US PATENT CLASS 299
Class Notes


Current as of: June, 1999
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299 /   HD   MINING OR IN SITU DISINTEGRATION OF HARD MATERIAL



DEFINITION

Classification: 299/

This class provides for (a) the obtaining of valuable,

naturally occurring minerals from the earth in a solid state (the phrase "solid state" including a state in which the minerals are in the form of particles of larger size than colloidal), (b) the obtaining of ice from a naturally occurring bed of ice, (c) the obtaining of naturally occurring, nonhydrocarbon, solid, valuable, minerals from the earth in a fluid state (the phrase "fluid state" including a dissolved state or a state of colloidal dispersion or suspension) or (d) the obtaining of any naturally occurring valuable material from the earth in a solid or fluid state when this is accomplished by the claimed use of a substantially horizontal tunnel providing a working space for human beings.

This class also provides for cutting, severing or breaking up of naturally occurring solid, hard material. Such cutting, severing or breaking up of solid, hard material generally comprises, (a) recovering valuable material in desirable shapes or specific sized chunks, (b) forming an opening or cut in native material of larger cross-sectional surface area than the effective cutting area of the cutting means by movement of the means parallel to the exposed surface, or (c) forming a large horizontal passageway into the earth by continuously advancing a cutting device by means of a vehicle or the like which is limited to substantially horizontal operation, the cutting means forming the entire passageway in an uninterrupted advance movement as the vehicle or the like follows the cutting means into and along the passageway.

This class further includes miscellaneous subject matter which does not meet the criteria of the above, but which relates to forming or using a large underground passageway in the earth and is not elsewhere classifiable.

This class was partially formed from an unofficial classification that had been used by the Examiners for many years. While the schedule and definitions are intended to be employed as completely consistent with present rules of classification, the claims of the patents at the time of the formation of this class have not been analyzed to the degree necessary to guarantee exact technical, original or cross-reference classification of all patents.

LINES WITH OTHER CLASSES

References To Other Classes, below, contain information about lines with other classes.

REFERENCES TO OTHER CLASSES

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS 15, Brushing, Scrubbing, and General Cleaning,

3+, for a machine for cleaning foreign material from a surface. Class 299 includes machines for in situ disintegration of purposely applied hard material such as

concrete, linoleum, roofing, etc., but similar devices which remove accidently accumulated oil, grease, dirt, etc., are classified in Class 15.

30, Cutlery, appropriate subclass for a hand manipulated cutting tool of general utility.

37, Excavating, appropriate subclass for a process or apparatus for excavating relatively soft or alluvial material and particularly

3, for peat excavators and subclasses 307+ for dredgers. The line between Class 299 and Class 37 relative generally turns on the relatively hardness of the material recovered, Class 299 taking devices limited by disclosure or claim to working hard material, with the exception that Class 37 type excavating when combined with separating of the excavated material into component parts is classified in Class 299.

56, Harvesters, for subject matter directed to gathering or cutting valuable plant products from above the surface of the earth.

102, Ammunition and Explosives,

301+, for apparatus and methods of blasting.

125, Stone Working, appropriate subclass for subject matter directed to the manufacture or working of stone articles. The line between Class 299 and Class 125 generally is determined by disclosed use, Class 299 taking subject matter directed to working hard material in situ. However, Class 125 has some hand tools described as for working materials in situ, such as miners picks.

166, Wells, appropriate subclass for subject matter directed to winning valuable material which is naturally in the fluid state in the earth (such as water, oil or gas). Furthermore, subject matter for recovering a hydrocarbon material from a well in a fluid state is classified in Class 166, whether the material is described as originally in the solid state, merely too viscous to flow or trapped in cavities in shale or the like. However, if any of the valuable material is recovered in the solid state, or if a valuable solid material other than a hydrocarbon is converted to the fluid state for recovery, classification is in Class 299. Furthermore, a process or structure involving the use of a tunnel (a horizontal earth passage in which a human works) to recover naturally occurring fluid (including hydrocarbon) from the earth is classified in Class 299.

169, Fire Extinguishers, 45, for processes of preventing fire, and subclass 64 for apparatus for fighting fire in mines.

171, Unearthing Plants or Buried Objects, appropriate

subclass for subject matter directed to the recovery of nonmineral objects or nonvaluable mineral objects such as stones found in soft earth adjacent the earth surface. Class 171 primarily provides for the recovery of plants or plant products from the earth, although subject matter directed to the recovery of stones or manufactured articles from the earth in the same manner as recovering plants or plant products is also found in Class 171.

