阅读说明：本技术 用于控制材料加工装置和物料承运车辆的方法 (Method for controlling a material processing plant and a material handling vehicle ) 是由 卡勒·希尔塞特 安德里亚斯·诺曼 于 2019-03-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于控制系统(10)的方法,该系统包括材料加工装置(3)和至少一个物料承运车辆(1,2),该至少一个物料承运车辆被构造成将未加工材料(5)的物料运输到材料加工装置(3)并将未加工材料(5)直接或间接倾倒至材料加工装置(3)中,该方法包括以下步骤：(S1)确定在第一时间点(t1)和第二时间点(t2)之间的第一时间段(T1)期间已经倾倒至材料加工装置(3)中的未加工材料(5)的总量；(S2)确定在第一时间段(T1)期间已经由材料加工装置(3)加工的未加工材料(5)的总量；(S3)确定在第一时间点(t1)处所述材料加工装置(3)中包含的未加工材料(5)的参考料位；(S4)基于上述步骤确定材料加工装置(3)中包含的未加工材料(5)的当前料位；(S5)基于材料加工装置(3)中包含的未加工材料(5)的当前料位和材料加工装置(3)的预期未来加工速率来预测较早时间点(t3)和较晚时间点(t4)中的至少一个,在所述较早时间点和较晚时间点,未加工材料(5)的料位预计下降到低于下限值或上限值；(S6)建立第一物料承运车辆(1)到达材料加工装置(3)的期望到达时间段(Td),其中,所述期望到达时间段(Td)在分别对应于所述较早时间点(t3)和较晚时间点(t4)的起点和终点之间延伸；以及(S7)调整第一物料承运车辆(1)的速度,以便在所述期望到达时间段(Td)内到达材料加工装置(3)。(The invention relates to a method for controlling a system (10) comprising a material processing plant (3) and at least one material handling vehicle (1,2) configured to transport material of raw material (5) to the material processing plant (3) and to dump the raw material (5) directly or indirectly into the material processing plant (3), the method comprising the steps of: (S1) determining a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been poured into the material processing device (3) during a first time period (T1) between a first time point (T1) and a second time point (T2); (S2) determining a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been processed by the material processing device (3) during a first time period (T1); (S3) determining a reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at a first point in time (t 1); (S4) determining a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) based on the above steps; (S5) predicting at least one of an earlier point in time (t3) and a later point in time (t4) at which the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below a lower or upper limit value, based on a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) and an expected future processing rate of the material processing device (3); (S6) establishing a desired arrival time period (Td) for the first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3), wherein the desired arrival time period (Td) extends between a start point and an end point corresponding to the earlier time point (t3) and the later time point (t4), respectively; and (S7) adjusting the speed of the first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3) within the desired arrival time period (Td).)

1. Method for controlling a system (10), the system (10) comprising a material processing plant (3) and at least one material carrying vehicle (1,2), the at least one material carrying vehicle (1,2) being configured to transport material of raw material (5) to the material processing plant (3) and to dump the raw material (5) directly or indirectly into the material processing plant (3),

the method is characterized by the steps of:

(S1) determining a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been poured into the material processing device (3) during a first time period (T1) between a first time point (T1) and a second time point (T2);

(S2) determining a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been processed by the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1);

(S3) determining a reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (t 1);

(S4) determining a current level of unprocessed material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) based on i) a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been poured into the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1), ii) a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been processed by the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1), and iii) the reference level of unprocessed material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (T1);

(S5) predicting, based on at least a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) and an expected future processing rate of the material processing device (3), at least one of:

a third point in time (t3) at which the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below an upper limit value at which no additional raw material (5) is allowed to be poured into the material processing device (3), and the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below the upper limit value (t3)

A fourth time point (t4) at which the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below a lower limit value indicating that the material processing device (3) has been depleted or is about to be depleted of raw material (5);

(S6) establishing a desired arrival time period (Td) for the first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3), wherein the desired arrival time period (Td) extends between a start point and an end point, and wherein at least one of the start point and the end point is set such that the start point is earliest at the third time point (t3) and/or such that the end point is latest at the fourth time point (t 4); and

(S7) adjusting the speed of the first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3) within the desired arrival time period (Td).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

-determining whether a current level of raw material (5) in the material processing device (3) is above the upper limit value which does not allow pouring of additional raw material (5) into the material processing device (3).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method comprises:

-determining whether at least a second material handling vehicle (2) will arrive at the material processing device (3) before the first material handling vehicle (1); and, when so, the first and second optical fibers,

-predicting an amount of unprocessed material (5) to be dumped by the second material handling vehicle (2) to the material processing device (3);

wherein the step of predicting the third point in time (t3) and/or the fourth point in time (t4) at which the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below the upper or lower limit value is further based on the predicted amount of raw material (5) to be dumped by the second material carrying vehicle (2).

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

-providing information about the current geographical location of the first material carrying vehicle (1);

-determining a distance between the first material carrying vehicle (1) and the material processing device (3) based on the current geographical location of the first material carrying vehicle (1) and information about available routes and the geographical location of the material processing device (3);

-determining the adjusted minimum average speed based on the distance between the first material handling vehicle (1) and the material processing device (3) and the end of the desired time period of arrival (Td) such that: -if the first material carrying vehicle (1) is moving at the minimum average speed, the first material carrying vehicle (1) will arrive at the material processing device (3) at the end of the desired arrival time period (Td); and/or

-determining the adjusted maximum average speed based on the distance between the first material handling vehicle (1) and the material processing device (3) and the start of the desired time period of arrival (Td) such that: -if the first material carrying vehicle (1) is moving at the maximum average speed, the first material carrying vehicle (1) will arrive at the material processing device (3) at the start of the desired arrival time period (Td).

