Method for producing a face opening using automated systems

A method of automatically producing a defined face opening, in underground coal mining, during longwall mining operations having a face conveyor, a disk shearer loader as an extraction machine, and a hydraulic shield support, said method including the steps of:

• providing at least one inclination sensor on a top canopy of a frame of the shield support;
• determining, via said at least one inclination sensor, an inclination of said top canopy, relative to a horizontal plane, to provide angles of a course of an overlying stratum at the shield support frame;
• from said angles determining, in a computer, the course of said overlying stratum;
• determining a stepping or advancement path length of said shield support frame by means of a distance measuring device disposed on a floor skid of said shield support frame;
• from said stepping or advancement path length, determining a cutting depth of said disk shearer loader during an extraction run;
• providing sensors on said disk shearer loader;
• by means of said sensors on said disk shearer loader, detecting a cutting height of said disk shearer loader;
• and
• adjusting the cutting height of said disk shearer loader in alignment with a respective angle of the course of said overlying stratum to produce the defined face opening.