RU2755429C2 - System for loading railway train - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: railways.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to devices for loading railway trains. A system for loading material into railway train cars contains an intermediate hopper, at least one device for measuring the level of a free side, a system made with the possibility to determine a value of a car mass error, and a system made with the possibility to determine at least one value of an error of the level of the free side. The intermediate hopper is made with the possibility of receiving and feeding material into cars of a train, which moves relatively to the hopper. It is possible to control the volume of material loaded into the car, not allowing or allowing the supply. The device for measuring the level of the free side is made with the possibility of obtaining at least one measured level value indicating the front and/or rear level of the free side of the car. The value of the car mass error is an error between a value of material mass in the car and a certain set value of car mass. The value of the car mass error is used to obtain at least one set value of the level of the free side, indicating required values of the front and rear levels. The error of the level of the free side is an error between the measured and the set level value. The control of time of material supply from the hopper based on the value of the error of the level of the free side is used to control the mass and volume of material loaded into the car. A method for loading material into cars includes receiving material for loading into the hopper, feeding material into cars, controlling the material supply, obtaining the measured value of the level of the free side, determining the value of the car mass error, using the value of the car mass error to obtain the set value of the level of the free side, determining the value of the error of the level of the free side and controlling time of material supply from the hopper.EFFECT: facilitation of the material loading into railway cars is achieved.70 cl, 5 dwg, 2 tbl

Description

The technical field to which the invention relates

The present invention relates to a system for loading a train for loading mined material onto a train in a mining operation.

Background of the invention

It is known that in order to ensure mining operations, for example, at the mining site, a device for loading a train is provided, configured to facilitate the loading of material onto special trains for transporting materials by operators of unloading the train.

Typically, the ore is transported by conveyor from the batching machine to the intermediate hopper, and the ore is fed from the intermediate hopper to the train cars with the continuous movement of the train under the bunker. The supply of ore from the intermediate hopper is determined by the operator by controlling the time of the open state and the closed state of the clamp in order to load the material into the car, so that the volume and mass of the material in the car are close to certain limits, but do not exceed them.

The essence of the invention

It should be understood that in the present description, mining operations means any operation or device associated with the extraction, processing, processing and / or transportation of bulk cargo in a resource extraction environment, or part of such a process, for example, mining sites, railways, port facilities and related with them the infrastructure.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a train loading system for loading material onto train wagons, the system comprising:

an intermediate hopper, configured to receive material and supply material to the cars of a railway train, which moves relative to the intermediate hopper, and the supply of material from the intermediate hopper can be controlled, preventing or allowing the supply of material from the intermediate hopper and thereby controlling the volume of material loaded into the car railway train; and

at least one free bead level measuring device adapted to obtain at least one measured value of the free bead level, indicating the front and / or rear level of the free bead of the wagon;

a system adapted to determine the value of the error of the mass of the car, which is an error between the value of the mass of the car, indicating the mass of the material in the car, and a certain predetermined value of the mass of the car, and with the possibility of using the value of the error of the mass of the car to obtain at least one predetermined value of the level of free side, indicating the required values of the front and rear levels of the free side; and

a system configured to determine at least one free bead level error value indicating an error between the free bead level measured value and the free bead level setpoint, and to control the timing of material delivery from the intermediate hopper based on the free bead level error value, to control the mass and volume of material loaded into the car.

In one embodiment, the wagon mass value refers to the mass of the wagon after the wagon has been loaded with material.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a weighing device configured to obtain a value for the mass of the car after the car has been loaded with material. The weighing device can be located at a place at least one carriage away from the intermediate hopper, for example, 4 cars away from the intermediate hopper.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a mass estimator, the car mass value denoting the estimated car mass before or after the car is loaded with material from the intermediate hopper.

In one embodiment, the system comprises at least one wagon detection sensor configured to detect the presence of a wagon and to determine the initial location of the train used to determine the position of the wagon relative to the intermediate hopper when the car moves relative to the intermediate hopper, the system controlling the timing of material delivery from the intermediate bunker in accordance with a certain position of the car relative to the intermediate bunker.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a first railcar detection sensor configured to detect the presence of a railcar and determine a first initial train position to the intermediate hopper, wherein the first initial train location may be used to determine the position of a front slider indicating the position of the railcar relative to the first initial railroad location. composition, while the system controls the start time of ore feeding in accordance with a certain position of the front slider.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a second wagon detection sensor configured to detect the presence of a wagon and determine a second initial train position after the intermediate hopper, wherein the second initial train location may be used to determine the position of a rear slider indicating the position of the wagon relative to the second initial train location. composition, while the system controls the time of stopping the supply of ore in accordance with a certain position of the rear slider.

In one embodiment, the first and / or second car detection sensor comprises a photocell.

In one embodiment, the at least one freeboard level measuring device comprises a headboard level measuring device configured to obtain a headboard level value indicative of the front freeboard level of the wagon.

In one embodiment, the at least one freeboard level measuring device comprises a freeboard trailing device configured to obtain a freeboard trailing value indicating the trailing freeboard level of a wagon.

In one embodiment, at least one free side level measuring device is located at a location at least one carriage away from the intermediate hopper, for example, 3 cars away from the intermediate hopper.

The at least one free bead level measuring device may comprise at least one laser measuring device.

In one embodiment, at least one free bead level measurement device is configured to obtain a raw bead level value, and the system comprises at least one filter configured to filter the free bead level raw value to obtain a filtered free bead level value. At least one filter may include a low pass filter. At least one filter can be a discrete filter and can be configured to implement the following filter algorithm:

,

,

where F _i is the new filtered free bead level measured value, F _i-1 is the previous filtered free bead level measured value, L _i is the raw measurement signal received from the laser, and f is the filter constant.

In one embodiment, the system includes an overload regulator configured to stop the supply of material from the intermediate hopper when the weight of the car exceeds a certain value.

In one embodiment, if the overload regulator caused material to stop flowing out of the intermediate hopper, the system is configured to use the new filtered free bead level measured value if the new filtered free bead level measurement is below the free bead level setpoint, and use the previous filtered free bead level measurement. the freeboard clearance value if the new freeboard measurement value is higher than the set freeboard value.

