Patents
US 8690260 B1: Mining machine automation
- Granted
- 2014-04-08
- Filed
- 2013-03-12 application 13794842
- Type
- Utility · 7 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
An automated coal mining system outfits rotating cutterhead drums with bit blocks and replaceable bit picks according to a lacing pattern. A set of strain gauges are configured to measure the mechanical forces experienced by the bit picks during coal cutting. Measurements are taken that can be processed for indications that the replaceable bit picks have encountered a boundary layer of rock during coal cutting operations, or they are working harder than necessary to cleave coal, or that a better lacing pattern is possible. A resonant microwave patch antenna is mounted on a top surface shoulder of the bit blocks to take impedance measurements of the coal face. The impedance measurements are calibrated according to indications that the replaceable bit picks have encountered a boundary layer of rock. The rotating drum sensor data is wirelessly transmitted back to the machine for analysis and control purposes.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg140408.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stolar, Inc. 17 patents | US company or organization | Raton, NM | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry G. Stolarczyk | Raton, NM | 16 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| E21C | Mining or quarrying | E21C39/00 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
No recorded assignments or security interests on file for this patent.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.