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EP-4735694-A1 - METHOD, AND CONTROL UNIT FOR HANDLING A LOADER VEHICLE IN AN UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENT

EP4735694A1EP 4735694 A1EP4735694 A1EP 4735694A1EP-4735694-A1

Abstract

A method for handling a loader vehicle (1) in an underground environment (100) is provided. The loader vehicle (1) comprises a boom (2) and a bucket (3). The underground environment (100) comprising at least one height constraint (5, 6). The method comprises triggering the loader vehicle (1) to perform an operation. Triggering the loader vehicle (1) to perform the operation comprises triggering the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3) to operate within one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23). The one or more tolerance zones define respective zones in the underground environment (100) based on the at least one height constraint (5, 6).

Inventors

  • FHAGER, Anders
  • KALANDER, Jan
  • TRAMPE, Torkel
  • ALMQVIST, Håkan

Assignees

  • Epiroc Rock Drills Aktiebolag

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230628

Claims (19)

  1. 1. A method for handling a loader vehicle (1) comprising a boom (2) and a bucket (3) in an underground environment (100), the underground environment (100) comprising at least one height constraint (5, 6), the method comprising: triggering (204) the loader vehicle (1) to perform an operation, wherein triggering the loader vehicle (1) to perform the operation comprises triggering the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3) to operate within one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23), wherein the one or more tolerance zones define respective zones in the underground environment (100) based on the at least one height constraint (5, 6).
  2. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23) are further defined based on an at least partly predefined trajectory of the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3), for when the loader vehicle (1) is performing the operation.
  3. 3. The method according to any of claims 1-2, wherein the method further comprises obtaining (203) the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23).
  4. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein obtaining (203) the one or more tolerance zones comprises establishing at least one of the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23) based on the at least one height constraint (5, 6).
  5. 5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein at least one of the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23) are predefined.
  6. 6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the loader vehicle (1) is an autonomous loader vehicle and wherein the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23) define respective zones in the underground environment (100) where the loader vehicle (1) is allowed to autonomously maneuver the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3).
  7. 7. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the operation is an unloading operation for unloading materials comprised in the bucket (3) into a container of a transport vehicle (7).
  8. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein triggering (204) the loader vehicle (1) to perform the operation, further comprises triggering the loader vehicle (1) to perform the operation based on a height of the transport vehicle (7).
  9. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises obtaining (201) height measurement data of the underground environment (100), and determining (202) the at least one height constraint (5, 6) based on the obtained height measurement data.
  10. 10. The method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the method further comprises detecting or predicting (205) whether or not the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3) is within the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23) when performing the operation.
  11. 11. The method according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the method further comprises: upon detecting or predicting (205) that the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3) is not within the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23) when performing the operation, triggering (206) a preventive action and/or an alert.
  12. 12. The method according to any of claims 1-11 , wherein the method further comprises: upon detecting or predicting (205) that the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3) is within the one or more tolerance zones (21, 22, 23) when performing the operation, allowing (207) the operation to be performed.
  13. 13. The method according to any of claims 1-12, wherein the at least one height constraint (5, 6) is associated with at least one location in the underground environment (100) wherein the operation is at least partly to be performed.
  14. 14. The method according to any of claims 1-13, wherein the at least one height constraint (5, 6) is associated with a maximum allowed height for operating the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3) in the underground environment (100).
  15. 15. A control unit 70 configured handling a loader vehicle (1) comprising a boom (2) and a bucket (3) in an underground environment (100), the underground environment (100) comprising at least one height constraint (5, 6), the control unit 70 further being configured to trigger the loader vehicle (1) to perform an operation, by triggering the boom (2) and/or the bucket (3) to operate within one or more tolerance zones (21 , 22, 23), wherein the one or more tolerance zones define respective zones in the underground environment (100) based on the at least one height constraint (5, 6).
  16. 16. The control unit (70) according to claim 15, wherein the control unit (70) is further configured to perform any one out of claims 2-14.
  17. 17. A computer program (780) comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor (760), causes the processor to perform actions according to any of the claims 1-14.
  18. 18. A carrier (790) comprising the computer program (780) of claim 17, wherein the carrier (790) is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, an electromagnetic signal, a magnetic signal, an electric signal, a radio signal, a microwave signal, or a computer- readable storage medium.
  19. 19. A loader vehicle (1) comprising a boom (2) and a bucket (3) arranged to operate in an underground environment (100) comprising at least one height constraint (5, 6), wherein the loader vehicle (1) further comprises a control unit (70) according to claim 15.

