COAL CAVING CYCLE

摘要

A coal caving system (1) including a plurality of shields (3) with canopies (6) which are selectively operated to allow coal to cave onto a rear conveyor (37). In one aspect, the invention provides a shield control method including controlling the shield (3) to automatically open a door (6) associated with a rear canopy of the shield (3) responsive to a position of a shearer of the system.