Control methods of feeding system

Abstract

This invention discloses a control method for a feeding system, relating to the field of metallurgical technology. The control method includes: reading the weight of material in each underground silo using a first weighing sensor, determining whether the weight of material in the underground silo meets the feeding requirements of the workshop silos, and thus identifying underground silos that do not meet the feeding requirements; issuing a message to replenish material in the underground silos that do not meet the feeding requirements; opening the smart gate corresponding to the underground silo that does not meet the feeding requirements when a vehicle transporting materials passes through a smart gate; and after the vehicle has finished unloading, reading the weight of material in the underground silo after replenishment using the first weighing sensor and sending it to the control unit. This application can solve the problem of measurement errors that occur in feeding systems during long-term use and can accurately replenish material in underground silos that do not meet the feeding requirements of the workshop silos.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of metallurgical technology, and in particular to a control method for a feeding system. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of industrial automation, metallurgical enterprises have increasingly higher demands for intelligent equipment. The processes of ironmaking, steelmaking, and steel rolling are highly automated, requiring fewer workers on-site. Most operations are completed in the central control room, and various combustion models and one-click steel tapping systems are widely used, requiring minimal human intervention.

[0003] The raw material system has many non-standard facilities. Although there is a central control room, most processes still require manual setup and operation, and many tasks still require manual operation by on-site workers. The raw material system faces increasingly prominent problems such as harsh environment, long operation process, high labor intensity for workers, many types of materials that are prone to incorrect material feeding, demand for feeding multiple varieties in small batches, and unplanned emergency feeding, leading to a growing demand for intelligent systems.

[0004] Chinese patent application number 201410140458.7 discloses an automatic control method for a steelmaking by-product feeding system. This patent only utilizes a simple database function to realize the automatic control of the steelmaking by-product feeding system. In this control method, three databases are established: a material type database, an underground silo database, and an elevated silo database. A data queue of elevated silos to be fed is established and initialized. The weight of material entering the elevated silo is calculated by a belt scale, and the weight of material leaving the silo is calculated by a weighing hopper. The difference between the two is used to obtain the weight of material stored in the elevated silo. Based on the weight of material stored in the elevated silo, the feeding sequence and feeding time are sorted. The above-mentioned automatic control method for the steelmaking by-product feeding system has the following drawbacks: the belt scale has a large error and cannot accurately count the weight of the material in the high-level silo; during the transfer process of the feeding system or the unloading process of the unloading vehicle, material is generally spilled, and with the dust removed by the dust removal system, there will be a large error between the feeding amount read by the belt scale and the actual feeding amount in the high-level silo. As time goes on, the accumulated error will become increasingly uncontrollable; material is also spilled when the high-level silo is discharged, and with the dust removed by the dust removal system, the discharge amount measured by the weighing hopper will also have a large error compared with the actual discharge amount in the high-level silo. As time goes on, the accumulated error will become increasingly uncontrollable; the volume of the weighing hopper is relatively small compared to the high-level silo. The volume of a high-level silo is about 20 to 300 times the volume of the weighing hopper. The single error of the weighing hopper is low, but the cumulative error after multiple weighings cannot be ignored.

[0005] Explanation of key terms

[0006] Feeding: refers to the transportation of raw materials and fuels from underground silos, raw material yards, and storage silos when the silos of facilities such as mixing and batching tanks, sintering, pelletizing, blast furnaces, converters, electric furnaces, refining, pulverized coal injection stations, and lime kilns in metallurgical enterprises require raw materials and fuels.

[0007] Intelligent: refers to operations that start automatically based on system instructions and field instruments and signals, without human intervention.

[0008] Basic Automation (L1) Level: refers to field equipment control systems, which mainly use PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) to achieve simple control of mechanical equipment. However, they only control the input and output of I / O signals, and the equipment can be switched on and off by a program.

[0009] Level 2 (L2) of process automation refers to the production process monitoring system, which is the core control layer in the entire automation system. It includes tracking logic control and model calculation, material tracking of the conveying system, and acquisition and processing of measured data. Through a series of mathematical models and control algorithms, it realizes the optimization setting and calculation of various control parameters and transmits them to the basic automation level to achieve direct control of production.

[0010] Factory Automation Level 3 (L3): This refers to the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), which includes shop floor management, online scheduling, and quality management. Its main tasks are to issue production plans, generate production statistics and reports to Level 2 systems.

[0011] Low material level: refers to the minimum storage amount of material in the silo, which can generally meet the material quantity of one furnace or several batches of material. It needs to be set according to the time required for material replenishment.

[0012] High material level: refers to the maximum storage capacity of material in the silo. When the high material level is reached, the feeding system stops feeding at the beginning and the material on the belt conveyor of the feeding system can just fill the silo. Summary of the Invention

[0013] In order to overcome the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a control method for a feeding system, which can solve the problem of metering error generated during long-term use of the feeding system, and can accurately replenish the underground silos that do not meet the feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop.

[0014] The specific technical solution of this invention is as follows:

[0015] A method for controlling a feeding system, the feeding system comprising:

[0016] An underground silo system includes multiple underground silos, each of which includes a first silo body; a first silo frame connected to the first silo body; a first support mechanism on which a first weighing sensor is mounted, and the lower end of the first silo frame is mounted on the first weighing sensor; and a first feeder is installed at the outlet of the first silo body.

[0017] A belt conveyor mechanism is disposed below the first feeder, and the belt conveyor mechanism and the first feeder are either softly connected or remain in a non-contact state.

