Patent Description:
<CIT> describes a mine control system for monitoring mine operations including a plurality of mine vehicles provided with on-board monitoring means. Monitoring data is transmitted from the mine vehicle to the mine control system, which is provided with a mine plan. The mine control unit is configured to compare the received monitoring data with the mine plan and to determine the current state of the mine relative to the mine plan on the basis of the monitoring data.

<CIT> describes a method wherein a plurality of positions where an image of an object is expected to be restored in its original shape are designated and manually input. When image recognition by a fully automatic measuring mode of an object to be measured is failed, it is switched to a semi-automatic measuring mode or a manual measuring mode by recognizing an image of the object on an indication means. An operator obtains two or more predicted positions that can restore an original shape of the object and then inputs further positions as the designated positions manually.

<CIT> describes a drilling positioning control method for a drill jumbo having a guide shell equipped with a rock drill. Before drilling, in a state wherein the coordinate and attitude of the drill jumbo is known, the position and direction of the guide shell are measured and the rock drill is moved to a predetermined drilling position.

<CIT> describes a method and system for determining the position and/or location of plant components of a mining extracting plant using an image sensor.

In some underground mining operations, one or more roof bolts are driven into the roof or sidewalls of the mine to provide stability to the roof and sidewalls of the mine. The roof bolts may be installed using a roof bolter machine configured to drill holes into the roof and thereafter install a roof bolt along with a resin, in order to stabilize the roof or sidewalls and thereby prevent delamination and falls of the roof and sidewalls.

Roof bolts are typically installed according to a pre-approved bolting plan, which typically is a two-dimensional matrix of bolts arranged in a line across the span of the mine and in linear rows along the mine shaft. The pre-approved bolting plan includes set distances between roof bolts both across the span of the mine and along the mine shaft. Typically, the distances between the roof bolts, and the distances between the roof bolts closest to the sidewalls and the sidewalls is measured manually by an operator (for example, using a tape measure). Such measurements may be prone to human faults.

According to the present invention, there is provided an industrial machine as defined by independent claim <NUM>. Further advantageous features of the invention are defined by the dependent claims.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide benefits, such as but not limited to, accurate measurements, accurate location determination, ensuring roof bolts are installed correctly according to a roof bolting plan, ensuring a roof of a mine is correctly supported, preventing mine closure due to incorrectly installed roof bolts, increase productivity due to correctly installed roof bolts, and increase productivity due to automatic measurements of the roof bolts.

Additionally, embodiments disclosed herein provide benefits, such as but not limited to, providing evidence of roof bolt installation, providing information and statistics to analyze roof bolt installation, providing means for planning and optimizing roof bolt installation, and providing means for education and training of roof bolt installation.

Other aspects of the application will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

Before any embodiments of the application are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the application is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The application is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. The use of "including," "comprising" or "having" and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The terms "mounted," "connected" and "coupled" are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mounting, connecting and coupling. Further, "connected" and "coupled" are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings, and can include electrical connections or couplings, whether direct or indirect. Also, electronic communications and notifications may be performed using any known means including direct connections, wireless connections, etc..

It should also be noted that a plurality of hardware and software based devices, as well as a plurality of different structural components may be used to implement the application. In addition, it should be understood that embodiments of the application may include hardware, software, and electronic components or modules that, for purposes of discussion, may be illustrated and described as if the majority of the components were implemented solely in hardware. However, one of ordinary skill in the art, and based on a reading of this detailed description, would recognize that, in at least one embodiment, the electronic based aspects of the application may be implemented in software (e.g., stored on non-transitory computer-readable medium) executable by one or more processors. As such, it should be noted that a plurality of hardware and software based devices, as well as a plurality of different structural components may be utilized to implement the application. Furthermore, and as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific mechanical configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the application and that other alternative mechanical configurations are possible. For example, "controllers" described in the specification can include standard processing components, such as one or more processors, one or more computer-readable medium modules, one or more input/output interfaces, and various connections (e.g., a system bus) connecting the components.

<FIG> illustrates an industrial machine <NUM> according to some embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the industrial machine <NUM> is a roof bolter, or roof bolting machine. The industrial machine <NUM> includes a chassis <NUM> and one or more tracks <NUM> supporting the chassis <NUM> and propelling the industrial machine <NUM> forward and backward, and for turning the industrial machine <NUM> (i.e., by varying the speed and/or direction of the left and right tracks relative to each other). In other embodiments, rather than tracks <NUM>, the industrial machine <NUM> may include other propulsion devices, such as but not limited to, one or more wheels. The industrial machine <NUM> further includes a bolting apparatus <NUM> supported by the chassis <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> illustrate the industrial machine <NUM> within mine <NUM>. As illustrated, the bolting apparatus <NUM> includes a roof bolt drill boom <NUM>, a roof bolter drill <NUM>, and a roof bolter drill bit <NUM>. Although much of the description herein references a roof bolter and the installation of roof bolts, it is understood that the bolts can variously be installed in the side walls or other surfaces of the mine. The roof bolt drill boom <NUM> couples the bolting apparatus <NUM> to the chassis <NUM>, and is configured to move the bolting apparatus <NUM> during operation. The roof bolt drill boom may include a boom actuator <NUM> (<FIG>) to promote such movement. In some embodiments, the boom actuator <NUM> is one or more hydraulic actuators. In other embodiments, the boom actuator <NUM> may be one or more motors. In yet another embodiment, the boom actuator <NUM> may be one or more hydraulic actuators in combination with one or more motors.

