CONDITION OF AN ENERGY STORAGE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of safety in an underground environment. In particular the invention relates to handling a condition of an energy storage in an underground environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When working in underground environments, safety is of great importance. When using new technologies, an even higher degree of safety is necessary, in order to ensure by a good margin that unforeseen incidents do not affect the working environment or operations.

In a phase to minimize climate impact and improve the working environment in an underground environment, there is a transition to electric operation. Both for transport and for stationary mining operations. This electric operation may in some situations be solved through local electricity networks, but there are advantages with using machine-based energy storages, i.e. batteries. As there have been accidents in other technical fields, such as the car industry, with thermal runaway and/or overheated batteries, there is a need to increase safety around these.

One known procedure for increasing safety in an underground environment is a solution where a system is used to monitor the temperature of a lithium battery in a mine. When the temperature is too high, measures are taken, where the system automatically enters an energy-saving, e.g. safe-state, working mode. Thus, for example, explosion risks can be avoided. The system comprises a main computer which communicates with a plurality of terminals. The terminals include a main control unit and a temperature collection unit that consists of sensors that measure the temperature of the battery. The main control unit then sends the battery temperature to the main computer. The main computer informs the terminals to enter an energy-saving operating mode when the battery temperature exceeds a threshold value. Another known procedure to increase safety in an underground environment is to use a system for protecting a person from injury from a machine in a mine. Both the person's and the machine's position are determined to be able to warn the person when the machine is within a certain distance from the person.

The present disclosure presents an improved viable solution of a system that handles the issues described above and increases the safety in an underground environment.

SUMMARY

An object of embodiments herein is to enhance the safety in an underground environment in an efficient and reliable manner, or at least to achieve an alternative to known solutions within the technical field.

According to an aspect of embodiments herein the object is achieved by a method performed by a control system for handling a condition of an energy storage in an underground environment. The control system collects, from one or more first sensors, energy storage data associated with the energy storage. The control system further determines whether one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage is fulfilled, based on the collected energy storage data. The control system then further determines a position of the energy storage and determines a position of an object. The control system then performs one or more actions based on that the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage is fulfilled and the determined position of the object in relation to the determined position of the energy storage and in relation to an impact area of the underground environment.

Such a method enables the control system to perform an action when objects are e.g. within a certain distance from an energy storage with e.g. a deviant function and thus achieves increased safety for the object, in the underground environment. This is achieved as the position of the object and the position of the energy storage is determined by the control system. This is also achieved due to that the control system determines whether one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage is fulfilled, based on collected energy storage data. Consequently, by performing one or more actions based on both the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage is fulfilled and on the determined position of the object in relation to the determined position of the energy storage and in relation to an impact area of the underground environment, the safety in the underground environment is enhanced. For example the control system can evaluate a situation depending on actual energy storage data in relation to a position, and thereby proximity, of for example an operator, a machine, or another object. And from that evaluation perform a suitable action. Should an operator be close to the energy storage, an additional safety action can be suitable.

According to one embodiment energy storage positioning data associated with the energy storage may be collected from one or more second sensors, and wherein determining the position of the energy storage may be based on the energy storage positioning data.

According to one embodiment object positioning data may be collected from one or more third sensors, wherein the one or more third sensors may be located on the object in the underground environment, and wherein the object may be a human or a device, and wherein determining the position of the object may be based on the object positioning data.

According to one embodiment object positioning data may be collected from one or more third sensors, wherein the one or more third sensors may be located on the object in the underground environment, and wherein the object may be a human or a device, and wherein determining the position of the energy storage may be based on a pattern matching between a first pattern representing a track of a movement undertaken by the object and a second pattern representing an environment in which the tracked movement has been undertaken by the object, and wherein determining the position of the object may be based on the object positioning data.

According to one embodiment, the impact area may relate to ventilation data and/or to a structure of the underground environment.

According to one embodiment the ventilation data may be collected from one or more fourth sensors, which one or more fourth sensors may be located in the underground environment. The ventilation data may be collected from the control system, from sensors at a ventilation intake, and/or from information from a ventilation system. The control system may comprise the one or more first-, second- and fourth sensors. The one or more first-, second- and fourth sensors may be located on, in and/or in functional connection with the object and/or the energy storage. The one or more first-, second- and fourth sensors may be located in suitable places in one or more mining tunnels or any other suitable places in the underground environment.