In one embodiment, the at least one freeboard setpoint includes a forward freeboard setpoint associated with a head freeboard measured value and a freeboard setpoint associated with a tail freeboard measured value, the setpoint the headroom value is substantially the same as the set freeboard value.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a mass adjuster configured to use the error value of the mass of the car to obtain at least one predetermined value of the free bead level. The mass regulator can be a discrete regulator and can be a proportional-integral (PI) regulator, which can be in the form of a speed regulator. The mass regulator can be configured to implement the following algorithm:

where m _i is the new value of the regulator output signal corresponding to the new set value of the free board level, m _i-1 is the previous value of the regulator output signal, K _c is the total regulator gain, K _i is the integral gain, e _i is the constant value of the error between the given value of the current mass and the current mass of the car, and e _i-1 is the previous value of the error between the previous set value of the mass and the previous mass of the car.

In one embodiment, the system is configured to determine the maximum and minimum values for a given freeboard level value.

In one embodiment, the system comprises at least one free bead level controller configured to control the timing of material delivery from the intermediate hopper by controlling the position of the front and / or rear slider based on at least one free bead level error value.

In one embodiment, the system comprises a forward freeboard level adjuster and a rear freeboard level adjuster, wherein the forward freeboard level adjuster is configured to use the forward freeboard level error value indicating the error between the measured forward freeboard level and the target freeboard level , to control the start time of material feeding from the intermediate hopper based on the error value of the front free side level, and the rear free side level regulator is configured to use the error value of the rear free side level, indicating the error between the measured value of the rear free side level and the set free side level bead, to control the time to stop feeding material from the intermediate hopper based on the error value of the back level of the free bead.

In one embodiment, one or each freeboard level controller is a discrete controller and may include a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, which may be in the form of a speed controller.

In one embodiment, one or each free bead level control is a PID gamma control.

In one embodiment, one or each freeboard level regulator is configured to implement the following algorithm:

,

,

where

m _i - new value of the output signal of the regulator, that is, the new position of the slider in mm;

m _i-1 - current position of the slider;

m _i-2 - previous position of the slider;

e _i - new error of free board level (mm);

e _i-1 - current free board level error (mm);

e _i-2 - previous free side level error (mm);

K _p - proportional gain;

K _i - integral gain;

b - control parameter Kd / gamma;

a - control parameter exp (-1 / gamma).

In one embodiment, at the start of loading a train and until at least one measured freeboard level is obtained, indicating the front and / or rear freeboard level of the wagon, the system is configured to set an initialization setpoint for the freeboard level, the initialization setpoint being the freeboard level is used until at least one measured freeboard level is obtained.

In one embodiment, the system is configured such that when the head and tail freeboard values are obtained after initialization, the target freeboard level is determined based on the head and tail freeboard values, for example by averaging the head and tail freeboard values.

In one embodiment, the system is configured to adjust the rear slider in response to an adjustment of the front slider to compensate for a change in the back level of the bead caused by a change in the position of the front slider.

In one embodiment, the system is configured to facilitate manual operator adjustment of the timing of material delivery from the intermediate hopper.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for loading material onto railroad cars in a mining operation, the method comprising:

reception of material for loading into wagons in an intermediate bunker;

the supply of material to the train cars when the train moves relative to the intermediate bunker, while the supply of material from the intermediate bunker can be controlled, preventing or allowing the supply of material from the intermediate bunker and thereby controlling the amount of material loaded into the train car;

obtaining at least one measured value of the free side level, indicating the front and / or rear level of the free side of the wagon;

determining an error value for the mass of the car, which is an error between the value of the mass of the car, indicating the mass of the material in the car, and the determined target value of the mass of the car;

using the value of the error of the mass of the car to obtain at least one predetermined value of the level of the free side, indicating the required values of the front and rear levels of the free side;

determining at least one free side level error value indicating an error between the measured free side level value and the target free side level value; and

controlling the timing of material delivery from the intermediate hopper based on the free bead level error value to control the mass and volume of material loaded into the car.

Brief description of graphic materials

The present invention will be described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

in fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a system for loading a train according to an embodiment of the present invention;

in fig. 2 is a timing diagram showing the opening and closing intervals associated with the opening and closing of the intermediate hopper clip;

in fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a loaded railroad car, illustrating the front and rear freeboard levels;

in fig. 4 is a block diagram of a control system for the system for loading a train shown in FIG. 1; and

in fig. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the functional components of the control system shown in FIG. 4.

Description of an embodiment of the invention

An embodiment of a system for loading a train will now be described with reference to mining operations in the form of mining locations, although it should be understood that other mining operations are contemplated in which train loading operations take place.

An example of a train loading system 10 is shown schematically in FIG. 1.

The train loading system 10 is configured to load material 12, in this example ore, into wagons 14 of train 16.

During loading of the train, the ore is fed from the intermediate hopper 20 to the cars 14 of the train 20 with the continuous movement of the train under the intermediate hopper 20 in the direction of arrow 18. The flow of ore from the intermediate hopper 20 is controlled by the opening and closing of the clamp 22.

In order to fill the car 14 with a volume of material that exactly corresponds to the required level of the car mass and does not cause the material to be poured over the edge of the car 14, it is necessary to control the clamp to open and close it at the appropriate times in relation to the movement of the train 16. However, considering that can there are differences between the cars, for example, due to the fact that the density of the material loaded into each car varies, the optimal times for opening and closing the clip may vary for each car 14.

For the purpose of controlling the opening and closing times of the clip, the system 10 comprises a first car detection sensor 24 configured to provide a first initial position of the train used to determine when the clip is open; and a second car detecting sensor 26 configured to provide a second initial train position used to determine when the clip closes.

In this example, the first train initial location indicates the location of the front end of the car 14 before the car 14 moves to the location below the intermediate hopper 20, and the second initial train location indicates the location of the rear end of the car 14 after the car 14 has moved from the location below the intermediate hopper 20. although it should be understood that other options are possible. In this example, each of the first and second car detecting sensors 24, 26 comprises a photocell configured to detect the presence of an object in sight of the element, although it should be understood that any suitable sensor capable of detecting the presence of a car is provided.

Using the determined first and second initial train locations, the system 10 determines the timing 28 for opening the clip 22 and the timing 30 for closing the clip 22, as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the opening timing 28 defines an opening interval offset 32 corresponding to the distance the train travels between the detection of the car 14 by the first car detection sensor 24 and the opening of the clip 22, the opening interval offset 32 includes a fixed front main component 34 and a front slider component 36 that is variable. It should be understood that the spacing defined by the front slider component 36 thus determines the position of the car 14 relative to the clip 22 when it is opened, and thus the front slider component 36 is a variable component that can be used to control the amount of material loaded into carriage 14.

Likewise, the closing timing 30 defines a closing interval offset 38 corresponding to the distance the train travels between the detection of the car 14 by the second car detection sensor 26 and the closing of the clip 22, the closing interval offset 38 comprising a fixed rear main component 40 and a rear slider component 42 which is variable. It should be understood that the spacing defined by the rear slider component 42 thus determines the position of the car 14 relative to the clip 22 when it is closed, and thus the rear slider component 42 is a variable component that can be used to control the amount of material loaded into carriage 14.