The bolting apparatus <NUM> is configured to secure one or more roof bolts <NUM> into the roof or sidewalls of the mine <NUM>. In some embodiments, installing a roof bolt <NUM> into the roof or sidewalls of the mine <NUM> includes, among other things, drilling a hole into a roof or a sidewall of the mine <NUM> (for example, via the roof bolt drill <NUM> and roof bolt drill bit <NUM>) and driving a roof bolt <NUM>, along with a resin into the hole. As discussed in more detail below, the industrial machine <NUM> may further include a sensing system <NUM> and a user-interface <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, in some embodiments, as discussed in further detail below, the roof bolts <NUM> may be spaced apart from other roof bolts <NUM> by column spacing <NUM> as well as by row spacing <NUM>. However, in other embodiments, the roof bolts <NUM> may have different spacing, or arranged in different matrixes within mine <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a control system <NUM> of the industrial machine <NUM> according to some embodiments. The control system <NUM> includes a controller <NUM> and an input/output module (I/O) <NUM>. The controller <NUM> includes a processor <NUM> and memory <NUM>. The memory <NUM> stores instructions executable by the processor <NUM>. In some instances, the controller <NUM> includes one or more of a microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), field programmable gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like. The controller <NUM> is electrically and/or communicatively coupled to the roof bolt drill <NUM>, boom actuator <NUM>, the sensing system <NUM>, the user-interface <NUM>, one or more track actuators <NUM> for actuating the tracks <NUM>, and one or more operator controls <NUM>.

The sensing system <NUM> may include one or more sensors <NUM> (for example, sensors 330a and 330b). The sensors <NUM> may be any combination of one or more cameras, one or more lasers, and one or more transducers (for example, ultrasonic transducers). The sensing system <NUM> is configured to use the one or more sensors <NUM> to detect one or more roof bolts <NUM> (<FIG>).

In some embodiments, the one or more sensors <NUM> are a first camera and a second camera. In such an embodiment, the first camera captures a first image of the mine <NUM>, while the second camera captures a second image of the mine <NUM>. The controller <NUM> may then determine a location of a roof bolt <NUM> by using stereo vision of the first image and the second image. For example, the controller <NUM> may determine the location of the roof bolt <NUM> by using the following distances: the known distance between the first camera and the second camera; a first pixel location (according to the first image) of the roof bolt <NUM> (for example, a pixel distance between the roof bolt <NUM> and a second roof bolt or a pixel distance between a roof bolt <NUM> and a sidewall of mine <NUM>), and a second pixel location (according to the second image) of the one or more roof bolts <NUM> (for example, a pixel distance between the roof bolt <NUM> and a second roof bolt or a pixel distance between a roof bolt <NUM> and the sidewall of mine <NUM>).

In some embodiments, the one or more sensors <NUM> include a camera and a laser measuring device, or a transducer. In such an embodiment, the camera captures an image of the mine <NUM>, while the laser measuring device, or transducer, determines a distance between the industrial machine <NUM> to a point of the mine <NUM> (for example, a roof bolt <NUM> or a roof of the mine <NUM>) captured within the image. Based on the captured image and the determined distance, the controller <NUM> may determine a location of the roof bolt <NUM> within the mine <NUM>. For example, although the captured image may provide a location of the roof bolt <NUM> (for example, a pixel distance between roof bolts <NUM> or a pixel distance between the roof bolt <NUM> and a sidewall of mine <NUM>), by using the determined distance, via the laser measuring device or transducer, from the industrial machine <NUM> to a known point in the captured image, the pixel distance may be converted to an actual distance (for example, meters).

