TECHNICAL FIELD

[ 0001 ] This invention relates broadly to the field of underground development drills or drill j umbos , and more speci fically to an underground development drill boom tracking system and an associated underground development drill including such a boom tracking system .

BACKGROUND ART

[ 0002 ] The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only . The discussion i s not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application .

[ 0003 ] Underground development drills or drilling j umbos are well-known in the art of underground mining and such a j umbo is generally a rock drilling machine for applications ranging from face drilling for small-scale mine development to large-scale tunnelling . These j umbos usually consist of at least one rock drill mounted on a feed system, which is supported by a boom. Such a feed system or drill feeder of an underground development drill typically comprises a drilling arm slidably arranged on an arm support which is held stationary on a drill boom so that the drilling arm slides forward when drilling and rearward when a drill bit is removed from a drilled hole . Many j umbos have more than one drill mounted on separate booms so that multiple holes are drillable simultaneously . [ 0004 ] In order to ensure several drills can be operated by one operator, automation systems exist to stop a drill when a hole is completed and retract the drill feed system to return the drill to its original position on the boom without human intervention . All that an operator of the drill has to do is to reposition the boom with the drill in accordance with a so- called 'drill plan' and start the drilling process .

[ 0005 ] Conventional development drills or j umbos generally use hydraulic systems to actuate the drill feed systems and booms . These hydraulic systems rely on a series of hydraulic impulse cylinders and actuators arranged in fluid communication via various hydraulic lines with controllable solenoid control valves to ef fect the desired movement of components . Conventionally, these hydraulic components are in turn typically controlled by means of a four-wire CAN bus , which forms part of a control system of the drill .

[ 0006 ] However, these conventional hydraulic and control systems suf fer shortcomings , as the required control lines and hydraulic hoses are di f ficult to protect as they run along the booms and drill feed systems and are easily damaged or broken as the drill operates in typical hazardous and robust environments where components are prone to rock damage and water damage .

[ 0007 ] In amelioration of potential damage to CAN bus control system components , Applicant has developed a communication system for underground development drills , as described in International Patent Application no . PCT/AU2022/050924 , the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference . Such a communications system generally allows for the creation of a wireless Controller Area Network ( CAN bus ) between a development drill control system and actuators of the drills and feeding systems , thereby minimising damage to components .

[ 0008 ] In order to drill holes according to a drill plan, conventional drilling automation systems use a series of linear sensors mounted to the hydraulic cylinders on the drill feed system at the front of a development drill to calculate a position of the drill and feed rails . These linear sensors provide signals to a control system via signal lines running in harnesses along the boom ( s ) of the development drill . As with the control lines and hydraulic hoses , these harnesses and signal lines are also prone to rock and water damage when subj ected to the hazardous and robust environments in which such drills operate .

[ 0009 ] Accordingly, Applicant has identi fied shortcomings in the art of development drills for means whereby a position of a drill can be tracked for control purposes and the present invention was conceived with the goal in mind of ameliorating such shortcomings .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[ 0010 ] The skilled addressee will appreciate that underground development drills or drill j umbos typically include a drill feeder or drill feeding system comprising a drilling arm slidably arranged on an arm support which is held stationary on a drill boom or cradle so that the drilling arm can slide forward when drilling and rearward when a drill bit is removed from a drilled hole . Accordingly, reference herein to a 'drill boom' includes broad reference to any component of the drill boom and drill feeding system and such re ference is made in an inclusive manner .

[ 0011 ] It is also to be appreciated that reference herein to ' real-time ' is to be understood as meaning an instance of time that may include a delay typically resulting from processing, calculation and/or transmission times inherent in computer processing and sensing systems . These transmission and calculations times , albeit of generally small duration, do introduce some delay, i . e . typically less than a second or within milliseconds , but information is provided relatively quickly or within substantial ' real-time ' .

