Mine roof support equipment
AssigneeCoal Industry (Patents) Limited
InventorsFrank Evans, Dennis Alfred Gillard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Advanceable roof-supports on a longwall face are provided with a shield assembly for preventing flow of broken rock material from the goaf, the shield assembly being made up of a series of shield units each comprising two lengths of round link chain suspended from a roof-support canopy and a plurality of overlapping cross members connected to the chain links by pivotal mounting means.
Claims4
In mine roof-support equipment for forming a shield assembly behind a plurality of advanceable roof support means on a longwall face in which each roof support means is advanced separately from the others by lowering the roof support means, advancing it and thereafter raising the roof support means to its support position comprising at least two flexible members one of which is suspended from a mine roof support means while the second flexible member is suspended from an adjacent roof support means and a plurality of cross elements each of which is securable to the two members at spaced points therealong, the improvement whereby said members at said spaced points have extending therefrom mounting means for pivotally securing each of the cross elements to each flexible member, the mounting means enabling each cross element to pivot independently of each flexible member and said flexible members to maintain themselves in a straight vertical position even when their roof support means is being advanced.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.