Setting the open and closed intervals by setting the front and rear sliders 36, 42 to change the amount of material loaded into the car 14 will be referred to herein as "sliders" control.

During operation, system 10 can automatically adjust sliders 36, 42 as needed to account for changes in process parameters (such as ore density or flow properties) and thereby control the mass and volume of ore in each car 14.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a fully loaded carriage 14 of a train 16. As shown, when material 12 is loaded into carriage 14, the material forms an embankment that may extend beyond the top edges 43 of the carriage at a location generally in the center of the carriage 14, and may extend below the edges 43 of the carriage. 14 at the front and rear ends of the carriage 14. The distance, measured generally in the horizontal direction, between the front top edge of the carriage 14 and the material 12 is referred to as the “leading edge 44 of the free bead”. Likewise, the distance measured generally in the horizontal direction between the trailing top edge of the carriage 14 and the material 12 is called the "trailing freeboard 46".

It should be understood that the front and rear freeboard levels 44, 46 denote the amount of material in the car 14 in the sense that an increase in the front and / or rear level 44, 46 of the free side corresponds to a decrease in the volume of material in the car 14, and a decrease in the front and / or the rear level 44, 46 of the free side corresponds to an increase in the volume of material in the car 14.

It should also be understood that the front and rear freeboard levels 44, 46 are dependent on the front and rear sliders 36, 42, and therefore, by controlling the front and rear sliders, the front and rear freeboard levels 44, 46 can be controlled, thereby controlling weight and volume of material in the car 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 also comprises a weighing device 45 configured to determine the net weight of each carriage 14 as the carriage moves forward, a front freeboard level measuring device 47 configured to provide a measured value to the front freeboard level 44 of the carriage 14, and a device 49 for measuring the back level of the free side, configured to provide a measured value for the back level 46 of the free side of the car 14.

In this example, weighing device 45 comprises a wagon scale, although any suitable device for weighing wagon 14 is contemplated.

In this example, each of the fore and aft freeboard measuring devices 47, 49 comprises a laser measuring device, although it should be understood that any suitable measuring device is contemplated capable of providing a value indicative of the head and aft freeboard levels 44, 46.

It will be appreciated that in this example, the measured values for the head and tail levels 44, 46 of the free board are lagged by three cars 14 and the net weight value obtained by the weighing device 45 is lagged by four cars.

The system 10 is configured to automatically adjust the sliders 36, 42 in order to control the mass and volume in the car 14 so that the mass in the car is maintained at the desired predetermined mass value, while ensuring that the ore is not poured over the edges of the car 14.

For this purpose, the system 10 implements a cascade control device, with the required setpoint for the front and rear freeboard levels 44, 46 being determined on the basis of a determined error between the desired setpoint mass and the measured value of the mass of the car denoting the actual mass of the car (for example, provided by the device 45 for weighing). The desired target mass denotes the required net mass of the wagon 14, and the desired target value for the head and tail freeboard levels 44, 46 is the target value for the head and rear freeboard levels, which is considered to correspond to the required net mass for the carriage 14. Based on the determined target freeboard level values, the values for the front and rear sliders 36, 42 are set.

In this example, the setpoints for the head and tail levels of the freeboard are the same; that is, the same set point for the freeboard level is used for both the front and rear freeboard level 44, 46, which ensures the correct balancing of the mass of material in the car 14 between the front and the rear of the car 14.

A block diagram representing the control system 50 of the system 10 for loading a train is shown in FIG. 4, with a cascade control device implemented in the control system 50.

The control system 50 includes a mass regulator 56 which receives a measured mass value 52 (eg from a weighing device 45) and a mass target 54 and, based on the measured mass 52 and the mass target 54, calculates the freeboard target 58. The freeboard setpoint 58 is intended for both the fore and aft freeboard levels 44, 46 and is actually provided to the forward freeboard regulator 60 and the rear freeboard regulator 62, which also respectively receive the measured value of the front freeboard level and the measured the value of the back level of the free side from the corresponding devices 47, 49 for measuring the front and rear levels of the free side. Using the front freeboard error value representing the difference between the freeboard target 58 and the measured front freeboard level, the front freeboard adjuster 60 calculates the forward adjustment value for the opening slider adjustment tool 64. Likewise, using the trailing freeboard error value representing the difference between the trailing freeboard setpoint 58 and the measured trailing freeboard value, the trailing freeboard adjuster 60 calculates the rear adjustment value for the closing slider adjustment tool 66. The opening slider adjuster 64 controls the front slider 36 to adjust the position of the car 14 relative to the clip 22 when the clip is opened. Likewise, the closing slider adjuster 66 controls the rear slider 42 to adjust the position of the car 14 relative to the clamp 22 when the clamp is closed.

It will be appreciated that since the system 10 operates on the basis of the mass of each carriage 14, the mass regulator 56 and the head and tail freeboard regulators 60, 62 are discrete type regulators that operate on a per car basis rather than time.

The functional components 70 of the train control system 10 are shown in more detail in FIG. 5.

The functional components 70 include mass control components 72 configured to obtain the freeboard target 58 using the measured and desired car weights, and slider control components 74 configured to use the freeboard target 58 to determine the headroom and back levels of the free board for devices 64, 66 for adjusting the sliders for opening and closing.

The mass control components 72 show a mass estimator 76 and a wagon weighing device 45, one of which provides a wagon mass value indicative of the mass of the wagon 14 to an overload regulator 78 configured to generate a command 80 to close the clamp when the wagon mass exceeds a certain value. meaning. The car weight value is also fed to a weight error determination unit 86, which calculates a weight error between the target weight 54 and the weight of the car, in this example the target weight 54 is determined based on the current weight load statistics 82 and the required overload rate 84. The mass control components 72 also include a mass adjuster 56 and an auto / manual mass control switch 100.

In this example, the mass regulator 56 is a proportional-integral (PI) feedback regulator configured as a discrete regulator. Thus, the regulator does not provide an output signal until a new measured value of the car weight is received either from the car weighing device 45 or from the weight estimator 76. When this occurs, a new freeboard setpoint 58 is calculated for the fore and aft freeboard controls 60, 62. The mass regulator 56 is implemented as a speed regulator that allows for smooth transfer of control by operator action.

