LU88462A1 - Device for changing drill and / or drilling rods on a taphole drilling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for changing boring and/or drilling rods on a tap-hole drilling machine comprises a magazine (10) with compartments (14, 16, 18, 20) capable of receiving several types of rod (14', 16', 18', 20'), and a device (12) for handling the rods, capable of gripping a rod in the said magazine and of aligning it along an axis defined on the drilling machine. The compartments (14, 16, 18, 20) are arranged on a carriage (22) which can move horizontally with respect to the device (12) for handling the rods. The handling device (12) comprises a vertical supporting column (60), a handling arm (62) and a gripping unit (64). <IMAGE>

Description

Description Brief filed in support of a request for

PATENT

at

Luxembourg on behalf of: paül wurth s.a.

32, rue d'Alsace L-1122 LUXEMBOURG

for: Device for changing drilling and / or drilling rods on a drilling machine for a tap hole DEVICE FOR CHANGING DRILLING AND / OR DRILLING RODS ON A DRILLING MACHINE FOR A CAST HOLE The present The invention relates to a device for changing drill and / or drilling rods on a taphole drilling machine, in particular on a taphole drilling machine of a shaft furnace, such as for example a blast furnace. .

To drill the taphole of a blast furnace, it is known to use drilling and drilling rods with a length of 5 meters which weigh more than 50 kg. These rods must in principle be replaced after each drilling of the tap hole. To install a new drill or drilling rod in the drilling machine, two workers must first transport the rod from a magazine to the drilling machine and then manually align it with the carriage mount. If this operation of mounting the drilling rod or drilling on the drilling machine already constitutes strenuous work, the operation of dismantling a worn rod is an operation which is even more painful. Indeed, the drill rod or drilling rod is, after its extraction from the tap hole, hot, deformed and dirty. In short, the manual exchange of a drill or drilling rod on a taphole drilling machine is hard work, inconvenient and which also presents a high risk from the point of view of industrial accidents.

The technical problem underlying the present invention is to mechanize this arduous and dangerous work.

According to the present invention, this technical problem finds its solution in a device for changing drilling and / or drilling rods on a machine for drilling a tap hole which comprises: a magazine with compartments which can receive several types of rods, and a rod handling device capable of gripping a rod in said magazine and aligning it in an axis defined on the drilling machine.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the detailed description of some exemplary embodiments, described below, by way of illustration, on the basis of the appended figures, in which: - Figure 1 shows, in a perspective view, a first embodiment of a device according to the invention; - Figure 2 shows a cross section through a store of drill rods and / or drilling a device according to the present invention; - Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section through the store according to Figure 2; - Figure 4 illustrates in nine successive steps the operation of loading a new drilling rod with the machine of Figure 1; - Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a tandem machine according to the invention, which is capable of serving two drilling machines; - Figure 6 shows, in a plan view, another embodiment of a machine according to the invention which is also capable of serving two drilling machines shown in this Figure in their loading / unloading position; Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the rod handling device of the machine according to Figure 6; - Figure 8 shows an alternative embodiment of the handling device of Figure 7; - Figure 9 shows an enlargement of the gripping member of the rods of the machine of Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a device for changing drill rods and / or drilling on a machine for drilling a tap hole. This device includes a store for drill and / or drilling rods, generally identified by the reference 10, and a rod handling device, generally identified by the reference 12.

The magazine 10 for drill and / or drilling rods is described with the aid of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In FIGS. 1 and 3 it can be seen that this magazine 10 comprises several separate compartments 14, 16, 18 and 20. A first compartment 14, in Figures 1 and 3 it is for example the left compartment, receives a reserve of drill rods 14 '(that is to say rods with cutting heads for rotary drilling); a second compartment 16 receives for example a reserve of a first type of drilling rods 16 '; a third compartment 18 receives, for example, a reserve of a second type of drilling rod 18 '(which differs from the first type for example by a larger diameter); and a fourth compartment 20 is intended to receive the used drilling and / or drilling rods 20 '. Of course, this magazine 10 could also have less than four separate compartments, or more than four separate compartments. As a general rule, however, it comprises at least two separate compartments, the first of which is intended to receive drilling rods and the second is intended to receive drilling rods.

The separate compartments 14, 16, 18 and 20 are arranged on a carriage 22 which is slidable in rails 24 ', 24' '. These rails 24 ', 24' 'which are for example directly mounted on the work floor 26, allow movement, preferably horizontal, of the carriage 22 relative to the rod handling device 12. In Figures 2 and 3 we see that the carriage 22 is for example guided in the rails 24 'and 24' 'using rollers 28. It will also be noted that the rods 14', 16 'and 18' are preferably arranged in the respective compartment so that their axis is perpendicular to the direction of movement of the carriage 22.

