METHOD AND UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTION DEVICE FOR GROUND WORKING

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for ground working with an underground construction device which comprises at least one rotary drive unit for rotationally driving a ground working tool and at least one feed unit, by means of which the ground working tool is introduced into the ground for creating a hole, wherein a control and evaluation unit is provided, by means of which setting parameters are acquired and stored during ground working, at least one state value resulting from ground working is acquired and stored and the setting parameters are changed and set by the control and evaluation unit depending on the at least one acquired state value. According to the invention, it is provided that an automatic calibration is carried out by the control and evaluation unit at least at the beginning of ground working, wherein ground working is performed in a first calibration section with a first set of setting parameters predetermined by a calibration program and at least in a further second calibration section with a second set of setting parameters predetermined by the calibration program, wherein the predetermined sets of setting parameters differ from one another, and that subsequently the control and evaluation unit sets the setting parameters for further ground working depending on the state variables acquired in the calibration sections.

Description

The invention relates to a method for ground working with an underground construction device, which comprises at least one rotary drive unit for rotationally driving a ground working tool and at least one feed unit, by means of which the ground working tool is introduced into the ground for creating a hole, wherein a control and evaluation unit is provided, by means of which setting parameters are acquired and stored during the ground working, at least one state value resulting from the ground working is acquired and stored, and the setting parameters are changed and set by the control and evaluation unit depending on the at least one acquired state value, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The invention further relates to an underground construction device for ground working according to such a method according to claim 12.

A generic method for ground working is described in EP 3 299 523 A1. This known method is carried out by a construction device with a control and evaluation unit, by which at least one setting parameter is related as an input variable to an acquired state value as a resulting output variable. Here, a ground working value is determined and stored. In particular, by detecting a torque of the rotary drive or a feed force as an input variable and detecting a resulting rotational speed or a resulting feed rate as an output variable, a statement can be made by the control and evaluation unit about the strength of the ground and thus a statement about the type and structure of the ground, such as whether sand, gravel, clay or a rocky ground is present. Thus, with this method, a ground profile can be determined and stored, which can also be used for further control of the ground working.

Required for the implementation of this method is the storage of corresponding ground data in a database, so that depending on the setting parameters and the resulting output variables, a specific and correct statement can be made about the worked ground.

This known method is particularly advantageous when ground working of a ground with a defined ground profile takes place, in which a uniform ground or a ground layering with uniform ground layers is given.

In certain cases, ground working of a ground is required where no uniform ground structure or strongly changing ground conditions are given. Also in the case of other special grounds, for which no concrete ground values with suitable setting parameters are stored, the setting parameters required for the method must usually be entered manually by the machine operator. A resulting efficiency of the method depends heavily on the knowledge and experience of the respective machine operator.

The object underlying the invention is to provide a method and an underground construction device for ground working, by means of which an efficient ground working can be reliably carried out independently of a knowledge or identification of a ground value, and regardless of the experience of a machine operator.

The object is achieved, on the one hand, by a method having the features of claim 1 and, on the other hand, by an underground construction device having the features of claim 12. Preferred embodiments of the invention are stated in the respective dependent claims.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that an automatic calibration program is executed by the control and evaluation unit at least at the beginning of a ground working, wherein a ground working is carried out in a first calibration section with a first set of setting parameters predetermined by a calibration program and at least in a further second calibration section with a second set of setting parameters predetermined by the calibration program, wherein the resulting sets of setting parameters differ from one another, and that subsequently the control and evaluation unit sets the setting parameters for further ground working depending on the state variables acquired in the calibration sections.

A basic idea of the invention is to proceed from a determination of a ground working value for the setting of the process parameters and to perform an automatic calibration, so to speak, of the setting parameters largely independent of the ground type, preferably at the beginning of the ground working. In this calibration, ground working is first carried out in a first calibration section with a fixed set of setting parameters. This results in state values or output variables during the ground working. Subsequently, at least one further calibration section is carried out with a predetermined second set of setting parameters, whereby the predetermined sets of setting parameters of the individual calibration sections clearly differ from each other. The second calibration section then results in second state or output variables, which typically differ from the resulting first state variables or output variables of the first calibration section.

Due to the different sets of setting parameters in the calibration sections and the resulting different state variables or output variables in the individual calibration sections, a decision on suitable setting parameters for further ground working can be effected by the control and evaluation unit.

