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US 4,290,491 AGranted
Rock drill positioning mechanism
AssigneeCooper Industries, Inc.
InventorJames R. Mayer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotary actuator is pivotally mounted on the end of a drill boom and supports a rock drill feed bar for rotation about a longitudinal axis of the actuator. The rotary actuator includes a piston with a piston rod portion having external and internal helical splines engaged with cooperating splines on the actuator housing and a rotating shaft, respectively. The shaft is connected to the feed bar and is operable to rotate the feed bar in response to axial movement of the piston. The axis of rotation of the shaft may be coincident with the longitudinal axis of the drill boom. The drill boom is mounted on a rotary actuator for swinging movement about a vertical axis.
Claims17
A rock drill positioning mechanism for positioning a drill feed bar or the like in combination with an elongated movable boom, said positioning mechanism being characterized by:
- a connecting member pivotally mounted on the distal end of said boom;
- a mounting arm pivotally connected to said connecting member;
- actuator means interconnected between said connecting member and said arm for pivoting said arm with respect to said connecting member;
- and,
- a rotary actuator mounted on said arm and adapted to support said feed bar for rotating said feed bar about an axis of rotation which may be substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of said boom depending on the pivotal position of said arm and said connecting member;
- said rotary actuator including a housing connected to said arm and having a cylindrical bore, a piston reciprocably disposed in said bore, at least two sets of cooperable helical splines including internal and external splines formed on said piston, a shaft mounted on said housing for rotation in response to movement of said piston in said bore, said shaft including splines cooperable with said internal splines on said piston, further splines in said housing cooperably engaged with said external splines on said piston, and means interconnecting said shaft and said feed bar so that in response to actuation of said piston to rotate said shaft said feed bar may be rotatably positioned about said axis of rotation.
3 more elements
A rock drill positioning mechanism for positioning a drill feed bar or the like in combination with an elongated movable boom, said positioning mechanism being characterized by:
- a connecting member pivotally mounted on the distal end of said boom;
- a mounting arm pivotally connected to said connecting member;
- actuator means interconnected between said connecting member and said arm for pivoting said arm with respect to said connecting member;
- and,
- a rotary actuator mounted on said arm and adapted to support said feed bar for rotating said feed bar about an axis of rotation,
- said rotary actuator including a housing connected to said arm and having a cylindrical bore, a piston reciprocably disposed in said bore, at least two sets of cooperable helical splines including internal and external splines formed on said piston, a shaft mounted on said housing for rotation in response to movement of said piston in said bore, said shaft including splines cooperable with said internal splines on said piston, further splines in said housing cooperably engaged with said external splines on said piston, and means interconnecting said shaft and said feed bar so that in response to actuation of said piston to rotate said shaft said feed bar may be rotatably positioned about said axis of rotation.
3 more elements
A rock drill positioning mechanism for positioning a drill feed bar or the like in combination with an elongated movable boom, said postioning mechanism being characterized by:
- a connecting member pivotally mounted on the distal end of said boom;
- a mounting arm pivotally connected to said connecting member;
- actuator means interconnected between said connecting member and said arm for pivoting said arm with respect to said connecting member;
- a rotary actuator mounted on said arm and adapted to support said feed bar for rotating said feed bar about an axis of rotation which may be substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of said boom depending on the pivotal position of said arm and said connecting member;
- a support structure for said boom;
- a rotary swing actuator including a housing mounted on said support structure and supporting the end of said boom opposite said distal end, said swing actuator being operable to move said boom about a substantially vertical pivot axis;
- said swing actuator including a bore in said housing, a shaft mounted in said bore for rotation with respect to said housing, a piston disposed for axial movement in said bore and forming opposed fluid chambers in said bore, said piston including a hollow rod portion, a first set of interfitting helical splines formed on said rod portion and said shaft, a second set of interfitting helical splines formed on said rod portion and on means fixed to said housing, the helix of said second set of splines being opposite to that to said first set, said swing actuator being operable in response to the axial movement of said piston for effecting rotation of said boom about said vertical pivot axis.
4 more elements
A rock drill positioning mechanism adapted to be mounted on the distal end of a drill boom and being characterized by:
- a mounting arm mounted on the distal end of said boom for pivotal movement relative thereto;
- and,
- a rotary actuator mounted on said arm, said rotary actuator including an inner housing member connected to said arm and having a cylindrical bore therein, a piston disposed for axial movement in said bore, said piston including an elongated hollow rod portion having internal and external splines formed thereon, a shaft rotatably mounted in said inner housing and including elongated helical splines cooperable with said internal splines on said rod portion, further splines fixed to said housing and cooperable with said external splines on said rod portion, and means connected to said shaft and supported on said rotary actuator for rotatably positioning a rock drill feed bar about the axis of rotation of said shaft in response to movement of said piston.
A rock drill positioning mechanism for positioning a drill feed bar or the like in combination with an elongated movable boom, said positioning mechanism being characterized by:
- a connecting member pivotally mounted on the distal end of said boom;
- a mounting arm pivotally connected to said connecting member;
- actuator means interconnected between said connecting member and said arm for pivoting said arm with respect to said connecting member;
- a rotary actuator mounted on said arm and adapted to support said feed bar for rotating said feed bar about an axis of rotation of said rotary actuator;
- and
- means for mounting said feed bar on said rotary actuator in a plurality of positions with respect to said rotary actuator about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to said axis of rotation of said rotary actuator, said means including a flange on said rotary actuator, a bracket adapted to support said feed bar, and means including a trunnion for locating said bracket on said flange and for retaining said bracket on said rotary actuator when said feed bar is moved from one position to another with respect to said rotary actuator.
3 more elements
In combination:
- an elongated boom adapted to be pivoted about horizontal and vertical axes;
- a support structure for said boom;
- a rotary swing actuator mounted on said support structure and supporting one end of said boom;
- said swing actuator including a housing, a bore in said housing, a shaft mounted in said bore for rotation with respect to said housing, a piston disposed for axial movement in said bore and forming opposed fluid chambers in said bore, said piston including a hollow rod portion, a first set of interfitting helical splines being formed on said rod portion and said shaft, a second set of interfitting helical splines formed on said rod portion and on means fixed to said housing, the helix of said second set of splines being opposite to the helix of said first set, said actuator being operable in response to axial movement of said piston to effect rotation of said boom about a substantially vertical pivot axis.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.