EP-4740079-A1 - TRANSFER VEHICLE, SYSTEM AND LOGISTIC METHOD

Abstract

The invention relates to a transfer vehicle (10) which includes a frame (12) comprising a first end (14) and a second end ( 16 ), a load space (18) attached to the frame (12) for a mobile work machine (20) to be loaded onto the transfer vehicle (10), wheels (22) for supporting the frame (12) on a substrate (100), a power unit (26) comprising a battery pack (30) arranged in the first end (14) of the frame (12) for transmitting power to the wheels (22) in order to move the transfer vehicle (10), an electric motor (32) for driving the wheels (22) of the transfer vehicle (10) by means of the power supplied by the battery pack (30), and an autonomous guidance system (38) for automatically guiding the transfer vehicle (10) according to a pre-selected plan, wherein the guidance system (38) includes geopositioning means (40) for geopositioning the transfer vehicle (10) for an autonomous guidance, wherein the guidance system (38) further includes at least two sensor units (42) pointing in opposite directions relative to each other for a positioning and a loading of the transfer vehicle (10) that occurs with a precision of 0.1-10 cm, preferably 1-5 cm. The invention also relates to a system (52) and to a logistic method.

Inventors

• MIETTINEN, JOONA
• HÖYLÄ, Teijo

Assignees

• Sleipner Group Oy

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240520

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS 1. A transfer vehicle (10) which includes - a frame (12) comprising a first end (14) and a second end ( 16 ) , - a load space (18) attached to the frame (12) for a mobile work machine (20) to be loaded onto the transfer vehicle (10) , - wheels (22) for supporting the frame (12) on a substrate (100) , - a power unit (26) comprising a battery pack (30) arranged in the first end (14) of the frame (12) for transmitting power to the wheels (22) in order to move the transfer vehicle (10) , - an electric motor (32) for driving the wheels (22) of the transfer vehicle (10) by means of the power supplied by the battery pack (30) , and - an autonomous guidance system (38) for automatically guiding the transfer vehicle (10) according to a pre-selected plan, wherein the guidance system (38) includes geopositioning means (40) for geopositioning the transfer vehicle (10) for an autonomous guidance, characterized in that the guidance system (38) additionally includes at least two sensor units (42) pointing in opposite directions relative to each other for positioning and loading the transfer vehicle (10) with a precision of 0.1-10 cm, preferably 1-5 cm. 2. The transfer vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the battery pack (30) attachable to a power unit (26) in a detachable manner for a replacement of the battery pack (30) . 3. The transfer vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, char— acterized in that the frame (12) includes a front frame (44) and a rear frame (48) attached the front frame (44) by means of a vertical articulated joint (46) . 4. The transfer vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that the transfer vehicle (10) includes steering means arranged between the front frame (44) and the rear frame (48) for a frame steering of the transfer vehicle (10) . 5. The transfer vehicle according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the power unit (26) is arranged in the front frame (44) and the load space (18) is arranged in the rear frame (48) , or vice versa. 6. The transfer vehicle according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the electric motor (32) is a hub motor . 7. The transfer vehicle according to claim 6, characterized in that the hub motor is arranged on each wheel (22) of the rear frame (48) . 8. The transfer vehicle according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that the wheels (22) of the transfer vehicle (10) are suspended in the frame (12) , wherein the suspension of a wheel (22) comprises - a supporting arm (60) with a first end (61) and a second end (62) , wherein a wheel (22) is attached in an articulated manner to the first end (61) , and wherein the second end (62) is attached in an articulated manner to the frame (12) , - a height adjustment cylinder (70) with a first end (71) and a second end (72) , wherein the first end (71) is attached in an articulated manner to the frame (12) , - a damping element (80) with a first end (81) and a second end (82) , wherein the first end (81) is attached in an articulated manner to the first end (61) of the supporting arm (60) , - a linking element (90) with a first support point (91) , a second support point (92) and a third support point (93) , wherein the second end (72) of the height adjustment cylinder (70) is attached in an articulated manner to the first support point (91) of the linking element (91) , the second end (82) of the damping element (80) is attached in an articulated manner to the second support point (92) of the linking element (90) and the linking element (90) is attached in an articulated manner by the third support point (93) to the supporting arm (60) . 9. A system (52) which includes at least one static object to be transferred (17) , - a transfer vehicle (10) for transferring the static object to be transferred (17) , characterized in that the transfer vehicle (10) is a transfer vehicle (10) according to any one of claims 1-8, and the static object to be transferred (17) includes geopositioning means (58) for determining a position and an orientation of the object (17) , in which system (52) the transfer vehicle (10) is configured to calculate by means of an autonomous guidance system (88) a route of approach of the transfer vehicle (10) towards the object (17) from a designated direction in order to load the object (17) onto the transfer vehicle (10) in order to transport the object (17) between two points in an automated manner . 10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that the system (52) includes - at least one battery-powered work machine (20) , preferably a drill rig (19) , - at least two identical battery packs (36) of the work machine (20) configured to operate the work machine (20) in turns, wherein each battery pack (36) constitutes a static object to be transferred (17) , - a first charging station (54) for charging a battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) , which charging station (54) is located at a distance from the work machine (20) . 11. The system according to claim 10, characterized in that the work machine (20) is an autonomous drill rig (19) which includes a tracked chassis (64) and geopositioning means (62) for geopositioning the drill rig (19) based on which the drill rig (19) is configured to drill (80) holes automatically at designated positions, and the system (52) further includes a satellite geopositioning station (96) for generating a geopositioning corrective signal in order to improve precision of the geopositioning means (40) of the transfer vehicle (10) and of the geopositioning means (62) of the drill rig (20) , and a virtual position point (77) is created for the transfer vehicle (10) in the load space (18) , to which position point (77) the drill rig (20) is configured to navigate automatically using the geopositioning means (62) of the drill rig (20) and the corrective signal. 12. The system according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the geopositioning means (58) of the battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) includes A) two satellite geopositioning antennas (24) for determining a position of the battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) and a gyroscope for determining an orientation of the battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) , or B) three satellite geopositioning antennas (24) for determining a position and an orientation of the battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) . 13. A logistic method, in which method - a static object to be transferred (17) is transferred between two points by means of a transfer vehicle (10) , characterized in that the transfer vehicle (10) is a transfer vehicle (10) according to any one of claims 1-8, and in the method - the static object to be transferred (17) is geopositioned by means of the geopositioning means (58) comprised by the object (17) in order to determine a position and an orientation of the object (17) , and - the object (17) is approached from a designated direction by the transfer vehicle (10) in order to load it onto the transfer vehicle (10) in order to transport the object (17) between two points in an automated manner. 14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that - work is performed by means of at least one battery- powered work machine (20) , - at least two detachable battery packs (36) of the work machine (20) are used in turns in connection with the work machine (20) , wherein each battery pack (36) constitutes a static object to be transferred (17) , - each battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) is charged in turns at a first charging station (54) located at a distance (d) from the drill rig (20) , and - the battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) is approached from a designated direction by the transfer vehicle (10) in order to load it onto the transfer vehicle (10) in order to transport the battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) between the first charging station (54) and the work machine (20) in an automated manner, and - the work machine (20) is transferred in the load space (18) of the transfer vehicle (10) in transfers 300 m - 15 km long. 15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that the charge of a battery pack (36) of a work machine (20) is monitored remotely and the guidance system (38) of the transfer vehicle (10) is configured to schedule the transfer of a charged battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) from the first charging station (54) to the work machine (20) so that the charge of the battery pack (36) of the work machine (20) in use in the work machine (20) is 10-35%, preferably between 20-30%, when the transfer vehicle (10) arrives at the work machine (20) .