In some embodiments, the one or more sensors <NUM> include a camera and a laser (for example, a laser pointer) located a known distance from the camera. In such an embodiment, the camera captures an image of the mine <NUM>, while the laser projects a mark (for example, a dot) at a point of the mine <NUM> (for example, a roof bolt <NUM> or a roof of the mine <NUM>) captured within the image. The controller <NUM> may then determine a pixel distance between the mark in the captured distance and a known point (for example, a center point) of the captured image. Based on the pixel distance between the mark and known point, and the known distance between the camera and laser, the controller <NUM> may convert the pixel distance to an actual distance. The controller <NUM> may then use that actual distance to determine an actual distance between other objects in the captured image, for example, the actual distance between roof bolts <NUM> and/or the actual distance between a roof bolt <NUM> and a sidewall of the mine <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the one or more sensors <NUM> include a single camera. In such an embodiment, the camera captures an image of the mine <NUM>. Based on the captured image, and a known dimension of a roof bolt <NUM>, the controller <NUM> may determine a location of the roof bolt <NUM> within the mine <NUM>. For example, although the captured image may provide a location of the roof bolt <NUM> (with respect to other roof bolts <NUM> or a sidewall of mine <NUM>) with respect to an image pixel matrix (for example, a known image pixel matrix used by the camera, or a known image area captured by the camera), by using the known dimension of the roof bolt <NUM>, the image pixel matrix of the captured image may be converted to an actual size matrix (for example, a meter by meter matrix).

The user-interface <NUM> provides information to the operator about the status of the industrial machine <NUM> and other systems communicating with the industrial machine <NUM>. For example, other systems may include other industrial machines and user-personal devices (for example, including external computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.). The user-interface <NUM> includes one or more of the following: a display (e.g. a liquid crystal display (LCD)); one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other illumination devices; a heads-up display; speakers for audible feedback (e.g., beeps, spoken messages, etc.); tactile feedback devices such as vibration devices that cause vibration of the operator's seat or operator controls <NUM>; or other feedback devices.

The operator controls <NUM> receive operator input via one or more input devices and output control signals to the controller <NUM> based on the operator input. Upon receiving the control signals, the controller <NUM> controls, among other things, the roof bolt drill <NUM>, the boom actuator <NUM>, and the track actuators <NUM>.

The input/output (I/O) module <NUM> is configured to provide communication between the controller <NUM> and outside devices (for example, a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, an external server, or an external computer system). In some embodiments, the I/O module <NUM> provides communication via a network. In such an embodiment, the network may be a wide area network (WAN), such as but not limited to, the Internet. In other embodiments, the network may be a local area network (LAN), a neighborhood area network (NAN), a home area network (HAN), a vehicular area network (VAN), or personal area network (PAN) employing any of a variety of communications protocols, such as Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, and the like.

In one embodiment of operation, the controller <NUM> uses the sensing system <NUM> to determine a location of one or more roof bolts <NUM>. The controller <NUM>, based on the location, controls at least one of the roof bolt drill <NUM>, the boom actuator <NUM>, and the track actuators <NUM>, to install a subsequent roof bolt. In another embodiment of operation, the controller <NUM>, based on the location, provides feedback to an operator via the user-interface <NUM>. The operator then uses the operator controls <NUM> to install a subsequent roof bolt using the feedback.

<FIG> illustrates a process, or operation, <NUM> of the industrial machine <NUM> according to some embodiments. It should be understood that the order of the steps disclosed in process <NUM> could vary. Although illustrated as occurring in parallel order, in other embodiments, the steps disclosed may be performed in serial order. Furthermore, additional steps may be added to the process and not all of the steps may be required. A first location of a first roof bolt 225a (<FIG>) is determined using the sensing system <NUM> (block <NUM>). A second, or additional, location of a second, or subsequent, roof bolt 225b (<FIG>) is determined using the sensing system <NUM> (block <NUM>). As illustrated in <FIG>, roof bolts <NUM> may be spaced apart from other roof bolts <NUM> by column spacing <NUM> as well as by row spacing <NUM>. Additionally, roof bolts <NUM> may be spaced from a side wall <NUM> by a side wall spacing <NUM>. In some embodiments, the predetermined first and second distances <NUM>, <NUM> may be determined based on a roof bolting plan. The second roof bolt 225b is then installed at the second location (block <NUM>). A determination is then made as to whether the second roof bolt 225b is the final roof bolt to be installed (block <NUM>). If the second roof bolt 225b is the final roof bolt to be installed, then operation is complete (block <NUM>). If subsequent roof bolts (for example, 225a, 225b, 225c, 225d, 225e,. 225n) are necessary, operation <NUM> reverts back to block <NUM>.

