Crushing system controller, crushing system and control method thereof

Abstract

To provide a controller of a crushing system that can intuitively set a target value for obtaining desired production volumes of products in a predetermined grain-size range and stably control a gyratory crusher so that the desired production volumes can be obtained, a crushing system and a method for controlling the same.SOLUTION: A controller of a crushing system comprises a gyratory crusher and a feeder. The controller comprises: a load index obtaining part that obtains a load index which directly or indirectly represents a crushing load on the gyratory crusher; a grain size ratio calculating part that calculates a grain-size ratio represented by a ratio of production volumes of products in a predetermined grain-size range obtained from crushed matters crushed by the gyratory crusher to predetermined reference production volumes; a target value generating part that generates a load index target value on the basis of the obtained load index and a correlation between the load index and the grain-size ratio; and a control command generating part that generates a control command value from the load index and the load index target value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a controller for a crushing system equipped with a gyratory crusher, a crushing system, and a control method thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a gyratory crusher has been known in which a truncated cone-shaped mantle placed inside a conical cylindrical cone cave is rotated eccentrically to crush materials such as raw ore between the cone cave and the mantle. When materials are supplied from the top of the gyratory crusher, the materials are trapped in the crushing chamber between the rotating mantle and the cone cave and crushed to a predetermined particle size before being discharged. The production volume and the particle size of the product discharged from the gyratory crusher can be adjusted by changing the feed rate supplied to the gyratory crusher or the outlet gap of the crushing chamber, called the set.

[0003] In a gyratory crusher, the discharged products are sorted into predetermined particle size ranges. For each of the products sorted into each particle size range, it is necessary to adjust the ratio of the supplied amount of materials to be crushed according to demand. In conventional gyratory crushers, the ratio of the products sorted into each particle size range is visually confirmed, and the operator changes the supply amount or set of materials to be crushed based on that. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-200079 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-202245 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In contrast, the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses a crushing system that uses multiple crushers to crush products in stages. The system estimates the relationship between the actual production volume or production ratio of each product size range and the amount of ore input at that time and the setting values ​​of each crusher, and then determines the setting values ​​of each crusher using the estimated relationship to achieve the desired production volume or production ratio. However, even if the setting values ​​of each crusher are determined to achieve the desired production volume or production ratio, the crushing results may vary depending on the size of the ore input into the crusher, the amount of moisture adhering to the ore, and other properties. Therefore, even with the above configuration, there is room for improvement in stably controlling the crushers to achieve the desired production volume of products within a specified particle size range.

[0006] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses measuring a load index representing the crushing load in a gyratory crusher, and determining a new manipulated variable based on the deviation between the target value of the load index and the measured value when the measured value of the load index falls outside a predetermined steady-state range. This configuration enables stable production by determining manipulated variables that converge the load to the target value. However, this configuration requires the operator to set the target load value. The operator must intuitionally or empirically estimate the target load value required to achieve the desired production volume for a product within a predetermined particle size range. In other words, even with the above configuration, there is room for improvement in order to intuitively set the target value required to achieve the desired production volume for a product within a predetermined particle size range.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a crushing system controller, a crushing system, and a control method thereof that can intuitively set a target value for obtaining a desired production volume for products within a specified particle size range and can stably control a gyratory crusher to achieve the desired production volume. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A controller of a crushing system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a controller of a crushing system equipped with a gyratory crusher and a feeder that supplies material to be crushed to the gyratory crusher, and is equipped with: a load index acquisition unit that acquires a load index that directly or indirectly represents the crushing load on the gyratory crusher; a particle size ratio calculation unit that calculates a particle size ratio that expresses the production amount of products in a predetermined particle size range obtained from the material to be crushed crushed by the gyratory crusher as a ratio to a predetermined standard production amount; a target value generation unit that generates a load index target value based on the acquired load index and the correlation between the load index and the particle size ratio; and a control command generation unit that generates a control command value from the load index and the load index target value, and controls at least one of the gyratory crusher or the feeder so that the load index falls within a standard range based on the load index target value.

[0009] A crushing system according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a gyratory crusher, a feeder that supplies materials to be crushed to the gyratory crusher, and a controller having the above-described configuration.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a control method for a crushing system including a gyratory crusher and a feeder that supplies material to be crushed to the gyratory crusher, the control method comprising the steps of: detecting a load index that directly or indirectly represents the crushing load on the gyratory crusher; calculating a particle size ratio that expresses the production volume of a product in a predetermined particle size range obtained from the material to be crushed crushed by the gyratory crusher as a ratio to a predetermined standard production volume; generating a load index target value based on the detected load index and the correlation between the load index and the particle size ratio; and generating a control command value for controlling at least one of the gyratory crusher or the feeder from the load index and the load index target value so that the load index is within a standard range based on the load index target value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to intuitively set a target value for obtaining a desired production volume for products within a specified particle size range, and to stably control the gyratory crusher to achieve the desired production volume. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a crushing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example of a gyrating crusher that is applied to the crushing system shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the crushing system shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control block of the controller in this embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the target value generating unit shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a graph showing the correlation between the load index and the granularity ratio in this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the control command generating unit illustrated in FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the power supplied to the electric motor of the transport conveyor and the transport amount of the product transported by the transport conveyor per unit time. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the granularity ratio calculation unit illustrated in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a graph showing the results of a simulation of the control mode based on this embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of another example of a gyrating crusher that can be applied to the crushing system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [Crushing system overview] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a crushing system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The crushing system 100 according to this embodiment includes a gyratory crusher 1, a feeder 4, a load index detector 140, and a controller 9. The feeder 4 supplies materials to be crushed to the gyratory crusher 1. The load index detector 140 detects a load index that directly or indirectly represents the crushing load applied to the gyratory crusher 1. The controller 9 controls at least one of the gyratory crusher 1 or the feeder 4 so that the load index falls within a reference range based on a load index target value.

[0015] The feeder 4 includes, for example, a conveyor 40, and is capable of adjusting the amount of material to be crushed fed to the rotary crusher 1. The conveyor 40 is driven by an electric motor 41, which is a variable speed motor. As shown in FIG. 2, which will be described later, the electric motor 41 is driven by a motor driver 43.

[0016] The crushing system 100 includes a sorting machine 110 that sorts the crushed materials crushed by the gyratory crusher 1 according to particle size, and an intermediate conveyor 113 that transports the crushed materials from the outlet of the gyratory crusher 1 to the sorting machine 110. The intermediate conveyor 113 is driven by an electric motor 114.

[0017] In this embodiment, the sorter 110 performs two-stage sorting using a coarse-mesh first sieve 111 and a fine-mesh second sieve 112. As a result, the material to be crushed crushed by the gyratory crusher 1 is sorted into a first product G1 of a first particle size range that passes through both the first sieve 111 and the second sieve 112, a second product G2 of a second particle size range that passes through the first sieve 111 but cannot pass through the second sieve 112, and a third product G3 of a third particle size range that cannot pass through the first sieve 111. In other words, when these products G1, G2, and G3 are arranged in descending order of average particle size, G3 > G2 > G1. The sorter 110 may perform one stage of sorting, or may perform three or more stages of sorting.

[0018] Furthermore, the crushing system 100 is equipped with a first transfer conveyor 115 downstream of the sorter 110 for transporting the first product G1 sorted by the sorter 110, a second transfer conveyor 116 for transporting the second product G2 sorted by the sorter 110, and a third transfer conveyor 117 for transporting the third product G3 sorted by the sorter 110. In this embodiment, the third product G3, which has the largest average particle size, is transported by the third transfer conveyor 117 and then fed back into the gyratory crusher 1. The first product G1 and the second product G2 are the final products of the crushing system 100. In other words, the crushing system 100 is a production device that produces the first product G1 and the second product G2.

[0019] In this way, the sorter 110 sorts the product produced by the gyratory crusher 1 into two or more types of products based on particle size. Furthermore, the transport conveyor includes two or more transport conveyors 115, 116, and 117 that transport the two or more types of products, respectively.

[0020] The first transfer conveyor 115 is driven by an electric motor 118. The second transfer conveyor 116 is driven by an electric motor 119. The third transfer conveyor 117 is driven by an electric motor 120.

[0021] The crushing system 100 is equipped with a particle size index detector 130 that detects a particle size index Pact that directly or indirectly indicates the production amount of a product Gj (j=1, 2, 3) of a predetermined particle size range that has been sorted by the sorter 110. In this embodiment, the particle size index detector 130 detects a value indicating the production amount of Gj per unit time on the transport conveyors 115, 116, 117 as the particle size index Pact.