Description

METHOD, AND CONTROL UNIT FOR HANDLING A LOADER VEHICLE IN AN UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENT TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments herein relate to a method and a control unit for handling a loader vehicle in an underground environment. The loader vehicle comprises a boom and a bucket. The underground environment comprises at least one height constraint. Furthermore, a loader vehicle, a computer program, and a carrier are also provided herein. BACKGROUND In underground environments, materials such as ores need to be transported. Mine trucks are typically preferred for longer transports due to their high load capacity and speed. A loader vehicle operating in underground environments such as mines have low transporting capacity, and can therefore be used to transport the materials a short distance and load a mine truck with said materials. The mine truck will then transport the materials a longer distance to a desired location. To improve efficiency, autonomous loaders can be used to load the mine truck which reduces a need for operators in an underground environment as well as allowing continuous productivity. However, controlling loaders in underground environments is difficult due to their typical complex geography and area characteristics. SUMMARY An object of embodiments herein is to improve efficiency of material transportation in underground environment. According to a first aspect, a method for handling a loader vehicle in an underground environment is provided. The loader vehicle comprises a boom and a bucket. The underground environment comprises at least one height constraint. The method comprises triggering the loader vehicle to perform an operation. The triggering of the loader vehicle to perform the operation comprises triggering the boom and/or the bucket to operate within one or more tolerance zones. The one or more tolerance zones define respective zones in the underground environment based on the at least one height constraint. Since the boom and/or the bucket is triggered to operate within one or more tolerance zones, when the loader vehicle is triggered to perform the operation, and since the one or more tolerance zones define respective zones in the underground environment based on the at least one height constraint, the loader vehicle is enabled to perform the operation efficiently using the boom and/or the bucket, within the one or more tolerance zones, in a safe manner, adhering to the at least one height constraint. This means that the loader vehicle is enabled to perform the operation using the boom and/or the bucket, in height constrained underground environments, and thereby improving efficiency of material transport. As an example, the one or more tolerance zones are further defined based on an at least partly predefined trajectory of the boom and/or the bucket, for when the loader vehicle is performing the operation. In this way, efficiency is further improved as the boom and/or the bucket is enabled to follow the predefined trajectory to perform the operation, while also meeting the at least one height constraint. Due to meeting the at least one height constraint, the boom and/or bucket will not collide with a ceiling and/or another machine. In some examples, the method further comprises obtaining the one or more tolerance zones. The one or more tolerance zones may be determined or predetermined based on the at least one height constraint and/or the operation to be performed by the loader vehicle. In some examples, obtaining the one or more tolerance zones comprises establishing at least one of the one or more tolerance zones based on the at least one height constraint. The one or more tolerance zones may be relative to the vehicle. The one or more tolerance zones may relate to, e.g., be relative to, a pre-configured path of the boom and the bucket.. In this way, when performing the operation, the vehicle may control the boom and/or the bucket to be inside the tolerance zones, which thereby adheres to the at least one height constraint. In some examples, at least one of the one or more tolerance zones are predefined. One or more dynamically established tolerance zones out of the one or more tolerance zones may be established based at least partly on the at least one predefined tolerance zone out of the one or more tolerance zones, e.g., a start zone in combination with the at least one height constraint and a trajectory of the boom and/or the bucket. In some examples, the loader vehicle is an autonomous loader vehicle. In these exemplary embodiments, the one or more tolerance zones define respective zones in the underground environment where the loader vehicle is allowed to autonomously maneuver the boom and/or the bucket. In this way, the loader vehicle is enabled to perform a cycle of operations in an efficient manner without the use of a driver or operator. In some examples, the operation is an unloading operation for unloading materials comprised in the bucket into a container of a tran