# An Intelligent Collaborative Charging System for Open-Pit Mines
## 2 Current Development Status of Key Technologies and Equipment in Open-Pit Mining
### System Architecture and Operational Mechanisms of Intelligent Collaborative Charging Methods
#### 3.2.2 Connection Device  
The coupling device for intelligent collaborative charging methods in open-pit mines is the key to efficient coordinated operation between explosive trucks and explosive charging robots, primarily involving the effective connection between these two components. This coupling device is an intelligent linkage system designed to connect explosive trucks with charging robots, enabling pneumatic conveying of explosives under positive pressure, dynamic posture adaptation, and high-precision explosive charging. The system primarily consists of a 360\({}^{\circ}\) self-rotating structure with a pneumatic conveying unit, rigid and flexible explosive delivery pipelines, and detachable coupling interfaces.  
Figure 4: Schematic diagram of flexible conveying pipe structure.  
Materials and manufacturing process of preparation device  
The explosive delivery system consists of three functionally integrated components: The rigid pipeline serves as the fixed section, fabricated from high-strength alloy steel through precision cold-drawing and internal wall polishing processes, exhibiting superior structural stability. The flexible pipeline functions as the dynamic section, constructed with multi-layer composite materials via multi-layer winding vulcanization molding technology, enabling bending and telescoping movements. The coupling interface acts as the sealing unit, manufactured from stainless steel using CNC machining combined with laser welding techniques, and incorporates magnetic positioning with hydraulic locking mechanisms to ensure reliable sealing performance.  
Coupling mechanism of linking device  
The explosive delivery system employs positive-pressure pneumatic power, comprising a variable-frequency blower and an intelligent air supply system with pressure feedback control. Based on the bending angle \(\alpha\) of the flexible pipeline (detected via embedded fiber-optic sensors), the blower dynamically adjusts the air pressure to achieve coordinated pneumatic conveyance. This coupling mechanism ensures complete explosive transfer and charging during the loading process.  
The explosive vehicle's autonomous rotary structure adopts a three-dimensional rotating mechanism, jointly driven by a harmonic reducer and servo motor. This configuration enables 360\({}^{\circ}\) dead-angle-free rotation of the rigid explosive delivery pipeline while synchronizing with the RTK positioning/navigation system of the explosive charging robot. Through this integrated design, spatial motion coupling among the explosive vehicle, delivery pipeline, and explosive charging robot is achieved, ensuring coordinated operation in complex terrains.  
The rigid-flexible pipeline coupling interface incorporates three core components: a magnetic positioning ring, hydraulic locking sleeve, and self-compensating seal. Its dynamic locking process involves three sequential phases: the magnetic ring guides coarse pipeline alignment, the hydraulic sleeve activates via an electrical signal for intermediate locking, and the seal ring completes ultimate sealing through 0.3 MPa pneumatic expansion. For robot-side coupling, a quick-connect mechanism features a TC4 titanium alloy wedge latch on the explosive charging robot with force sensor feedback for locking status monitoring, and dual-redundant sealing combining a static O-ring with dynamic compensated sealing for enhanced reliability.