EP3291937A1

EP3291937A1 - Safety system for the operating members of drilling machines or processing machines in general

Info

Publication number: EP3291937A1
Application number: EP15828865.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Renzo Comacchio; Pasqualino Comacchio; Patrizio Comacchio
Original assignee: Comacchio Srl
Current assignee: Comacchio Srl
Priority date: 2015-05-07
Filing date: 2015-12-16
Publication date: 2018-03-14
Also published as: WO2016178069A1

Abstract

The invention is a safety system for the operating members (M1), rotating or movable in general, of drilling machines (M) or processing machines in general, comprising: transponders (T1, T2, T3,..., Tn, Tx1, Tx2,..., To) suited to transmit signals; sensors (SM, S1, S2,..., Sn) distributed on at least one operating member (M1) of the machine (M) and suited to measure the distance of said transponders (T1, T2, T3,..., Tn, Tx1, Tx2,..., To) from said operating member (M1) and/or to detect their position; a control unit (Co) suited to receive data from said sensors (SM, S1, S2,..., Sn) and to control the operation of said operating member (M1) according to said data.

Description

SAFETY SYSTEM FOR THE OPERATING MEMBERS OF DRILLING MACHINES OR PROCESSING MACHINES IN GENERAL

DESCRIPTION

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 are known 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.

It is known that in order to prevent operators from remaining trapped in the moving processing members, physical barriers are used that are mounted on the machine so as to protect said members or installed in the area around the machine so as to avoid any contact with processing members 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 solution, however, cannot always be applied, in particular in the case of drilling operations that are not orthogonal to the ground, or are performed in confined spaces or places that are difficult to access.

In some cases, furthermore, 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.

It should be noted, furthermore, that in normal operating conditions moving the barriers in order to load/unload the drilling tools/rods limits the productivity of the machine due to the time required to move the barriers.

In other words, said metallic grids cannot be used in any situation and therefore cannot always guarantee the safety of the operators.

Safety mechanisms that automatically interrupt the operation of the drilling members are also known.

When these safety systems are used, the rotation of the drilling member is immediately interrupted if any object, and in particular the operator's body or a part of the latter, enters a given protected area.

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.

In many cases, due to specific needs concerning operating times, the auxiliary operators manoeuvre the machine and the drilling members even if they are not authorized to do so, with the risk of making errors that may cause personal injuries and damage to property and the machine itself.

In order to overcome all of the drawbacks described above, a new type of safety system for the rotary or, more generally, moving operating members of boring or drilling machines has been designed and implemented.

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.

It is another object of the present invention also to provide a safety system whose operation can be constantly checked, to the advantage of the operators' safety.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system thanks to which it is possible to limit the interruptions of the operation of the operating members so as to optimize productivity, by creating a third pre-alarm area so that any access to said third pre-alarm area causes an audible and/or visual alarm to be emitted.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety system that makes it impossible for unauthorized personnel to use at least the moving rotary members of the machine.

These and other direct and complementary objects are achieved by the new safety system for the rotary or, more generally, moving processing members of drilling machines or processing machines in general, the main parts of said safety system comprising:

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,

and wherein, if one or more of said sensors detect the presence of one or more of said transponders within said at least one first safety area close to said operating member, said at least one control unit immediately interrupts the motion and/or the operation of said operating member itself.

In the preferred solution, 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. In particular, 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.

For example, according to the invention 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. According to the invention, 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.

According to the invention, 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.

According to the invention, 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.

According to the invention, 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.

In this way, 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.

According to the invention, 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.

According to the invention, in addition to being active in said first safety area, 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.

In this case, in fact, the situation would be such that the operator authorized to handle the operating members is absent from the operating area and therefore, for safety reasons, said operating members must immediately be stopped.

Therefore, the necessary conditions for said operating members to keep working are the following:

said transponders of the first type, associated with the auxiliary operators, must be located outside of said first safety area;

said 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.

In the case where at least one of said conditions is not met, said control unit immediately interrupts at least the motion of said one or more operating members.

According to the invention, in the case where at least one of said conditions is not met, said control unit can interrupt the operation of other parts of the machine.

Work can be restarted, that is, said operating members can start working again, only when both of said conditions are met.

Operation can be restarted automatically or preferably intentionally by said at least one authorized operator.

According to the invention, 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.

According to the invention, in order to optimize time and machine operation 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.

In this way, all operators are warned if at least one of them is dangerously moving too close to said first safety area. The operators warned in this way can thus return to a safe area at a suitable distance from the operating members, in such a way as to avoid any interruption of work.

The characteristics of the present invention will be highlighted in greater detail in the following description with reference to the drawings that are enclosed hereto by way of non-limiting example.

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:

- one or more transponders (Tl, T2, T3, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, ...) suited to transmit signals at least regarding their position;

- a plurality of sensors (SM, SI, S2, Sn) distributed on at least one operating member of the machine, for example along the drilling mast (Ml) of a drilling machine (M), and suited to measure the distance of said one or more transponders (Tl, T2, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, ...) from the operating member (Ml);

- 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),

and wherein, if the presence of one or more of said transponders (Tl, T2, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, ...) is detected within a first safety area (A) surrounding or close to said sensors (SM, SI, S2, Sn), that is, said operating member (Ml), said at least one control unit (Co) immediately interrupts the motion and/or the operation of said operating member (Ml) itself.

