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EP-4739532-A1 - POWER SUPPLY MODULES AND SYSTEMS FOR MINING OR CONSTRUCTION MACHINES

EP4739532A1EP 4739532 A1EP4739532 A1EP 4739532A1EP-4739532-A1

Abstract

A power supply module (102) for supplying power to at least one mining or construction machine (112), the power supply module (102) comprising: a receiving unit (104) operative for receiving alternating current, AC, power from a power grid or an external power source (106); an alternating current to direct current, AC-DC, converting unit (108) operative for converting the AC power received by the receiving unit (104) to DC power, wherein the power supply module (102) is operative for feeding the DC power to the at least one mining or construction machine (112) via at least one DC transmission line (110), and the power supply module (102) is mobile.

Inventors

  • ANDERSSON, PATRIK
  • ALBREKTSSON, JORGEN

Assignees

  • Epiroc Rock Drills Aktiebolag

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230706

Claims (13)

  1. 1 . A power supply module (102) for supplying power to at least one mining or construction machine (112), the power supply module (102) comprising: a receiving unit (104) operative for receiving alternating current, AC, power from a power grid or an external power source (106); an alternating current to direct current, AC-DC, converting unit (108) operative for converting the AC power received by the receiving unit (104) to DC power, wherein the power supply module (102) is operative for feeding the DC power to the at least one mining or construction machine (112) via at least one DC transmission line (110), and the power supply module (102) is mobile.
  2. 2. The power supply module (102) according to claim 1 , wherein the power supply module (102) is dimensioned to be moved by a vehicle (200) and/or comprises a support structure for movement along the ground.
  3. 3. The power supply module (102) according to claim 1 or 2, the power supply module (102) further comprises an inductor-capacitor-inductor, LCL, filter (114) operative for reducing high-order harmonics in the received AC power.
  4. 4. The power supply module (102) according to any one of the preceding claims, the power supply module (102) further comprises a transformer (116), the transformer (116) is operative for transforming the AC power received by the receiving unit (104) to AC power having voltage adapted for the AC-DC converting unit (108) and/or the LCL filter (114).
  5. 5. The power supply module (102) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the AC-DC converting unit (108) comprises a line converter or a rectifier.
  6. 6. The power supply module (102) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein AC-DC converting unit (108) is also operative for receiving a control signal (118) for controlling the voltage of the DC power fed to the mining or construction machine (112), the control signal (118) originating from the mining or construction machine (112).
  7. 7. A system (100) comprising: a power supply module (102) according to any one of the preceding claims, at least one DC transmission line (110), and at least one mining or construction machine (112) comprising at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or an energy storage unit (122), wherein the at least one DC transmission line (110) is operative for transmitting the DC power from the AC-DC converting unit (108) of the power supply module (102) to the at least one mining or construction machine (112), to supply DC power to the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or the energy storage unit (122).
  8. 8. The system (100) according to claim 7, wherein the at least one mining or construction machine (112) further comprises an electronic control unit, ECU (124) arranged to communicate with the AC-DC converting unit (108) and arranged to communicate with the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or the energy storage unit (122), the ECU (124) also being arranged to send a control signal (118) to the AC-DC converting unit (108) for controlling an output DC voltage provided by the AC-DC converting unit (108), based on the voltage required by the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or the output voltage of the energy storage unit (122).
  9. 9. The system (100) according to claim 8, wherein the at least one mining or construction machine (112) further comprises at least one direct current to direct current, DC-DC, converter (126) operative for receiving the DC power from the DC transmission line (110), converting the voltage of the DC power to a voltage adapted for supplying the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or energy storage unit (122), and supplying the converted DC power to the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or the energy storage unit (122), wherein the ECU (124) is arranged to communicate with the DC-DC converter (126) and arranged to communicate with the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or the energy storage unit (122), the ECU (124) also being arranged to send a control signal (118) to the DC-DC converter (126) for controlling the converted DC voltage provided by the DC-DC converter (126).
  10. 10. The system (100) according to claim 8, wherein the at least one mining or construction machine comprises at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and an energy storage unit (122), wherein the at least one mining or construction machine (112) further comprises a direct current to direct current, DC- DC, converter (126) operative for receiving the DC power from the DC transmission line (110), converting the voltage of the DC power to a voltage adapted for supplying the energy storage unit (122), and supplying the converted DC power to the energy storage unit (122), wherein the ECU (124) is arranged to communicate with the DC-DC converter (126) and arranged to communicate with the energy storage unit (122), the ECU (124) also being arranged to send a control signal (118) to the DC-DC converter (126) for controlling the converted DC voltage provided by the DC-DC converter (126), wherein the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) is connected to the at least one DC transmission line (110).
  11. 11 . The system (100) according to claim 9, wherein the AC-DC converting unit (108) of the power supply module (102) is further operative for converting the AC power to DC power at a transmission voltage, the transmission voltage being higher than a voltage adapted for supplying the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or the energy storage unit (122); wherein the at least one DC transmission line (110) is operative for transmitting the DC power at the transmission voltage; wherein the DC-DC converter (126) of the at least one mining or construction machine (112) is further operative for converting the received DC power at the transmission voltage to DC power at the voltage which is adapted for supplying the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and/or the energy storage unit (122).
  12. 12. The system according to any one of the claims 7-11 , wherein the energy storage unit (112) is operative for supplying energy to the at least one onboard energy consumer (120) when the at least one mining or construction machine (112) comprises at least one onboard energy consumer (120) and an energy storage unit (122).
  13. 13. The system (100) according to any one of claims 7-12 comprising a plurality of mining or construction machines (112), each connected to the power supply module (102) via a respective DC transmission line (110).