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the start of the desired arrival time period (Td) is set somewhere between a current point in time and a future point in time before the end of the desired arrival time period (Td).

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the total amount of raw material (5) poured into the material processing apparatus (3) during the first time period (T1) is at least partly obtained by receiving information about the weight of all material poured into the material processing apparatus (3) during the first time period (T1), or, when the material has substantially the same weight, information about the number of times the material was poured during the first time period (T1).

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the total amount of unprocessed material (5) processed by the material processing device (3) during the first period of time (T1) is obtained from information of a standard or average processing rate of the material processing device (3) and/or by receiving information from a weighing measurement of the total amount of processed material (6).

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (t1) is a lower limit value indicating that the material processing device (3) has been depleted or is about to be depleted of raw material (5).

9. Method according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (t1) is at or above an upper limit value at which no further raw material (5) is allowed to be poured into the material processing device (3).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (t1) is when the level decreases and crosses the upper limit value.

11. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second point in time (t2) is a current point in time.

12. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the material processing device (3) is a material crusher.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least the first material handling vehicle (1) is provided with a receiver (11) for receiving signals transmitted by wireless communication and a control unit (12) arranged in communication connection with the receiver (11), wherein the method comprises the steps of:

(S100) receiving, by the receiver (11), at least one signal representative of a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been poured into the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1) between the first point in time (T1) and a second point in time (T2);

(S200) receiving, by the receiver (11), at least one signal indicative of a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been processed by the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1), and/or obtaining information indicative of a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been processed by the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1), such as a standard processing rate or an average processing rate of the material processing device (3), if such information is already available on the first material handling vehicle (1);

(S300) receiving, by the receiver (11), at least one signal representative of the reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (t 1);

(S400) calculating, by the control unit (12), a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) based on the received or obtained information;

(S500) predicting, by the control unit (12) and based on at least a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) and an expected future processing rate of the material processing device (3), at least one of the third time point (t3) and a fourth time point (t 4);

(S600) establishing, by the control unit (12), the expected arrival time period (Td) for the first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3), wherein the expected arrival time period (Td) extends between the start point and the end point, and wherein at least one of the start point and the end point is set such that the start point is earliest at the third point in time (t3) and/or such that the end point is latest at the fourth point in time (t 4); and

(S700) setting or indicating, by the control unit (12), a speed of the first material handling vehicle (1) to reach the material processing device (3) within the desired arrival time period (Td).

14. A system (10), the system (10) comprising a material processing plant (3) and at least one material carrying vehicle (1,2), the at least one material carrying vehicle (1,2) being configured to transport material of raw material (5) to the material processing plant (3) and to dump the raw material (5) directly or indirectly into the material processing plant (3),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the system is configured to:

-determining a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been poured into the material processing device (3) during a first time period (T1) between a first time point (T1) and a second time point (T2);

-determining a total amount of unprocessed material (5) that has been processed by the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1);

-determining a reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (t 1);

-determining a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) based on i) a total amount of raw material (5) that has been poured into the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1), ii) a total amount of raw material (5) that has been processed by the material processing device (3) during the first time period (T1), and iii) the reference level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) at the first point in time (T1);

-predicting at least one of the following based at least on a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3) and an expected future processing rate of the material processing device (3):

a third point in time (t3) at which the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below an upper limit value at which no additional raw material (5) is allowed to be poured into the material processing device (3), and the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below the upper limit value (t3)

A fourth time point (t4) at which the level of raw material (5) is expected to fall below a lower limit value indicating that the material processing device (3) has been depleted or is about to be depleted of raw material (5);

-establishing a desired arrival time period (Td) for a first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3), wherein the desired arrival time period (Td) extends between a start point and an end point, and wherein at least one of the start point and the end point is arranged such that the start point is earliest at the third point in time (t3) and/or such that the end point is latest at the fourth point in time (t 4); and

-adjusting the speed of the first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3) within the desired arrival time period (Td).

15. The system (10) according to claim 14, wherein at least the first material handling vehicle (1) is provided with a receiver (11) for receiving signals transmitted by wireless communication and a control unit (12) arranged in communicative connection with the receiver (11), wherein the control unit (12) is configured to: -calculating a current level of raw material (5) contained in the material processing device (3), -predicting the third point in time (t3) and/or a fourth point in time (t4) at which the level of raw material (5) in the material processing device (3) is expected to fall below the upper or lower limit value, and-setting or at least indicating the speed of the first material handling vehicle (1) to arrive at the material processing device (3) within the desired arrival time period (Td).

16. The system (10) according to claim 15, wherein the system comprises at least a first material carrying vehicle (1) and a second material carrying vehicle (2), wherein each of the vehicles comprises a receiver (11,21) and a control unit (12,22) according to claim 15, and wherein each of the vehicles (1,2) further comprises a transmitter (11,21) for wirelessly transmitting a signal indicative of at least a content of raw material (5) to be poured or that has been poured into the material processing device (3).

17. A system (10) according to any of claims 14-16, wherein the material processing device (3) is provided with a level sensor (31), the level sensor (31) being configured to at least determine whether the level of raw material (5) is above or below an upper limit value that does not allow pouring of additional raw material (5) into the material processing device (3).

18. The system (10) according to any one of claims 14-17, wherein the material processing device (3) is provided with a productivity sensor (33), the productivity sensor (33) being configured to determine an amount of material processed by the material processing device (3).

19. A system (10) according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the material processing device (3) is provided with a transmitter (31), which transmitter (31) is adapted to transmit a signal indicative of the level of unprocessed material (5) and/or a signal indicative of the amount of processed material by wireless communication.