Preferably, the sets of setting parameters in the individual calibration sections are selected in such a way as to be significantly different. For example, a relatively low rotational speed of a ground working tool can be provided in a first calibration section, while a relatively high rotational speed is set in the further calibration section. Depending on the state variables that are set in this process, the control and evaluation unit can estimate whether a rather low or a high rotational speed of the ground working tool is useful for further ground working. The feed force can be set as a setting parameter accordingly. The feed unit can comprise hydraulic cylinders or a cable winch, by means of which can be caused a downward pressure force and/or an upward counter-force, for example if a desired feed force is smaller than a weight force acting on the ground working tool.

The more calibration sections with different setting parameters are executed by the calibration program, the more precisely the control and evaluation unit can make a statement about particularly suitable setting parameters for further ground working under the in-situ ground conditions. Due to the automatic execution of the calibration by means of a calibration program with predefined fixed sets of setting parameters, efficient ground working is made possible for all machine operators regardless of their experience and also regardless of the exact knowledge of the ground.

A preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is such that more than two calibration sections with different sets of setting parameters are provided by the calibration program. A calibration section can in this process have a machining time of up to several minutes and preferably a machining depth of up to 1 meter and more. The more calibration sections are provided, the shorter the processing time in a calibration section can be. Preferably, calibration is provided when creating a borehole up to a depth of 5 meters.

If three calibration sections are provided, two calibration sections can be provided with two opposite extreme setting parameters, such as a relatively low rotational speed and a relatively high rotational speed. In the third calibration section, an average rotational speed can be provided which lies between the two extreme speeds in the two other calibration sections. Depending on the resulting state values or output variables, the control and evaluation unit can determine whether the rotational speed is higher or lower than the average rotational speed for suitable machining and to which extend of the amount of the rotational speed the value to be set should differ from the average rotational speed during calibration.

In particular, when using multiple calibration sections, especially four, five or more calibration sections, it is preferred according to one embodiment of the invention that one of the sets of setting parameters is selected from the calibration section for the ground working following the calibration. For example, the set of setting parameters that has achieved the best result compared to the other calibration sections can be selected, such as the greatest removal rate or the fastest working progress.

According to an alternative variant of the invention, it is advantageous that the setting parameters for the ground processing following the calibration are freely determined by the control and evaluation unit. An algorithm can be stored in the control and evaluation unit by which, depending on the resulting state values, setting parameters are freely selected which deviate from the setting parameters in the calibration sections. The differences between the individual setting parameters in the calibration sections can be related to the differences between the resulting state values in the associated calibration sections. As a result, particularly efficient ground working can be achieved.

In principle, the calibration process according to the invention can be carried out at any time during a ground working. According to a further development of the invention, it is particularly advantageous for the calibration to be carried out at the beginning of the creation of a hole, wherein the calibration is provided up to a depth of 5 meters, preferably from 1 meter to 4 meters. The resulting preferred setting parameters can be stored and recalled, for example, in case of ground working in adjacent areas. In principle, it is possible to perform a separate calibration process for each individual ground working operation. This is particularly useful in the case of strongly changing ground conditions.

According to a further development of the invention, it is advantageous for efficient ground working that the at least one setting parameter and/or the at least one state value are acquired and stored over time and/or over the advancing distance. In this way, in principle, a setting parameter which changes over time or over the ground working depth can also be provided for further ground working.

In principle, any suitable setting parameter on an underground construction device can be used for method control. According to one embodiment of the invention, it is particularly advantageous thereby that a torque of the rotary drive unit, a feed force of the feed unit and/or a pressure or a volume in a hydraulic system for driving the rotary drive unit and/or the feed unit are selected as setting parameters.

In a corresponding manner, any suitable state value that results from the ground working, such as an advance speed, can also be acquired and used as an output variable for controlling the method. According to a further development of the invention, it is particularly appropriate that for the ground working following the calibration, the setting parameters are selected by the control and evaluation unit depending on the lowest possible energy consumption, the lowest possible wear and/or the lowest possible vibration/sound emission. Therefore, not only an advancing speed during ground working, but also an energy consumption and/or further values, such as the device vibration or sound radiation, can be used and taken into account as a state value. For example, a vibration of the implement resulting from ground working can be regarded as a measure of the wear to which the ground working tool and the underground construction device as a whole are subjected, with, for example, a favorable ratio between high advancing and low vibration being selected.

Thus, one target variable can be an advance as large or fast as possible at a given level of vibration to select and define the setting parameters for subsequent working.

According to a further development of the invention, it may be expedient to execute calibration multiple times during the sinking of the hole in the ground, especially in the case of strongly fluctuating ground conditions or in the case of larger hole depths. Thus, in particular, for larger hole depths, a repeated calibration of the setting parameters can be useful. In particular, a new calibration can be indicated by the control and evaluation unit if it is determined by the control and evaluation unit that the setting parameters set after a first calibration do not or no longer result in the state values or output variables that are to be expected as target values.

In principle, the method can be provided for any ground working with an underground construction device. According to one embodiment of the invention, it is particularly expedient that drilling with a drilling tool is performed as ground working. In this process, the drilling tool may be an auger, a rock drill, a displacement drill or a bucket drill.

Alternatively, according to one embodiment of the invention it is provided, that cutting with a trench cutter as the ground working is executed. In this case, the trench cutter preferably comprises two pairs of cutting wheels with horizontally oriented axes of rotation, which remove ground material when a trench cutter is sunk into the ground.

In addition to a rotational speed and a feed rate, a capacity of a feed pump, by means of which removed ground material is conveyed out of the hole, can also be provided as a state variable or setting parameter.

The invention further comprises an underground construction device for ground working for the method described above, having a rotary drive means for rotationally driving a ground working tool and a feed unit by means of which the ground working tool can be introduced into the ground in an advancing direction, and having a control and evaluation unit which is configured to carry out an automatic calibration at least at the beginning of the ground working, to perform a ground working in a first calibration section with a first predetermined set of setting parameters and at least in a further second calibration section with a predetermined set of setting parameters, wherein the sets of setting parameters differ from one another, and to set the setting parameters for the ground working following the calibration depending on the state values acquired during the calibration.

The underground construction device according to the invention can be used to carry out the processes described above. The advantages described in this context can be achieved.

According to a further development of the invention, it is particularly preferred that the underground construction device is a drilling apparatus in which a drilling tool is rotationally driven by means of the at least one rotary drive unit. The drilling tool may be an auger, a rock drill, a drill bucket, a displacement drill or any other earth drilling tool.

Alternatively, according to one embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the underground construction device is a trench cutter in which cutting wheels are driven by means of the at least one rotary drive unit.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to preferred exemplary embodiments, which are shown schematically. Shown are in:

FIG. 1: a first embodiment of an assembly according to the invention,

FIG. 2: a second embodiment of an assembly according to the invention and

FIG. 3: a flow chart of the method according to the invention.

A first embodiment of an underground construction device 10 according to the invention for creating a hole 60 with a borehole wall 62 is shown in FIG. 1. The underground construction device 10 is configured as a drilling apparatus 12 having a carrier unit. In the embodiment shown, the carrier unit comprises a under carriage 16 and an upper carriage 18, which is mounted on the under carriage 16 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis of rotation and to which a mast 20 is attached.

The mast 20 is pivotably mounted on the upper carriage 18. Guide rails 24 are provided along a mast axis 22, on which a carriage 34 is movably guided to form a feed unit 30. A rotary drive means 32 is mounted on the carriage 34. A drill rod 36, at the lower end of which a drilling tool 39 is arranged as a ground working tool 40, can be rotationally driven by the rotary drive means 32.

For performing the method according to the invention, a control and evaluation unit 28 is provided on the upper carriage 18 in a driver's cab 14, by means of which the feed unit 30 and the rotary drive means 32 can be controlled. Furthermore, the control and evaluation unit 28 is connected to various measuring means, such as a measuring means 26 on the rotary drive means 32, the feed unit 30 and other units and components of the underground construction device 10.

The control and evaluation unit 28 can carry out a process sequence which is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3. A calibration program stored in the control and evaluation unit 28 first executes a first calibration section K1, wherein first setting parameters E1, for example for the feed unit 30 and/or the rotary drive means 32, are specified. In the process, a first section of the hole 60 in the ground is created, with state values or output variables A1 being received from the control and evaluation unit 28 via the measuring devices.

After the first calibration section K1, the hole 60 is further sunk in a second calibration section K2, wherein a set of second setting parameters E2 is specified by the control and evaluation unit 28, which differs from the set of first setting parameters E1. This results in second state values or output variables A2, which are fed back to the control and evaluation unit 28 from the corresponding measuring devices.

Depending on what is specified by the calibration program, any predetermined number of further calibration sections K_N with further different setting parameters E_N can be carried out, with corresponding state values or output variables A_N being fed back to the control and evaluation unit 28.

