Characterization of refractory lining of metallurgical vessels using autonomous scanners
First Claim
1. A scanner for characterizing a refractory lining in a container, the scanner comprising:
- a frame;
a laser scanning system mounted on the frame, said laser scanning system having a laser, a scanner, optics, a photodetector, and receiver electronics, said laser scanning system being configured to measure, in measurement position, distances from the laser scanning system to a plurality of points on a surface of the refractory lining;
a robotic vehicle attached to the frame, said robotic vehicle having drive system comprising wheels or tracks and a controller configured to operate the drive system and control motion of said robotic vehicle, said robotic vehicle being configured for motion on a floor to propel the scanner autonomously in an area adjacent to the container from a first position to a second position along the floor, and said robotic vehicle not comprising gunning equipment;
a tracking system, in communicative connection with the controller, configured to determine the position and orientation of the scanning system relative to the alignment of the container, to provide range data measured in the frame of reference of the tracking system and converted to a frame of reference relative to the container, and to provide position feedback to the drive system of the robotic vehicle; and
a control system comprising hardware and software to control the scanner, said control system being communicatively connected to said laser scanning system, said controller, and said drive system, wherein the refractory lining is characterized by comparing the plurality of distances measured by the laser scanning system to a reference surface of the refractory lining.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatuses, methods, and systems are disclosed for autonomously characterizing the refractory lining in a container using an scanner that includes a scanning laser range finding system, a control system being communicatively connected to the laser scanning system to control the scanner; and a robotic vehicle having a controller communicatively connected to the control system and a drive system to propel the scanner autonomously in an area adjacent to the container, wherein characterization of the refractory lining is performed by comparing refractory thickness values determined from the distances measured from the laser scanning system to the surface of the refractory lining and the relative position of the scanner and the container, and comparing the same to a reference measurement of the refractory lining.
20 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A scanner for characterizing a refractory lining in a container, the scanner comprising:
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a frame; a laser scanning system mounted on the frame, said laser scanning system having a laser, a scanner, optics, a photodetector, and receiver electronics, said laser scanning system being configured to measure, in measurement position, distances from the laser scanning system to a plurality of points on a surface of the refractory lining; a robotic vehicle attached to the frame, said robotic vehicle having drive system comprising wheels or tracks and a controller configured to operate the drive system and control motion of said robotic vehicle, said robotic vehicle being configured for motion on a floor to propel the scanner autonomously in an area adjacent to the container from a first position to a second position along the floor, and said robotic vehicle not comprising gunning equipment; a tracking system, in communicative connection with the controller, configured to determine the position and orientation of the scanning system relative to the alignment of the container, to provide range data measured in the frame of reference of the tracking system and converted to a frame of reference relative to the container, and to provide position feedback to the drive system of the robotic vehicle; and a control system comprising hardware and software to control the scanner, said control system being communicatively connected to said laser scanning system, said controller, and said drive system, wherein the refractory lining is characterized by comparing the plurality of distances measured by the laser scanning system to a reference surface of the refractory lining. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for characterizing a refractory lining in a container, the method comprising:
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propelling a laser scanning system mounted on a frame autonomously in an area adjacent to the container from a first position to a second position along a floor by the use of a robotic vehicle attached to the frame, said robotic vehicle having a drive system comprising wheels or tracks configured for motion on the floor and a controller configured to operate the drive system and control motion of said robotic vehicle; and
said robotic vehicle not comprising gunning equipment;tracking the position of the laser scanning system with a tracking system configured to determine the position and orientation of the scanning system relative to the alignment of the container, to obtain range data measured in the frame of reference of the tracking system and converted to a frame of reference relative to the container, and to provide position feedback to the drive system of the robotic vehicle; measuring, with the laser scanning system in measurement position, distances from the laser scanning system to a plurality of points on a surface of the refractory lining, said laser scanning system having a laser, a scanner, optics, a photodetector, and receiver electronics; controlling the scanner by use of a control system comprising hardware and software, said control system being communicatively connected to said laser scanning system, said controller, and said drive system; and characterizing the refractory lining by comparing the plurality of distances measured by the laser scanning system to a reference surface of the refractory lining. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification