Treatment device for treating consumables for a drilling rig

Abstract

A treatment system for treating consumables (1) for a drilling rig (2) suitable for automatic treatment of said consumables (1).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to improvements related to the automated handling of consumables for a drill rig, such as drill rods. BACKGROUND

[0002] In underground mining and construction, underground drill rigs are used to perform different types of drilling operations. One common field of application for underground drill rigs is to reinforce roof and / or wall sections with reinforcement material, such as steel rock bolts. In order to perform drilling operations, the underground drill rig needs to be supplied with drilling consumables. A typical drilling operation when using consumables is extension drilling, such as extension drilling in hard rock or soft rock. Despite all efforts to create a safe working environment, underground mining sometimes still results in hazardous working conditions. There is a potential safety risk when supplying the drill rig with drilling consumables when done manually. Furthermore, underground drill rigs are operated within increasingly narrow spatial limitations.

[0003] It is therefore desirable to replace the manual work for supplying drilling consumables to a drill rig with mechanized work by providing a manipulator that provides the drilling consumables in a partially or fully mechanized manner. However, previous attempts in the industry have not been able to fully meet the need for a solution that is both safe and saves space, given the narrow spatial limitations in the underground mining situation.

[0004] EP3247867B1 addresses these challenges by proposing an automated solution for handling consumables for a drill rig, such as drill steel, rock bolts and resin cartridges.

[0005] However, the solution of EP3247867B1 is not well suited for deep hole drilling operations that require repeated extension of the drill string by adding more drill rods. Experiments have shown that a particular challenge is to twist a new drill rod onto the tail of a previous one in the drill hole, so that the threads align and fit together.

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved automated system for providing consumables to an underground mining extension drilling rig. SUMMARY

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by a handling system for handling consumables for an underground mining extension drilling rig. The handling system comprises a pick-up mechanism configured to move consumables back and forth between a magazine for consumables and a loading position within the rig. The magazine for consumables is not part of the claimed invention, but is comprised in the rig. The consumables are aligned with a longitudinal drilling axis of the rig in the loading position, such that a drill head of the rig can engage a tail of the consumables to move the consumables along the longitudinal drilling axis towards an outermost position of the consumables. The handling system further comprises a first outer guide device, which is positioned further out along the longitudinal drilling axis. The first outer guide device is configured to receive and guide the consumables in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis as the consumables are fed out by the drill head, and is configured to optionally clamp and hold the tail of the consumables when the consumables are in their outermost position. Furthermore, the handling system comprises a second outer guide device, which is arranged between the first outer guide device and the inner guide device in an adjacent manner to the first outer guide device, wherein the second outer guide device is configured to guide the consumables in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis, is configured to be laterally disengageable from the consumables, and is configured to be rotatable or otherwise moveable out of the way of the drill head once the second outer guide device is disengaged from the consumables.

[0008] The pick-up mechanism picks up a consumable, such as a drill rod, from a consumable magazine and moves the consumable to a loading position in the rig. The drill bit engages the consumable and moves it outward for drilling a hole or for insertion into a hole already drilled. Once the consumable has reached its outer limit position, the first outer guide is operated to clamp and hold the consumable, with the drill bit being operated to disengage the consumable and move back to its inner position. The pick-up mechanism then picks up another consumable and brings it to the loading position. The drill bit engages the consumable in the loading position and then moves it upwardly into engagement with the trailing end of the first consumable and rotates the second consumable so that it is coupled to the first consumable. Thereafter, the first outer guide releases its clamp on the first consumable, allowing both consumables to move further outwardly. The process is simply repeated to add more consumables and reversed to remove them one by one. Thus, the handling system provides for automatic supply and handling of consumables for the rig. The second outer guide is positioned between the first outer guide and the inner guide so that a subsequent consumable to be coupled to a preceding consumable clamped by the first outer guide first moves through the second outer guide, which gives the outer portion of the subsequent consumable a well-defined position relative to the preceding consumable held by the first outer guide. The first outer guide and the second outer guide together align the consumables before they are coupled to each other. The provision of the second outer guide adjacent to the first outer guide increases the accuracy of the relative positioning of the consumables. Thus, damage due to misalignment of the consumables is mitigated. The second outer guide is then moved out of the way of the drill bit, allowing full-length operation of the rig even though this automatic supply system for consumables is provided.

[0009] The handling system can also include an inner guide positioned to receive a leading portion of the consumable in the loading position and configured to optionally hold the consumable so that it is guided in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis while allowing the consumable to move along the longitudinal drilling axis when driven by the drill bit.

[0010] The inner guide holds and guides the consumable when the drill bit engages the consumable, thereby reducing the risk of misalignment of the consumable with the first outer guide and / or the second outer guide.

