MACHINE HAVING POSITIONING SYSTEM FOR PREVENTING MISCOORDINATION OF GATHERING HEAD AND CUTTING IMPLEMENT

Abstract

A machine includes a gathering head and a cutting implement, with the gathering head and cutting implement having overlapping ranges of motion such that adjusting of the gathering head and cutting implement is coordinated to avoid collision. A positioning system of the machine includes a control device configured to prevent miscoordination of the gathering head and cutting implement by controlling a position of the gathering head based upon a state of progress of the cutting implement in a cutting cycle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to positioning a gathering head in a machine, and more particularly to preventing miscoordination between the gathering head and a cutting implement based on a state of progress of the cutting implement in a cutting cycle.

BACKGROUND

A great many different machines are used for digging, dozing, transporting, crushing, grinding or otherwise manipulating all manner of materials. Machine and implement technologies specialized for different material types such as various types of soil, gravel, relatively softer rock such as chalk, coal and others, as well as hard rock substrates will be familiar to those skilled in the art. Purpose-built machinery is used for various tasks and various types of materials encountered in construction, forestry, and other industries such as mining. Engineers have experimented with machinery and techniques for manipulating different types of materials for literally centuries. In certain applications, and notably with respect to hard rock environments, there remains room for improvement.

In hard rock environments, such as for mining or tunnel boring through solid rock for road building or other civil or industrial practices, the state of the art has long been the so-called “drill-and-blast” technique. In drill-and-blast, holes bored in a solid rock substrate are typically packed with explosives which are detonated to break apart the solid material into more manageable pieces. Drill-and-blast has a number of disadvantages, including labor intensiveness and challenges relating to handling and using explosives. More recently, technology has been developed for cutting through solid rock of types previously resistant to cutting with conventional techniques and equipment. It is no surprise that such equipment must be designed to operate in extremely harsh conditions. Moreover, materials, technology, and more generally equipment designed for above-ground or softer rock environments has limited applicability where hard rock tunneling, mining, or other activities is concerned.

United States Patent Application Publication No. US2003/111892 A1 is entitled, “Method of Mining and an Improved Mining Machine with a Shovel Movable Relative to a Vehicle Chassis,” and discloses a continuous miner having a cutting head and a conveyor, with a shovel translatable relative to the miner. It appears that a cutting head is driven on a pivoting arm, and the shovel is positioned underneath the cutting head with coal loading arms to assist with loading coal in the shovel and onto a central conveyor. While the design disclosed in the '892 application may have certain applications, the strategy also has certain shortcomings including limitations as to how the shovel and cutting head are positioned in relation to one another.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a machine includes a frame, and a gathering head movable in a range of motion relative to the frame between a retracted position, and an advanced position defining an endpoint of the range of motion. The machine further includes a cutting implement movable relative to the frame to execute a cutting cycle defining a first cutting path segment that intersects the endpoint of a range of motion, and a second cutting path segment that does not intersect the endpoint of the range of motion. The machine further includes a positioning system having an actuating mechanism for the gathering head, and a control device coupled with the actuating mechanism. The control device is configured to produce control commands for the actuating mechanism to move the gathering head from the retracted position to the advanced position, and control commands for the actuating mechanism to move the gathering head from the advanced position to the retracted position. The control device is further configured to receive data indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle, and to prevent miscoordination between the gathering head and the cutting implement at least in part by producing the control commands to move the gathering head from the retracted position to the advanced position, during execution of the cutting cycle, based on the data indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement.

In another aspect, a method of operating a machine includes executing a cutting cycle with a cutting implement of the machine such that the cutting implement traverses a cutting path. The method further includes receiving data indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle, and outputting a control command to an actuating mechanism of a gathering head in the machine during the execution of the cutting cycle. The method further includes adjusting the gathering head from a retracted position, to an advanced position at which the gathering head is positioned within the cutting path, responsive to the control command. The method still further includes producing the control command based on the data indicative of the state of progress of the cutting implement, to prevent miscoordination between the gathering head and the cutting implement during the execution of the cutting cycle.

In still another aspect, a positioning system for a gathering head in a machine includes at least one sensing mechanism configured to monitor at least one of a position or an orientation of a cutting implement movable in a cutting cycle in contact with a material face to be cut and defining a cutting path. The positioning system further includes a control device coupled with the at least one sensing mechanism, and being configured to output control commands for an actuating mechanism coupled with the gathering head in the machine, to move the gathering head from a retracted position at which the gathering head is not within the cutting path, to an advanced position at which the gathering head is within the cutting path. The control device is further configured to output control commands for the actuating mechanism to move the gathering head from the advanced position to the retracted position, and to receive data produced by the at least one sensing mechanism that is indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle. The control device is still further configured to prevent miscoordination between the gathering head and the cutting implement during executing of the cutting cycle at least in part by producing the control commands to move the gathering head from the retracted position to the advanced position based on the data that is indicative of the state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a machine, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of portions of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a positional flow diagram of a cutting implement executing a cutting cycle, according to one embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating example methodology and control logic flow, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a machine 10 according to one embodiment, and including a machine frame 12 having a front frame end 16 and a back frame end 18. Ground-engaging elements 14 in the nature of tracks are coupled to machine frame 12 for propelling machine 10. In an implementation, machine 10 may be autonomous and capable of operating with no supervision or minimal supervision by a human operator. A cutting mechanism 22 is mounted at or close to front frame end 16 and extends forwardly of front frame end 16. A gathering head 50 is positioned generally vertically below cutting mechanism 22. Machine 10 might also be equipped with a roof bolting apparatus (not shown), a power source such as a combustion engine, and various other hardware for propulsion, operation, and navigation in an underground environment. While machine 10 may be well-suited to underground environments, particularly for cutting material (e.g. rock and/or the like, particularly hard rock) to form a tunnel for road building or mining, the present disclosure is not strictly limited as such. Machine 10 is also well-suited to above-ground environments. In an implementation, cutting mechanism 22 and/or gathering head 50 may be movable relative to machine frame 12 in overlapping ranges of motion. As will be further apparent from the following description, machine 10 is uniquely configured for positioning, control, coordination, and avoidance of miscoordination of cutting mechanism 22 and gathering head 50 to reduce risk of collision during operation. Miscoordination refers to a state where at least one of two or more elements, such as cutting mechanism 22 or gathering head 50, moves or is commanded to move in a manner that causes or can be expected to cause collision between or among the two or more elements.

Cutting mechanism 22 may include a cutting implement 30 having a rotatable drum 32 with a plurality of rotatable cutters 34 mounted upon drum 32 and distributed circumferentially around an axis of rotation 33 of drum 32. Cutting implement 30 may further be supported upon a boom assembly 24 including a first boom section 26 and a second boom section 28 and a wrist 36 coupling together first boom section 26 and second boom section 28. Wrist 36 may be rotatable about a wrist axis 37, in an angular range that is at least 180 degrees, and typically freely about wrist axis 37 in an angular range that is infinite. Cutting implement 30 may be supported upon boom assembly 24 in a side mount arrangement at a location outboard of wrist 36, and rotatable as discussed above about a drum axis or implement axis 33 that is oriented perpendicular to wrist axis 37. The term “outboard” as used herein should be taken to mean, away from a geometric center of machine frame 12, whereas “inboard” means toward a geometric center of machine frame 12.

Machine 10 may further be equipped with one or more lift actuators 38, one of which is shown, and adjustable to swing boom assembly 24 vertically up and down about a swing axis 40 in a swing range 46. Boom assembly 24 may be rotatable about swing axis 40 relative to machine frame 12 in an angular range that is about 30 degrees or greater, although the present disclosure is not thereby limited and the range could be smaller. In an embodiment, swing range 46 is from about 10 degrees to about 40 degrees. Machine 10 may still further be equipped with one or more actuators 42 for rotating boom assembly 24 about a slew axis 44 in generally side-to-side horizontal directions. An angular slew range might be from about 30 degrees to about 70 degrees.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that boom assembly 24 and cutting implement 30 can be adjusted according to multiple degrees of freedom in three-dimensional space. In some embodiments, cutting implement 30 may be movable in an ordered manner according to a predefined pattern of movement or adjustment of the various actuators to execute a cutting cycle, as further discussed herein. Gathering head 50 may also be movable in a range of motion relative to frame 12 between a retracted position, approximately as depicted in FIG. 1, and an advanced position. A footprint 56 of gathering head 50 as it might appear advanced to the advanced position is also shown in FIG. 1, with an endpoint 57 of the range of motion of gathering head 50 also shown. An opposite endpoint of the range of motion might be defined by gathering head 50 when fully retracted. It can be seen from FIG. 1 that swing range 46 can enable cutting implement 30 to be lowered down to a position at or below footprint 56. Cutting implement 30 may be moved relative to frame 12 to execute a cutting cycle that defines a compound cutting path that intersects endpoint 57. In particular, the cutting cycle may include a prescribed manner of moving cutting implement 30 through three-dimensional space, and may define a plurality of different cutting path segments, including a first cutting path segment that intersects endpoint 57, and a second cutting path segment that does not intersect endpoint 57. It should also be appreciated that cutting implement 30 might be movable to intersect a greater proportion of the available range of motion of gathering head 50, but will generally be capable of intersecting at least the endpoint 57 such that collision between cutting implement 30 and gathering head 50 is at least theoretically possible (e.g. cutting mechanism 22/cutting implement 30 and gathering head 50 are miscoordinated). Gathering head 50 can further include an apron 52 and one or more gathering elements 54 in the nature of swingable arms, paddles, or rotatable gathering wheels, configured to feed material cut from a material face such as a rock face by cutting implement 30 to a conveyor 58 supported by or upon machine frame 12. In one embodiment, conveyor 58 could include a belt or chain conveyor, with gathering head 50 configured to feed cut material to conveyor 58 at the retracted position and also feed cut material to conveyor 58 at the advanced position. Conveyor 58 may remain at a fixed location relative to machine frame 12 when gathering head 50 is adjusted.

While it will be appreciated that production rates and volumes of cut material produced by operating machine 10 can vary on the basis of a number of factors, in a typical implementation cutting implement 30 may be moved through a cutting cycle that cuts at least several inches of rock or the like into a material face and in a cross-sectional area in each cutting cycle so as to produce at least several cubic meters of cut material. It is generally desirable to operate conveyor 58 at a relatively uniform speed, and with a relatively modest surge capacity. In other words, with a relatively steady and predictable production rate of cut material it will generally be desirable to operate conveyor 58 at a relatively steady and predictable rate. The present disclosure contemplates adjusting gathering head 50 from its retracted position to its advanced position in a manner that avoids miscoordination (e.g. collision or expected collision) between cutting implement 30 and gathering head 50, but without unduly limiting the capacity for gathering head 50 and conveyor 58 to move cut material through machine 10. These and other factors of consistent, reliable and predictable operation are desirable in the context of a machine such as machine 10 that can operate more or less continuously and with no supervision or minimal supervision for long periods of time. As will be further discussed below, machine 10 may tram (translate) forward at regular increments, typically a distance of about one meter or less, with gathering head 50 retracting and extending at least once, but potentially only once, for every forward tram movement of machine 10. Each forward tram movement may be associated with execution of one, two, or potentially three or more complete cutting cycles of cutting implement 30. In general, the presently disclosed strategies will enable gathering head 50 to be positioned adjacent to a material face being cut as much of the time as practicable during execution of a cutting cycle without creating undue risks of miscoordination, and thus potentially collision, of gathering head 50 and cutting implement 30.

