Back to results
US 7,726,465 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for open pit bench mining
AssigneeDrummond Company, Inc.
InventorsGarry N. Drummond, Eugene Honeycutt, Harold Gene Anderson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bench mining system and mining method, particularly useful for open pit bench mining, employs a combination of bulldozers and transversely movable apron feeders to provide the primary mechanism for removal of overburden. The apron feeders are preferably equipped with a self-cleaning arrangement to facilitate continuous operation without undue stoppages.
Claims8
An apron feeder comprising:
- a plurality of transport flights configured for travel in a continuous elongated loop having top and bottom sides and configured to convey materials on the top side from a feed end to an outlet end of the apron feeder;
- a scroll element mounted at the feed end of the apron feeder configured to catch material spilling off in front of the feed end, said scroll element having an elongated flat portion extending beneath a portion of the bottom side of the loop of transport flights in a substantially parallel orientation;
- a wiper element mounted on a transport flight configured to clean material caught by the scroll element as the wiper element moves from the bottom side to the top side of the loop with the flight to which the wiper element is mounted;
- and
- a grizzly element mounted on a transport flight to break apart material caught on the scroll element before the wiper element cleans the material from the scroll element.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.