Rock drilling device and rock drilling rig or rock bolting rig comprising such device

A boom arrangement (202) and a drilling rig having the boom arrangement for use in a mining or construction machine (200) the boom arrangement having a first boom section (203) with a first and a second end, in which the first end is designed to be fastened to a carrier (201), and the second end is designed to carry a drilling machine (210), the boom arrangement (202) also having a first rotational linking element (205) with a first axis of rotation (B1) and a second rotational linking element (206) with a second axis of rotation (B2). The first rotational linking element (205) is arranged at the first end of said first boom section (203) and the second rotational linking element (206) is arranged at said second end of the first boom section (203) such that the axes of rotation (B1, B2) are fixed in relation to each other, and the axes of rotation (B1, B2) form angles with vertical direction of the carrier, the angles being in the interval of 0 to 45°.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a boom arrangement for use in drilling or bolting. In particular, the present invention pertains to a boom arrangement, and to a rock drilling or rock bolting rig including the boom arrangement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In rock drilling and rock bolting, one often uses a rock drilling rig where one or more drilling machines are borne by respective movable arms, or booms.

Depending on the type of drilling, such as tunneling or ore mining, different types of rock drilling rigs are used. For example, when driving a tunnel, one often uses large machines with a plurality of booms, so as to drill a plurality of holes at the same time, or nearly so, and to reach across the entire, usually broad cross sectional surface that the tunnel requires from a single supporting position.

In ore mining, on the other hand, it is often desirable for economic reasons to mine the ore in such a way that only the ore body is mined, thereby reducing as much as possible the amount of excess rock that needs to be handled. This means that, when mining small ore bodies and/or when only a small portion of the ore body contains the desired ore, the mining can occur at very low gallery heights, with corresponding requirements for the rock drilling rig.

Thus, different situations place different requirements on the rock drilling rig, and therefore rock drilling rigs occur in many different designs, and hence also with many different types of booms.

A boom usually consists of an elongated structure, whose one end is normally secured to a supporting element, such as a vehicle, by one or more links. Moreover, a drilling machine is usually hinged to the end of the boom away from the support via one or more additional links.

However, the drilling machine is usually not attached directly to the boom, but instead is normally displaceable attached to the boom via a feeding arrangement consisting of a feed holder, which carries a feed beam arranged displaceable relative the feed holder, and furthermore the drilling machine can usually move relative to the feed beam so as to achieve good freedom of adjustment during drilling without the need for the supporting element to have to move.

Even though booms of the above type work well in many applications, it can be difficult to create a boom that simultaneously fulfils both needs and/or requirements on rig mobility and maneuverability when drilling in a desired manner, especially for rock drilling rigs designed for very narrow galleries. Therefore, there is a need for an improved boom for use particularly with rock drilling rigs designed to work at low gallery height.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a boom arrangement for a mining and/or construction machine which solves the above problem. This purpose is accomplished with a boom arrangement according to claim1.

The present invention involves a boom arrangement for use in a mining and/or construction machine, comprising a first boom section with a first and a second end, wherein said first end is designed to be fastened to a carrier, and said second end is designed to carry a drilling machine, wherein said boom arrangement furthermore comprises a first rotational linking means with a first axis of rotation and a second rotational linking means with a second axis of rotation. Said first rotational linking means is arranged at said first end of said first boom section and said second rotational linking means is arranged at said second end of said first boom section such that said axes of rotation are fixed in relation to each other, and said axes of rotation make angles with a vertical direction, said angles being in the interval of 0 to 45°.

The present invention has the benefit, thanks to said axes of rotation being fixed in relation to each other, and forming respective angles with a vertical direction in the interval of 0 to 45°, that a boom arrangement can be produced that not only enables good reach for drilling/bolting, but also enables a compact rock drilling rig for moving around. Such an arrangement is especially useful in rock drilling rigs designed to work at low gallery height, since when such rigs move around there is a high risk of some portion of the boom or the feed arrangement with the drilling machine hitting the surrounding rock.

The invention also pertains to a rock drilling and/or rock bolting rig.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1shows a mining machine in the form of a customary rock drilling rig100. The rig100comprises a boom102, whose one end102ais fastened to a (schematically indicated) carrier110, such as a vehicle, and whose other end102bhas a feed unit103arranged on it, carrying a drilling machine104. The drilling machine104is displaceable along the feeder103to further increase the reach/maneuverability during drilling.

As noted above, rock drilling at low gallery height places higher demands on the configuration of the rig and the use of a rig according toFIG. 1in low or narrow galleries has the drawback that, because of the extension of the boom in the longitudinal direction, maneuvering/transportation can be hard to do without the boom102and/or the drilling machine104hitting the surrounding rock, resulting in unwanted damage.

The invention solves this problem with a boom, as shown inFIG. 2, for a mining and/or construction machine, such as a rock drilling rig.