[0022] More specifically, the particle size index detector 130 includes a first power meter 131 that measures the first power P1 supplied to the electric motor 118 that drives the first transfer conveyor 115, a second power meter 132 that measures the second power P2 supplied to the electric motor 119 that drives the second transfer conveyor 116, and a third power meter 133 that measures the third power P3 supplied to the electric motor 120 that drives the third transfer conveyor 117. Note that the power meters 131, 132, and 133 may be wattmeters that measure the power itself, or may have an ammeter and a voltmeter and calculate the power from the measured current and voltage.

[0023] In this embodiment, as will be described later, the first power P1 measured by the first power meter 131 can be used as a granularity index of the first product G1. The second power P2 measured by the second power meter 132 can be used as a granularity index of the second product G2. The third power P3 measured by the third power meter 133 can be used as a granularity index of the third product G3.

[0024] The crushing system 100 further includes a feed amount detector 150 that detects a value Pall indicating the amount of material to be crushed supplied to the gyratory crusher 1 per unit time. In this embodiment, the feed amount detector 150 detects a value indicating the amount of material to be crushed supplied to the conveyor 40 of the feeder 4 per unit time. More specifically, the feed amount detector 150 includes a fourth power meter 134 that measures a fourth power P4 supplied to the electric motor 41 that drives the conveyor 40. Alternatively, the feed amount detector 150 may include a fifth power meter 135 that measures a fifth power supplied to the electric motor 114 that drives the intermediate conveyor 113. Alternatively, as described below, the feed amount detector 150 is not required when the feed amount is calculated using the particle size index of the first product G1, the particle size index of the second product G2, and the particle size index of the third product G3.

[0025] [Outline of the gyratory crusher] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of an example of a gyro crusher that can be applied to the crushing system shown in FIG. 1. The gyro crusher 1 shown in FIG. 2 is a hydraulic gyro crusher in which the operation of a hydraulic cylinder 6 can be controlled through a hydraulic circuit 7, which will be described later. The gyro crusher 1 according to this embodiment includes a hopper 2, a mantle 13, and a cone cave 14. The mantle 13 is fixed to a main shaft 5 that performs eccentric revolving motion. The cone cave 14 has a crushing chamber 16 therein. The hopper 2 stores the material to be crushed that is supplied from the feeder 4. The material to be crushed that has dropped from the hopper 2 is introduced into the crushing chamber 16. In the crushing chamber 16, the cone cave 14 bites the material to be crushed between the mantle 13 and the cone cave 14, crushing it.

[0026] Furthermore, the gyratory crusher 1 includes a frame 3 consisting of a top frame 31 and a bottom frame 32. The hopper 2 is disposed on the top frame 31. A conical cylindrical concave 14 is held on the inner periphery of the top frame 31. A truncated cone-shaped mantle 13 is disposed inside the concave 14. The crushing chamber 16 is defined as the space between the crushing surfaces of the concave 14 and the mantle 13, which face each other across a gap, and has a wedge-shaped vertical cross section.

[0027] The mantle 13 is attached via a mantle core 12 fixed to the upper part of the main shaft 5. The main shaft 5 is disposed within the frame 3 with its axis tilted from the vertical. The upper end of the main shaft 5 is rotatably supported by an upper bearing 34 provided at the upper end of the top frame 31. The lower part of the main shaft 5 is fitted into an inner bushing 51. The inner bushing 51 is fixed to an eccentric sleeve 52. The eccentric sleeve 52 is fitted into an outer bushing 53 attached to the bottom frame 32. The lower part of the eccentric sleeve 52 is supported by a plain bearing 66 attached to a cylinder tube 63 of the hydraulic cylinder 6. The lower end of the main shaft 5 is supported by a plain bearing 62 attached to a ram 61 of the hydraulic cylinder 6.

[0028] Furthermore, the gyro crusher 1 is equipped with a main shaft motor 8, which is an electric motor, and a power transmission mechanism 80. The power transmission mechanism 80 transmits rotational power from the main shaft motor 8 to the main shaft 5. As a result, the mantle 13 fixed to the main shaft 5 is driven to rotate by the rotational power of the main shaft motor 8. The main shaft motor 8 is disposed outside the frame 3. The gyro crusher 1 is equipped with a rotation speed sensor 25 that detects the rotation speed of the main shaft motor 8 and a torque sensor 26 that detects the output torque of the main shaft motor 8. The main shaft motor 8 is driven by a motor driver 88.

[0029] The power transmission mechanism 80 transmits power from the main shaft motor 8 to the main shaft 5 to which the mantle 13 is fixed. The power transmission mechanism 80 includes a horizontal shaft 83, a belt-type or chain-type transmission mechanism 82 that transmits rotational power from the output shaft 81 of the main shaft motor 8 to the horizontal shaft 83, an eccentric sleeve 52, and a bevel gear transmission mechanism 84 that transmits rotational power from the horizontal shaft 83 to the eccentric sleeve 52. When the eccentric sleeve 52 rotates in response to the output of the main shaft motor 8, the main shaft 5 inserted into the eccentric sleeve 52 eccentrically rotates. This causes the mantle 13 to perform an eccentric orbital motion, or so-called precession, relative to the fixed cone cave 14. The gap between the crushing surface of the mantle 13 and the crushing surface of the cone cave 14 is called the set. The set changes depending on the orbital position of the main shaft 5 due to the eccentric orbital motion of the mantle 13.

[0030] The gyro crusher 1 in this embodiment is equipped with a hydraulic cylinder 6 that adjusts the set by raising and lowering the mantle 13 relative to the concave 14, and a controller 9 that controls the operation of the gyro crusher 1. Operation of the hydraulic cylinder 6 causes the mantle 13 to move up and down relative to the concave 14, changing the set at the narrowest position of the gap between the two crushing surfaces of the concave 14 and the mantle 13, i.e., the closed set. The hydraulic cylinder 6 also functions as a pressure receiving means that receives the crushing pressure applied to the mantle 13.

[0031] The hydraulic cylinder 6 includes a cylinder tube 63, a ram 61 that slides inside the cylinder tube 63, a set sensor 23, an oil tank 67, and a hydraulic circuit 7. The set sensor 23 is, for example, a contact or non-contact position sensor that detects the position or displacement of the ram 61. The position of the mantle 13 in the height direction relative to the concave 14 is determined from the position or displacement of the ram 61 detected by the set sensor 23, and the set is determined from the relative positional relationship between the concave 14 and the mantle 13.

[0032] A hydraulic chamber 65 in the cylinder tube 63 is defined by the inner wall of the cylinder tube 63 and the ram 61. The capacity of the hydraulic chamber 65 changes depending on the displacement of the ram 61. A hydraulic circuit 7 is connected to the hydraulic chamber 65. The ram 61 rises when hydraulic oil from an oil tank 67 is supplied to the hydraulic chamber 65 through the hydraulic circuit 7. Furthermore, the ram 61 descends when hydraulic oil from the hydraulic chamber 65 is drained to the oil tank 67 through the hydraulic circuit 7.

[0033] In the hydraulic circuit 7, a communication pipe 71 communicates with the lower part of the hydraulic chamber 65, and an accumulator 72 is connected to the communication pipe 71. A balance cylinder may be connected instead of the accumulator 72. An oil supply pipe 73 is connected to the communication pipe 71. An oil drain pipe 74 is connected to the oil supply pipe 73. However, the configuration of the hydraulic circuit 7 is not limited to this embodiment.

[0034] A strainer 75, a gear pump 76, a check valve 77, and a normally closed shut-off valve 78 are installed in the oil supply pipe 73, in that order from upstream to downstream along the flow of hydraulic oil from the oil tank 67 to the hydraulic chamber 65. The gear pump 76 is driven by a pump motor 68. The pump motor 68 is an electric motor driven by a motor driver 69. The hydraulic circuit 7 further has a pressure sensor 24 that detects the pressure of the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic chamber 65. The pressure sensor 24 may be installed in any of the hydraulic chamber 65, the communicating pipe 71, or the oil supply pipe 73. An oil drain pipe 74 is connected to the oil supply pipe 73 between the check valve 77 and the shut-off valve 78. A normally closed shut-off valve 79 is connected to the oil drain pipe 74.

[0035] [Crushing system control system] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the crushing system shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the controller 9 is connected to the load indicator detector 140, the particle size indicator detector 130, the feeder 4, and the hydraulic circuit 7 so as to be able to transmit and receive signals therebetween. Furthermore, the controller 9 is connected so as to be able to receive signals from the set sensor 23. Note that the controller 9 may also be connected to other sensors, etc. The controller 9 also includes a memory 90 that stores a control program and various data.

[0036] The controller 9 includes a computer such as a microcontroller, a programmable logic controller, or a personal computer. For example, the controller 9 includes a CPU, a main memory such as RAM, a communication interface, etc. The controller 9 receives detection signals from various sensors according to a control program and transmits control commands to each controlled object.

