CABLE HANDLING DEVICE FOR CABLE BOLTS

Abstract

A cable handling device for an underground mining drill rig, wherein the cable handling device includes a first feeding assembly having a cable bending guide and a first feeding device configured to receive a cable, grip the cable and feed the cable in a first direction into the cable bending guide. The cable bending guide is configured to guide the cable along an arcuate path such that the cable exits the cable bending guide in a second direction offset a predetermined angle to the first direction.

Claims

1. A cable handling device for an underground mining drill rig, the cable handling device comprising a first feeding assembly including a cable bending guide and a first feeding device configured to receive a cable, grip the cable and feed the cable in a first direction into the cable bending guide, wherein the cable bending guide is configured to guide the cable along an arcuate path such that the cable exits the cable bending guide in a second direction offset a predetermined angle to the first direction.

2. The cable handling device according to claim 1, wherein the cable bending guide includes an arcuate tube arranged for guiding the cable through the arcuate tube from the first feeding device along said arcuate path, or wherein the cable bending guide includes a plurality of guide wheels arranged along the arcuate path for guiding the cable along the arcuate path.

3. The cable handling device according to claim 1, wherein the first feeding device is configured to receive the cable horizontally or in a direction within ±30 degrees to a horizontal plane or within ±45 degrees to a horizontal plane.

4. The cable handling device according to claim 1, further comprising a second feeding assembly which comprises includes a second feeding device movably suspended on a suspension mechanism configured such that the second feeding device is movable back and forth between a first position for receiving the cable exiting the cable bending guide in the second direction and a second position transversal to the first position with respect to the second direction.

5. The cable handling device according to claim 4, wherein the suspension mechanism includes a plurality of arms hingedly connected to each other such that the second feeding device is movable in a first plane, wherein each hinged connection is provided with a respective drive means for rotating the arms relative to each other thereby controlling the position of the second feeding device in the first plane.

6. The cable handling device according to claim 5, wherein the suspension mechanism is configured such that the first plane is normal to the second direction.

7. The cable handling device according to claim 4, wherein the second feeding assembly includes a gripping claw configured to be movable back and forth between a closed position for gripping the cable and an open position in which the cable is laterally movable out of the gripping claw, wherein the gripping claw is provided with motorized feeding wheels for optionally holding or feeding the cable through the gripping claw in the closed position.

8. The cable handling device according to claim 1, wherein the radius of curvature of the cable bending guide is chosen large enough for the cable not to be plastically deformed upon being fed through the arcuate tube.

9. A drill rig system comprising: a drill rig; and a cable handling device according to claim 1.

10. The drill rig system according to claim 9, wherein the cable handling device is configured such that the second direction differs from the drilling direction of the drill rig by no more than ±10 degrees.

11. The drill rig system according to claim 9, wherein the cable handling device is configured such that the second direction is parallel to the drilling direction of the drill rig.

12. The drill rig system according to claim 9, wherein the suspension mechanism is configured such that the second feeding device in the second position is aligned with the drilling axis of the drill rig.

13. A mining machine comprising a drill rig system according to claim 9, wherein the mining machine could be a cutting machine provided with a bolter, a mobile bolter, a bolter car, a bolter miner or a roadheader.

14. A method of installing a cable bolt using a drill rig system according to claim 15, said method comprising the steps of: moving a free end of a cable into the first cable feeding device; operating the first feeding device to feed the cable through the cable bending guide and into the second feeding device; operating the suspension mechanism to move the second feeding device to its second position; operating the second feeding device to feed the cable into a bore hole until the trailing portion of the cable is attachable to the drill head of the drill rig; disengaging the second feeding device from the cable; operating the suspension mechanism to move the second feeding device out of the way of the drill head; attaching the trailing portion of the cable to the drill head; and operating the drill head of the drill rig to work the cable further into the bore and to rotate the cable.

