstract: A micro tunnelling head and earth boring method is illustrated which includes utilizing a cutting head (G) spaced forwardly of a cylindrical articulated housing (A) having a transverse bulkhead (B) intermediate its ends for carrying a centrally disposed tube (C) carrying a driven auger (F) for operating the cutting head and removing the spoil inwardly from the housing through a chamber (D) which receives cuttings through a passageway (E) provided therein. Steering mechanism includes circumferentially spaced fluid operated cylinder assemblies (I) for pivotal fixation on adjacent ends of the articulated connection between the cylindrical housing (A) and a forward end of a casing for facilitating steering.

Abstract: An auger mining apparatus includes a support frame holding a tilt platform. A tilt mechanism displaces the tilt platform at a pitch between 0.degree.-45.degree. relative to the support frame. A stacked, dual carriage arrangement is carried by the tilt platform. A bidirectional auger drive system is mounted to the upper carriage. The dual carriages are mounted for reciprocal movement along independent paths extending substantially perpendicular to one another. An auger clamp mounted to the tilt platform includes a pilot member for guiding auger sections and a mechanism allowing movement on the pilot member through two separate planes; the second perpendicular to the first. The auger clamp also includes a clamping/decoupling plate and a mechanism for moving the plate in a third plane orthogonal to the first and second planes. Thus, the pilot member with the clamping/decoupling plate may also be utilized to clamp and hold an auger line in position even in steeply pitched seams.

Abstract: In a loading device with a loading platform for receiving mined material, wherein the loading platform is swept over by loading arms and the material is conveyed onto a conveying device connected to the loading platform, the loading arms are designed as arms of a rotatably mounted loading star-wheel, and a plurality of loading star-wheels are arranged over the width of the loading platform.

Abstract: A method of removing a mineable product, such as coal, from an underground seam of mineable product, such as a coal seam includes the steps of drilling a vertical hole from the earth's surface through the seam of mineable product, installing in the recovery hole a vertical auger and a pipe extending from the auger to the earth's surface, drilling a plurality of closely spaced apart injection holes from the earth's surface through the seam of mineable product, the injection holes being drilled in a pattern extending from the recovery hole, inserting an explosive in the seam of mineable product where penetrated by each of the injection holes, sequentially igniting the explosive in each of the injection holes to blast fractured mineable material from the seam, injecting water sequentially in the injection holes to move fractured mineable material toward the recovery hole and operating the auger to raise to the earth's surface the fractured mineaable product that has been blasted from the seam.

Abstract: A hopper and hood combination for muck transfer in a tunneling machine, and a tunneling machine having the same, in which a muck collar is mounted to a cutterhead support and projects into a rotatable cutterhead. A muck chute on the muck collar feeds earth to an earth conveyer when the muck collar and muck chute are in a hopper orientation. The muck chute and muck collar are rotatable relative to the earth conveyor to a hood orientation in which the muck chute restricts earth flow to the earth conveyor. Rotation of the hopper/hood from one orientation to the other is by brief interconnection thereof to the cutterhead without any necessity for any disassembly or reconstruction of the tunneling machine.

Abstract: A spiral conveyor section assembly for a mining machine includes a spiral conveyor mounted by a shaft for rotation about an axis, the shaft having first and second free ends each adapted to be connected to another shaft. A motor, gearing, and like power device effects rotation of the shaft about its axis. The power device is mounted directly in association with the spiral conveyor between the ends of the shaft. The power device has at least about 1/4-3/4 horsepower for each foot of spiral conveyor (e.g. about 32-36 inches in diameter). A second (or more) spiral conveyor can be provided mounted parallel to the first, with the power device effecting rotation of both, toward each other. A guard is mounted in association with each inner portion of the spiral section to prevent mined material from being flung from one spiral to the other. It is possible to convey mined material 1,000 feet or more utilizing spiral conveyor sections connected end to end.

Abstract: The present invention provides a crawler unit having a superstructure and a substructure and an excavating device for recovering bulk material. The excavating device has bearing regions and drive regions and also has vertically arranged shearing drums for cutting free the bearing and drive regions. The shearing drums have upper ends which are inclined obliquely forward.

Abstract: A thin seam highwall mining machine has a cutter head for mining coal from a seam while advancing forwardly into a mined hole, a power head anchored to a bench at the surface, and multisection pushbeam extending therebetween housing a conveyor therein. The machine is provided with structure for removing fallen roof rock from the hole and preventing jamming of the machine in the hole by rock accumulation. The structure includes a partition which keeps the fallen rock from mixing with the mined coal, and guide members which direct fallen rock onto the conveyor from the partition as the machine is being withdrawn from the hole. A pair of upstanding rearwardly diverging guide members fixed to the partition direct rock onto the conveyor through an opening in the partition overlying the forward end of the conveyor. One of the guide members carries an advancing conveyor surface having rock advancing bits which rotate and crush the rock while advancing it toward the opening.

Abstract: A scraper roller mounted in a backhoe bucket is provided for attachment to a backhoe tractor or similar boom device with hydraulic pressure line couplings. The roller is attached to supporting bearings at each end and is covered with a plurality of radially extending replaceable cutting blades around its circumference. Attached to one end of the roller is a drive mechanism which extends the length of the bucket and is coupled to a hydraulic motor mounted near the bucket to boom pivot attachment point. The hydraulic motor utilizes fluid coupling attachments for connecting into a hydraulic power system on the tractor. The drive mechanism is covered by a detachable protective shield. Rotation of the roller, assisted when necessary with the downward pressure provided by the backhoe hydraulic piston assembly and the partial weight of the tractor, results in the scraping of a uniform width trench.

Abstract: A cutting machine includes a universally swivellable cutting arm (6) having rotatably supported on its free end at least one cutting head (10, 11). A backwardly conveying screw conveyor (8, 9) is connected with the cutting arm (6) at both sides of the cutting arm (6). Each has its front end (12) located within the area of the cutting head (10, 11). The conveyor screws (8, 9) are surrounded by a housing which is open at the side turned away from the cutting arm (6). These conveyor screws (8, 9) take up the heap of debris during horizontal lateral movement and backwardly convey the material from the mine face (21) to a removal means (26) being arranged, for example, on the loading ramp (25).

Abstract: A tunneling apparatus has a lateral shield having a front end normally engaged longitudinally against a tunnel end face, a digging tool at the front end of the shield and engageable with the tunnel face, and a drive for displacing the tool and digging the tunnel face. A transverse pressure wall across the shield forms a pressurizable chamber inside the front end of the shield around the tool at the tunnel face. A conveyor tube longitudinally traverses and has a front end open ahead of the wall in the chamber and adapted to receive material freed from the tunnel face by the digging tool. An auger can be rotated in the tube to displace freed material back in it from its front end to its rear end. A chute opens upward into the rear end of the conveyor tube to receive material therefrom and a pump tube extends longitudinally back from the chute. A piston pump between the chute and the pump tube can displace material from the chute back in the tube.

Abstract: A mining machine is utilized for making original generally horizontal bores in coal steams, and for enlarging preexisting bores. A single cutting head is mounted for rotation about a first horizontal axis generally perpendicular to the dimension of elongation of the horizontal bore, and is pivotal about a second horizontal axis, parallel to the first axis, to change its cutting, vertical position within the bore. A non-rotatable body member, with side wall supports, is mounted posteriorly of the cutting head, and includes a conveyor mechanism and a power mechanism operatively connected to it. The machine can be sumped into a bore and then the cutting head rotated about the second axis to change the vertical position thereof, and then moved rearwardly, any cut material being continuously conveyed to the bore mouth by the conveyor mechanism.

Abstract: A low profile thin seam miner includes a main frame mounting a lower transverse axis rotary cutter and a parallel axis conveyor rearwardly of the lower cutter. The main frame also mounts a forward transverse axis rotary cutter somewhat above the lower cutter, the forward upper cutter being supported on a longitudinal boom pivoted to the main frame and being vertically swingable under influence of a single cylinder. The main frame and all of its parts is incrementally advanced into the seam by the alternating action of two horizontal longitudinal parallel axis cylinders connected between the main frame and a pair of floor-engaging plates. Two vertical axis jacks are connected between the two floor-engaging plates and two cooperating overhead roof plates, connected with the floor-engaging plates by separate toggle linkages.

Abstract: A coal-gathering assembly for a continuous miner in which a platform is disposed behind a rotatable cutter, and a coal-transporting conveyor is located adjacent the platform for delivering coal rearwardly of the miner. The assembly includes a base plate rotatively mounted on the platform on each side of the coal-transporting conveyor. A plurality of bars are carried by each base plate, each bar extending across its associated base plate intermediate the rotative axis of the base plate and the base plate periphery. Each bar has one end adjacent the next angularly adjacent bar and has the other end extending beyond the base plate periphery. Each angularly adjacent pair of bars provide a substantially inwardly closed pocket. More particularly, each bar extends across the base place and is spaced from and intermediate the rotative axis and the base plate periphery, and extends substantially transverse to a radial line passed through the rotative axis and intermediate the ends of the bar.

Abstract: A continuous mining machine particularly adapted for low overhead coal seams having a relatively small diameter cutterhead of the non-oscillating or fixed head type driven by chains that also cut coal and convey it rearwardly to a gathering head mounted on the front of the machine. The gathering head carries a pair of counter-rotating discs having vanes cooperating with conveyor fences for sweeping and discharging coal to a conventional conveyor mounted on the machine chassis.