Safety system for mining equipment
First Claim
1. A marker field generator, comprising:
- an explosion-proof housing for the field generator;
an inductor generating a marker field, said inductor comprising a ferrite rod wound with an electrical conductor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A safety system for mining equipment is provided having a proximity-based system with a marker field generator in an explosion-proof housing. The generator has a resonant circuit with an inductive reactance that is provided by a ferrite rod wound with an electrical conductor. Also provided is an RF receiver to receive information about the strength of the generated marker field from a sensing device used by a worker. The system provides for a personal alert device, carried by personnel to be kept at a safe distance from the mining machine, the personal alert device being capable of detecting the marker field. Also disclosed is a geosteering system that stops the cutting of a continuous miner when the cutter reaches an interface between a mineral being mined and an adjacent formation that is not to be mined.
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Citations
78 Claims
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1. A marker field generator, comprising:
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an explosion-proof housing for the field generator;
an inductor generating a marker field, said inductor comprising a ferrite rod wound with an electrical conductor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A marker field sensing device, comprising:
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a means to sense an oscillating marker field in the low frequency range, below 100 kHz;
a micro-controller capable of acquiring information from circuitry in a field sensing device;
an RF transmitter that transmits information regarding a sensed field to an RF receiver on a mobile machine; and
a detachable battery power supply. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A proximity-based portable system, comprising:
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a marker field generator in an explosion-proof housing, the generator having a resonant circuit with an inductive reactance being provided by a ferrite rod wound with an electrical conductor;
an RF receiver included inside the housing to receive information about strength of a generated marker field from a sensing device used by a worker. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A marker field generator, comprising:
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an explosion-proof housing for housing said marker field generator;
an inductor producing the marker field, wherein at least a portion of the housing is non-metallic to prevent metal from circumferentially surrounding the inductor. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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41. A proximity-based safety system, comprising:
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an alpha-numeric display assembly in an explosion-proof housing mounted on a continuous mining machine;
at least one generator attached to the continuous mining machine for producing a magnetic marker field around at least a portion of the machine; and
one or more personal alarm devices, each used by a worker, so that each device can sense and measure strength of a magnetic marker field, the one or more personal alarm devices each having an audible alarm and a means to transmit information to the alpha-numeric display on the mining machine, the display having a means to provide visual alarms and to provide signals that can be acted upon to stop the machine from moving. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A system comprising:
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an alpha-numeric display assembly in an explosion-proof housing on a mining machine, said display assembly being capable to accept instructions from a remote control unit used by a worker who is not in physical contact with the display assembly; and
a remote-control unit that is capable of transmitting instructions to a portion of the system on the mining machine, the remote-control unit having at least two switches for issuing instructions to the portion of the system on the mining machine. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A proximity safety system, comprising:
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at least one marker field generator on a mining machine including a wire-wound ferrite inductor that generates the marker field;
at least one personal alert device, carried by personnel to be kept at a safe distance from the mining machine, the personal alert device being capable of detecting the marker field; and
an alpha-numeric display assembly on the mining machine that communicates information to the personnel about safety status. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68)
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69. A safety interlock system, comprising:
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at least two continuous mining machines working in the same area having an interlock adapted to prevent the at least two machines from cutting mineral simultaneously; and
a communications element in the interlock having a medium-frequency RF signal transmitted between the at least two machines and being received by the at least two machines. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71)
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72. A geosteering system that stops the cutting of a continuous miner when the cutter reaches an interface between a mineral being mined and an adjacent formation that is not to be mined, comprising:
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a proximity safety system that prevents an operator from being near the continuous miner, the proximity system having a generated magnetic marker field and an operator using a personal alarm device that detects and responds to the marker field; and
a means to provide an alarm to the operator when the continuous miner is too close to the operator. - View Dependent Claims (73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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Specification