Mining methods and apparatus

• US 20090212216A1
• Filed: 05/11/2005
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (Commonwealth Of Australia As Represented By Department Of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research And Tertiary Education)
• Original Assignee: Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (Commonwealth Of Australia As Represented By Department Of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research And Tertiary Education)
• Inventors: Hainsworth, David William, McPhee, Ronald John, Ralston, Jonathan Carey, Reid, David Charles, Kelly, Michael Shawn, Hargrave, Chad Owen
• Granted Patent: US 8,622,479 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/332
• CPC Class Codes: E21C 35/08 Guiding the machine

Abstract

A method and apparatus for horizon control in a mining operation is provided. Fresh product 3 is cut from a seam 1. The cutting exposes a fresh cut product face 25. The fresh cut product face 25 is observed at a position immediately adjacent a cutter 11. Any temperature contrast regions from an IR observation between an upper limit of observation and a lower limit of observation are noted. At least one height co-ordinate position of a temperature contrast region 33 is determined and an output signal provided of the determined height co-ordinate position so that the output signal can be used as a horizon datum for horizontal control.

Claims

1. A method of horizon control in a mining operation where mined product is cut from a mining face of a seam of the product, said method comprising,

cutting product from the seam with a cutter that exposes a fresh cut product face

observing the IR (Infrared) radiation from the fresh cut product face at a position immediately adjacent the cutter,

noting any temperature contrast regions from the IR observation between an upper limit of observation and a lower limit of observation,

determining at least one height co-ordinate position of at least one temperature contrast region, and

generating an output signal of the determined height co-ordinate position so the generated output signal can be used as a horizon datum for horizon control.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 including applying a threshold filter to the noted temperature contrast region and generating the output signal of the determined height co-ordinate position only if the temperature of the temperature contrast region exceeds the threshold.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein a field of viewing the observation of the IR radiation is provided with a datum position in a horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of a region of interest for the IR radiation, and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region from the IR observation is determined at that datum position.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the observing is by a digital camera and wherein the datum position is defined by specific pixel locations in a digital picture image obtained from said digital camera.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the temperature contrast regions are determined by noting a peak in the pixel grey scale intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital image extending in a direction up and down the height of the region of interest.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the height co-ordinate position output signal is a signal containing co-ordinate components that define the position of at least one temperature contrast region in two D co-ordinates.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising supplying the height co-ordinate position output signal to a mining machine cutter position control circuit used by a mining machine, and horizon controlling the position of the mining machine cutter with said position output signal.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein a region of interest for the IR radiation is provided with a datum position in a horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of the region of interest, and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region from the IR observation is determined at that datum position,

and wherein the observing results in a digital picture image and the datum position is defined by specific pixel locations the digital picture image, and wherein

the at least one temperature contrast region is determined by noting a peak in the pixel grey scale intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital image.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising also visually observing the IR radiation from the fresh cut product face, noting a second temperature contrast region, generally at the intersection of a vertical cut of a wall of a seam of the product and a horizontal cut face of a roof and/or floor of the seam of the product,

determining a height co-ordinate position of the second temperature region to define the roof and/or floor co-ordinate(s) of the seam of the product, and

generating a second output signal of the determined height co-ordinate position of the second temperature contrast region so the second output signal can be used with said output signal for horizon control.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9 wherein the observation for the second temperature contrast region results in a digital picture image of a second region of interest and wherein grey scale pixel intensity values of all pixels in the digital image of the second region of interest are averaged and a lower and/or an upper limit for mining the seam of the product is noted if the average pixel intensity value changes to a higher average pixel intensity value than when cutting only product from the seam.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the region of interest of the IR radiation is provided with a datum position in a horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of the region of interest, and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region from the IR observation is determined at that datum position,

and wherein the observing is by a thermal infrared camera and the datum position is defined by specific pixel locations in a digital picture image obtained therefrom and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region is determined by noting a peak in the pixel grey scale intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital image extending in a direction up and down the height of viewing.

12. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the observation of the position of the IR radiation is performed at multiple spaced locations in the fresh cut product face, as the cutter moves across the mine face, and wherein multiple temperature contrast regions are determined from those multiple locations and wherein a “

Robust Tracking”

filter is applied to the multiple temperature contrast regions to minimise errors that may otherwise be caused by low levels of temperature contrast.

13. A sensing apparatus for operating with mining machine horizon controlling apparatus,

said sensing apparatus having an image acquisition section for receiving IR (Infrared) image signals of an observed position of a fresh cut mined product face immediately adjacent a mining machine cutter

a signal processing component to process the acquired IR image signals to note for at least one temperature contrast region between an upper part of the image and a lower part of the image,

a height position component to receive any noted temperature contrast region processed by the signal processing component and to calculate a height position at at least one noted temperature contrast region, and

a signal output component to provide an output signal of the calculated height position for said mining machine horizon controlling apparatus.

14. A sensing apparatus claimed in claim 13 wherein the signal processing component includes a threshold filter for the noted temperature contrast region and wherein the signal output component generates the output signal of the determined height co-ordinate position only if the temperature of the temperature contrast region exceeds the threshold.

15. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said signalling processing component is configurable to provide a region of interest for the IR radiation with a datum position in the horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of the region of interest, and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region processed by the height position component is determinable at that datum position.

16. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 15 wherein the observing results in a digital picture image and wherein the datum position is defined in said signal processing component by specific pixel locations in the digital picture image.

17. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein the signal processing component is configurable to determine the temperature contrast region by noting a peak in the pixel grey scale intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital picture image extending in a direction up and down the height of the region of interest.

18. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein the height co-ordinate position output signal from the output signal component is a signal that defines the position of the temperature contrast region in two D co-ordinates.

19. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein the height co-ordinate position output signal is suppliable to mining machine cutter position control apparatus used by a mining machine, so horizontal control of the position of the mining machine cutter can be undertaken with said position output signal.

20. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 19 wherein the signal processing component is configurable to provide a region of interest for the observation of the IR radiation that has a datum position in the horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of the field of viewing of the IR radiation, and the at least one temperature contrast region is determined at that datum position,

and wherein the observing is by a thermal infrared camera and the datum position is defined by specific pixel locations in a digital picture image obtained therefrom, and

wherein the temperature contrast region is determined by noting a peak in the pixel grey scale intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital image that extend in a direction up and down the height of the region of interest.

21. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 13 wherein said sensing apparatus image acquisition section also receives further IR image signals of the fresh cut product face generally at the intersection of a vertical cut face of a wall of the seam and a horizontal cut face of a roof and/or floor of the seam, and

wherein said signal processing component can process the further IR image signals to note for any temperature contrast region at the intersection of the vertical cut face and either or both the horizontal cut face of the roof or the floor and wherein the height determining component can determine a height co-ordinate position of the temperature contrast region to define the roof and/or floor co-ordinates of the seam of the product, and wherein the signal output component can generate a second output signal indicating the determined height co-ordinate position of the temperature contrast region at the intersection so the second output signal can be used with said output signal for horizon control.

22. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 21 wherein the observation for the second temperature contrast region is by a thermal infrared camera and wherein the height position component can average the grey scale pixel intensity values of all pixels in a digital image thereof and note a lower and/or an upper limit for mining the seam of the product should the average intensity value change to a higher average pixel intensity value than when cutting only product from the seam.

23. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 22 wherein the signal processing component provides a datum position in a horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of a region of interest for the IR radiation, and wherein the temperature contrast region is determined by the signal processing component at that datum position,

said datum position being definable by specific pixel locations in a digital picture image obtained from the thermal infrared camera, and

said at least one temperature contrast region being determinable by noting a peak in the pixel grey scale intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital image that extend in a direction up and down the height of the region of interest.

24. A sensing apparatus as claimed in claim 18 wherein the observing of the position of the IR radiation is at multiple locations in the fresh cut product face, as the cutter moves across the mine face, and wherein multiple temperature contrast regions are determined from those multiple locations and said signal processing component applies a “

Robust Tracking”

filter to the multiple temperature contrast regions to minimise errors that may otherwise be caused by low levels of temperature contrast.

25. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13 and interconnected with a mining machine horizontal control apparatus.

26. A method of identifying thermally identifiable structure in a product mined from a mining face in a mine where a cutter cuts the product and exposes a fresh cut product face,

said method comprising observing the IR radiation from the fresh cut product face immediately adjacent the cutter,

noting at least one temperature contrast region from the IR observation and determining a thermally identifiable structure in the product mined by either;

1. the size magnitude of the at least one temperature contrast region or,

2. the temperature of the contrast region exceeding a temperature threshold.

27. A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein a region of interest for the IR radiation is provided with a datum position in a horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of the region of interest, and wherein the size magnitude of the temperature contrast region is determined at that datum position.

28. A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein a region of interest for the IR radiation is provided with a datum position in the horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of the region of interest, and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region is determined at that datum position,

and wherein the observing is by a thermal infrared camera and the datum position is defined by specific pixel locations in a digital picture image in the region of interest, and the at least one temperature contrast region is determined by noting a pixel grey scale peak in the intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital image extending in a direction up and down the height of the region of interest.

29. A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein a region of interest of the IR radiation is provided with a datum position in the horizontal axis direction that extends in a vertical axis direction up and down the height of the region of interest and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region from the IR observation is determined at that datum position,

and wherein the observing is by a thermal infrared camera and the datum position is defined by specific pixel locations in a digital picture image obtained therefrom,

and wherein the at least one temperature contrast region is determined by noting a peak in the pixel grey scale intensity values over many pixels at the datum position in the digital image extending in a direction up and down the height of the region of interest.

30. An apparatus to identify thermally identifiable structure in a mined product when mining product from a mine,

said apparatus having an image acquisition section for receiving IR image signals of an observed position of a freshly exposed cut product face immediately adjacent a mining machine cutter that cuts product from the mine,

a signal processing component to process the acquired IR image signals to note for at least one temperature contrast region,

an image processing component to identify thermally identifiable structure of the mined product by either

noting the size magnitude of the at least one temperature contrast region, ornoting the temperature magnitude of the at least one temperature contrast region above a temperature threshold, and

an output component to provide an output indicating thermally identifiable structure in the mine product.