Mining vehicle
OwnerJames Thomas Oliver, Anthony James Spragueinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An explosives delivery vehicle for delivering a booster (65) for initiating an explosion of an explosive material in a hole (90) in a floor (91) of a mine pit to an operative depth in the hole. The vehicle comprises a storage assembly (10) for storing a plurality of the boosters, a booster loading assembly (30) for (i) supporting the booster in a delivery position above the hole and (ii) moving the booster downwardly into the hole and inserting the booster at an operative depth in the hole; and a delivery assembly (20) for transporting the booster from the storage assembly to the loading assembly.
Claims30
An explosives delivery vehicle for delivering a booster for initiating an explosion of an explosives material in a hole in a floor of a pit to an operative depth in the hole, the vehicle comprising:
- (a) a storage assembly for storing a plurality of the boosters;
- (b) a booster loading assembly for (i) supporting the booster in a delivery position above the hole and (ii) moving the booster downwardly into the hole and inserting the booster at an operative depth in the hole;
- and
- (c) a delivery assembly for transporting the booster from the storage assembly to the loading assembly.
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A booster assembly for use in a drill and blast operation, with the booster assembly comprising in co-axial alignment:
- (a) a booster for initiating an explosion of an explosives material in a hole in a floor of a pit;
- (b) a spool and a detonation cord wrapped around the spool in a storage position outside the hole and connected to the spool and to the booster, with the spool being provided for allowing the detonation cord to be unwound from the spool as the booster is moved from the storage position to the operative depth in the hole and the spool remains in the storage position;
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- (c) a stake for locating the spool in the pit floor proximate the hole after the booster is in the operative depth in the hole;
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- with an end of the spool being formed to receive and locate an end of the booster such that the booster is seated on the spool when the booster assembly is in an upright orientation in the storage position before moving the booster to the operative depth in the hole.
A method of delivering a booster for initiating an explosion of an explosive material in a hole in a floor of a pit into the hole, the method comprising the following steps controlled by an operator in a cabin of the vehicle or at a remote location to the vehicle or controlled as part of autonomous operation:
- (a) positioning a booster delivery vehicle in a pit proximate the hole;
- (b) removing a booster from a storage unit of the vehicle and moving the booster to a delivery position above the hole;
- and
- (c) operating a loading assembly and moving the booster downwardly from the delivery position and inserting the booster at an operative depth in the hole.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.