Mining rock deflector apparatus and method
AssigneeSwanson Industries, Inc.
InventorsEdward Protiva, Jessica Larew, Peter Singleton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method for protecting a person servicing a longwall shear such changing bits on a drum, embodiments relating to a base plate to be secured to an underside of a shield canopy and a slide plate movably connected to the underside of the base plate such that the slide plate can advance out from the shield canopy to allow a person to service a longwall shear while being protected by the slide plate from falling rock and other debris, and the slide plate can then retract back under the shield canopy.
Claims13
A method of protecting a person servicing a longwall shear from falling rock and debris, the method comprising:
- slidably attaching a slide plate to an underside of a shield canopy, the slide plate slidable along a plurality of base plate guides extending from a base plate attached to the shield canopy between positions out from, and back under, the underside of the shield canopy;
- attaching a first end of an actuator to the slide plate such that the actuator is at least partially positioned in a void in a back end of the slide plate;
- attaching a second end of the actuator to the underside of the shield canopy;
- sliding a front end of the slide plate out from under the underside of the shield canopy toward a face of coal such that the slide plate positions over shearing equipment without contacting a roof adjacent to the face of coal;
- holding the slide plate over the shearing equipment while maintenance is performed on the shearing equipment;
- and
- sliding the slide plate back under the underside of the shield canopy after the maintenance on the shearing equipment has been performed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.