Method for planning charging of batteries of a plurality of mining machines

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and a control system (60) for planning charging of batteries of a plurality of electrically driven mining machines (10, 20, 30), each having a battery (15, 25, 35) and communication abilities for communication with the control system (60), the method comprising: receiving (202), from each mining machine, information on consumption of electrical energy over time and information on remaining energy level of the battery, obtaining (203) information of each mining machine on coming working tasks for the mining machine, estimating (204) when the battery of each mining machine needs charging based on the information on consumption of electrical energy over time, the information on coming working tasks and the information on remaining energy level of the battery, and instructing (206) the mining machines to charge their respective batteries at a charging station (50) situated in the mine or in the vicinity of the mine based on the estimation (204).

Description

METHOD FOR PLANNING CHARGING OF BATTERIES OF A PLURALITY OF MINING MACHINESTechnical field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to method for planning and optimizing charging of a fleet of electrically powered mining machines in relation to surface mining or mining in underground environments or the like. The method improves charging of electrically powered mining machines which work in cyclical operations as well as machines which work in non-cyclical operations.Background

[0002] For work in relation to surface mining or mining in underground environments, there is a shift to electrically powered machines to reduce general emissions, but also to improve the working environment in the mines. With electric machines, there will be less exhaust gas in the mine tunnels, which provides a better working environment and lowers the demand on the capacity of ventilation of the mine. As charging capacity and charging infrastructure for charging the machines is costly, especially in underground environments, there is a need to optimize that procedure. Furthermore, the mine tunnels provide certain limitations. Many machines are simply too big to meet in the tunnels. It is therefore important that machines in need of charging have the opportunity to transport themselves to a charging station without being hindered by other machines on the road.

[0003] Parts of the work in the mine is well-planned and often cyclical, for these situations there is a lot of information to collect about work tasks, energy consumption and need for power and charging. The work in mines often relates to the “blasting cycle”. This means that a drilling rig drills holes in the rock, which are filled with explosives, which are then detonated. The rocks are then either dumped directly into a crusher by a loader or loaded by the loader onto dump trucks or the like, to be transported to the surface. This work is often a planned work and quite repetitive and predictable, but also “predictable” work tasks have parts of “dynamic” characteristics. For example, when a dump truck collects rocks from a tunnel and transports the rocks to the surface, the dump truck needs to travel a bitfurther for every cyclic round, since the pile of rocks decreases meter by meter, for every transport. This means that the work is pretty much the same, but slightly different from the previous one. Another example of that the same work task may vary is that the load of a dump truck can vary, i.e. , the amount rocks loaded can vary, which of course has impact on the energy consumption of the machine. By that, the energy consumption may vary from one collecting round to another. It is further possible that a machine must take an alternative route, due to different circumstances, where the alternative route may have a different length and different slope, compared to previous ones. In addition to that, the surface of the mine roads may vary between different routes and also along a route and variations in speed can also occur. This and other “circumstances” impact the energy consumption of the machine and by that the planning of the work at the mine. Yet another aspect to handle is that some mining machines may be critical for the progress of the work in the mine and may therefore have a higher priority than others when it comes to charging need.

[0004] Thus, there is a need for a method for planning charging of batteries of a plurality of mining machines which are situated at or in a mine.Summary

[0005] It is an object of the disclosure to address at least some of the problems and issues outlined above. An object of aspects of the present disclosure is to provide a method for planning the charging of batteries of a plurality of mining machines.

[0006] According to one aspect, a method for planning and optimizing charging of a fleet of electrically powered mining machines at a mine is disclosed. The method is performed by a control system and the mining machines are electrically driven and each mining machine has a battery and communication abilities for communication with the control system. The method comprises:- receiving, from each of the plurality of mining machines, information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine, and information on remaining energy level of the battery,- obtaining information of each of the plurality of mining machines on coming working tasks for the mining machine,- estimating when the battery of each mining machine needs charging based on the information on consumption of electrical energy over time, the information on coming working tasks and the information on remaining energy level of the battery, and- instructing the mining machines to charge their respective batteries at a charging station situated in the mine or in the vicinity of the mine based on the estimation.

