Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16P—SAFETY DEVICES IN GENERAL; SAFETY DEVICES FOR PRESSES
  • F16P3/00—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body
  • F16P3/12—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body with means, e.g. feelers, which in case of the presence of a body part of a person in or near the danger zone influence the control or operation of the machine
  • F16P3/14—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body with means, e.g. feelers, which in case of the presence of a body part of a person in or near the danger zone influence the control or operation of the machine the means being photocells or other devices sensitive without mechanical contact
  • F16P3/147—Safety devices acting in conjunction with the control or operation of a machine; Control arrangements requiring the simultaneous use of two or more parts of the body with means, e.g. feelers, which in case of the presence of a body part of a person in or near the danger zone influence the control or operation of the machine the means being photocells or other devices sensitive without mechanical contact using electro-magnetic technology, e.g. tags or radar
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23Q—DETAILS, COMPONENTS, OR ACCESSORIES FOR MACHINE TOOLS, e.g. ARRANGEMENTS FOR COPYING OR CONTROLLING; MACHINE TOOLS IN GENERAL CHARACTERISED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF PARTICULAR DETAILS OR COMPONENTS; COMBINATIONS OR ASSOCIATIONS OF METAL-WORKING MACHINES, NOT DIRECTED TO A PARTICULAR RESULT
  • B23Q11/00—Accessories fitted to machine tools for keeping tools or parts of the machine in good working condition or for cooling work; Safety devices specially combined with or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, machine tools
  • B23Q11/0078—Safety devices protecting the operator, e.g. against accident or noise
  • B23Q11/0082—Safety devices protecting the operator, e.g. against accident or noise by determining whether the operator is in a dangerous position
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH DRILLING, e.g. DEEP DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B41/00—Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00
  • E21B41/0021—Safety devices, e.g. for preventing small objects from falling into the borehole

Definitions

• the present invention concerns boring, drilling and processing machines in general, and in particular it concerns a new safety system for the operating members of drilling or processing machines in general.
• Drilling or processing machines which comprise a vehicle provided with a frame, a self-propelling carriage and a drilling member or processing member in general. It is known that when the processing member is moving it represents a risk for the operators. In particular, it has been statistically proven that a large number of accidents, even serious or deadly, occur following the accidental contact of the operator with the processing member in movement.
• Said physical barriers comprise, for example, metallic grids or any other type of mechanical safety barrier.
• Said barriers are generally provided with suitable constraints in order to allow them to be moved and thus allow access to the protected area for loading/unloading the drilling tools/rods, as well as to carry out any type of processing on the hole (for example, introduction of a reinforcing element, injection, etc).
• said physical barriers have large dimensions in order to protect the moving members as required by applicable regulations and this, in many cases, limits or even makes it impossible to carry out special types of processing, so that the barriers themselves consequently need to be removed.
• said metallic grids cannot be used in any situation and therefore cannot always guarantee the safety of the operators.
• Said safety systems comprise a plurality of sensors suited to detect the presence or the movements of operators in said protected area.
• a drawback posed by said known systems lies in that said sensors must guarantee precision of operation in any temperature and weather condition, and furthermore they must be resistant to any contact with water, mud and any fluid and/or residues resulting from the drilling process. Furthermore, often said sensors are not sufficiently sensitive to be able to distinguish even very small objects without confusing them with mud, fluids, debris.
• Said boring or drilling machines provided with rotary members or tools need to be manoeuvred by expert personnel, that is, by at least one specialized operator, authorized to manoeuvre the machine and/or the operating members. If there is no specialized operator, it is absolutely necessary that at least the operating members are stopped, in order to guarantee the safety of the auxiliary operators, meaning the support staff who work around the machine to load/unload the drilling tools/rods and/or to carry out various operations on the hole before and after the drilling process, but are not authorized to manoeuvre the machine.
• the main object of the present invention is to provide a safety system that makes it possible to create and control at least one first safety area around at least one or preferably any moving operating member of a processing machine, wherein any access of at least one operator to said first safety area causes the immediate stop of said at least one operating member thanks to the constant monitoring of the position of said one or more operators.
• It is another object of the present invention also to provide a safety system that guarantees the immediate stop of at least the operating members in the absence of an operator authorized to manoeuvre at least said members, through the creation of a second work area, in which the presence of said one or more authorized operators is constantly monitored.