According to one embodiment the impact area may relate to collected energy storage data.

As the impact area may relate to ventilation data and/or the structure of the underground environment, and/or that the impact area may relate to the collected energy storage data, the one or more actions may be performed on more accurate grounds and consequently the safety in the underground environment may be even further increased.

According to one embodiment, the object may be within a predefined distance from the energy storage. This increases the safety for the object even further as accidents in the underground environment may be avoided. As the control system knows the position of the energy storage with e.g. deviant function and the position of the object it is thus possible to avoid accidents by performing an action when the object is within a certain distance from the energy storage.

According to one embodiment, energy storage data, energy storage positioning data, object positioning data and/or the ventilation data may be collected in real time. Thereby, data may be collected more accurately, and this is advantageous as any risks in the underground environment may be detected at an early stage.

According to one embodiment the control system may send the energy storage data, energy storage positioning data, object positioning data and/or ventilation data, to a control unit.

According to one embodiment the energy storage data may comprise one or more of: an age, a temperature, a status, a type, an isolation, a voltage, a charge level, a size and a load of the energy storage .

According to one embodiment the one or more actions may comprise one or more of: performing a service of the energy storage, exchanging the energy storage, sending a notification to the object, sending a notification to one or more objects within the impact area, changing a configuration and/or parameters of the energy storage and sending a notification to the control unit.

According to one embodiment the energy storage may be a battery.

According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by providing a control system configured to handle a condition of an energy storage in an underground environment. The control system is configured to collect, from one or more first sensors, energy storage data associated with the energy storage. The control system is further configured to determine whether one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage is fulfilled, based on the collected energy storage data. The control system is further configured to determine a position of the energy storage. The control system is further configured to determine a position of an object. The control system is further configured to perform one or more actions based on that the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage is fulfilled and the determined position of the object in relation to the determined position of the energy storage and in relation to an impact area of the underground environment.

According to another aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by providing a control unit configured to perform the above method of handling a condition of an energy storage in an underground environment.

Embodiments herein are based on the realisation that by determining whether criteria relating to the condition of an energy storage is fulfilled, determining a position of the energy storage and determining a position of an object, one or more actions can be performed and thereby the safety in the underground environment is enhanced in an efficient and reliable manner.

Consequently, a method and control system for handling a condition of an energy storage in an underground environment is achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Further objects and advantages, as well as technical features of the invention will become apparent through the following description of one or several embodiments given with reference to the appended figures, where:

Fig. 1a is a schematic overview illustrating an underground environment, according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 1b is a flowchart illustrating an example of handling a condition of an energy storage in an underground environment, according to embodiments herein;

Fig. 2 is a flowchart depicting a method performed by a control system according to embodiments herein; and

Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a control system.

It should be noted that the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale and that the dimensions of certain elements may have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the appended figures, in which examples of embodiments are shown. The invention is not limited to the described examples of embodiments; it is rather defined by the appended patent claims. Like numbers in the figures refer throughout to like elements.

Fig. 1a depicts an example scenario in an underground environment 5 wherein embodiments herein may be implemented. The underground environment 5, which may be a mine, may comprise several mining tunnels, e.g. the mining tunnels 40, 41 and 42 as shown in Fig. 1a. The mining tunnel 41 shows an energy storage 12, e.g. a battery, and an object 30, which may be a worker in the mine or a device such as a vehicle or a machine. The mining tunnel 41 further shows one or more sensors, e.g. one or more first sensors 21, one or more second sensors 22, one or more third sensors 23 and one or more fourth sensors 24. The one or more sensors 21, 22, 23, 24 may be located on, in and/or in connection, e.g. functional connection, with the object 30 and/or the energy storage 12. The one or more sensors 21 , 22, 23, 24 may also be located in suitable places in the mining tunnels 40, 41, 42 or any other suitable places in the underground environment 5. Fig. 1a further shows an impact area 35, which when used herein may be defined as an area which may be affected by an energy storage 12 with a deviating function. The impact area 35 may be a part of an impact volume. The impact volume may depend on the structure of the underground environment 5 and may be characterized by the energy storage 12 and/or the object 30.