[ 0012 ] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an underground development drill boom tracking system comprising : at least one reflector unit configured for mounting at a predetermined position on a drill boom of the drill , and configured to reflect an electromagnetic wave ; at least one inertial measurement unit ( IMU) configured to be mounted to the drill boom and configured to provide realtime motion information; an electromagnetic wave transceiver configured for mounting on a body of the drill and configured to transmit and receive an electromagnetic wave to and from, respectively, the reflector unit ; and a controller arranged in wireless signal communication with the IMU, said controller programmable with a virtual drill plan and configured to : i ) by means of the transceiver, monitor a real-time spatial position of the drill boom via electromagnetic wave time-of- flight ( ToF) principles ; ii) by means of the IMU, monitor the real-time motion of the drill boom; and iii) calculate, via said spatial position and motion information, a real-time three-dimensional (3-D) position of the drill relative to said virtual drill plan; wherein an operator of the drill is enabled to correspond drilling of holes to the virtual drill plan to ensure holes are accurately drilled in accordance with said drill plan.

[0013] In an embodiment, the reflector unit comprises a reflective adhesive strip, a reflective polymer material, or the like.

[0014] In an embodiment, the reflector unit is configured to reflect an infra-red electromagnetic wave via defining a suitable reflective surface.

[0015] In an embodiment, the IMU comprises a 9-axis configuration for providing pitch, roll and heading motion information .

[0016] In an embodiment, the IMU includes a rechargeable battery serving as energy source for the IMU.

[0017] In an embodiment, the IMU is encased in a ruggedised housing to prevent damage thereto.

[0018] In an embodiment, the IMU is arranged in wireless signal communication with the controller by means of a wireless Controller Area Network (CAN bus) communications system as described in International Patent Application no. PCT/AU2022/050924 . [0019] In an embodiment, the electromagnetic wave transceiver is configured to transceive infra-red frequency electromagnetic waves.

[0020] In an embodiment, the electromagnetic wave transceiver comprises two infra-red time-of-f light camera systems, each mounted on an opposite side of an operator cabin of the drill.

[0021] In an embodiment, the electromagnetic wave transceiver is configured to transceive electromagnetic waves to a plurality of reflector units.

[0022] In an embodiment, the controller comprises a programmable logic controller (PLC) with a human-machine interface (HMI) , such as a touchscreen.

[0023] In an embodiment, the controller is programmable with a virtual drill plan comprising a spatial map of desired positions where holes are required to be drilled.

[0024] In an embodiment, the controller is configured to display the drill plan via the HMI showing relative positions of the drill plan and the 3-D position of the drill.

[0025] In an embodiment, the controller is configured to monitor the spatial position of the drill boom via monitoring relative z, y and z coordinates of the reflector unit(s) .

[0026] In an embodiment, the controller is configured automatically to correspond the drilling of holes to the virtual drill plan. [ 0027 ] According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an underground development drill including a boom tracking system comprising : at least one ref lector unit mounted at a predetermined position on a drill boom of the drill , and configured to reflect an electromagnetic wave ; at least one inertial measurement unit ( IMU) mounted to the drill boom and configured to provide real-time motion information; an electromagnetic wave transceiver mounted on a body of the drill and configured to transmit and receive an electromagnetic wave to and from, respectively, the reflector unit ; and a controller arranged in wireless signal communication with the IMU, said controller programmable with a virtual drill plan and configured to : i ) by means of the transceiver, monitor a real-time spatial position of the drill boom via electromagnetic wave time-of- f light ( ToF) principles ; ii ) by means of the IMU, monitor the real-time motion o f the drill boom; and iii ) calculate , via said spatial position and motion information, a real-time three-dimensional ( 3-D) position of the drill relative to said virtual drill plan; wherein an operator of the drill is enabled to correspond drilling of holes to the virtual drill plan to ensure holes are accurately drilled in accordance with said drill plan . [ 0028 ] According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method of tracking a drill boom of an underground development drill , said method comprising the steps of : by means of a controller, monitoring a real-time spatial position of the drill boom via electromagnetic wave time-of- flight ( ToF) principles using an electromagnetic wave transceiver mounted on a body of the drill and configured to transmit and receive an electromagnetic wave to and from, respectively, at least one reflector unit mounted at a predetermined position on the drill boom; by means of the controller, monitoring real-time motion of the drill boom by means of at least one inertial measurement unit ( IMU) mounted to the drill boom and configured to provide real-time motion information; and calculating, by means of the controller, via said spatial position and motion information, a real-time three-dimensional ( 3-D) position of the drill relative to a virtual drill plan; wherein an operator of the drill is enabled to correspond drilling of holes to the virtual drill plan to ensure holes are accurately drilled in accordance with said drill plan .