[0037] It should be noted that the functions of the elements disclosed herein can be performed using circuits or processing circuits, including general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), conventional circuits, or combinations thereof, configured or programmed to perform the disclosed functions. A processor is considered a processing circuit or circuit because it includes transistors and other circuitry. In this specification, a circuit, unit, control block, or means is hardware that performs the recited functions or hardware that is programmed to perform the recited functions. The hardware may be hardware disclosed herein or other known hardware that is programmed or configured to perform the recited functions. Where hardware is a processor, which is considered a type of circuit, the circuit, unit, or means is a combination of hardware and software, and software is used to configure the hardware or processor.

[0038] The controller 9 includes control blocks: a particle size ratio calculation unit 91, a target value generation unit 92, a control command generation unit 93, and a data acquisition unit 94. As described above, each of these control blocks is considered to be a circuit. The controller 9 transmits control commands generated as a result of the calculations performed by each control block to the feeder 4 or the hydraulic circuit 7 of the gyro-type crusher 1. The controller 9 controls the amount of material to be crushed supplied to the gyro-type crusher 1 by transmitting control commands to the electric motor 41 of the feeder 4. The controller 9 also controls the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 6 in the gyro-type crusher 1 by transmitting control commands to the hydraulic circuit 7. Controlling the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 6 adjusts the size of the set in the crushing chamber 16. The controller 9 may execute each process through centralized control by a single computer, or may execute each process through distributed control in which multiple computers work together.

[0039] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the controller 9 or the production volume calculator 170 described below may be provided in a server device such as a cloud server. Furthermore, the memory device 90 may be provided in a server device such as a cloud server. In this case, the various detectors 130, 140, 150, 23 and the supply machine 4 or hydraulic circuit 7 to be controlled are communicatively connected to the server device via a predetermined communication network.

[0040] [Operating method of gyratory crusher] Here, a method of operating the gyro crusher 1 configured as described above will be described. When starting operation of the gyro crusher 1, the controller 9 operates the hydraulic circuit 7 so that the set, i.e., the closed set, becomes the initial setting value. The initial setting value of the set is set in advance according to the particle size of the material to be crushed or the material to be crushed, etc. The controller 9 controls the hydraulic circuit 7 so that the set becomes the initial setting value based on the detection value of the set sensor 23. If the set is larger than the initial setting value, the controller 9 opens the shut-off valve 78 and operates the pump motor 68 to supply oil to the hydraulic chamber 65. If the set is smaller than the initial setting value, the controller 9 opens the shut-off valve 78 and the shut-off valve 79 to drain oil from the hydraulic chamber 65.

[0041] Next, the controller 9 starts the spindle motor 8, which starts the feeder 4. By the operation of the feeder 4, the material to be crushed is thrown into the crushing chamber 16 through the hopper 2, where it is crushed between the cone cave 14 and the mantle 13, which is rotating eccentrically, and discharged as crushed material from below the bottom frame 32. The discharged crushed material is sorted by particle size in the sorter 110, and the sorted products G1 and G2 within a predetermined particle size range are collected as the final product.

[0042] During operation of the gyro-type crusher 1, the crushing load fluctuates due to disturbances such as changes in the properties and moisture content of the materials to be crushed, and the level of the materials in the hopper 2. Here, "crushing load" refers to the load placed on the output shaft 81 of the main shaft motor 8 as the materials are crushed. If an overload greater than a predetermined level occurs on the output shaft 81 of the main shaft motor 8, the rotation of the output shaft 81 is locked and an overload protection circuit is activated, causing an emergency stop. Therefore, the crushing system 100 is equipped with a load index detector 140 that measures a load index Lact, which directly or indirectly represents the crushing load of the gyro-type crusher 1. The controller 9 monitors the load index Lact detected during crushing operation and controls the amount of materials supplied by the feeder 4 or at least one of the sets in the gyro-type crusher 1 so that the load index Lact is maintained within a predetermined reference range based on the load index target value Lr.

[0043] The crushing load is expressed as the product of the rotation speed of the output shaft 81 of the spindle motor and the output torque. Therefore, the crushing load can be measured as the product of the rotation speed detected by the rotation speed sensor 25 and the output torque detected by the torque sensor 26. Note that the rotation speed of the output shaft 81 corresponds to the rotation speed of the horizontal shaft 83 and the rotation speed of the eccentric sleeve 52, so the rotation speed detected by the rotation speed sensor provided on the horizontal shaft 83 or the eccentric sleeve 52 may be used instead of the rotation speed detected by the rotation speed sensor 25.

[0044] Furthermore, the crushing load is correlated with the drive current of the spindle motor 8. Therefore, changes in the crushing load can be estimated based on changes in the drive current of the spindle motor 8. The drive current of the spindle motor 8 can be measured as a detection value of the current sensor 88a included in the motor driver 88.

[0045] Furthermore, the crushing load is correlated with the power consumption of the spindle motor 8. Therefore, changes in the crushing load can be estimated based on changes in the power consumption of the spindle motor 8. The power consumption of the spindle motor 8 can be measured as the product of the detection value of the current sensor 88a and the detection value of the voltage sensor 88b included in the motor driver 88.

[0046] Furthermore, the crushing load is correlated with the crushing pressure. Therefore, the change in the crushing load can be estimated based on the change in the crushing pressure. The crushing pressure can be measured as the pressure in the hydraulic chamber 65 detected by the pressure sensor 24.

[0047] From the above, at least one of the product of the rotation speed and the output torque, the drive current of the spindle motor 8, the power consumption of the spindle motor 8, and the crushing pressure can be adopted as the load indicator Lact. Then, depending on the adopted load indicator Lact, a corresponding sensor is selected as the load indicator detector 140 that detects the load indicator Lact.

[0048] [Control mode] The data acquisition unit 94 includes a load index acquisition unit 95, a particle size index acquisition unit 96, and a supply amount acquisition unit 97. The load index acquisition unit 95 acquires a load index Lact that directly or indirectly represents the crushing load on the gyratory crusher 1 from the load index detector 140. The particle size index acquisition unit 96 acquires a particle size index Pact that directly or indirectly represents the production amount of products within a predetermined particle size range sorted by the sorter 110 from the particle size index detector 130. The supply amount acquisition unit 97 acquires the supply amount per unit time of the material to be crushed that is supplied to the gyratory crusher 1 from the supply amount detector 150. The data acquisition unit 94 stores the various acquired data in the memory 90 and transfers it to the respective function blocks 91, 92, and 93.

[0049] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control blocks of the controller in this embodiment. The particle size ratio calculation unit 91 acquires the particle size index Pact obtained from the crushing system 100 and calculates the particle size ratio Ract, which represents the production volume of a product Gj within a predetermined particle size range obtained from the crushed material crushed by the gyratory crusher 1 as a ratio to a predetermined reference production volume. The target value generation unit 92 generates a load index target value Lr based on the particle size ratio deviation ΔR, which is obtained by subtracting the calculated particle size ratio Ract from the particle size ratio target value Rr. The control command generation unit 93 generates a control command value MV from the load index Lact detected by the load index detector 140 and the load index target value Lr calculated by the target value generation unit 92. The crushing system 100 is controlled based on the control command value MV so that the load index Lact is maintained within a predetermined reference range based on the load index target value Lr. Each control block will be described in detail below.

[0050] [Target value generation section] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the target value generating unit shown in Fig. 4. The target value generating unit 92 includes a subtractor 162, a control gain multiplier 163, a limiter 164, an adder 165, and a holding circuit 166.

[0051] The subtractor 162 calculates the particle size ratio deviation ΔR by subtracting the current particle size ratio Ract in the crushing system 100 calculated by the particle size ratio calculation unit 91 described later from the particle size ratio target value Rr.

[0052] The control gain multiplier 163 multiplies the particle size ratio deviation ΔR by the control gain Kr to calculate the load deviation ΔLr. If the particle size ratio deviation ΔR is small, for example, within a predetermined range including 0, the particle size ratio deviation ΔR input to the control gain multiplier 163 may be set to 0, or the load deviation ΔLr output from the control gain multiplier 163 may be set to 0. The target value generator 92 sets the control gain Kr based on the detected load index Lact and the correlation between the load index Lact and the particle size ratio Ract. For this purpose, data indicating the correlation between the load index Lact and the particle size ratio Ract according to the gyratory crusher 1 is stored in advance in the memory 90.

[0053] Figure 6 is a graph showing the correlation between the load index and particle size ratio in this embodiment. The horizontal axis of the graph shown in Figure 6 is the load pressure [MPa] corresponding to the load index, and the vertical axis is the particle size ratio [%], and it shows that there is a nonlinear correlation between changes in the particle size ratio and changes in the load pressure. In other words, the load pressure in the gyratory crusher 1 can be considered as crushing energy, and when the load pressure is low, the material to be crushed is more difficult to crush and the particle size of the product becomes larger, while when the load pressure is high, the material to be crushed is more easily crushed and the particle size of the product becomes smaller.