Description

TRANSFER VEHICLE, SYSTEM AND LOGISTIC METHOD The invention relates to a transfer vehicle which includes - a frame comprising a first end and a second end, - a load space attached to the frame for a mobile work machine to be loaded onto the transfer vehicle, - wheels for supporting the frame on a substrate, - a power unit comprising a battery pack arranged in the first end of the frame for transmitting power to the wheels in order to move the transfer vehicle, - an electric motor for driving the wheels of the transfer vehicle by means of the power supplied by the battery pack, and - an autonomous guidance system for automatically guiding the transfer vehicle according to a pre-selected plan, wherein the guidance system includes geopositioning means for geopositioning the transfer vehicle for an autonomous guidance. The invention also relates to a system and to a logistic method. The general drive to reduce industrial carbon emissions has led to a growing trend to electrify mining machinery. For example, Epiroc manufactures electric drill rigs which use a lightweight driving battery pack for short transfers from one drillhole to another and a larger working battery pack connected by cable to the drill rig for long-lasting drilling operations . A problem with electric drill rigs of this kind is the longer transfers from one working site to another for which the limited capacity of the driving battery pack constitutes a limiting factor. A long transfer can require a replacement of the driving battery pack in the middle of a transfer, which is a demanding operation. Moreover, when both the driving battery pack and the working battery pack run out, the fact that it is necessary to replace the battery pack with a charged battery pack so that work can be continued essentially uninterrupted also poses a problem. The replacement of a battery pack currently requires either moving the drill rig to a battery-pack charging station, which can be located a significant distance away from the drill rig, as there are generally a plurality of drill rigs at a mine or quarry. Moreover, the replacement of battery packs can require the manual intervention of an operator during which the operator who is on foot in the midst of work machinery is at risk of being run over by work machinery. Furthermore, a precise alignment of the drill rigs with the charging stations is challenging for an operator, who has poor visibility around the drill rig. The object of the invention is to provide a transfer vehicle, a system and a method by means of which a transfer of a static object to be transferred, such as battery packs for drill rigs, can be facilitated through automation. Preferably, the static object to be transferred is a battery pack of a drill rig so that the problems associated with long transfers of drill rigs are resolved while simultaneously minimizing carbon emissions. A further aim is to develop a solution by means of which the replacement of battery packs is expedited and rendered safer than the solutions of the prior art. The characteristic features of a transfer vehicle according to the invention are set out in the attached patent claim 1, the characteristic features of a system according to the invention are set out in the attached patent claim 9, and the characteristic features of a method according to the invention are set out in the attached patent claim 13. The object of a transfer vehicle according to the invention can be achieved with a transfer vehicle which includes a frame comprising a first end and a second end, a load space attached to the frame for a mobile work machine to be loaded onto the transfer vehicle, and wheels for supporting the frame on a substrate. The transfer vehicle further includes a power unit arranged in the first end of the frame for transmitting power to the wheels in order to move the transfer vehicle, wherein the power unit includes a battery pack for supplying electrical power to the power unit. In addition, the transfer vehicle also includes an electric motor for driving the wheels of the transfer vehicle using the power supplied by the battery pack, and an autonomous guidance system for automatically guiding the transfer vehicle according to a pre-selected plan. The guidance system includes geopositioning means for geopositioning the transfer vehicle for an autonomous guidance and at least two sensor units pointing in opposite directions relative to each other for a geopositioning of the transfer vehicle that occurs with a precision of 0, 1-10 cm, preferably 1-5 cm, in connection with the replacement of a battery pack as well as in connection with the charging of a battery pack of a work machine. With a transfer vehicle according to the invention, it is possible to simultaneously provide two functions to assist in the operation of a work machine, namely the transfer of a battery pack of the work machine from the work machine to a charging station and vice versa, and longer transfers o