Patent ID: 8313151

Claim:
A method of controlling removal or conveyance of debris, extracted by working machines in underground mining operations at various locations of a mine structure, via conveying means and bunker units disposed in the mine structure to a central location, said method including the steps of: for said conveying means and bunker units that are connected at an output side of each individual working machine, respectively determining a conveying capacity of each of said conveying means and buffer capacity of said bunker units based on continuously detected actual data and from the conveying capacities and buffer capacities that are determined, then determining a lowest conveying capacity of the conveying means and buffer capacity of said bunker units; comparing said lowest conveying capacity and said buffer capacity, in a computer-aided control unit, to at least one of: a) the current actual extraction output, b) the target extraction output anticipated for a prescribed period of time, and c) the scheduled output of an associated working machine extrapolated from past actual data, and upon detection of a deviation between said lowest conveying capacity and said buffer capacity and at least one of said current actual extraction output, said target extraction output, and said scheduled output, said control unit performs at least one of: 1) automatically effecting a balancing of capacities between said conveying means and bunker units that are connected to output sides of the working machines by appropriately controlling the conveying means and bunker units not having the lowest conveying capacity and buffer capacity, while taking into consideration a maximum conveying capacity and buffer capacity respectively of each said conveying means and bunker units not having the lowest conveying capacity and buffer capacity, and 2) controlling the extraction output of said working machines while taking into consideration the respectively available conveying capacity of downstream conveying means and the buffer capacity of the bunker units.