[0018] Multiple smart gates corresponding to the multiple underground silos, each smart gate having a license plate recognition unit;

[0019] The control unit is electrically connected to the first weighing sensor of each of the underground silos and to each of the smart gates.

[0020] The control method for the feeding system includes:

[0021] The weight of the material in each underground silo is read by the first weighing sensor, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the underground silo meets the feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop, thereby identifying the underground silos that do not meet the feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop.

[0022] Send a message to replenish the underground silos that do not meet the material feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop;

[0023] When a vehicle transporting materials passes through the intelligent gate, the intelligent gate corresponding to the underground silo that does not meet the material loading requirements of the silo in the workshop is opened.

[0024] After the vehicle has finished unloading, the weight of the material in the underground silo after replenishment is read by the first weighing sensor and sent to the control unit.

[0025] Preferably, the control unit stores the license plate numbers of vehicles transporting materials. Each vehicle's license plate number corresponds to an underground silo where it needs to unload materials. When a vehicle transporting materials passes through one of the smart gates, the smart gate reads the license plate number. If the vehicle is about to enter the smart gate corresponding to an underground silo that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos, the smart gate opens, allowing the vehicle to pass through and unload materials from that silo. If the vehicle is about to enter the smart gate corresponding to an underground silo that meets the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos, the smart gate closes and prompts the vehicle to enter the smart gate corresponding to the underground silo that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos.

[0026] Preferably, the feeding system further includes:

[0027] A steelmaking workshop silo system includes multiple steelmaking workshop silos, each of the steelmaking workshop silos including: a second silo body; a second silo frame connected to the second silo body; a second support mechanism, on which a second weighing sensor is installed, and the lower end of the second silo frame is installed on the second weighing sensor; a second feeder is installed at the outlet of the second silo body.

[0028] The belt conveyor is located above the multiple steelmaking workshop silos; a first unloading car and a first positioning unit are installed on the belt conveyor. The first positioning unit is used to determine the position of the first unloading car, so that the first unloading car can unload the material on the belt conveyor into the corresponding steelmaking workshop silo.

[0029] The first unloading vehicle, the first positioning unit, and the second weighing sensor are electrically connected to the control unit;

[0030] The control method for the feeding system also includes:

[0031] Receive the assigned work plan and sort the material loading tasks according to the frequency and time priority of material loading;

[0032] The weight of the material in each of the steelmaking workshop silos is read by the second weighing sensor, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silos has reached the preset level, so as to obtain the steelmaking workshop silos that have not reached the preset level.

[0033] The feeding plan of the steelmaking workshop silo that has not reached the preset material level will be elevated to the highest priority.

[0034] Preferably, the control method for the feeding system further includes:

[0035] When the highest priority loading operation begins, the position of the first unloading vehicle is determined by the first positioning unit;

[0036] When the first unloading vehicle reaches the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to start feeding.

[0037] The material is output to the first unloading car in the steelmaking workshop silo system via the belt conveyor, and is unloaded into the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan via the first unloading car;

[0038] The weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan is read by the second weighing sensor. When the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan meets the requirements, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to stop feeding.

[0039] Preferably, the control method for the feeding system further includes:

[0040] After the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the control system stops feeding, the material already present on the belt conveyor continues to be output to the first unloading car in the steelmaking workshop silo system. The material is unloaded by the first unloading car into the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan. The next feeding operation begins when the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan no longer changes, as read by the second weighing sensor.

[0041] Preferably, the control method for the feeding system further includes:

[0042] When replenishing the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan, if the converter or ladle needs to be fed, the steelmaking workshop silo that has reached the preset material level will activate the second feeder to feed the converter or ladle.

[0043] Preferably, the feeding system further includes: a blast furnace ore bin system, comprising multiple blast furnace silos, each blast furnace silo comprising: a third silo body; a third silo frame connected to the third silo body; a third support mechanism, on which a third weighing sensor is installed, and the lower end of the third silo frame is installed on the third weighing sensor; a third feeder or gate is installed at the outlet of the third silo body;

[0044] The belt conveyor is located above the plurality of blast furnace silos; a second unloading car and a second positioning unit are installed on the belt conveyor, the second positioning unit being used to determine the position of the second unloading car, so that the second unloading car can unload the material on the belt conveyor into the corresponding blast furnace silo;

[0045] The second unloading vehicle, the second positioning unit, and the third weighing sensor are electrically connected to the control unit;

[0046] The control method for the feeding system also includes:

[0047] Receive the assigned work plan and sort the material loading tasks according to the frequency and time priority of material loading;

[0048] The weight of the material in each blast furnace silo is read by the third weighing sensor, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the blast furnace silo has reached the preset material level, so as to obtain the blast furnace silo that has not reached the preset material level.

[0049] The charging plan for the blast furnace silo that has not reached the preset material level will be elevated to the highest priority.

[0050] Preferably, the control method for the feeding system further includes:

[0051] When the highest priority loading operation begins, the position of the second unloading vehicle is determined by the second positioning unit;

[0052] When the second unloading car reaches the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to start feeding.

[0053] The material is output to the second unloading car in the blast furnace ore bin system via the belt conveyor, and then unloaded into the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan via the second unloading car;

[0054] The weight of the material in the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan is read by the third weighing sensor. When the weight of the material in the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan meets the requirements, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to stop feeding.

