Quarry miner

Abstract

A ground supported vehicle for excavating the ground is extremely large and must be dismantled into several sections in order to transport it down a roadway or a railway. The vehicle has a mid-section that is located between opposed ends. A digging apparatus wider than the vehicle is attached within a lower part of the vehicle mid-section, and can bear the entire weight of the vehicle in order to apply an unusually heavy load onto the digging apparatus. The digging apparatus is rotatable mounted on a massive shaft that is anchored at the center of gravity of the vehicle. Digging teeth are arranged on the outside surface of the digging apparatus so that the teeth dig into and excavates the ground when moved against the ground while rotating. A diesel motor is connected by a special power train for providing the tremendous power requirements of the rotating shaft of the digging apparatus, while a smaller motor provides the power for operating the conveyors, for raising and lowering the digging apparatus; and for propelling the vehicle along the ground. An elongated boom has a pivoted end mounted on a special gooseneck that extends from one end of the vehicle. A boom conveyor is mounted on the boom. The other end of the boom can be raised or lowered as well as swung in a segment of a circle to discharge material far away from the boom pivot. An internal conveyor is mounted for vertical movement within the mid-section, and delivers material into the boom conveyor. There is a mold board mounted for vertical movement at a location between the feed end of the internal conveyor and the digging apparatus, all of which cooperates together to translocate excavated material onto the conveyor system.