The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 26, 1977
Filed:
Nov. 13, 1974
Applicant:
Inventor:
Stirling A Colgate, Socorro, NM (US);
Assignee:
New Mexico Tech Research Foundation, Socorro, NM (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B23K / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
2191 / ; 299 14 ; 241-1 ; 175 16 ; 125-1 ;
Abstract
A method of mining rock utilizes a high-intensity electron beam to break the rock. The electron beam is directed onto the surface of the rock, and has sufficient energy either to ablate the rock at the zone of beam impingement and generate an ablation pressure that is sufficiently high to fracture the rock or to expand thermally the rock and generate a dynamic pressure in a lateral direction to fracture the rock. The electron beam is moved along the surface of the rock at a speed in phase with the speed of crack propagation in the rock.