• one or more transponders suited to transmit signals
• a plurality of sensors distributed on at least one operating member and suited to measure the distance of said one or more transponders from the operating member, in order to check if they are located within at least one first area, or safety area, close at least to said operating member;
• At least one control unit suited to receive data from said sensors and to control the operation of said at least one operating member
• said at least one control unit immediately interrupts the motion and/or the operation of said operating member itself.
• At least one of said transponders is installed on or made integral with or generally joined to objects that are used or suited to be worn by, or to be associated in any way with each one of the operators who work around the machine.
• at least one of said transponders is suited to be associated with each one of the authorized operators, meaning the staff responsible for driving and/or manoeuvring and/or more generally handling the machine, and with each one of the auxiliary operators, meaning the staff who work near the machine, but are not authorized to manoeuvre it, and/or other guests or workers who enter the site for a limited period of time, such as supervisors, vehicle drivers, etc.
• said transponder can be joined to the operators' work jackets, independently of whether they belong to authorized or auxiliary or guest staff, or to their helmets, belts or any support in general that can be transported by the operator.
• Said sensors are preferably distributed at modular distances at least on the operating member, for example on the mast of a drilling machine, for example every 100-150 cm over the entire length of the mast.
• the system may also comprise one or more additional sensors intended to protect other parts of the machine, such as wheels or tracks, movable components in general, components under high temperatures or other dangerous parts, consequently increasing the extension of said safety area.
• Said sensors preferably use a technique that measures the distance of said transponders, for example with the TWR (Two Way Ranging) mode, preferably combined with the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) mode.
• TWR Transmission Way Ranging
• TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
• said sensors can be of the type suited to emit signals at regular intervals, wherein said transponders receiving said signals in turn emit a response signal, so that said sensors can detect their presence and position.
• controller there is a control unit or system, called controller, which is intended to receive the data concerning the position of the transponders from the measuring system and to signal the alarm and pre-alarm states to the machine system through those interfaces that may be necessary.
• At least one of the sensors serves as main sensor or detector, or master sensor.
• Said main sensor organizes communications between sensors and transponders, establishing an order in the emission sequence of the signals suited to allow the determination of the position of the transponders.
• the emission of signals by said sensors is substantially continuous and makes it possible to continuously check and monitor the position of all the transponders of the system.
• communication between said sensors is preferably wired, which minimizes signal transmission times, or wireless.
• the main sensor communicates the position of each transponder to the controller system (Co) several times per second, for example 4-8 times per second, thus allowing the controller system to implement safety logic.
• the new safety system preferably comprises also at least one second type of said transponders, suited to be attached to objects that are used or worn by or associated in any way with said operators authorized to manoeuvre, drive or, in general, handle the machine or at least said operating members.
• said sensors and said control unit detect the presence and the position of one or more of said transponders of the second type within a generally larger second area, or work area, containing said first safety area, and wherein if one or more of said sensors detect the absence of one or more of said transponders of the second type within said at least one second work area, said at least one control unit immediately interrupts the motion of said at least one operating member.
• transponders of the first type associated with the auxiliary operators, must be located outside of said first safety area;
• transponders of the second type associated with the authorized operators, must be located outside of said first safety area and inside said second work area.
• said control unit immediately interrupts at least the motion of said one or more operating members.
• said control unit in the case where at least one of said conditions is not met, can interrupt the operation of other parts of the machine.
• Operation can be restarted automatically or preferably intentionally by said at least one authorized operator.
• said transponder of the second type can be univocally associated with a specific authorized operator, thus preventing the operation of said processing members from being controlled by different operators, or can be univocally associated with an object or clothing item that, on the contrary, can be worn or transported by any other operator, thus ensuring a certain interchangeability of roles in the site, if this is allowed.
• said sensors can detect the presence of said transponders of the first and second type also in at least one third pre-alarm area, comprising a strip that surrounds said first safety area, and wherein if one or more of said sensors detect the presence of one or more of said transponders within said at least one third pre-alarm area, said control unit activates the emission of an audible and/or visual alarm.
• Figure 1 schematically shows an example of application of the new safety system for the operating members (Ml) of processing machines in general, and in particular applied to a drilling machine (M) equipped with a drilling mast (Ml).
• Figure 2 shows the operating diagram of the new safety system, in which the codes SM, SI, Sn identify the sensors, and the codes Tl, T2, Tn, Txl, Tx2, To identify the transponders.