As shown in FIG. 5, the mass adjuster 56 may use either the measured value of the railcar scale from the railcar weighing device 45 or the estimate of the railcar weight from the weight estimator 76 as an input. The measured value of the railcar scale is more accurate, but contains a delay that is not present in the mass estimation block 76. Both the reduced accuracy and feedback delay will limit the tuning and performance of the mass regulator 56, so the best choice will depend on the relative error of the mass estimator 76 and the distance between the intermediate hopper 20 and the rail car weighing device 45 for the section.

Tests have shown that for some wagons 14, a total change in freeboard level of 100 mm will result in a weight change of approximately 2 tonnes, and therefore a change in each of the leading and trailing freeboard levels of approximately 25 mm will result in a weight change of approximately 1 tonne. For other carriages 14, a change in each of the head and tail freeboard levels by 25 mm will result in a weight change of approximately 2.2 tonnes.

The automatic / manual mass control switch 100 is configured to allow an operator to set the mass adjuster 56 to manual or automatic mode. When the weight adjuster 56 is in manual mode, the freeboard target 58 must be initialized to the appropriate value before automatic operation can be started.

At the beginning of the loading of the train 16, freeboard measurements were not yet provided by the freeboard measurement devices 47, 49, and therefore the mass regulator 56 could not be set to automatic mode and instead began to operate in manual mode. When the weight adjuster 56 is in manual mode, the output of the weight adjuster — freeboard target 58 — is manually set to the freeboard initialization target. The set value for the freeboard level initialization is used until the measured freeboard level values are provided by the head and tail level measuring devices 47, 49 (after a delay corresponding to 3 cars). When this occurs, the auto / manual mass control switch 100 is set to auto and the output of the mass regulator 56 is set to a value corresponding to the current filtered free bead measurements obtained using the fore and aft free beads measurement devices 47, 49.

In the example, when operating the mass regulator 56 in automatic mode, the following parameters exist:

i) the current target 54 for the wagon mass is 120 tonnes;

ii) wagons are used in which a change in each of the head and tail levels of the free side 44, 46 by approximately 25 mm will cause a change in the wagon weight by approximately 1 ton;

iii) based on the current target 54 of the wagon weight and the current weight of the wagon, the mass regulator output determines a target freeboard level of 50 mm (i.e. each of the front and rear freeboard levels has a target freeboard level of 50 mm);

iv) the mass of the new wagon is measured, which is 117 tonnes net, and therefore the mass error for the new wagon is thus 117-120 = -3 tonnes; and

v) the previous car weighed 118 tons, so the error in the mass of the previous car was -2 tons.

In this example, the discrete PI speed control algorithm implemented by the mass regulator 56 to obtain the regulator output m _i corresponding to the freeboard target 58 is given as:

where m _i is the new value of the output signal of the regulator, m _i-1 is the previous value of the output signal of the regulator, K _c is the total gain of the regulator, K _i is the integral gain, e _i is the constant value of the error between the current setpoint value 54 of the mass and the current the mass of the car, and e _i-1 is the previous error value between the previous target mass value 54 and the previous mass of the car.

In simulations, it was found that values of 1.8 for K _c and 0.333 for K _i give reasonable results.

Therefore, based on the above parameters, the new value of the output signal of the controller m _i is 50 + 1.8 * (- 3 + 2) + 1.8 * 0.333 * (- 3) = 46.4 mm.

If then another wagon with a mass of 122 tons arrives, the next value of the output signal of the regulator m _i will be 46.4 + 1.8 * (2 - (- 3)) + 1.8 * 0.333 * 2 = 56.6 mm.

It should be understood that in this example, the computed regulator output values that define the freeboard setpoint 58 are limited to respective maximum and minimum freeboard setpoints 58 to prevent the mass regulator 56 from emitting an unacceptable outlier freeboard setpoint 58 ...

The raw freeboard measurements obtained by the head and tail freeboard measuring devices 47, 49 are noisy. As a consequence, the raw measurement signals produced by the freeboard level measuring devices 47, 49 are filtered before the freeboard level measured values are fed to the freeboard level controls 60, 62. Since the raw freeboard level measurement signals are received periodically - when the car 14 arrives at the fore and aft freeboard measurement devices 47, 49 - a discrete filter algorithm is used.

This example uses the following discrete filter algorithm:

where F _i is the new measured value of the freeboard level, F _i-1 is the previous measured value of the freeboard level, L _i is the raw measurement signal received from the laser, and f is the filter constant.

If the overload regulator 78 closes clamp 22 on the carriage 14 early, the backside level 46 of the freeboard could potentially be relatively large compared to the target freeboard level. In order to compensate for the erroneously large backside level 46 of the freeboard and thereby prevent re-activation of the freeboard level regulator 62 in response to the intervention of the overload regulator 78, the system 10 is configured to use a new measured value F _{i of} the freeboard level if the new measured value of the freeboard level F _i the free side is below the set free side level, and with the possibility of using the previous measured free side level F _i-1 if the new measured free side level F _{i is} higher than the set free side level.

As an example, during operation, the previous measured F _i value of the front free side was 10 mm, the previous measured F _i value of the back free side was 25 mm, for the front free side of the next car, a new untreated laser-measured value of L _{i was} obtained, equal to 60 mm, and for the back level of the free side of the next car, a new untreated laser-measured L _i of 80 mm is obtained. The target value for both the head and tail level of the freeboard was 30 mm and f is 0.5.

Using Equation (2) above, the new _{front freeboard measured F i} corresponding to the new untreated laser head _{free side L i} is given as (0.5 / 1.5) * 10 + 60 / 1.5 = 43.33 mm.

However, because the overload regulator 78 prematurely closed the clamp 22 on this car, the measured value of the freeboard level is erroneously high, and since the new estimate F _{i of} the freeboard level is higher than the predetermined value, the previous measured value of the freeboard level is used _{for the new raw measured value F i of the freeboard level.} the value of the level of the free board F _i-1 , equal to 25 mm.

It should be understood that the choice of the filter constant f is important and will affect the setting of the fore and aft freeboard controls 60, 62.

The slider control components 74 comprise a front low-pass filter 92 for filtering the raw front free bead measurement 93 received from the front free bead measurement device 47, in this example by applying the discrete filter algorithm shown in equation (2), and a rear filter Low pass 94 to filter the raw free bead measurement 95 from the free bead measurement device 49, in this example by applying the discrete filter algorithm shown in equation (2).

The filtered head freeboard measured value and the freeboard setpoint 58 are fed to the freeboard level error determination unit 88, which calculates the head freeboard level error indicating the difference between the filtered head freeboard measured value and the freeboard setpoint 58. Likewise, the filtered freeboard trough measured value and the freeboard setpoint 58 are fed to the tail freeboard error determination unit 90, which calculates the freeboard trough error indicating the difference between the filtered freeboard trough measured value and the freeboard setpoint 58 free board.

