Method and apparatus for load rate monitoring

• US 6,957,166 B1
• Filed: 04/22/1999
• Issued: 10/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of Agriculture
• Original Assignee: United States Department Of Health And Human Services
• Inventors: Owens, John K., Howie, Wayne L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nghiem, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sun, Xiuqin
• Application Number:
  US09/673,599
• Time in Patent Office: 2,371 Days
• Field of Search: 405/288, 405/302, 405/290, 405/295, 737/69, 702/173, 702/15, 702/138, 299/11, 364/558
• US Class Current: 702/173
• CPC Class Codes: E21F 17/185 Rock-pressure control devices with or without alarm devices; Alarm devices in case of roof subsidence props with load-measuring devices E21D15/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 21/23 Support or suspension of weighing platforms G01G21/24 takes precedence

Abstract

A system for real-time monitoring of the dynamic loading rate on support systems used in underground mines and other situations is provided. The load rate monitoring apparatus uses a programmable microcontroller to monitor and calculate the loading rates on the support system from pressure transducers or welded strain gauge instrumentation installed on the support systems. The apparatus is programmed to sequentially activate different color lights and/or audio alarms as the loading rate increases on the support systems. The apparatus is intended for installation with numerous underground support systems used in underground mining to alert miners of dangerous loading conditions, which support systems include longwall shields, mobile roof support (MRS) machines, hydraulic jacks, rock bolts, steel sets, and roof trusses. Intrinsically safe hand-held computers and displays may be used for programming the microcontroller subsystem and optimal load weight indicators include multicolor strobes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fluorescent visual indicators and audio alarms.

Claims

1. An apparatus for monitoring the dynamic loading rate for a mobile roof support unit used in an underground mine to withstand abutment pressure, the apparatus comprising:

at least one load sensing device adapted to be coupled to one or more hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support unit used in the underground mine;

a programmable controller for processing pressure change information for the one or more hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support unit, wherein the pressure change information is determined via information received from said at least one load sensing device; and

a plurality of sensory indicators located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device and controlled by said programmable controller, wherein the plurality of sensory indicators located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device indicate loading rate for the mobile roof support unit on a real-time basis during mining operations as determined via the pressure change information for the one or more hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support unit, wherein indicating loading rate for the one or more of the hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support unit comprises providing timely warning indications used as an aid in determining when to install additional support systems and alert miners of dangerous loading conditions on the support systems of the mobile roof support unit.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said load sensing device comprises a pressure transducer.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said load sensing device comprises a strain gauge.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said programmable controller comprises an embedded microprocessor.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein said programmable controller monitors loading rate changes on said load sensing device installed on the support systems.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 5 wherein said programmable controller calculates the loading rates on said load sensing device.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 5 wherein said plurality of sensory indicators comprise various color visual indicators including multicolor strobes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), fluorescent visual indicators and the like.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 7 wherein said programmable controller is programmed to sequentially activate different color lights as the loading rate increases on the support systems.

9. An apparatus as recited in claim 5 wherein said plurality of sensory indicators comprise audible alarm indicators.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 comprising at least one sensory indicator indicating safe conditions in the underground mine.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the at least one sensory indicator indicating safe conditions in the underground mine comprises a green light.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the programmable controller comprises a communications interface operable to receive values for controlling the sensory indicators.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mobile roof support unit comprises a mobile retreat mining unit with a plurality of hydraulic cylinder support systems, crawler tracks, and a canopy, said mining unit used to withstand the abutment pressure of the underground mine.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one load sensing device adapted to be coupled to one or more of the support systems of the mobile roof support unit used in the underground mine monitors pressure inside one or more hydraulic jacks associated with the mobile roof support unit.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of sensory indicators indicates a safe condition.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein said at least one of said plurality of sensory indicators indicating a safe condition is a green light.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of sensory indicators indicates a different loading condition.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mobile roof support unit is operable to support a mine roof during pillar extraction carried out in retreat pillar mining operations.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mobile roof support unit is operable to support a mine roof during pillar extraction.

20. An apparatus for monitoring dynamic loading rate on for a mobile roof support unit used in an underground mine to withstand abutment pressure, comprising:

at least one load sensing device coupled to one or more hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support unit;

means for receiving hydraulic pressure information from said at least one load sensing device;

means for determining the loading rate on the support systems using the received hydraulic pressure information; and

means for activating sensory warning indicators located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device responsive to said determining means to provide real-time indications of the dynamic loading rate for the mobile roof support unit during mining operations, wherein said real-time indications are used as an aid in determining when to install additional support systems and alert miners of dangerous loading conditions on the support systems of the mobile roof support unit.

21. An apparatus as recited in claim 20 wherein said determining means identifies changes in the loading rate on the support systems.

22. An apparatus as recited in claim 21 further comprising means for sequentially activating different color lights and audio alarms as the loading rate increases on the support systems.

23. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the means for determining support system loading information is programmable.

24. The apparatus as recited in claim 20 wherein the means to provide timely warning indications used as an aid in determining when to install additional support systems and alert miners of dangerous loading conditions on the support systems during mining operations comprises an indicator indicating safe conditions.