[0007] By such a method, charging capacity and charging infrastructure is optimized at the same time as better use of each mining machine is accomplished. By gathering information about various characteristics during different work tasks of the machine, its influence on the machine, its power needs can be assessed, and the charging capacity / charging infrastructure is optimized. The properties are, for example, machine type, load, total weight, road condition, road angle, machine speed, machine acceleration, machine position, etc. The information on how the consumption (depending on the various collected parameters) looks like at each point can be used to set a forecast for a machines’ energy consumption within cyclic work tasks or outside the cyclical case. This is used to estimate the time and energy consumption of the next working cycles and the charging of the machine is optimized, also for a machine that do not act completely in accordance with a cyclic work cycle. Furthermore, since charging takes place at charging stations to which the machines transport themselves, and by knowing how the work tasks looks like, it is possible to set a forecast for when they need to be charged. At the charging stations, machines which may be limiting the work in the mine can also be prioritized. Through this, charging at existing charging stations can be optimized and the demands on electrical infrastructure limited. Further, information about the capacity and charge level of the batteries of the various machines is also used. Thus, since the charging need of each mining machine is recorded and the knowledge on coming work tasks for each of the machines are handled and controlled, the overall planning of the charging may be structured and organized, by the “orchestrating” of charging need. As mentioned, the charging at the charging station / stations is optimized and prioritized machines may be called tocharging in time such that production stop is avoided and lower prioritized machines, which for example soon has to charge, may for example get a lower speed to save energy and by that be operable for another time (like 10 minutes or the like). Then, the instruction to charge is sent such that the machines may fit a time slot available for charging. The costly charging infrastructure of the mine thus may be optimized and by that, reduced cost for charging equipment is achieved.

[0008] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries comprises to set up a queue for charging of the mining machines, wherein the order of the mining machines in the queue being based on the estimation when the battery of each mining machine needs charging and instructing the mining machines to charge their respective battery in accordance with the queue. This enables a high efficiency of the charging and by that enables high production capacity of the mine.

[0009] According to an embodiment, the information on coming working tasks indicates a priority of the coming working tasks, and wherein the order of the mining machines in the queue is also based on the priority of the coming working tasks. By that, important work tasks for the progress of the mine may be prioritized as well as tasks for gaining high production speed, why a better effectiveness for the work in the mine is achieved.

[0010] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries is also based on information on a position of the respective mining machine in the mine in relation to a position of the charging station. This means that the distance, slope, and such features may be used to calculate and plan when to charge the mining machine. Further, since the information of the whole fleet of mining machine is known, the method may plan the charging also based on the location of each mining machine. For example, if there is a que at the nearest charging station, the mining machine may be instructed to charge at another charging station, if this is better for the work in the mine, and the energy level of the battery copes with that, even if it had been more optimal for the specific machine to charge at the closest charging station.

[0011] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries is also based on one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station. By that, for example a more energy saving route may be used or a route may be avoided if other machines are on that route if the machines maybe not can meet on that route. This lowers the chance of unexpected stops and reduces the risk of running out of energy and also the time for performing a work task may be stretched if a less energy demanding route can be chosen to and from the working station.

[0012] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries is also based on information of inclination of the one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station.

[0013] According to an embodiment, the charging station has communication abilities for communication with the control system, wherein the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries at the charging station is also based on information on current charging capacity of the charging station. By that, it is possible to plan the charging of individual machines as well as for a que of machines which needs to be charged, based on which charging station has capacity and by that also send the machines to a charging slot where capacity is available.

[0014] According to an embodiment, there is a second charging station (except for the earlier mentioned charging station), situated in or in the vicinity of the mine. The second charging station having communication abilities for communication with the control system. The instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries further comprises to determine whether to instruct the respective mining machine to charge at the (first) charging station or at the second charging station, based on current capacity at the (first) charging station and current capacity at the second charging station. The instructing may possibly also be based on a position of the respective mining machine in relation to a position of the (first) charging station and a position of the second charging station situated in or in the vicinity of the mine. Of course, there could be more than two chargingstation, wherein the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries based on current capacity of all charging stations in the systems, or at least the closest charging stations available for charging the battery of the mining machine. Thus, a complete system of chargers may be used to optimize charging of the batteries of a fleet of mining machines.

