US 11,927,097 B2
Cable handling system for longwall mining machines
Siddartha Saikia, Chennai (IN); Euan Kirkhope, Mayfield (AU); Wilfred Rozario, Chennai (IN); Mahendra Kumar Angamuthu Ganesan, Chennai (IN); and Lakshminarayana Padhi, Srikakulam (IN)
Assigned to Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL (US)
Filed by Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, IL (US)
Filed on Jun. 17, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/842,942.
Claims priority of application No. 2108671 (GB), filed on Jun. 17, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0403738 A1, Dec. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. E21C 35/04 (2006.01); E21F 17/18 (2006.01)
CPC E21C 35/046 (2013.01) [E21F 17/18 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of operating a cable handling system of a longwall mining machine having a shearer movable along a pan line to mine material along a mine face, the cable handling system including:
i) a service line configured to carry one or more supply lines to the shearer for facilitating shearer operation,
ii) a plurality of interconnected trays to accommodate the service line,
iii) a plurality of sensor nodes distributed along a length of the service line,
iv) a plurality of transceivers distributed along a length of the pan line, and
v) a controller, wherein the method comprises:
a) sensing and transmitting orientation, acceleration and/or position data of the service line using the plurality of sensor nodes,
b) using the plurality of transceivers to receive the orientation, acceleration and/or position data from the plurality of sensor nodes and to transmit the orientation, acceleration and/or position data to the controller, and
c) detecting, by the controller, an actual or imminent failure mode of the service line using analysis of the orientation, acceleration and/or position data from the plurality of the sensor nodes by at least comparing the orientation, acceleration and/or position data from a first subset of the plurality of the sensor nodes with the orientation, acceleration and/or position data from a second subset of the plurality of the sensor nodes.
 
8. A cable handling system for a longwall mining machine, the longwall mining machine including a shearer configured to move along a pan line to mine material along a mine face, the cable handling system comprising:
i) a service line configured to carry one or more supply lines to the shearer for facilitating shearer operation,
ii) a plurality of interconnected trays to accommodate the service line,
iii) a plurality of sensor nodes distributed along a length of the service line,
iv) a plurality of transceivers distributed along a length of the pan line, and
v) a controller configured to:
a) receive orientation, acceleration and/or position data of the service line that originates from the plurality of sensor nodes, is transmitted to the plurality of transceivers, and is then transmitted to the controller by the plurality of transceivers, and
b) analyse the orientation, acceleration and/or position data to detect an actual or imminent failure mode of the service line by at least comparing the orientation, acceleration and/or position data from a first subset of the plurality of the sensor nodes with the orientation, acceleration and/or position data from a second subset of the plurality of the sensor nodes.