[ 0029 ] According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an underground development drill boom tracking system and an underground development drill including such a boom tracking system, substantially as herein described and/or illustrated .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 is a diagrammatic left-side view representation of an example of an underground development drill having a drill boom tracking system, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; and

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic right-side view representation of the underground development drill of Figure 1 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[ 0030 ] Further features of the present invention are more fully described in the following description of several nonlimiting embodiments thereof . This description is included solely for the purposes of exempli fying the present invention to the skilled addressee . It should not be understood as a restriction on the broad summary, disclosure or description of the invention as set out above . In the figures , incorporated to illustrate features of the example embodiment or embodiments , like reference numerals are used to identi fy like parts throughout .

[ 0031 ] With reference now to the accompanying drawings , there is shown one embodiment of an underground development drill 8 including a boom tracking system 10 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention . Broadly, the system 10 comprises at least one reflector unit 12 , at least one inertial measurement unit ( IMU) 18 , and a controller 24 . The system 10 allows the tracking of a drill on the boom 14 by wireless means , thereby removing control and signal lines that are commonly damaged when the drill operates .

[ 0032 ] The boom tracking system 10 generally includes at least one reflector unit 14 which is configured for mounting at a predetermined position on the drill boom 14 of the drill 8 . The reflector unit 12 is typically configured to reflect an electromagnetic wave , such as an infra-red ( IR) wave . It is to be appreciated that the reflector unit 12 may be configured to reflect a speci fic frequency electromagnetic wave . For example , infrared or ultraviolet waves may be used not to provide interference within the visible spectrum, or the like .

[ 0033 ] In one embodiment , the reflector unit 12 comprises a reflective adhesive strip, or a reflective polymer material , or the like . In an embodiment , the reflector unit is configured to reflect an infrared electromagnetic wave via defining a suitable reflective surface .

[ 0034 ] System 10 also includes at least one inertial measurement unit ( IMU) 18 which is operatively mounted to the drill boom 14 and configured to provide real-time motion information . In one embodiment , the IMU 18 comprises a 9-axis configuration for providing pitch, roll and heading motion information . In one embodiment , the IMU 18 includes a rechargeable battery serving as energy source for the IMU . In one embodiment , the IMU 18 is encased in a ruggedised housing to prevent damage thereto . In one embodiment , the IMU 18 is typically arranged in wireless signal communication with the controller 24 by means of a wireless Controller Area Network ( CAN bus ) communications system as described in International Patent Application no . PCT/AU2022/050924 .

[ 0035 ] The boom tracking system 10 also includes at least one electromagnetic wave transceiver 20 which is configured for mounting on a body 22 of the drill 8 and which is configured to transmit and receive an electromagnetic wave 16 to and from, respectively, the reflector unit 12 . In one embodiment , the electromagnetic wave transceiver 20 is configured to transceive infra-red frequency electromagnetic waves . In one embodiment , the electromagnetic wave transceiver 18 comprises two infra-red time-of- f light camera systems , each mounted on an opposite side of an operator cabin 22 of the drill 8 . In one embodiment , the electromagnetic wave transceiver 18 is configured to transceive electromagnetic waves 16 to a plurality of reflector units 12 . For example , where a drill 8 includes a plural ity of booms with individual drill s which are to be tracked individually .

[ 0036 ] The boom tracking system 10 further includes a controller 24 which is arranged in wireless signal communication with the IMU 18 and also in communication with the electromagnetic wave transceiver 18 (wired or wireless ) . In one embodiment , the controller 24 comprises a programmable logic controller ( PLC ) with a human-machine interface (HMI ) , such as a touchscreen . The controller 24 is generally programmable with a virtual drill plan comprising a spatial map of desired positions where holes are required to be drilled .