[0015] According to an embodiment, the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine comprises information of one or more previous working task performed by the mining machine. By recording previous similar or different work tasks for the machine over time, a history of energy consumption for the same or a lot of different type of tasks for the machine is achieved, which is used to predict future energy consumption of the same or similar work tasks.

[0016] According to an embodiment, the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine comprises information one or more traveling routes performed by the mining machine to and from the charging station. In the same way as for different work tasks, different routes are recorded regarding energy consumption of the machine, and of course features like load on the machine (tons of rocks etc.), road condition, inclination, distance etc. are recorded for future calculations of energy consumption for that machine on that route and a far better prediction of when charging is needed is achieved. The machine then gets the instruction to charge in a more precise manner compared to if no information is available.

[0017] According to an embodiment, the information on remaining energy level / charging capacity of the battery of the mining machine also comprises information on battery health. This is important since the battery capacity will deteriorate over time. Battery health can be monitored in detail on cellular level in the battery packs but at least, the “health” is information which is achieved by monitoring the energy consumed from the battery during work cycles (charging to next charging) and monitor how the capacity deteriorate over time. Since the battery deteriorate over time, it affects the charging need and by that how often the battery needs to visit a charging station and also possibly how fast the energy isconsumed when performing work tasks and when travelling to the charging station.

[0018] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries also based on information on a planned production stop relevant for the mining machine. Production stops occur now and then in the mine, for example shutting of an area due to a blasting operation, wherein the actual machine could instead go to a charging station. Another example may be that a machine needs a service or need to change tools or the like, wherein other machines may “take” its charging slot in a planned charging que. One may also plan the change of tool or the service at a time which coincide with the charging need of the machine, where it may be charged meanwhile the service or tool change is performed.

[0019] One alternative which may be combined with the above-described method is “opportunity charging”, which means that the method may comprise that the charging planning also takes into account that the machines may be charged for short periods of time at the local working site, to lengthen the working time between full charging opportunities at the charging station / stations. This may be done at some kind of “opportunity charging arrangement”, for example by inductive charging or some kind of quick contact charging like a pantograph or the like. The instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries may by that also be based on information on possible opportunity charging and the instructing of the machine thus may comprise to charge their respective batteries at an available “opportunity charging arrangement”.

[0020] According to one aspect, a control system configured to operate in connection with a mine and configured for wireless communication with a plurality of mining machines and with a charging station is disclosed. The control system comprises a processing circuitry and a memory, wherein said memory contains instructions executable by said processing circuitry, whereby the control system (60) is operative for:- receiving, from each of the plurality of mining machines, information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine, and informationon remaining energy level of the battery,- obtaining information of each of the plurality of mining machines on coming working tasks for the mining machine,- estimating when the battery of each mining machine needs charging based on the information on consumption of electrical energy over time, the information on coming working tasks and the information on remaining energy level of the battery, and- instructing the mining machines to charge their respective batteries at a charging station situated in the mine or in the vicinity of the mine based on the estimation.

[0021] By such a control system, charging capacity and charging infrastructure may be optimized at the same time as better use of each mining machine may be accomplished. By the control system, a fleet of mining machines may be “orchestrated” regarding charging and investments in charging capacity and infrastructure for charging in a mine is lowered compared to known systems.

[0022] Other advantages of the control system (above) and its disclosures (below) are explained in relation to the method.

[0023] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries comprises to set up a queue for charging of the mining machines, wherein the order of the mining machines in the queue being based on the estimation when the battery of each mining machine needs charging and instructing the mining machines to charge their respective battery in accordance with the queue. This enables a high efficiency of the charging and by that enables high production capacity of the mine.

[0024] According to an embodiment, the information on coming working tasks indicates a priority of the coming working tasks, and wherein the order of the mining machines in the queue is also based on the priority of the coming working tasks. By that, important work tasks for the progress of the mine may be prioritized as well as tasks for gaining high production speed, why a better effectiveness for the work in the mine is achieved.

[0025] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries is also based on information on a position of the respective mining machine in the mine in relation to a position of the charging station. This means that the distance, slope, and such features may be used to calculate and plan when to charge the mining machine. Further, since the information of the whole fleet of mining machine is known, the method may plan the charging also based on the location of each mining machine. For example, if there is a que at the nearest charging station, the mining machine may be instructed to charge at another charging station, if this is better for the work in the mine, and the energy level of the battery copes with that, even if it had been more optimal for the specific machine to charge at the closest charging station.