The freeboard front level error is fed to the front freeboard level regulator 60, which uses the freeboard front level error to obtain the front slider adjustment value for the opening slider adjustment tool 64. Likewise, the trailing freeboard error is fed to the trailing freeboard adjuster 62, which uses the trailing freeboard error to obtain a trailing slider adjustment value for the closing slider adjustment tool 66.

The slider control components 74 also include a front manual slider 102 and a rear manual slider 104 used to facilitate manual adjustment of the front and rear sliders, respectively, by an operator and thus disable the automatic slider control provided by system 10.

In this example, the outputs of the head and tail freeboard controls 60, 62 are limited to their respective maximum and minimum values to prevent integral saturation.

In this example, the fore and aft freeboard controllers 60, 62 are proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers, which are discrete controllers. Thus, the front and rear sliders 36, 42 are only adjusted by the front and rear freeboard controls 60, 62 when additional measured values are received. In addition, the front and rear sliders 36, 42 can only be adjusted if the clamp is closed.

In this example, the fore and aft freeboard controls 60, 62 are implemented in the form of a speed control, which simultaneously allows discrete operation and facilitates soft transfer of control from manual control.

It will be appreciated that changing the opening time of the clip 22 changes the rear free bead level 46 in addition to the front free bead level 44, because the amount of material that is initially loaded into the car, including the rear of the car 14, will be changed by changing the position of the front slider 36. As a result, in order to compensate for the change in the rear slider 42 due to changes in the front slider 36, the rear slider 42 is adjusted. In the present example, the compensation value 96 for the trailing edge of the free bead corresponding to at least part of the calculated changes for the front slider 36 is subtracted from the calculated changes for the rear slider 42 as shown in FIG. 5.

However, if the overweight regulator 78 has closed clamp 22 so far in advance that the current freeboard level 46 is below the freeboard level setpoint 58, the freeboard trailing level compensation value 96 is not fed to the freeboard trailing level adjuster 62. Without this, the tailgate regulator could enter integral saturation.

The head and tail level controls 60, 62 operate on a discrete basis and must cope with the lag time imposed by the free board level measuring devices 47, 49 as well as the delay imposed by the low pass filters 92, 94. For this reason, in this example, gamma PID controls are used for the fore and aft freeboard controls 60, 62.

In this example, discrete speed control of the PID gamma controller looks like this:

where

m _i - new value of the output signal of the regulator, that is, the new position of the slider in mm;

m _i-1 - current position of the slider;

m _i-2 - previous position of the slider;

e _i - new freeboard level error (mm), meaning that the error value is reversed for the front and rear freeboard levels;

e _i-1 - current free board level error (mm);

e _i-2 - previous free side level error (mm);

K _p - proportional gain - regulator tuning parameter;

K _i - integral gain - regulator tuning parameter;

b - Kd / gamma - regulator tuning parameter;

a - exp (-1 / gamma) - parameter of the regulator adjustment.

This form of control can be coded into a programmable logic controller (PLC) in the form of an algorithm that is executed only when a new measured value of the freeboard level is received from the freeboard level measurement device 47, 49.

The internal model control (IMC) tuning rules for the PID gamma controller provided the following suggestions for initial controller tuning parameters:

K _p = 0.05

K _i = 0.066

a = 0.434

b = -0.01167

In the operating example, the following parameters exist:

Parameter Meaning Current position of the opening slider, m _i-1 95 mm Previous position of the opening slider, m _i-2 90 mm Specified value of the forward level of the free board 50 mm New filtered measured value of the forward freeboard level 47 mm The current filtered measured value of the forward freeboard level 45 mm Previous filtered measured value of the forward freeboard level 40 mm Closing slider current position, m _i-2 55 mm Previous position of the closing slider, m _i-2 50 mm Specified value of the back level of the free board 50 mm New filtered measured value for the back level of the free board 57 mm The current filtered measured value of the back level of the free board 60 mm Previous filtered measured value of the back level of the free board 62 mm

Table 1

Based on these values, the error values e _i , e _i-1 , e _i-2 are calculated as follows:

Front Rear e_i= 47 - 50 = -3 e _i = 57 - 50 = 7 e _i-1 = 45 - 50 = -5 e _i-1 = 60 - 50 = 10 e _i-2 = 40 - 50 = -10 e _i-2 = 62 - 50 = 12

table 2

Using the values from Table 1 and Table 2, the new position of the front slider m _{i is} calculated as follows:

m _i (front) = (1 + 0.434) * 95 - 0.434 * 90 - 3 * (0.05 + 0.066-0.01167) + 5 * (0.05 * (1 +, 434) + 0.434 * 0.066 - 2 (0.01167)) - 10 * (0.434 * 0.05-0.01167) = 97.1 mm

Similarly, using the values from Table 3 and Table 4, the new position of the rear slider m _{i is} calculated as follows:

m _i (back) = (1 + 0.434) * 55 - 0.434 * 50 + 7 * (0.05 + 0.066-0.01167) - 10 * (0.05 * (1 + 0.434) + 0.434 * 0.066 - 2 (0.01167)) + 12 * (0.434 * 0.05-0.01167) = 57.3 mm

Accordingly, in this example, it can be seen that in successive carriages, the front and rear freeboard level controls 60, 62 cause a gradual deviation of the freeboard levels 44, 46 to the predetermined freeboard level, and the front slider is gradually increased to gradually decrease the head the level of the free board.

As discussed above, the overload regulator 78 is configured to pre-close the clamp 22 in response to the high probability of overloading the weight of the car 14. Closing the clip in advance results in an increase in the free bead clearance and a decrease in the mass of ore loaded into the car 14. Frequent intervention of the overload regulator 78 may result in integral saturation of the trailing freeboard adjuster 62 and the mass adjuster 56.

The effect of the overload adjuster 78 on the trailing freeboard adjuster 62 can be reduced by evaluating what the trailing freeboard 46 would be if the overload adjuster 78 had not intervened. This can be done by subtracting the "closing interval in advance" (the distance between the rear slider 42 and the actual position of the car when the overload adjuster 78 caused the clamp 22 to close) from the measured value 95 of the free side of the free side of the car. The corrected value is then used as an input to the freeboard trailing filter 94.

The effect of the gage adjuster 78 on the mass adjuster 56 can be reduced by adding the "removed tons" mass value corresponding to the closing interval in advance multiplied by a constant of approximately 13 tons per meter to the measured wagon mass. The corrected mass value is then used as an input to the mass regulator 56 so that the current mass value fed to the mass error determination unit 86 more accurately represents the car mass that would occur if the overload regulator 78 had not intervened.

The averaged value of the currently filtered head and tail freeboard measured values shall be used as the initial value of the output from the weight regulator 56 when the weight regulator 56 is first switched to automatic mode.

In the example above, the current measured values m _{i-1 of the} head and tail levels of the free board are 47 mm and 57 mm, respectively. If weight regulator 56 is currently in automatic mode, switching weight regulator 56 to manual mode and then immediately returning to automatic mode will cause the set point for fore and aft freeboard controls 60, 62 to be set to (47+ 57) / 2 = 52 mm. In this case, 52 mm will also be the value used by the mass adjuster 56 for the values in equation (1) for the new and current freeboard setpoints m _i , m _i-1 .

Since speed control with PID controllers is used, switching between automatic and manual modes for the freeboard level controllers 60, 62 is straightforward. When the freeboard level controls 60, 62 are in manual mode, the control calculation defined in equation (3) is not performed and the last (manual) value for m _{i is} used for the current and previous slider positions m _i-1 , m _{i- 2} . Similarly, the current value for the new freeboard level error e _{i is used} , and the current and previous freeboard level errors e _i-1 , e _{i-2 are} also set to this value. This provides a “soft transfer of control” and the regulator restarts under normal conditions.

The operator can adjust the sliders 36, 42 when the governors are in automatic mode, and any adjustment made is considered a short transition to manual mode and back to automatic mode, as a result of which the weight and freeboard level governors 56, 60, 62 are reset to their original state, as described above.

The adjustment of the regulator, and especially the adjustment of the freeboard level control, is important for the reliability of the system 10. Before adjusting the weight control 56, the freeboard level controls 60, 62 must first be adjusted. The initial setup process can follow the procedure as follows:

• to establish stable loading conditions using controls 56, 60, 62 for weight and freeboard level in manual mode;

• switch the rear freeboard regulator 62 to automatic mode with both the weight regulator 56 and the forward freeboard regulator 60 in manual mode;

• carry out step-by-step change of the set value 58 of the freeboard level, observe the effect on the regulator 62 of the rear freeboard level and adjust it as usual;

• leave the rear freeboard adjuster 62 to operate in automatic mode and adjust the forward freeboard adjuster 60, making sure that the separation of the fore and aft adjusters 60, 62 is effective;

• load several wagons 14 using the front and rear freeboard level controls 60, 62 in automatic mode, but at the same time providing step-by-step changes in the setpoint in manual mode for the freeboard level and checking that the combined characteristics are acceptable; and

• switch the mass regulator to automatic mode with the corresponding values of the regulator gains, set by observing the response to manual changes in the set value.

For the system to work safely and properly, it is important that the freeboard level measuring devices work reliably. An enable signal must be set so that the freeboard level controls 60, 62 cannot be put into automatic mode if the freeboard level measuring devices are not working properly.

Since system 10 operates in automatic mode, if an acceptable freeboard level signal has not been detected for five cars, then system 10 can be configured to place regulators 56, 60, 62 in manual mode using a system that does not allow regulators 56. 60, 62 switch to automatic mode until at least one acceptable free side level signal is received.

It should be understood that if a reference is made in this document to any prior art publication, such reference does not imply an admission that this publication forms part of the public knowledge in the art in Australia or any other country.

In the following claims and the foregoing description of the present invention, except where the context requires otherwise by virtue of explicit language or necessary inference, the word "comprise" or variants thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising" are used in the inclusive sense , that is, to indicate the presence of the claimed features, but not to exclude the presence or addition of additional features in various embodiments of the present invention.

Modifications and changes that may be obvious to a person skilled in the art are within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (126)

1. A system for loading a train for loading material into train cars, containing an intermediate hopper, configured to receive material and supply material to the cars of a railway train, which moves relative to the intermediate hopper, and the supply of material from the intermediate hopper can be controlled, preventing or allowing the supply of material from the intermediate hopper and thereby controlling the volume of material loaded into the car railway train; and at least one free bead level measuring device adapted to obtain at least one measured value of the free bead level, indicating the front and / or rear level of the free bead of the wagon; a system adapted to determine the value of the error of the mass of the car, which is an error between the value of the mass of the car, indicating the mass of the material in the car, and a certain predetermined value of the mass of the car, and with the possibility of using the value of the error of the mass of the car to obtain at least one predetermined value of the level of free side, indicating the required values of the front and rear levels of the free side; and a system configured to determine at least one free bead level error value indicating an error between the free bead level measured value and the free bead level setpoint, and to control the timing of material delivery from the intermediate hopper based on the free bead level error value, to control the mass and volume of material loaded into the car. 2. The system for loading a train according to claim 1, characterized in that the value of the wagon mass denotes the mass of the wagon after the wagon has been loaded with material. 3. The system for loading a railway train according to claim 2, characterized in that the system comprises a weighing device adapted to obtain the value of the mass of the car after the car has been loaded with material. 4. The system for loading a railway train according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a mass estimation unit, the value of the car mass denoting the estimated mass of the car before or after the car is loaded with material from the intermediate hopper. 5. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-4, characterized in that it contains at least one sensor for detecting a car, configured to detect the presence of a car and determine the initial location of the train used to determine the location of the car relative to the intermediate bunker when moving the car relative to the intermediate bunker, while the system controls the time carrying out the supply of material from the intermediate hopper in accordance with a certain position of the car relative to the intermediate hopper. 6. The system for loading a train according to claim 5, characterized in that at least one sensor for detecting a wagon comprises a first sensor for detecting a wagon configured to detect the presence of a wagon and determine the first initial location of the train to the intermediate bunker, the first initial location of the train can be used to determine the position of the front slider indicating the position of the car relative to the first initial position of the train, with the system controlling the start time of the ore supply in accordance with the determined position of the front slider. 7. The system for loading a train according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one sensor for detecting a wagon comprises a second sensor for detecting a wagon, configured to detect the presence of a wagon and determine a second initial location of the train after the intermediate bunker, the second initial location of the train can be used to determine the position of the rear slider indicating the position of the car relative to the second initial position of the train, with the system controlling the ore supply stop time in accordance with the determined position of the rear slider. 8. The system for loading a train according to claim. 7, characterized in that the first and / or second sensor for detecting the car contains a photocell. 9. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-8, characterized in that at least one free side level measurement device comprises a free side front level measurement device configured to obtain a free side front level value indicating the front free side level of the wagon. 10. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-9, characterized in that at least one free side level measuring device comprises a free side back level measuring device configured to obtain a free side back level value indicating the free side back level of the wagon. 11. The system for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-10, characterized in that at least one device for measuring the level of the free side is located at a place remote at least one car from the intermediate hopper. 12. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-11, characterized in that at least one free bead level measuring device comprises at least one laser measuring device. 13. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-12, characterized in that at least one device for measuring the level of the free side is configured to obtain a raw value of the level of the free side, and the system comprises at least one filter configured to filter the raw value of the level of the free side to obtain a filtered freeboard level values. 14. The system for loading a train according to claim 13, characterized in that at least one filter is a low-pass filter. 15. The system for loading a train according to claim 14, characterized in that at least one filter is a discrete filter capable of implementing the following filter algorithm

