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EP-4739875-A1 - A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING A WATERFLOW FOR AN AUTONOMOUS DRILLING MACHINE

EP4739875A1EP 4739875 A1EP4739875 A1EP 4739875A1EP-4739875-A1

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a control system (1) for controlling a waterflow (32) for an autonomous drilling machine (100), the autonomous drilling machine (100) comprising: - a water pump (30) and a hydraulic motor (40), wherein the autonomous drilling machine (100) is configured to supply water from the water pump (30) into an air channel (20) during drilling, wherein the control system (1) is configured to: - receive a value indicative of a feed rate (FR) of the drill head (12) during drilling, - in response to determining a change of the feed rate (FR), adjust a level of electric power or electric current provided to a fluid flow valve (42) such that a level of waterflow (32) supplied into the air channel (20) from the water pump (30) is adjusted. Also disclosed are a method, an autonomous drilling machine, a computer program product and a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

Inventors

  • MÖRTZELL, Gustav

Assignees

  • Epiroc Rock Drills Aktiebolag

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230706

Claims (15)

  1. 1. A control system (1) for controlling a waterflow (32) for an autonomous drilling machine (100), wherein the autonomous drilling machine (100) comprises: - a drill string (10), - a drill head (12), - an air channel (20) for supplying air to the drill head (12), - a water pump (30) and a hydraulic motor (40), wherein the hydraulic motor (40) is configured to drive the water pump (30), and wherein the autonomous drilling machine (100) is configured to supply water from the water pump (30) into the air channel (20) during drilling, wherein a fluid flow for powering the hydraulic motor (40) is configured to be controlled based on a level of electric power or electric current provided to a fluid flow valve (42) of the hydraulic motor (40), wherein the control system (1) is configured to: - receive a value indicative of a feed rate (FR) of the drill head (12) during drilling, - in response to determining a change of the feed rate (FR), adjust the level of electric power or electric current provided to the fluid flow valve (42) such that a level of waterflow (32) supplied into the air channel (20) from the water pump (30) is adjusted, wherein the adjustment of the electric power or electric current is based on a predetermined relationship between the level of electric power or electric current and the level of waterflow (32) provided by the water pump (30).
  2. 2. The control system (1) according to claim 1, wherein the control system (1) is further configured to initially set an initial value of electric power or electric current provided to the fluid flow valve (42) such that an initial level of waterflow (32) supplied into the air channel (20) from the water pump (30) is provided.
  3. 3. The control system (1) according to claim 2, wherein the initial value of electric power or electric current is at least partly set based on a type of rock which the autonomous drilling machine (100) is about to drill in.
  4. 4. The control system (1) according to any one of claims 2 or 3, wherein the initial value of electric power or electric current is at least partly set based on a condition of the autonomous drilling machine (100) which is indicative of a wear state of the drill head
  5. 5. The control system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control system (1) is further configured to adjust the level of electric power or electric current provided to the fluid flow valve (42) such that the level of waterflow (32) supplied into the air channel (20) from the water pump (30) is proportionally adjusted with respect to the feed rate (FR) of the drill head (12) during drilling.
  6. 6. The control system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the predetermined relationship between the level of electric power or electric current and the level of waterflow (32) provided by the water pump (30) is a non-linear relationship.
  7. 7. An autonomous drilling machine (100), comprising: - a drill string (10), - a drill head (12), - an air channel (20) for supplying air to the drill head (12), - a water pump (30) and a hydraulic motor (40), wherein the hydraulic motor (40) is configured to drive the water pump (30), and wherein the autonomous drilling machine (100) is configured to supply water from the water pump (30) into the air channel (20) during drilling, wherein a fluid flow for powering the hydraulic motor (40) is configured to be controlled based on a level of electric power or electric current provided to a fluid flow valve (42) of the hydraulic motor (40), and wherein the autonomous drilling machine (100) further comprises a control system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.
  8. 8. A method for controlling a waterflow (32) for an autonomous drilling machine (100), wherein the autonomous drilling machine (100) comprises: - a drill string (10), - a drill head (12), - an air channel (20) for supplying air to the drill head (12), - a water pump (30) and a hydraulic motor (40), wherein the hydraulic motor (40) is configured to drive the water pump (30), and wherein the autonomous drilling machine (100) is configured to supply water from the water pump (30) into the air channel (20) during drilling, wherein a fluid flow for powering the hydraulic motor (40) is configured to be controlled based on a level of electric power or electric current provided to a fluid flow valve (42) of the hydraulic motor (40), wherein the method comprises: - receiving (S1) a value indicative of a feed rate (FR) of the drill head (12) during drilling, - in response to determining a change of the feed rate (FR), adjusting (S2) the level of electric power or electric current provided to the fluid flow valve (42) such that a level of waterflow (32) supplied into the air channel (20) from the water pump (30) is adjusted, wherein the adjustment of the electric power or electric current is based on a predetermined relationship between the level of electric power or electric current and the level of waterflow (32) provided by the water pump (30).
  9. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises: - initially setting (SO) an initial value of electric power or electric current provided to the fluid flow valve (42) such that an initial level of waterflow (32) supplied into the air channel (20) from the water pump (30) is provided.
  10. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the initial value of electric power or electric current is at least partly set based on a type of rock which the autonomous drilling machine (100) is about to drill in.
  11. 11. The method according to any one of claims 9 or 10, wherein the initial value of electric power or electric current is at least partly set based on a condition of the autonomous drilling machine (100) which is indicative of a wear state of the drill head (12).
  12. 12. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, wherein adjusting the level of electric power or electric current comprises adjusting the level of electric power or electric current provided to the fluid flow valve (42) such that the level of waterflow (32) supplied into the air channel (20) from the water pump (30) is proportionally adjusted with respect to the feed rate (FR) of the drill head (12) during drilling.
  13. 13. The method according to any one of claims 8-12, wherein the predetermined relationship between the level of electric power or electric current and the level of waterflow (32) provided by the water pump (30) is a non-linear relationship.
  14. 14. A computer program product comprising instructions to cause the control system (1) of any one of claims 1-6 to execute the steps of the method according to any one of claims 8-13.
  15. 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon the computer program product of claim 14.