[0026] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries is also based on one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station. By that, for example a more energy saving route may be used or a route may be avoided if other machines are on that route if the machines maybe not can meet on that route. This lowers the chance of unexpected stops and reduces the risk of running out of energy and also the time for performing a work task may be stretched if a less energy demanding route can be chosen to and from the working station.

[0027] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries is also based on information of inclination of the one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station.

[0028] According to an embodiment, the charging station has communication abilities for communication with the control system, wherein the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries at the charging station is also based on information on current charging capacity of the charging station. By that, it is possible to plan the charging of individual machines as well as for a que of machines which needs to be charges, based on which charging station has capacity and by that also send the machines to a charging slot where capacity is available.

[0029] According to an embodiment, there is a second charging station (except for the earlier mentioned charging station), situated in or in the vicinity of the mine. The second charging station having communication abilities for communication with the control system. The instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries further comprises to determine whether to instruct the respective mining machine to charge at the (first) charging station or at the second charging station, based on current capacity at the (first) charging station and current capacity at the second charging station. The instructing may possibly also be based on a position of the respective mining machine in relation to a position of the (first) charging station and a position of the second charging station situated in or in the vicinity of the mine. Of course, there could be more than two charging station, wherein the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries based on current capacity of all charging stations in the systems, or at least the closest charging stations available for charging the battery of the mining machine. Thus, a complete system of chargers may be used to optimize charging of the batteries of a fleet of mining machines.

[0030] According to an embodiment, the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine comprises information of one or more previous working task performed by the mining machine. By recording previous similar or different work tasks for the machine over time, a history of energy consumption for the same or a lot of different type of tasks for the machine is achieved, which is used to predict future energy consumption of the same or similar work tasks.

[0031] According to an embodiment, the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine comprises information one or more traveling routes performed by the mining machine to and from the charging station. In the same way as for different work tasks, different routes are recorded regarding energy consumption of the machine, and of course features like load on the machine (tons of rocks etc.), road condition, inclination, distance etc. are recorded for future calculations of energy consumption for that machine on that route and a far better prediction of when charging is needed is achieved. Themachine then gets the instruction to charge in a more precise manner compared to if no information is available.

[0032] According to an embodiment, the information on remaining energy level / charging capacity of the battery of the mining machine also comprises information on battery health. This is important since the battery capacity will deteriorate over time. Battery health can be monitored in detail on cellular level in the battery packs but at least, the “health” is information which is achieved by monitoring the energy consumed from the battery during work cycles (charging to next charging) and monitor how the capacity deteriorate over time. Since the battery deteriorate over time, it affects the charging need and by that how often the battery needs to visit a charging station and also possibly how fast the energy is consumed when performing work tasks and when travelling to the charging station.

[0033] According to an embodiment, the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective batteries also based on information on a planned production stop relevant for the mining machine. Production stops occur now and then in the mine, for example shutting of an area due to a blasting operation, wherein the actual machine could instead go to a charging station. Another example may be that a machine needs a service or need to change tools or the like, wherein other machines may “take” its charging slot in a planned charging que. One may also plan the change of tool or the service at a time which coincide with the charging need of the machine, where it may be charged meanwhile the service or tool change is performed.

[0034] Further possible features and benefits of this solution will become apparent from the detailed description below.Brief description of drawings

[0035] The invention is now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0036] Fig. 1 shows a principle view of a mine with tunnels and two charging stations located at different locations in the mine and a fleet of mining machines working at different sites and / or transporting themselves towards a charging station.

[0037] Fig. 2 shows a principle view of a charging station with two mining machines are positioned in a que during charging.

[0038] Fig. 3 shows a flow chart over the inventive method for planning charging of batteries of a plurality of mining machines, according to the disclosure.

[0039] Fig. 4 shows a schematic figure of a control system configured to be operative for performing any of the embodiments of the method for planning of charging of batteries of the plurality of mining machines, according to the disclosure.Detailed description

[0040] In the following, charging planning of a plurality of mining machines according to the present disclosed method, is exemplified. The method disclosed herein may be realized in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the examples set forth herein. Like numbers in the drawings refer to like elements throughout.

