EP0534338A2 - Control system for a tunnel boring machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The control system contains a sensor unit (18) with a dynamically synchronised gyroscope which contains two linear accelerometers allocated to orthogonal measuring axes and responds to azimuthal and pitching movements. The sensor unit is located in a housing (28) which is reproducibly guided in a running tube (16). In its working position, the sensor unit is releasably connected to the driving head (4) of the tunnel boring machine. By means of a cable (20) which can be wound up and unwound on a drum (22), the housing can be moved in the running tube and out of the running tube into a reference position. Re-adjustment of the sensor unit is effected in the reference position at certain moments of the tunnel boring. The output signals from the sensor unit and a path-length measuring device on the drum are analysed in a control unit (26) for determining the position of the driving head, deviations from a desired axis (6) being determined and serving to regulate the driving. <IMAGE>

Description

Technical field

The invention relates to a control device for controlling the propulsion of a propulsion head, for example for a tunnel boring machine), with a signal transmitter, from which control signals can be derived in the sense of guiding the propulsion head along a predetermined path.

Underlying state of the art

It is known in tunnel boring machines to measure and control the advance of the advance head, for example using a theodolite or a laser beam as a guide beam, cf. e.g. D. Stein, K. Möllers and R. Bielecki; "Line tunnel construction"; Ernst and Son, Publishing House for Architecture and Technical Sciences, Berlin 1988, pages 195 to 204. The laser beam strikes a target plate with photodiodes, which is switched as a matrix and is located in the tunnel head of the tunnel boring machine. At smaller distances up to 40 meters, a theodolite can also be used in conjunction with an illuminated target in the jacking head.

If the propulsion of the propulsion head deviates from the orientation to the desired axis, which is predetermined by the laser beam, then the laser beam acts on eccentrically arranged photodiodes on the target. As a result, control signals are generated which act on the control unit of the jacking head and thereby return the jacking to the alignment with the target axis.

The use of a laser beam, that is to say a light beam for controlling the advance, is associated with a number of disadvantages which are caused by the properties of the laser beam and have a negative influence on the implementation of the control. This includes that uneven heating of the air in the tunnel tube can cause air stratifications that break the laser beam and thus cause an arcuate deviation from the target axis. Due to air turbulence in the tunnel tube, the laser beam can also be deformed to such an extent that that control is made impossible. If obstacles push the tunneling path out of the prescribed tunnel so much that the laser beam no longer strikes the target plate, tunneling control is also made impossible. Finally, a fundamental disadvantage of laser beam control is that, due to the linear propagation of the laser beam, a curved tunneling path cannot be traversed.

A laser position and direction monitoring device is also known from the cited literature reference (pages 201 and 202), in which an optical receiving device connected to a tunneling machine has "active target plates" which are acted upon by a laser beam and which deliver storage signals. Two inclinometers offset by 90 ° are provided in the optical receiving device and provide the roll angle and the pitch angle of the receiving device. A control computer supplies the parallel deviations and the yaw angle in relation to the laser beam from the storage signals and roll and pitch angles.

Here, too, the tunneling machine is guided by a laser beam.

It is also known to control a tunneling machine using a CCD camera. The CCD camera observes a target attached to the head. Their deflections from a target position are recorded by the CCD camera and converted into control signals. Inclinometers are attached to the CCD camera. This determines the position of the CCD camera. Here too, temperature-related refractions in layers of air are noticeable, just as in the case of control after a laser beam.

It is also known to determine the direction of advance using a north-seeking gyro or a gyro compass. The position of the tunneling machine with the gyroscope is determined discontinuously after the installation of each pipe and the angular deviation to the north is noted. The direction of advance is determined from this by a computer program.

From US-A-4 823 626 and EP-A-0 251 157 an inertial sensor arrangement with two electrically bound, dynamically tuned gyros and three accelerometers is known. The gyros determine three mutually perpendicular input axes. Tapping signals are fed to a digital computer after A / D conversion, which forms part of the captive circles. The output signals are connected to a D / A converter, which sends corresponding currents to the torque generators of the gyros.

US-A-4 282 470 also shows an electrically bound gyroscope with a digital captive circuit.