[0055] Preferably, the control method for the feeding system further includes:

[0056] After the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the control system stops feeding, the material already present on the belt conveyor continues to be output to the second unloading car in the blast furnace ore bin system. The material is then unloaded by the second unloading car into the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan. The next charging operation begins when the weight of the material in the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan is no longer changing, as read by the third weighing sensor.

[0057] Preferably, the control method for the feeding system further includes:

[0058] When replenishing the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan, if the subsequent screening equipment needs to be fed, the third feeder will be activated when the blast furnace silo reaches the preset material level.

[0059] The technical solution of the present invention has the following significant beneficial effects:

[0060] 1. This application can truly achieve fully unmanned operation and intelligent management, enabling unmanned material feeding and significantly reducing the labor intensity of workers. 2. Secondly, the weighing sensor can automatically determine the type and quantity of material to be fed into different silos, avoiding the problem of incorrect material feeding caused by manual selection or overflow accidents caused by overfeeding. This provides a strong guarantee for the long-term stable operation of the feeding system. Compared with the level gauges used in the past, which have huge errors and many failures and cannot operate intelligently at all. 3. In addition, the intelligent gate with license plate recognition unit can ensure that vehicles transporting materials can only enter the corresponding correct underground silo, thus avoiding the problem of unloading the wrong material in the only link that requires human intervention. 4. Moreover, the first weighing sensor can accurately track the material quantity in the underground silo in real time, allowing feeding vehicles to prepare materials in advance, thereby avoiding material shortage accidents. 5. Finally, by tracking the material supply of the underground silo and the material intake of the silos in the workshop, it is possible to determine whether there is spillage and to calculate the natural loss and actual consumption of materials.

[0061] Specific embodiments of the invention are disclosed in detail below with reference to the description and accompanying drawings, indicating how the principles of the invention can be employed. It should be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not therefore limited in scope. Features described and / or shown for one embodiment may be used in the same or similar manner in one or more other embodiments, combined with features in other embodiments, or substituted for features in other embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0062] The accompanying drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. Furthermore, the shapes and proportions of the components in the drawings are merely illustrative to aid in understanding the invention and do not specifically limit the shapes and proportions of the components. Those skilled in the art, guided by the teachings of this invention, can select various possible shapes and proportions to implement the invention according to specific circumstances.

[0063] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of the underground silo system and intelligent gate in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0064] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the underground silo structure in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the steelmaking workshop silo system in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0066] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the blast furnace ore bin system in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] The reference numerals in the above figures are as follows:

[0068] 1. Underground silo system; 11. Underground silo; 111. First silo body; 112. First silo frame; 113. First support mechanism; 114. First weighing sensor; 115. First feeder; 116. First anti-spillage mechanism; 2. Belt conveyor mechanism; 21. First unloading car; 22. First positioning unit; 23. Second unloading car; 24. Second positioning unit; 3. Intelligent gate; 4. Steelmaking workshop silo system; 41. Steelmaking workshop silo; 411. Second weighing sensor; 412. Second feeder; 5. Blast furnace ore bin system; 51. Blast furnace silo; 511. Third weighing sensor; 512. Third feeder; 513. Gate. Detailed Implementation

[0069] The details of the present invention can be more clearly understood by referring to the accompanying drawings and the description of specific embodiments. However, the specific embodiments of the present invention described herein are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way. Under the teachings of this invention, those skilled in the art can conceive of any possible modifications based on the invention, all of which should be considered within the scope of the invention. It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "set on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or there may be an intervening element. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intervening element. The terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be interpreted broadly, for example, they can refer to mechanical or electrical connections, or internal communication between two elements, and can be direct or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms according to the specific circumstances. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only embodiments.

[0070] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0071] To address the issue of metering errors that arise in the feeding system during long-term use, and to accurately replenish the underground silo 11 that does not meet the feeding requirements of the workshop's silos, this application proposes a control method for the feeding system. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of the underground silo system and intelligent gate in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the underground silo structure in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the feeding system includes: an underground silo system 1, comprising multiple underground silos 11, each underground silo 11 including a first silo body 111; a first silo frame 112 connected to the first silo body 111; a first support mechanism 113, on which a first weighing sensor 114 is installed, and the lower end of the first silo frame 112 is installed on the first weighing sensor 114; a first feeder 115 installed at the outlet of the first silo body 111; a belt conveyor 2, which is located below the first feeder 115, and the belt conveyor 2 and the first feeder 115 are either softly connected or remain in a non-contact state; multiple smart gates 3 corresponding to the multiple underground silos 11, each smart gate 3 having a license plate recognition unit; and a control unit, which is electrically connected to the weighing sensor of each underground silo 11 and to each smart gate 3.

[0072] like Figure 1 As shown, the underground silo system 1 may include multiple underground silos 11, some of which may be arranged in a straight line to facilitate the transport of materials output from the outlet of the belt conveyor 2. Adjacent underground silos 11 may be arranged close together, with the gaps between them constructed using lightweight sheet metal to prevent material loss or leakage during unloading by transport vehicles.