Description

POWER SUPPLY MODULES AND SYSTEMS FOR MINING OR CONSTRUCTION MACHINES Technical Field [0001 ] The present disclosure relates generally to power supply modules and systems for electric mining or construction machines. Background [0002] Electric mining or construction machines become more frequently used in different working environments, e.g., underground mining, surface mining, exploration, etc. Electric mining or construction machines refer to the machines which are powered by electricity, and may include mining, exploration and construction rigs. [0003] The working environments may be connected to main power grids for power supply during operation. In prior art, each mining or construction machine is equipped with a power system which can convert alternating current to direct current (AC-DC) onboard, so that the incoming AC from the main power grids is converted to DC by the onboard power system. The converted DC is used to charge the battery on the electric mining or construction machine, or used by onboard power consumers, such as electric motors, converters and auxiliary consumers, etc. Therefore the electric mining or construction machines can operate in the working environments on the power supplied by the main power grid. [0004] However, in prior art the onboard power system may be a heavy and large system which may comprise several components, e.g., filter, rectifier, line converter, transformer, etc. Since the space and weight of the mining or construction machine is limited, there may not be enough space for an onboard power system on the mining or construction machine. Even if there is enough space for an onboard power system on the mining or construction machine, the heavy weight of the power system may bring practical limitations to the mining or construction machine when operating. Furthermore, the heavy onboard power system may affect the performance and lifetime of the mining or construction machine. The onboard power system may also need a heavy cable to connect the mining or construction machine to the main power grid. The heavy cable may also affect the working performance negatively. Additionally, the onboard power system may increase electromagnetic interference phenomenon, thereby degrading the performance of the mining or construction machine. [0005] Therefore, there is a need for a power supply solution for the electric mining or construction machines in the working environments, so that a stable and flexible electric power can be supplied to the electric mining or construction machines. The flexibility, weight, volume and performance of the electric mining or construction machine should not be affected negatively. Summary [0006] It is an object of the invention to address at least some of the problems and issues outlined above. It is an object of embodiments of the invention to provide a power supply solution for the electric mining or construction machines, so that a stable and flexible electric power can be supplied to the electric mining or construction machines. It is possible to achieve the object and possibly others by providing the power supply modules and systems as defined in the attached claims. [0007] In a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a power supply module for supplying power to at least one mining or construction machine. The power supply module comprising: a receiving unit operative for receiving alternating current, AC, power from a power grid or an external power source; an alternating current to direct current, AC-DC, converting unit operative for converting the AC power received by the receiving unit to DC power. The power supply module is operative for feeding the DC power to the at least one mining or construction machine via at least one DC transmission line, and the power supply module is mobile. [0008] The disclosure is based on an insight that providing an independent and mobile power supply module for power supply of the mining or construction machine, so that the mining or construction machine does not need to contain an onboard power system for power supply. The independent mobile power supply module is operative for receiving AC power from a power grid or an external power source and converting it to DC power. The voltage of the AC power from the power grid or external power source can be e.g., 400V. Then the DC power is supplied to a mining or construction machine. Since the power supply module is independent of the mining or construction machine, the mining or construction machine does not need to contain any heavy power system, thus reducing the number of onboard components and required space/weight needed for installation. The power supply module is mobile, so that it can provide power supply to the mining or construction machine in a flexible way. The power supply module can be customized to local requirements (voltage type, frequency, regulations etc.) without having to change the onboard design, layout and function of the el