[0041] Fig. 1 shows a very simplified and principle view of a mine 40 with tunnels 41 and a charging station 50 and a second charging station 55, located at different locations in the mine 40. A plurality of electrically operated and driven mining machines 10, 20, 30 of the same or different kind are working at different working sites in the mine 40, and one mining machine 10 has started its transport towards the charging station 50 for charging its battery 15. The electrically operated and driven mining machines are for example loaders and / or trucks. As symbolically illustrated with a battery symbol, each of the electrically operated mining machines 10, 20, 30 comprises a battery 15, 25, 35. The energy level of the batteries 15, 25, 35 are symbolically illustrated as a “level line” in each of the batteries 15, 25, 35, where the mining machine 10 to the left in the figure has a lowenergy level of its battery 15 and therefore needs to be transport itself to one of the charging stations 50, 55. The mining machine 20 to the right in the figure has a medium energy level of its battery 25 and may work at the working site a while longer and the mining machine 30 at the bottom of the figure has a relatively high energy level of its battery 35 and may continue to work before charging is needed.

[0042] A control system 60, operative for performing the method (explained above and below) and configured to operate in connection with the mine 40 and for wireless communication with the plurality of mining machines 10, 20, 30 and with the charging stations 50, 55, supervises the charging planning of the plurality of mining machines 10, 20, 30. Thus, the control system 60 has means for wireless communication and of course, the mining machines 10, 20, 30 each has communication abilities (means) for wireless communication with the control system 60 and further, the charging station 50 and the second charging station 55 each has communication abilities (means) for wireless communication with the control system 60. The control system 60, the machines 10, 20, 30 and preferably the charging stations 50, 55 further may communicate with a positioning system 70, like a satellite-based communication system, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), or a ground-based positioning system. In the latter, a mobile communication network based on any known cellular technology such as GSM, 3rdGeneration (3G), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), e.g., 4thGeneration (4G) or 5thGeneration (5G) wireless communication network may be used. The machines 10, 20, 30 may further navigate using lidar / radar, UWB, etc. to get their position in a global map of the mine and also Wi-Fi communication may be used for communicating and locate machines in the mine.

[0043] According to the disclosed method performed by the control system 60, for planning charging of the batteries 15, 25, 35 of the mining machines 10, 20, 30, the control system 60 receives information on consumption of electrical energy over time for each of the mining machines 10, 20, 30, and also information on remaining energy level of the battery 15, 25, 35 from each mining machine. The control system 60 further has access to information on coming working tasks for each mining machine 10, 20, 30, wherein this information is obtained by thecontrol system 60. Other features may also be stored in the system 60, like information regarding machine type, historical and actual load, total weight, road condition (i.e. known data of the possible routes / tunnels in the mine like road angle, information on road surface and the like). Other features which may be recorded and stored in the control system 60 (see further features of the control system in relation to Fig.4) may be machine speed, acceleration, position of the machine in the mine 40 and relative the charging stations 50, 55, etc.

[0044] When the information is obtained by the control system 60, the charging need of the battery 15, 25, 35 of each mining machine 10, 20, 30 is estimated, based on the information on consumption of electrical energy over time, the information on coming working tasks and the information on remaining energy level of the battery 15, 25, 35. When the charging need of the fleet of machines is estimated, the control system instructs the mining machines 10, 20, 30 to charge their respective batteries 15, 25, 35 at a charging station 50, 55 situated in the mine 40 or in the vicinity of the mine based on the estimation. By the inventive method, the machines are instructed to charge based on historical information of a similar work task and / or the actual consumption speed during the task and a calculation on consumption for transporting to the closest charging station 50, 55 or to the one where a time slot for charging is available. Information on the route may also be used to calculate when charging is needed and transport to a charging station 50, 55 must be initiated, and since the control system 60 has information on other charging needs of machines in the fleet, the planning may comprise prioritization of machines 10, 20, 30 depending on the need or importance of the machine and also depending on position of the individual machines relative the charging stations 50, 55 and the position of other machines. The latter, for example in an underground mine, the tunnels may be too small for machines to meet, which has an impact on the route planning and charging position in the mine 40.