Referring in addition to FIG. 2, there are shown additional elements of machine 10 including a positioning system 60 having an actuating mechanism 62 for gathering head 50, and a control device 64 coupled with actuating mechanism 62. Actuating mechanism 62 may include a hydraulic actuator or swing actuator, such as is shown in FIG. 1 that extends and retracts in a generally conventional manner in parallel with another hydraulic actuator positioned upon an opposite side of machine 10 (not shown), to move gathering head 50 between the retracted position and the advanced position. Control device 64 may include an electronic control unit having a machine-readable memory 66 and a data processor 68 coupled to machine readable memory 66 and configured to execute computer executable instructions stored on machine readable memory 66, as further discussed herein. Data processor 68 may be any suitable programmable computerized data processor. Machine readable memory 66 may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or any other suitable machine readable memory. In FIG. 2 a block 80 identifies elements associated with adjustment and position monitoring of gathering head 50, whereas another block 90 identifies elements associated with position monitoring and adjustment of boom assembly 24 and thus cutting implement 30. Hydraulic fluid supply and distribution components 70 are provided and coupled with the components of block 80 and also with the components of block 90. Hydraulic fluid supply and distribution components 70 may include, for instance, a hydraulic pump, a hydraulic tank, electronically controlled valve assemblies for controlling the direction as well as initiation and cessation of hydraulic fluid flow, and potentially still other components. As discussed herein, control command(s) produced by control device 64 to control and/or actuate gathering head 50 (or other components) may include digital or analog electronic control commands such as electrical currents or electrical voltages sent to hydraulic fluid supply and distribution components 70, such as electrical valve actuators therein (not shown). Also depicted in block 90 are actuating mechanism or actuator 38, actuating mechanism or actuator 42, and a rotary actuating mechanism or actuator 48. Actuator 48 may include a hydraulic, pneumatic or electrical actuator configured to rotate wrist 48, whereas actuators 38 and 42 may include any suitable actuator capable of operating to lift and lower boom assembly 24 and slew boom assembly 24, respectively. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that additional components and additional actuators might be provided for purposes consistent with adjusting gathering head 50 or adjusting cutting implement 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, a first sensing mechanism 72 may be coupled with actuator 62, a second sensing mechanism 74 may be coupled with actuator 38, a third sensing mechanism 76 may be coupled with actuator 42, and a fourth sensing mechanism 78 may be coupled with actuator 48. Each of sensing mechanisms (hereinafter “sensors”) 72, 74, 76, and 78 may be of known design, and could include linear potentiometers, optical or magnetic proximity sensors, a rotary potentiometer, a contact sensor, or still another design. In an implementation, positioning system 60 includes at least one sensing mechanism, which can be a single sensor or multiple sensors, configured to monitor at least one of a position or an orientation of cutting implement 30. Control device 64 may be coupled with the at least one sensing mechanism, and configured to produce and output control commands for actuator 62, to move gathering head 50 from the retracted position to the advanced position, and control commands for actuator 62 to move gathering head 50 from the advanced position to the retracted position. In an implementation, control device 64 may receive data produced by at least one of sensor 74, sensor 76, or sensor 78 that is indicative of a state of progress of cutting implement 30 in a cutting cycle. The state of progress can be, for example, a location, a position, an orientation of cutting implement 30, or combinations of these factors, with respect to the cutting pattern in the cutting cycle.

It will be recalled that cutting implement 30 may be movable according to a predefined path in a cutting cycle, such that a determination of at least one of a position or an orientation of cutting implement 30 can be indicative of the state of progress of cutting implement 30 in the cutting cycle. The state of progress might be a current location of cutting implement 30 in a cutting cycle, such as within one of a plurality of cutting path segments. It is further contemplated that control device 64 may track at least one of position or orientation of cutting implement 30 over time to determine the state of progress of cutting implement 30 in the cutting cycle. For example, control device 64 may track orientation of cutting implement 30 such as by monitoring sensor 78, and determine a state of progress based on a number of left turns and/or right turns about wrist axis 33. Additionally or alternatively, control device 64 might monitor sensor 74 and/or sensor 76 and calculate and/or look up a position of boom assembly 24 or patterns of change of boom assembly 24 that are determined by positions of one or both of actuators 38 and 42. In still other instances, optical sensors, cameras, or some other strategy could be employed to provide control device 64 with data indicative of a state of progress of cutting implement 30 in a cutting cycle.

