Integrated Ore Flow Coordination for Mine Process Bottlenecks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mining processes are suboptimal due to manual control and lack of integrated management, leading to uncertainties and inefficiencies, with existing solutions focusing on local optimizations rather than holistic control.
Innovation Solution
An ore flow control system comprising ore control subsystems, ore flow coordinators, and an ore flow optimizer that collect and analyze data across sequential operations to coordinate and optimize ore handling and transportation processes, avoiding interruptions and rebalancing intermediate storage systems to meet production targets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual control and separate process management are used, then operational flexibility is maintained, but overall process efficiency and coordination deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate control systems (blasting, crushing, transporting) into a unified ore flow control system that coordinates all operations through centralized optimization, eliminating the inefficiencies of manual separate control while maintaining operational flexibility through integrated decision-making
2Productivity
If local optimizations are implemented in individual subsystems, then subsystem performance is improved, but overall system coordination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The ore flow coordinator serves multiple functions simultaneously: it optimizes blasting operations, manages crushing processes, coordinates transporting schedules, and balances intermediate storage, thereby achieving universal control that prevents suboptimization while maintaining subsystem performance
3Reliability
If integrated ore flow control is implemented across all subsystems, then overall process coordination is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system is segmented into distinct functional modules (blasting control, crushing control, transporting control, storage management) that each handle specific tasks independently but coordinate through the central ore flow optimizer, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining integrated control
4Device complexity
If sequential operations are controlled independently, then control simplicity is maintained, but production interruptions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where the ore flow coordinator monitors the status of each sequential operation (blasting completion, crushing progress, transporting availability) and dynamically adjusts schedules to prevent interruptions, maintaining control simplicity through automated decision rules
Data Source
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AI summary
An ore flow control system (10) for controlling ore flow in a mine comprises a number of ore control subsystems (30, 32, 34, 36, 38), one or more ore flow coordinators (40, 42, 44) and an ore flow optimizer (46), where an ore flow coordinator (40) coordinates ore flow between operations controlled by two subsystems. The ore flow optimizer (46) obtains input data and output data of each subsystem (30, 32, 34, 36, 38), which input data comprises a planned amount of ore to be handled in an operation controlled by the subsystem and the output data comprises an actual amount of ore being handled by the operation controlled by the subsystem, processes the input and output data, determines targets to be met by each of the subsystems and ore flow coordinators based on the processing and transmits the targets to the subsystems and ore flow coordinators, while the subsystems (30, 32, 34, 36, 38) control the corresponding operations for reaching the targets.