[ 0037 ] The controller 24 is generally configured to , by means of the transceiver 20 , monitor a real-time spatial position of the drill boom 14 via electromagnetic wave time- of- flight ( ToF) principles , and by means of the IMU 18 , monitor the real-time motion of the drill boom 14 . In this manner, the controller is able to calculate, via said spatial position and motion information, a real-time three-dimensional ( 3-D) position of the drill on the boom 14 relative to the virtual drill plan . In this way, an operator of the drill 8 is enabled to correspond drilling of holes to the virtual drill plan to ensure that holes are accurately drilled in accordance with said drill plan.

[0038] In one embodiment, the controller 24 is configured to display the drill plan via the HMI showing relative positions of the drill plan and the 3-D position of the drill. In one embodiment, the controller 24 is configured to monitor the spatial position of the drill boom 14 via monitoring relative z, y and z coordinates of the reflector unit(s) 12. In one embodiment, the controller 24 is configured automatically to correspond the drilling of holes to the virtual drill plan, e.g. automated drilling operations.

[0039] Accordingly, one example of the boom tracking system 10 provides for 3D/2D infra-red time-of-f light camera systems to be mounted at left- and right-hand sides, e.g. at light brackets, on the operators cabin 22, or the like. The lefthand camera tracks a reflector that is mounted on the lefthand inner zoom, DPU swing cylinder mount. The right-hand camera tracks a reflector that is mounted on the right-hand inner zoom, DPU swing cylinder mount. These cameras track the distance (x) , horizontal (y) and vertical (z) position of each side's respective inner zoom, relative to the camera mounting position .

[0040] In one example, the IMUs 18 are integrated with wireless CANBUS communications (as per Applicant's International Patent Application no. PCT/AU2022/050924 ) and a rechargeable battery. The IMUs 18 are mounted underneath each respective feed cradle of a boom 14 and provides the pitch, roll, and heading of each feed rail. This motion information is transmitted via a wireless CANBUS bridge so that each IMU 18 is a stand-alone sensor without the need for any power or communication harnesses .

[ 0041 ] In one example , the HMI touchscreen is mounted within the operator' s cabin of the development drill 8 . This HMI screen allows the operator to install and modi fy pre-made drill plans or drill patterns into the program . The screen also allows the operator to visuali ze the boom movements and angles in relation to the pre-programmed drill pattern via a virtual picture shown in the screen with real-time information . The HMI screen also allows calibration, setting, and monitoring of the system 10 to be performed from the cab 22 . The HMI incorporates the inner zoom x, y, and z values and also the IMU pitch, roll and heading values for each boom 14 . Using these values , the system 10 can give accurate data of the x, y and z coordinates of a front centraliser position . Using this data, the boom position can be overlaid in real-time onto the HMI screen to allow the virtual boom representation to be moved around until it corresponds with the holes on the drill plan .

[ 0042 ] Applicant believes is particularly advantageous that the present invention provides for a boom tracking system 10 for a development drill 8 . Such system 10 allows accurate 'wireless ' tracking of a drill or drill boom position, which alleviates damage to hydraulic hoses and control wiring relied on by conventional drill control systems . In addition, the system 10 can also be retrofitted to existing development drills .

[ 0043 ] Optional embodiments of the present invention may also be said to broadly consist in the parts , elements and features referred to or indicated herein, individually or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of the parts, elements or features, and wherein specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which the invention relates, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth. In the example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail, as such will be readily understood by the skilled addressee .

[0044] The use of the terms "a", "an", "said", "the", and/or similar referents in the context of describing various embodiments (especially in the context of the claimed subject matter) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising," "having," "including, " and "containing" are to be construed as open- ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed subject matter as essential to the practice of the claimed subject matter .

[0045] Spatially relative terms, such as "inner, " "outer, " "beneath, " "below, " "lower, " "above, " "upper, " and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element (s) or feature (s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the example term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0046] Accordingly, one example may exemplify certain aspects of the invention, whilst other aspects are exemplified in a different example. These examples are intended to assist the skilled person in performing the invention and are not intended to limit the overall scope of the invention in any way unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Variations, such as modifications and/or enhancements, of one or more embodiments described herein might become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this application. The inventor (s) expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventor (s) intends for the claimed subject matter to be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

[0047] Any method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.