Remote Monitoring Vehicle for Hazardous Mining Equipment Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mining sites are large and dangerous, requiring monitoring of equipment that is typically done by onboard sensors or personnel inspection, which may not always be feasible or safe.
Innovation Solution
An offboard monitoring system using a remote monitoring vehicle equipped with sensors, a drive mechanism, and a controller to navigate, collect data, determine equipment state, and generate maintenance alerts, along with extension arms for tasks like replacing cutting picks and moving cables.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If personnel inspect equipment on mining sites, then equipment monitoring can be performed, but personnel safety is compromised due to dangerous mining environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an offboard monitoring system as an intermediary between personnel and equipment. The system includes a monitoring vehicle with sensors that travel along predetermined paths to collect equipment data, allowing monitoring without direct personnel contact with hazardous equipment. The controller processes sensor data to determine equipment states and generates alerts, serving as a mediator that eliminates the need for personnel to physically inspect equipment in dangerous environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with an automated monitoring system. Instead of personnel physically examining equipment, the system uses sensors (acoustic, vibration, thermal, imaging) mounted on an autonomous or remotely-controlled vehicle to collect data. The controller automatically analyzes this data to detect equipment states, substituting human mechanical inspection with automated sensing and processing systems.
2Loss of information
If onboard sensors are used for equipment monitoring, then real-time data can be obtained, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the monitoring function from the equipment itself by using offboard sensors on a separate monitoring vehicle. Instead of installing sensors directly on equipment (which increases equipment complexity), the system removes sensors to a独立的 monitoring platform that travels to collect data. This separates the monitoring function from the monitored equipment, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring vehicle serves multiple functions: it travels along predetermined paths, collects sensor data from various equipment, navigates autonomously or remotely, and processes data to generate alerts. This multi-functional platform reduces the need for separate specialized systems for each monitoring task, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive equipment information availability.
3Reliability
If routine monitoring is performed by personnel, then maintenance needs can be identified, but productivity is reduced due to unsafe work conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system performs self-service by autonomously navigating predetermined paths, collecting sensor data, processing information, and generating maintenance alerts without requiring personnel intervention. The controller automatically determines equipment states and identifies maintenance needs, allowing the system to serve itself in the monitoring function. This eliminates productivity losses associated with personnel safety concerns while maintaining accurate maintenance identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring vehicle continuously travels along predetermined paths to collect equipment data, providing uninterrupted monitoring coverage. Unlike periodic manual inspections that halt operations, the automated system maintains continuous surveillance without interrupting mining operations or requiring personnel to enter hazardous zones, thereby maintaining both maintenance identification accuracy and operational productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for offboard monitoring are provided. The system may include a remote monitoring vehicle including one or more sensors, a drive mechanism for driving the remote monitoring vehicle; and a controller coupled to the one or more sensors and the drive mechanism. The controller may be configured to navigate the monitoring vehicle along a predetermined path of the industrial site; receive sensor data relating to an equipment; determine a state of the equipment based on the sensor data; determine whether the state of the equipment meets a threshold state for maintenance; and generate an alert indicating a maintenance event for the equipment when the state of the equipment meets the threshold state for maintenance.