Abstract
An apparatus, rock drilling rig and drilling method is provided. The apparatus provides position control data for controlling positioning a rock drilling unit of a rock drilling rig arranged for drilling transverse drill hole patterns in an underground tunnel. The apparatus includes a teaching feature for gathering data on manually controlled movements at the location of the drill hole pattern and to thereby detect a movement path, which is collision free. The data on the taught collision free movement path is implemented when controlling the rock drilling unit during an actual drilling phase.
Claims
1. An apparatus arranged for providing position control data for controlling positioning of a rock drilling unit of a rock drilling rig arranged for drilling transverse drill hole patterns to an underground tunnel, the apparatus comprising: at least one control unit provided with sensing data on a position and orientation of the rock drilling unit; and a teaching feature, wherein the apparatus is configured to: gather the sensing data on manually controlled movements of the rock drilling unit on a plane of the drill hole pattern to be drilled, and wherein the rock drilling unit is moved along a movement path at a distance from physical obstacles located at the drill hole pattern to be drilled; generate a collision free movement path in response of the gathered sensing data; and implement the generated collision free movement path in the position control of the rock drilling unit.
2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, Wherein the apparatus is further configured to examine a position of at least one selected point of the rock drilling unit and is configured to generate the collision free movement path for the at least one selected point.
3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to implement the generated collision free movement path for generating control commands for automatic coarse positioning of the rock drilling unit on the plane of the drill hole pattern to defined locations of the drill holes of the drill hole pattern.
4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further provided with sensing data on manually controlled movements of the rock drilling unit in a transverse direction of the plane of the drill pattern and at a transverse distance from physical obstacles in the transverse direction, whereby the generated collision free movement path has a three-dimensional configuration.
5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further configured to provide data on a realized tunnel profile of the tunnel in response to the received sensing data.
6. A rock drilling rig arranged for drilling transverse drill hole patterns in rock surfaces of an underground tunnel, the rock drilling rig comprising: a movable carrier; at least one boom; at least one rock drilling unit supported on the at least one boom and including at least a feed beam and a rock drilling machine mounted movably on the feed beam; sensing devices arranged for generating sensing data on movements of the boom and the rock drilling unit; and a control unit for controlling operation of the rock drilling rig, wherein the control unit is provided data on a collision free movement path at the drill hole pattern to be drilled and is configured to implement a collision free movement path in position control of the rock drilling unit, the collision free movement path is being generated by an apparatus in accordance with claim 1.
7. The rock drilling rig as claimed in claim 6, wherein the rock drilling rig is a bolting rig including a bolting head supported on the boom and the bolting head having at least a rock bolt or cable feeding apparatus in addition to the rock drilling unit.
8. A method of drilling transverse drill hole patterns in rock surfaces of an underground longitudinal tunnel, the method comprising: drilling drill holes of a drill hole pattern by a rock drilling rig including at least one rock drilling unit; executing a preparative detection of physical obstacles at the drill hole pattern prior to initiating drilling of the drill holes of the drill hole pattern; detecting the physical obstacles at the drill hole pattern by moving the rock drilling unit under control of an operator adjacent to physical objects including at least inner surfaces of the tunnel and thereby teaching a collision free movement path; storing the detected collision free movement path and utilizing the stored collision free movement path in a position control of the rock drilling unit when drilling the drill holes.
9. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising moving the rock drilling unit at a distance from the physical obstacles, whereby the detection of the physical obstacles is contactless.
10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising implementing a continuous manual movement of the rock drilling unit for the detection of the physical obstacles.
11. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising: selecting at least one point of the rock drilling unit to be examined when detecting the physical obstacles; storing the movements of the at least one selected point as the collision free movement path; and monitoring during the drilling movements of the selected at least one point in relation to the stored collision free movement path.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0046] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a rock drilling rig provided with a drilling unit for drilling a drill hole pattern to rock surfaces of a tunnel or corresponding underground space.
[0047] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of drill hole pattern including several drill holes in transverse direction of a tunnel.
[0048] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing typical types of drill hole patterns.
[0049] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a teaching process wherein a rock drilling unit is manually moved nearby realized rock surfaces.
