Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DRILL POSITIONING SYSTEM FOR JUMBO CARRIER UNIT
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates generally to mining equipment and, in
particular, to rock drilling and rock bolting.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In a mine, ground support, e.g. rock bolts and screening, is used to
prevent rock falls. Several different types of rock bolts may be used but all
require
that holes be drilled in the rock first. This is done with equipment known as
a rock
drill which may be part of a drilling jumbo also having a bolter. To drill a
hole in the
rock to install ground support, a stinger is placed against the rock face
(which is
called "stinging the face") and then a hole is drilled into the rock. The unit
is then
indexed to install the rock bolt as ground support.
[0003] Conventionally, the step of indexing from the drill to the bolter is
problematic since it may result in misalignment of the bolter relative to the
drilled
hole. Conventionally, the drill feed must be retracted (by moving a feed
extension
cylinder or boom) to remove the drill feed from the rough uneven rock face
before
indexing. Ground support operations can become inefficient, time-consuming and
expensive when misalignment occurs.
[0004] Various drill positioning technologies enable the position of the
drill to be
determined and controlled for precise drilling and bolting operations.
[0005] For rock face drilling, the traditional way of calculating the drill
steel
position is through sensors located on various articulations of the
articulated jumbo
unit or in the hydraulic cylinders that displace the articulations. The
position of the
drill steel driven by the rock drill is then calculated relative to the
movement of the
boom. However, this technique becomes inaccurate when components wear.
Furthermore, since the sensors transmit signals to a controller through wires
running
along the boom, the wires are prone to being damaged or severed, thus
increasing
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downtime and maintenance costs. A need therefore exists for a solution to this
technical problem.
SUMMARY
[0006] In
general, the present invention provides a technique and system for
positioning a drill steel for rock drilling, particularly in the context of
installing rock
bolts to provide ground support in an underground mine.
[0007]
Accordingly, an inventive aspect of the present disclosure is a rock drilling
and bolting vehicle having a drill feed rail and a drill feed adapted to slide
on the drill
feed rail. The vehicle includes a first transmitter for transmitting a first
signal through
air, the first transmitter being disposed on the drill feed rail, a second
transmitter for
transmitting a second signal through the air, the second transmitter being on
the drill
feed. The vehicle further includes a first receiver disposed on the vehicle
for
receiving the first signal and the second signal, a second receiver disposed
on the
vehicle for receiving the first signal and the second signal, and a third
receiver
disposed on the vehicle for receiving the first signal and the second signal.
The
vehicle includes a processor communicatively coupled to the first, second and
third
receivers to process the first and second signals to determine a first
position of the
first transmitter and a second position of the second transmitter.
[0008] This
summary is provided to highlight certain significant inventive aspects
but is not intended to be an exhaustive or limiting definition of all
inventive aspects
of the disclosure. Other inventive aspects may be disclosed in the detailed
description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Further
features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with
the
appended drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1
is an isometric view of a drill jumbo equipped with a wireless drill-
positioning system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
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[0011] FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the drill jumbo of FIG. 1; and
[0012] FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the drill jumbo of FIG. 1.
[0013] It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like
features are
identified by like reference numerals. It should furthermore be noted that the
drawings are not necessarily to scale.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] FIGS. 1-3 depict a jumbo carrier vehicle generally designated by
reference numeral 10. This jumbo carrier vehicle is designed for drilling
holes in
rock faces and for installing rock bolts into the holes in order to provide
ground
support in an underground mine. The jumbo carrier vehicle depicted by way of
example in FIGS. 1-3 is also known as a face-drilling rig, rock-bolting jumbo,
bolting
rig, rock bolter, drilling jumbo or rock drilling and bolting vehicle. The
rock drilling
and bolting vehicle 10 in this illustrated example has a chassis 12 and a
plurality of
wheels 14 rotationally mounted to, or otherwise supported by, the chassis. In
the
example of FIGS. 1-3, the chassis is a single rigid chassis although in other
embodiments the chassis may be an articulated chassis. In the example of FIG.
1-
3, the rock drilling and bolting vehicle has four wheels although the vehicle
may
have a different number of wheels in alternative embodiments.
[0015] The rock drilling and bolting vehicle may have an internal
combustion
engine, e.g. a diesel engine, in an engine compartment 16. The engine may be
coupled via a transmission (not shown) to provide traction, e.g. four-wheel
drive
traction, for the vehicle. At the rear of the vehicle are optional cable reels
18 for
electrical cables. Multiple stabilizing jacks 20 may optionally be provided to
stabilize
the vehicle during drilling and bolting operations. A protective roof or
canopy 22
may be provided for the operator thereby defining a cab for the operator.
Alternatively, the vehicle may have a fully or partially enclosed cab with an
access
door and windshield.
[0016] The rock drilling and bolting vehicle 10 depicted by way of example
in
FIGS. 1-3 has a single boom 30 supporting a single rock drill. Although the
illustrated embodiment is a single-boom jumbo, the inventive concept may be
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applied to twin-boom jumbos or multi-boom jumbos. The boom 30 is rotationally
connected at a first end to a support bracket 32 mounted to a forward-facing
surface
of the vehicle. The boom 30 is a connected at a second end to a beam support
34
that supports a feed beam or feed rail 36. The feed rail 36 has rear stop 38
and a
front stop 40. The feed rail is dimensioned to receive a rock drill 42. The
rock drill
42 slides over the rail on a rail-mounted drill cradle. The rock drill 42 has
a chuck
that holds a drill steel 44 that is further supported by two spaced-apart
supports or
cradles, e.g. traveling cradles 46, 48. The drill steel has a drill bit at its
forward end.
[0017] The rock
drilling and bolting vehicle 10 includes a wireless drill-positioning
system 50 for positioning the drill. The wireless drill-positioning system 50
includes
a plurality of transmitters and a plurality of receivers. In the embodiment
illustrated
in FIGS. 1-3, the wireless drill-positioning system 50 includes two
transmitters 51
and three receivers 52. The transmitters are spaced-apart from the receivers
to
measure a time of flight for each signal to travel from each respective
transmitter to
each of the receivers. A first transmitter 51 is disposed on the drill feed,
e.g. on the
rear stop 38. A second transmitter is disposed on the drill cradle 42 or other
movable portion of the rock drill. Optionally, a third transmitter may also be
disposed on the drill feed, e.g. on the front stop 40. A first receiver 52 is
disposed
on the canopy 22 in the illustrated embodiment. Second and third receivers 52
are
disposed on either side of the cab in the illustrated embodiment. The first,
second
and third receivers may be disposed elsewhere on the vehicle in other
embodiments. Additional transmitters may be added in other embodiments to
increase accuracy. Additional receivers may also be added in other embodiments
to
improve accuracy. The wireless drill-positioning system includes a
microprocessor
or microcontroller, e.g. a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), that
calculates the
distance or displacement from the received signals. For example, through
analysis
of the time it takes for the transmitted signals to reach the receivers, a
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) or other processor can calculate the exact
location of the drill steel with respect to the rock drilling and bolting
vehicle. This
enables the operator to precisely position the drill steel at a desired
location and with
a desired orientation.
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[0018] The
wireless drill-positioning system therefore enables a drill feed and
rock drill on an underground drilling jumbo unit to be precisely positioned in
three
dimensional space for precise drilling operations. The vehicle thus does not
require
wired sensors for positioning the drill steel. Wires for wired sensors which
are
strung along the boom of the jumbo unit and which are prone to damage are thus
eliminated.
[0019] In one
embodiment, the transmitters are ultrasound signal transmitters,
i.e. ultrasonic distance sensors or ultrasonic rangefinders. These may be
operating
at three different frequencies (hereinafter "ultrasonic signal transmitters")
and the
receivers are ultrasound receivers (or ultrasonic signal receivers). The
ultrasound
transmitters are battery-powered whereas the signal receivers may be powered
by
the vehicle electrical system. Ultrasound rangers can measure distances
through
dusty conditions in underground mines. These may operate, for example, the
range
of about 40kHz-60kHz although other frequencies may be utilized depending on
the
operating range parameters.
[0020] In
another embodiment, the transmitters are wireless radiofrequency
transmitters operating at three different frequencies and the receivers are
wireless
radiofrequency receivers.