15. The drill rig system of claim 9, further comprising a second feeding assembly which includes a second feeding device movably suspended on a suspension mechanism configured such that the second feeding device is movable back and forth between a first position for receiving the cable exiting the cable bending guide in the second direction and a second position transversal to the first position with respect to the second direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0036] FIG. 1 shows a platform comprising a drill rig and a cable handling device according to a first embodiment with a cable being fed through the first feeding assembly from a ground position.

[0037] FIG. 2 shows the platform of FIG. 1 however with the cable fed further through the second feeding device and into the bore hole.

[0038] FIGS. 3-6 show various views of the second feeding assembly.

TABLE-US-00001 1 cable handling device 2 drill rig 3 first feeding assembly 4 cable bending guide 5 first feeding device 6 cable 7 second feeding assembly 8 second feeding device 9 suspension mechanism 10 arcuate tube 11 gripping claw 12 motorized feeding wheels 13 actuator 14 guide screen 15 central through passage D1 first direction D2 second direction D3 drilling direction PL1 first plane P1 first position of second feeding device P2 second position of second feeding device A angle offset

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] A cable handling device 1 according to a first embodiment will hereinafter be described with reference to the appended drawings. The cable handling device 1 is for use with a drill rig 2 such as the one shown in FIGS. 1-2. The cable handling device 1 may be sold separately or it may be sold as a drill rig 2 system together with a drill rig 2. The drill rig 2 system may be integrated with a mining machine or provided as a system sold separately for use with any suitable carrying device. Below, the description firstly focuses on describing the handling device itself although the figures show the cable handling device 1 together with the drill rig 2.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the cable handling device 1 comprises a first feeding assembly 3 comprising a cable bending guide 4 and a first feeding device 5. The first feeding device 5 is configured to receive a cable 6, grip the cable 6 and feed the cable 6 in a first direction D1 into the cable bending guide. The first feeding device 5 is provided with opposite wheels configured to receive the cable 6 between the wheels to frictionally engage the cable 6, wherein at least one of the wheels is operatively connected to a drive means such as an electric motor. In other embodiments, some other suitable drive means may be provided instead of the motorized wheels, such as a pair of movable gripping jaws configured to alternatingly grip and move the cable 6. Here, the first feeding device is configured to receive the cable horizontally, but it may in other embodiments be chosen to any other suitable direction, such as +−30 or +−45 degrees to a horizontal plane.

[0041] The cable bending guide 4 is configured to guide the cable 6 along an arcuate path such that the cable 6 exits the cable bending guide 4 in a second direction D2 offset a predetermined angle to the first direction Dl. The cable bending guide 4 comprises an arcuate tube 10 for guiding the cable 6 through the arcuate tube 10 from the first feeding device 5 along said arcuate path. In other embodiments, some other suitable means for guiding the cable 6 whilst bending it to follow the arcuate path could be provided instead of the arcuate tube 10, such as consecutive opposing pairs of wheels arranged along the arcuate path and configured to guide the cable 6 between the pairs of wheels.

[0042] The cable handling device 1 further comprises a second feeding assembly 7 which comprises a second feeding device 8 movably suspended on a suspension mechanism 9.

[0043] The suspension mechanism 9 is configured such that the second feeding device 8 is movable back and forth between a first position P1, shown in FIG. 1, for receiving the cable exiting the cable bending guide 4 in the second direction D2, and a second position P2, shown in FIG. 2, from which the cable 6 can be fed into the bore hole. The second position P2 is generally transverse to the first position P1 with respect to the second direction D2. By moving the second feeding device 8 transversely to the second direction D2, the second feeding device 8, and thus the cable 6, can be moved sideways into the drill rig 2, between the retracted drill head and the outer portion of the drill rig 2. From there, the cable 6 can be fed into the bore hole by the second feeding device 8. The sideways movement of the second feeding device 8 hence allows for the use of the second feeding device 8 without adding to the height of the drill rig 2 by allowing the second feeding device 8 to operate from an intermediate position along the length of the drill rig 2, and the be moved back to the first position P1 sideways and thus out of the way of the drill head of the drill rig 2, thereby still allowing the drill head to work its full stroke.