172, Earth Working, appropriate subclasses for subject matter relating to working the earth in situ. In general, Class 172 takes apparatus of general utility for working both soft earth and hard earth or material such as rock, ice or pavement while Class 299 takes apparatus limited by disclosure to working hard material such as rock, coal, ice or pavement. However, Class 172 takes apparatus of the type in which a tool carried by a support is advanced over the earth by movement of the support without relative movement between the tool and support if such apparatus is of general earth working utility even if the disclosure is limited to working hard material such as rock. An example of an apparatus for Class 172 is a ripper tooth intended to be used by being traversed over the earth by a tractor, the tooth being stationary with respect to the tractor when working the earth. An example of a apparatus for Class 299 is a driven or rolling tool such as a cutter mounted on a driven chain or a rolling disk limited by disclosure to working rock.

173, Tool Driving or Impacting, appropriate subclass for tool driving devices which comprise combinations peculiar to driving but do not recite features which limit the devices to a specific art. Devices for driving impact type and mere rotary motion tools described as for mining are classified in Class 173. However, Class 299 includes large tunnel forming type machines with material handling features which do not necessarily include specific structure of work disintegrating tool means and similarly chain type cutter driving and manipulating devices which lack specific cutter chain features, which were retained in Class 299 for the time being as peculiar to mining or in situ material disintegration functions.

175, Boring or Penetrating the Earth, appropriate subclass for a process, machine or tool for initially forming or radially enlarging an elongated opening in the earth, such opening being formed in a sustained advance movement and of approximately the radial extent of the cutting area of the tool. Class 299 provides for similar subject matter directed to enlarging an opening to the surface by moving the tool parallel to said surface, breaking down the material in shapes or sizes desirable for recovery or forming a large horizontal passageway into the earth by continuously advancing a cutting device by means of a horizontally operating vehicle which cutting device forms the passageway as the vehicle follows the cutting means into and along the passageway.

180, Motor Vehicles, appropriate subclass for a motor vehicle for operating or advancing a mining machine and particularly

153.1+, for vehicles in which the motor of the vehicle is utilized as an external source of power.

198, Conveyors: Power-Driven, appropriate subclass for a conveyor for handling mined material and particularly

300+, and 506+ inclusive for a loading machine type endless conveyor with a coacting gatherer, which may be described as gathering material from a mine floor.

209, Classifying, Separating, and Assorting Solids, appropriate subclass for a means of general utility to classify, separate or assort solids and including a cooperating means to pick up and convey material from a location such as a floor or the like. 241, Solid Material Comminution or Disintegration, appropriate subclass for subject matter directed to comminuting or disintegrating material of general utility. Class 299 provides for devices specialized to comminuting or disintegrating material in situ while Class 241 generally involves opposed or cooperating comminuting surfaces which break up material to reduce the size of elements thereof.

404, Road Structure, Process, or Apparatus, appropriate subclasses for road making and particularly

90, which includes means for in situ comminution of earth or road surface and subclass 133 for tamping means. Subject matter relating to merely breaking up a pavement or earth crust is classified in Class 299.

405, Hydraulic and Earth Engineering, appropriate subclasses for a process or apparatus relating to structures formed in water or the earth, particularly

55+, for construction of underground fluid storage cavities; and subclasses 132+ for subject matter relating to shaft or tunnel structure or method or apparatus for their construction. Underground structures or supports, per se, are classified in Class 405 and also permanent shaft or tunnel lining combined with excavating hard material to form a shaft or tunnel, but shaft or tunnel excavation, per se, or combined with the temporary supporting of the walls or roof of a shaft or tunnel is classified in Class 299.

414, Material or Article Handling,

311, for a static receptacle and means of a nongravity type for discharging the receptacle and wherein the means includes at least one discharge assistant of the compound motion type and further wherein the assistant is located proximate to the bottom of the receptacle and is displaceable generally parallel thereto, and additionally wherein the assistant

comprises a screw conveyer which includes means for loosening packed material.

451, Abrading, for abrading, generally.

454, Ventilation, appropriate subclasses for ventilation of general utility and particularly

168+, for ventilation specialized to use in mines. Subject matter directed to a mining plan or layout, but involving no more than features relating to ventilating the mine is classified in Class 474.

520, Synthetic Resins or Natural Rubbers, appropriate subclasses, particularly Class 523, 132+, for a composition containing a synthetic resin and having utility in situ as a soil conditioner or stabilizer or to processes of preparing said composition.