Mining Machine Resource Control for On-Demand Ventilation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile mining machines face challenges in efficiently managing the provision of essential resources like water, electric power, and air in varying mining environments, leading to potential production delays and discontinuations due to resource availability issues.
Innovation Solution
A resource control apparatus and method that determines target locations, operation characteristics, and estimated resource demands for mobile mining machines, providing control information to optimize the provision of resources such as air, electric power, and water based on these factors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional ventilation methods are used where fans work at maximum capacity and all production areas are ventilated, then ventilation coverage is ensured, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation system dynamically adjusts fan speeds and operational status based on real-time mining machine locations and ventilation demands. Instead of operating at maximum capacity continuously, fans modulate their output to match actual needs, resolving the contradiction between ensuring ventilation coverage and reducing energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system predicts future ventilation requirements based on planned machine movements and operations. By anticipating where ventilation will be needed next, the system can proactively adjust fan operations, ensuring coverage is maintained while avoiding unnecessary energy consumption from premature or excessive ventilation in areas that don't yet require it.
2Reliability
If resources are provided continuously to all areas, then resource availability is ensured, but resource waste increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides resources locally and specifically to areas where mining machines are currently operating or planned to operate, rather than continuously supplying all areas. Water, power, and air are directed to specific locations based on real-time machine positions and operational characteristics, ensuring resource availability where needed while preventing waste in areas without demand.
Solution Approach 2:
Resource provision is dynamically adjusted based on changing machine locations and operational demands. The system continuously monitors and adapts resource allocation, switching from static continuous supply to dynamic demand-based supply, thereby maintaining reliability while reducing waste.
3Use of energy by stationary object
If on-demand ventilation is implemented, then energy savings are achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The on-demand ventilation system uses feedback from machine location sensors, operational status data, and environmental monitors to automatically adjust fan operations. This closed-loop control enables energy savings through intelligent demand-based adjustment while managing complexity through automated decision-making algorithms that process sensor data and control fan speeds accordingly.
4Productivity
If resource provision is optimized based on machine location and operation characteristics, then resource efficiency improves, but control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system integrates multiple functions into a unified platform that handles machine location tracking, operational characteristic analysis, resource demand prediction, and provision control. By creating a multi-functional system that performs all these tasks through integrated algorithms and data processing, the system achieves high resource efficiency while managing complexity through consolidation rather than separate independent systems.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
An apparatus, method and computer program product for: determining at least one target location of a mobile mining machine, receiving data relating to operation of the mobile mining machine in a mining environment, determining at least one operation characteristic of the mobile mining machine based on the data relating to operation of the mobile mining machine in the mining environment, determining, based on the at least one target location and the at least one operation characteristic, an estimated demand of the mobile mining machine for at least one flowing resource in the at least one target location at a particular time instance, and providing, based on the estimated demand, control information for controlling provision of the at least one flowing resource.