[0054] After extensive research, the present inventors have discovered a correlation between changes in particle size ratio and changes in load pressure, as shown in the graph in Figure 6. This disclosure is based on the finding that by utilizing this correlation, it is possible to convert the particle size ratio target value Rr, which can be intuitively set by an operator, into a load index target value Lr used in load stabilization control to stabilize the crushing load. In other words, the target value generator 92 generates the load index target value Lr based on the detected load index and the correlation between the load index and particle size ratio.

[0055] The correlation data pre-stored in the memory 90 may be nonlinear correlation data as shown by the curve A1 in Figure 6, or linear correlation data as shown by the straight line A2, which is a linear approximation in the normal load range of the crushing system 100.

[0056] The correlation data is data in which a load index Lact, which indicates the load pressure when the crushing system 100 is actually operated, is associated with an actual value of a predetermined particle size ratio. The actual value of the predetermined particle size ratio corresponds to the particle size ratio that is the target particle size ratio value Rr. For example, when focusing on the ratio of the production volume of the first product G1 to the total production volume and setting the particle size ratio target value Rr, the actual value of the ratio of the production volume of the first product G1 to the total production volume is associated with the load index Lact as the actual value of the particle size ratio in the correlation data created in advance.

[0057] The target value generator 92 calculates a control gain Kr for converting the granularity ratio target value Rr into a load index target value Lr from the correlation data stored in advance in the memory 90. When non-linear correlation data is used, the slope of the tangent to the curve A1 at the position of the granularity ratio target value Rr is calculated as the control gain Kr. When linear correlation data is used, the slope of the line A2 is calculated as the control gain Kr. The calculated control gain Kr is set as the control gain Kr by which the granularity ratio deviation correction value ΔRc is multiplied in the control gain multiplier 163. According to this configuration, the correlation stored in advance in the memory 90 is used to convert a value for the granularity ratio into a value for the load index, so that the load index target value Lr can be generated by a simple calculation.

[0058] The limiter 164 limits the load deviation ΔLr output from the control gain multiplier 163 to within a predetermined limit range E. For example, if the load deviation ΔLr exceeds an upper limit value of the limit range E that is greater than 0, the limiter 164 outputs the upper limit value as the load deviation correction value ΔLrc. On the other hand, if the load deviation ΔLr falls below a lower limit value of the limit range E that is less than 0, the limiter 164 outputs the lower limit value as the load deviation correction value ΔLrc. If the load deviation ΔLr is within the limit range E, the limiter 164 outputs the load deviation ΔLr as is as the load deviation correction value ΔLrc. Such a limiter 164 suppresses sudden changes in the load index target value Lr.

[0059] Here, the limit range E may be changeable according to the detected load index Lact. As shown in FIG. 5, in the correlation represented by the curve A1, when the load pressure is small, the fluctuation range of the granularity ratio relative to the change in load pressure is large. On the other hand, when the load pressure is large, the fluctuation range of the granularity ratio relative to the change in load pressure is small. Therefore, when the load index target value Lr is calculated using data of a nonlinear correlation, the limit range E may be set small when the current load index Lact is small, and set large when the current load index Lact is large. This makes it possible to appropriately set the limit range E according to the rate of fluctuation of the granularity ratio.

[0060] The manner in which the limit range E is changed is not particularly limited. For example, when the load index Lact is less than a predetermined reference value, the limit range E is set to a first range, and when the load index Lact is equal to or greater than the predetermined reference value, the limit range E is set to a second range that is included in the first range but is narrower than the first range. By setting two or more reference values, the limit range E can be set to three or more ranges. Furthermore, for example, the upper or lower limit value of the limit range E according to the load index Lact may be calculated using a predetermined function. In this case, the size of the limit range E changes continuously with changes in the load index Lact.

[0061] When the load index target value Lr is calculated using a linear correlation such as that indicated by the straight line A2, the size of the limit range E in the limiter 164 may be fixed.

[0062] The holding circuit 166 holds for a predetermined time the load index target value Lr output from the target value generation unit 92. The adder 165 adds the load deviation correction value ΔLrc output from the limiter 164 to the past load index target value Lrp held in the holding circuit 166. That is, the target value generation unit 92 calculates the load deviation correction value ΔLrc as the amount of change in the target value relative to the past load index target value Lrp, and generates a new load index target value Lr by adding the load deviation correction value ΔLrc to the past load index target value Lrp.

[0063] [Control command generation section] The control command generating unit 93 generates a control command value MV for the crushing system 100 based on the load index target value Lr generated by the target value generating unit 92 and the load index Lact detected by the load index detector 140 .

[0064] Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control command generation unit shown in Fig. 4. The control command generation unit 93 includes a subtractor 168 and a control calculator 169. The subtractor 168 calculates a load deviation actual value ΔL by subtracting the current load index Lact from the load index target value Lr. Note that the load index Lact input to the subtractor 168 may be the load index Lact after noise has been removed by a predetermined filter.

[0065] The control calculator 169 applies a predetermined control algorithm to the load deviation actual value ΔL to generate a control command value MV. For example, the control calculator 169 includes a PID controller having a proportional element, an integral element, and a derivative element. Alternatively, the control calculator 169 may include a P controller having a proportional element, a PI controller having a proportional element and an integral element, or a PD controller having a proportional element and a derivative element.

[0066] The control command generating unit 93 outputs a control command value MV generated in accordance with the above control algorithm. Note that if the load deviation actual value ΔL is small, for example, within a predetermined range including 0, the load deviation actual value ΔL input to the control computing unit 169 may be set to 0, or the control computing unit 169 may output the same control command value MV as the previous control command value MV. Furthermore, the control command generating unit 93 may include a limiter that limits the control command value MV generated by the control computing unit 169 to within a predetermined limited range.

[0067] The controller 9 operates the controlled object according to the control command value MV generated by the control command generating unit 93. When the controlled object is the hydraulic circuit 7, the amount of hydraulic oil supplied to the hydraulic cylinder 6 is controlled according to the control command value MV, and the size of the set in the crushing chamber 16 is adjusted. When the controlled object is the feeder 4, the amount of material to be crushed supplied to the gyratory crusher 1 by the conveyor 40 is controlled according to the control command value MV.

[0068] [Particle size ratio calculation section] The particle size ratio calculation unit 91 calculates the particle size ratio Ract based on the particle size index Pact detected by the particle size index detector 130. The particle size ratio Ract is defined as a value representing the production amount of the product Gj within a predetermined particle size range obtained from the material to be crushed by the gyratory crusher 1, as a ratio to a predetermined standard production amount.

[0069] First, as an example, we will illustrate a control mode of the crushing system 100 in which the total production volume of the product Gj, i.e., the supply volume, is set as the standard production volume, and the ratio of the production volume of the first product G1 to the standard production volume is set as the particle size ratio Ract to be controlled.

[0070] In this example, the first power meter 131 is the particle size index detector 130. As described above, the first power meter 131 measures the power P1 supplied to the electric motor 118 that drives the first transport conveyor 115 that transports the first product G1 sorted by the sorter 110.

[0071] Figure 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the power supplied to the electric motor of the transport conveyor and the amount of product transported per unit time by the transport conveyor. The graph shown in Figure 8 was created by measuring the power supplied to the electric motor when a predetermined amount of product was transported by the transport conveyor in an actual machine, and measuring the actual transport amount at that time, and plotting the data for the combination of the measured power and transport amount on the graph. Furthermore, the graph shown in Figure 8 shows straight lines that are approximated for multiple plot positions when the transport amount is changed.

[0072] The first transfer conveyor 115 transfers the first product G1 at a constant speed. As the first product G1 is transferred on the first transfer conveyor 115, the load on the electric motor 118 that drives the first transfer conveyor 115 increases. To operate the first transfer conveyor 115 at a constant speed, it is necessary to increase the first power P1 supplied to the electric motor 118. In the example of FIG. 8, the change in the transfer amount per unit time relative to the change in the first power P1 that can be supplied to the electric motor 118 has a linear characteristic, as shown by the approximate straight line in FIG. 8.

[0073] By utilizing such characteristics, it is possible to calculate the transport amount per unit time of the first product G1 transported by the first transport conveyor 115, i.e., the production amount per unit time of the first product G1 in the first particle size range, from the first power P1 supplied to the electric motor 120 that drives the first transport conveyor 115. For this reason, in this example, the particle size ratio calculation unit 91 acquires the first power P1 as the particle size index Pact.