, where F _i is the new filtered measured value of the free board level; F _i-1 - the previous filtered measured value of the free board level; L _i is the raw measurement signal from the laser and f is the filter constant. 16. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-15, characterized in that the system contains an overload regulator, made with the possibility of stopping the supply of material from the intermediate hopper, if the value of the car weight exceeds a certain value. 17. The system for loading a train according to claim 16, characterized in that if the overload regulator has caused a cessation of material supply from the intermediate hopper, the system is configured to use a new filtered measured value of the rear freeboard level if the new filtered measured value of the freeboard level below the specified freeboard level, and with the possibility of using the previous filtered measured value of the rear freeboard level if the new measured freeboard level is higher than the specified freeboard level. 18. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-17, characterized in that at least one freeboard level setpoint includes a freeboard front level setpoint associated with a measured freeboard front level value and a freeboard level setpoint value associated with a freeboard level measurement value and the setpoint for the front freeboard level is substantially the same as the setpoint for the rear freeboard level. 19. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-18, characterized in that the system comprises a mass regulator adapted to use the value of the error of the mass of the car to obtain at least one predetermined value of the level of the free side. 20. The system for loading a railway train according to claim 19, characterized in that the mass regulator is a discrete regulator. 21. The system for loading a train according to claim 20, characterized in that the mass regulator implies a proportional-integral (PI) regulator. 22. The system for loading a railway train according to claim 21, characterized in that the proportional-integral (PI) controller is made in the form of a speed controller. 23. A system for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 20-22, characterized in that the mass regulator is designed to implement the following algorithm

, where m _i - the new value of the output signal of the regulator, corresponding to the new set value of the level of the free board; m _i-1 - the previous value of the output signal of the regulator; K _c is the overall gain of the regulator; K _i - integral gain; e _i is the constant value of the error between the given value of the current mass and the current mass of the car, and e _i-1 is the previous value of the error between the previous target mass value and the previous mass of the car. 24. The system for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-23, characterized in that the system is configured to determine the maximum and minimum values for a given value of the free board level. 25. System for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-24, characterized in that the system comprises at least one free bead level regulator configured to control the time of material feeding from the intermediate hopper by controlling the position of the front and / or rear slider based on at least one free bead level error value ... 26. The system for loading a train according to claim 25, characterized in that the system comprises a front free side level regulator and a free side rear level regulator, and the free side front level regulator is configured to use the error value of the free side front level, indicating an error between the measured value of the forward level of the freeboard and the set value of the level of the freeboard, to control the start time of material feeding from the intermediate hopper based on the error value of the front level of the freeboard, and the regulator of the rear level of the freeboard is configured to use the error value of the rear level of the freeboard indicating an error between the measured value of the trailing edge of the freeboard and the set value of the level of the freeboard, to control the time of stopping the supply of material from the intermediate hopper based on the error value of the trailing edge of the freeboard. 27. The system for loading a railway train according to claim 25 or 26, characterized in that one or each free board level regulator is a discrete regulator. 28. The system for loading a train according to claim 27, characterized in that one or each free board level regulator implies a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) regulator. 29. The system for loading a train according to claim 28, characterized in that the proportional-integral-differential (PID) controller is made in the form of a speed controller. 30. The system for loading a train according to claim 29, characterized in that the PID controller is a PID gamma controller. 31. The system for loading a train according to claim 27, characterized in that one or each free board level regulator implies a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) regulator. 32. The system for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 25-31, characterized in that one or each free side level regulator is designed to implement the following algorithm

, where m _i is the new value of the output signal of the regulator, that is, the new position of the slider, mm; m _i-1 - current position of the slider; m _i-2 - previous position of the slider; e _i - new error of the free board level, mm; e _i-1 - current error of the free board level, mm; e _i-2 - previous error of the free board level, mm; K _p - proportional gain; K _i - integral gain; b - control parameter Kd / gamma; a - control parameter exp (-1 / gamma). 33. The system for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-32, characterized in that at the beginning of loading the train and until at least one measured value of the free side level is obtained, indicating the front and / or rear level of the free side of the car, the system is configured to set a predetermined value for the initialization of the free side level, when The set point for the freeboard level initialization is used until at least one measured freeboard level is obtained. 34. The system for loading a train according to claim 33, characterized in that the system is designed in such a way that when, after initialization, the measured values of the front and rear freeboard levels are obtained, the set freeboard level is determined based on the values of the front and rear freeboard levels. boards. 35. The system for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-34, characterized in that the system is adapted to adjust the rear slider in response to the adjustment of the front slider to compensate for a change in the back level of the free bead caused by a change in the position of the front slider. 36. The system for loading a train according to any one of paragraphs. 1-35, characterized in that the system is configured to facilitate manual adjustment by the operator of the timing of material delivery from the intermediate hopper. 37. A method of loading material into train cars during mining operations, the method includes reception of material for loading into wagons in an intermediate bunker; the supply of material to the train cars when the train moves relative to the intermediate bunker, while the supply of material from the intermediate bunker can be controlled, preventing or allowing the supply of material from the intermediate bunker and thereby controlling the amount of material loaded into the train car; obtaining at least one measured value of the free side level, indicating the front and / or rear level of the free side of the wagon; determining an error value for the mass of the car, which is an error between the value of the mass of the car, indicating the mass of the material in the car, and the determined target value of the mass of the car; using the value of the error of the mass of the car to obtain at least one predetermined value of the level of the free side, indicating the required values of the front and rear levels of the free side; determining at least one free side level error value indicating an error between the measured free side level value and the target free side level value; and controlling the timing of material delivery from the intermediate hopper based on the free bead level error value to control the mass and volume of material loaded into the car. 38. A method according to claim 37, wherein the value of the wagon mass denotes the mass of the wagon after the wagon has been loaded with material. 39. The method according to claim 38, characterized in that it includes obtaining a value for the mass of the car after the car has been loaded with material using a weighing device. 40. The method according to claim 37, wherein the value of the carriage mass denotes the estimated carriage weight before or after the carriage is loaded with material from the intermediate hopper. 41. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 37-40, characterized in that it includes detecting the presence of a car and determining the initial location of the train used to determine the position of the car relative to the intermediate hopper when the car moves relative to the intermediate hopper, and control of the time of delivery of material from the intermediate hopper in accordance with the determined position of the car relative to intermediate hopper. 42. The method of claim 41, comprising using a first railcar detection sensor to detect the presence of a railcar and determine a first initial position of a train to an intermediate hopper, wherein the first initial position of a train may be used to determine the position of a front slider indicating the position of the railcar relative to the first initial location of the train, and controlling the start time of the ore supply in accordance with the determined position of the front slider. 43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that it includes the use of a second wagon detection sensor configured to detect the presence of a wagon and determine the second initial position of the train after the intermediate hopper, and the second initial position of the train can be used to determine the position of the rear slider, indicating the position of the car relative to the second starting position of the train, and controlling the time of stopping the ore supply in accordance with the determined position of the rear slider. 44. The method according to claim 43, characterized in that the first and / or second sensor for detecting the car comprises a photocell. 45. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 37-44, characterized in that it includes the use of a device for measuring the head level of the free side to obtain the value of the front level of the free side, indicating the front level of the free side of the wagon. 46. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 37-45, characterized in that it includes the use of a device for measuring the back level of the free side to obtain the value of the back level of the free side, indicating the back level of the free side of the wagon. 47. The method according to any of paragraphs. 37-46, characterized in that it includes obtaining a raw freeboard level value and filtering the raw freeboard level value to obtain a filtered freeboard level value. 48. The method of claim 47, wherein the filtering comprises using a low pass filter. 49. The method according to claim 48, characterized in that the low-pass filter is a discrete filter configured to implement the following filter algorithm