It will be recalled that gathering head 50 and cutting implement 30 need to be moved in a coordinated manner to avoid risking collision. Control device 64 may be further configured to prevent miscoordination between gathering head 50 and cutting implement 30 at least in part by producing the control commands to move gathering head 50 from the retracted position to the advanced position, during execution of a cutting cycle, based on the data indicative of a state of progress of cutting implement 30. Referring also now to FIG. 3, there is shown a positional flow diagram 100 where cutting implement 30 is shown as it might appear at a series of times during execution of a cutting cycle. A cutting cycle may define a plurality of cutting path segments. It will also be recalled that cutting implement 30 may execute a cutting cycle that defines a first cutting path segment that intersects endpoint 57, and a second cutting path segment that does not intersect endpoint 57. It will further be appreciated that multiple cutting path segments might intersect endpoint 57, and multiple cutting path segments might be executed which do not intersect endpoint 57. In other words, at least part of the cutting path can be understood to intersect a forward position of gathering head 50, and different cutting cycles and/or different machine configurations could mean collision between gathering head 50 and cutting implement 30 is possible relatively more of the time or relatively less of the time.

In FIG. 3, the cutting cycle might start at a location 102 where cutting implement 30 commences a horizontal cutting path segment 120/180 and begins to cut laterally through a material face. It will typically be necessary upon initiating a cutting cycle to feed cutting implement 30 inwardly into the material face at least initially, but thereafter cutting implement will be operated to cut laterally and according to an activated undercutting technique. From the start location 102, cutting implement 30 may traverse cutting path segment 120 as generally depicted by way of an open arrow 105, and then turn vertically downward to traverse a vertical cutting path segment 170, and then turn to the right in FIG. 3 to traverse a horizontal cutting path segment 110 that intersects endpoint 57. At or near the conclusion of cutting path segment 110, cutting implement 30 may turn vertically upward to traverse a vertical cutting path segment 160. At or near completion of cutting path segment 160, cutting implement 30 may be turned to the left and traverse the horizontal cutting path segment 120/180 a second time in the cutting cycle as generally depicted by way of solid arrow 106. At or near completion of cutting path segment 120/180, cutting implement 30 can be turned vertically upward to traverse another vertical cutting path segment 150, then to the right to traverse yet another horizontal cutting path segment 130, and finally vertically downward to traverse a vertical cutting path segment 140 to a finish location 104.

It will be understood from the illustration of FIG. 3 that the horizontal cutting path segment that intersects endpoint 57 might be a lower horizontal cutting path segment, whereas one or more horizontal cutting path segments that do not intersect endpoint 57 might be horizontal cutting path segment 120/180. It can further be noted that first horizontal segment 110 could be a so-called floor cut segment, representing the lowest part of a cross-sectional area that machine 10 is cutting. Control device 64 may be configured by way of producing the control commands to move gathering head 50 from the retracted position to the advanced position to place gathering head 50 within or potentially just adjacent to floor cut segment 110 and vertically below the second horizontal segment. The data indicative of the state of progress of cutting implement 30 may further be data indicative of at least one of a position or an orientation of cutting implement 30 that is associated with expected initiation or expected completion of the second horizontal segment a second time in the cutting cycle. For example, control device 64 might output control commands to move gathering head 50 from the retracted position to the advanced position just prior to commencing the turn from vertical cutting path segment 160 to horizontal cutting path segment 120/180. Alternatively, control device 64 might command that adjustment of gathering head 50 just after completing the transition from vertical cutting path segment 160 to horizontal cutting path segment 120/180, or at still another time or configuration of cutting implement 30. “Expected” initiation or completion should be taken to mean that the action or state of interest is expected to occur but has not yet occurred or that the action or state of interest is expected to have already occurred based on apparent circumstances. For instance, “expected initiation” can be understood to mean that cutting implement 30 appears to be at a state about to begin cutting a particular cutting path segment or that cutting implement appears to have already initiated cutting a particular cutting path segment.