Fig. 1a further shows a control system 10 and a control unit 15, which may be used for performing or partly performing the methods herein and which may be located in a cloud 50. The control system 10 may comprise the one or more sensors 21 , 22, 23, 24. The control unit 15 is illustrated as one specific unit for simplicity, however, it may also comprise a plurality of control units 15. The control unit 15 may be a computer or a part of a computer, a server, a controller, a microprocessor, etc, located in one or several places in or outside the underground environment 5, and which are implemented in the cloud 50.

By using the one or more first sensors 21 mounted in connection with the energy storage 12 in the underground environment 5, real-time data on the energy storage may be collected. This data may e.g. be age, load, status, temperature, etc. This data may be communicated to the control system 10 for analysis. The control system 10 may be central, which means that one component is designated as the controller and is responsible for managing the execution of other components. The control system 10 may also have the ability to perform certain calculations further out in the system, which means that computing may be performed on site or near a particular data source which may minimize the need for data to be processed in a remote data centre. Should a deviation of the energy storage 12 be detected, various actions, e.g. measures, may be taken such as service or replacement of the energy storage 12, but in situations where safety needs to be increased, the environment may receive a warning.

By providing objects 30, such as personnel and units, in the underground environment 5 with one or more sensors 21, 22, 23, 24, position data may be collected in real time. This position data may be used to send out a warning if the object 30 is too close to an energy storage 12 with a deviating function. Depending on the nature of the deviation, the area where the warning is issued may have different sizes. As work in the underground environment 5 is often routine, objects 30 on their way to the impact area 35 may also be warned and/or redirected. In the event that several energy storages 12 are within the impact area 35, e.g. affected area, with the energy storage 12 with a deviant function, the warning may be modified. For example, the impact area 35 may be expanded. In the event that several energy storages 12 have a different function, the warning may also be modified. In certain events, e.g. in an event of a significant deviation, the impact area 35 may also be changed depending on ventilation conditions. For example, the impact area 35 may expand more in a direction in which the ventilation acts. To enable this, ventilation data may be collected from the one or more fourth sensors 24. The ventilation data may be collected from the control system, from sensors at a ventilation intake, from one or more air particle sensors and/or from information from a ventilation system. To simplify communication of the warning, several impact areas 35 may be merged into one, and different gradations may also occur. For example, that the vicinity of several powerful energy storages 12 with deviating function has one level, while the vicinity of normally functioning energy storages 12 which in turn is close to energy storages 12 with deviating function has another level.

An example scenario of handling a condition of the energy storage 12 in the underground environment 5, according to embodiments herein, will now be described with reference to Fig. 1b. To avoid accidents with deviant energy storages, e.g. energy storages that are overheated or overaged, information about the energy storage 12 needs to be gathered. With the gathered information it is possible to detect any risks at an early stage and inform surrounding staff and/or devices about the risks.

Action 101. A control system 10 may be used to handle the condition of the energy storage 12 in the underground environment 5. The energy storage 12 may e.g. be a battery. The underground environment 5 may e.g. be a mining environment. To enable the control system 10 to handle the condition of the energy storage 12, the control system 10 needs to gather information about the energy storage 12. Therefore the control system 10 first collects energy storage data associated with the energy storage 12 from one or more first sensors 21. As the one or more first sensors 21 are placed on, in and/or in functional connection with the energy storage 12 in the underground environment 5, the data of the energy storage 12 may be collected in real-time. This data may be energy storage data such as age, load, status, temperature, health, state of health, etc. Collecting the energy storage data using the one or more first sensors 21 means that the energy storage data may be communicated from the one or more first sensors 21 to the control system 10. The control system 10 may then use this data for analysis.

Action 102. When the energy storage data has been collected, the control system 10 can use this data to find out the condition of the energy storage 12. The control system 10 therefore determines whether one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage 12 is fulfilled, based on the collected energy storage data. The one or more criteria may e.g. comprise threshold values in absolute or relative numbers and/or the rate of change, and may relate to temperature, voltage drop or temperature variation in the energy storage 12 and/or gas presence inside or outside the energy storage 12.