[0074] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the particle size ratio calculation unit shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 9, the particle size ratio calculation unit 91 includes a production amount calculator 170, a filter 171, an average value calculation unit 172, and a calculation execution unit 173. A memory 90 stores in advance the correlation between the power supplied to the electric motor 120 and the transport amount transported per unit time by the first transport conveyor 115. The crushing system 100 in this embodiment includes a gyratory crusher 1, a first transport conveyor 115, a first power meter 131, and a controller 9 functioning as a production amount detection device, and includes a production amount detection system that detects the production amount of the first product G1 produced by the gyratory crusher 1. The controller 9 functioning as a production amount detection device includes the memory 90 and the production amount calculator 170.

[0075] The production amount calculator 170 reads out the corresponding correlation from the memory 90 and calculates the conveyance amount corresponding to the first power P1 acquired as the particle size index Pact as the production amount of the first product G1, i.e., the target product production amount Sact. With this configuration, by measuring the first power P1 supplied to the electric motor 118 that drives the first conveyor 115, the conveyance amount of the first conveyor 115 can be calculated as the production amount of the product conveyed by the first conveyor 115 using the correlation between the first power P1 and the conveyance amount of the first conveyor 115 stored in the memory 90. Therefore, the production amount of the product conveyed by the first conveyor 115 can be calculated inexpensively and easily without providing the first conveyor 115 with a belt scale capable of measuring the conveyance amount or a separate means for detecting the conveyance amount.

[0076] The particle size ratio calculation unit 91 also acquires the value Pall detected by the supply amount detector 150. As described above, the supply amount detector 150 detects, for example, the fourth power P4 supplied to the electric motor 41 that drives the conveyor 40 of the feeder 4. As in the case of calculating the target product production amount Sact, the production amount calculator 170 reads the corresponding correlation from the memory 90 and calculates the conveyance amount corresponding to the fourth power P4 as the supply amount to the gyro crusher 1. In this example, the particle size ratio calculation unit 91 sets the reference production amount Sall to the total production amount of the first product G1, the second product G2, and the third product G3. In this embodiment, the total production amount can be considered to be equal to the supply amount to the gyro crusher 1. Therefore, in this example, the particle size ratio calculation unit 91 treats the calculated supply amount as the reference production amount Sall.

[0077] The correlation used to calculate the supply amount may be the same as or different from the correlation used to calculate the production amount of the first product G1. That is, if the first transfer conveyor 115 and the conveyor 40 of the supply device 4 have the same characteristics, such as the same conveying capacity and the same size, a single correlation common to both conveyors 40, 115 may be stored in the memory 90. Alternatively, a plurality of correlations may be stored in the memory 90, including a correlation corresponding to the conveyor 40 of the supply device 4 and a correlation corresponding to the first transfer conveyor 115.

[0078] The particle size index detector 130 detects the particle size index Pact continuously or at predetermined intervals, and the target product production amount Sact obtained by the production amount calculator 170 becomes data that can change over time. Similarly, the supply amount detector 150 detects the value Pall indicating the supply amount continuously or at predetermined intervals, and the supply amount obtained by the production amount calculator 170, i.e., the reference production amount Sall, becomes data that can change over time.

[0079] The filter 171 smoothes the target product production amount Sact and the reference production amount Sall. For example, the filter 171 includes a moving average filter. The filter 171 removes disturbances due to variations in the product Gj, such as size or compression hardness.

[0080] The average value calculation unit 172 calculates the average value of the filtered target product production amount Sfact and the standard production amount Sfall for each predetermined unit period. For example, the average value calculation unit 172 extracts a predetermined unit period from among periods in which the temporal change in the filtered target product production amount Sfact falls within a standard range, and calculates the average value of the target product production amount for the extracted unit period. That is, the average value calculation unit 172 excludes periods in which the temporal change in the filtered target product production amount Sfact is steep, and calculates the average value of the filtered target product production amount Sfact for each unit period. The average value calculation unit 172 also calculates the average value of the filtered standard production amount Sfall in the same manner.

[0081] The calculation execution unit 173 calculates the particle size ratio Ract, which expresses the production volume of the third product G3 as a ratio to the standard production volume, based on the average target product production volume Svact and the average standard production volume Svall calculated by the average value calculation unit 172.

[0082] The calculation execution unit 173 calculates the ratio of the average target product production amount Svact to the average supply amount as the particle size ratio Ract. That is, the particle size ratio Ract is calculated using the following formula (1).

[0083]

number

[0084] The calculated particle size ratio Ract is input to the target value generating unit 92. Note that the above formula (1) can be generalized as the following formula (2).

[0085]

number

[0086] k depends on the granularity ratio Ract i The value of is switched to 0 or 1. In formula (2), the production amounts S1, S2, S3 and supply amounts S4, S5 are also values ​​output from the average value calculation unit 172. In the above example, the particle size ratio Ract, which expresses the production amount of the first product G1 as a ratio to the supply amount, is calculated by setting k1 and k7 in formula (2) to 1, and setting the other coefficients k i is set to 0.

[0087] In the above example, the supply amount of the material to be crushed is set as the reference production amount, and as the reference production amount for making the ratio of the production amount of the first product G1 to the reference production amount the particle size ratio Ract to be controlled, instead of setting the fourth power P4 supplied to the electric motor 41 that drives the conveyor 40 of the feeder 4 as the value Pall detected by the supply amount detector 150, the fifth power P5 supplied to the electric motor 114 that drives the intermediate conveyor 113 may be set as the value Pall detected by the supply amount detector 150. That is, in the above example, instead of setting k7 shown in equation (2) to 1, k8 may be set to 1.

[0088] Alternatively, the production amount calculator 170 may calculate the production amount of the first product G1, the production amount of the second product G2, and the production amount of the third product G3, and may set the sum of these production amounts as the reference production amount Sall. That is, in the above example, instead of setting k7 in equation (2) to 1, k4, k5, and k6 may also be set to 1.

[0089] In addition, in the above example, the supply amount of the material to be crushed is set as the standard production amount, and the ratio of the production amount of the first product G1 to the standard production amount is set as the particle size ratio Ract of the object to be controlled, but the particle size ratio Ract can be a target particle size ratio value set by the operator, i.e., various particle size ratios can be adopted depending on the particle size ratio of the object to be monitored.

[0090] For example, the target product production amount Sact may be the production amount of the second product G2, or may be the sum of the production amounts of the first product G1 and the second product G2. For example, in formula (2), k2 and k4 are set to 1, or k1, k2, and k4 are set to 1, and the other k i Alternatively, the target product production amount Sact may be the production amount of the third product G3. For example, in formula (2), k3 and k4 are set to 1, and the other k i may be set to 0. When the target product production volume Sact is the production volume of the third product G3, the particle size ratio Ract represents the proportion of the crushed material that is re-supplied to the gyratory crusher 1 relative to the supply volume, i.e., the return ratio of the crushed material. In these modified examples, instead of setting k4 to 1, k5 or k1, k2, and k3 may also be set to 1.

[0091] Furthermore, the particle size ratio Ract may be the ratio of the production amount in a part of the selection ranges to the production amount included in a plurality of selection ranges. For example, it may be the ratio of the production amount of the first product G1 or the second product G2 to the total value of the production amounts of the first product G1 and the second product G2. For example, in formula (2), k1 or k2 and k4 and k5 are set to 1, and the other k i may be set to 0.

[0092] Thus, the coefficient k in Eq. (2) i By selecting a suitable combination of coefficients to be set to 1 and coefficients to be set to 0, the particle size ratio calculation unit 91 can calculate a desired particle size ratio Ract based on the product Gj that the operator is interested in. i In other words, the memory 90 may be configured to preset the grain size ratio target value Rr in accordance with the selection of the assumed coefficient k iThe preset value of the particle size ratio target value Rr corresponding to the combination of i A preset value according to the selection may be read out, and the operator may adjust the read-out preset value to a desired particle size ratio target value Rr.

[0093] As with the production volume of the first product G1, the production volume calculator 170 can calculate the production volume of the second product G2, the production volume of the third product G3, and the transport volume of the intermediate conveyor 113 based on the power supplied to the electric motors 119, 120, and 114 that drive the corresponding conveyors 116, 117, and 113. In this case, if the multiple transport conveyors 115, 116, and 117 and the electric motors 118, 119, and 120 have the same transport capacity and the same size, etc., a single correlation common to the multiple transport conveyors 115, 116, and 117 may be stored in the memory 90. Alternatively, a plurality of correlations corresponding to the transport conveyors 115, 116, and 117 may be stored in the memory 90.

[0094] Regardless of the particle size range of the product Gj being focused on, the production amount of the product Gj is calculated in the same way by the production amount calculator 170. Furthermore, since the production amounts of multiple types of products Gj obtained from the gyratory crusher 1 can be easily calculated, the production balance of multiple types of products Gj can be easily confirmed.