[0011] The first outer guide can include a first guide screen configured to guide the leading portion of the consumable into the first outer guide as it approaches the first outer guide. The first guide screen grabs the leading portion of the consumable and guides it into and through the guide as the leading end of the consumable approaches the first outer guide as it moves outwardly along the drilling axis.

[0012] The first guiding screen can be frustoconical.

[0013] The frustoconical shape of the first guiding screen is advantageous in that it provides a gradually expanding shape of the screen without hard creases in the screen, such that even if the shape of the consumable is deviated due to previous use, such as a slightly bent consumable, the consumable is smoothly guided into its intended position within the first outer guiding device.

[0014] Furthermore, the first outer guiding device and / or the second outer guiding device can comprise respective through recesses for receiving the consumable, wherein each through recess is laterally open with respect to the longitudinal drilling axis, such that the consumable can be moved into and out of the through recess through the lateral opening.

[0015] The lateral opening enables the second guiding device to disengage from the consumable by means of a lateral movement of the consumable through the lateral opening.

[0016] The first outer guiding device and the second outer guiding device can comprise respective guiding members, which are laterally movable into and out of the through recess, and an actuator for controlling the position of the guiding members. Further movement of the guiding members into the through recess limits the movement of the consumable within the through recess, thereby improving the guiding accuracy of the second outer guiding device for different sizes of consumables. The guiding members can then be moved back out of the central through recess to allow the consumable to move freely through the lateral opening, such that the second outer guiding device can disengage from the consumable and be moved out of the way of the drill bit.

[0017] The second outer guiding device can comprise a second guiding screen configured to guide the front portion of the consumable into the second outer guiding device when the front portion of the consumable approaches the second outer guiding device. The second guiding screen grabs the front portion of the consumable and guides it into and through the guiding device when the front end of the consumable approaches the first outer guiding device.

[0018] The second guiding screen can be frustoconical and provided with a lateral opening.

[0019] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by a drilling rig system comprising a processing system as described above and further comprising the drilling rig.

[0020] According to a third aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by a drilling vehicle comprising a drilling rig system as described above, such as a cutting machine provided with a bolter, a mobile bolter, a bolter car, a jumbo or a roadheader. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 A rig system comprising a rig and a handling system for consumables for the rig is shown.

[0022] Figure 2 An upper part of the rig system shown in Figure 1 is shown, where the enlarged part shows two drill rods that are about to be connected.

[0023] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] A first embodiment of a handling system for handling consumables 1 for a rig 2 will in the following be described with reference to the appended drawings. Figures 1 to 2 A handling system is shown that is mounted to a rig 2 that is provided with a magazine 3 for consumables. The handling system can be sold as a retrofit solution for mounting to an existing rig, or the handling system can be sold as a rig system comprising both the rig 2 and the consumable handling system. Furthermore, the technology can be provided in the form of a mining vehicle comprising the rig system. The following description focuses on describing the consumable handling system itself, rather than the rig 2 or the carrier vehicle.

[0025] As Figures 1 to 2 shown, the handling system comprises a pick-up mechanism 4 that is configured to move consumables 1 back and forth between the magazine 3 for consumables and a loading position within the rig 2. The consumables 1 are aligned with a longitudinal drilling axis A of the rig 2 in the loading position, so that a drill bit 5 of the rig 2 can engage a tail of the consumables 1 to move the consumables 1 along the longitudinal drilling axis A towards an outermost position P1 of the consumables 1 as Figure 2 shown. The handling system further comprises a first outer guide 7 that is positioned further out along the longitudinal drilling axis A. The first outer guide 7 is configured to receive and guide the consumables 1 in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis A as the consumables 1 are fed out by the drill bit 5, and to optionally clamp and hold the tail of the consumables 1 when the consumables 1 are in their outermost position P1. Furthermore, the first outer guide 7 comprises a first guide screen 8 that is configured to guide a front of the consumables 1 into the first outer guide 7 as the front of the consumables 1 approaches the first outer guide 7.

[0026] The handling system comprises an inner guiding device 6 positioned to receive a front portion of the consumable 1 in the loading position and configured to optionally hold the consumable 1 so that the consumable 1 is guided in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis A while allowing the consumable 1 to move along the longitudinal drilling axis when driven by the drill bit 5. In other embodiments, alternatively, the inner guiding device 6 can be omitted or the inner guiding device 6 can already be provided as part of the drilling machine 2.

[0027] The first guiding screen 8 is frustoconical, but in other embodiments, alternatively, it can have any other suitable shape, such as a generally outwardly expanding shape with planar or curved sections.