As will be apparent from the foregoing description and FIG. 3 illustration, the various cutting path segments can form a compound cutting path that forms a FIG. 8 pattern. It has been discovered that a FIG. 8 pattern is advantageous in at least certain applications. It should also nevertheless be appreciated that various other cutting path patterns are contemplated herein, some of which could include a greater number of horizontal cutting path segments, a greater or lesser number of vertical cutting path segments, diagonal cutting path segments, curvilinear cutting path segments, or still others. In each of the contemplated cutting patterns, cutting mechanism 22 and gathering head 50 will be coordinated to avoid collision. In many, but not necessarily all, instances, infeed of gathering head 50 will occur after completion, or based upon expected completion, of the vertically lowest part of a cross-sectional area that machine 10 is operated to cut.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a flowchart 200 illustrating example methodology and control logic flow according to the present disclosure. At a block 205, cutting implement 30 may be engaged with a material face while rotating, such as at start location 102 in the illustration of FIG. 3. From block 205, the process may advance to block 210 to transition cutting implement 30 through the cutting path. At a block 215, position and/or orientation of cutting implement 30 can be tracked, which tracking can commence prior to or at the point of engaging a material face for cutting. To track cutting implement 30 as contemplated herein, control device 64 may receive data indicative of the at least one of position or orientation and comparing the data with a stored model, performing a calculation, or executing another operation. From block 215, the process may advance to block 220 to query whether cutting implement 30 is executing a second pass of the middle segment of a FIG. 8 pattern. It should be appreciated, of course, that rather than execution of a second pass of another segment in a FIG. 8 pattern, the monitoring and acting upon data indicative of position or orientation could be triggered otherwise. If no, the process might loop back to continue tracking position.

If, at block 220, cutting implement 30 is executing or expected to execute a second pass of the middle segment of the FIG. 8 pattern, the process may advance to block 225 to output a control command to the actuating mechanism for gathering head 50, such as actuator 62. From block 225, the process may advance to block 230 to adjust gathering head 50 from the retracted position to the advanced position. From block 240, the process may advance to block 235 to track position and/or orientation of cutting implement 30. From block 235, the process may advance to block 240 to determine whether the cutting cycle is complete. If no, the process might loop back to continue tracking position and/or orientation of cutting implement 30. If yes, the process may advance to block 245 to output a control command to actuating mechanism of gathering head 50 such as actuator 62 and/or such other actuators as might be employed. From block 235, the process may advance to block 250 to adjust gathering head 50 from the advanced position to the retracted position. From block 250, the process might continue consistent with incremental tramming forward of machine 10 in a continuous mining or continuous tunneling operation, or could exit.

The present description is for illustrative purposes only, and should not be construed to narrow the breadth of the present disclosure in any way. Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications might be made to the presently disclosed embodiments without departing from the full and fair scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Other aspects, features and advantages will be apparent upon an examination of the attached drawings and appended claims. As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. A machine comprising:

a frame;

a gathering head movable in a range of motion relative to the frame between a retracted position, and an advanced position defining an endpoint of the range of motion;

a cutting implement movable relative to the frame to execute a cutting cycle defining a first cutting path segment that intersects the endpoint of the range of motion, and a second cutting path segment that does not intersect the endpoint of the range of motion;

a positioning system including an actuating mechanism for the gathering head, and a control device coupled with the actuating mechanism, the control device being configured to: produce control commands for the actuating mechanism to move the gathering head from the retracted position to the advanced position, and control commands for the actuating mechanism to move the gathering head from the advanced position to the retracted position; receive data indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle; and prevent miscoordination between the gathering head and the cutting implement at least in part by producing the control commands to move the gathering head from the retracted position to the advanced position, during execution of the cutting cycle, based on the data indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein the first cutting path segment includes a first horizontal segment and the second cutting path segment includes a second horizontal segment.

3. The machine of claim 2 wherein the data is indicative of at least one of a position or an orientation of the cutting implement that is associated with expected initiation or expected completion of the second horizontal segment.

4. The machine of claim 3 wherein the first horizontal segment includes a floor cut segment, and the control device is further configured by way of producing the control commands to move the gathering head from the retracted position to the advanced positon to place the gathering head within the floor cut segment and vertically below the second horizontal segment.

5. The machine of claim 3 wherein the first horizontal segment and the second horizontal segment include, respectively, a lower horizontal segment and a middle horizontal segment connected by a plurality of vertical segments in a compound cutting path forming a FIG. 8 pattern.

6. The machine of claim 3 wherein the data is indicative of at least one of a position or an orientation of the cutting implement that is associated with expected initiation or expected completion of the second horizontal segment a second time in the cutting cycle.