[0095] [Advantages of this embodiment] According to the above configuration, at least one of the gyratory crusher 1 or the feeder 4 is controlled so that the load index Lact falls within a reference range based on the load index target value Lr. This suppresses load fluctuations over a short period of time, enabling stable operation of the crushing system 100. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the load index target value Lr is calculated using the particle size ratio Ract, which expresses the production volume Sact of the product Gj in the particle size range of interest as a ratio to a predetermined reference production volume Sall, and the correlation between the load index Lact and the particle size ratio Ract.

[0096] Therefore, the operator can intuitively set the control target value of the crushing system 100 based on the production volume Sact of the product in the particle size range of interest. In addition, the production volume Sact of the product is obtained by averaging over a relatively long period of time. Therefore, by generating the load index target value Lr such that the particle size ratio Ract obtained based on the production volume Sact of the product of interest becomes the particle size ratio target value Rr, the crushing system 100 can be operated with both stability and an optimal production balance.

[0097] As described above, it is possible to intuitively set a target value for obtaining a desired production volume for the product Gj within a predetermined particle size range, and to stably control the gyratory crusher 1 so as to achieve the desired production volume.

[0098] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, a particle size index Pact that directly or indirectly indicates the production volume of a product Gj within a predetermined particle size range is detected, and the particle size ratio Ract is calculated using the particle size index Pact. Instead of measuring the particle size of the product Gj itself, the production volume of the product Gj after sorting can be measured or estimated, thereby easily evaluating the production balance of the product Gj within a plurality of particle size ranges. Furthermore, the particle size ratio Ract of the product Gj within a particle size range of interest can be easily calculated. Furthermore, the transport volume of the product Gj per unit time on the transport conveyors 115, 116, and 117 that transport the product Gj within a predetermined particle size range is used as the production volume of the product Gj for calculating the particle size ratio Ract. Therefore, the product Gj of interest can be detected without providing a separate weighing device.

[0099] [Simulation Results] Fig. 10 is a graph showing the results of a simulation of the control mode based on this embodiment. The bottom graph in Fig. 10 is a graph showing the change in load pressure over time, and the top graph is a graph showing the change in particle size ratio over time. In the simulation of this example, at time T1, the particle size ratio target value Rr is changed from a first target value Rr1 to a second target value Rr2 that is lower than the first target value Rr1.

[0100] As shown in Figure 10, as the particle size ratio target value Rr is changed, the load index target value Lr after time T1 becomes higher than before time T1. The load index target value Lr changes in stages because the limiter 164 limits sudden changes in the load index target value Lr. By controlling the crushing system 100 using the load index target value Lr, the load index Lact detected from the gyratory crusher 1 changes to follow the load index target value Lr. As a result, the particle size ratio Ract of the product Gj obtained by crushing the object to be crushed in the gyratory crusher 1 also changes to follow the particle size ratio target value Rr. As such, this simulation also shows that in this embodiment, the desired particle size ratio can be obtained by controlling the load pressure using the particle size ratio target value Rr.

[0101] [Variations] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements, changes, and modifications are possible within the scope of the spirit of the present disclosure.

[0102] For example, in the above embodiment, the particle size index detector 130 is configured to be able to detect the particle size index of all of the first product G1, the second product G2, and the third product G3. However, the particle size index detector 130 may be configured to be able to detect the particle size index of at least one type of product. That is, the crushing system 100 does not need to be provided with a means for detecting particle size indexes that are not used to calculate the particle size ratio Ract of interest. For example, if the particle size ratio Ract of interest is the return ratio, the particle size index detector 130 only needs to be able to detect the particle size index of the third product G3. In this case, in the above embodiment, the crushing system 100 only needs to be provided with the third power meter 133 as the particle size index detector 130, and may not need to be provided with the first power meter 131 or the second power meter 132. Similarly, if the particle size ratio Ract of interest is either the particle size ratio Ract of the first product G1 or the second product G2, the crushing system 100 may be equipped with either the first power meter 131 or the second power meter 132 as the particle size index detector 130.

[0103] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was given of a form in which the particle size index detector 130 calculates the production volume of the product Gj by detecting the power supplied to the electric motors 118, 119, and 120 that drive the conveyors 115, 116, and 117 that transport the product Gj as the particle size index Pact, but the form of detecting the particle size index is not limited to this.

[0104] For example, the transport conveyors 115, 116, and 117 may be belt scales capable of detecting the transport amount per unit time. In this case, the measurement value of the belt scale is detected as the particle size index. That is, the particle size index is the transport amount of the product Gj per unit time, in other words, the production amount of the product Gj. Alternatively, a camera may be installed on the transport surface of the transport conveyors 115, 116, and 117, and the transport amount per unit time, i.e., the production amount of the product Gj, may be detected as the particle size index by performing image processing on the images captured by the camera. For example, the cross-sectional area of ​​the transported product may be calculated from the image of the product captured by the camera, and the transport amount of the product may be estimated from the cross-sectional area and the transport speed. Furthermore, the value detected by the supply amount detector 150 may be modified in the same manner as the particle size index. That is, the supply amount may be calculated from the measurement value of the belt scale or the detection value by image processing in the conveyor 40 of the feeder 4 and the intermediate conveyor 113.

[0105] Alternatively, the particle size index detector 130 may be omitted. For example, the material to be crushed that has been crushed by the gyratory crusher 1 and is yet to be sorted by the sorter 110, i.e., the product in a mixed state of the first product G1, the second product G2, and the third product G3, may be photographed with a camera, and the photographed image may be processed, and the ratio of the product Gj in a predetermined particle size range to the total may be estimated from the photographed image after image processing. In other words, the particle size ratio calculation unit 91 may directly obtain the desired particle size ratio Ract from the photographed image. A camera for this purpose may be installed, for example, on the conveying surface of the intermediate conveyor 113.

[0106] In order to calculate the granularity ratio Ract without using a granularity index, the granularity ratio calculation unit 91 may calculate the granularity ratio Ract in the load index Lact from the correlation between the load index Lact and the granularity ratio Ract and the load index Lact detected by the load index detector 140. For example, the granularity ratio calculation unit 91 may read out the linear correlation indicated by the line A2 in Fig. 6 and output the granularity ratio Ract corresponding to the detected load index Lact in the correlation. According to this configuration, the granularity ratio Ract can be calculated without providing a separate granularity index detector 130.

[0107] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example has been given in which the control gain Kr used in the target value generating unit 92 is calculated from the correlation pre-stored in the memory 90 and the load index Lact detected by the load index detector 140, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the memory 90 may store a history of the load index Lact and the granularity ratio Ract, and the target value generating unit 92 may calculate the correlation by calculating the rate of change of the granularity ratio Ract with respect to the load index Lact from two or more past combinations of load indexes and granularity ratios Ract, and may calculate the control gain Kr using the calculated correlation.

[0108] 6, if the horizontal axis represents the load index indicating the load pressure and the vertical axis represents the granularity ratio, a line connecting a first coordinate Q1 (La1, Ra1) indicating the combination of the load index La1 and the granularity ratio Ra1 at a first time point in the past with a second coordinate Q2 (La2, Ra2) indicating the combination of the load index La2 and the granularity ratio Ra2 at a second time point in the past will be a line indicating the correlation between the load index and the granularity ratio. Alternatively, the correlation may be a line or curve approximation of three or more coordinates at three or more time points in the past.

[0109] The target value generating unit 92 may calculate the control gain Kr using the correlation thus obtained. That is, the target value generating unit 92 may calculate the slope of the correlation or the slope of the tangent to the detected load index Lact as the control gain Kr. According to this configuration, by calculating the control gain Kr from the actual measured values ​​of the load index and particle size ratio, it is possible to extract the characteristics of the gyrating crusher 1 during actual operation, and to generate a load index target value Lr with higher accuracy.

[0110] In addition, in the above embodiment, a crushing system 100 equipped with a hydraulic gyratory crusher 1 is exemplified, but the gyratory crusher 1 is not limited to this, and for example, a mechanical gyratory crusher can also be applied.

[0111] Figure 11 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of another example of a gyro crusher that can be applied to the crushing system shown in Figure 1. The same components as those of the hydraulic gyro crusher 1 shown in Figure 2 are given the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted.

[0112] As shown in FIG. 11, like the hydraulic rotary crusher 1, the rotary crusher 1A also comprises a hopper 2 that feeds the material to be crushed into the crushing chamber 16, a feeder 4 that supplies the material to be crushed to the hopper 2, a mantle 13 and a cone cave 14 that bite into and crush the material to be crushed that has dropped from the hopper 2, a main shaft motor 8 that is the rotation drive means for the main shaft 5 to which the mantle 13 is fixed, a power transmission mechanism 80 that transmits rotational power from the main shaft motor 8 to the mantle 13, and a controller 9.

[0113] Unlike the hydraulic gyro crusher 1, the mechanical gyro crusher 1A shown in Fig. 11 does not have a hydraulic circuit 7 and a hydraulic cylinder 6 for controlling the set in the crushing chamber 16 through the hydraulic circuit 7. That is, in the gyro crusher 1A, the set is mechanically held.