The position detection system operates according to the diagram shown in Figure 2. In this diagram there is a set of sensors called "Anchor" and identified by the codes SM, SI, S2, Sn.

Said sensors (SM, SI, S2, Sn) are preferably distributed at modular distances on said mast (Ml) of said drilling machine (Ml).

According to the invention, 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).

In other words, said main sensor (SM) organizes communications between sensors (SI, S2, S3, Sn) and transponders (Tl, T2, Tn, To, Txl, Tx2, ...) 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 (SM, SI, S2, Sn) 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.

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.

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).

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).

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.

According to the invention, 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).

In the case where one or more of said sensors (SM, SI, S2, S3, S4) detect the absence of one or more or all of said transponders of the second type (Tx2) within said at least one second work area (B), said at least one control unit immediately interrupts the motion of said operating member (Ml).

For example, in the case schematically illustrated in Figure 1, if said transponder of the second type (Tx2) is located outside of said second work area (B), the rotation and translation of the mast (Ml) can be immediately stopped and inhibited.

Alternatively, according to the invention, it is possible to provide for the operation of the operating members 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).

On the contrary, as schematically illustrated in Figure 1, 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.

According to the invention, in order to optimize time and machine operation 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). In the case where one or more of said sensors (SI, S2, S3, Sn) detect the presence of one or more of said transponders of the first type (Tl, T2, T3, Tn) and of the second type (Txl, Tx2, ...) within said at least one third pre-alarm area (C), said control unit (Co) activates the emission of an audible and/or visual alarm.

In the example illustrated in Figure 1, 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).

According to the invention, 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,

Tn) associated with the auxiliary operators.

Therefore, with reference to the above description and the attached drawings, the following claims are expressed.

Claims

1. Safety system for the operating members (Ml), rotating or movable in general, of drilling machines (M) or processing machines in general, characterized in that it comprises:

· one or more transponders (Tl, T2, T3, Tn, Txl, Tx2, To) suited to transmit signals;

• a plurality of sensors (SM, SI, S2, Sn) distributed on at least one operating member (Ml) of the machine (M) and suited to measure the distance of said one or more transponders (Tl, T2, T3, Tn, Txl, Tx2, To) from said operating member (Ml) and/or to detect their position;

• at least one control unit (Co) suited to receive data from said sensors (SM, SI, S2, Sn) and to control said operating member (Ml),

and wherein, if the presence of one or more of said transponders (Tl, T2, T3, Tn, Txl, Tx2, To) is detected within at least one first safety area (A) surrounding or close to said sensors (SM, SI, S2, Sn), meaning surrounding or close to said operating member

(Ml), said at least one control unit (Co) immediately interrupts the motion and/or operation of said operating member (Ml) itself.

2. Safety system according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises one or more objects suited to be used or worn by or associated in any way with each one of the operators who work at the site and/or around the machine (M), and wherein said one or more transponders (Tl, T2, T3, Tn, Txl, Tx2, To) are suited to be installed or mounted or connected in general on/to said objects.

3. Safety system according to claim 2, characterized in that said objects are work clothes.

4. Safety system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said sensors

(SM, SI, S2, Sn) are distributed at modular distances at least on said operating member (Ml).

5. Safety system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises one or more further sensors intended to protect other parts of the machine (M), such as wheels or tracks, movable components in general, high-temperature components or other dangerous parts, consequently increasing the size of said first safety area (A).

6. Safety system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that it operates with a position detection system of the "Anchor" type with the TWR (Two Way Ranging) mode, preferably combined with the TDMA (Time division multiple access) mode.

7. Safety system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said sensors (SM, SI, S2, S3, Sn) communicate with one another through a wired or wireless connection, and wherein one of said sensors, or main sensor or master sensor (SM), operates as a main sensor or detector that emits the signal in a given sequence, thus causing signals to be emitted in series by the other sensors (SI, S2, S3, Sn).

8. Safety system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least two types of said transponders, and in particular:

• one or more transponders of a first type (Tl, T2, T3, ... Tn), suited to be associated with said objects that are used or worn by or associated in any way with the auxiliary operators, meaning the support personnel who work around the machine or at the site in general, but are not authorized to manoeuvre the machine or at least said operating members (Ml);

• one or more transponders (Txl, Tx2) of a second type, suited to be associated with objects that are used or worn by or in any case associated with the personnel authorized to manoeuvre, drive or handle, in general, the machine or at least said operating members (Ml),

and wherein said sensors (SM, SI, S2, S3, Sn) and said control unit (Co) also verify that one or more of said transponders of the second type (Txl, Tx2) are within at least one second area or work area (B) containing said first safety area (A) and having the same or larger size, and wherein if one or more of said sensors (SM, SI, S2, S3, Sn) and said control unit (Co) detect the absence of one or more of said transponders of the second type (Txl, Tx2) inside said at least one second work area (B), said at least one control unit immediately interrupts the motion of said at least one operating member (Ml).

9. Safety system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one third pre-alarm area (C) in turn constituted by a strip that surrounds said at least one first safety area (A), and wherein if said sensors (SM, SI, S2, S3, Sn) and said control unit detect the presence of one or more of said transponders of the first and of the second type (Tl, T2, T3, Tn, Txl, Tx2, To) in said at least one third pre-alarm area (C), said control unit (Co) activates the emission of an audible and/or visual alarm.

10. Safety system according to the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises 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, Tn) associated with the auxiliary operators.