TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to conveyor idler rollers used in belt conveyors for bulk materials handling and, more particularly, to an electronic monitoring system for conveyor idler rollers.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Conveyors are commonly used to transport a wide range of materials (such as minerals including coal, iron ore, phosphate or bauxite) through various stages of the transport chain, commonly between a mine rock face in a pit over long distances for unloading at a processing station and/or a means of transport such as ships at port. They are also used for agricultural purposes including for the transport of grain to and from silos.

[0003] An example of a pit conveyor 10 is shown in figure 1. Pit conveyors are commonly around twenty kilometres long, but some conveyors can be much longer. The conveyor 10 comprises a belt 12 which carries excavated material 14, such as ore. The belt 12 is driven by rollers 16. Each roller 16 has a head 18 which support a bearing 20 at each end of the roller 16. Each bearing 20 is mounted on an axle 22 on which the roller rotates.

[0004] Rollers require regular replacement because they tend to operate in harsh environments. The bearings of the rollers may fail. Sometimes the head comes away from the end of the tube. On occasions, the tube of the roller wears out and breaks.

[0005] Two key causes of conventional conveyor idler roller failure are, first, the end cap that holds the axle in place breaks away from the end of the housing; or the bearings held in place by the end cap (that hold the axle that passes through the centre of the idler roller) fail because of the loads being placed on them or debris works its way into the bearing through the sealing arrangement.

[0006] The common way to identify whether an idler roller has failed is by regular manual inspections. However, systems have been developed to automatically monitor the failure of conveyor idler rollers. For example, Vayeron Pty Ltd manufactures a conveyor idler roller monitoring system, which is disclosed in PCT/AU2014/050246. As shown in figure 2, this monitoring system comprises an idler roller 24 which is fitted with a sensor 26 that is located on a shaft 28 inside the idler roller 24. A cable 30 connects the sensor 26 to an external aerial 30 on a head 32 of the idler roller 24.

[0007] However, the problem with this monitoring system is that if that the sensor 24 fails, the entire idler roller 14 must be replaced. Alternatively, if the roller 10 fails, then the sensor 24 would be discarded with the roller 24. The installation of the aerial 30 and internal sensor 26 also complicates the manufacturing process of the idler roller 24, which makes it more expensive. Because idler rollers are ordered on mass by mining operators, a small increase in the unit price of each idler roller creates a substantial increase in the price of the overall order.

[0008] It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The object of the invention is to overcome or at least substantially ameliorate the aforementioned problems with the prior art

[0010] The present invention is directed to a monitoring assembly for a conveyor idler roller, which may at least partially overcome at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0011] With the foregoing in view, the present invention in one form, resides broadly in a monitoring assembly for monitoring a conveyor idler roller, the conveyor idler roller comprising at least one end cap, the conveyor idler roller comprising:

• a labyrinth seal comprising an inner seal part configured to rotate with the roller and an outer seal part configured to remain stationary within the end cap when the inner seal part is rotating;

• a magnet mounted on the inner seal part; and

• a printed circuit board mounted on the outer seal part, the printed circuit board

comprising: o at least one sensor for sensing information from the conveyor idler roller; o a processor for recording the sensed information from the at least one sensor; and o a communications device for transmitting and receiving information between the processor and an external user device.

[0012] In the present specification and claims (if any), the word 'comprising' and its derivatives including 'comprises' and 'comprise' include each of the stated integers but does not exclude the inclusion of one or more further integers.

[0013] The monitoring assembly is mounted in the end cap of the conveyor idler roller so that the monitoring assembly can be retro-fitted to existing rollers by exchanging the existing end cap for one containing the monitoring assembly of the present invention. Alternatively, the monitoring assembly can be sold as part of a complete idler roller.

[0014] For the purposes of the specification, the term "labyrinth seal" means a mechanical seal which provides a tortuous path to help reduce ingress of dirt and/or water into the idler roller housing and bearing. The labyrinth seal may be selected from the group consisting of; felt seal, lip seal.

[0015] Preferably, the communications device is adapted to provide information about the assembly to a user. The information may include a global positioning system location of the assembly; installation information of the conveyor idler roller; a date of installation of the conveyor idler roller; an identity of the installer and/or a uniform resource indicator (URI) to the external device.