[0114] However, the gyro crusher 1A allows for mechanical set adjustment. For this reason, in the gyro crusher 1A, an inner thread 31a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the top frame 31, and an outer thread 35a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the concave support 35, with the inner thread 31a and the outer thread 35a mating with each other. Furthermore, the concave support 35 is formed with external teeth 35b, which mesh with a drive gear 45. The drive gear 45 rotates by receiving rotational power from an electric motor 46. The electric motor 46 is supported by the top frame 31. The operation of the electric motor 46 is controlled by a motor driver 47 connected to the controller 9.

[0115] When the drive gear 45 rotates, the concave support 35 rotates relative to the top frame 31. When the concave support 35 rotates, the inner thread 31a of the top frame 31 threads 31a and the outer thread 35a of the concave support 35 thread together, causing the concave support 35 to rise and fall relative to the top frame 31, changing the set. However, in the mechanical gyratory crusher 1A, the set is not changed during crushing operation.

[0116] The top frame 31 or the concave support 35 is provided with a contact or non-contact set sensor 23A that detects the displacement of the concave support 35 relative to the top frame 31. The controller 9 can determine the set from the detected value of the set sensor 23A. The controller 9 operates the electric motor 46 based on the set value detected by the set sensor 23A.

[0117] The mantle 13 is attached to a mantle core 12 fixed to the upper part of the main shaft 5. The main shaft 5 is disposed within the frame 3 with its axis tilted from the vertical direction. The lower part of the main shaft 5 is fitted into an inner bush 51. The inner bush 51 is fixed to an eccentric sleeve 52. The eccentric sleeve 52 is fitted into an outer bush 53 provided on the bottom frame 32. The lower part of the eccentric sleeve 52 is supported by a plain bearing 66. The mantle core 12 is supported by a thrust bearing (hydrostatic bearing) 55 provided on the bottom frame 32. An oil film of lubricating oil is formed between the mantle core 12 and the thrust bearing 55. A pressure sensor 24A that detects the oil supply pressure of the lubricating oil is provided in the lubrication circuit 7A of the thrust bearing 55. When a crushing pressure is applied to the mantle 13, a higher pressure is required to pump the lubricating oil between the mantle core 12 and the thrust bearing 55, and the oil pressure of the lubricating oil supplied to the thrust bearing 55 increases. Therefore, the oil supply pressure of the thrust bearing 55 detected by the pressure sensor 24A is a measurement value that indirectly represents the crushing load, and can be used as a load indicator Lact.

[0118] The gyro crusher 1A configured as described above is equipped with a load index detector 140 that detects a load index Lact that directly or indirectly indicates the crushing load, similar to the previously described gyro crusher 1. The controller 9 monitors the load index Lact detected during crushing operation, and controls the amount of material to be crushed supplied by the feeder 4 so that the load index Lact is maintained within a predetermined reference range based on the load index target value Lr.

[0119] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the crushing system 100 is exemplified as a production device that produces a product, but the production amount detection system and production amount detection method can also be applied to production devices other than the crushing system 100. The production device may be any production device that produces a product that can be transported by a transport conveyor. For example, the production device may include a cement manufacturing plant that burns cement raw materials to produce clinker as a product. The product to be detected may also be one that is subsequently disposed of. For example, the production device may include an ash treatment device for ash discharged from a waste treatment facility or the like. The production device may also produce only one type of product.

[0120] Summary of this disclosure A controller of a crushing system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a controller of a crushing system equipped with a gyratory crusher and a feeder that supplies material to be crushed to the gyratory crusher, and is equipped with: a load index acquisition unit that acquires a load index that directly or indirectly represents the crushing load on the gyratory crusher; a particle size ratio calculation unit that calculates a particle size ratio that expresses the production amount of products in a predetermined particle size range obtained from the material to be crushed crushed by the gyratory crusher as a ratio to a predetermined standard production amount; a target value generation unit that generates a load index target value based on the acquired load index and the correlation between the load index and the particle size ratio; and a control command generation unit that generates a control command value from the load index and the load index target value, and controls at least one of the gyratory crusher or the feeder so that the load index falls within a standard range based on the load index target value.

[0121] According to the above configuration, at least one of the gyratory crusher or the feeder is controlled so that the load index falls within a reference range based on the load index target value. This suppresses load fluctuations over short periods of time, enabling stable operation of the crushing system. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the load index target value is calculated using a particle size ratio, which represents the production volume of a product in a particle size range of interest as a ratio to a predetermined reference production volume, and the correlation between the load index and the particle size ratio.

[0122] This allows the operator to intuitively set the control target value for the crushing system based on the production volume of the product in the particle size range of interest. Furthermore, the production volume of the product is obtained by averaging over a relatively long period of time. Therefore, by generating a load index target value such that the particle size ratio obtained based on the production volume of the product of interest becomes the particle size ratio target value, it is possible to operate the crushing system in a way that achieves both stability and an optimal production balance.

[0123] As described above, it is possible to intuitively set a target value for obtaining a desired production volume for a product within a predetermined particle size range, and to stably control the gyratory crusher so as to achieve the desired production volume.

[0124] The crushing system may include a sorting machine that sorts the material crushed by the gyratory crusher according to particle size, the controller may include a particle size index acquisition unit that acquires a particle size index that directly or indirectly represents the production volume of the product in the specified particle size range sorted by the sorting machine, and the particle size ratio calculation unit may calculate the particle size ratio using the particle size index.

[0125] According to the above configuration, a particle size index that directly or indirectly represents the production amount of a product in a predetermined particle size range is detected, and the particle size ratio is calculated using the particle size index, thereby making it possible to easily calculate the particle size ratio of a product in a particle size range of interest.

[0126] Furthermore, the crushing system may be provided with a conveyor downstream of the sorting machine for transporting the sorted product of the specified particle size range, and the particle size ratio calculation unit may calculate the particle size ratio using the amount of the product transported per unit time on the conveyor as the production amount of the product of the specified particle size range.

[0127] According to the above configuration, the amount of product transported per unit time on the transport conveyor that transports products within a predetermined particle size range is used as the production amount of the product for calculating the particle size ratio, so that the production amount of the target product can be detected without using a separate weighing device.

[0128] The particle size index acquiring unit may acquire, as the particle size index, the power supplied to an electric motor that drives the transport conveyor. Thus, the transport amount of the transport conveyor can be calculated by acquiring the power supplied to the electric motor that drives the transport conveyor. Therefore, with the above configuration, the transport conveyor can be inexpensively and easily calculated the transport amount per unit time of the transport conveyor without using a belt scale that can measure the transport amount or providing a separate means for detecting the transport amount.

[0129] The controller may include a supply amount acquisition unit that acquires the supply amount of the material to be crushed per unit time that is supplied to the gyratory crusher, and the particle size ratio calculation unit may calculate the ratio of the transport amount on the conveying conveyor to the supply amount as the particle size ratio.

[0130] The granularity ratio calculation unit may calculate the granularity ratio of the load index based on the correlation and the acquired load index. With this configuration, the granularity ratio can be calculated without providing a separate granularity index detector.

[0131] The target value generating unit may set a control gain based on the acquired load index and the correlation, and generate the load index target value based on the control gain and a granularity ratio deviation obtained by subtracting the granularity ratio from a predetermined granularity ratio target value. In this way, the load index target value is generated from the granularity ratio deviation using the control gain, making it possible to easily convert the granularity ratio target value into the load index target value with a simple configuration.

[0132] The crushing system may include a memory that stores the correlation, and the target value generating unit may calculate the control gain from the acquired load index and the correlation stored in advance in the memory. According to this configuration, the correlation stored in advance in the memory is used to convert the value of the granularity ratio into the value of the load index, so that the load index target value can be generated by a simple calculation.

[0133] The crushing system may include a memory that stores a history of the acquired load index and the calculated particle size ratio, and the target value generating unit may calculate the correlation by calculating a rate of change of the particle size index with respect to the load index from two or more past combinations of the load index and the particle size ratio, and may calculate the control gain from the acquired load index and the calculated correlation. With this configuration, by calculating the control gain from actual measured values ​​of the load index and particle size ratio, it is possible to extract the characteristics of the gyratory crusher during actual operation and generate a load index target value with higher accuracy.

[0134] The target value generator may include a control gain multiplier that multiplies the granularity ratio deviation by the control gain, and a limiter that limits an output of the control gain multiplier to a predetermined limit range, the limit range being set according to the acquired load index. This makes it possible to appropriately set the limit range according to a fluctuation rate of the granularity ratio.

[0135] A crushing system according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes a gyratory crusher, a feeder that supplies material to be crushed to the gyratory crusher, and a controller having the above-described configuration.