In some embodiments, once a location is determined by controller <NUM>, feedback is provided to the user via the user-interface <NUM>. The user may then operate the operator controls <NUM> to position the roof bolt boom <NUM>, roof bolter drill <NUM>, and roof bolter drill bit <NUM>, and install one or more roof bolts <NUM>. In another embodiment, once a location is determined by controller <NUM>, the controller <NUM> automatically controls the industrial machine <NUM>, including the roof bolt boom <NUM>, roof bolter drill <NUM>, and roof bolter drill bit <NUM>, to install one or more roof bolts <NUM>. The automatic installation of the subsequent bolts can be based on discrete measurements from the previously installed roof bolt, or be based on a predetermined placement plan stored in the controller <NUM>. In yet another embodiment, once a location is determined by controller <NUM>, the industrial machine <NUM> marks the location on the mine <NUM>. For example, the industrial machine <NUM> may use paint, or similar marking material, to mark the mine <NUM> with one or more identifications (for example, one or more numbers) associated with the locations. This marking may occur either during installation of the bolt, or post-installation during an inspection to detect bolt locations. In some embodiments, the industrial machine <NUM>, or another mining machine, may use the one or more identifications to assist in tracking the position of the roof bolts, in order to determine, post-installation, whether the roof bolts have been installed correctly, and according to mining regulations, a predetermined placement plan or established spacing criteria.

<FIG> illustrates a process, or operation, <NUM> of the industrial machine <NUM> according to some embodiments. It should be understood that the order of the steps disclosed in process <NUM> could vary. Although some steps are illustrated as occurring in parallel order, in other embodiments, the steps disclosed may be performed in serial order, or vice versa. Furthermore, additional steps may be added to the process and not all of the steps may be required. A first location of a first roof bolt 225a is determined using the sensing system <NUM> (block <NUM>). The first location is then compared to the roof bolting plan, or alternatively, pre-established spacing criteria (block <NUM>). A determination is then made as to whether the first location matches the roof bolting plan or spacing criteria (block <NUM>). If the first location does not match the roof bolting plan or spacing criteria, an alert is output (block <NUM>). In some embodiments, the alert may be output via the user-interface <NUM>. If the first location matches the roof bolting plan, a subsequent location of a subsequent roof bolt (for example roof bolt 225b, 215c,. 215n) is determined using the sensing system <NUM> (block <NUM>). A determination is then made as to whether the subsequent location matches the roof bolting plan (block <NUM>). If the subsequent location does not match the roof bolting plan, an alert is output (block <NUM>). If the subsequent location matches the roof bolting plan, process <NUM> cycles back to block <NUM> until all of the roof bolts are located.

<FIG> is a block diagram of industrial machine <NUM> communicatively coupled to an external server <NUM> and/or external computer <NUM>, via a network. In some embodiments of operation, as the industrial machine <NUM> travels through the mine <NUM>, the industrial machine <NUM> continuously senses, via the sensing system <NUM>, the one or more roof bolts <NUM>. In some embodiments, the sensed information of the roof bolts <NUM> may include photographs of the roof bolts <NUM>. The sensed information may then be stored in memory <NUM> and/or output to the external server <NUM> and/or external computer <NUM>, via a network and I/O module <NUM>. In such an embodiment, the sensed information may then be used to create a roof bolting report that may be displayed on the external computer <NUM>. As discussed above in more detail, although illustrated as having two cameras, in other embodiments, sensing system <NUM> (including sensors 330a, 330b) may include any combination of one or more cameras, one or more lasers, and one or more ultrasonic transducers.

<FIG> is a partial, cross-sectional, top view diagram of the industrial machine of <FIG> within a mine according to some embodiments. As illustrated, the sensing system <NUM> may have a visibility area <NUM>. The sensing system <NUM> may analyze one or more roof bolts <NUM> simultaneously that are within the visibility area <NUM>. Additionally, the industrial machine <NUM> may then determine roof bolt locations <NUM> within the visibility area <NUM>. In some embodiments, the industrial machine <NUM> may also determine a position <NUM> where roof bolts <NUM> should have been installed according to a roof bolt plan or other pre-established spacing criteria. Thus, in some embodiments, the industrial machine <NUM> may determine roof bolt locations <NUM>, while simultaneously measuring and comparing previously installed roof bolts <NUM> to a roof bolting plan or other pre-established spacing criteria. In other embodiments, the industrial machine <NUM> may simultaneously establish the location of and install a new roof bolt based on a prior roof bolt location or locations, and determine whether previously installed roof bolts match a roof bolting plan or other spacing criteria.

Claim 1:
An industrial machine (<NUM>) comprising:
a bolting apparatus (<NUM>) supported by a chassis (<NUM>);
a first sensor (330a) configured to acquire first data relating to a mine surface, wherein the first sensor is a camera and the first data is an image of the mine surface;
a controller (<NUM>) connected to the first sensor (330a); and
a second sensor connected to the controller and acquiring second data to allow the controller to identify a location of a roof bolt relative to a reference location by comparing the first data with the second data, wherein the second sensor is at least one selected from the group consisting of a second camera, a laser, and an ultrasonic transducer;
characterized in that the controller is configured to:
analyze the first data and the second data to determine locations of roof bolts (<NUM>) on the mine surface; and
simultaneously establish the location of and install a new roof bolt based on a prior roof bolt location or locations and determine whether previously installed roof bolts match a roof bolting plan or other spacing criteria.