20. The system (10) according to any one of claims 14-19, wherein the material processing machine (3) is a material crusher.

21. The system (10) according to any one of claims 14-20, wherein the material carrying vehicle (1,2) is a transport or truck provided with a material receiving hopper (14,24), the material receiving hopper (14,24) being adapted to receive material in the form of rock fragments, gravel, sand or the like.

22. A computer program product comprising program code means for performing the steps of any one of claims 1 to 13 when said program is run on a computer.

23. A computer readable medium carrying a computer program comprising program code means for performing the steps of any of claims 1-13 when said program product is run on a computer.

24. A control unit (12,22) for controlling the system (10) according to any one of claims 14-21, the control unit being configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-13.

25. The control unit (12,22) according to claim 24, wherein the control unit is arranged on the material carrying vehicle (1, 2).

26. A control unit (12,22) according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the control unit is configured to also control the operation of the material handling vehicles (1, 2).

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a system comprising a material processing plant and at least one material handling vehicle configured to transport material of raw material to the material processing plant and to dump the raw material directly or indirectly into the material processing plant.

The invention has particular application to construction sites where material handling vehicles such as transport vehicles and dump trucks, for example, transport rock fragments to material processing apparatus in the form of crushers.

Background

Construction machine vehicles in the form of articulated haulers, wheel loaders, trucks and dump trucks are often used for loading and transporting material at construction sites and the like. For example, a material-receiving hopper (load-receiving container) of a transport vehicle or dump truck may, for example, be loaded with raw material (e.g., rock fragments) at a loading location, transport the material to another location, and dump the material into a material processing device (e.g., into a buffer feeder of a crusher) arranged to crush the rock fragments into smaller fragments.

Efficient production and utilization of equipment may require that the material processing equipment not run out of raw material and that the vehicles do not have to wait in line when loading or unloading. WO2015/065251 addresses this problem and proposes to calculate the expected arrival times of vehicles to a certain target destination, to transfer information between vehicles about the expected arrival times of various vehicles, and to adjust the speed of the vehicles to avoid waiting times or the crusher becoming empty and to save energy/fuel (when the speed is reduced).

Although the method disclosed in WO2015/065251 appears useful and may address some of the problems associated with the control of construction site vehicles and equipment, improvements are still needed.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for controlling a material handling apparatus and a material handling vehicle configured to transport and dump a material of unprocessed material to the processing apparatus, which method/system has the potential to further increase the production efficiency and utilization of the apparatus.

According to a first aspect of the invention, this object is achieved by a method according to claim 1. According to a second aspect of the invention, the object is achieved by a system according to the further independent claim. According to a further aspect of the invention, the object is solved by a computer related item according to the further independent claim.

A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for controlling a system comprising a material processing plant and at least one material handling vehicle configured to transport material of raw material to the material processing plant and to dump the raw material directly or indirectly into the material processing plant.

The method is characterized by the following steps:

-determining a total amount of unprocessed material that has been poured into the material processing device during a first time period between the first point in time and the second point in time;

-determining a total amount of unprocessed material that has been processed by the material processing device during a first period of time;

-determining a reference level of raw material contained in the material processing device at a first point in time;

-determining a current level of unprocessed material contained in a material processing device based on i) a total amount of unprocessed material that has been poured into the material processing device during a first time period, ii) a total amount of unprocessed material that has been processed by the material processing device during the first time period, and iii) a reference level of unprocessed material contained in the material processing device at a first point in time;

-predicting, based on a current level of raw material contained in the material processing device and an expected future processing rate of the material processing device, at least one of:

a third point in time at which the level of raw material is expected to fall below an upper limit value (at which no additional raw material is allowed to be poured into the material processing device), thereby becoming allowed for pouring of raw material, and

a fourth time point at which the level of raw material is expected to fall below a lower limit value indicating that the material processing device has been depleted or is about to be depleted of raw material;

-establishing an expected arrival time period for the first material handling vehicle to arrive at the material processing device, wherein the expected arrival time period extends between a start point and an end point, and wherein at least one of the start point and the end point is arranged such that the start point is earliest at a third time point and/or such that the end point is latest at a fourth time point; and

-adjusting the speed of the first material carrying vehicle to arrive at the material processing device within the desired arrival time period.

Briefly, the method calculates a current material level in the processing device based on the pour rate, the process rate and a reference level value, then predicts a start and/or end of the expected arrival time period based on the current material level and an expected future process rate of the material processing device, and thereafter adjusts the speed of the vehicle so that it arrives at the processing device before the processing device is depleted of material (e.g., before a feeder of the crusher becomes empty) and/or within the expected time period after the processing device has been too full, so that the vehicle may avoid waiting before being allowed to pour.

The method gives a range of vehicle speeds (span) to be used in order to select a suitable speed that saves fuel/energy. By setting only the end of the expected arrival period, the processing apparatus can be prevented from running out of the material to be processed. By only setting the start of the expected arrival period (taking into account that the crusher may be full), the method reduces or eliminates the risk of driving the vehicle at an unnecessarily high speed (driving the vehicle at an unnecessarily high speed will result in a waiting time at the processing device before the vehicle is allowed to dump its material). Although it may be sufficient to set only one of the start point and the end point explicitly, in many cases it is useful to set both the start point (which may be the current time point if the processing apparatus is not full) and the end point of the expected arrival time period.

Regardless of the specific details for performing the method, the method may be used to adjust the speed of the first material handling vehicle to avoid that the processing plant runs out of material (which would reduce overall production rate/processing rate) and/or that the vehicle must wait at the processing plant, in which case it is preferable to have the vehicle travel at a lower speed to reduce fuel consumption and arrive at the processing plant later to enable dumping of the raw material immediately after arrival.

The second point in time may be set to the current point in time, such that the material level determined at the second point in time becomes the current level of raw material contained in the material processing device.

In short, the total amount of raw material that has been poured into the material processing device during the first period of time may be obtained by having each vehicle send information to all other vehicles or some central control system about the weight of material that it has been poured or is about to be poured at the processing machine. All materials in the first time period are added to give the total weight. An average pour rate (tons/hour) can also be obtained.

In short, the total amount of unprocessed material that has been processed by the material processing device during the first period of time may be obtained from some preset standard or average processing rate of the processing device and/or from measurements (e.g., by a scale arranged to weigh the processed material), and this information is transmitted.

The reference level of raw material contained in the material processing device at the first point in time may for example be (a feeder of) an empty processing device, i.e. the level is zero, or when the level is at or above an upper limit value at which no additional raw material is allowed to be poured into the processing device, i.e. the level is 100% or > 100% of the nominal level. Such a reference level may be determined manually or by using a coarse level sensor.

The third and fourth points in time at which the level of the raw material is predicted to fall below the upper or lower limit values relate to expected pouring and processing rates and may comprise, for example, raw material poured by a second material carrier vehicle in front of the first material carrier vehicle, and a given preset average processing rate of the material processing device.

Establishing the expected arrival time period for the first material handling vehicle to arrive at the material processing device means that a time period is set between the start point and the end point (i.e. between the earliest expected arrival time point and the latest expected arrival time point) during which it is desired to have the first vehicle arrive at the processing device and dump its material. By setting the end point at (or possibly slightly before) the predicted fourth point in time, at which the level of raw material in the material processing device is expected to fall below the lower limit value, it is ensured that the processing device will not become empty. The start of the expected arrival time period may be set by default to the current point in time or at some arbitrary point prior to the end unless the processing device is full or likely to be full because one or more other vehicles will dump their material prior to the first vehicle.

Adjusting the speed of the first vehicle to arrive at the processing device within the desired arrival time period may be accomplished by: a speed section based on the distance between the vehicle and the processing device and corresponding to the start point and the end point of the desired time period is calculated, and then an appropriate speed is selected from the calculated section. This can also be done in another way: by starting at a normally suitable speed and checking whether this speed will bring the vehicle to the processing device within said desired time period, if not another (reasonable) higher or lower speed is selected. In any case, the selected speed may be displayed to indicate a recommended speed to the driver of the vehicle or the vehicle speed may be set directly by a control unit capable of controlling the operation of the vehicle.

The method may be used in situations where the material processing device does not have any level sensors. This method can also be used as a backup when the processing device is provided with a level sensor capable of transmitting sensor data, since it may be difficult to connect to the sensor and the connection may be lost. This method can also be used in the case where the processing device is provided with only a "simple" level sensor which is only able to determine whether the level is above or below the above-mentioned upper limit value, i.e. a "full" device in which the vehicle to be loaded must be weighed.

The expression "receiving a signal" sometimes used in this disclosure generally means that some kind of signal is received by some kind of suitable receiving device. Typically, this means that the electromagnetic signal is automatically transmitted by wireless means, e.g. from a vehicle, a processing device or a central control system, and that the signal is received by a receiver configured to receive a signal of the kind described and arranged to be connected with e.g. a control unit or a central control system of the vehicle, wherein the control unit/control system is configured to process (by means of a processor, a memory or the like) the information contained in the signal and to perform various calculations and determination steps. However, "receiving a signal" may also refer to, for example, receiving a signal sent from a keyboard or the like to the control unit/control system via a wire. An example of a signal that may be received in the latter manner is a signal indicative of some form of preset value that does not need to be updated frequently, such as an average processing rate of the material processing apparatus (which may be used to estimate the total amount of unprocessed material that has been or will be processed by the processing apparatus during a particular time period).

In a preferred variant of the invention, each material handling vehicle in question is provided with a transmitter and a receiver for transmitting and receiving signals by wireless communication (direct radio, vehicle-to-vehicle communication), and a control unit connected to the transmitter and the receiver and to, for example, a GPS positioning unit or the like, wherein the control unit comprises a memory, a processor or the like for storing and processing data, for example data received by the receiver and data to be transmitted by the transmitter. The same control unit (or another control unit possibly connected to the first) is also configured to control the operation of the vehicle (e.g. speed and dumping). All of which are well known. Each vehicle also has information on the weight of material that has been poured or is about to be poured into the material processing apparatus. Thus, each vehicle is configured to be able to send information to all other vehicles about the amount of raw material that has been poured or is to be poured into the processing device. Accordingly, each vehicle is also configured to receive such signals.

In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: it is determined whether a current level of raw material in the material processing device is above an upper limit value that does not allow additional raw material to be poured into the material processing device.

If the first material handling vehicle were to arrive before the third point in time of the predicted high level, it would have to wait at the processing device until the level had fallen below the upper limit value. Therefore, it is preferable to travel at a slower speed and avoid waiting. Conversely, if it is determined that the current level is below the upper limit value, the start of the desired period of time may be set to the current point in time or to another arbitrary point in time, or not set at all. In practice, this will mean that the first material handling vehicle may travel at any suitable speed as long as it arrives before the end of the desired arrival time period.

In one embodiment, the method comprises: determining whether at least a second material handling vehicle will arrive at the material processing device before the first material handling vehicle; and when so, predicting an amount of unprocessed material to be dumped to the material processing device by the second material handling vehicle; wherein the step of predicting a third point in time and/or a fourth point in time at which the level of raw material is expected to fall below the upper or lower limit value is further based on the predicted amount of raw material to be dumped by the second material carrying vehicle.