The rock drilling rig200inFIG. 2is especially suited to drilling and/or bolting in very low and/or confined galleries. For example, there are galleries with a height in the order of 1.2 m, where not only does rock (ore) need to be mined, but also one has to do bolting with bolt lengths exceeding the gallery height, to reduce the risk of for example a cave in.

The rock drilling rig200shown consists of a carrier201and a boom202, whose one end202ais attached to the carrier. Unlike the boom102ofFIG. 1, however, the boom202does not consists of a single elongated section, but rather two boom sections, a first boom section203and a second boom section204, which are joined by a first rotational linking means205with an axis of rotation B1, whose function will be explained further below.

A carrier201of the type inFIG. 1is usually controlled not by an operator on board the carrier201(due to the relatively small size of the carrier), but instead the rock drilling rig200can be controlled remotely by an operator at a suitable control unit, which can be connected to the drilling rig by a cable, for example, or a wireless interface.

Moreover, the carrier has forward/backward (longitudinal) directions FB and side directions S, and a vertical direction V, orthogonal to the directions FB, S. Thus, the vertical direction is perpendicular to the base of the carrier, at least while it is flat. This also means that the carrier's vertical direction is not necessarily coincidental with the “true” vertical direction, e.g., in the cases when the base is not horizontal. Therefore, in this specification, the term “carrier's vertical direction” means a vertical direction as above.

The carrier201is moreover provided as usual with functions required by the rock drilling rig, such as control units and hydraulic pumps to drive the boom/drilling support/feed arrangement/drilling machine. The carrier can also have devices to operate said hydraulic pump(s), such as for example an internal combustion engine and/or electric motor, which can be operated by connection to appropriate electrical mains.

At the other end202bof the boom202, away from the carrier201, a drilling support207with support leg208is arranged via a second rotational linking means206with axis of rotation B2. To the support207is fastened a feeding arrangement209, carrying a drilling machine210and providing for displacement of the drilling machine210relative to a feed holder secured to the drilling support by a feed beam211, and a carriage212displaceable along the feed beam211. The specific operation of the feed arrangement is not significant to the present invention, and therefore is shown only schematically inFIG. 2.

The rotational linking means205,206and thus the axes of rotation B1, B2are fixed in relation to each other, i.e., they cannot twist relative to each other. Moreover, the axes of rotation B1, B2in the figure are shown as essentially vertical, but this is not necessarily so, and when said boom arrangement is fastened to said carrier they can also form other angles (fixed in relation to each other), as long as these angles are in the interval of 0-45° from the carrier's vertical axis V as defined above.

For better comprehension of the feeding arrangement shown inFIG. 2, refer to the parallel Swedish patent application with the same filing date, entitled “Feed unit”, applicant Atlas Copco Rock Drills AB and inventor Sven-Olov Nyström. However, the feed arrangement shown inFIG. 2is only one example, and other types of feed units can be connected to a boom according to the invention.

The feed unit/drilling support is attached to the boom at a third rotational linking means213to allow drilling not only in an upward direction, as shown, but in any radial direction looking from the axis A of the third rotational linking means213.

The boom202of the invention has the advantage that it by the first rotational linking means205renders the first boom section203possible to bend/rotate in relation to the second boom section204about the axis of rotation B1, thus allowing the rock drilling rig200to be made relatively compact during transport, with the first boom section203folded in and thus a feed unit arranged relatively close to the carrier, as shown inFIG. 4bbelow. This has the benefit of substantially facilitating transport in especially narrow or low galleries.

InFIG. 3, the boom of the invention is shown more in detail. As can be seen, said second boom section204is secured to the carrier201by a fastening plate220. Moreover, the second boom section is hinged to the carrier by a fourth rotational linking means221, so that the second boom section204can be raised or lowered relative to the carrier about the axis of rotation C of said fourth rotational linking means, at which the raising/lowering of the second boom section is achieved by means of a hydraulic cylinder222.

The second boom section also has a fastening plate223at its end away from the carrier, which is likewise hinged to the second boom section204and can rotate relative to the second boom section204via a fifth rotational linking means224, the rotation of said fifth linking means224being controlled by a hydraulic cylinder225(nearly hidden in the figure). Operation of the hydraulic cylinders222and225is preferably such that the resulting turning of the linking means221,224are equal and opposite in direction, so that the two fastening plates220,223are held parallel all the time.

Moreover, the first boom section203is secured to the fastening plate223by the rotational linking means205at the first end of the first boom section203by fastening devices227,228, arranged about the rotational linking means205, and secured by suitable means, such as screw/bolt joint, to the fastening plate223, e.g., at fastening points228a-b,229a-b(fastening points228b,229bare hidden by the rotational linking means205).

The fastening devices227,228are fastened and in the rotational direction locked to the rotational linking means205, so that the first boom section203can rotate via the rotational linking means205relative to the second boom section204.