[0045] Since, the charging stations 50, 55 and the machines 10, 20, 30 each has communication abilities for communication with the control system 60, the instructing of the mining machines 10, 20, 30 to charge their respective batteries15, 25, 35 at the charging station 50, 55 may also be based on information on current charging capacity of the charging station 50, 55. Thus, it is possible to plan the charging of individual machines as well as for a que of machines which needs to be charged, based on which charging station has capacity and by that also send the machines to a charging slot where capacity is available. By that the charging station has capacity also means in terms of grid capacity, since high power consuming processes may need to be prioritized, which will affect the possibility to charge the machines. In the figure, the left machine 10 has been instructed to charge since the remaining electrical power of the battery 15 is too low to continue the work and it must have enough power to travel to the charging station 50. It could also be the case that the work task at that site is finished, and the next work task planned for the machine 10 consumes more power than available, or that the remaining power only lasts for a short while for the next task (based on historical data), why charging is initiated. It could also be the case that a charging slot has become available at the charging station 50, which for the overall charging planning and production effectiveness is the best decision.

[0046] Fig. 2 shows a principle view of the charging station 50 where two mining machines 10, 20 are positioned after one another in a que during charging of their respective battery 15, 25. One charging station 50 may comprise a plurality of chargers / charging points and in this example, only two machines 10, 20 are planned for simultaneous charging. The capacity of each charging station 50 is, as explained above, information which is handled by the control system 60 and the available capacity is used when planning the charging. In the example of Fig. 2, the charging station 50 has four chargers / charging points, but only two machines 10, 20 are charging at the moment, wherein there is capacity for more machines. The control system 60 may then check if there are other machines 30, which may use the available charging slot, to plan for a better flow at the charging station 50. It might be the case that several machines may be close to a charging need, why the charging station 50 might be full, and even get a que of machines waiting for a free charger, but with the inventive method performed by the control system 60, an instruction may be sent to a couple of machines to charge, even if the particular machine could work a while longer, if only energy consumption is controlled. Thus,a better use of available charging stations 50, 55 is achieved and the investments in charging capacity may be lowered due to planning of charging.

[0047] The instructing of the mining machines 10, 20, 30 to charge their respective batteries 15, 25, 35 preferably comprises to set up a queue for charging of the mining machines, wherein the order of the mining machines 10, 20, 30 in the queue is based on the estimation when the battery 15, 25, 35 of each mining machine 10, 20, 30 needs charging and the instructing of the mining machines to charge their respective battery is done in accordance with the queue. Another feature which may be used to plan the charging is that the information on coming working tasks indicates a priority of the coming working tasks, and the order of the mining machines 10, 20, 30 in the queue is also based on the priority of the coming working tasks. By that, important work tasks for the progress of the mine 40 may be prioritized as well as tasks for gaining high production speed, why a better effectiveness for the work in the mine is achieved. For example, if there is a que to the closest charging station 50, 55, or the remaining energy level of the battery 35 of a particular machine 30, the speed of that machine 30 may be reduced, or the load may be reduced etc., to lower the energy consumption of the machine and by that extend the time before it needs to be charged. The system may estimate a possible charging slot in the future and may instruct and control the individual machines accordingly, to fit that slot.

[0048] Fig. 3 shows a flow chart over the inventive method for planning charging of batteries 15, 25, 35 of the plurality of mining machines 10, 20, 30, according to the disclosure. The method comprises:- receiving 202, from each of the plurality of mining machines 10, 20, 30, information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine, and information on remaining energy level of the battery,- obtaining 203 information of each of the plurality of mining machines 10, 20, 30 on coming working tasks for the mining machine,- estimating 204 when the battery 15, 25, 35 of each mining machine 10, 20, 30 needs charging based on the information on consumption of electrical energy over time, the information on coming working tasks and the information on remainingenergy level of the battery, and- instructing 206 the mining machines 10, 20, 30 to charge their respective batteries 15, 25, 35 at a charging station 50 situated in the mine 40 or in the vicinity of the mine 40 based on the estimation 204.

[0049] The information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine may comprise information from earlier work tasks (as type of machine, load, speed of the machine during the task, etc.), as well as information on one or more traveling routes (as distance to charging station from the site / machine, inclination / slope of the route, condition of the substrate etc.). The information on remaining energy level of the battery 15, 25, 35 of the mining machines 10, 20, 30 also comprises information on battery health.

