Self-advancing roof support for a longwall mining system

A self-advancing roof support for a longwall mining system, the self-advancing roof support comprising:

• a base;
• at least one hydraulic actuator having a first end pivotally coupled to the base;
• a canopy portion connected to a second end of the hydraulic actuator and pivotally coupled to the base by an intermediate pivoting link member, the canopy portion being disposed above the base along a vertical direction;
• at least one load sensor disposed on the canopy portion, the at least one load sensor being configured to generate a signal indicative of an amount of load borne by the canopy portion in abutment with a roof of an underground mine site;
• and
• a controller communicably coupled to the at least one load sensor and the at least one hydraulic actuator, the controller being configured to:
• detect a cavity defined by a surface of the roof based on the signal indicative of the amount of load borne by the canopy portion, the surface of the roof defining the cavity being disposed adjacent to the canopy portion along a horizontal direction, the surface of the roof defining the cavity being disposed at an elevation that is higher than the canopy portion along the vertical direction, the horizontal direction being transverse to the vertical direction, and
• in response to the detection of the cavity, actuate movement of the at least one hydraulic actuator to displace the canopy portion relative to the base and toward the cavity along the horizontal direction and into a new position directly underlying the surface of the roof defining the cavity.

A method for autonomously controlling movement of a roof support associated with a longwall mining system, the roof support having a base, at least one hydraulic actuator having a first end pivotally coupled to the base, and a canopy portion connected to a second end of the hydraulic actuator and pivotally coupled to the base by an intermediate pivoting link member, the canopy portion being disposed above the base along a vertical direction, the method comprising:

• generating, using at least one load sensor disposed on the canopy portion, a signal indicative of an amount of load borne by the canopy portion in abutment with a roof of an underground mine site;
• receiving, by means of a controller communicably coupled to the at least one load sensor, the signal indicative of the amount of load borne by the canopy portion in abutment with the roof of the underground mine site;
• detecting, by means of the controller, a cavity defined by a surface of the roof based on the signal indicative of the amount of load borne by the canopy portion, the surface of the roof defining the cavity being disposed adjacent to the canopy portion along a horizontal direction, the surface of the roof defining the cavity being disposed at an elevation that is higher than the canopy portion along the vertical direction, the horizontal direction being transverse to the vertical direction;
• and
• actuating movement of the at least one hydraulic actuator, by means of the controller, for causing movement of the intermediate pivoting link member relative to the base to displace the canopy portion relative to the base and toward the cavity along the horizontal direction and into a new position directly underlying the surface of the roof defining the cavity.