In corresponding manner, a fastening plate240is attached to the rotational linking means206placed at the end of the first boom section away from the second boom section by fastening devices241,242placed around the rotational linking means206, and which in corresponding manner to the above is fastened to the fastening plate240at fastening points243a-b,244a-b. The fastening devices241,242are locked to the rotational linking means206so as to follow along with its turning. Thus, the fastening plate240and the units attached to the fastening plate240can turn in relation to the first boom section203.

As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, drilling support207and feed unit209are attached to the boom (the first boom section) via the fastening plate240(via the third rotational linking means213).

InFIG. 2, it is shown that the feed unit is attached able to angle relative to the rotational linking means213.FIG. 2shows how this angling can be done with the help of a cylinder. Further advantageous embodiments of this ability to angle relative the rotational linking means213are shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, where a rotational linking means with axis of rotation K is shown. This rotational linking means can as a control unit have an el- or fluid driven motor such as a hydraulic motor or electromotor.FIG. 6shows a typical drilling position, whileFIG. 7shows a typical transportation position. However, an operational position (drilling or bolting) can also occur with the rotational linking means270in other angles around the axis of rotation K. A solution according toFIGS. 6 and 7provides great flexibility regarding adjusting the drilling/bolting at the same time as great compactness during transportation is achieved. Moreover, it is advantageous if the rotational linking means270is able to turn around the axis K within the interval of 0 to at least 135 degrees. If the design is made for 0 to 180 degrees, forward drilling can occur at the same time as the possibility of transport with the drilling unit pointing backward is maintained.

Overall, the solution of the invention allows the feed unit/drilling support to move with very great freedom relative to the carrier201, both to make the boom and feed unit as compact as possible during transportation at the same time as a very great freedom of adjustment during drilling is obtained.

This is exemplified byFIG. 4a, where the boom ofFIG. 3is shown from above, and the adjustment range of the first boom section203and the second fastening plate240is shown schematically by arrows401,402. As can be seen in the Figure, the two rotational linking means205,206have a turning range of basically ±90° relative to reference angles R1, R2.

As can also be seen, the reference angles R1, R2are not parallel to each other, and neither of the reference angles R1, R2is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the carrier. This means that the working range of the rigs becomes somewhat asymmetrical with respect to the carrier's longitudinal direction L, as shown schematically inFIG. 4b, where the drill rig is shown from above with peripheral line403showing possible positions in which the feed unit can be adjusted for drilling.

However, the asymmetry in control of the respective rotational linking means has the benefit that boom and drilling support/feed unit in transport can be arranged in a very space-saving manner, since the outer rotational linking means206(centre of rotation206a) can turn by the inner rotational linking means205to the point404inFIG. 4a. Then through turning also the drilling support/feed unit in with the outer rotational linking means, a very compact transportation position is achieved, considerably reducing the risk of hitting the surrounding rock while moving. The transport position is shown schematically inFIG. 4c. As can be seen, the rotational linking means206can be moved to a position which is closer to the carrier, in the longitudinal direction of the carrier, than the position for the rotational linking means205. Using the boom's pneumatic cylinder222, furthermore, the entire assemblage can be lifted slightly from the base to further reduce the risk of collision during transport. Thus, the present invention provides a very space-saving boom/feed unit arrangement that substantially facilitates transportation of the drilling rig200, while achieving a very large coverage area (the area within the peripheral line403inFIG. 4B), especially for sideways drilling.

Yet it will be noted that the angle control range (range of rotation) of the respective rotational linking means205,206need not necessarily be ±90°, but also other angles are possible. Larger angle ranges offer further adjustment freedom, while smaller ranges limit the adjustment possibilities. The total angle interval for rotational linking means205,206should not be less than 135° (±62.5°).

The first boom section consists, as shown inFIGS. 3 and 5, of a first and a second essentially platelike element230and231, respectively, said platelike elements being parallel to each other, and the upper ends of the rotational linking means205,206are fastened to respective ends230a,230bof said first platelike element230, and the lower ends of said rotational linking means are fastened to respective ends231a,231bof said second platelike element.

The rotational linking means205,206is fastened to the platelike element230by screw joints, while projecting axial sections on the rotational linking means are pushed into corresponding recesses in the platelike element231. This allows a simple assembly of the first boom section203, but also a screw connection can of course be used to secure the rotational linking means to the lower platelike element231. Moreover, the platelike elements are held together by a reinforcing element250, besides said rotational elements, and the two platelike elements are attached to it by suitable screw connection, for example. Alternatively, the platelike elements230,231and reinforcement element250can make an integrated unit.

As best seen inFIG. 3, the two platelike elements also have recesses251,252, to allow the first boom section203to come closer to the second boom section204without retracting the latter, i.e., the possible angle control is increased.

The invention has been specified above with regard to a specific boom design. Yet the appearance of the boom is not confined to that shown in the figures, but rather can differ from that exemplified in the figures without departing from the invention, as defined in the following claims.