[0073] like Figure 1As shown, each underground silo 11 may include a first silo body 111; a first silo frame 112 connected to the first silo body 111; and a first support mechanism 113. The first silo body 111 is generally funnel-shaped, with its opening located at the top and facing upwards to facilitate direct material replenishment, and its outlet located at the bottom. The first silo frame 112 is located on the side wall of the first silo body 111 to improve the strength of the side wall and distribute the stress, thereby enabling the first silo frame 112 to support the weight of the first silo body 111 and the materials inside. The first support mechanism 113 supports the first silo frame 112, thereby supporting the entire first silo body 111 and the weight of the materials inside. The first support mechanism 113 may consist of multiple vertically aligned support rods and may also include multiple crossbars connecting the support rods, thereby improving the stability of the entire first support mechanism 113. A first weighing sensor 114 is installed on the first support mechanism 113, and the lower end of the first hopper frame 112 is installed on the first weighing sensor 114. The first hopper body 111, except for the first hopper frame 112, is detached from other structures, thus ensuring that the first weighing sensor 114 can weigh the material inside the first hopper body 111. There can be multiple first weighing sensors 114; a first weighing sensor 114 is installed at each point between the first hopper frame 112 and the first support mechanism 113. The first weighing sensor 114 can weigh the sum of the weights of the first hopper frame 112, the first hopper body 111, and the material inside the first hopper body 111. Since the weights of the first hopper frame 112 and the first hopper body 111 are known, the weight of the material inside the first hopper body 111 can be weighed. A first feeder 115 is installed at the outlet of the first hopper body 111. By activating the first feeder 115, the material inside the first hopper body 111 can be output to the belt conveyor 2 through the outlet and transported away by the belt conveyor 2. The belt conveyor 2 is located below the first feeder 115, and the belt conveyor 2 and the first feeder 115 are either softly connected or in a non-contact state. This ensures that the belt conveyor 2 does not provide support for the first feeder 115, allowing the first weighing sensor 114 to accurately calculate the weight of the material inside the first hopper body 111. This further enables precise control of the weight of the material output through the first feeder 115.

[0074] As is feasible, the first feeder 115 can be a vibrating feeder, a disc feeder, a belt feeder, etc., and no limitation is made in this application.

[0075] As is feasible, the number of underground silos 11 can generally be consistent with the number of material types.

[0076] like Figure 1 As shown, multiple smart gates 3 correspond one-to-one with multiple underground silos 11. Vehicles transporting materials must pass through the smart gates 3 before they can unload at the underground silos 11. The smart gates 3 are equipped with license plate recognition units. The control unit is electrically connected to the first weighing sensor 114 of each underground silo 11 and to each smart gate 3.

[0077] When the control unit determines, through the first weighing sensor 114 on each underground silo 11, that the weight of the material in a certain underground silo 11 does not meet the material feeding requirements of the workshop silos, it determines that the material needs to be replenished. At this time, the control unit controls the intelligent gate 3 to open when the vehicle transporting the material enters the corresponding intelligent gate 3 of the underground silo 11 that needs to be replenished, so as to allow the vehicle transporting the material to pass through. In this way, the purpose of accurately controlling the vehicle transporting the material to replenish the underground silo 11 that needs to be replenished can be achieved, avoiding replenishment errors, and at the same time, it can realize automated control without human intervention.

[0078] As a feasible option, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the underground silo 11 may include a first anti-spillage mechanism 116 installed at the opening of the first silo body 111. The first anti-spillage mechanism 116 is tapered from top to bottom, and the opening at the uppermost end of the first anti-spillage mechanism 116 is larger than the opening of the first silo body 111. This structure allows for the material to fall into the first silo body 111 as much as possible when vehicles unloading materials into the underground silo 11, thus reducing the amount of spillage.

[0079] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the steelmaking workshop silo system in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, as an alternative, the feeding system may also include: a steelmaking workshop silo system 4, comprising multiple steelmaking workshop silos 41. Each steelmaking workshop silo 41 includes: a second silo body; a second silo frame connected to the second silo body; a second support mechanism, on which a second weighing sensor 411 is installed, and the lower end of the second silo frame is mounted on the second weighing sensor 411; a second feeder 412 is installed at the outlet of the second silo body. The structure of the steelmaking workshop silo 41 is generally similar to that of the underground silo 11, and will not be described again. The second silo body, except for the second silo frame, is detached from other structures, thereby ensuring that the second weighing sensor 411 can weigh the material inside the second silo body.

[0080] The belt conveyor 2 is located above multiple steelmaking workshop silos 41. It transports materials from the underground silos 11 in the underground silo system 1 to the steelmaking workshop silo system 4, replenishing the corresponding steelmaking workshop silos 41. The belt conveyor 2 is equipped with a first unloading car 21 and a first positioning unit 22. The first positioning unit determines the position of the first unloading car 21, enabling it to unload materials from the belt conveyor 2 into the corresponding steelmaking workshop silos 41. The first unloading car 21 unloads materials from the belt conveyor 2 into the lower steelmaking workshop silos 41. The first unloading car 21, the first positioning unit 22, and the second weighing sensor 411 are electrically connected to the control unit.

[0081] As a feasible option, some silos 41 in the steelmaking workshop can be used as auxiliary raw material silos, while others can be used as ferroalloy silos. Auxiliary raw material silos can be located at higher levels. Ferroalloy silos can be located at higher or middle levels. Figure 3 As shown, the auxiliary material silo is located at the high position, while the ferroalloy silo is located in the middle position.

[0082] The control unit stores the types and weights of each auxiliary raw material silo and each ferroalloy silo in the steelmaking workshop silo system 4. The weight of the material in each steelmaking workshop silo 41 can be updated in real time via the second weighing sensor 411. The control unit can, as needed, control the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that has reached the preset material level to activate the second feeder 412 to feed material to the converter or ladle.

