Invention developed at AGH UST will facilitate mining work

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A group of scientists from AGH UST has developed and patented a suspended bicycle for underground transport. Monobike – a single-person transportation device will come in handy in underground excavation sites which require covering long distances or transporting small loads. The prototype has already been pretested in coal mines.

The excavation sites in coal mines keep getting longer and longer. As their exploitation progresses, one can observe that their range as well as the range of transportation passageways keeps expanding. This does not create any major problems when transporting mining output, material or the staff. However, difficulties arise if there is a need to transport compact cargo or a single person over a long distance outside the regular railroad system, by means of suspended monorail. An effective solution to this problem will produce economic gains as well as practical benefits.

The invention was developed at the Faculty of Mining and Geoengineering (WGiG). A prototype of the device was made in the construction and maintenance plant at Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Szybów SA, which is a subsidiary of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa SA.

“We set out to design a single-person means of transport with its own drive for suspended motorail so that it would be mobile and safe to use” – said the co-inventor, Paweł Kamiński, DSc, of the Department of Mining Engineering and Occupational Safety.

The prototype’s design consists of a crank with pedals, gear system, seat, frame, brake, hanger  and rollers which powered mechanically move along the monorail track. The ongoing tests will certainly help improve the prototype of the device.

The practical application of suspended bicycle would greatly facilitate the organisation of underground mining transport and would be of use especially for the supervisory staff and inspectors. Getting around by monobike will require specific legal regulations.

The film shows the bicycle design and the conducted tests

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