[0050] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a manual teaching process wherein a rock drilling unit together with a bolting head is moved inside a tunnel profile.
[0051] FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of rock drilling rig and possible physical obstacles in addition to rock surfaces of a tunnel.
[0052] FIG. 7 is a schematic top view illustrating a physical obstacle protruding in a longitudinal direction of a tunnel and its effect on the generated collision free movement path.
[0053] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing some features and connections of an apparatus for implementing the disclosed solution.
[0054] For the sake of clarity, the figures show some embodiments of the disclosed solution in a simplified manner. In the figures, like reference numerals identify like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0055] FIG. 1 shows a rock drilling rig 1. The rock drilling rig 1 includes a movable carrier 2 and at least one drilling boom 3. The boom 3 is provided with a rock drilling unit 4 arranged for drilling drill holes 5 in rock surfaces 6 of an underground tunnel 7. The rock drilling unit 4 includes a feed beam 8 and rock drilling machine 9 mounted movably on the feed beam 8. When the rock drilling rig 1 is intended for mounting reinforcing elements 10, such as rock bolts 11 to the drill holes 5, a bolting head 12 in connection with the rock drilling unit 4 may be provided, or there may be a separate boom with a bolting head. Alternatively, the drill holes 5 may be drilled for excavating material by means of drill and blasts techniques. In both cases drill hole patterns 13 include several drill holes to be drilled. The drill hole pattern 13 may be pre-designed externally and can be transmitted to a control unit CU of the rock drilling rig 1, or alternatively an operator of the rock drilling rig 1 can design the drill hole pattern 13 in assistance with the control unit CU.
[0056] The drilling boom 3 and the drilling unit 4 are provided with sensing devices SD for gathering data on position and orientation so that the control unit CU can calculate position data of the rock drilling unit 4. Prior to initiating an actual drilling phase of the drill hole pattern 13, the rock drilling rig 1 is navigated to a work site. For example, position markings 14 made to rock surfaces 6 can be used for navigation purposes. In the navigation process the designed drill hole pattern 13 is connected to the actual drilling site. Furthermore, teaching of a collision free movement path is taught prior to initiating the actual drilling, as disclosed herein.
[0057] The teaching and generation process of the collision free movement path is executed by means of an apparatus A, which may be part of the control unit CU of the rock drilling rig 1, or it may be located externally, such as in connection with a server S, for example.
[0058] FIG. 2 discloses a drill hole pattern 13 including several drill holes 5 having different orientations. Typically, the drill holes 5 are located in a same plane, which is transverse to a longitudinal direction of a tunnel. The drill hole pattern 13 is sometimes also called a drill hole fan. The drill hole pattern 13 includes a theoretical tunnel profile 15 and the drill holes 5 can be defined as coordinates of start points 16 and end points 17. The start points 16 are located on the theoretical tunnel profile 15. Orientation and length of the drill holes can be determined on the basis of the coordinates of the start points 16 and end points 17.
[0059] FIG. 3 discloses two different type of drill hole patterns 13. A long hole pattern 13a is a production type drill hole pattern for excavating rock material. The long hole pattern 13a includes blast holes, which are provided with explosive material. A rock reinforcing pattern 13b, or bolting pattern, includes several drill holes provided with reinforcing elements for supporting the rock material surrounding a tunnel. The reinforcing elements may be rock bolts 11 or cable bolts 18.
[0060] FIG. 4 discloses a principle of forming a collision free movement path 19 inside a realized tunnel profile 20 at a location where a drill hole pattern 13 is to be drilled. The collision free movement path 19 is produced by manually moving a rock drilling unit 4 close to rock surfaces of the realized tunnel profile 20 and storing this movement path to be used later during the actual drilling phase. An operator of a rock drilling rig has good visibility of the realized tunnel profile 20 and can control movements of the rock drilling unit 4 for teaching the proper collision free movement path. Existing sensing devices of the rock drilling can be used for providing needed sensing data for generating position data, such as coordinates, for defining the collision free movement path. There is no need for separate and complicated sensing devices and thus the present solution is easy to also retrofit for different existing rock drilling rigs.