7. The machine of claim 1 further comprising a boom assembly including a wrist rotatable in an angular range of about 180 degrees or greater, and wherein the cutting implement is supported upon the boom assembly in a side mount arrangement at a location outboard of the wrist and rotatable about an implement axis that is oriented perpendicular to the wrist axis.

8. The machine of claim 1 wherein the gathering head is translated in a forward direction from the retracted position to the advanced position, and wherein the control device is further configured to receive data indicative of expected completion of the cutting cycle, and to produce the control commands for the actuating mechanism to move the gathering head from the advanced position to the retracted position, based on the data indicative of expected completion of the cutting cycle.

9. A method of operating a machine, the method comprising comprising:

executing a cutting cycle with a cutting implement of the machine such that the cutting implement traverses a cutting path;

receiving data indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle;

outputting a control command to an actuating mechanism of a gathering head in the machine during the execution of the cutting cycle;

adjusting the gathering head from a retracted position, to an advanced position at which the gathering head is positioned within the cutting path, responsive to the control command; and

producing the control command, based on the data indicative of the state of progress of the cutting implement, to prevent miscoordination between the gathering head and the cutting implement during the execution of the cutting cycle.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the adjusting of the gathering head includes translating the gathering head in a direction of a material face that is cut by the cutting implement during the execution of the cutting cycle.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the executing of the cutting cycle further includes executing the cutting cycle such that the cutting implement traverses a cutting path having a plurality of horizontal segments.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the receiving of data indicative of the state of progress of the cutting implement further includes receiving data indicative of at least one of a position or an orientation of the cutting implement that is associated with expected initiation or expected completion of one of the plurality of horizontal segments.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the receiving of data indicative of the state of progress of the cutting implement further includes receiving data indicative of at least one of a position or an orientation of the cutting implement that is associated with expected initiation or expected completion of the one of the plurality of horizontal segments a second time during execution of the cutting cycle.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the one of the plurality of horizontal segments includes a second pass of the cutting implement through a middle horizontal segment in a compound cutting path forming a FIG. 8 pattern.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising supporting the cutting implement in a side mount arrangement upon a boom assembly of the machine, and wherein the executing of the cutting cycle further includes rotating the cutting implement about an implement axis during the supporting of the cutting implement in the side mount arrangement upon the boom assembly of the machine.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising feeding material cut from the material face to a conveyor in the machine at each of the retracted position and the advanced position of the gathering head.

17. A positioning system for a gathering head in a machine, the positioning system comprising:

at least one sensing mechanism configured to monitor at least one of a position or an orientation of a cutting implement movable in a cutting cycle in contact with a material face to be cut and defining a cutting path;

a control device coupled with the at least one sensing mechanism, the control device being configured to:

output control commands for an actuating mechanism coupled with the gathering head in the machine, to move the gathering head from a retracted position at which the gathering head is not within the cutting path, to an advanced position at which the gathering head is within the cutting path;

output control commands for the actuating mechanism to move the gathering head from the advanced position to the retracted position;

receive data produced by the at least one sensing mechanism that is indicative of a state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle;

prevent miscoordination between the gathering head and the cutting implement during execution of the cutting cycle at least in part by producing the control commands to move the gathering head from the retracted position to the advanced position based on the data that is indicative of the state of progress of the cutting implement in the cutting cycle.

18. The positioning system of claim 17 wherein the data produced by the at least one sensing mechanism that is indicative of the state of progress of the cutting implement includes data indicative of at least one of a position or an orientation of the cutting implement that is associated with expected initiation or expected completion of one of a plurality of segments of the cutting path.

19. The positioning system of claim 18 wherein the one of the plurality of segments of the cutting path includes a middle horizontal segment in a compound cutting path forming a FIG. 8 pattern.

20. The positioning system of claim 18 wherein the at least one sensing mechanism includes:

a sensor configured to monitor a parameter indicative of an angular orientation of the cutting implement about a wrist axis extending through a boom in a boom assembly supporting the cutting implement; and

wherein the data indicative of the state of progress includes data of the monitored parameter.