Description

A CONTROL SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING A WATERFLOW FOR AN AUTONOMOUS DRILLING MACHINE TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a control system for controlling a waterflow for an autonomous drilling machine. The present disclosure further relates to an autonomous drilling machine, a method for controlling a waterflow for an autonomous drilling machine, a computer program product and a non-transitory computer-readable medium. BACKGROUND Rock drilling, i.e. when drilling a borehole in rock by excavating rock, is a challenging and demanding operation. During rock drilling, e.g., when using a drill string and a drill head for the drilling, cuttings are generated at the bottom of the borehole. These cuttings need to be removed from the borehole during the drilling to enable an efficient drilling operation. The cuttings may be removed by flushing, such as by supplying pressurized air into the borehole via an air channel. However, if only air is used, unwanted dust may be generated outside the borehole. Therefore, water may be supplied into the air channel to thereby reduce the dust generation. When water is supplied into the air channel with the pressurized air, a water mist is generated, whereby the water mist is used for reducing the dust generation. Even though it is known to use water in the pressurized air for reducing the dust level, there is still a strive to develop improved technology relating to this, especially for autonomous drilling machines. SUMMARY In view of the above, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an improved control system for controlling a waterflow for an autonomous drilling machine, which in at least one aspect alleviates one or more drawbacks of the prior art, or which at least provides a suitable alternative. Other objects of the disclosure are to provide an autonomous drilling machine, a method for controlling a waterflow for an autonomous drilling machine, a computer program product and a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which in at least one aspect alleviate one or more drawbacks of the prior art, or which at least provides suitable alternatives. According to a first aspect of the disclosure, the object is achieved by a control system according to claim 1. Thus, there is provided control system for controlling a waterflow for an autonomous drilling machine, wherein the autonomous drilling machine comprises: - a drill string, - a drill head, - an air channel for supplying air to the drill head, - a water pump and a hydraulic motor, wherein the hydraulic motor is configured to drive the water pump, and wherein the autonomous drilling machine is configured to supply water from the water pump into the air channel during drilling, wherein a fluid flow for powering the hydraulic motor is configured to be controlled based on a level of electric power or electric current provided to a fluid flow valve of the hydraulic motor, wherein the control system is configured to: - receive a value indicative of a feed rate of the drill head during drilling, - in response to determining a change of the feed rate, adjust the level of electric power or electric current provided to the fluid flow valve such that a level of waterflow supplied into the air channel from the water pump is adjusted, wherein the adjustment of the electric power or electric current is based on a predetermined relationship between the level of electric power or electric current and the level of waterflow provided by the water pump. An autonomous drilling machine as used herein means a drilling machine in which at least one adjustable drilling parameter of a drilling operation is automatically controlled. At least one of the adjustable drilling parameters is herein the waterflow supplied into the air channel from the water pump during drilling. Other examples of adjustable drilling parameters which may be automatically controlled are percussion frequency, percussion force, feed rate of the drill head, rotational speed of the drill head and the drill string, static load exerted on the drill head, and air pressure. The predetermined relationship is a relationship between the level of electric power and the level of waterflow provided by the water pump, and/or a relationship between the level of electric current and the level of waterflow provided by the water pump. By the provision of a control system as disclosed herein, improved control of the waterflow during drilling is provided. More specifically, by controlling the waterflow as disclosed herein, dust generation from the cuttings during drilling may be reduced while at the same time assuring that an excessive amount of water is not supplied into the air channel. An excessive amount of water may imply a reduced drilling performance and/or unnecessary waste of water. By the present disclosure, any sensors for measuring the waterflow may not be required. Rather, the waterflow can be controlled based on, such as only based on, the feed rate and the pre