25. The apparatus as recited in claim 24 wherein the indicator indicating safe conditions comprises a green light.

26. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the means for activating sensory warning indicators is operable to receive a value via a communications interface means, and the value affects under what conditions the sensory warning indicators are activated.

27. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the means for determining the loading rate on the support systems using the received loading information comprises means to monitor pressure inside one or more hydraulic jacks.

28. The apparatus of claim 20 further comprising means for indicating safe mining conditions.

29. A method of monitoring dynamic loading rate on support systems of a mobile roof support unit used in an underground mine to withstand abutment pressure, the method comprising:

receiving support system loading information from at least one load sensing device coupled to the hydraulic-based support systems of the mobile roof support unit, wherein the support system loading information comprises hydraulic pressure information;

determining the load rate on the support systems using the received loading information; and

activating sensory indicators located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device to provide timely real-time dynamic loading rate indications as determined via the hydraulic pressure information and used as an aid in determining when to install additional support systems and alert miners of dangerous loading conditions on the support systems of the mobile roof support unit during mining operations.

30. A method as recited in claim 29 wherein determining the load rate on the support systems comprises identifying changes in the loading rate on the support systems.

31. A method as recited in claim 30 wherein said activating step provides warning indications in response to said identifying step.

32. A method as recited in claim 31 comprising the step of sequentially activating different color lights as the loading rate increases on the support systems.

33. The method as recited in claim 29 further comprising:

hydraulically coupling at least one of the load sensing devices to one or more of the support systems of the mobile roof support unit during installation.

34. A method as recited in claim 29 further comprising:

welding at least one of the load sensing devices onto the support systems during installation.

35. The method of claim 29 wherein the determining is performed by a programmable controller.

36. One or more computer-readable media comprising computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 29.

37. The method of claim 29 further comprising setting a value received via a communications interface at a location local to said at least one load sensing device, wherein the value affects activation of one or more of the sensory warning indicators.

38. An apparatus for monitoring dynamic loading rate on support systems of a mobile roof support machine to withstand abutment pressure, the apparatus comprising:

at least one load sensing device adapted to be coupled to one or more hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support machine;

a programmable controller for processing pressure information for the one or more hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support machine, wherein the pressure information is determined via information received from said at least one load sensing device; and

at least one sensory indicator located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device and controlled by said programmable controller, wherein the at least one sensory indicator located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device indicates loading rate on a real-time basis during mining operations as determined via the pressure information for the one or more hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support machine, wherein indicating loading rate for the one or more of the hydraulic support systems of the mobile roof support machine comprises providing timely warning indications used as an aid in determining when to install additional support systems and alert workers of dangerous loading conditions on the support systems of the mobile roof support machine.

39. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein the programmable controller is operable to set one or more programmable values which help determine when to install additional support systems and alert workers of dangerous loading conditions on the support systems.

40. The apparatus of claim 38 wherein at least one load sensing device adapted to be coupled to one or more of the support systems of the mobile roof support machine comprises a pressure transducer to monitor pressure inside one or more hydraulic jacks associated with the mobile roof support machine.

41. An apparatus for monitoring dynamic loading rate on support systems of a unit, the apparatus comprising:

at least one load sensing device adapted to be coupled to one or more of the support systems of the unit to monitor pressure inside one or more hydraulic jacks associated with the unit;

a programmable controller for processing support system loading information received from said at least one load sensing device and determine the dynamic loading rate via the monitored pressure inside the one or more hydraulic jacks associated with the unit; and

at least one sensory indicator located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device and controlled by said programmable controller to alert workers of the dynamic loading rate conditions on the support systems of the unit on a real-time basis as determined via the monitored pressure inside the one or more hydraulic jacks associated with the unit.

42. The apparatus of claim 41 wherein the programmable controller is operable to set programmable values based at least on part on the loading conditions on the support systems.

43. An apparatus for monitoring dynamic loading rate on hydraulic-jack-based support systems of a mobile roof support unit used in an underground mine to withstand abutment pressure, wherein the mobile roof support unit is operable to support a mine roof during retreat pillar mining operations via one or more hydraulic jacks, the apparatus comprising:

at least one load sensing device adapted to be coupled to one or more of the hydraulic-jack-based support systems of the mobile roof support unit used in the underground mine and operable to measure measurements of hydraulic pressure within the one or more hydraulic jacks, wherein the mobile roof support unit is operable to support a mine roof during retreat pillar mining operations;

a programmable controller for processing support system loading information received from said at least one load sensing device; and

a plurality of sensory indicators located in the vicinity of said at least one load sensing device and controlled by said programmable controller to provide timely warning indications of the loading rate on the hydraulic-jack-based support systems of the mobile roof support unit based on the measurements of the hydraulic pressure within the one or more hydraulic jacks, wherein the indications are used as an aid in determining when to install additional support systems and alert miners of dangerous loading conditions on the support systems of the mobile roof support unit during mining operations on a real-time basis, wherein the mobile roof support unit is operable to support a mine roof during retreat pillar mining operations.