[0083] When the control unit determines, through the second weighing sensor 411 on each steelmaking workshop silo 41, that the weight of the material in a certain steelmaking workshop silo 41 does not reach the preset level, it determines that material needs to be replenished. At this time, the first unloading car 21 is positioned by the first positioning unit 22 and moves to the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that needs material replenishment. It then controls the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the underground silo system 1 to start feeding. The material is output through the belt conveyor 2 to the first unloading car 21 in the steelmaking workshop silo system 4, and unloaded by the first unloading car 21 into the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that needs material replenishment. At this time, the weight of the material output from the corresponding underground silo 11 can be obtained through the first weighing sensor 114 of the corresponding underground silo 11, and the weight of the material actually replenished can be obtained through the second weighing sensor 411 of the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that needs material replenishment. The loss during the material replenishment process can also be calculated in the above manner.

[0084] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the blast furnace ore bin system in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 4As shown, the charging system may include: a blast furnace ore bin system 5, comprising multiple blast furnace silos 51. Each blast furnace silo 51 includes: a third silo body; a third silo frame connected to the third silo body; a third support mechanism, on which a third weighing sensor 511 is mounted, and the lower end of the silo frame is mounted on the third weighing sensor 511; a third feeder 512 or a gate 513 is installed at the outlet of the third silo body. A belt conveyor 2 is located above the multiple blast furnace silos 51. A second unloading car 23 and a second positioning unit 24 are mounted on the belt conveyor 2. The second positioning unit is used to determine the position of the second unloading car 23, thereby enabling the second unloading car 23 to unload the material from the belt conveyor 2 into the corresponding blast furnace silo 51.

[0085] Since multiple blast furnace hoppers 51 are typically required for a single raw material in the blast furnace ore bin system 5, the second unloading car 23 generally unloads continuously. Therefore, the blast furnace hopper 51 may include a second anti-spillage mechanism installed at the opening of the third hopper body. The second anti-spillage mechanism is tapered from top to bottom, and the opening at the top of the second anti-spillage mechanism is larger than the opening of the third hopper body. The openings of adjacent second anti-spillage mechanisms are close together. At least some of the blast furnace hoppers 51 are arranged in a straight line, and the gaps between adjacent blast furnace hoppers 51 are overlapped with lightweight plates. This method minimizes the amount of material spilled during unloading by the second unloading car 23 without affecting the weighing of the third weighing sensor 511. The third feeder 512 or gate 513 is connected to the subsequent screening equipment with a flexible connection or remains in a non-contact state, thus not affecting the weighing of the third weighing sensor 511. The materials conveyed by the belt conveyor 2 to the blast furnace ore bin system 5 can come not only from the underground silo system 1, but also from the material yard, other storage silos, etc.

[0086] The belt conveyor 2 is located above multiple blast furnace silos 51. It transports materials from the underground silos 11 in the underground silo system 1 to the blast furnace ore bin system 5, replenishing the corresponding blast furnace silos 51. A second positioning unit determines the position of the second unloading car 23, enabling it to unload materials from the belt conveyor 2 into the corresponding blast furnace silos 51. The second unloading car 23 unloads materials from the belt conveyor 2 into the lower blast furnace silos 51. The second unloading car 23, the second positioning unit 24, and the third weighing sensor 511 are electrically connected to the control unit.

[0087] The control unit stores the corresponding types and weights of materials in each blast furnace hopper 51 of the blast furnace ore bin system 5. The weight of the material in each blast furnace hopper 51 can be updated in real time through the third weighing sensor 511. The control unit can, as needed, control the blast furnace hopper 51 that has reached the preset material level to open the third feeder 512 or the gate 513 to feed material to the subsequent screening device.

[0088] The silo structure in the feeding system of this application is applicable not only to steelmaking and ironmaking workshops, but also to other feeding workshops, such as mixing and batching tanks, sintering, pelletizing, electric furnaces, refining, pulverized coal injection stations, lime kilns, etc., and all of these silos can be equipped with weighing sensors. By tracking the readings of the weighing sensors in real time, the exact type and quantity of material to be fed can be determined, and the storage can be replenished in a timely manner through the feeding system.

[0089] The control method for any of the above-mentioned feeding systems may include the following steps:

[0090] The weight of the material in each underground silo 11 is read by the first weighing sensor 114, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the underground silo 11 meets the feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop, thereby identifying the underground silos 11 that do not meet the feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop.

[0091] If it is determined that there is an underground silo 11 that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos, a message is sent to replenish the underground silo 11 that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos. At this time, the vehicle transporting the materials can be notified to transport the corresponding type and weight of materials to the underground silo system 1. After the vehicle is loaded with materials, there is a correspondence between the license plate number and the type of material. The control unit sends the correspondence information between the license plate number and the corresponding underground silo 11, so that the vehicle driver knows which underground silo 11 he is unloading from.

[0092] When a vehicle transporting materials passes through the smart gate 3, the smart gate 3 corresponding to the underground silo 11 that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos is opened. The control unit stores the license plate numbers of the vehicles transporting materials, and each vehicle's license plate number corresponds to the underground silo where it needs to unload materials. When a vehicle transporting materials passes through one of the smart gates 3, the smart gate 3 reads the license plate number. If the vehicle is about to enter the smart gate 3 corresponding to the underground silo 11 that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos, then the smart gate 3 opens, allowing the vehicle to pass through to the underground silo 11 that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop's silos for unloading. If a vehicle transporting materials is about to enter the intelligent gate 3 corresponding to the underground silo 11 that meets the material loading requirements of the workshop, the control unit determines that the intelligent gate 3 the vehicle is about to enter is incorrect based on the correspondence between the vehicle's license plate number and the underground silo where it needs to unload materials. At this time, the control unit can control the intelligent gate 3 to close and prompt the vehicle to enter the intelligent gate 3 corresponding to the underground silo 11 that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop. For example, it can prompt that entering the underground silo 11 is incorrect and display the correct underground silo 11 number.

