US3623771A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Drill-and-blast excavating apparatus and method
Assignee: ETI EXPLOSIVES TECHNOLOGIES INTE
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Filing: 1970-06-25
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Granted: 1971-11-30
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Expires: 1990-06-25
Abstract
Abstract Drill-and-blast excavating apparatus has a powered carriage having a forward end which confronts a face in a geological formation; supporting arm members pivotally mounted on the carriage; drill-and-blast modules pivotally and rotatably mounted on the supporting arm members, the modules being adapted to drill holes in the face, load the holes with charges of condensed secondary explosive, and thereafter deliver energy to the charges in the holes to initiate the charges; explosives supply and feeding means communicating with the modules; a ventilating unit; at least one pair of gathering arms and a conveyor associated therewith mounted on the lower, chassis portion of the carriage; and protective shielding means including one or more transverse barriers mounted on the carriage behind the supporting arm members and drill-and-blast modules and forward of the explosives supply means, and adapted intermittently to engage the surrounding surfaces of an underground opening as a seal to effect pressure and noise attenuation. A process comprising performing substantially concurrent groups of drill-load-blast sequences in substantially continuous succession while removing muck and airborne fumes, and attenuating blast pressure and noise in an environmental transition region behind the face to the extent that blast pressure and noise levels in a zone behind the transition region, e.g., a zone up to about 50-100 feet from the face, are within prescribed safe limits of human tolerance.
Inventors
- 👤 Edward J Sosnowicz
- 👤 Frank M Willis
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 03:16
CPC Classifications
E; E21; E21D; E21D9/00; E21D9/006
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
417 words
An excavating apparatus for advancing a subsurface face in a geological formation comprising: a. a powered carriage having a forward end which confronts a face to be advanced; b. at least one supporting arm member pivotally mounted at its back end on said carriage; c. a plurality of drill-and-blast units positioned in at least one drill-and-blast module, said module being pivotally and rotatably mounted on the front end of a supporting arm member, said drill-and-blast units comprising (1) drilling means, (2) means for delivering a charge of condensed secondary explosive into a hole made by said drilling means, and (3) means for delivering energy to said secondary explosive charge in said hole to initiate said charge; d. explosives feeding means including explosives delivery hoses each of which has a forward end portion terminating in a drilland-blast unit, said explosives feeding means being in communication with explosives supply means and adapted to deliver explosive material from said explosives supply means, through said explosives delivery hoses, and out of the free forward ends of said hoses when the latter are in communication with drill holes; e. means mounted on said carriage for collecting and transporting solid fragments, said collecting means being adapted to move fragments to said transporting means from the path of the apparatus at the forward end of said carriage, and said transporting means being adapted to move fragments away from the apparatus; f. ventilation means adapted to draw airborne fumes away from the face and cause fresh air to move up to the face; and g. shielding means adapted to prOtect components of the apparatus from blast pressure and rock impact, said shielding means comprising (1) at least one transverse barrier mounted on said carriage behind said supporting arm member and drill-andblast module and forward of said explosives supply means and being adapted intermittently to engage the surrounding surfaces of an underground opening as a seal, and (2) armored housing on said supporting arm member and said module; said transverse barrier having at least one opening therein through which (A) said fragment-transporting means extends so as to communicate with said fragment-collecting means at the forward end of said carriage, (B) said explosives delivery hoses extend so as to terminate in said drill-and-blast units, and (C) said ventilation means extends to the space between said ventilation means and the face, all openings in said transverse barrier which permit communication between the external environments ahead of and behind said transverse barrier being adapted to be closed off intermittently.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
417 words
An excavating apparatus for advancing a subsurface face in a geological formation comprising: a. a powered carriage having a forward end which confronts a face to be advanced; b. at least one supporting arm member pivotally mounted at its back end on said carriage; c. a plurality of drill-and-blast units positioned in at least one drill-and-blast module, said module being pivotally and rotatably mounted on the front end of a supporting arm member, said drill-and-blast units comprising (1) drilling means, (2) means for delivering a charge of condensed secondary explosive into a hole made by said drilling means, and (3) means for delivering energy to said secondary explosive charge in said hole to initiate said charge; d. explosives feeding means including explosives delivery hoses each of which has a forward end portion terminating in a drilland-blast unit, said explosives feeding means being in communication with explosives supply means and adapted to deliver explosive material from said explosives supply means, through said explosives delivery hoses, and out of the free forward ends of said hoses when the latter are in communication with drill holes; e. means mounted on said carriage for collecting and transporting solid fragments, said collecting means being adapted to move fragments to said transporting means from the path of the apparatus at the forward end of said carriage, and said transporting means being adapted to move fragments away from the apparatus; f. ventilation means adapted to draw airborne fumes away from the face and cause fresh air to move up to the face; and g. shielding means adapted to prOtect components of the apparatus from blast pressure and rock impact, said shielding means comprising (1) at least one transverse barrier mounted on said carriage behind said supporting arm member and drill-andblast module and forward of said explosives supply means and being adapted intermittently to engage the surrounding surfaces of an underground opening as a seal, and (2) armored housing on said supporting arm member and said module; said transverse barrier having at least one opening therein through which (A) said fragment-transporting means extends so as to communicate with said fragment-collecting means at the forward end of said carriage, (B) said explosives delivery hoses extend so as to terminate in said drill-and-blast units, and (C) said ventilation means extends to the space between said ventilation means and the face, all openings in said transverse barrier which permit communication between the external environments ahead of and behind said transverse barrier being adapted to be closed off intermittently.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
89 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for delivering energy to said secondary explosive charges in said holes are guns, and projectile supply means is located behind said transverse barrier and in communication with projectile feeding means including projectile delivery hoses, each of which passes through an opening in said transverse barrier and communicates with the chamber of a gun in each drill-and-blast unit, said projectile feeding means being adapted to deliver a projectile from said projectile supply means, through said delivery hoses, and into said gun chambers.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein a plurality of supporting arm members are mounted on said carriage, and a drill-and-blast module containing a plurality of drill-and-blast units is mounted on each of said supporting arm members.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
An apparatus of claim 3 wherein said module units are arranged in the form of a polygon.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein the location of said transverse barrier on said carriage is such that the majority of dislodged fragments propelled toward said barrier from the face fall forward of the barrier.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
51 words
An apparatus of claim 5 wherein the location of said transverse barrier on said carriage is such as to provide between said transverse barrier and the face a volume of at least about 150 cubic feet per pound of condensed secondary explosive delivered into holes substantially concurrently by said drill-and-blast units.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein said transverse barrier has a lower segment fixedly mounted on said carriage and an upper segment pivotally secured to the upper edge of the lower segment to enable the upper segment to pivot about a horizontal axis.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein said ventilation means includes at least one duct which communicates with the space between a transverse barrier and the face through an opening in said transverse barrier and is adapted to be closed intermittently.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein openable closure means are mounted adjacent all openings in said transverse barrier which permit communication between the external environments ahead of and behind said transverse barrier.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein a plurality of transverse barriers are mounted on said carriage in tandem, said fragment-transporting means and said explosives delivery hoses pass through all of said transverse barriers, and said ventilation means includes a duct which communicates with the space between the forwardmost transverse barrier and the face and which passes through all other barriers, said duct being adapted to be closed intermittently.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
An apparatus of claim 10 wherein the location of said forwardmost transverse barrier on said carriage is such that the majority of dislodged fragments propelled toward said barrier from the face fall forward of said barrier.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
55 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein the chassis of said carriage has a front frame segment and at leaSt one rear frame segment, each of said frame segments bearing fragment-collecting and fragment-transporting means, said front segment being adapted to move forward and backward independently of the body portion of said carriage and other frame segments.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
49 words
An apparatus of claim 12 wherein each of said frame segments of said chassis is mounted on a separate pair of spaced crawlers and each frame segment bears a fragment-collecting means communicating with a fragment-transporting means, the fragment-transporting means on all of said frame segments communicating with each other.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein said fragment-collecting means is a plurality of gathering arms and said fragment-transporting means is an endless conveyor.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
54 words
An apparatus of claim 1 wherein surfaces forward of a single transverse barrier, or of the forwardmost of a plurality of transverse barriers, are disposed at angles oblique to the horizontal, and said surfaces which are adjacent to the fragment-transporting means slope downward from the sides of said carriage inward to said fragment-transporting means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
58 words
An apparatus of claim 15 wherein said surfaces which slope downward to said fragment-transporting means from the sides of said carriage are surfaces of adjustable guide members, said guide members being adapted to have their angle of inclination changed so as to change the distance between said guide members and the neighboring side surfaces of an underground opening.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
183 words
A process for advancing a subsurface face in a geological formation comprising: a. performing a substantially continuously succession of groups of substantially continuous drill-load-blast sequences, each of said sequences at a single location in the face different from the locations therein where other sequences are performed, the sequences in each of said groups being carried out substantially concurrently, and each sequence comprising the steps of (1) drilling a hole in the face, (2) placing a charge of condensed secondary explosive in said hole, and (3) delivering energy to said secondary explosive charge in said hole in a manner such that energy is released into said charge at a rate sufficiently high to cause detonation thereof; b. concurrently with steps (a)(1) and (a)(2), removing from the vicinity of the face dislodged fragments and airborne fumes produced during Step (a)(3) of the previous group of sequences; and c. attenuating blast pressure and noise in an environmental transition region behind the face, to the extent that the blast pressure and noise levels in a zone behind said region are within prescribed safe limits of human tolerance.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
183 words
A process for advancing a subsurface face in a geological formation comprising: a. performing a substantially continuously succession of groups of substantially continuous drill-load-blast sequences, each of said sequences at a single location in the face different from the locations therein where other sequences are performed, the sequences in each of said groups being carried out substantially concurrently, and each sequence comprising the steps of (1) drilling a hole in the face, (2) placing a charge of condensed secondary explosive in said hole, and (3) delivering energy to said secondary explosive charge in said hole in a manner such that energy is released into said charge at a rate sufficiently high to cause detonation thereof; b. concurrently with steps (a)(1) and (a)(2), removing from the vicinity of the face dislodged fragments and airborne fumes produced during Step (a)(3) of the previous group of sequences; and c. attenuating blast pressure and noise in an environmental transition region behind the face, to the extent that the blast pressure and noise levels in a zone behind said region are within prescribed safe limits of human tolerance.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
24 words
A process of claim 17 wherein energy is delivered to said secondary explosive charge in each sequence by propelling a projectile into said charge.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
65 words
A process of claim 17 wherein the location of said environmental transition region is such as to provide between said region and the face a volume of at least about 150 cubic feet per pound of condensed secondary explosive placed in holes in each substantially concurrent group of drill-load-blast sequences, said zone behind said transition region being up to about 100 feet from the face.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
49 words
A process of claim 17 wherein, in each group of substantially concurrent drill-load-blast sequences, step (a)(1) is performed in all sequences substantially simultaneously, step (a)(2) thereafter is performed in all sequences substantially simultaneously, and step (a)(3) thereafter is performed with less than about 6 milliseconds between any two sequences.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3266845A
Cited
US3511538A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-11-29 | 1975-05-31 | 1975-11-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-11-29 | 1979-05-31 | 1979-11-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-11-29 | 1983-05-31 | 1983-11-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |