Method and system for controlling a feeder of a drill rig
Patent Information
- Application Number
- AU2024444040
- Authority / Receiving Office
- AU · AU
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-08
- Publication Date
- 2026-10-08
Smart Images
Figure 00000000_0000_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field The disclosure relates in particular to mining and construction, and more specifically to a method and a system for controlling a feeder of a drill rig by manoeuvring a plurality of joints of a boom. The disclosure also relates to a computer program, a computer-readable medium and a drill rig comprising a system of the above kind. Background Rock excavation, such as in mining, tunnelling and construction may be carried out using various techniques, where, e.g., excavation using drilling and subsequent blasting technology is a commonly used method. A variety of different machines may be utilized in rock excavation, and in particular with regard to drilling of holes, a mobile drill rig is oftentimes used to carry out the drilling, where the drill rig may comprise a carrier and a boom attaching a feeder to the carrier. The feeder may be arranged to carry a work tool such as a drilling machine to the carrier. The feeder may allow displacement of the work tool along the feeder. Such drill rigs may be used in production drilling, as well as for rock reinforcement where, e.g., holes are drilled and rock bolts subsequently inserted in the drilled holes. Drilling of the illustrated kind may be arranged to be carried out according to a drill plan that defines the location and direction of the holes (and bolts) to be drilled. The use of a boom to manoeuvre the feeder allows manoeuvring of, e.g., a drilling machine or other work tool attached to the feeder to a desired drilling location, so that a plurality of holes may be drilled in different directions prior to repositioning the carrier for drilling of a next plurality of holes. The joints of the boom may be configured to be automatically controlled by a control system of the drill rig, e.g., in order to automatically reposition the feeder from a pose where one hole is drilled to another pose where the feeder is in position for drilling of another hole of, e.g. a drill plan. Although automatic control of the joints in this manner may oftentimes be beneficial, there also exist situations where manual control of the feeder may be desirable, in which case the joints of the boom may be controlled using operator manoeuvrable control means such as joysticks, etc. Summary An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for controlling a feeder of a drill rig that may facilitate positioning of the feeder in relation to a hole to be drilled and / or to align a work tool carried by the feeder prior to or following drilling of a drill hole. According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a method performed by a control system for controlling a feeder of a drill rig, the drill rig comprising a carrier and a boom attaching the feeder to the carrier, the feeder being configured to carry a work tool, the boom comprising a plurality of joints, and the feeder being configured to be manoeuvred by manoeuvring the plurality of joints of the boom, wherein manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom is controllable by the control system, and wherein the drill rig further comprises operator manoeuvrable control means for operator controlled manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom, the method comprising: providing an operator selectable feeder control mode; controlling the plurality of joints of the boom in the operator selectable feeder control mode such that the feeder is moved along a longitudinal axis of the feeder; and controlling the direction of motion of the feeder along the longitudinal axis of the feeder according to an operator request for motion of the feeder, the operator request being received from the operator manoeuvrable control means. The joints of a boom of a drill rig are in general controlled by actuators that are used to set desired positions of the joints, where each joint may have at least one designated actuator. The joints may be configured to be automatically controlled using a control system, e.g., comprising one or more control units, to thereby manoeuvre the feeder to various positions. The joints may comprise means for determining an actual position of the joint, where the actual positions may be communicated to the control system and be used by the control system to correctly control the joints according to calculations performed in the control system. The joints are in general configured to be manually controllable, where operator manoeuvrable control means such as one or more joysticks may be utilized to control the joints of the boom. The joints of the boom are then directly linked to, e.g., different direction of movements of operator manoeuvrable control means. This provides the operator with the possibility to freely manoeuvre boom and feeder, e.g., to manoeuvre the feeder to a desired location. Still, manoeuvring of the feeder in a particular manner, such as in the current direction in which the feeder is currently pointing, may require manoeuvring of a plurality of boom joints, and thereby be both task that requires a high degree of concentration and thereby also a task that may take time. According to the disclosure