[0093] After the vehicle has finished unloading, the first weighing sensor 114 reads the weight of the material in the underground silo 11 after replenishment and sends it to the control unit. The control unit updates the weight of the material in the underground silo 11 in a timely manner.

[0094] When it is necessary to replenish materials to the steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the steelmaking workshop silo system 4, the system first receives the issued work plan and sorts the material feeding operations according to the feeding frequency and feeding time priority. This work plan can be issued by the L3 system.

[0095] The second weighing sensor 411 reads the weight of the material in each steelmaking workshop silo 41 and determines whether the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo 41 has reached the preset level, thereby identifying the steelmaking workshop silos 41 that have not reached the preset level. In this step, the preset level can be a low level.

[0096] If any steelmaking workshop silo 41 fails to reach its preset material level, the loading plan for that silo will be elevated to the highest priority. All loading operations will be queued and executed sequentially from highest to lowest priority until all loading operations are completed.

[0097] When the highest priority loading operation begins, the position of the first unloading car 21 is determined by the first positioning unit 22. The control unit issues a command to the first unloading car 21 to move it, and the control unit tracks and knows the position of the first unloading car 21 in real time through the first positioning unit 22. The first positioning unit 22 can use an coded cable positioning system to determine the position of the first unloading car 21 as it moves.

[0098] When the first unloading car 21 reaches the highest priority steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the feeding plan, the control unit starts the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the underground silo system 1 to begin feeding. In the above steps, when the first unloading car 21 reaches the highest priority steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the feeding plan, the control unit determines the arrival of the first unloading car 21 through the first positioning unit 22. Then, the control unit controls the first unloading car 21 to stop on the belt conveyor 2 above the highest priority steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the feeding plan. Then, the control unit controls the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the underground silo system 1 to start feeding. The corresponding underground silo 11 specifically refers to the underground silo 11 with the same material type as the highest priority steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the feeding plan.

[0099] The material is output through the belt conveyor 2 to the first unloading car 21 in the steelmaking workshop silo system 4, and unloaded by the first unloading car 21 into the steelmaking workshop silo 41, which has the highest priority in the material loading plan.

[0100] The second weighing sensor 411 reads the weight of the material in the highest priority steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the feeding plan. When the weight of the material in the highest priority steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the feeding plan meets the requirements, the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the underground silo system 1 is controlled to stop feeding. For example, when the weight of the material in the highest priority steelmaking workshop silo 41 in the feeding plan reaches the high material level, the control unit controls the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the underground silo system 1 to stop feeding, and the belt conveyor 2 continues to operate.

[0101] After the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the control underground silo system 1 stops feeding, the material already present on the belt conveyor 2 continues to be output to the first unloading car 21 in the steelmaking workshop silo system 4. The material is unloaded by the first unloading car 21 into the steelmaking workshop silo 41 with the highest priority in the feeding plan, until the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo 41 with the highest priority in the feeding plan no longer changes, then the next feeding operation begins. The first unloading car 21 moves to the steelmaking workshop silo 41 with the next type of material and begins feeding the next type of material.

[0102] During the above process, the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that has reached the preset material level can also simultaneously feed material into the converter or ladle. The corresponding second weighing sensor 411 of the steelmaking workshop silo 41 weighs the material in the steelmaking workshop silo 41 in real time. When the preset material level is not reached, the feeding plan of the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that has not reached the preset material level is raised to the highest priority. In this way, when the steelmaking workshop silo 41 with the highest priority in the feeding plan is replenished, the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that has reached the preset material level can start the second feeder 412 to feed material into the converter or ladle, thereby realizing feeding material from the underground silo system 1 and feeding material into the converter or ladle through the steelmaking workshop silo system 4 at the same time.

[0103] The L3-level MES system issues a work plan, which is then broken down to reach L2 and L1 levels, forming a material loading queue. Based on the weight of materials in the iron ore bins, high-level and mid-level steelmaking silos, and other system silos, the loading of materials into underground silo 11, the raw material yard, or storage silos is controlled. If there is an emergency shortage of materials, the material is automatically moved to the highest priority in the loading queue and completed first. This method can complete the loading operations for each type of material according to the queue.

[0104] When it is necessary to replenish materials in the steelmaking workshop silo 41 of the steelmaking workshop silo system 4, the first weighing sensor 114 can obtain the amount of material reduction in the underground silo 11 that is replenishing the steelmaking workshop silo 41, and the second weighing sensor 411 can obtain the amount of material increase in the steelmaking workshop silo 41 that is replenishing the material. Based on the amount of reduction and increase, the natural loss and actual consumption of materials can be statistically calculated.

[0105] When it is necessary to replenish materials to the blast furnace hoppers 51 in the blast furnace ore bin system 5, the same work plan is received, and the feeding operations are sorted according to the feeding frequency and feeding time priority. The weight of the material in each blast furnace hopper 51 is read by the third weighing sensor 511, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the blast furnace hopper 51 has reached the preset material level, thereby identifying the blast furnace hoppers 51 that have not reached the preset material level. The feeding plan of the blast furnace hoppers 51 that have not reached the preset material level is raised to the highest priority.