Action 103. To be able to decide whether the deviant energy storage 12 is a risk for the object 30, e.g. if the object 30 is too close to the energy storage 12 with a deviating function, the position of the energy storage 12 may need to be known. The position, e.g. location, of the energy storage 12 may therefore be determined by the control system 10. According to some embodiments, the position of the energy storage 12 is based on collected energy storage positioning data associated with the energy storage 12, which energy storage data may be collected from the one or more second sensors 22. According to some embodiments, determining the position of the energy storage 12 is based on a pattern matching between a first pattern representing a track of a movement undertaken by the object 30 and a second pattern representing an environment in which the tracked movement has been undertaken by the object 30. The object 30 may be a mobile unit configured to move in an environment in which the mobile unit is constrained to follow a defined network of paths, the position of the mobile unit being determined by pattern matching between a first pattern representing a track of a movement undertaken by the mobile unit and a second pattern representing an environment, e.g. the underground environment 5, in which the tracked movement has been undertaken by the mobile unit, the mobile unit track having a head and a tail, the head representing a current position of the mobile unit. The pattern representing the environment may be a discretized pattern representing the environment, the network of paths being represented by a plurality of nodes representing positions in the network of paths. When a matching error in the current position of the mobile unit exceeds a threshold, determining nodes of the pattern representing the environment for which pattern matching is to be carried out utilizing a non-pattern matching positioning method, when the matching error in the current position of the mobile unit is below the threshold, determining one or more nodes of the pattern representing the environment for which pattern matching is to be carried out based on one or more nodes of the pattern representing the environment previously determined to be the position of the mobile unit, and determining the current position of the mobile unit as a node for which the pattern matching results in a matching error below the threshold. An environment in which the mobile unit is constrained to follow a defined network of paths may be the general case for underground environments, where e.g. the mobile unit is confined to follow paths such as roads/tunnels/drifts/galleries etc., herein denoted paths, in an underground mine, a network of maneuvering areas and/or a network of indoor roads (paths). In some embodiments, the mobile unit, e.g. object 30, may comprise the energy storage 12.

Action 104. The control system 10 also determines a position, e.g. location, of the object 30, which object 30 may be a human, e.g. a worker in the underground environment 5, or a device such as a vehicle. The position of the object 30 may be based on collected object positioning data, which is associated with the energy storage 12 and which may be collected from one or more third sensors 23. The one or more third sensors 23 may be provided on, in and/or in connection, e.g. functional connection, with the object 30 in the underground environment 5 such that the object position data may be collected in real time. The one or more third sensors 23 may for example be installed over a helmet and/or other gadgets of the object 30, which object 30 may be a mine worker. The collected energy storage positioning data, object positioning data and ventilation data may then be used to warn the objects 30 in the underground environment 5.

Action 105. When used herein, an energy storage 12 with a deviant function means an energy storage 12 where one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage 12 is fulfilled. When a deviation is detected in the energy storage 12, various actions may be taken. An example of such a deviation may e.g. be that the energy storage is overheated. However, in situations where safety needs to be increased, the objects 30 in the underground environment 5, e.g. in the impact area 35 in the underground environment s, may receive a warning. Accordingly, the control system 10 therefore determines whether to perform one or more actions. The one or more actions are based on that the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage 12 is fulfilled. The one or more actions are also based on the determined position of the object 30 in relation to the determined position of the energy storage 12 and in relation to an impact area 35 of the underground environment 5. The impact area 35 may relate to the collected energy storage data. The impact area 35 may also relate to collected ventilation data, from one or more fourth sensors 24, in the underground environment 5 and/or to a structure of the underground environment 5. The impact area 35 may be changed depending on ventilation conditions. For example, the impact area 35 may expand more in the direction in which the ventilation acts. There may further be one or more gas sensors located in the underground environment, which may detect gas in the underground environment 5. The one or more gas sensors may be used by the control system 10 to detect deviations in the energy storage 12. The collected ventilation data may be used by the control system 10 to direct the ventilation away from e.g. detected gas. The impact area 35 may be a part of an impact volume. The impact volume may depend on the structure of the underground environment 5 and may be characterized by the energy storage 12 and/or the object 30, and how gas is moved in the impact volume.