Each of the separate compartments 14, 16 and 18 defines an inclined plane 30, on which the rods 14 ', 16' or 181 rest in contact with one another perpendicular to the slope of this inclined plane 30 (cf. Figure 3 ). Stops 32 stop in each separate compartment 14, 16, 18 the first of the rods 14 ', 16', 18 'at the foot of the inclined plane 30. In Figures 1 and 2 we see that the inclined planes 30 are for example defined by two lateral edges 34 'and 34'1 and a central edge 34111 of the carriage 22. Each of these edges 34', 34 '' and 34 '' · is more precisely cut in sawtooth pattern, in order to define said inclined planes 30. The compartment 20 which receives the worn rods 20 ′ does not necessarily define an inclined plane.

In Figure 3 the reference 36 locates the trace of a fictitious vertical plane, which is perpendicular to the plane of the figure and fixed relative to the handling device 12, and which will be used in the following to describe the relative arrangements of the different elements . The carriage 22 can be moved in its rails 24 ', 24' 'between at least three different positions. In a first position it is the rod bearing against the stops 32 of the compartment 18 which is aligned in the plane 36. In the second position it will be the rod bearing against the stops 32 of the compartment 16 which will be aligned in said plane 36. Finally, in the third position it will be the rod bearing against the stops 32 of the compartment 14 which will be aligned in the plane 36. The movement of the carriage 22 between the three positions is done for example using a jack 38 or an endless chain (not shown).

In the plane 36 is arranged, between the two rails 24 'and 24' ', the longitudinal axis of a lifting mechanism 40 (cf. Figure 2, which constitutes a section parallel to the plane 36 through the magazine 10). This lifting mechanism 40 is stationary relative to the handling device 12. It is used to grasp a rod 18 ′, 16 ′ or 14 ′ which in the first, second and respectively the third position of the carriage 22 is aligned in the plane 36, and lift it above the level of the other rods. To this end, this mechanism 40 advantageously comprises two arms 42 ', 42'1; the first arm 42 'being arranged between the flanges 34' and 34 "and the second arm 42 * 'being arranged between the flanges 34' '' and 34 * *. Each of these arms 42 ', respectively 42' 'is articulated with a first of these two ends on a fixed support 44 ·, respectively 44'1, so as to be able to pivot in the vertical plane 36 between a folded position, in which it does not interfere with the passage of the carriage 22, and a raised position, in which the two arms cooperate to support the rod aligned in the plane 36 above the level of the other rods, it will be noted that each of the two arms 42 ′ and 42′1 is advantageously provided at its free end with a wheel groove 46 ', 46' 'respectively. The two grooved wheels 46 and 46' 'then define a seat for the rod to be lifted.

To be able to actuate the two arms 42 'and 42' 'synchronously by a single jack 48, these two arms are advantageously connected by a rod 50 which is moved in a horizontal plane by the jack 48. In Figure 2 the arrows 52 indicate the direction of pivoting of the arms 42 'and 42' ', if the rod 50 is moved by the jack 48 in the direction of the arrow 53.

The handling device 12 of FIG. 1 comprises three main elements: a vertical support column 60, a handling arm 62 and a gripping member 64. The function of the handling device 12 is to grasp the rod 100, which is raised by the mechanism 40 above the magazine 10, and to position it in the axis of the carriage of the drilling machine in the loading position.

The vertical support column 60 is, as we saw above, fixed relative to the guide rails 24 ', 24 * 1 of the carriage 22 and, a fortiori, relative to the lifting mechanism 40. It will be noted that this does not however prevent the support column 60, guide rails 24 ', 24' 'and lifting mechanism 40 assembly from being movable as a unit on the work floor 26. Thus this assembly could for example be mounted on a carriage self-propelled or be movable itself in guide rails integrated in the work floor 26.

The support column 60 comprises two guide rails 66 'and 66' ', which define a sliding channel 68 for a base 70 of the handling arm 62. This base 70 is movable vertically in the sliding channel 68 via of a jack 72. It is obvious, however, that one could also use an endless chain, or any other linear drive means, to move the base 70 in its sliding channel 68. The handling arm 62 defines, preferably in a horizontal plane, a parallelogram delimited by four cylindrical joints 74 ', 74' ', 76', 76 '', whose axes are parallel to each other. The two joints 74 'and 74' 'are located on the side of the base 70. The two joints 76' and 76 '' are located at the opposite end of the arm 62 and serve to support a support block 78 for the gripping member 64. It will be noted that in a mechanism of this kind the support block 78 remains parallel to itself when the handling arm 62 undergoes pivoting around the axes 74 'and 74' '. Such a pivoting can for example be generated by a jack 80, which is articulated with one end on the base 70 and with the other end on one of the two lateral members 82 ′, 82 ′ of the parallelogram of the handling arm.

The gripping member 64 is described using FIG. 9. It comprises two gripping arms 84 ′ and 84 ″ supported by a common base 86. This common base is preferably mounted using a cylindrical articulation 88 on the support block 78. The cylindrical articulation 88 is for example connected to a stepping motor 90, which makes it possible to pivot the base 86 in a controlled manner around a pivot axis 92, and to precisely adjust the angle of inclination of the common base 86. It will also be noted that this pivot axis 92 is preferably horizontal and parallel to the direction of movement of the carriage 22. In addition, this pivot axis remains parallel to itself when the handling arm 62 is pivoted around the joints 74 'and 74 ·'.

Each gripping arm 84 'and 84' 'comprises at its free end a lower pivotable hook 90', 90 '', which is actuated for example by a jack 92 ', 92' '. These lower pivotable hooks 90 ′, 90 ”can be pivotally engaged below the rod 100, so as to form a seat with two supports spaced axially below the rod 100. At least one of the two gripping arms 84 'and 84' 'is equipped with an upper fixed hook 94', 94 '' which forms for the lower pivotable hook 90 ', 90' 'of the same gripping arm a counter-support, making it possible to grip the rod 100. It will be noted that in the device of Figure 1, the gripping arm 84 'is not provided with a fixed hook. When extracting a worn rod from the drilling machine, this gripping arm 84 ′ must in fact support this worn rod at the front end. However, this front end risks being deformed and dirty, which could possibly hinder its grip between two hooks. In addition, to immobilize a rod 100 in the gripping member 64, it is largely sufficient to grip it in one place.

The operation of the machine in Figure 1 is described in more detail using the nine sequential images in Figure 4. It is advisable to refer simultaneously to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 9 for certain structural details of the machine which have already been described above. In all of images 1 to 9 of FIG. 4, the cross 102 indicates an axis defined by a drilling machine in the loading position, with which the rod 100 must be aligned. It will be noted that this axis 102 is preferably contained in the plane 36, in which the longitudinal axis of the lifting mechanism 40 is also aligned.

The first image of Figure 4 shows the carriage 22 of the magazine 10 in a position in which a drill rod 14 'is arranged in the plane 36. As it is assumed that one wants to load a drill rod 100 of the type 18' in the drilling machine, it is first necessary to move the carriage 22 into a position in which the first of the rods 18 ′, that is to say the one which bears on the stops 32 of the compartment 18, is aligned in the plane 36. This movement of the carriage 22 is suggested by the arrow 104.

Image 2 of Figure 4 shows the carriage 22 in the desired position. In addition, the lifting mechanism 40 has been actuated to raise the rod 100 above the magazine 10 (see also Figure 2). It will be noted that in this raised position, the rod 100 is aligned in the plane of movement 106 of the handling arm 62, when the base 70 is in its lower position on the support column 60.

From image 2 to image 3 in FIG. 4, the handling arm 62 has been pivoted in the plane 106, in the direction of the arrow 108, in order to arrange the front ends of each gripping arm 84 ', 84 '* in plan 36.

In image 4 of FIG. 4, it can be seen that the lower support hooks 90 'and 90' 'have been pivoted below the rod 100. The latter is now supported and gripped by the gripping member 64, which makes it possible to lower the lifting mechanism 40 into its garage position. On image 4 this last operation is already accomplished.

As most often the loading of the drilling machine must be done laterally, the handling arm 62 is pivoted in the direction of arrow 108 ', in its initial position. Image 5 of Figure 4 shows the handling arm 62 in this position, the gripping member 64 now supports the rod 100.

The next step is to move the base 70 of the handling arm 62 vertically from its lower position to its upper position. This movement is suggested by the arrow 110. Image 6 of FIG. 4 shows the handling arm 62 aligned in a plane 112, which passes through the axis 102 and which is parallel to the plane 106.

The arrow 114 suggests the following movement, namely a pivoting of the handling arm 62 in the plane 112. Since the axis 102 is aligned in the plane 36, this pivoting has exactly the same amplitude as the pivoting in the plane 106, which has been described with the aid of images 2 and 3 of FIG. 4. It will also be noted that during this displacement the rod 100 remains strictly parallel to itself.