[0061] As shown in FIG. 4, the realized tunnel profile 20 deviates from a theoretical tunnel profile 15. That is because tunnel 7 is formed by drill and blast tunnelling techniques, wherein rock material is blasted. Due to the blasting, there is always some deviations in the shapes and dimensions of the actual tunnel. Further, the tunnel is usually dimensioned as small as possible for minimizing excavation costs. Due to these issues, there is a potential risk for colliding with rock surfaces of the tunnel. The disclosed teaching feature provides a solution for preventing collisions against walls 21, ceiling 22 and floor 23 of the tunnel 7.
[0062] In FIG. 4 a drill bit 24 of a drilling tool is moved to a close distance from the realize tunnel profile 20, i.e., from realized rock surfaces at the location of the drill hole pattern. However, it is possible to examine other elements of the rock drill unit when executing the teaching.
[0063] In FIG. 5 rock drilling unit 4 includes bolting head 12. When teaching and generating a collision free movement path they are both examined. The collision free movement path can include one or more points 25a-25d, which are examined during the teaching. Coordinates of the selected points can be calculated and stored to define the taught collision free movement path. In FIG. 5 there is shown some possible locations for the examined points: a point 25a located at a drill bit 24, a point 25b located at a front end of the rock drilling unit 4, a point 25c located at a rear end of the rock drilling unit 4, and a point 25d located at a bolting head 12. In connection with the bolting head 12 there may be different apparatuses such as rock bolt and cable handling devices as well as rock bolt magazines and grout feeding means, which may be examined when teaching the collision free movement path.
[0064] It is also possible that the bolting head and the rock drilling unit are both in one combined mechanical structure and thereby form a unit which is monitored when examining the collision free movement path.
[0065] In FIGS. 4 and 5, exemplary collision free movement paths 19 are shown based on movement paths of the drill bit 24. The collision free movement path 19 may be created for any other selected point, or combinations of several examined points, and may thereby have different appearances when compared to the exemplary cases shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0066] FIG. 6 discloses that there may be other physical obstacles in a tunnel 7 in addition to rock surfaces 6, which need to be considered when executing drilling of drill hole patterns. For example, there may be infrastructure 26, such as ventilation ducts, arranged in the tunnel 7. The examined physical obstacles may also include structures of the rock drilling rig 1 itself. Accordingly, the generated collision free movement path includes avoiding colliding with other booms 27, for example. Further, rock surfaces 6 of the tunnel 7 may include protruding rock surfaces 28 in a longitudinal or length direction L of the tunnel 7. Thus, the limiting rock surfaces 6 may not only be in transverse direction T of the tunnel 7, but also longitudinally L and protruding rock surfaces 28 need to be considered when generating a collision free movement path. For avoiding collision with such longitudinally protruding surfaces 28 the generated collision free movement path may include sections 29 deviating from plane 30 and may thereby have a three-dimensional configuration, as it is shown in a simplified top view in FIG. 7.
[0067] FIG. 8 discloses a possible set up of apparatus A for generating a collision free movement path 19 including position data, such as coordinates 32 provided by executing a teaching feature 33 of apparatus A. Apparatus A includes a control unit 34 provided with a processor 35 and a computer program product 36 executable in the processor 35 for calculating the position control data and providing the collision free movement path 31. The execution of the teaching feature 33 includes gathering sensing data 37 from sensing devices SD when manual control movements 38 are executed. The apparatus A generates coordinates 32 for selected examination points and provides position control data 39 for controlling a rock drilling unit along the collision free movement path 19. The generated position control data 39 can be implemented when executing coarse position control 40 of the rock drilling unit, i.e., when moving the rock drilling unit close to designed drill hole start points of a drill hole pattern. The apparatus A may also include, or be in communication with, a user interface UI or display device for communicating the collision free movement path 19 and an approximation of a realized tunnel profile of the tunnel 7 for an operator of a rock drilling rig.
[0068] Apparatus A may be a part of a control unit or control system of the rock drilling rig, or alternatively apparatus A may be a separate device arranged to communicate with the control unit of the rock drilling rig via data communication connection or unit DC.
[0069] Although the present embodiment(s) has been described in relation to particular aspects thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred therefore, that the present embodiment(s) be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