The determined position of the object 30 may be within a predefined distance from the energy storage 12. The predefined distance may depend on the environment, i.e. how the mining tunnels 40, 41 , 42 are designed in the underground environment. For example, the mining tunnel 40 is located at a closer distance to the impact area 35 than the tunnel 41 which is within the impact area 35. In this example the mining tunnel 40 may not be affected as much as the mining tunnel 41, even if mining the tunnel 40 is located closer to the impact area 35. Some examples of actions that may be performed are performing a service of the energy storage 12, exchanging the energy storage 12, sending a notification to the object 30, sending a notification to one or more objects 30 within the impact area 35, changing a configuration and/or parameters of the energy storage 12 and sending a notification, e.g. to a control unit 15. The control system 10 may receive a confirmation that the sent notification has been received. This may be performed in two steps: a first step that the notification has been received and a second step where the object 30, which may be an operator, actively confirms the reception of the notification. The control unit 15 may e.g. be a controller such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a data logger unit, a computer, or other digital hardware, configured to perform the method herein. As mentioned above, the ventilation data may be based on collected, e.g. detected, ventilation in the underground environment 5, however, the ventilation data may also relate to a planned ventilation, what the operation looks like, or a flow detection on the surface outside the underground environment 5.

The sensors, 21 , 22, 23, 24, when used herein, may comprise one or more of: a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a fire sensor, a gas sensor, an air particle sensor, an air density sensor and a proximity sensor. These sensors 21, 22, 23, 24, respectively, may provide real-time collection of data to the control system 10 and/or the control unit 15. E.g. the data may be communicated from the one or more of the sensors 21 , 22, 23, 24 to the control system 10. The control system 10 may then use this data for analysis.

The method actions performed by the control system 10 for handling the condition of the energy storage 12 in the underground environment 5, according to embodiments herein, will now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in Fig. 2. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below but may be taken in any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked with dashed boxes.

Action 201. The control system 10 collects, from the one or more first sensors 21 , energy storage data associated with the energy storage 12. This action relates to action 101 above. The energy storage 12 may be a battery. According to some embodiments, the energy storage data may comprise one or more of: an age, a temperature, a status, a type, an isolation, a voltage, a charge level, a size and a load of the energy storage 12.

Action 202. The control system 10 may collect energy storage positioning data associated with the energy storage 12, from the one or more second sensors 22.

Action 203. The control system 10 may further collect object positioning data from the one or more third sensors 23, wherein the one or more third sensors 23 are located on the object 30 in the underground environment 5, and wherein the object 30 is a human or a device.

Action 204. The control system 10 may send the collected energy storage data, energy storage positioning data, object positioning data and/or ventilation data, to the control unit 15. The energy storage data, the energy storage positioning data, the object positioning data and/or the ventilation data may be collected in real time.

Action 205. The control system 10 determines whether the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage 12 is fulfilled, based on the collected energy storage data. This action relates to action 102 above.

Action 206. The control system 10 determines the position of the energy storage 12. This action relates to action 103 above. According to some embodiments, determining the position of the energy storage 12 may be based on the energy storage positioning data. According to some embodiments, determining the position of the energy storage 12 is based on a pattern matching between a first pattern representing a track of a movement undertaken by the object 30 and a second pattern representing an environment in which the tracked movement has been undertaken by the object 30.

Action 207. The control system 10 determines the position of the object. This action relates to action 104 above. According to some embodiments, determining the position of the object may be based on the object positioning data.

Action 208. The control system 10 performs the one or more actions based on that the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage 12 is fulfilled and based on the determined position of the object 30 in relation to the determined position of the energy storage 12 and in relation to the impact area 35 of the underground environment 5. This action relates to action 105 above. According to some embodiments, the impact area 35 may relate to ventilation data in the underground environment 5 and/or to a structure of the underground environment 5. The ventilation data may be collected from one or more fourth sensors 24, and the one or more fourth sensors 24 may be located in the underground environment 5. According to some embodiments, the impact area 35 may relate to the collected energy storage data. According to some embodiments, the determined position of the object 30 is within a predefined distance from the energy storage 12. According to some embodiments, the one or more actions may comprise one or more of: performing a service of the energy storage 12, exchanging the energy storage 12, sending a notification to the object 30, sending a notification to one or more objects 30 within the impact area 35, changing a configuration and/or parameters of the energy storage 12 and sending a notification to the control unit 15.

The block diagram in Fig. 3 illustrates a detailed but non-limiting example of how the control system 10 may be structured to bring about the above-described solution and embodiments thereof. The control system 10 may be configured to operate according to any of the examples and embodiments of employing the solution as described herein, where appropriate. The control system 10 is shown to comprise a processor “P”, a memory “M” and a communication circuit “C” with suitable equipment for transmitting and receiving data, information and messages in the manner described herein. The communication circuit C in the control system 10 thus comprises equipment configured for communication using a suitable protocol for the communication depending on the implementation. The data communication link between the different parts of the control system may for an example utilize one or a plurality of different types of wired links or wireless links, such as for example Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), xDSL, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G TCP/IP, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, WiMax, Wireless Local Loop (WLL), Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), optical fibre, Long Range (LoRa), LoRa Wireless Area Network (LoRaWAN), Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) or a combination thereof. The solution is however not limited to any specific types of messages or protocols. For example, the control system 10 may be adapted to communicate with a control centre or the like for handling the condition of the energy storage 12 in the underground environment 5 described herein.

The control system 10 is, e.g. by means of units, modules, or the like, configured or arranged to perform at least some of the actions of the flowchart in Fig. 2 as follows. The control system 10 is configured to handle the condition of the energy storage 12 in the underground environment 5. All or at least some of the actions of the flowchart in Fig. 2 may also be performed by a control unit 15 in the control system 10

The control system 10 is configured to collect, from the one or more first sensors 21, energy storage data associated with the energy storage 12. This operation may be performed by a collecting module 300A in the control system 10, as illustrated in action 201.

The control system 10 may further be configured to collect, from one or more second sensors 22, energy storage positioning data associated with the energy storage 12. This operation may be performed by the collecting module 300A in the control system 10, as illustrated in action 202.

The control system 10 may further be configured to collect, from one or more third sensors 23, object positioning data, wherein the one or more third sensors 23 are located on the object 30 in the underground environment 5, and wherein the object 30 is a human or a device. This operation may be performed by the collecting module 300A in the control system 10, as illustrated in action 203. The control system 10 may be configured to send the collected energy storage data, energy storage positioning data, object positioning data and/or ventilation data, to the control unit 15. This operation may be performed by a sending module 300B in the control system 10 as illustrated in action 204.

The control system 10 is further configured to determine whether the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage 12 is fulfilled, based on the collected energy storage data. This operation may be performed by a determining module 300C in the control system 10, as illustrated in action 205.

The control system 10 is further configured to determine the position of the energy storage 12. This operation may be performed by the determining module 300C in the control system 10, as illustrated in action 206.

The control system 10 is further configured to determine the position of the object 30. This operation may be performed by the determining module 300C in the control system 10, as illustrated in action 207.

The control system 10 is further configured to perform the one or more actions based on that the one or more criteria relating to the condition of the energy storage 12 is fulfilled and based on the determined position of the object 30 in relation to the determined position of the energy storage 12 and in relation to the impact area 35 of the underground environment 5. This operation may be performed by a performing module 300D in the control system 10 as illustrated in action 208.

It should be noted that Fig. 3 illustrates various functional modules in the control system 10 and the skilled person is able to implement these functional modules in practice using suitable software and hardware equipment. Thus, the solution is generally not limited to the shown structure of the control system 10, and the functional modules therein may be configured to operate according to any of the features, examples and embodiments described in this disclosure, where appropriate.

The functional modules 300A-D described above may be implemented in the control system 10 by means of program modules of a computer program comprising code means which, when run by the processor P causes the control system 10 to perform the above-described actions and procedures. The processor P may comprise a single Central Processing Unit (CPU) or could comprise two or more processing units. For example, the processor P may include a general-purpose microprocessor, an instruction set processor and/or related chips sets and/or a special purpose microprocessor such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The processor P may also comprise a storage for caching purposes.

The computer program may be carried by a computer program product in the control system 10 in the form of a memory having a computer readable medium and being connected to the processor P. The computer program product or memory M in the control system 10 thus comprises a computer readable medium on which the computer program is stored e.g. in the form of computer program modules or the like. For example, the memory M may be a flash memory, a Random-Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), and the program modules could in alternative embodiments be distributed on different computer program products in the form of memories within the control system 10.

While the solution has been described with reference to specific exemplifying embodiments, the description is generally only intended to illustrate the inventive concept and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the solution. For example, the terms “energy storage”, "energy storage data", "energy storage positioning data", "object positioning data", "ventilation data", “impact area” and “underground environment” have been used throughout this disclosure, although any other corresponding entities, functions, and/or parameters could also be used having the features and characteristics described here. The solution is defined by the appended claims.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings represent non-limiting examples of the method and arrangement taught herein. As such, the arrangement and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.