[0021] As shown
in FIGS. 1-3, two or more transmitters are located along each
end of the feed beam to determine the position and posture of the feed beam,
and a
single transmitter is located on the drill cradle or, alternatively, at the
two travelling
cradles in order to reference the drill steel position and depth. In the
illustrated
embodiment, a receiver is located at the top and center of the jumbo carrier
unit by
way of example. Additional receivers are located on either side of the cab as
shown
by way of example. The processor (e.g. Programmable Logic Controller) may be
located inside the cab of the jumbo carrier unit or elsewhere in the vehicle.
The PLC
is designed to gather data from the receivers and to provide the operator with
the
exact positioning of the drill steel. Note that additional receivers may be
added to
the jumbo carrier unit, and that additional transmitters may also be added to
the feed
beam assembly in order to increase signal reception and accuracy when the
drill
feed and boom are in motion.
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[0022] In another embodiment, the system may employ as few as two
transmitters, i.e. a first transmitter connected to (and movable with) the
drill cradle
that represents the position of the drill steel and a second transmitter
connected to
the drill feed rail. Knowing the position and orientation of these two points
in three-
dimensional space relative to the vehicle-mounted sensors enables the
processor of
the system to determine the absolute position of the drill steel in three-
dimensional
space. Knowing the rate of forward advance of the drill and the amount of
force
applied to the drill steel can be used to quantify the rock properties. The
rock
properties can be used to adjust or control drill parameters for the next
(adjacent)
hole to be drilled. Drill parameters may include the applied force to provide
a given
rate of advance, RPM, type of drill bit, etc.
[0023] The position and posture (i.e. angle or orientation) of
the boom may be
determined. The relative position of the drill feed along the rail may be
determined.
In addition to three-dimensional positioning, the processor may calculate the
rate of
advance (forward speed) of the drill steel. The processor may furthermore
calculate
the acceleration or deceleration of the drill steel. The position, speed, and
acceleration of the drill steel may thus be controlled by the processor based
on the
data received. The processor may thus provide feedback control to the drill
feed to
regulate its speed or acceleration. The processor may also enable the operator
to
preset the desired depth of the hole to be drilled (e.g. for cases when the
drill steel is
longer than the rock bolt) to avoid unnecessarily deep drilling.
[0024] The wireless positioning system may be adapted for use
with a bolt feed
as well as a drill feed. Transmitters may be disposed on the front and rear
stops of
the bolter feed rail and on the bolter feed. The same receivers may be used
for both
the bolting and drilling feeds.
[0026] The wireless positioning system may also be adapted for
use with
explosive loading. In other words, an explosive may be loaded into a drilled
hole
after measuring and recording the position and orientation of the hole that
has been
drilled. Once the hole position, depth and orientation are known from the
drilling
step, the explosive loader may be automatically guided to the hole to permit
remote
automated loading of the explosive into the hole.
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[0026]
Different bolt systems may be used. For example, the bolt system may
be configured to install any suitable mechanical rock bolt, cement or resin
rebar,
Split Set bolt, Swellex bolt, Dywidage bolt, or cable bolt. The
wireless
positioning system may be used with a single boom, dual boom or multi-boom
jumbo unit.
[0027] The
system may optionally include an ultrasound rock-face mapping unit
which emits ultrasound waves and receives the reflected ultrasound waves. An
ultrasound sensor uses an analog-to-digital converter to convert the analog
reflected
waves into a digital signal that is then processed by a digital signal
processor (DSP).
A mapping algorithm converts the processed signals into a map of the rock
face.
[0028] A
positioning module uses the map and the position data to accurately
position the drill relative to the rock face. The rock face imager may also be
used to
capture an image of the rock bolts after installation.
[0029] As an
alternative technique for mapping the rock face, a miner or other
operator may hold a battery-operated handheld transmitter mounted on a pole at
various locations, e.g. at each of the four corners of the tunnel or at
various points
on a rock face. The transmitter sends a signal that the receivers capture to
determine a position of the transmitter at the rock face. The processor
collects this
data to map the face to be drilled. The operator can collect as many data
points
over the rock face as desired to provide a desired level of detail.
Alternatively, the
third transmitter on the forward end of the drill feed may be used to map the
rock
face. The forward end of the drill feed is moved to various spots of the
drilling face.