[0044] In this embodiment, the second position P2 is a position in which the second feeding device 8 holds the cable 6 aligned with the drilling axis of the drill rig 2. However, the second position P2 could in other embodiments alternatively differ slightly as long as the cable 6 can be fed into the opening of the bore hole and further into the bore hole by the second feeding assembly 7 when in the second position P2.

[0045] The suspension mechanism 9 comprises a plurality of arms hingedly connected to each other such that the second feeding device 8 is movable in a first plane. Each hinged connection is provided with a respective drive means for rotating the arms relatively each other thereby controlling the position of the second feeding device 8 in the first plane.

[0046] The second feeding assembly 7 comprises a gripping claw 11 configured to be movable back and forth between a closed position for gripping the cable 6 and an open position in which the cable 6 is laterally movable out of the gripping claw 11. The gripping claw 11 is provided with motorized feeding wheels 12 for optionally holding or feeding the cable 6 through the gripping claw 11 in the closed position. In other embodiments, the second feeding assembly 7 may instead of a gripping claw 11 have any other suitable feeding mechanism.

[0047] As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the cable feeding device is used together with a drill rig 2, and those may be provided together as a drill rig system. The cable handling device 1 of the drill rig system is typically configured such that the second direction D2 is parallel to the drilling direction D3 of the drill rig 2, as shown in FIG. 2. Typically, the drilling direction is close to vertical, such as vertical +−10 degrees. The second direction may in other embodiments differ some degrees to the drilling direction, for example no more than +−10 degree to the drilling direction. The suspension mechanism 9 is configured to move the cable 6 by sideways translation from the first position P1 into alignment with the drilling axis of the drill rig 2 in the second position P2. However, should the second direction D2 in some other embodiment not be parallel to the drilling axis of the drill rig 2, the suspension mechanism 9 may alternatively be configured to both translate and rotate the cable 6 upon movement to the second position P2, in order to thereby bring the cable 6 into alignment with the drilling direction D3.

[0048] Various views of the second feeding assembly 7 is shown in FIGS. 3-6. The suspension mechanism 9 comprises an articulated arm with sections which are connected by rotatable hinges/joints. Relative rotation between the sections of the articulated arm is enabled by the provision of suitable drive means such as stepper motors. The second feeding device 8 is provided with two jaws forming the gripping claw 11. Each jaw is provided with a feeding wheel 12 such that the cable can be gripped between the feeding wheels 12 by closing the jaws/gripping claw 11. An actuator 13 is provided for controlling the opening/closing of the gripping claw 11 as best shown comparing FIGS. 3 and 5. The gripping claw 11 is configured to laterally receive the cable in a central through passage 15 when the gripping claw 11 is open, and to retain the cable in the central through passage 15 when the gripping claw 11 is closed. The second feeding device is provided with guide screens 14 on each end of the central through passage 15 for guiding the cable towards the central through passage 15. The guide screen 14 facing the cable bending guide 4 hence guides the leading end portion of the cable 6 into the central through passage 15 as the cable is first fed by the first feeding device into the second feeding device.

[0049] The drill rig system may be operated using the following method. The method comprises the steps of: [0050] moving a free end of a cable 6 into the first cable feeding device, [0051] operating the first feeding device 5 to feed the cable 6 through the cable bending guide 4 and into the second feeding device 8, [0052] operating the suspension mechanism 9 to move the second feeding device 8 to its second position P2, [0053] operating the second feeding device 8 to feed the cable 6 into a bore hole until the trailing portion of the cable 6 is attachable to the drill head of the drill rig 2, [0054] disengaging the second feeding device 8 from the cable 6, [0055] operating the suspension mechanism 9 to move the second feeding device 8 out of the way of the drill head, [0056] attaching the trailing portion of the cable 6 to the drill head, and operating the drill head of the drill rig 2 to work the cable 6 further into the bore and to rotate the cable 6.

[0057] Both the second feeding device 8 and the first feeding device 5 may alternatively be operated simultaneously to ease movement of the cable 6 into the bore hole. When moving the second feeding device 8 out of the way of the drill head, the second feeding device 8 is typically moved to the first position P1, although other positions may alternatively be used.