, where F _i is the new filtered measured value of the free board level; F _i-1 - the previous filtered measured value of the free board level; L _i is the raw measurement signal from the laser, and f - filter constant. 50. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 37–49, characterized in that it includes the initiation of the termination of the supply of material from the intermediate hopper, if the value of the mass of the car exceeds a certain value. 51. The method according to claim 50, characterized in that if the supply of material from the intermediate hopper is interrupted, then a new filtered measured value of the trailing freeboard level is used, if the new filtered measured value of the freeboard level is below the predetermined freeboard level value, and the previous one is used. the filtered freeboard measured value if the new freeboard measured value is higher than the freeboard setpoint. 52. The method according to any of paragraphs. 37-51, characterized in that at least one freeboard setpoint includes a setpoint for the front freeboard level associated with the measured value of the forward freeboard level and a setpoint for the rear freeboard level associated with the measured value for the rear freeboard level and the setpoint for the front freeboard level is substantially the same as the setpoint for the rear freeboard level. 53. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 37–52, characterized in that it contains a mass regulator made with the possibility of using the value of the error of the mass of the car to obtain at least one predetermined value of the level of the free side. 54. The method according to claim 53, wherein the mass regulator is a discrete regulator. 55. The method according to claim 53, wherein the weight regulator is a proportional-integral (PI) regulator. 56. The method according to claim 55, characterized in that the proportional-integral (PI) controller is made in the form of a speed controller. 57. The method according to any of paragraphs. 53-56, characterized in that the mass regulator is designed to implement the following algorithm

, where m _i - the new value of the output signal of the regulator, corresponding to the new set value of the level of the free board; m _i-1 - the previous value of the output signal of the regulator; K _c is the overall gain of the regulator; K _i - integral gain; e _i is the constant value of the error between the given value of the current mass and the current mass of the car, and e _i-1 is the previous value of the error between the previous target mass value and the previous mass of the car. 58. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 37-57, characterized in that it includes the determination of the maximum and minimum values for a given value of the level of the free board. 59. The method according to any one of paragraphs. 37-58, characterized in that it contains at least one free bead level regulator configured to control the time of material feeding from the intermediate hopper by controlling the position of the front and / or rear slider based on at least one free bead level error value. 60. The method according to claim 59, characterized in that it includes providing a forward freeboard level regulator and a rear freeboard level regulator, wherein the freeboard forward level regulator is configured to use the freeboard forward level error value indicating an error between the measured forward level freeboard and the set freeboard level, to control the start time of material delivery from the intermediate hopper based on the error value of the front freeboard level, and the freeboard trailing level adjuster is configured to use the freeboard trailing error value indicating the error between the measured trailing freeboard level and the target freeboard level value, to control the time to stop feeding material from the intermediate hopper based on the freeboard trailing level error value. 61. The method according to claim 59 or 60, characterized in that one or each free board level regulator is a discrete regulator. 62. A method according to claim 61, wherein one or each freeboard level controller implies a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. 63. The method according to claim 62, characterized in that the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is made in the form of a speed controller. 64. The method of claim 63, wherein the PID controller is a gamma PID controller. 65. A method according to claim 61, wherein one or each freeboard level controller involves a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. 66. The method according to any of paragraphs. 59-65, characterized in that one or each free board level regulator is designed to implement the following algorithm

, where m _i is the new value of the output signal of the regulator, that is, the new position of the slider, mm; m _i-1 - current position of the slider; m _i-2 - previous position of the slider; e _i - new error of the free board level, mm; e _i-1 - current error of the free board level, mm; e _i-2 - previous error of the free board level, mm; K _p - proportional gain; K _i - integral gain; b - control parameter Kd / gamma; a - control parameter exp (-1 / gamma). 67. The method according to any of paragraphs. 37-66, characterized in that the set value of the free side level initialization is set at the beginning of loading the train and until at least one measured value of the free side level is obtained, indicating the front and / or rear level of the free side of the wagon, while the set value of the level initialization the freeboard is used until at least one measured value of the freeboard level is obtained. 68. The method according to claim 67, characterized in that it includes determining a predetermined freeboard level based on the values of the head and rear freeboard levels when, after initialization, the measured values of the front and rear freeboard levels are obtained. 69. The method according to any of paragraphs. 37-68, characterized in that it includes the adjustment of the rear slider in response to the adjustment of the front slider in order to compensate for the change in the rear level of the free bead caused by a change in the position of the front slider. 70. The method according to any of paragraphs. 37-69, characterized in that it includes a simplified manual adjustment by the operator of the timing of the delivery of material from the intermediate hopper.

Images