If one or more other vehicles (i.e. at least the second vehicle) are ahead of the first vehicle and will dump material to the processing plant before the first vehicle, it will take longer before the processing plant runs out of material, and therefore the first vehicle can be slowed down to save energy/fuel. It is also possible that the material dumped by the second vehicle may be expected to increase the level above an upper limit value, so that the first vehicle should reduce its speed to avoid waiting time at the processing device.

In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: providing information regarding a current geographic location of a first material handling vehicle; determining a distance between the first material carrying vehicle and the material processing device based on the current geographic location of the first material carrying vehicle and information about available routes and geographic locations of the material processing devices; determining the adjusted minimum average speed based on a distance between the first material handling vehicle and the material processing device and an end of the expected arrival time period such that: if the first material handling vehicle is moving at the minimum average speed, the first material handling vehicle will arrive at the material processing device at the end of the expected arrival time period; and/or determining the adjusted maximum average speed based on the distance between the first material handling vehicle and the material processing device and the start of the expected arrival time period such that: the first material carrying vehicle will arrive at the material processing device at the start of the expected arrival time period if the first material carrying vehicle is moving at the maximum average speed.

Thus, a speed above the minimum average speed will bring the vehicle to the processing device before the end of the desired time period, and a speed below the maximum average speed will result in reaching after the start of the desired time period. In some cases it is not possible to reach said minimum speed for practical reasons. If so, the processing device may run out of material over a period of time. When the start of the desired time period is within a reasonable time interval, it makes most sense to calculate the maximum average speed, so that the maximum average speed becomes reasonable. For example, if the current level of raw material is below the upper limit value and the start point is set to the current point in time, the maximum average speed will be infinite, which is not reasonable. Thus, if the start of the desired time period is not within a reasonable time interval, there is no specific point to calculate the maximum average speed. Instead, the maximum average speed can then be set according to the actual requirements (maximum desired power, safety, etc.).

In one embodiment, the start of the expected arrival period is set somewhere between the current point in time and a future point in time before the end of the expected arrival period.

In one embodiment, the total amount of raw material poured into the material processing apparatus during the first period of time is obtained at least in part by receiving information about the weight of all material poured into the material processing apparatus during the first period of time, or, when the material has substantially the same weight, by receiving information about the number of times the material was poured during the first period of time.

In one embodiment, the total amount of unprocessed material processed by the material processing device during the first period of time is obtained from information on a standard or average processing rate of the material processing device and/or by receiving information from a weighing measurement of the total amount of processed material.

The material that has been processed/crushed by e.g. the crusher device may be weighed by a scale arranged at the conveyor belt (below) at the exit of the crusher device, or the amount of processed material may be calculated from the set standard processing rate (tons/hour) multiplied by the total production/processing time during the first time period.

The standard or average processing rate of the material processing device may be used for past processing and predicted future processing.

In one embodiment, the reference level of raw material contained in the material processing device at the first point in time is a lower limit value indicating that the material processing device has been depleted or is about to be depleted of raw material. That is, the material processing device is substantially empty at a first point in time.

In one embodiment, the reference level of raw material contained in the material processing device at the first point in time is at or above an upper limit value that does not allow additional raw material to be poured into the material processing device.

In one embodiment, the reference level of raw material contained in the material processing device at the first point in time is when the level decreases and crosses an upper limit value.

The reference level can be determined by a rough sensor which is able to detect whether the level is above or below an upper limit value and/or whether the processing device is (substantially) empty. Alternatively, the reference level may be determined manually.

By providing the processing device with a level sensor and a transmitter connected to the sensor, the reference level (and possibly also the actual level) can be transmitted to all material handling vehicles involved, if a receiver is provided.

If the current level is above the upper limit value, it is known that the actual level used as the reference level is at least at the upper limit value. When the level crosses an upper limit value (at the same time, the level decreases in some types of feeders during operation of the processing device), a more accurate estimate of the reference level may be obtained by setting the reference level. This level (i.e. the upper limit value that is crossed during operation) can also be used to provide and switch between wait-and-go signals (e.g. red or green lights for the driver of the vehicle, and other signals for autonomous vehicles) to a vehicle that has reached the processing device ready to dump raw material.

In one embodiment, the second point in time is a current point in time. This is not necessary, but generally simplifies the calculation.

In one embodiment, the material processing device is a material crusher. Other possibilities are, for example, mixing devices or loading bags (load pockets), which can also be considered as "processing" the material.

In one embodiment, at least a first material handling vehicle is provided with a receiver for receiving signals transmitted by wireless communication and a control unit arranged in communicative connection with the receiver, wherein the method comprises the steps of: receiving, by a receiver, a signal indicative of a total amount of unprocessed material that has been poured into a material processing device during a first time period between a first point in time and a second point in time; receiving, by a receiver, a signal indicative of a total amount of unprocessed material that has been processed by the material processing device during a first time period, or obtaining information indicative of a total amount of unprocessed material that has been processed by the material processing device during the first time period, such as a standard processing rate or an average processing rate of the material processing device, if such information is already available on the first material handling vehicle; receiving, by a receiver, a signal indicative of a reference level of raw material contained in the material processing device at a first point in time; calculating, by the control unit, a current level of unprocessed material contained in a material processing device based on the received or obtained information; predicting, by the control unit and based on a current level of unprocessed material contained in the material processing device and an expected future processing rate of the material processing device, at least one of a third point in time and a fourth point in time; establishing, by the control unit, an expected arrival time period for the first material handling vehicle to arrive at the material processing device, wherein the expected arrival time period extends between a start point and an end point, and wherein at least one of the start point and the end point is set such that the start point is earliest at a third time point and/or the end point is latest at a fourth time point; and setting or indicating, by the control unit, a speed of the first material handling vehicle to arrive at the material processing device within the desired arrival time period.

This provides a distributed system in which the dump or transport vehicle or similar material handling vehicle receives the required signals and information and makes determinations and calculations, etc. on its own. That is, the present embodiment does not require a central control system.

The system involves a material processing plant and at least one material handling vehicle configured to transport material of raw material to the material processing plant and to dump the raw material directly or indirectly into the material processing plant.

Said system being characterized in that it is configured to:

-determining a total amount of unprocessed material that has been poured into the material processing device during a first time period between the first point in time and the second point in time;

-determining a total amount of unprocessed material that has been processed by the material processing device during a first period of time;

-determining a reference level of raw material contained in the material processing device at a first point in time;

-determining a current level of unprocessed material contained in a material processing device based on i) a total amount of unprocessed material that has been poured into the material processing device during a first time period, ii) a total amount of unprocessed material that has been processed by the material processing device during the first time period, and iii) a reference level of unprocessed material contained in the material processing device at a first point in time;

-predicting at least one of the following based on at least a current level of raw material contained in the material processing device and an expected future processing rate of the material processing device:

a third point in time at which the level of raw material is expected to fall below an upper limit value at which no additional raw material is allowed to be poured into the material processing device, and

a fourth time point at which the level of raw material is expected to fall below a lower limit value indicating that the material processing device has been depleted or is about to be depleted of raw material;

-establishing an expected arrival time period for the first material handling vehicle to arrive at the material processing device, wherein the expected arrival time period extends between a start point and an end point, and wherein at least one of the start point and the end point is arranged such that the start point is earliest at a third time point and/or such that the end point is latest at a fourth time point; and

-adjusting the speed of the first material carrying vehicle to arrive at the material processing device within the desired arrival time period.

In one embodiment, at least a first material handling vehicle is provided with a receiver for receiving signals transmitted by wireless communication and a control unit arranged in communicative connection with the receiver, wherein the control unit is configured to: calculating a current level of raw material contained in the material processing device, predicting a third point in time and/or a fourth point in time at which the level of raw material in the material processing device is expected to fall below an upper or lower limit, and setting or at least indicating a speed of the first material handling vehicle to arrive at the material processing device within the desired arrival time period.

In one embodiment, the system comprises at least a first and a second material handling vehicle, wherein each of said vehicles comprises a receiver and a control unit according to the above, and wherein each of said vehicles further comprises a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting a signal indicative of at least an amount of material of raw material to be poured or already poured into the material processing device.

Preferably, each vehicle is also configured to transmit and receive signals representing other useful vehicle information, such as geographic location, speed, target destination, and the like.

In one embodiment, the material processing device is provided with a level sensor configured to at least determine whether a level of raw material is above or below an upper limit value that does not allow additional raw material to be poured into the material processing device.

In one embodiment, a material processing apparatus is provided with a productivity sensor configured to determine an amount of material processed by the material processing apparatus.

In one embodiment, the material processing device is provided with a transmitter for transmitting by wireless communication a signal indicative of the level of unprocessed material and/or a signal indicative of the amount of processed material.

In one embodiment, the material processing machine is a material crusher.

In one embodiment, the material carrying vehicle is a transport vehicle or truck provided with a material receiving hopper adapted to receive material in the form of rock fragments, gravel, sand or the like.

Further aspects of the invention relate to:

a computer program product comprising program code means for performing the steps of the above method when said program is run on a computer.

A computer readable medium carrying a computer program comprising program code means for performing the steps of the above-mentioned method when said program product is run on a computer.

A control unit for controlling the above system, the control unit being configured to perform the steps of the above method. Preferably, the control unit is arranged on the first material carrying vehicle. Preferably, the control unit is configured to also control the operation of the first material carrying vehicle.

Further advantages and advantageous features of the invention are disclosed in the following description and in the dependent claims.

Drawings

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the following is a more detailed description of embodiments of the invention cited as examples.

In these figures:

fig. 1 shows an example of a material carrying vehicle in the form of an articulated hauler.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of the system according to the invention.

Fig. 3 shows a general flow chart of the method according to the invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows an example of a material carrying vehicle 1,2 in the form of an articulated hauler. The vehicle shown in fig. 1 represents both vehicles 1,2 shown in fig. 2. As shown in fig. 1, the transport carriages 1,2 have material receiving hoppers 14,24, which hoppers 14,24 are adapted to receive material in the form of rock fragments, gravel, sand or the like. Fig. 1 further shows that each carriage 1,2 is provided with a receiver 11 and a transmitter 21 as well as a control unit 12, 22. The receiver 11 and the transmitter 21 are arranged to receive and transmit signals by wireless communication (e.g. direct radio, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, 5 g). The control units 12,22 are arranged in communicative connection with the corresponding receivers 11 and transmitters 21. As will be further described below, the control unit 12,22 is for example configured to: based in part on the signals received by the corresponding transmitters 11,21, the level of raw material 5 contained in the material processing device 3 and the expected arrival time period Td for the transport vehicles 1,2 to arrive at the material processing device 3 are calculated.

Examples of information that the vehicles 1,2 can directly transmit to each other by wireless means are the amount of material of the raw material 5 to be poured or already poured into the crusher 3 (which may be the current carrier or the weight of the recently poured material), the current speed, the geographical location, the expected arrival time at the crusher 3, etc.

The control unit 11,21 may comprise a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable digital signal processor or another programmable device. The control unit may also or alternatively comprise an application specific integrated circuit, a programmable gate array or programmable array logic, a programmable logic device or a digital signal processor. Where the control unit comprises a programmable device, such as a microprocessor, microcontroller or programmable digital signal processor as described above, the processor may also comprise computer executable code which controls the operation of the programmable device.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of the system 10 according to the invention. The illustrated system 10 comprises a material processing apparatus 3 and first and second material carrying vehicles 1,2, the material processing apparatus 3 being in the form of a crusher, the first and second material carrying vehicles 1,2 being configured to: the material of the raw material 5, in this case rock fragments, is transported from the loading site 9 to the crusher 3 and the raw material 5 is poured into the feeder 32 of the crusher 3. The crusher 3 produces processed/crushed material 6, which processed/crushed material 6 is carried away by a conveyor belt 33 on the output side of the crusher (in fig. 2, the right side of the crusher 3). A preset average crusher machining rate (in tons/hour) has been established for the crusher 3.

The first and second material carrying vehicles 1,2 are in this case identical and are shown in fig. 1. The second vehicle 2 is in front of the first vehicle 1 and will reach the crusher 3 and dump its material before the first vehicle 1. The vehicles 1,2 may be of a conventional type with a human driver, or they may be configured for autonomous operation.

Fig. 2 also shows a wheel loader 8 loading these vehicles at a loading site 9 and another material carrying vehicle 20 that has dumped its raw material 5 of material into a feeder 32 of the crusher 3.

In this case, the crusher 3 is provided with a "simple" level sensor 31, which "simple" level sensor 31 is configured to determine only whether the level of raw material 5 in the crusher feeder 32 is above or below an upper limit value that does not allow further raw material 5 to be poured into the crusher 3. The crusher 3 is also provided with a productivity sensor (production sensor) in the form of a scale integrated in the conveyor belt 33 in order to determine (weigh) the amount of material that has been processed/crushed by the material processing device/crusher 3 (as a supplement to the preset crusher processing rate). It may be noted that during such processing as described herein, no material is lost or added (except for some lost dust, etc.), and therefore a certain weight of processed material 6 corresponds to the same weight of unprocessed material 5.

The crusher is also provided with a transmitter (indicated with reference numeral 31, i.e. identical to the level sensor) for transmitting by wireless communication a signal indicative of the level of raw material 5 and a signal indicative of the amount of processed material. These signals may be received by the first vehicle 1 and the second vehicle 2. It should be noted that it is not necessary for the invention that the crusher 3 is provided with any sensor or emitter 31, 33 as shown in fig. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the system 10 may be controlled by the following exemplary general method steps (including some illustrative comments at the end of each step):

s1 — determining the total amount of raw material 5 that has been poured into the crusher 3 during a first time period T1 (in this case the total weight of the rock fragments, and wherein typically T2 is the current point in time, the pouring during T1 having been made via other vehicles not shown in fig. 2, which have sent the weight of the material they poured) between a first time point T1 and a second time point T2;

s2 — determining the total amount of raw material 5 that has been processed by the crusher 3 during the first time period T1 (also the total weight of the rock fragments, obtained from a preset crusher processing rate multiplied by the duration of T1 and/or obtained from data measured by the scale of the conveyor belt 33);

s3 — determining a reference level of raw material 5 contained in the material processing device 3 at a first point in time t1 (when the level exceeds an upper limit value obtained from the "simple" level sensor 31);

s4-determining the current level of raw material 5 contained in the crusher 3 (the difference compared to the reference level depending on the amount of material poured and processed during T1) based on the information obtained in steps S1-S3;

s5 — predicting a fourth time point t4 based on the current level of raw material 5 contained in the crusher 3 and the expected future processing rate of the crusher 3, at which fourth time point t4 the level of raw material 5 is expected to fall below a lower limit value indicating that the crusher 3 has run out or is about to run out of raw material 5 (based on said preset crusher processing rate and, if predicted in relation to the first vehicle 1, also including the material to be dumped by the second vehicle 2);

s6 — establishing an expected arrival time period Td for the first material handling vehicle 1 to arrive at the crusher 3, wherein the expected arrival time period Td extends between a start point and an end point, and wherein the end point is set at the latest to a fourth time point t4 predicted at which t4 the level of raw material 5 in the crusher 3 is expected to fall below a lower limit value (i.e. calculating the latest arrival time point of the first vehicle 1 to the crusher 3 to avoid the crusher 3 becoming empty); and

s7 — adjust the speed of the first material carrying vehicle 1 to reach the crusher 3 within said desired arrival time period Td (i.e. before the fourth point in time t4 when the crusher becomes empty).

At least steps S1-S3 do not necessarily have to be performed in the order shown.

Methods S1-S7 may be performed more or less continuously for each material handling vehicle 1 included in the system 10. This means that the method can also be performed for a second vehicle 2, which second vehicle 2 does not have any material carrying vehicle in front of itself (if it is considered that another vehicle 20 has already dumped its material) that would dump the material before the second vehicle 2. Another way of saying this is that in principle the second vehicle 2 (and the further vehicle 10) is optional, in which case no vehicle in front of the first material carrying vehicle 1 will dump any material before the first vehicle.

One point of the above method is that a suitable arrival point in time or arrival period can be obtained without using a level sensor providing an input of the current level of the material in the feeder 32; instead, the current level is determined/calculated from the amount of material poured into the crusher 3 and the amount of material processed by the crusher 3 between t1 and t2, and the reference value of the level at t 1. Such a reference level may be provided manually or by the above-mentioned "simple" level sensor 31.

