AU2017228562B2

AU2017228562B2 - A multi-purpose vehicle

Info

Publication number: AU2017228562B2
Application number: AU2017228562A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Andrew John Wheeler; Todd Lawrence Woolley
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-02-09
Filing date: 2017-09-12
Publication date: 2019-10-31
Anticipated expiration: 2028-02-11
Also published as: AU2017228562A1; AU2014262238A1

Abstract

The invention resides in a multi-purpose vehicle comprising a vehicle body having at least one pair of wheels; a water unit supported by the chassis, the water unit having at least one water tank for carrying 5 water and at least one pump for pumping water from the water tank; a stemming unit supported by the chassis, the stemming unit including at least one stemming hopper for carrying stemming material and at least one delivery mechanism to deliver the stemming material from the stemming hopper; and at least one power unit, the power unit supplying 10 power to the pump and to the delivery mechanism to enable the pump and the delivery mechanism to be operated. 3359327v1 No U-)) c(0

Description

TITLE “A MULTI PURPOSE VEHICLE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a multi-purpose vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to a multi-purpose vehicle for use in the mining industry. However, it should be appreciated that the multi-purpose vehicle may be used for other commercial purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Open pit mines are located throughout the world to mine various types of materials such as iron, coal and gold. A technique that is used in the majority of these mines is blasting. Blasting breaks the rock into loose material that mining equipment can dig and carry.

Before blasting, it is necessary to drill blast holes in the rock to insert explosives. These blast holes are drilled by a fleet of production drill rigs and drilled in a “pattern” in an area identified for blasting. The pattern comprises even rows of drill holes usually only several meters apart. A pattern typically includes several hundred blast holes. The holes themselves are about 17 to 29 cm in diameter and are about 5 to 60 meters deep.

Once the pattern has been drilled, its blast holes are then loaded with explosives. A detonator and primer are lowered down the hole to hang about 1m from the bottom. ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate and diesel) is then delivered down the hole around the detonator and primer. The hole is filled to within 3 to 8m of the surface and is filled with

3359327v1 stemming which is typically in the form of gravel screened to a certain size range. The stemming is provided by a stemming truck that delivers gravel from a hopper located on the stemming truck. The stemming acts as a plug and forces the explosive energy to go into the surrounding rock, rather than back out the hole. Once all holes have been charged, they are connected together to explode in a certain sequence. Then the blast is ready for firing.

One issue with open cut mining is the amount of dust that is created. Dust hinders people working in the open air and may also cause lung disease, respiratory and eye irritation. Dust can also create environmental problems. The issue of dust becomes more of an issue if the open cut mine is located near a town. In order to suppress the amount of dust created from the open cut mine, water trucks are employed to moisten the ground and prevent dust. Water trucks are primarily used on haul roads but are also used on other areas of the mine such as blast patterns.

The problem with open cut mine water trucks being used on blast patterns is the water trucks have a large wheel base and are very heavy. This is especially the case when the water truck is filled with water. As the water truck drives over the blast pattern, the truck invariably drives over the holes located on the blast pattern due to the water truck’s large wheel base. The weight of the truck often causes the blast holes to collapse and they have to be re-drilled. Re-drilling of blast holes is expensive and time consuming.

3359327v1

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to overcome and/or alleviate one or more of the above disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one form, although not necessarily the only or broadest form, the invention resides in a multi-purpose vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body having at least one pair of wheels;

a water unit supported by the chassis, the water unit having at least one water tank for carrying water and at least one pump for pumping water from the water tank;

a stemming unit supported by the chassis, the stemming unit including at least one stemming hopper for carrying stemming material and at least one delivery mechanism to deliver the stemming material from the stemming hopper; and at least one power unit, the power unit supplying power to the pump and to the delivery mechanism to enable the pump and the delivery mechanism to be operated.

Preferably the multi-purpose vehicle is non-articulated.

Preferably the vehicle body has at least one pair of front wheels and at least one pair of rear wheels.

The water unit and the stemming unit are typically mounted

3359327v1 directly onto the chassis.

The water unit may have a multiplicity of water tanks. Alternatively, a single water tank may be split into a multiplicity of water compartments.

The water unit may include a high pressure water pump and/ or a lower water pressure pump.

Preferably, at least one outwardly facing spray nozzle is fluidly connected to the water tank. The at least one water spray nozzle may form part of the water unit. The at least one water spray nozzle may be supplied water from the at least one water tank. Normally there are a multiplicity of water spray nozzles.

A hose may also form part of the water unit. The at least one water spray may be supplied water from the at least one water tank.

Typically the stemming material located within the stemming hopper is gravel. The delivery mechanism may include a hopper gate to allow gravel to pass from the stemming hopper. The delivery mechanism may further include one or more conveyors to transport and/or deliver the stemming material to a desired location. Normally the conveyors are belt conveyors.

The power unit may be a hydraulic power unit. The hydraulic power unit may be powered direct or indirectly from an engine of the vehicle. Typically a power take off forms part of the power unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the invention will be described in the

3359327v1 reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a multi purpose vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a further side end view of the multipurpose vehicle of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an end view of the multipurpose vehicle of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 to 3 show a multi purpose vehicle for use in a blast pattern on an open cut mine. The multipurpose vehicle 10 includes a vehicle body 20, a water unit 30, a stemming unit 50 and a power unit 60.

The vehicle body 20 is a standard non-articulated truck body which includes a vehicle cabin 21, an engine 22, a gear box 23, a drive shaft (not shown), wheels 25 and a chassis 26.

The water unit 30 is mounted toward the rear of the truck body. The water unit 30 includes a water tank 31, a low pressure water pump 32 and a high pressure water pump 33. The water tank 31 is mounted to the rear of the chassis. The water tank 31 is split into three separate compartments 31 A, 31B, 31C that are fluidly connected in order to maintain the same level of water in each compartment. A fill point 34 and an auxiliary fill point 35 are located on top of the tank.

The high pressure water pump 33 is connected to the water tank 31 and draws water from the water tank 31. A series of spray pipes 36 are connected to the high pressure water pump 33 and are subsequently connected to water spray nozzles 37. A water filter 38 is

3359327v1 located within a spray pipe to ensure debris does not become lodged within the spray nozzles 37. A drill water injection point 39 is located within one of the spray pipes.

The low pressure water pump 32 is also connected to the water tank 31 and draws water from the water tank 31. The low pressure water pump 32 is connected to a tap handle 40 that controls the flow of water to two tap outlets 41. A hose 42 is connected to one of the tap outlets 41.

The stemming unit 50 includes at least one stemming hopper 51 for carrying stemming material (i.e. gravel) and at least one delivery mechanism 52 to deliver the stemming material from the stemming hopper 51. The stemming hopper 51 is mounted on the chassis 26 and is funnel shaped to ensure stemming material located within the hopper is available for use.

The delivery mechanism 52 includes two hopper gates 53, a hopper belt conveyor 54 and a delivery belt conveyor 55. The hopper gates 53 are located at each end of the hopper 51 and is pivotally mounted to the hopper 51. Hydraulic rams 56 are connected to the hopper gates 53 to open and close the hopper gate 53. A flow sensor 59 is located adjacent the hopper gate 53A to determine the amount of stemming material that is exiting the hopper 51.

The hopper belt conveyor 54 is located adjacent the bottom of the hopper 51 and extends past the hopper gates 53. A hopper belt conveyor spray nozzle 57 is located above the hopper belt conveyor 54 to

3359327v1 suppress dust. The low pressure water pump 32 supplies water to the hopper belt conveyor spray nozzle 57 via the tap outlet 41.

A delivery belt conveyor 55 is located adjacent the end of the hopper belt conveyor 54 and is positioned so that it is extends transversely with respect to the hopper belt conveyor 54. The delivery belt conveyor 55 is extendable to deliver stemming material and then retractable when the multi-purpose vehicle 10 is to be moved. A delivery belt conveyor spray nozzle 58 is located above the delivery belt conveyor 55 to further suppress dust. The low pressure water pump 32 supplies water to the delivery belt conveyor spray nozzle 58 via the tap outlet 41.

A power unit 60 is located between the cabin and the stemming unit 50. The power 60 unit includes a hydraulic pump 61 connected to a hydraulic fluid tank 62. The power take off 63 is operatively connected to the engine via the gear box 23. A series of hydraulic lines (not shown) extend from the hydraulic pump 61 to power the hydraulic rams 56 of the hopper gates 53, the hopper belt conveyor 54, the delivery belt conveyor 55, the high pressure water pump 33 and the low pressure water pump 32.

An emergency stop button 70 is provided adjacent the high pressure water pump 33 in order to stop the delivery of high pressure water from the high pressure water pump 33, hydraulic power the hydraulic rams 56 of the hopper gates 53, the hopper belt conveyor 54, the delivery belt conveyor 55, the high pressure water pump 33 and the low pressure water pump 32. That is, the emergency stop button

3359327v1 disables all electric and hence all hydraulic power to all equipment.

In use, multi-purpose vehicle 10 is able to be driven around a blast pattern spraying water over the blast pattern. Water is pumped from the water tank 31 by the high pressure water pump 33 through the spray pipes 36 and out of the spray nozzles 37. When holes are to be drilled on the blast pattern, water can be supplied to a drill from the drill water injection point 39.

