Method for locating persons and/or mobile machines in mine caverns using RFID technology, and longwall face extraction installation for carrying out the method

• US 9,152,908 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2011
• Issued: 10/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH (Caterpillar Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH (Caterpillar Incorporated)
• Inventors: Stelter, Sascha, Westphalen, Andreas, Ahler, Marco
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TOAN NGOC
• Application Number:
  US13/637,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20130194079A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,657 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.42, 340/539.13, 340/10.1, 340/573.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.22, 367/127
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E21D 23/148 Wireless transmission of signals or commands
• CPC Class Codes: E21F 17/18 Special adaptations of signalling or alarm devices for mine lifts B66B; gas-sensitive devices per se G01N
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/68 Marker, boundary, call-sign, or like beacons transmitting signals not carrying directional information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0045 Transmission from base station to mobile station G01S5/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs

Abstract

A method and a longwall face extraction installation have a device for locating persons and/or mobile machines in mine caverns using RFID technology. Base stations are arranged in a distributed manner along the mine cavern to be monitored and have a transmitter and a receiver. At least one RFID transponder is associated with the person or machine to be located, which has stored identification data, can be activated using the base station and can be read in a contactless manner using the base station. In order to provide a method for locating persons and a longwall face extraction installation, in particular for coal mining, which make it possible to effectively use RFID technology, the transmitters of adjacently positioned base stations along a region of the mine cavern to be monitored successively emit their transmission wave in order to activate an RFID transponder.

Claims

1. A method for locating persons or mobile machines in a mine cavern using RFID technology;

comprising;

providing a plurality of base stations arranged in a distributed manner along the mine cavern to be monitored, one or more of the base stations having a transmitter and one or more receivers;

providing at least one RFID transponder associated with the person or machine to be located, the RFID transponder having stored identification data, is activable using the base station and readable in a contactless manner using the receivers;

wherein the transmitters of adjacently positioned base stations along a region of the mine cavern to be monitored successively emit their transmission wave in order to activate an RFID transponder;

wherein a signal strength of the transmission wave from each transmitter is changeable and is changed in order to determine a distance between a detected RFID transponder and a nearest base station.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein all base stations along the region to be monitored successively emit their transmission wave, and a locally next neighbour using its transmitter to emit the transmission wave temporally after a base station in each case.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein only a single transmitter emits the transmission wave at a particular point in time.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of transmitters emit their transmission wave at a particular point in time, with one or more currently active transmitters being in different sections of the mine cavern to be monitored.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the transmitters generate their transmission waves in random or predefined temporal sequences and/or the transmitters successively emit their transmission wave only in a section of the mine cavern.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mine cavern comprises longwall faces of mining extraction installations, and further comprising shield support frames which are positioned along the longwall face and are intended to keep the longwall face open, and a conveying device for transporting extracted material and an extraction machine which is movable between ends of the longwall face, wherein a base station is associated with every shield support frame or every nth shield support frame, where n=2 to 5.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the base stations have a transmitter and a receiver.

8. A longwall face extraction installation, comprising:

shield support frames arranged along the longwall face;

a conveying device for transporting extracted material;

an extraction machine movable between ends of the longwall face;

a device for locating persons or machines at the longwall face using RFID technology, the device having base stations arranged in a distributed manner along the longwall face and having a transmitter, and one or more receivers arranged in a distributed manner along the longwall face, and at least one RFID transponder associated with the person or machine to be located, wherein the RFID transponder has stored identification data, is activatable using the base stations and is readable in a contactless manner, and a central controller for the base stations;

wherein a base station is associated with every shield support frame or a base station is associated with every nth shield support frame, where n=2 to 5, and the base stations are controllable using the central controller in such a manner that the transmitters of adjacently positioned base stations successively emit their transmission wave in order to activate an RFID transponder.

9. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 8, wherein a first RFID transponder is arranged on the extraction machine and at least one second RFID transponder is configured for locating persons.

10. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 8, wherein each base station has an associated RFID reference transponder which is respectively fitted to a section of the conveying device in front of the respective base station.

11. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 8, wherein the central controller is usable to select a section along the longwall face, inside which the transmitters of the base stations successively transmit a signal wave and/or inside which the transmitters transmit signal waves with a signal strength which preferably changes continuously.

12. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 8, wherein the longwall face has an entry region at the end of the longwall face, which region has an associated detection device which is configured to detect every person accessing the longwall face, including the RFID transponder worn by said person, and to report said person to the central controller.

13. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 12, wherein a safe region configured for a person to stay is defined on each shield support frame, and the extraction machine is controllable in such a manner that the extraction machine is switched off if not all of the RFID transponders reported to the central controller for persons are detected inside the safe region to stay.

14. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 8, wherein the RFID transponders are in a form of an active tag or semi-active tag.

15. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 8, wherein the transmitters emit a signal wave which is preferably modulated in a low-frequency band.

16. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 15, wherein, the RFID transponders are activated by the signal wave emitting an identification wave in the radio-frequency range, and wherein the receivers being designed to read the identification wave.

17. The longwall face extraction installation according to claim 8, wherein each of the base stations have a transmitter and a receiver.

18. A method for locating persons or mobile machines in a mine cavern using RFID technology;

comprising;

providing a plurality of base stations arranged in a distributed manner along the mine cavern to be monitored, one or more of the base stations having a transmitter and one or more receivers;

providing at least one RFID transponder associated with the person or machine to be located, the RFID transponder having stored identification data, is activable using the base station and readable in a contactless manner using the receivers;

wherein the transmitters of adjacently positioned base stations along a region of the mine cavern to be monitored successively emit their transmission wave in order to activate an RFID transponder;

wherein the mine cavern comprises longwall faces of mining extraction installations, and further comprising shield support frames which are positioned along the longwall face and are intended to keep the longwall face open, and a conveying device for transporting extracted material and an extraction machine which is movable between ends of the longwall face, wherein a base station is associated with every shield support frame or every nth shield support frame, where n=2 to 5.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein a signal strength of the transmission wave from each transmitter is changeable and is changed in order to determine a distance between a detected RFID transponder and a nearest base station.