In image 7 of Figure 4, the rod 100 is arranged in the plane 36. It may be that the rod 100 is not yet strictly parallel to the axis 102 in the plane 36. In other words, l axis 102 is not parallel to plane 112. Such a misalignment is then corrected by rotating the gripping member 64 around the axis 93. The stepping motor 90 allows precise adjustment of the inclination of the rod 100 in the plane 36.

Once aligned with the axis 102, the rod 100 can be taken up by the support members (not shown) of the drilling machine, and the support hooks 90 ', 90' 'of the gripping member 64 can be folded down. Image 8 of Figure 4 shows the rod 100 supported on the drilling machine (not shown) in alignment with the axis 102 after the support hooks 90 ', 90' 'have been folded down.

Finally the handling arm 62 is pivoted in the plane 112 in its initial position, which is suggested by the arrow 114 '. Image 9 of Figure 4 shows the machine according to the invention in the position in which it is after completion of this last movement. Most often it will remain in this position to be ready to remove a worn rod from the drilling machine.

To remove this worn rod from the drilling machine, the operations of images 9 to 4 are carried out in reverse order (the direction of the arrows 114 ′, 114, 110 and 108 ′ is of course reversed). Arrived at the position represented by the image 4 of FIG. 4, there are two possible variants for discharging the worn rod in the compartment 20 of the magazine 10. According to the first variant, the carriage 22 is moved until the compartment 20 is located below the worn rod. According to the second variant, the handling arm is pivoted beyond its normal stop, defined by the arrangement of the rod supported by the gripping member 64 in the plane 36, in an extreme position, in which the hooks 90 ', 90' 'overhang the compartment 20. In both variants, the support hooks 90', 90 '' are then opened and the worn rod falls into the compartment 20 reserved for the used rods 20 '. It will be noted that the machine of FIG. 1 is designed, for reasons of space in particular, to apply variant 2 for the discharge of a worn rod in its compartment 20.

Figure 5 shows a tandem execution of the machine of Figure 1. It differs from the machine of Figure 1 essentially in two points. First, it includes two symmetrical magazines 210 'and 210' ', which are located on either side of the support column 260. Each of these two magazines 210' and 210 '' is identical to magazine 10. Second, it comprises two gripping members 264 'and 264' 'arranged symmetrically on a support block 278, which is the equivalent of the support block 78 of FIG. 1. Each of these gripping members is identical to the gripping member Figure 9. Such a tandem machine makes it possible to change drill and / or drilling rods on two drilling machines.

In Figure 6 is shown in particular a situation in which two drilling machines 300 ', 300' 'are waiting to be loaded. To this end their mountings 302 'and 302' ', which are supported in a manner known per se by a pivotable support 304 ,. 304 '', were arranged on either side of a machine according to the invention generally identified by the reference 306. This machine could of course be the tandem machine of Figure 5. In Figure 6 the reference 306 identifies, however, an alternative embodiment of the machine of FIG. 1 which makes it possible to serve the two drilling machines 302 ′ and 302 ″ by using only one magazine 310, identical to magazine 10 in FIG. 1, and a handling device 312 with a single gripping member 364, identical to the gripping member 64 of FIG. 9.

Figure 7 shows in more detail the handling device 312 of Figure 6. The latter is distinguished from the device 12 of Figure 7 essentially by the fact that the gripping device 364 is pivotable relative to the support block 378 around 'a vertical axis 395. A rotary motor 379, with a reversible direction of rotation, then pivots the gripping member 364 around the axis 395 between a first position (shown in Figure 6), in which it knows grab a piercing rod in magazine 310 (or unload a worn rod in it) and in which it is also capable of serving the carriage 302 ', and a second position, in which it is capable of serving the carriage 302 ''. The pivoting of the gripping member 364 from the first position to the second position takes place when the handling arm 362 is in the low position, in order to allow the passage of the rod 100, supported by the gripping member 364, below the two mountings 302 'and 302' '. It will be noted that it is necessary to provide in the magazine 310 separate compartments for the rods which must be mounted on the carriage 302 'and that which must be mounted on the carriage 302' ·; unless these rods have symmetrical ends.

In the embodiment according to Figure 8 this drawback of the device of Figure 7 is eliminated. The gripping member 364 'can indeed pivot relative to the block 378' around a horizontal axis 395 '. In other words, the rod gripped by the gripping member 364 ′ is pivoted by above the support column 360. This pivoting preferably takes place when the handling arm 362 ′ is in the high position, in order to allow the passage of the rod 100, supported by the gripping member 364 ', above the column 360.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS Device for changing drill and / or drilling rods on a taphole drilling machine comprising a magazine with compartments capable of receiving several types of rods, and a rod handling device capable of gripping a rod in said store and align it in an axis defined on the drilling machine.