Hydraulic Stinger Screen Handling for Mine Rock Faces
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional equipment for installing screening in mines is complex, expensive, and prone to breakdown, making it inefficient for securing wire mesh screening on rock faces.
Innovation Solution
A screen handling system with a hydraulic stinger incorporating a screen-handling actuator that extends and retracts to engage and manipulate screens, allowing them to be securely fastened to the rock face using rock bolts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional equipment is used for installing screening, then the screening can be installed on the rock face, but the equipment becomes complex, expensive, and prone to breakdown
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the stinger (used for stabilizing the rock bolter during drilling) with a screen handling mechanism. The stinger now serves dual purposes: providing mechanical stability during drilling operations and handling/positioning the screening material. This integration eliminates the need for separate screen handling equipment, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliability through proven hydraulic actuation technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The stinger is transformed into a multi-functional component that performs both its traditional role of stabilizing the rock bolter during drilling and a new function of engaging, positioning, and supporting the screening material. The hydraulic actuator within the stinger provides universal applicability for both drilling stabilization and screen installation tasks, simplifying the equipment roster while improving reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional screening installation equipment is used, then screening can be installed, but the equipment is expensive and prone to breakdown
Solution Approach 1:
By merging screen handling capabilities into the existing stinger assembly, the patent eliminates the need for separate, expensive screen installation equipment. The hydraulic actuator already present in the stinger is utilized for dual purposes, reducing overall equipment cost while maintaining reliability through the use of proven, existing components rather than requiring new specialized equipment.
3Device complexity
If a simple screen handling mechanism is used, then equipment complexity is reduced, but the ability to securely grip and manipulate screens may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a screen engaging finger as an intermediary component between the hydraulic actuator and the screening material. This finger provides the necessary mechanical interface for gripping and manipulating the screen, while the hydraulic actuator provides the force. This intermediary element ensures effective screen handling without requiring complex mechanisms, maintaining ease of operation while keeping the overall system simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The screen engaging finger is designed to automatically engage with the screening material through its geometric shape and movement, eliminating the need for complex control systems or multiple components. The hydraulic actuator simply provides linear motion, and the finger's design inherently provides the gripping and manipulation functions, allowing the system to serve itself without additional complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system simplifies and enhances the installation of screening on rock faces by providing a stable and efficient method to grip, manipulate, and secure screens, reducing equipment complexity and breakdowns.
Implementation Method 1
a screen-handling actuator disposed within a bore of the stinger for extending and retracting relative to the stinger
Data Source
AI summary
A screen-handling stinger extends and retracts hydraulically from within a bore of a hydraulic stinger of a rock bolter. The screen-handling stinger has a finger that engages a screen. The screen-handling stinger retracts the screen until it snugly abuts the front face of a pad of the stinger. The screen can then be rotated by the rotation motor of the stinger.