At each spot, the transmitter at the forward end of the drill feed transmits a
signal to
enable the three receivers and processor to measure the three-dimensional
position.
[0030] This
wireless positioning technology may be used to measure the drilling
depth of the hole. With a transmitter at the end of the feed beam and a
receiver on
one of the moving cradles, the processor can calculate the distance travelled,
which
represents the hole depth. Alternatively, the system may include a transmitter
and
receiver combination at the rear of the (feed beam or somewhere else along the
feed beam) and have a target (signal reflector) on one of the moving cradles.
By
measuring the time of flight of the signal to and from the reflector/target,
the
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processor may calculate the displacement, and optionally the speed and
acceleration, of the drill steel relative to the beam, thereby permitting the
processor
to track the movement of the drill steel. The displacement of the target
represents
the hole depth. This could also be used on surface drilling to determine a
hole
depth.
[0031] The vehicle may include a vehicle positioning system (VPS) to
determine
its own position inside the mine. This VPS may rely on interior radiofrequency
(RE)
beacons or dead reckoning techniques involving one or more accelerometers. The
vehicle may include a rangefinder (e.g. laser or ultrasonic rangefinder) to
measure a
distance from the vehicle to the rock face. Multiple sensors may be provided
to
position the vehicle a desired distance and orientation relative to the rock
face.
Once the vehicle is positioned relative to the rock face, the vehicle
positions the rock
drill and drill steel at the desired location on the rock face. This desired
rock bolt
location may be provided by a rock bolt distribution map (i.e. a bolting
pattern or
plan) which may be stored or programmed in a memory coupled to the processor
of
the vehicle. Alternatively, the bolting pattern/plan may be transmitted to a
data
transceiver of the vehicle from a command station or control center remote
from the
vehicle.
[0032] An ultrasonic probe for non-destructive testing may be provided to
conduct pulse-echo tests by contacting the free end of the bolt. This probe is
capable of determining the bolt length and is also capable of identifying
defects in
the rock bolt such as necking, deformation, and loss of resin encapsulation.
The
vehicle may use the ultrasonic probe for non-destructive testing of the rock
bolt after
installation to verify that the bolt has been properly installed. In one
embodiment,
the vehicle may transmit a bolt installation report to a remote recipient
(e.g.
command station or control center) after testing is complete. The report
indicates
whether the bolt is properly installed or not and may provide engineering data
for the
mining engineer to review, save, compile or use at a later date for follow-up
testing.
If a bolt is not properly installed, remedial action may be taken. For
example, the
vehicle may further receive an updated bolting pattern in response to sending
a
report notifying of a poorly installed bolt.
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[0033] In other embodiments, it will be appreciated that the transmitters
and
receivers may be reversed. Instead of placing the transmitters on the feed
rail and
drill cradle, the transmitters may be placed on the vehicle and the receivers
may be
placed on the feed rail and drill cradle. In this arrangement, the received
data is
transmitted wirelessly by a separate RF transmitter in each of the receivers
to the
processor in the vehicle to enable the processor to compute the positions of
the
receivers. In the main embodiment, the receivers are disposed on the vehicle
so
that these may be wired to the processor, which eliminates the need to have
wireless transmission capabilities to relay the data.
[0034] The use of the terms "a", "an" and "the" and similar articles or
referents in
the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the
following
claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless
otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms
"comprising", "having", "including" and "containing" are to be construed as
open-
ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to") unless otherwise
noted.
The term "connected" is to be construed as partly or wholly contained within,
attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening.
Recitation of
ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of
referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless
otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the
specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described
herein
can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or
otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or
exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is intended merely to
better
illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not pose a limitation on the
scope
of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification
should
be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the
practice of
the invention.
[0035] The present invention has been described in terms of specific
embodiments, examples, implementations and configurations which are intended
to
be exemplary or illustrative only. Other variants, modifications, refinements
and
applications of this innovative technology will become readily apparent to
those of
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ordinary skill in the art who have had the benefit of reading this disclosure.
Such
variants, modifications, refinements and applications fall within the ambit
and scope
of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the exclusive right sought
by the
Applicant for the present invention is intended to be limited solely by the
appended
claims and their legal equivalents.
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