[0016] Preferably, the sensor is adapted to measure the rotational speed and passage of the magnet. The sensor also preferably includes an accelerometer mounted on the outer part of the seal for sensing vibrations in the conveyor idler roller. It is also preferred that the assembly includes a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the conveyor idler roller. The assembly may include a data concentrator for receiving signals from the communications device and transmitting those signals to a control centre. Preferably, the communications device uses a mesh wireless sensor network adapted to communicate with other processors in other monitoring assemblies.

[0017] Any of the features described herein can be combined in any combination with any one or more of the other features described herein within the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Various embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conveyor for use with the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 is a perspective view of an idler roller fitted with a prior art monitoring assembly.

[0021] Figure 3 is side view of an idler roller monitoring system according to an

embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the printed circuit board of the idler monitoring assembly of figure 3.

[0023] Figure 5 shows a representation of a user screen of an external user device in communication with a processor of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 shows the results of an electrical scattering simulation of the present invention fitted to a conveyor idler roller.

[0025] Figure 7 shows a graph of scattering parameter (S -parameters) versus frequency (GHz) of the simulation shown in Figure 6 (S-parameters magnitude (S-parameter = Sl,l) - V12).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The monitoring assembly 32 of the present invention is shown in Figures 3 and 4. The monitoring assembly 32 is used on a conveyor idler roller 34 which may have a shaft 36. However, without departing from the present invention, the monitoring assembly 32 may also be used with a shaft-less conveyer idler roller comprising a pair of roller head assemblies, one at each end of a roller housing (not shown). The idler roller 34 has a labyrinth seal with an inner part 38 and outer part 40 enclosed in an end cap 24.

[0027] A magnet 42 is mounted in the inner part 38 of the labyrinth seal (a series of magnets may be used). A sensor 44 for measuring the rotation of the magnet 42 is mounted on a printed circuit board 25 attached to the outer part 22 of the seal 18. Also mounted on the printed circuit board 25 is a processor 46. The processor 46 has the ability to record information from the sensor 44.

[0028] The assembly 32 has a communications device 48 (in the form of a 2.4 GHz antenna) mounted on the printed circuit board 25 for transmitting and receiving information between the processor 46 and an external device 49 such as a tablet computer or smart telephone running iOS or Android operating system (shown in figure 1). The communications device 48 acts as a radio network node and connects to a mesh network, which is preferably a Bluetooth™ network. However, any suitable network may be used, for example WiFi™, ANT™ or another proprietary network standard.

[0029] The assembly 32 also includes an accelerometer 50 mounted on the printed circuit board 25. The accelerometer 50 senses vibrations in the conveyor idler roller 16. The vibrations can indicate whether the conveyor idler roller has a problem, such as a bearing breaking up, the roller fracturing, or an end cap becoming detached from the roller. The assembly 10 includes a temperature sensor 52 mounted on the printed circuit board 25 for measuring the temperature of the conveyor idler roller 12. A high temperature could indicate that there will be an imminent failure of the bearing failure. In addition, the assembly 32 also includes an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) 54 SPI serial that contains 131072 bytes of data, is used to store long term (persistent) data for that idler roller (company, conveyor, frame, carry or return roller, etc). It will also contain a circular buffer of recent information that pertains to the roller's current state. Its use is to save operational data whilst the unit is powered down. This operational data would be used for maintenance or warranty actions.

[0030] The communications device 48 connects to a data concentrator 56 (see figure 1). Data concentrators are positioned approximately every fifty meters along the conveyor belt 12. The data concentrators 56 relay signals from the monitoring assemblies 32 on each conveyor idler roller 34 to a central control centre 58 and/or to the external device 49. The mesh network may exhibit self-healing properties and automatically uses alternate routes in the event that an idler roller failure or a low radio link quality due to high bit error rates or low radio signal strength.

[0031] The external device 49 runs a software application for interacting with the assemblies 32. The software application represents various conveyor idler rollers and illustrates which rollers are functioning and which rollers are malfunctioning. A technician is thereby able to readily identify the defective roller. The software application provides information regarding the temperature of the conveyor idler roller. A high temperature may indicate that a bearing is about to fail. The software application can also indicate whether the conveyor idler roller is vibrating in an abnormal manner, compared to the other rollers nearby. This may indicate that the roller has failed.

[0032] The communications device 48 can transmit information via Bluetooth™ low energy technology (BLE) as a beacon. A Generic Attributes (GATT) protocol is built on top of the BLE and defines how the processor 46 and the external deice 49 transmits and receives information between each other. As part of the protocol for all beacons and all other Bluetooth™ devices, each assembly will transmit a randomly generated universally unique identifier (UUID; Version 4 or above) or globally unique identifier (GUID).

[0033] Alternatively, each assembly can transmit packets of data including a unit identifier packet, a universal resource locator packet, and four different telemetry frames. The frames use standard Eddystone™ data (which is based on the iBeacon ^{TM roduced} and sold by Apple Inc). The first telemetry frame contains details of the battery voltage, the temperature, the number of advertisements and the running count (in tenths of a second). The second telemetry frame contains information such as the installation date, the vibration level in g-force, the conveyor frame number, operating hours, belt speed and bearing lifespan. A malfunction warning can be generated if vibration level or temperature is above predefined limits. The third telemetry frame contains a code which identifies the manufacturer of the assembly, the employee number of the customer installing the assembly, the assembly serial number, the manufacturing date, and the date the assembly was received on site. The fourth telemetry frame contains the assembly firmware version and the bearing life hours left. These telemetry frames can be encrypted if required.

[0034] The idler roller information such as operating hours can be used to determine warranty claims if failure is seen before a predetermined operating time span (e.g. 250,000 hours rather than time span).

[0035] The communications device 48 uses its near field communications capability to update the running firmware on the assembly 10. The external device 49 can be used to record program information into the assembly 10. This information includes conveyor number, frame number, roller identifier number, information identifying whether the roller is a carrier or a return roller, alerts if the idler roller should be changed out, the date of installation and the employee number.

[0036] Figure 5 shows a worker using an external device receiving information from a roller on a conveyor that is reporting problems, after an inspection of the data and the roller, the worker would then to mark the roller for change out. The conveyor number, frame number, and roller number (shown as Module in this occasion), along with the information if it was a Carry or Return roller. This would be validated by the worker, and the sites roller application database would be updated, to start the sites roller replacement procedure. [0037] In this way, the present invention provides for improved predictive maintenance of a conveyor idler roller through real time monitoring. These rollers can be connected to via any number of devices to check for problems so that they can be addressed more efficiently. Real time data monitoring data from the processor 46 may utilise augmented reality to improve visualisation to a user. In this situation the user external device may be a pair of mixed reality smartglasses such as Microsoft™ HoloLens™. Tapping on a roller, broken or working, will display information about that roller. Tapping a on broken roller will include the option to go through the steps for how to fix, including a visual representation of the steps.

[0038] An advantage of the assembly of the present invention is that it can be easily retrofitted to existing conveyor idler rollers. The end cap of a conventional conveyor idler roller can be removed and replaced with the assembly. If a conveyor idler roller fails, then the assembly can be removed (if required) and used on another conventional conveyor idler roller.

[0039] Having thus described the invention in detail, it should be apparent that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the processor 46 may have a near field communications receiver/transmitter and/or transmitter/receivers that can run both the ANT™ and Bluetooth™ protocols at the same time. The separate components of the printed circuit board 25 may be combined into single components without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the accelerometer 50 may be combined with the temperature sensor 52 in the same component. The processor 46 may also act as temperature sensor 52 as it has an in-built temperature sensor. Consequently, these and other modifications are contemplated to be within the spirit and scope of the claims.

Working Example 1: Electrical Scattering simulation

[0040] Figures 6 and 7 show the expected radio frequency (RF) radiation pattern for the antenna shown in Figure 4. The various colours in the three dimensional signal strength graph in Figure 6 represents the varying signal strengths and directions that the RF signal is being transmitted. Figure 7 shows the same RF radiation pattern in 2 dimensions.

[0041] Thus the present invention has a number of advantages over the prior art such as:

• Real time monitoring of a conveyer idler roller for predictive maintenance;

• Improved ease of use by retrofitting to an existing conveyer idler roller;

• Improved ease of use by programmability to upgrade firmware periodically;

• Reducing conveyer idler roller downtime thereby saving on costly lost production to boost productivity;

• Reducing the need for costly physical inspection;

• Secure communication using authorised devices.

• Low energy consumption (e.g. with the use of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology).

[0042] Reference throughout this specification to One embodiment' or 'an embodiment' means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearance of the phrases 'in one embodiment' or 'in an embodiment' in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more combinations.

[0043] In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the proper scope of the appended claims (if any)

appropriately interpreted by those skilled in the art.