• the new safety system comprises:
• transponders Tl, T2, T3, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2, Certainly, Txl, Tx2,
• SM senor
• SI senor
• S2 senor
• Tl transponders
• At least one control unit (Co) suited to receive data from said sensors (SM, SI, S2, Sn) and to control the operation of at least said operating member (Ml),
• the position detection system operates according to the diagram shown in Figure 2.
• Figure 2 there is a set of sensors called “Anchor” and identified by the codes SM, SI, S2, Sn.
• Said sensors are preferably distributed at modular distances on said mast (Ml) of said drilling machine (Ml).
• At least one of said sensors serves as a main sensor or detector, or master sensor (SM) intended to organize communications between sensors and transponders and to control the emission of signals in series by the other sensors (SI, S2, S3, Sn).
• SM master sensor
• said main sensor organizes communications between sensors (SI, S2, S3, Sn) and transponders (Tl, T2, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, (7) by establishing an order in the emission sequence of the signals suited to allow the determination of the position of the transponders themselves.
• Said sensors preferably use a technique that measures the distance of said transponders (Tl, T2, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, ...) from the operating member (Ml), for example with the TWR (Two Way Ranging) mode, preferably combined with the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) mode.
• TWR Two Way Ranging
• TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
• the new system comprises also said control unit or controller (Co), which is intended to receive the data concerning the position of said transponders (Tl, T2, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, ...) and to signal the alarm and pre-alarm states to the machine system through those interfaces that may be necessary.
• control unit or controller Co
• the new system preferably comprises at least two types of said transponders, and in particular transponders of a first type (Tl, T2, T3, ... Tn), suited to be associated with objects that are used or worn by or associated in any way with the auxiliary operators, meaning the operators who work around the machine or in the site in general, but are not authorized to manoeuvre the machine or at least said operating member (Ml).
• Tl first type
• Ml operating member
• the new safety system comprises also one or more transponders (Txl, Tx2, ...) of the second type, suited to be associated with objects that are used or worn by or associated in any way with the operators authorized to manoeuvre, drive or, in general, handle the machine or at least said operating members (Ml).
• Txl transponders
• Ml operating members
• Said control unit (Co) verifies that each one of said transponders of the first type (Tl, T2, T3, Tn) and of the second type (Txl, Tx2, ...) are outside of said at least one first safety area (A). If this condition is not met, that is, if at least one of said transponders of the first type (Tl, T2, T3, Tn) and of the second type (Txl, Tx2, ...) is within said first safety area (A), at least the operation and motion of said operating member (Ml) are immediately interrupted. In particular, in the case of a drilling mast (Ml), the rotation and translation of said mast (Ml) are immediately stopped.
• said sensors (SM, SI, S2, S3, Sn) and said control unit (Co) detect the presence and the position of one or more of said transponders of the second type (Txl, Tx2, ...) also within a second area or work area (B), in addition to said first safety area (A), wherein said second area contains and is larger than said first safety area (A).
• said at least one control unit immediately interrupts the motion of said operating member (Ml).
• the operation of the operating members prefferably to be interrupted only if all of said transponders (Txl, Tx2)result to be absent from said second work area (B), while their operation is not interrupted if at least one of said transponders of the second type (Txl) is present within said second work area (B).
• one or more of said transponders of the first type (Tn) can be located outside of said second work area (B) without causing said operating members to be stopped.
• said sensors (SM, SI, S2, S3, Sn) and said control unit can detect the presence of said transponders of the first type (Tl, T2, T3, Tn) and of the second type (Txl, Tx2, ...) also in at least one third pre-alarm area (C) comprising a strip that surrounds said first safety area (A).
• said control unit (Co) activates the emission of an audible and/or visual alarm.
• the access of at least one of said transponders (T3) to said pre-alarm area (C) causes said emission of an audible and/or visual alarm, without stopping the operating member (Ml).
• the system may comprise one or more further additional transponders (To) suited to be associated with objects that are used or worn by or associated in any way with temporary operators or visitors of the site, said additional transponder (To) being treated as one of said transponders of the first type (Tl, T2, T3,

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=54105833

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (8)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2015
  • 2015-12-16 EP EP15828865.4A patent/EP3291937A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2015-12-16 WO PCT/IB2015/059680 patent/WO2016178069A1/en active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (2)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events