[0106] When the highest priority charging operation begins, the position of the second unloading car 23 is determined by the second positioning unit 24. Once the second unloading car 23 reaches the highest priority blast furnace silo 51 in the charging plan, the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the underground silo system 1 is started to begin feeding. The material is output to the second unloading car 23 in the blast furnace ore bin system 5 via the belt conveyor 2, and unloaded into the highest priority blast furnace silo 51 in the charging plan by the second unloading car 23. The weight of the material in the highest priority blast furnace silo 51 in the charging plan is read by the third weighing sensor 511. When the weight of the material in the highest priority blast furnace silo 51 in the charging plan meets the requirements, the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the underground silo system 1 is stopped feeding.

[0107] After the first feeder 115 of the corresponding underground silo 11 in the control underground silo system 1 stops feeding, the material already present on the belt conveyor 2 continues to be output to the second unloading car 23 in the blast furnace ore bin system 5, and is unloaded by the second unloading car 23 into the blast furnace silo 51 with the highest priority in the charging plan, until the third weighing sensor 511 reads that the weight of the material in the blast furnace silo 51 with the highest priority in the charging plan no longer changes, then the next charging operation begins.

[0108] During the above process, the blast furnace silo 51 that has reached the preset material level can simultaneously feed material to the subsequent screening equipment. The corresponding third weighing sensor 511 of the blast furnace silo 51 weighs the material in the blast furnace silo 51 in real time. When the preset material level is not reached, the feeding plan of the blast furnace silo 51 that has not reached the preset material level is raised to the highest priority. In this way, when the blast furnace silo 51 with the highest priority in the feeding plan is being replenished, if the subsequent screening equipment needs to be fed, the blast furnace silo 51 that has reached the preset material level can open the third feeder 512 or the gate 513 to feed material to the subsequent screening equipment, thereby realizing feeding material from the underground silo system 1 and feeding material to the screening equipment through the blast furnace ore bin system 5 at the same time.

[0109] Similarly, when it is necessary to replenish the blast furnace hopper 51 in the blast furnace ore bin system 5, the first weighing sensor 114 can obtain the amount of material reduction in the underground hopper 11 that replenishes the blast furnace hopper 51, and the third weighing sensor 511 can obtain the amount of material increase in the blast furnace hopper 51 that replenishes the material. Based on the amount of reduction and increase, the natural loss and actual consumption of the material can be statistically calculated.

[0110] Whether it is a steelmaking and ironmaking workshop, or other workshops that require feeding, such as mixing and batching tanks, sintering, pelletizing, electric furnaces, refining, pulverized coal injection stations, lime kilns, etc., the above-mentioned feeding system control method can be used for their silos.

[0111] This application enables truly unmanned, intelligent operation throughout the entire process, achieving unmanned material loading and significantly reducing the labor intensity of workers. Secondly, the weighing sensors automatically determine the type and quantity of material required for loading into different silos, avoiding the problems of incorrect material loading or overflow accidents caused by manual selection of the process. This provides a strong guarantee for the long-term stable operation of the material loading system, compared to the previously used level gauges, which have huge errors, frequent malfunctions, and are simply incapable of intelligent operation. Furthermore, the intelligent gate 3 with a license plate recognition unit ensures that vehicles transporting materials can only enter the corresponding correct underground silo 11, thus avoiding the problem of incorrect unloading in the only stage requiring human intervention. Moreover, the first weighing sensor 114 can accurately track the material quantity in the underground silo 11 in real time, allowing loading vehicles to prepare materials in advance, thereby avoiding material shortage accidents. Finally, by tracking the supply of material in the underground silo 11 and the inflow of material into the workshop silos, it is possible to determine whether there is spillage and to statistically analyze the natural loss and actual consumption of materials.

[0112] All articles and references disclosed herein, including patent applications and publications, are incorporated herein by reference for various purposes. The term “substantially constitutes…” used to describe a combination should include the identified element, component, part, or step, as well as other elements, components, parts, or steps that do not substantially affect the essential novelty of the combination. The use of the terms “comprising” or “including” to describe combinations of elements, components, parts, or steps herein also contemplates embodiments substantially constituted by such elements, components, parts, or steps. The use of the term “may” herein is intended to indicate that any described attribute “may” include is optional. Multiple elements, components, parts, or steps can be provided by a single integrated element, component, part, or step. Alternatively, a single integrated element, component, part, or step can be divided into multiple separate elements, components, parts, or steps. The disclosure of “a” or “an” used to describe an element, component, part, or step does not imply exclusion of other elements, components, parts, or steps.

