System And Method For Providing Power To A Mining Operation

• US 20170305290A1
• Filed: 04/20/2016
• Published: 10/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Artisan Vehicle Systems Inc. (Sandvik AB)
• Original Assignee: Artisan Vehicle Systems Inc. (Sandvik AB)
• Inventors: Huff, Brian R., Kasaba, Michael E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,994,117 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/00 Arrangement or mounting of electrical propulsion units B60K7/00 takes precedence; arrangement or mounting of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion B60K6/00; electric transmission arrangements B60K17/12; electric equipment or propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles per se B60L; current-collectors for power supply lines of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L5/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/04 of the electric storage means for propulsion exchanging batteries for electric propulsion of vehicles B60L53/80; for auxiliary purposes only B60R16/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/001 one motor mounted on a propulsion axle for rotating right and left wheels of this axle
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2025/103 by electric means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 25/10 directly from oscillating movements due to vehicle running motion, e.g. suspension movement resilient suspensions having dampers accumulating utilisable energy, e.g. compressing air, B60G13/14
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/36 Vehicles designed to transport cargo, e.g. trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/44 Industrial trucks or floor conveyors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/642 Slope of road
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/53 Batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 55/00 Arrangements for supplying energy stored within a vehicle to a power network, i.e. vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/13 Maintaining the SoC within a determined range
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 7/10 Dynamic electric regenerative braking B60L7/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2400/209 Piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/60 Electric or hybrid propulsion means for production processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/126 : the energy generation units being or involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]

Abstract

A system for employing gravity to provide electrical power for mining operations in a mine includes a battery configured to power an electric vehicle. The vehicle includes a kinetic energy capture system that can charge the battery as the vehicle conveys a loaded vehicle down a ramp from an ore face to a chamber. Traveling down the ramp produces a surplus charge in the battery due to a weight differential between a loaded vehicle traveling down a ramp producing more energy via the kinetic energy capture system than energy used by the vehicle to convey the empty vehicle up the ramp to the ore face. A discharging device disposed in the chamber is configured to discharge the surplus energy out of the battery and into the mine'"'"'s power grid. One or multiple trips between the ore face and the chamber may fully charge the battery.

Claims

1. A system for employing gravity to provide electrical power for mining operations in a mine, wherein the mine has a shaft extending downward from the earth'"'"'s surface to a chamber containing a power grid for powering the mining operations, a deposit having an ore face positioned between the chamber and the earth'"'"'s surface, and a ramp extending at an incline between the ore face and the chamber, the system comprising:

a battery associated with a zero-emissions vehicle, wherein the battery is configured to be charged by a kinetic energy capture system associated with the vehicle when the zero-emissions vehicle travels on the ramp from the ore face to the chamber while carrying a load; and

a discharging device disposed in the chamber, wherein the discharging device is configured to discharge energy out of the battery and into the power grid when the battery is attached to the discharging device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the battery is configured to receive a net surplus energy charge from the kinetic energy capture system when the zero-emissions vehicle makes a trip cycle, wherein a trip cycle is a loaded trip down the ramp to the chamber and an unloaded trip up the ramp back to the deposit.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the battery is attached to the discharging device after at least one trip cycle.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the battery is attached to the discharging device after more than two trip cycles.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the discharging device is a bidirectional charger.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one additional minimally charged battery so that the battery on the vehicle may be replaced with the minimally charged battery when the battery is attached to the discharging device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the kinetic energy capture system is a regenerative braking system.

8. A system for employing gravity to provide electrical power for mining operations in a mine, wherein the mine has a shaft extending downward from the earth'"'"'s surface to a chamber containing a power grid for powering the mining operations, a deposit having an ore face positioned between the chamber and the earth'"'"'s surface, and a ramp extending between the ore face and the chamber, the system comprising:

a zero-emissions vehicle including a kinetic energy capture system;

a battery configured to power the zero-emissions vehicle when attached to the zero-emissions vehicle and to receive power from the kinetic energy capture system when the zero-emissions vehicle travels down the ramp carrying a load from the ore face to the chamber; and

a discharging device configured to discharge energy out of the battery and into the power grid when the battery is attached to the discharging device.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a charging cycle,

wherein the charging cycle comprises a loaded zero-emissions vehicle conveying a load of ore down the ramp from the ore face to the chamber and an unloaded zero-emissions vehicle driving up the ramp from the chamber to the ore face,

wherein the loaded zero-emissions vehicle is heavier than the unloaded zero-emissions vehicle, and

wherein the battery is configured to receive a net surplus energy charge during a charging cycle.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the net surplus energy charge from a charging cycle is sufficient to charge the battery to a maximum desired charge.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the net surplus energy charge from more than one charging cycle is sufficient to charge the battery to a maximum desired charge.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the maximum desired charge is a 100 percent charge.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the battery is attached to the discharging device after at least one charging cycle.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the battery is attached to the discharging device after more than two charging cycles.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the battery is configured to be discharged to a minimum acceptable charge by the discharge system.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the minimum acceptable charge is a 20 percent charge.

17. A method for powering a mining operation, the method comprising the steps of:

loading a vehicle powered by a battery with a load extracted from a deposit, wherein the vehicle is configured to capture the kinetic energy of the vehicle to charge the battery;

driving the loaded vehicle down a ramp to a chamber;

capturing kinetic energy while driving the loaded vehicle down the ramp;

charging the battery to a predetermined discharge level using captured kinetic energy; and

discharging the charged battery to a predetermined use level.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising

unloading the vehicle;

and

driving the unloaded vehicle up the ramp using power from the battery.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of unloading the vehicle occurs prior to the step of discharging the charged battery.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising

driving a trip cycle,

wherein a trip cycle includes the steps of conveying the load down a ramp to the chamber, capturing kinetic energy, unloading the vehicle, and driving the unloaded vehicle up the ramp using power from the battery;

and

creating a net energy surplus in the battery during a trip cycle due to a weight difference between the loaded vehicle and the unloaded vehicle.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the predetermined use level is a 20% battery charge.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the predetermined discharge level is a charge greater than a 20% battery charge.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the predetermined discharge level is a 100% battery charge.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of discharging the battery includes attaching the battery to a bidirectional charger.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of capturing kinetic energy includes using a regenerative braking system.