[0028] The handling system further comprises a second outer guiding device 9 arranged between the first outer guiding device 7 and the inner guiding device 6 in an adjacent manner to the first outer guiding device 7, wherein the second outer guiding device 9 is configured to guide the consumable 1 in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis A, is configured to be laterally disengageable from the consumable 1 and is configured to be rotatable or otherwise moveable out of the way of the drill bit 5 once the drill bit 5 is disengaged from the consumable 1.

[0029] Further, each of the first outer guiding device 7 and the second outer guiding device 9 comprises a respective through recess 10, 11 for receiving the consumable 1, wherein each through recess 10, 11 is laterally open with respect to the longitudinal drilling axis A so that the consumable 1 is moveable into and out of the through recess 10, 11 through a lateral opening 12, 13.

[0030] The first outer guiding device 7 and the second outer guiding device 9 each comprise a respective guiding member 15 laterally moveable into and out of the through recess 10, 11 to accommodate to the size of the consumable and a respective actuator, not visible in the figures, for controlling the position of the respective guiding member 15.

[0031] Each of the first guiding device 7 and the second guiding device 8 is rotatable about a pivot axis Al and the rotation is controlled by a respective rotational actuator 16 as shown in Figure 1

[0032] The second outer guiding device 9 comprises a second guiding screen 14 configured to guide the front portion of the consumable 1 into the second outer guiding device 9 when the front portion of the consumable 1 approaches the second outer guiding device 9. In other embodiments, alternatively, the second guiding screen 14 can be omitted.

[0033] ​The second guide screen 14 is frustoconical and provided with a lateral opening, but in other embodiments it can alternatively have some other suitable shape.

Claims

1. A processing system for handling consumables (1) of an underground mining extension drilling rig (2), wherein, The processing system includes a pickup mechanism (4) configured to move a consumable (1) back and forth between a consumable hopper (3) of the drill (2) and a loading position within the drill (2), wherein the consumable (1) is aligned with the longitudinal drilling axis (A) of the drill (2) in the loading position such that the drill bit (5) of the drill (2) can engage the tail of the consumable (1), thereby moving the consumable (1) along the longitudinal drilling axis (A) toward the outermost limit position (P1) of the consumable (1), and The processing system further includes a first external guide device (7) positioned further outward along the longitudinal drilling axis (A). The first external guide device (7) is configured to receive and guide the consumable (1) in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis (A) as the consumable (1) is fed outward by the drill bit (5). The first external guide device (7) is also configured to optionally clamp and hold the tail portion of the consumable (1) when it is at its outer limit position (P1). The system is characterized in that it further includes a second external guide device (9), which is disposed adjacent to the first external guide device (7) between the first external guide device (7) and the internal guide device (6). The second external guide device (9) is configured to guide the consumable (1) in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis (A), is configured to be laterally disengaged from the consumable (1), and is configured to rotate or otherwise move away from the path of the drill bit (5) once the second external guide device (9) is disengaged from the consumable (1). The first external guide device (7) includes a first guide screen (8) configured to guide the front of the consumable (1) into the first external guide device (7) when the front of the consumable (1) approaches the first external guide device (7).

2. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein, The processing system also includes an internal guide (6) positioned to receive the front of the consumable (1) in the loading position, and the internal guide (6) configured to optionally hold the consumable (1) such that the consumable (1) is guided in a plane transverse to the longitudinal drilling axis (A), while allowing the consumable (1) to move along the longitudinal drilling axis when driven by the drill bit (5).

3. The processing system according to claim 2, wherein, The first guide screen (8) is truncated conical.

4. The processing system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Each of the first external guide device (7) and the second external guide device (9) includes a corresponding through recess (10, 11) for receiving a consumable (1), wherein each through recess (10, 11) is laterally opened relative to the longitudinal drilling axis (A) such that the consumable (1) can be moved into and out of the through recess (10, 11) through the lateral opening (12, 13).

5. The processing system according to claim 4, wherein, The first external guide device (7) and the second external guide device (9) include corresponding guide members (15) and actuators, the guide members (15) being able to laterally move into and out of the through recesses (10, 11), and the actuators being used to control the position of the guide members (15).

6. The processing system according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The second external guide device (9) includes a second guide screen (14) configured to guide the front portion of the consumable (1) into the second external guide device (9) when the front portion of the consumable (1) approaches the second external guide device (9).

7. The processing system according to claim 6, wherein, The second guide screen (14) is truncated conical and has a lateral opening.

8. A drilling system comprising a processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and the drilling rig (2).

9. A drilling vehicle, wherein, The drilling vehicle includes the drilling system according to claim 8.

10. The drilling vehicle according to claim 9, wherein, The drilling vehicle is a cutting machine equipped with a bolting machine, a mobile bolting machine, a bolting trolley, a bolting machine, or a tunneling machine.

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