Once a blast hole is drilled and stemming material is required, the hopper gate 53 is raised by the hydraulic ram 56 to allow the stemming material to pass from the hopper 51. The hopper belt conveyor is started and stemming material travels down the hopper belt conveyor 54. The tap handle 40 is rotated until tap outlet 41 position is to supply water to the hopper belt conveyor spray nozzle 57 and delivery belt conveyor spray nozzle 58. The hopper belt conveyor spray nozzle 57 commences operation to spray water onto the stemming material. Water is supplied from the water tank 31 to the hopper belt conveyor spray nozzle 57 by the low pressure water pump 32. The delivery belt conveyor is extended and also started. The stemming material that has travelled along the hopper belt conveyor 54 falls from the hopper belt conveyor 54 and onto the delivery belt conveyor 55 and then travels along the delivery belt conveyor 55 and into the blast hole. Again, the stemming material is sprayed with water from the delivery belt conveyor spray nozzle 58. Once the blast hole is filled with sufficient stemming material, the hopper gate 53 is closed, the delivery belt conveyor 55 and

3359327v1

2017228562 12 Sep 2017 hopper belt conveyor 54 are turned off and the delivery belt conveyor 55 is retracted. The multi-purpose vehicle is then able to be moved.

The multi-purpose vehicle offers several advantages.

Firstly, the water unit and stemming unit are placed on a single vehicle body and are powered by a power unit which enables cost effectiveness to be achieved. Secondly, the multi-purpose vehicle is smaller and lighter than a standard open cut mining water truck and therefore can manoeuvre around a blast pattern without collapsing holes. Lastly, the vehicle is able to provide dust suppression for stemming material that 10 travels along the conveyors.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

This application is a divisional application from Australian

Application 2014262238. The full disclosure of AU2014262238 is incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A multi-purpose vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body having at least one pair of wheels;

a water unit supported by the vehicle body, the water unit having at least one water tank for carrying water and at least one pump for pumping water from the water tank;

a stemming unit supported by the vehicle body, the stemming unit including at least one stemming hopper for carrying stemming material and at least one delivery mechanism to deliver the stemming material from the stemming hopper, the delivery mechanism including a delivery belt conveyor being extendible and retractable from the vehicle body to deliver the stemming material to a blast hole containing an explosive, wherein at least one spray nozzle is fluidly connected to the at least one pump, and wherein the at least one spray nozzle is adapted to spray the stemming material with water to suppress dust created by the stemming material as it is being delivered to the blast hole.
2. A multi-purpose vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body having at least one pair of wheels;

a water unit supported by the vehicle body, the water unit having at least one water tank for carrying water and at least one pump for pumping water from the water tank;

a stemming unit supported by the vehicle body, the stemming unit including at least one stemming hopper for carrying stemming material and at least one delivery mechanism to deliver the stemming material

3359327v1 from the stemming hopper, the delivery mechanism including a delivery belt conveyor being extendible and retractable from the vehicle body to deliver the stemming material to a blast hole, wherein at least one spray nozzle is fluidly connected to the at least one pump and wherein at least one outwardly facing spray nozzle is fluidly connected to the water tank, wherein the at least one spray nozzle is adapted to spray the stemming material with water as it is being delivered to the blast hole, and wherein the at least one outwardly facing spray nozzle is adapted to spray water around a rear portion of the vehicle body.
3. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 1 or 2 wherein the multi-purpose vehicle is non-articulated.
4. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 1 wherein the water unit has a multiplicity of water tanks.
5. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 1 wherein the water unit has a single water tank that is split into a multiplicity of water compartments.
6. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 1 wherein the water unit includes a high pressure water pump and/ or a lower water pressure pump.
7. The multi-purpose vehicle of any one of claims 1,3, 4 or 5, wherein at least one outwardly facing spray nozzle is fluidly connected to the water tank.
8. The multi-purpose vehicle of any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein at least one outwardly facing spray nozzle is fluidly connected to one of the water tanks or water compartments, and the at least one spray nozzle that

3359327v1 suppresses dust created by the stemming material is fluidly connected to another water tank or water compartment via the at least one pump.
9. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 7 or 8, wherein the at least one outwardly facing spray nozzle is adapted to spray water around a rear portion of the vehicle body.
10. The multi-purpose vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the delivery belt conveyor delivers the stemming material from a side of the vehicle body.
11. The multi-purpose vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the delivery mechanism includes a hopper gate to allow the stemming material to pass from the stemming hopper.
12. The multi-purpose vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the delivery mechanism includes at least one hopper conveyor adapted to carry the stemming material from the stemming hopper to the delivery belt conveyor.
13. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 11, wherein the delivery belt conveyor is located adjacent to an end of the hopper conveyor and is positioned so that it extends transversely with respect to the hopper conveyor.
14. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 11, wherein the delivery belt conveyor is located adjacent to an end of the hopper conveyor and is positioned so that it extends substantially perpendicular to the hopper conveyor.
15. The multi-purpose vehicle according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein a spray nozzle is adapted to spray water onto the hopper

3359327v1

2017228562 12 Dec 2018 conveyor.
16. The multi-purpose vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a hydraulic power unit supplies power to the pump and delivery mechanism.

5
17. The multi-purpose vehicle of claim 15 wherein the hydraulic power unit is powered directly or indirectly from an engine of the vehicle.
18. The multi-purpose vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a flow sensor is adapted to determine the amount of stemming material that is exiting the hopper.