The signal including the information related to steps S1-S3 may be received by the receiver 11 of the first vehicle 1, and the calculations, determinations, and the like in steps S4-S6 may be performed by the control unit 12. Also, the speed adjustment of the first vehicle 1 in step S7 may be performed by the control unit 12 (possibly indirectly by the control unit 12 if the control unit 12 is not arranged to control the operation of the first vehicle 1 but may send a control command to such an operation control unit). Adjusting the speed may for example mean: the recommended speed is displayed for the driver of the first vehicle 1 or, for autonomous vehicles, its speed is controlled directly. The step of adjusting the speed comprises determining the position of the first vehicle 1 and the crusher 3 and determining the distance to be travelled by the first vehicle 1, as is well known.

In step S1, the total amount of raw material 5 poured into the feeder 32 of the crusher 3 during the first time period T1 may be obtained by receiving transmitted information about the weight of all material poured into the material processing device 3 during the first time period T1, or, when the material has substantially the same weight, by receiving information about the number of times the material was poured during the first time period T1. For example, the first vehicle 1 and the second vehicle 2 may send information to all other vehicles involved about their weight of material at what point in time it has dumped or planned to dump its material to the crusher 3 (and the previous vehicle has sent this information to the first vehicle 1 and the second vehicle 2).

The following steps may be added to the above steps S1-S7:

-determining whether the current level of raw material 5 in the crusher 3 is above an upper limit value that does not allow additional raw material 5 to be poured into the crusher 3;

predicting a third point in time t3, at which point in time t3 the level of raw material 5 is expected to fall below an upper limit value (which does not allow additional raw material 5 to be poured into the material processing device 3), becoming allowed for pouring of raw material 5, based on the current level of raw material 5 contained in the crusher 3 and the expected future processing rate of the crusher 3; and

-setting the start of said expected arrival time period Td as being earliest at a predicted third point in time t3 at which third point in time t3 the level of raw material 5 in the crusher 3 is expected to fall below said upper limit value.

Therefore, the desired arrival time period Td may be set to extend between t3 and t4 (or from slightly after t3 to slightly before t 4).

The start of the expected arrival time period Td may be set as the current point in time if the current material level is not above the upper limit value.

The step of predicting a third point in time t3 and a fourth point in time t4 at which the level of raw material 5 is expected to fall below the upper or lower limit value may comprise the steps of:

determining, for example based on the geographical location of the second vehicle 2, which is sent from the second vehicle 2 to the first vehicle 1, whether another material carrying vehicle (the second material carrying vehicle 2) will reach the crusher 3 before the first material carrying vehicle 1; and, when so, the first and second optical fibers,

-predicting the amount of raw material 5 to be dumped to the crusher 3 by the other material carrying vehicle (second material carrying vehicle), and including this amount when predicting t3 and t 4.

Step S7 may include the steps of:

-providing information (obtained from a global positioning device arranged on the first vehicle 1) about the current geographical location of the first material carrying vehicle 1;

determining the distance between the first material carrying vehicle 1 and the crusher 3 based on the current geographical location of the first material carrying vehicle 1 and information about available routes and the geographical location of the crusher 3 (which may be stored in a memory accessible by the control unit 12);

-determining the adjusted minimum average speed based on the distance between the first material handling vehicle 1 and the crusher 3 and the end of the expected arrival time period Td, such that: if the first material carrying vehicle 1 is moving at this minimum average speed, the first material carrying vehicle 1 will reach the crusher 3 at the end of said desired arrival time period Td; and/or

-determining the adjusted maximum average speed based on the distance between the first material handling vehicle 1 and the crusher 3 and the start of the expected arrival time period Td, such that: if the first material carrying vehicle 1 is moving at this maximum average speed, the first material carrying vehicle 1 will arrive at the crusher 3 at the start of said desired arrival time period Td.

In one embodiment of steps S1-S7, the method includes the following steps (as shown in FIG. 3):

s100-receiving, by the receiver 11, signals representing the total amount of raw material 5 that has been poured into the crusher 3 during a first time period T1 between a first time point T1 and a second time point T2, wherein the signals comprise information about the weight of the poured material, and the weights have been sent out from other material carrying vehicles.

S200-receiving, by the receiver 11, a signal representing the total amount of raw material 5 that has been processed by the crusher 3 during the first time period T1 from a transmitter connected to a productivity sensor integrated in the conveyor belt 33 of the crusher 3, and, in addition, obtaining information representing the total amount of raw material 5 that has been processed by the crusher 3 during the first time period T1, in the form of a preset average processing rate of the crusher 3 accessible by the control unit 12 on the first material handling vehicle 1;

s300 — receiving, by the receiver 11, a signal representing a reference level of raw material 5 contained in the crusher 3 at a first point in time t1 from a transmitter of a level sensor 31 connected to the crusher 3;

s400-calculating, by the control unit 12, a current level of raw material 5 contained in the crusher 3 based on the received and/or obtained information;

s500-predicting, by the control unit 12 and on the basis of the current level of raw material 5 contained in the crusher 3 and the expected future processing rate of the crusher 3, a fourth time point t4 at which the level of raw material 5 is expected to fall below a lower limit value indicating that the crusher 3 has run out or is about to run out of raw material 5 (in addition or alternatively, a third time point t3 may be predicted as explained before);

s600 — establishing, by the control unit 12, an expected arrival time period Td for the first material handling vehicle 1 to arrive at the crusher 3, wherein the expected arrival time period Td extends between a start point and an end point, wherein the end point is set at the latest to the predicted fourth time point t4, at which fourth time point t4 the level of raw material 5 in the crusher 3 is expected to fall below a lower limit value (additionally or alternatively, the start point may be set using the third time point t 3); and S700-setting or indicating, by the control unit 12, the speed of the first material carrying vehicle 1 to reach the crusher 3 within said desired arrival time period Td.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings; rather, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims set forth below.