[0050] The information on coming / planned work tasks may be information of overall planned work tasks of the mine 40 and the information may further comprise the priority on coming work tasks to be able to plan the charging of the machines 10, 20, 30.

[0051] By the information, the control system 60 is operable to estimate the charging need of the individual machines 10, 20, 30 and plan the charging for the fleet of machines working in cyclic or non-cyclic operations in the mine 40. A cyclic operation may for example be a repetitive task performed repeatedly and where that full work task has a known energy consumption. Such cyclic task may for example be driving along a known way in a mine with a load (distance, slope etc. is known), between the same locations for loading and unloading about the same amount of load every time. For non-cyclic operation, a library / list of tasks can be used, where the consumption of the individual work task is known or can be estimated for the individual task. This list can be used for planning one or more work tasks after each other, to estimate a non-cyclic work task set up by several individual tasks.

[0052] According to the method, the step of instructing 206 of the mining machines 10, 20, 30 to charge their respective batteries 15, 25, 35 may be based on a number of different information, like position information of the machine 10,20, 30 relative the charging station / stations 50, 55, and also on position information on other machines, information on one or more traveling routes, their inclination, road condition, information on capacity of the charging station / stations 50, 55, planned production stops, road blocks etc. The control system 60 may further be configured to, depending on priority of coming work tasks or importance of a certain machine, charging need etc., set up a que and instruct the machines 10, 20, 30 to charge according to the que for the charging station 50, 55. The instructing 206 of the mining machines may comprise transmitting the individual instructions to the mining machines 10, 20, 30 to charge their respective batteries.

[0053] Fig. 4 shows an embodiment of the control system 60 for planning charging of batteries 15, 25, 35 of a plurality of mining machines 10, 20, 30 situated in a mine, according to the disclosure, from a communication and processing view. The control system 60 comprises a processing circuitry 101 and a memory 62. The memory 62 contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry 61 , whereby the control system 60 is operative for performing any of the embodiments of the method for planning charging of batteries of the mining machines, which is described in this disclosure.

[0054] According to other embodiments, the control system 60 may further comprise a communication unit 64. The communication unit 64 may be considered to comprise conventional means for communication with the plurality of mining machines, such as a wireless transmitter and receiver, for e.g., performing the receiving 202, obtaining 203 and instructing 206. The communication unit, or another communication unit (not shown) may be used for communication with the charging station(s) for e.g., receiving information on current charging capacity at the charging station 50 and current charging capacity at the second charging station 55 (if there is one). The instructions executable by the processing circuitry 61 may be arranged as a computer program 63 stored in said memory 62.

[0055] Although the description above contains a plurality of specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the concept described herein but as merely providing illustrations of some exemplifying embodiments of the described concept. It will be appreciated that the scope of the presently describedconcept fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the presently described concept is accordingly not to be limited. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean "one and only one" unless explicitly so stated, but rather "one or more." All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the abovedescribed embodiments that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed hereby. Moreover, it is not necessary for an apparatus or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the presently described concept, for it to be encompassed hereby. In the figures, a broken line generally signifies that the feature within the broken line is optional.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method performed by a control system (60) for planning charging of batteries of a plurality of mining machines (10, 20, 30) situated in a mine, the mining machines being electrically driven and each mining machine having a battery (15, 25, 35), the mining machines having communication abilities for communication with the control system (60), the method comprising: receiving (202), from each of the plurality of mining machines (10, 20, 30), information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine, and information on remaining energy level of the battery, obtaining (203) information of each of the plurality of mining machines (10, 20, 30) on coming working tasks for the mining machine, estimating (204) when the battery (15, 25, 35) of each mining machine (10, 20, 30) needs charging based on the information on consumption of electrical energy over time, the information on coming working tasks and the information on remaining energy level of the battery, and instructing (206) the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) at a charging station (50) situated in the mine or in the vicinity of the mine based on the estimation (204).

2. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the instructing (206) of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) comprises: setting up a queue for charging of the mining machines, the order of the mining machines in the queue being based on the estimation (204) when the battery of each mining machine needs charging, and instructing the mining machines to charge their respective battery in accordance with the queue.

3. Method according to claim 2, wherein the information on coming working tasks indicates a priority of the coming working tasks, and wherein the order of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) in the queue is also based on the priority of the coming working tasks.

4. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the instructing (206) of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on information on a position of the respective mining machine in the mine in relation to a position of the charging station (50).

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the instructing (206) of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station (50).

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein the instructing (206) of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on information of inclination of the one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station (50).

7. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the charging station (50) has communication abilities for communication with the control system (60), wherein the instructing (206) of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) at the charging station (50) is also based on information on current charging capacity of the charging station (50).

8. Method according to any of the present claims, wherein, except for the charging station (50) there is a second charging station (55) situated in or in the vicinity of the mine, the second charging station (55) having communication abilities for communication with the control system (60), and wherein the instructing (206) of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) comprises determining whether to instruct the respective mining machine to charge at the charging station (50) or at the second charging station (55) based on current capacity at the charging station (50) and current capacity at the second charging station (55) and possibly also on a position of the respective mining machine (10, 20, 30) in relation to a position of the charging station (50) and a position of the second charging station (55).

9. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine (10, 20, 30) comprises information of one or more previous working task performed by the mining machine.

10. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine (10, 20, 30) comprises information of one or more traveling routes performed by the mining machine (10, 20, 30) to and from the charging station (50).11 . Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the information on remaining charging capacity of the battery (15, 25, 35) of the mining machine (10, 20, 30) also comprises information on battery health.

12. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the instructing (206) of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on information on a planned production stop relevant for the mining machine.

13. A control system (60) configured to operate in connection with a mine and configured for wireless communication with a plurality of mining machines (10, 20, 30) and with a charging station (50), the control system (60) comprising a processing circuitry (61 ) and a memory (62), said memory containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry (61 ), whereby the control system (60) is operative for: receiving, from each of the plurality of mining machines, information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine, and information on remaining charging capacity of the battery, obtaining information of each of the plurality of mining machines on coming working tasks for the mining machine, estimating when the battery of each mining machine needs charging based on the information on consumption of electrical energy over time, the information on coming working moments and the information on remaining charging capacity of the battery, andinstructing the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) at a charging station (50) situated in the mine or in the vicinity of the mine based on the estimation.

14. Control system according to claim 13, wherein the instructing of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) comprises: setting up a queue for charging of the mining machines, the order of the mining machines in the queue being based on the estimation when the battery of each mining machine needs charging, and instructing the mining machines to charge their respective battery in accordance with the queue.

15. Control system according to claim 14, wherein the information on coming working tasks indicates a priority of the coming working tasks, and wherein the order of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) in the queue is also based on the priority of the coming working tasks.

16. Control system according to any of claims 13-15, wherein the instructing of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on information on a position of the respective mining machine in the mine in relation to a position of the charging station (50).

17. Control system according to claim 16, wherein the instructing of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station (50).

18. Control system according to claim 17, wherein the instructing of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on information of inclination of the one or more possible traveling routes for the respective mining machine to and from the charging station (50).

19. Control system according to any of claims 13-18, wherein the charging station (50) has communication abilities for communication with the control system(60), wherein the instructing of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) at the charging station (50) is also based on information on current charging capacity of the charging station (50).

20. Control system according to any of claims 13-19, wherein, except for the charging station (50) there is a second charging station (55) situated in or in the vicinity of the mine, the second charging station (55) having communication abilities for communication with the control system (60), and wherein the instructing of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) comprises determining whether to instruct the respective mining machine to charge at the charging station (50) or at the second charging station (55) based on current capacity at the charging station (50) and current capacity at the second charging station (55) and possibly also on a position of the respective mining machine (10, 20, 30) in relation to a position of the charging station (50) and a position of the second charging station (55).21 . Control system according to any of claims 13-20, wherein the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine (10, 20, 30) comprises information of one or more previous working task performed by the mining machine.

22. Control system according to any of claims 13-21 , wherein the information on consumption of electrical energy over time by the mining machine (10, 20, 30) comprises information one or more traveling routes performed by the mining machine (10, 20, 30) to and from the charging station (50).

23. Control system according to any of claims 13-22, wherein the information on remaining charging capacity of the battery (15, 25, 35) of the mining machine (10, 20, 30) also comprises information on battery health.

24. Control system according to any of claims 13-23, wherein the instructing of the mining machines (10, 20, 30) to charge their respective batteries (15, 25, 35) is also based on information on a planned production stop relevant for themining machine.

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