Down-the-hole drilling control system for mobile drilling machines

Abstract

A method for automated control of a drilling operation of a blast hole drilling machine using a down-the-hole drill bit mounted on a drill string is disclosed. The method may include: receiving input data from a user input including information of the drill bit, drill string weight, and desired hole settings; receiving a command from the user to initiate an automatic down-the-hole operation; identifying a location of the down-the-hole drill bit; and using the received input data and based on the location of the down-the-hole drill bit, automatically initiating the steps of: collaring a hole; drilling the hole; and retracting the drill when the hole is drilled.

1 . A method for automated control of a drilling operation of a blast hole drilling machine using a down-the-hole drill bit mounted on a drill string, comprising:
 receiving input data from a user input including information of the drill bit, drill string weight, and desired hole settings;   receiving a command from the user to initiate an automatic down-the-hole operation;   identifying a location of the down-the-hole drill bit; and   using the received input data and based on the location of the down-the-hole drill bit, automatically initiating the steps of:
 collaring a hole; 
 drilling the hole; and 
 retracting the drill when the hole is drilled. 
   
     
     
         2 - 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The method for automated control of  claim 1 , wherein the desired hole settings include collar depth, reaming increment depth, and a desired depth of the hole. 
     
     
         5 . The method for automated control of  claim 4 , further comprising if the down-the-hole drill bit is above ground and a depth of the hole is zero, automatically collaring the hole based on the collar depth and reaming increment depth. 
     
     
         6 . The method for automated control of  claim 5 , further comprising if the down-the-hole drill bit is in the hole or the hole depth is not zero, automatically drilling the hole based on the desired depth of the hole. 
     
     
         7 . The method for automated control of  claim 6 , wherein automatically drilling the hole includes a jam avoidance process of automatically reducing a feed rate of the down-the-hole drill bit to maintain an air pressure or torque on the down-the-hole drill bit within a target load limit range. 
     
     
         8 . The method for automated control of  claim 6 , wherein automatically drilling the hole includes an anti-jam process of automatically increasing a rotation speed and reducing a feed rate of the down-the-hole drill bit to maintain an air pressure or torque on the down-the-hole drill bit below a high load limit. 
     
     
         9 . The method for automated control of  claim 6 , further comprising if the down-the-hole drill bit is in the hole and the hole depth is at a desired hole depth, automatically retracting the down-the-hole drill bit. 
     
     
         10 - 15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . A method for automated control of a collaring operation of a blast hole drilling machine using a down-the-hole drill bit mounted on a drill string, comprising:
 automatically supplying air to the down-the-hole drill bit to provide a hammering action at the drill bit without rotating the drill bit; and   automatically feeding the down-the hole drill bit to form an initial hole.   
     
     
         17 . The method for automated control of  claim 16 , further including when the initial hole is formed, automatically initiating rotation of the drill string at a rotation speed and automatically feeding the down-the-hole drill bit down the hole to drill a collar hole until a desired collaring depth is achieved. 
     
     
         18 . The method for automated control of  claim 17 , further including automatically feeding the down-the-hole drill bit down the hole at predetermined collaring increments until the desired collaring depth is achieved. 
     
     
         19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . A method for automated control of a drilling operation of a blast hole drilling machine using a down-the-hole drill bit mounted on a drill string, comprising:
 automatically supplying air to the down-the-hole drill bit to provide a hammering action at the drill bit; and   automatically controlling a feed rate of the drill string based on a measured bit air pressure during the drilling operation.   
     
     
         21 . The method for automated control of  claim 20 , further including automatically rotating the drill string based on the feed rate of the drill string. 
     
     
         22 . The method for automated control of  claim 21 , wherein the controlling of the feed rate includes maintaining the air pressure at an air pressure limit. 
     
     
         23 . The method for automated control of  claim 22 , wherein the air pressure limit is a function of drill bit characteristics. 
     
     
         24 . The method for automated control of  claim 23 , further comprising automatically controlling the feed rate of the drill string based on a feed velocity limit until the bit air pressure resulting from the drilling operation approaches the air pressure limit, and thereafter automatically controlling the feed rate based on the measured bit air pressure. 
     
     
         25 . The method for automated control of  claim 24 , wherein the automatic control of the feed rate is performed during a drill hole phase of the drilling operation. 
     
     
         26 . The method for automated control of  claim 25 , further including automatically initiating a jam avoidance operation when the bit air pressure is above a first value, but below a second value, or a measured rotation torque of the drill string is above a first torque value. 
     
     
         27 . The method for automated control of  claim 26 , wherein the jam avoidance operation includes reducing a feed rate of the drill string based on the measured bit air pressure. 
     
     
         28 . The method for automated control of  claim 27 , further including automatically initiating an anti-jam operation when the bit air pressure is above the second value or a measured rotation torque of the drill string is above a second torque value. 
     
     
         29 . The method for automated control of  claim 28 , wherein the anti-jam operation includes backing away from a jam, increasing drill rotation speed, and feeding the drill bit back into the jam at a decreased feed rate. 
     
     
         30 - 33 . (canceled)