[0136] The gyratory crusher may include a mantle fixed to a main shaft that rotates eccentrically, and a cone cave having a crushing chamber inside which the material to be crushed is bitten into and crushed between the mantle and the cone cave, the set between the mantle and the cone cave being mechanically held, and the controller may control the amount of material to be crushed supplied to the gyratory crusher.

[0137] The gyratory crusher comprises a mantle fixed to a main shaft that rotates eccentrically, a cone cave having a crushing chamber inside which the material to be crushed is bitten between the mantle and the cone cave, and a hydraulic cylinder that applies hydraulic force to the mantle or the cone cave against the crushing force so as to maintain a set between the mantle and the cone cave, and the controller may control at least one of the amount of the material to be crushed supplied to the gyratory crusher or the size of the set.

[0138] A control method according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a control method for a crushing system including a gyratory crusher and a feeder that supplies material to be crushed to the gyratory crusher, which detects a load index that directly or indirectly represents the crushing load on the gyratory crusher, calculates a particle size ratio that expresses the production volume of a product in a predetermined particle size range obtained from the material to be crushed crushed by the gyratory crusher as a ratio to a predetermined standard production volume, generates a load index target value based on the detected load index and the correlation between the load index and the particle size ratio, and generates a control command value for controlling at least one of the gyratory crusher or the feeder from the load index and the load index target value so that the load index is within a standard range based on the load index target value.

[0139] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a production volume detection device for a production device that performs a predetermined process on input raw materials to produce a predetermined product, wherein the production device is equipped with a transport conveyor that transports the produced product, and the production volume detection device is equipped with a memory that pre-stores a correlation between the power supplied to an electric motor that drives the transport conveyor and the transport amount transported by the transport conveyor per unit time, and a production volume calculator that acquires the power supplied to the electric motor and calculates the transport amount corresponding to the acquired power as the production volume of the production device based on the acquired power and the correlation between the power and the transport amount.

[0140] According to the above configuration, by acquiring the power supplied to the electric motor that drives the conveyor, the conveyance volume of the conveyor can be calculated as the production volume of the product conveyed by the conveyor using the correlation between the power and the conveyance volume stored in the memory. Therefore, the production volume of the product can be calculated cheaply and easily without providing the conveyor with a belt scale that can measure the conveyance volume or a separate means for detecting the conveyance volume.

[0141] The production device may include a sorting machine that sorts the produced products into at least a first type of product and a second type of product according to predetermined criteria, the transport conveyor includes a first conveyor that transports the first type of product and a second conveyor that transports the second type of product, and the production volume calculator may acquire a first power supplied to an electric motor that drives the first conveyor and a second power supplied to an electric motor that drives the second conveyor.

[0142] According to the above configuration, the production amounts of multiple types of products obtained from the production device can be easily calculated, and therefore the production balance among multiple types of products can be easily confirmed.

[0143] The production device may include a gyratory crusher that crushes the objects to be crushed, and the sorting machine may sort the crushed objects according to a predetermined particle size range.

[0144] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a production volume detection system for a production device that performs a predetermined process on input raw materials to produce a predetermined product, wherein the production device is equipped with a transport conveyor that transports the produced product, and the production volume detection system is equipped with a power meter that measures the power supplied to an electric motor that drives the transport conveyor, and a production volume detection device having the above-described configuration.

[0145] Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a production volume detection method for a production device that performs a predetermined process on input raw materials to produce a predetermined product and is equipped with a conveyor that can transport the produced product, wherein the production volume detection method detects the power supplied to an electric motor that drives the conveyor, obtains a correlation between the power and the amount of material transported by the conveyor per unit time, and calculates the amount of material transported corresponding to the detected power as the production volume based on the detected power and the correlation between the power and the amount of material transported. [Explanation of symbols]

[0146] 1,1A Rotating Crusher 4 Feeding machine 6 hydraulic cylinders 9 Controller 13 Mantle 14 Concave 16 Crushing Room 90 Memory 91 Particle size ratio calculation section 92 Target value generation unit 93 Control command generation unit 95 Load index acquisition part 96 Particle size index acquisition part 97 Supply amount acquisition section 100 Crushing System 110 Sorting Machine 115,116,117 Transport conveyor 118,119,120 Electric motor 130 Particle Size Index Detector 131,132,133 Power Metering Instruments 140 Load Indicator Detector 150 Supply amount detector 163 Control Gain Multiplier 164 Limiter 170 Production Calculator

Claims

1. A controller for a crushing system including a gyratory crusher and a feeder for feeding materials to the gyratory crusher, a load index acquisition unit that acquires a load index that directly or indirectly represents a crushing load applied to the gyratory crusher; a particle size ratio calculation unit that calculates a particle size ratio that represents the production amount of a product within a predetermined particle size range obtained from the crushed material crushed by the gyratory crusher as a ratio to a predetermined standard production amount; a target value generating unit that generates a load index target value based on the acquired load index and a correlation between the load index and the granularity ratio; a control command generation unit that generates a control command value based on the load index and the load index target value so that the load index falls within a reference range based on the load index target value; a controller that controls at least one of the gyrating crusher or the feeder using the generated control command value;

2. The crushing system includes a sorting machine that sorts the objects to be crushed crushed by the gyratory crusher according to particle size, The controller includes a particle size index acquisition unit that acquires a particle size index that directly or indirectly represents the production amount of the product in the predetermined particle size range sorted by the sorter, The controller according to claim 1 , wherein the granularity ratio calculation unit calculates the granularity ratio using the granularity index.

3. The crushing system includes a conveyor downstream of the sorter for transporting the sorted product of the predetermined particle size range; The controller according to claim 2 , wherein the particle size ratio calculation unit calculates the particle size ratio using a transport amount of the product per unit time on the transport conveyor as a production amount of the product in the predetermined particle size range.

4. The controller according to claim 3 , wherein the granularity index acquisition unit acquires, as the granularity index, power supplied to an electric motor that drives the transport conveyor.

5. a supply amount acquisition unit that acquires a supply amount per unit time of the objects to be crushed that are supplied to the gyratory crusher; The controller according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the particle size ratio calculation unit calculates the particle size ratio as a ratio of the transport amount on the transport conveyor to the supply amount.

6. The controller according to claim 1 , wherein the granularity ratio calculation unit calculates the granularity ratio in the load index from the correlation and the acquired load index.

7. 7. The controller according to claim 1, wherein the target value generation unit sets a control gain based on the acquired load index and the correlation, and generates the load index target value based on the control gain and a granularity ratio deviation obtained by subtracting the granularity ratio from a predetermined granularity ratio target value.

8. a memory that stores the correlation; The controller according to claim 7 , wherein the target value generating unit calculates the control gain from the acquired load index and the correlation stored in advance in the storage unit.

9. a memory that stores a history of the acquired load index and the calculated granularity ratio; 8. The controller according to claim 7, wherein the target value generation unit calculates the correlation by calculating a rate of change of the granularity ratio with respect to the load index from two or more past combinations of the load index and the granularity ratio, and calculates the control gain from the acquired load index and the calculated correlation.

10. the target value generation unit includes a control gain multiplier that multiplies the granularity ratio deviation by the control gain, and a limiter that limits an output of the control gain multiplier to a predetermined limited range; The controller according to claim 7 , wherein the limit range is set in accordance with the acquired load index.

11. A gyratory crusher; a feeder that feeds materials to be crushed to the gyratory crusher; A crushing system comprising a controller according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The gyratory crusher is A mantle fixed to a main shaft that rotates eccentrically; a concave having a crushing chamber inside which the object to be crushed is bitten between the concave and the mantle and crushed, The set between the mantle and the concave is mechanically held; The crushing system according to claim 11, wherein the controller controls the amount of the material to be crushed fed to the gyratory crusher.

13. The gyratory crusher is A mantle fixed to a main shaft that rotates eccentrically; a concave having a crushing chamber therein for crushing an object to be crushed by biting it between the concave and the mantle; a hydraulic cylinder that applies hydraulic force to the mantle or the concave against a crushing force so as to maintain the set between the mantle and the concave; The crushing system according to claim 11, wherein the controller controls at least one of the amount of material to be crushed fed to the gyratory crusher or the size of the set.

14. A method for controlling a crushing system including a gyratory crusher and a feeder for feeding materials to the gyratory crusher, Detecting a load indicator that directly or indirectly represents a crushing load applied to the gyratory crusher; Calculating a particle size ratio, which is a ratio of the production amount of a product within a predetermined particle size range obtained from the crushed material crushed by the gyratory crusher to a predetermined standard production amount; generating a load index target value based on the detected load index and a correlation between the load index and the granularity ratio; A control method comprising generating a control command value for controlling at least one of the gyratory crusher or the feeder from the load index and the load index target value so that the load index falls within a reference range based on the load index target value.

Images