CA2183970A1

CA2183970A1 - Arrangement and method for controlling boom actuating cylinders in rock drilling equipment

Info

Publication number: CA2183970A1
Application number: CA002183970A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jouko Muona
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Tamrock Oy
Priority date: 1994-02-28
Filing date: 1995-02-24
Publication date: 1995-08-31
Also published as: WO1995023276A1; ZA951570B; FI94662B; NO963581D0; AU1812995A; FI94662C; EP0746668A1; JPH09509460A; NO963581L; FI940936A0

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement and a method for controlling a boom in a rock drilling equipment, the boom (1) comprising several actuating devices (18a to 18d) connected in parallel to supply and return lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid in such a way that a selector valve (19a to 19d) is provided foreach actuating device (18a to 18d) between the actuating device end the lines (16, 17); and a proportional valve (13) connected to the hydraulic lines (16,17)for regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid. The invention further comprises a control unit (12) where separate set values are preset for each actuating device (18a to 18d) so that the speed of movement of each actuating device is proportional to the range of movement of the respective control member (11a to 11d).

Description

Wl~95123276 2 1 83970 r~llr~ ol ALL~Y. t and method for controlling boom actuating cylinders in rock drilling e~uipment The invention relates to an aLLCll~y. t for controlling a boom in a rock tlril 1 ln3 equipment, the boom comprising several actuating devices for its different operations; a selector valve for each actuating device; two lines for hydraulic fluid, to which the selector valves are connected in parallel, the selector valve of each actuating device ~u.llleu~lng said lines for hydraulic fluid in 1c~tion with the respective actuating device when this actuating device is u~eL~L~d; an electrically controllable yLuyuL Llonal valve connected to said lines for hydraulic fluid, the yLuyuL Llonal valve regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid in said lines for hydraulic fluid; an electric control unit for controlling the yLuyOL Llonal valve; and control members for operating each one of the actuating devices.
The invention also relates to a method for controlling a boom in a rock drilling equipment, the boom comprising several actuating devices for its different operations; a selector valve for each actuating device; two lines for hydraulic fluid, to which the selector valves are connected in parallel, the selector valve of each actuating device connecting said lines for hydraulic fluid in ~ 1 c~tion with the respective actuating device when this actuating device is operated; an electrically controllable yLuyoL Llonal valve ;u-l--e~ d to said lines for hydraulic fluid, the yLu~uL Llonal valve regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid in said lines for hydraulic fluid; an electric control unit for controlling the yLu~OL Lional valve; and control members for operating each one o~ ~he ~ctuo=~ng dev1oes.

wo g5n3276 2 1 8 3 9 7 0 I ~l/r~ ol At present, rock drllling equipment typically utllizes in the control of boom actuating cylinders or actuating devices a solution which comprises a single pair of supply and return hoses for hydraulic fluid 5 and in whlch the dlfferent actuatlng devlces are connected by means of thelr own selector valve ln parallel wlth these hydraulic hoses. Known solutions further comprlse a single ~lU~lU' Llonal valve, whlch regulates the f low of hydraullc f luld in these 10 hydraulic hoses common to the actuatlng devlces. One actuatlng devlce at a tlme is thus used whlle the others are lnoperatlve, and selector valves are used to select whlch one of the actuating devices is to be controlled. The proportional valve regulates the 15 amount of hydraulic fluid flowing into and out of the actuating device.
A problem with known solutlons 18 that the range of ad~ustment of the L)lU~JUl Lional valve always has to be ~ i gnc~fl accordlng to the actuatlng device or 20 cyllnder havlng the greatest regulrement of volume flow. Accordlngly, when small cyllnders are con-trolled, their speed of I ~, t would be all too hlgh wlthln the entlre range of VG L of the control member, l.e. a joystlck or the llke, and they can be 25 ad~usted only wlthln very narrow operating ranges of the ~ oystlck . Thls makes the control operation more rllff~r--lt, as the ccntrol easily becomes excesslve, whlch slows down the operatlon and the use of the devlce slgnificantly. Similarly, it may damage the 30 device particularly when there is little space and accuracy is required.
The object of the present invention ls to provide an arrangement and a method, whlch avold the dl~wb~_ki of known solutlons and whlch allow the 35 entlre control range of the control member, such as a 0 W095/2327~ 2 1 8397~ r~llr~ ol ~oystlck, to be utilized. The aLlcllly t according to the invention is characterized in that the arr~n ~ t comprises set values preset in the control unit for the different operations, the set values controlling 5 the ~Lu~GL Llonal valve in such a way that when a group consisting of one or more of the actuating devices is operated, the control unit switches the respective selector valves to operating position and starts to control the ~LupUL Lional valve ln accordance with 10 operating P2L L~:ls deti rmin~d by the set values preset for this particular actuating device group.
The method according to the invention is characterized in that set values are preset in the control unit for the different operations, the sct 15 values controlling the ~LU~UL Llonal valve in such a way that when a group consisting of one or more of the actuating devices is ulJeLdLed, the control unit switches the respective selector valves to operating position and starts to control the pLU~OL Llonal valve 20 in accordance with operating paL L~L:~ det~ n~1 by the set values preset for this particular actuating device group.
An essential feature of the invention is that the operating paL Lt:L~ of the ~LU~OL Llonal valve are 25 preset s~L,cLc-L~:ly for each actuating device group of one or more actuating devices that the valve regulates so that the paL L~::L`; vary according to the actuating devices b~l r~n~ ng to the actuating device group. The selector valve is thus opened to each actuating device 30 at the same time as the L)LUPUL Llonal valve starts to use the control pCIL k:L :j or operating paL Lt:L ~
corresponding to this particular actuating device or group of simult~n~ ql y operated actuating devices.
When one actuating device is u~eLdL~::d, the operation 35 of the pLUpUL Llonal valve can thus be controlled in W0 9S/23276 2 1 8 3 9 7 0 ~I/r~ ol such a way that it is differently ~LU~JUl Llonal to the adjustment value of the control member when a small hydraulic cylinder is controlled and ln the case of a large hydraulic cylinder, for instance. With a small 5 cylinder, the maximum/minimum value of the control member opens the y.u~Gl Lional valve only a little, whereas with a large cylinder it opens the propor-tional valve wide open. In this way, different ad~ ustment ranges can be provided f or each actuating 10 device, if desired. Also, the operation and opening of the ~Lu~GL Llonal valve can be set non-linearly 80 that they will follow the ~. t of the control member, whereby operating values a~ylu~Llate for the operation can be achieved. Cnrrpqprn~11n~ly~ when several actuat-15 ing devices associated with the turning of the boom,for instance, are used simult~nPnllql y, the adiustment of the k)LU~ULLlOnal valve can be ~Pq~nPd so that when the dif ferent actuating devices are operated simul-t InPn~ql y, the . ts of the control member are as 20 apl?Luk~Llate as prqq1hle for controlling the concerned operation .
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the control can be rP;ll; zed in such a way that the maximum speed value of a qpPr.l f iC. actuating 25 device can be cLLal~yed to dyn 'r.;~l ly follow the speeds of ~, t of the control member so that the greater the speed at which the control member, such as a control lever, i8 moved, the greater the maximum speed value that oan be achieved within predetQrn~1 nP~l 30 speed limits. CorrPspnntl1n~ly~ when the control lever is moved slowly, the maximum speed value decreases in a certain proportion to this speed of v G L . With large ~91 qpl ~ L-, the speed of ~ ~ can thus be increased by moving the control lever rapidly. When 35 precise control is required, the control lever ls WO9S/23276 ._I~rl,'.;;lOl moved slowly, thus achieving a low maximum speed value and precise posltioning.
The invention will be described more fully with reference to the attached drawings, in which Figure 1 ~ ' Llcally illustrates a boom with its actuating devices in a rock drilling equipment;
and Figure 2 F-'' Lically illustrates a hydraulic and electric switching diagram for the CllLCIII, L
according to the invention.
Figure 1 shows a boom 1, which is articulated in a manner known per se to a carrler 2 shown in outline only. A horizontal shaft 3 is shown between the boom 1 and the carrier 2. The boom 1 is able to turn relative to the shaft 3 in the vertical direction. The figure also shows a boom lifting cylinder 4, which is articulated at one end to the carrier 2 and at the other end to the boom 1. As a result, when the cyl-inder is extended from the position shown in the figure, the boom 1 will turn upward about the shaft 3.
Corr~ponfl1n~ly, when the lifting cyllnder 4 is shortened, the boom 1 will turn about the shaft 3 downward. The figure further shows partially a feed beam 5, which is connected to the end of the boom turnably about a turning axis 6 shown by a broken line. For this purpose, the equipment comprises a swing cylinder 7, which is so connected that when it is extended, the feed beam will turn in one direction and when it is retracted, the feed beam will turn in the opposite direction. The figure further shows a rotation motor 8, which is connected to rotate the feed beam and ~ , Ls associated with it about an axis of rotation 9 shown in the figure with another broken line. The cylinders 4 and 7 and the rotation motor 8 are typical bcom actuating devices of a rock .

W0 95l23276 2 1 8 3 ~ 7 Q~ r~llr~ tl ~
drilling equipment . The hydraulic connections f or their operation will be r~ nefl more fully with Lt:reL~IIce to Figure 2.
Figure 2 schematically illu~ t~s an arrange-5 ment according to the invention, where oontrol members lla to lld are connected to control the l)LUIJUL l,lonal valve 13 via a control unlt 12. Hoses 16 and 17 for hydraulic fluid pass from a hydraulic pump 14 and a tank 15 to the ~LU~OL l lonal valve 13 . Hydraulic fluid 10 is passed by means of the PLUL~OL l,lonal valve 13 through the hoses 16 and 17 into and away ~rom actuat-ing devices 18a to 18d. Each actuating device 18a to 18d has a selector valve l9a to l9d, respectively, ~he valves being L,u..nec L~:d to each one of the hoses for 15 hydraulic fluid and to the respective actuating device. The selector valves are used to select the actuating device to be controlled in each particular case. In the control unit 12, control p~L l.~LS for controlling the yLu~uL Llonal valve 13 are preset for 2û each actuating device. When one of the actuating devices, such as 18a, is selected by the control member e.g. by turning it in a certain direction, the control unit 12 switches the selector valve l9a of this actuating device to a desired position either in 25 such a way that the lines for hydraulic fluid will be connected directly to the cylinders of the actuating device or in a crosswise manner with respect to each other so that the actuating device moves in the opposite direction. At the same time, the control unit 30 12 applies the control p2L (,t:L~ to the P1U~OL ~lonal valve so that the r ~i t of the control lever of the control member in a L,L~de~ nf'fl direction corre-sponds to a predetPrml nPfl control movement in the actuating device. CULL~:~L.""'fl1n~ly, the position of the 35 movement of the control member regulates the speed o~

~ WO9SI232~6 2 ~ 8 ~ 9 7C r~llrL_ [_101 movement of the actuating device by means of the pro-portional valve. For instance, when the control member lla is turned, it applies a control signal to the control unit 12, which in turn switches the selector 5 valve l9a to a desired position and admits hydraulic fluid into the actuating device 18a. The ~, t of the LJLU~OL Llonal valve 13 and the control of the hydraulic fluid have been preset in the control unit 12 as resluired by the pLUUeL Lles of the actuating 10 device 18a and the desired speed. In the same way, ~p~f~c control p~L L~r~ have been stored for all the other actuating devices 18b to 18d in the control unit 12. In this way the control can be set so that, for instance, when the control member lla is used to 15 control the actuating device 18a, the ~LUyUL Llonal valve 13 allows hydraulic fluid to flow in an amount Llonal to the position of the lever of the control member lla in such a way that the entire range of ~c t of the lever can be utilized iLL~yeuLlve 20 of the volume of the flow of hydraulic fluid required by the actuatiny device 18a. For instance, the move-ment of cylinders of different diameters can thus be regulated so that the position of the lever of the control member det~rn~1n~ the speed, and the control 25 paL -tcL~ regulate the maximum volume of the flow of hydraulic fluid through the 3)LU~OL Lional valve 13 in such a way that the largest angle of the lever of the control member ~oLLc~u..ds to the maximum flow of hydraulic fluid required by this particular actuating 30 device.
When several actuating devices have to be oper-ated simultaneously to appropriately ef fect a certain operation or several simultaneous operations or when the use of several actua~ing devices effecting move-35 ment in different directions is natural, such as when WO95~23276 21 8~70 r~llr~ clol ~
turning the boom or feed beam in some direction, it ispos~hle to form 9~ff~r~nt kind of actuating device groups consisting of actuating devices naturally oper-ated simultaneously. One such typical actuatlng device group consists of the cylinders turning the boom in the sideward and vertical direction and the cylinders turning the feed beam in the sideward and vertical direction. There are several other actuating devices naturally forming such an actuating device group. In 10 these cases the set values of the control unit are ~JLU~ I SO that when a single actuating device is used, it has its own set values for regulating the amount of hydraulic fluid flowing through the pro-portional Yalve. When another actuating device ls 15 switched on at the same time, the control unit starts to apply the set values ~;uLL~ J~ n!J to the actuating device group consisting of these two actuating devices, and so the flow of hydraulic fluid is propor-tional to the simultaneous control of the actuatlng 20 devices . In such a situation it is also p~ 51 h~ e to def ine a maximum speed value for a certain actuating device, e.g. the fastest actuating device in the group, the flow of hydraulic fluid being regulated according to this maximum value. In principle, the 25 number of different actuating device groups that can be selected is unlimited, whereby one actuating device group may consist of a single actuating device or all of the actuating devices of the equipment, for instance. In practice, it is simpler to select actuat-30 ing device groups consisting of actuating devicesnaturally operated simulr~n~o~lsl y, whereby the number of set values to be preset will not be too high.
The invention has been described above and shown in the drawings only by way of example, and it is not 35 in any way limited to the ~ . The control 2~ 83~7a ~D Wossl23276 P~llrL~' [I~I

members can be connected to the control unit and the set values o~ the operating parameters can be stored in the control unit in different ways by using t~hn i C;~ 1 solutions known per se . The operating para-5 meters may also be set to be linear or logarithmic indi~ferent ways or in some other way so that a certain flow of hydraulic fluid coL~ unds to a certain turn-ing angle of the lever of the control member.

Claims

Claims:

1. Arrangement for controlling a boom in a rock drilling equipment, the boom (1) comprising several actuating devices (18a to 18d) for its different oper-ations; a selector valve (19a to 19d) for each actuat-ing device (18a to 18d); two lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid, to which the selector valves (19a to 19d) are connected in parallel, the selector valve (19a to 19d) of each actuating device (18a to 18d) connecting said lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid in communication with the respective actuating device (18a to 18d) when this actuating device is operated;
an electrically controllable proportional valve (13) connected to said lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid, the proportional valve regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid in said lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid; an electric control unit (12) for controlling the proportional valve (13), and control members (11a to 11d) for operating each one of the actuating devices (18a to 18d), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the arrangement comprises set values preset in the control unit (12) for the different operations, the set values controlling the proportional valve (13) in such a way that when a group consisting of one or more of the actuating devices (18a to 18d) is oper-ated, the control unit (12) switches the respective selector valves (19a to 19d) to operating position and starts to control the proportional valve (13) in accordance with operating parameters determined by the set values preset for this particular actuating device group.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, c h a r-a c t e r i z e d in that the set values preset for the operating parameters of each actuating device group (18a to 18d) are such that the flow of hydraulic fluid through the proportional valve (13) is propor-tional to the turning angle of a control lever for the respective control member (11a to 11d).

3. Arrangement according to claim 2, c h a r-a c t e r i z e d in that at least some of the actuating device groups consist of only one of the actuating devices (18a to 18d), and that the maximum amount of flow of hydraulic fluid through the pro-portional valve (13), determined by the operating parameters of this kind of actuating device group, has been designed according to the desired maximum operat-ing speed of each actuating device (18a to 18d) in such a way that when the control lever of the control member (11a to 11d) is in its extreme turning posi-tion, said maximum amount of hydraulic fluid flows into the actuating device (18a to 18d).

4. Arrangement according to claim 2, c h a r-a c t e r i z e d in that the maximum amount of flow of hydraulic fluid through the proportional valve (13), determined by the operating parameters of each actuating device group, has been designed according to the desired maximum operating speed of the fastest actuating device (18a to 18d) of the concerned actuat-ing device group in such a way that when the control lever of the control member (11a to 11d) is in its extreme turning position, said maximum amount of hydraulic fluid flows into said fastest actuating device (18a to 18d).

5. Arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the maximum speed value of each actuating device group (18a to 18d) has been set dynamically so as to correspond to the speed of the control lever of the control member (11a to 11d) in such a way that the maximum value will be the higher, the greater the speed at which the control lever moves.

6. Method for controlling a boom in a rock drilling equipment, the boom (1) comprising several actuating devices (18a to 18d) for its different oper-ations; a selector valve (19a to 19d) for each actuat-ing device (18a to 18d); two lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid, to which the selector valves (19a to 19d) are connected in parallel, the selector valve (19a to 19d) of each actuating device (18a to 18d) connecting said lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid in communication with the respective actuating device (18a to 18d) when this actuating device is operated;
an electrically controllable proportional valve (13) connected to said lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid, the proportional valve regulating the flow of hydraulic fluid in said lines (16, 17) for hydraulic fluid; an electric control unit (12) for controlling the proportional valve (13); and control members (11a to 11d) for operating each one of the actuating devices (18a to 18d), c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that set values are preset in the control unit (12) for the different operations, the set values con-trolling the proportional valve (13) in such a way that when a group consisting of one or more of the actuating devices (18a to 18d) is operated, the control unit (12) switches the respective selector valves (19a to 19d) to operating position and starts to control the proportional valve (13) in accordance with operating parameters determined by the set values preset for this particular actuating device group.

7. Method according to claim 6, c h a r a c-t e r i z e d in that set values are preset for the operating parameters of each actuating device group (18a to 18d) in such a way that the flow of hydraulic fluid through the proportional valve (13) is pro-portional to the turning angle of a control lever for the respective control member (11a to 11d).

8. Method according to claim 7, c h a r a c-t e r i z e d in that at least some of the actuating device groups consist of only one of the actuating devices (18a to 18d), the maximum amount of flow of hydraulic fluid through the proportional valve (13), determined by the operating parameters of this kind of actuating device group, being designed according to the desired maximum operating speed of each actuating device (18a to 18d) in such a way that when the con-trol lever of the control member (11a to 11d) is in its extreme turning position, said maximum amount of hydraulic fluid flows into the actuating device (18a to 18d).

9. Method according to claim 7, c h a r a c-t e r i z e d in that the maximum amount of flow of hydraulic fluid through the proportional valve (13), determined by the operating parameters of each actuat-ing device group, is designed according to the desired maximum operating speed of the fastest actuating device (18a to 18d) of the concerned actuating device group in such a way that when the control lever of the control member (11a to 11d) is in its extreme turning position, said maximum amount of hydraulic fluid flows into said fastest actuating device (18a to 18d).

10. Method according to any of claims 6 to 9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the maximum speed value of each actuating device group (18a to 18d) is set dynamically so as to correspond to the speed of the control lever of the control member (11a to 11d) in such a way that the maximum value will be the higher, the greater the speed at which the control lever moves.