such manoeuvring is greatly facilitated. In particular, it is provided a method performed by a control system for controlling a feeder of a drill rig, where manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom is controllable by the control system, and also by operator manoeuvrable control means for operator-controlled manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom. According to the method it is provided an operator selectable feeder control mode. That is, it is provided a particular control mode for controlling the feeder, where motion of the feeder can be effected by the operator, but where the drill rig control system is also involved so that the feeder will behave in a particular manner in response to an operator request for motion. In particular, the plurality of joints of the boom are controlled in the operator selectable feeder control mode such that the feeder is moved along a longitudinal axis of the feeder, and hence moves back or forth along the axis of the feeder, irrespective to how the feeder is currently oriented in relation to the boom. It is to be noted that in general it is required to manoeuvre a plurality of joints to effectuate the desired motion. Furthermore, the direction of motion of the feeder is controlled along the longitudinal axis of the feeder according to an operator request for motion of the feeder, where the operator request being received from the operator manoeuvrable control means. In this way the operator can activate the feeder control mode, and then request a feeder motion along the axis of the feeder. For example, the feeder may already be aligned with, e.g., a hole axis of a hole to be drilled, and the operator may wish to control the feeder to be moved closer towards the rock face at which the drilling of the hole is to commence. The disclosure may facilitate such manoeuvring. According to aspects of the disclosure, the method further comprises to control the joints of the boom such that the feeder is selectively moved forwards and backwards along the longitudinal axis of the feeder in dependence of the received operator request for a forward / backward motion. Hence the operator may provide a request for a direction. According to aspects of the disclosure the operator may also request a particular speed of motion, utilizing the operator manoeuvrable control means, which then is translated into required boom joint motions by the drill rig control system, which may also effectuate the requested motion. For example, the speed of motion may depend on the extent to which the operator manoeuvrable means, such as joystick deflection, is displaced or otherwise manoeuvred. According to aspects of the disclosure, the method further comprises to, by means of the control system, automatically manoeuvre the plurality of joints of the boom to manoeuvre the feeder from a first pose to a second pose, the second pose paralleling the feeder with a hole axis of a drill hole, and controlling the direction of motion of the feeder along the longitudinal axis of the feeder according to a received operator request during and / or following the manoeuvring of the feeder from the first pose to the second pose. It is hence possible to automatically realign the feeder from a first pose, such as a pose in which the feeder is aligned with a first hole, to a second pose, where, e.g., the feeder is aligned with a second hole, where the operator may then use the feeder control mode to manoeuvre the feeder along the axis of the feeder, e.g., to move the feeder closer to a rock face. The automatic alignment may be carried out, e.g., when a hole is to be drilled, and also following drilling, e.g., in case the drill rig is also used to insert rock bolts in drilled holes. According to aspects of the disclosure, the manoeuvring of the feeder from the first pose to the second pose in response to receiving an operator indicated request for changing the pose from the operator manoeuvrable control means. The operator may hence request the manoeuvring from one pose to another to be carried out by the drill rig control system, and may then simultaneously or after reaching the new pose use the feeder control mode for manoeuvring the feeder. According to aspects of the disclosure, the paralleling of the feeder with the hole axis of the drill hole comprises to align an axis of a work tool carried by the feeder with the hole axis of the drill hole, such that a motion of the feeder along the longitudinal axis of the feeder causes a motion of the work tool along an axis of the drill tool when the axis of the work tool is aligned with the axis of the drill hole. In this way, e.g., a drilling machine may be aligned with a hole axis of a hole to be drilled, and / or bolt insertion means be aligned with an already drilled hole. Consequently, according to aspects of the disclosure, the work tool may in the second pose be aligned with the direction of a hole to be drilled, or of an already drilled hole. According to aspects of the disclosure, when controlling the plurality of joints of the boom according to the operator selectable feeder control mode, the operator manoeuvrable control means are configured to provide an indication of a desired direction of motion of the feeder along the axis of the feeder, and wherein the operator manoeuvrable control means is disconnected from direct control of the plurality of actuators of the boom. The operator control means are hence only used to indicate the direction of motion (forwards / backwards) whereas the control system controls the manoeuvring of the joints, where there hence is no direct linking between operator manoeuvrable means and the joints. According to aspects of the disclosure, the method further comprises, when controlling the plurality of joints of the boom according to the operator selectable feeder control mode: determining, by means of the control system, control signals for controlling the plurality of joints to effectuate a feeder movement along the feeder to move along the longitudinal axis of the feeder. The control system hence calculates the required motions for the joints to accomplish the desired feeder motion. According to aspects of the disclosure, the method comprises to utilize a kinematics model of the plurality of joints of the boom to calculate the control signals to effectuate a feeder movement along the longitudinal axis of the feeder. Kinematics are commonly used in the art to translate a desired motion of a boom or feeder into corresponding joint motions that effectuate the desired motion. According to aspects of the disclosure, the feeder is configured to be controlled to a plurality of different poses, each pose representing an alignment of the work tool with a hole direction, and the manoeuvring of the feeder from one pose to another pose comprises manoeuvring, according to calculations performed by the control system, one or more of the plurality of joints of the boom. The feeder may hence be controlled to, e.g., a plurality of different hole directions, such as of holes to be drilled or holes that have already been drilled, where the feeder control mode may then be utilized when required for each of the different poses. According to aspects of the disclosure, the method further comprises to control the plurality of joints of the boom such that a motion of the operator manoeuvrable means in a first direction, e.g. a forward direction, causes the forward end of the feeder to move in a forward direction of drilling along an axis parallel with the hole axis, and to control the plurality of joints of the boom such that a motion of the operator manoeuvrable means in a second direction, e.g. a backwards direction, causes the forward end of the feeder to move in a backward direction in relation to a direction of drilling along an axis parallel with the hole axis. It may hence be provided an intuitive control of the feeder movement in the feeder control mode. According to aspects of the disclosure, the operator manoeuvrable means comprises any one from: a joystick, a lever, control means displayed on a display in an operator cabin of the drill rig. The feeder control mode may hence be requested using operator manoeuvrable means already being present in the drill rig, and the feeder motion may also be controlled by the operator manoeuvrable means being already present in the drill rig. According to aspects of the disclosure, the drill rig further comprises a distance sensor for determining a distance from the feeder to a rock wall in front of the feeder, and the method further comprises, in the operator selectable feeder control mode, to influence the speed of movement of the feeder in a direction towards the rock wall in dependence of the determined distance between feeder and rock wall. In this way the speed of motion of the feeder may be controlled not only by the extent to which the operator manoeuvrable means is manoeuvred, but also in dependence of the current distance to the rock, so that, e.g., a same operator manoeuvre may result in lower actual speed of motion of the feeder when the distance to the rock is smaller in comparison to a comparatively larger distance. According to aspects of the disclosure, the plurality of joints of the boom are controlled according to the operator selectable feeder control mode only while the operator actively requests such control. Hence the joints may be operator controlled in a conventional manner when the feeder control mode is not requested. According to aspects of the disclosure the boom comprises a plurality of joints from the following set of joints: a boom lift joint for raising and lowering the boom; a boom swing joint for swinging the boom about an axis being perpendicular to a horizontal plane of the carrier; a feeder tilt joint, and a feeder rotation joint, attaching the feeder to a distal end of the boom, for tilting and rotating, respectively, the feeder in relation to the distal end of the boom; a boom extension joint for extending and retracting the boom. Hence, the boom may comprise various joints, while still the feeder control mode may cause the feeder motion according to the above. In particular it is to be noted that the plurality of joints are distinct from a feeder displacement joint for displacing the feeder in relation to the distal end of the boom along a longitudinal axis of the feeder. Hence the desired motion is carried out by other joints. According to a further aspect of the disclosure, the above mentioned and other objectives are achieved with a system for controlling a feeder of a drill rig, the system being configured to perform the described method. The system according to this aspect can be extended into aspects corresponding to the aspects of the method according to the first aspect. Hence, an aspect of the system comprises the feature(s) of the corresponding aspect of the method. It will be appreciated that all the embodiments described for the method aspects of the disclosure are applicable also to system aspects of the disclosure. Thus, all the aspects described for methods according to the disclosure may be performed by the system. The system and its embodiments have advantages corresponding to the advantages discussed above with regard to the various aspects of methods according to the disclosure. This also applies to the drill rig aspect of the disclosure, since the drill rig comprises a system according to the disclosure. Further characteristics of aspects of the disclosure and advantages thereof are indicated in the detailed description of exemplary embodiments set out below and the attached drawings. Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a drill rig; Fig. 2 schematically illustrates an exemplary boom of a drill rig; Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a method according to aspects of the disclosure; Fig. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplary situation in which aspects of the disclosure may be utilized. Detailed description of aspects of the disclosure Aspects of the present disclosure will be exemplified in the following in view of a particular example of a drill rig. The disclosure is, however, applicable for all kinds of drill rigs where a boom attaches a feeder to a carrier. Fig. 1 illustrates a rock drilling rig 100 for drilling holes, e.g., according to a drill plan for subsequent rock reinforcement by installation of rock bolts. The drill rig 100 may also be used for various other types of drilling, such as for drilling a rock face according to a drill plan and subsequently blast the face during mining. The drill rig 100 may also be used for installation of rock bolts, and also for various other tasks being carried out using a work tool attached to a feeder in relation to drilling of holes. The drill rig 100 comprises a carrier 101, and a boom 102, a proximal end 102a of which being attached to the carrier 101, such as a carrier vehicle, in such a way that it can pivot in relation to the carrier 101 via one or more articulated joints. According to the present example, the boom 102 is attached to the carrier 101 through the use of a boom lift joint, which is utilized to raise and lower the boom about an axis of rotation being essentially located in a horizontal plane of the carrier, and a boom swing joint for swinging the boom about an axis being perpendicular to a horizontal plane of the carrier 100. Boom motion about the boom lift joint, i.e., raising and lowering of the boom, may be configured to be effected by any suitable means, such as by means of one or more hydraulic cylinders. The joints are not explicitly illustrated in Fig. 1, but are further discussed below with reference to Fig. 2. Furthermore, the distal end 102b of the boom 102 is configured to carry a feeder 103 also denoted feed beam, 103, which in turn may carry a work tool, such as a drilling machine 104 according to the present example. The present aspect is only exemplary, and the feeder may carry any kind of work tool, and hence not necessarily a drilling machine. For example, the work tool may also comprise, e.g., bolt installation equipment. The feed beam 103 may carry a carriage that may be slidably arranged along the feed beam 103 to allow the carriage to run along the feed beam 103 while carrying the drilling machine 104. It is to be understood that the disclosure is equally applicable for other types of drill rigs. The drilling machine 104 is, according to the present example, hydraulically driven and being power supplied from one or more hydraulic pumps 105. The hydraulic pump(s) 105, as well as, e.g., one or more compressors and possible other power consumers such as e.g., further compressors and further hydraulic pumps are driven by a power source 106, e.g., in the form of a combustion engine such as a diesel engine or any other suitable power source, such as e.g., an electrical motor, or a combination of power sources. The drilling process may be controlled from an operator cabin 107. Drill rigs of the illustrated kind are known per se. The drill rig 100 further comprises a rig control system comprising at least one control unit 120. The control unit 120 is configured to control various of the functions of the drill rig 100, such as controlling the joints of the boom to manoeuvre the feeder to a desired pose. In case the drill rig 100 is manually operated, the control unit 120 may receive control signals from the operator, e.g. being present in an operator cabin 107 through operator manoeuvrable control means 110 such as joysticks and / or other means requesting various actions to be taken, and where the control signals, such as operator inflicted joystick deflections and / or manoeuvring of other means, may be translated by the control system to suitable control commands for controlling the joints of the boom. The control unit 120 may, for example, be configured to receive an operator request, e.g., through a button or joystick, and then control various actuators such as cylinders / motors etc., to control the joints of the boom 102 in order to effectuate the desired motion of the feeder. Drill rigs of the disclosed kind may also comprise more than one control unit, e.g., a plurality of control units, where each control unit, respectively, may be arranged to be responsible for monitoring and carrying out various functions of the drill rig 100. For reasons of simplicity, however, it will be assumed in the following that the various functions are controlled by the control unit 120. Such control systems may further utilise any suitable kind of data bus to allow communication between various units of the drill rig 100. In case the drill rig 100 is manoeuvred by an operator various data may be displayed, e.g., on one or more displays in the operator cabin 107. According to aspects of the disclosure, controlling of the joints of the boom according to aspects of the disclosure is partly or fully performed by a control unit of the drill rig, such as control unit 120 of Fig. 1. Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary boom 202 of a drill rig, such as the drill rig according to Fig. 1 more in detail. Fig. 2 also illustrates the feeder 203 which, in operation, is configured to carry a drilling machine and / or rotation unit, where, e.g., a carriage is slidable along the feeder using a chain mechanism or any other suitable mechanism. The figure illustrates the boom 202 with boom lift joint 221 that is used to raise and lower the boom. The raising and lowering of the boom 202 are effectuated by a boom lift joint actuator in the form of a hydraulic cylinder 222 that raises and lowers the boom, and thereby the feeder attached thereto, through extension and retraction of the hydraulic cylinder 222. The figure further illustrates a boom swing joint 223 about which the boom 202, at least to some limited extent as explained above, can be rotated to the left and / or right in relation to a longitudinal axis of the carrier. This rotation is carried out using a boom swing actuator, which according to the present example also may take the form of a hydraulic cylinder, which is not explicitly shown, and which effectuates the rotation through extension and retraction of the hydraulic cylinder. Fig. 2 furthermore illustrates a feeder rotation joint 224 about which the feeder 203 can be rotated in relation to the distal end of the boom using a rotation motor 225. The feeder 203 can also be tilted about the distal end of the boom using a feeder tilt joint 226. The feeder tilt joint 226 is not explicitly visible in the figure, but the rotation may be effectuated using, e.g. a further rotation motor. There is also a feeder displacement joint which displaces the feeder 203 in the direction of the arrows using a hydraulic cylinder 227. It is to be understood that the boom with feeder illustrated in Fig. 2 merely constitutes an example, and that the aspects of the disclosure encompass various different boom designs. In particular, the boom 202 according to Fig. 2 is primarily intended for drilling bolt holes and subsequent insertion of rock bolts, and hence primarily in directions being at an angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the boom. An exemplary method 300 for controlling the joints of the boom according to aspects of the disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary scenario where a drill rig is in the process of drilling a plurality of holes, of which two holes 410,411,412 are schematically shown. The figure also schematically illustrates a feeder, where the feeder is illustrated for different positions in relation to a rock wall 400 as will be discussed in the following. In the down most position in the figure, the feeder, here denoted 403, is in a position following drilling of the hole 410. According to the example, it is assumed that the drilling of the hole 410 has been completed and that the feeder 403 is to be relocated for drilling of a subsequent hole 411. Following the drilling of the hole 410, the feeder has been retracted from a position where the feeder 403 abuts the rock face 400, which in general is the position in which the feeder is located during ongoing drilling. The repositioning of the feeder 403 from being aligned with the hole 410 to instead be aligned with whole 411 requires manoeuvring of the joints of the boom of the drill rig 100 to allow repositioning of the feeder in the desired direction for drilling the next hole. This repositioning may form part of a drilling process where the feeder is realigned with the subsequent hole automatically by the drill rig control system, e.g., when requested by the operator. Such repositioning, however, in general only changes the general direction of the feeder 403 from the current direction to the desired direction, i.e. a direction where the feeder is aligned with the subsequent hole to be drilled. This is schematically illustrated in Fig. 4 by dashed feeder 403’. In this position, however, the feeder 403’ may still be located at a substantial distance from the rock face 400 as is illustrated in the figure, and hence the feeder is also at a distance from the actual starting position that the feeder must be in when commencing the drilling of the hole 411. A reason for this is that the actual rock face may differ from a modelled location of the rock face. A safety margin may therefore be applied to ensure that the feeder does not unintentionally collide with rock when being repositioned between different locations for drilling of holes. In these situations, therefore, the operator may manually move the feeder towards the rock and thereby into a desired position where the feeder actually abuts the rock, and can be pressed against the rock to allow drilling to be performed. This position is illustrated in the figure by dotted lines 403”. This manoeuvring, however, if carried out manually, may require a substantial effort by the operator of the drill rig. This is because it will not be sufficient to move a single joint of the boom of the drill rig to accomplish the desired feeder motion. For example, in order to manoeuvre the feeder 403’ closer towards the rock face 400, the operator may need to use boom extension to get closer to the rock face. The use of boom extension, however, may simultaneously raise (or lower, in dependence of the current general direction of the boom) the feeder so that the boom extending motion needs to be compensated by a corresponding lowering of the boom to thereby lower the feeder to again reach the level of the hole. Furthermore, in case the general direction of the boom is at an angle with respect to the direction of the hole 411, as is indicated by the schematically illustrated by initial boom position 402, and final boom position 402” the boom extension may also need to be compensated by a boom swinging motion towards the rock, since otherwise the boom extension would move the feeder away from the direction of the hole. This boom swing motion, in turn, would change the general direction of the feeder which would require a corresponding feeder swing motion to compensate for the boom swing motion. In sum, the task of moving the feeder closer to the rock that perhaps at a first glance may not require an effort by the operator in fact requires manoeuvring of a plurality of joints of the boom, which may also require various corrections by the operator in order to accomplish that the feeder is actually positioned in the desired position to allow for the desired drilling of the hole. According to aspects of the disclosure, therefore, it is provided a method for facilitating such feeder movement and make the manoeuvring of the boom more easy to the operator of the drill rig. An exemplary method according to the disclosure is illustrated in Fig. 3, and the method of Fig. 3 starts in step 301, where it is determined whether a feeder control mode has been selected by the operator of the drill rig. The method remains in step 301 for as long as the feeder control mode has not been selected. The selection may be carried out by the operator, e.g., by depressing a suitable button, such as a button on a joystick. The selection may also be carried out using other suitable operator manoeuvrable means. According to embodiments of the disclosure, the feeder control mode changes the manner in which the boom joints behave for a particular control command that is given by the operator of the drill rig. In general, during operator control the joints of the boom behave in a predetermined manner in relation to a particular motion of the operator control means, such as, e.g. one or more joysticks. For example, a common method is to use joysticks where, e.g., a forward motion of a joystick lowers the boom and, correspondingly, a backward motion of the joystick raises the boom. Similarly, a left ward motion of the same, or another, joystick may cause the boom to move to the left and similarly a joystick motion to the right may cause the boom to move to the right. There may also be similar couplings for joystick motions, or motions of other kinds of control means, in relation to tilting the feeder and rotating the feeder. According to aspects of the disclosure, however, the feeder control mode, instead, controls the joints of the boom such that the feeder moves along the current axis of the feeder. For example, a forward motion of a joystick when feeder control mode is activated may cause the feeder to move forward along the axis of the feeder, i.e. in the direction in which the feeder currently is pointing irrespective of which joints that actually needs to be involved to accomplish desired motion. Similarly, a backward motion of the joystick, or other suitable operator control means, causes the feeder to move backwards along the axis of the feeder irrespective of the particular joints that needs to be involved in order to cause the desired motion. Hence, in step 302 an operator request is received, such as, for example, moving the feeder towards, or away from, the rock face 400. According to the example illustrated in Fig. 4 the operator may realize that while the drill rig manoeuvres the boom from the position indicated by 402 to the position indicated by 402’ such that the feeder position is changed from being aligned with whole a direction 410 to hole direction 411 that the feeder when reaching corresponding position 403’ will still be at a substantial distance from the rock face 400, and that the feeder 403’ will need to be moved closer towards the rock face 400 prior to drilling actually can be commenced. The operator may therefore, either during the motion from the feeder position 403 to the position 403’, and / or when the feeder position 403’ has been reached, request the feeder control mode and also request the feeder to be moved closer to the rock face 400. This means that since there is already an ongoing manoeuvre to position the feeder such that it is aligned with hole direction 411, a motion can be requested by the operator where the feeder is moved closer to the rock face while still maintaining the desired alignment of the feeder, since the operator requested motion will only move the feeder along the current direction of the feeder. Therefore, in step 303, the drill rig control system, in response to the request of the operator will move the feeder closer to towards the rock face 400, e.g. to abut the rock face 400 and hence to the position indicated by 403” in Fig. 4. This substantially facilitates feeder operation for the operator of the drill rig, since a simple request for a particular direction of motion of the feeder will cause the drill rig control system to control the joints of the boom such that the desired motion is obtained without the need for the operator to manually control each joint that needs to be manipulated in order to achieve the desired control. This may decrease the overall time it takes to complete the task of drilling a set of holes. It is also to be realized that aspects of the disclosure are applicable also in situations where the drill rig control system does not automatically move the feeder from one location to another but in any situation where there is a desire that the feeder is moved forwards or backwards along the current axis of the feeder. The feeder control mode is maintained for as long as the operator requests this, and when the feeder control mode is no longer requested the joints may again be controlled in a conventional manner. With regard to the calculations that the drill rig control system needs to carry out in order to effectuate the desired feeder motion, calculations of such kind are common in the art and commonly used to be able to accomplish a desired boom motion. In particular, a kinematics model of the boom may be utilized to calculate the movement of the joints of the boom to obtain the desired feeder motion. Kinematics are commonly used to calculate boom / feeder movements. A kinematic model describing boom kinematics of the particular boom being used, such as the boom disclosed in Fig. 2B may then be utilized to calculate the motions of the joints to obtain the desired motion of the feeder. Such calculations are known per se, and are therefore not discussed herein. Furthermore, according to aspects of the disclosure, the feeder may be designed to comprise distance measurement means, such as a distance sensor. The distance sensor may then be used to determine distance from the feeder to the rock wall, i.e. the remaining distance that the feeder needs to be moved in order to reach the rock and position the feeder for drilling. The distance determined by the distance sensor may then be used to influence the speed of movement of the feeder in the operator selectable feeder control mode. That is, as the distance to the rock decreases, the speed of motion of the feeder can be arranged to reduce for a particular position of the operator manoeuvrable means, and the speed may decrease more and more the closer to the rock that the feeder gets, still for a same position of the operator manoeuvrable means. Finally, the disclosure is not limited to the above-described aspects, but the disclosure relates to, and encompasses, all of the different aspects that are included within the scope of the independent claims.
Claims
1. A method performed by a control system for controlling a feeder (103; 203) of a drill rig (100), the drill rig (100) comprising a carrier and a boom (102; 202) attaching the feeder (103; 203) to the carrier, the feeder (103; 203) being configured to carry a work tool (104), the boom (102; 202) comprising a plurality of joints, and the feeder (103; 203) being configured to be manoeuvred by manoeuvring the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202), wherein manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) is controllable by the control system, and wherein the drill rig (100) further comprises operator manoeuvrable control means for operator controlled manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202), the method comprising:providing an operator selectable feeder control mode;controlling the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) in the operator selectable feeder control mode such that the feeder (103; 203) is moved along a longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203); andcontrolling the direction of motion of the feeder (103; 203) along the longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203) according to an operator request for motion of the feeder (103; 203), the operator request being received from the operator manoeuvrable control means.
2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:controlling the joints of the boom (102; 202) such that the feeder (103; 203) is selectively moved forwards and backwards along the longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203) in dependence of the received operator request for a forward / backward motion.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising to, by means of the control system:automatically manoeuvring the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) to manoeuvre the feeder (103; 203) from a first pose to a second pose, the second pose paralleling the feeder (103; 203) with a hole axis of a drill hole, andcontrolling the direction of motion of the feeder (103; 203) along thelongitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203) according to a received operator request during and / or following the manoeuvring of the feeder (103; 203) from the first pose to the second pose.
4. A method according to claim 3, further comprising:manoeuvring the feeder (103; 203) from the first pose to the second pose in response to receiving an operator indicated request for changing the pose from the operator manoeuvrable control means.
5. A method according to any one of the claims 3 or 4, wherein the paralleling of the feeder (103; 203) with the hole axis of the drill hole comprises:aligning an axis of a work tool (104) carried by the feeder (103; 203) with the hole axis of the drill hole, such that a motion of the feeder (103; 203) along the longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203) causes a motion of the work tool (104) along an axis of the drill tool when the axis of the work tool (104) is aligned with the axis of the drill hole.
6. A method according to any one of the claims 3-5, wherein in the second pose the work tool (104) is aligned with the direction of a hole to be drilled, or of an already drilled hole.
7. A method according to any one of the claims 1 -6, wherein, when controlling the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) according to the operator selectable feeder control mode:the operator manoeuvrable control means are configured to provide an indication of a desired direction of motion of the feeder (103; 203) along the axis of the feeder (103, 203), and wherein the operator manoeuvrable control means is disconnected from direct control of the plurality of actuators of the boom (102; 202).
8. A method according to any one of the claims 1 -7, further comprising, when controlling the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) according to the operator selectable feeder control mode:determining, by means of the control system, control signals for controlling the plurality of joints to effectuate a feeder movement along the feeder (103; 203) to move along the longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203).
9. A method according to claim 8, further comprising:utilising a kinematics model of the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) to calculate the control signals to effectuate a feeder movement along the longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203).
10. A method according to any one of the claims 1 -9, wherein:the feeder (103; 203) is configured to be controlled to a plurality of different poses, each pose representing an alignment of the work tool (104) with a hole direction, andthe manoeuvring of the feeder (103; 203) from one pose to another pose comprises manoeuvring, according to calculations performed by the control system, one or more of the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202).
11. A method according to any one of the claims 1 -10, further comprising: controlling the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) such that a motion of the operator manoeuvrable means in a first direction, e.g. a forward direction, causes the forward end of the feeder (103; 203) to move in a forward direction of drilling along an axis parallel with the hole axis, and controlling the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) such that a motion of the operator manoeuvrable means in a second direction, e.g. a backwards direction, causes the forward end of the feeder (103; 203) to move in a backward direction in relation to a direction of drilling along an axis parallel with the hole axis.
12. A method according to any one of the claims 1-11, wherein the operator maneuverable means comprises any one from: a joystick, a lever, control means displayed on a display in an operator cabin of the drill rig (100).
13. A method according to any one of the claims 1 -12, the drill rig (100) further comprising a distance sensor for determining a distance from the feeder (103; 203) to a rock wall in front of the feeder (103; 203), the method further comprising, in the operator selectable feeder control mode:influencing the speed of movement of the feeder (103; 203) in a direction towards the rock wall in dependence of the determined distance between feeder (103; 203) and rock wall.
14. A method according to any one of the claims 1-13, further comprising: control the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) according to the operator selectable feeder control mode only while the operator actively requests such control.
15. A system for controlling a feeder (103; 203) of a drill rig (100), the drill rig (100) comprising a carrier and a boom (102; 202) attaching the feeder (103; 203) to the carrier, the feeder (103; 203) being configured to carry a work tool (104), the boom (102; 202) comprising a plurality of joints, and the feeder (103; 203) being configured to be manoeuvred by manoeuvring the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202), wherein manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) is controllable by the control system, and wherein the drill rig (100) further comprises operator manoeuvrable control means for operator controlled manoeuvring of the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202), the system being configured to:provide an operator selectable feeder control mode;control the plurality of joints of the boom (102; 202) in the operator selectable feeder control mode such that the feeder (103; 203) is moved along a longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203);control the direction of motion of the feeder (103; 203) along the longitudinal axis of the feeder (103; 203) according to an operator request for motion of the feeder (103; 203), andreceive the operator request from the operator manoeuvrable control means.
16. A drill rig (100) comprising a system according to claim 14.
17. A computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of the claims 1 to 13.
18. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of the claims 1 to 13.