[0113] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on its differences from other embodiments. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. The above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical concept and features of the present invention, and are intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand the content of the present invention and implement it accordingly. They should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. All equivalent changes or modifications made according to the spirit and essence of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method for a feeding system, characterized in that, The feeding system includes: An underground silo system includes multiple underground silos, each of which includes a first silo body; a first silo frame connected to the first silo body; a first support mechanism on which a first weighing sensor is mounted, and the lower end of the first silo frame is mounted on the first weighing sensor; and a first feeder is installed at the outlet of the first silo body. A belt conveyor mechanism is disposed below the first feeder, and the belt conveyor mechanism and the first feeder are either softly connected or remain in a non-contact state. Multiple smart gates corresponding to the multiple underground silos, each smart gate having a license plate recognition unit; The control unit is electrically connected to the first weighing sensor of each of the underground silos and to each of the smart gates. The control unit stores the license plate numbers of vehicles transporting materials, with each vehicle's license plate corresponding to an underground silo where it needs to unload. When a vehicle transporting materials passes through one of the smart gates, the smart gate reads the license plate number. If the vehicle is about to enter the smart gate corresponding to an underground silo that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop, the smart gate opens, allowing the vehicle to pass through and unload from that silo. If the vehicle is about to enter the smart gate corresponding to an underground silo that does meet the material loading requirements of the workshop, the smart gate closes and prompts the vehicle to enter the smart gate corresponding to the underground silo that does not meet the material loading requirements of the workshop. The feeding system also includes: A steelmaking workshop silo system includes multiple steelmaking workshop silos, each of the steelmaking workshop silos including: a second silo body; a second silo frame connected to the second silo body; a second support mechanism, on which a second weighing sensor is installed, and the lower end of the second silo frame is installed on the second weighing sensor; and a second feeder is installed at the outlet of the second silo body. The belt conveyor is located above the multiple steelmaking workshop silos; a first unloading car and a first positioning unit are installed on the belt conveyor. The first positioning unit is used to determine the position of the first unloading car, so that the first unloading car can unload the material on the belt conveyor into the corresponding steelmaking workshop silo. The first unloading vehicle, the first positioning unit, and the second weighing sensor are electrically connected to the control unit; The control method for the feeding system includes: The weight of the material in each underground silo is read by the first weighing sensor, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the underground silo meets the feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop, thereby identifying the underground silos that do not meet the feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop. Send a message to replenish the underground silos that do not meet the material feeding requirements of the silos in the workshop; When a vehicle transporting materials passes through the intelligent gate, the intelligent gate corresponding to the underground silo that does not meet the material loading requirements of the silo in the workshop is opened. After the vehicle has finished unloading, the weight of the material in the underground silo after replenishment is read by the first weighing sensor and sent to the control unit. The control method for the feeding system also includes: Receive the assigned work plan and sort the material loading tasks according to the frequency and time priority of material loading; The weight of the material in each of the steelmaking workshop silos is read by the second weighing sensor, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silos has reached the preset level, so as to obtain the steelmaking workshop silos that have not reached the preset level. The feeding plan of the steelmaking workshop silo that has not reached the preset material level will be elevated to the highest priority.

2. The control method for the feeding system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control method for the feeding system also includes: When the highest priority loading operation begins, the position of the first unloading vehicle is determined by the first positioning unit; When the first unloading vehicle reaches the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to start feeding. The material is output to the first unloading car in the steelmaking workshop silo system via the belt conveyor, and is unloaded into the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan via the first unloading car; The weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan is read by the second weighing sensor. When the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan meets the requirements, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to stop feeding.

3. The control method for the feeding system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control method for the feeding system also includes: After the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the control system stops feeding, the material already present on the belt conveyor continues to be output to the first unloading car in the steelmaking workshop silo system. The material is then unloaded by the first unloading car into the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan. The next feeding operation begins when the weight of the material in the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan no longer changes, as read by the second weighing sensor.

4. The control method for the feeding system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The control method for the feeding system also includes: When replenishing the steelmaking workshop silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan, if the converter or ladle needs to be fed, the steelmaking workshop silo that has reached the preset material level will activate the second feeder to feed the converter or ladle.

5. The control method for the feeding system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding system further includes: a blast furnace ore bin system, comprising multiple blast furnace silos, each blast furnace silo comprising: a third silo body; a third silo frame connected to the third silo body; a third support mechanism, on which a third weighing sensor is installed, and the lower end of the third silo frame is installed on the third weighing sensor; a third feeder or gate is installed at the outlet of the third silo body. The belt conveyor is located above the plurality of blast furnace silos; a second unloading car and a second positioning unit are installed on the belt conveyor, the second positioning unit being used to determine the position of the second unloading car, so that the second unloading car can unload the material on the belt conveyor into the corresponding blast furnace silo; The second unloading vehicle, the second positioning unit, and the third weighing sensor are electrically connected to the control unit; The control method for the feeding system also includes: Receive the assigned work plan and sort the material loading tasks according to the frequency and time priority of material loading; The weight of the material in each blast furnace silo is read by the third weighing sensor, and it is determined whether the weight of the material in the blast furnace silo has reached the preset material level, so as to obtain the blast furnace silo that has not reached the preset material level. The charging plan for the blast furnace silo that has not reached the preset material level will be elevated to the highest priority.

6. The control method for the feeding system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The control method for the feeding system also includes: When the highest priority loading operation begins, the position of the second unloading vehicle is determined by the second positioning unit; When the second unloading car reaches the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to start feeding. The material is output to the second unloading car in the blast furnace ore bin system via the belt conveyor, and then unloaded into the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan via the second unloading car; The weight of the material in the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan is read by the third weighing sensor. When the weight of the material in the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan meets the requirements, the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the underground silo system is controlled to stop feeding.

7. The control method for the feeding system according to claim 6, characterized in that, The control method for the feeding system also includes: After the first feeder of the corresponding underground silo in the control system stops feeding, the material already present on the belt conveyor continues to be output to the second unloading car in the blast furnace ore bin system. The material is then unloaded by the second unloading car into the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan. The next charging operation begins when the weight of the material in the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the charging plan is no longer changing, as read by the third weighing sensor.

8. The control method for the feeding system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The control method for the feeding system also includes: When the blast furnace silo with the highest priority in the feeding plan is being replenished, if the subsequent screening equipment needs to be fed, the third feeder will be activated when the blast furnace silo reaches the preset material level.

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