Depending on the calibration sections performed in each case, based on the respective setting parameters and the state values obtained in the process, a suitable set of setting parameters E_B for further ground working B by the control and evaluation unit 28 is specified by the control and evaluation unit 28 at the end of the calibration program, wherein certain state values are expected as target values. The ground working can be carried out up to the intended final depth with these setting parameters E_B.

During ground working, the state values or output variables A_B resulting therefrom can be fed back to the control and evaluation unit 28 as actual values. In the control and evaluation unit 28, these actual values can be compared with the expected target values on which the selection of the setting parameters E_B for the selected optimized ground working has been based.

If the deviation of the actual values from the target values is too great, the control and evaluation unit 28 can change the setting parameters or, if necessary, perform a further automatic calibration as described above.

Referring to FIG. 2, an alternative configuration of the underground construction device 10 with a trench cutter 50 is shown highly schematized. The trench cutter 50 comprises an approximately cuboid cutter frame 52, on the underside of which two pairs of cutting wheels 54 are mounted in a manner to be rotationally drivable. The cutting wheels 54, which are driven by a rotary drive means (not shown), as a ground working tool, remove ground material and thus creating a hole 60 in the ground.

A support cable 56 is arranged at the upper end of the cutter frame 52, by means of which the trench cutter 50 is vertically movably suspended from a support unit (not shown).

With the trench cutter 50, the above-described method for ground working can be carried out in the same way, wherein different rotational speeds for the cutting wheels 54 and/or different superimposed loads can be set by changing an upwardly directed tensile force on the supporting cable 56 by means of a control and evaluation unit in the carrier unit for the individual calibration steps. Depending on the resulting state values from the individual calibration sections, suitable final setting parameters for further cutting of the hole 60 can then be determined by the control and evaluation unit.

Claims

1. A method for ground working with an underground construction device, which comprises at least one rotary drive unit for rotationally driving a ground working tool and at least one feed unit by means of which the ground working tool is introduced into the ground for creating a hole, wherein a control and evaluation unit is provided, by means of which

setting parameters are acquired and stored during ground working,

at least one state value resulting from ground working is acquired and stored, and

the setting parameters are changed and set depending on the at least one acquired state value, by the control and evaluation unit,

wherein

the control and evaluation unit carries out an automatic calibration at least at the beginning of ground working, wherein ground working is carried out in a first calibration section with a first set of setting parameters predetermined by a calibration program and at least in a further second calibration section with a second set of setting parameters predetermined by the calibration program, wherein the predetermined sets of setting parameters differ from one another, and

subsequently the control and evaluation unit sets the setting parameters for further ground working depending on the state variables acquired in the calibration sections.

2. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

more than two calibration sections with different sets of setting parameters are provided by the calibration program.

3. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

one of the sets of setting parameters is selected from a calibration section for the ground working following the calibration.

4. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

the setting parameters for the ground working following the calibration are freely determined by the control and evaluation unit.

5. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

the calibration is performed at the beginning of the creation of a hole, wherein the calibration is provided up to a depth of 5 m, preferably from 1 m to 4 m.

6. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

the at least one setting parameter and/or the at least one state value are acquired and stored over time and/or the advance distance.

7. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

a torque of the rotary drive unit, a feed force of the feed unit and/or a pressure or a volume in a hydraulic system for driving the rotary drive unit and/or the feed unit are selected as setting parameters.

8. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

for the ground working following the calibration, the setting parameters are selected by the control and evaluation unit depending on a lowest possible energy consumption, a lowest possible wear and/or a lowest possible vibration/sound emission.

9. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

during sinking of the hole into the ground, a calibration is performed multiple times.

10. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

drilling with a drilling tool is carried out as ground working.

11. The method according to claim 1,

wherein

cutting with a trench cutter is carried out as ground working.

12. An underground construction device for ground working according to a method according to claim 1,

with a rotary drive means for rotationally driving a ground working tool and a feed unit, by means of which the ground working tool can be introduced into the ground in an advancing direction, and with a control and evaluation unit, which is configured to carry out automatic calibration at least at the beginning of ground working, perform ground working in a first calibration section with a first predetermined set of setting parameters and at least in a further second calibration section with a predetermined second set of setting parameters, wherein the sets of setting parameters differ from each other, and depending on the state values acquired during calibration, set the setting parameters for the ground working following the calibration.

13. The underground construction device according to claim 12,

wherein

this device is a drilling apparatus, in which a drilling tool is rotationally driven by means of the at least one rotary drive unit.

14. The underground construction device according to claim 12,

wherein

this device is a trench cutter, in which cutting wheels are driven by means of the at least one rotary drive unit.