DE-C-29 22 415 shows a navigation device for land, air or sea vehicles. The navigation device contains an inertial sensor unit with a two-axis, electrically bound gyroscope and two accelerometers. Location parameters are obtained from the signals of the sensor unit. The position is calculated from the position parameters and speed information from a speed sensor.

Disclosure of the invention

The invention is based on the object of designing a control device for a jacking head (for example for a tunnel boring machine) in such a way that it permits continuous, precise control of the jacking head or its carrier largely independently of external influences.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that an autonomous inertial sensor unit, which responds to changes in position in space, is connected as a control signal generator to the propulsion head or its carrier.

The inertial sensor unit can be constructed with gyroscopes and accelerometers. However, the sensors of the inertial sensor unit can also contain rotational speed sensors that are based on the Sagnac effect, e.g. "Laser gyroscope".

In this way, the control signals are supplied by an autonomous inertial sensor unit which is connected to the propulsion head. The sensor unit is independent of a laser beam or the visibility of a CCD camera. However, the sensor unit continuously delivers control signals.

In order to reduce the influence of drifts of the inertial sensors, the sensor unit can expediently be coupled to the propulsion head in a defined position by releasable connecting means and can optionally be returned to a precisely measured starting position for drift correction. This starting position can be measured using a meridian gyro. The sensor unit is used for a working according to the shield construction The tunnel boring machine is expediently returned to the starting position whenever a new pipe section is inserted into the tunnel bore.

The sensor unit can advantageously be guided in a guide tube running in the tunnel bore. The sensor unit can then be guided in a defined position to the wall of the guide tube by guide members.

In a preferred embodiment, the sensor unit contains a two-axis, electrically bonded turning gyroscope with two input axes perpendicular to one another and to the swirl axis. Furthermore, the control unit has two accelerometers which respond to accelerations in the direction of one of the input axes or the swirl axis of the biaxial gyroscope.

To determine not only the position but also the position of the propulsion head, a displacement sensor can be provided which provides a measure of the feed path of the sensor unit in relation to a reference point, means for determining the position of the sensor unit from position signals of the sensor unit and displacement signals of the displacement sensor according to the Method of dead reckoning are provided. The displacement sensor can consist of a cable that can be unwound from a cable memory arranged in the reference point or in another known and measured point. The cable can contain supply and measurement lines of the sensor unit at the same time.

Brief description of the drawings:

Fig. 1

eine schematische Längsschnittansicht einer Tunnelbohrmaschine, die mit der erfindungsgemässen Steuereinrichtung ausgerüstet ist;

Fig. 2

eine Detailansicht von Fig. 1 in vergrössertem Maßstab;

Fig. 3

einen Querschnitt durch die Tunnelbohrmaschine nach Fig. 2 entlang der Linie 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4

eine schematische Seitenansicht des Gehäuses der Sensoreinheit in der Tunnelbohrmaschine nach Fig. 2.

Fig. 5

eine Draufsicht auf die Sensoreinheit von Fig. 4,

Fig. 6

zeigt den Aufbau der als Referenzpunkt für die Sensoreinheit dienenden Start- und Referenzrampe mit einer Kabeltrommel des Weggebers und die Anordnung dieser Teile in bezug auf eine Pressvorrichtung, durch welche Rohrabschnitte in die Tunnelbohrung hineinschiebbar sind.

Fig. 7

zeigt als Blockdiagramm die intertiale Sensoreinheit und die Verarbeitung der von dieser gelieferten Signale.

An embodiment of the invention is explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Show it

Fig. 1

is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a tunnel boring machine which is equipped with the control device according to the invention;

Fig. 2

a detailed view of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 3

a cross section through the tunnel boring machine of Figure 2 along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4

2 shows a schematic side view of the housing of the sensor unit in the tunnel boring machine according to FIG. 2.

Fig. 5

4 shows a plan view of the sensor unit from FIG. 4,

Fig. 6

shows the structure of the starting and reference ramp serving as a reference point for the sensor unit with a cable drum of the displacement sensor and the arrangement of these parts in relation to a pressing device, through which pipe sections can be pushed into the tunnel bore.

Fig. 7

shows as a block diagram the internal sensor unit and the processing of the of these delivered signals.

Preferred embodiment of the invention

In the schematic longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1, one can see in the ground 1 a tunnel boring machine 2 working according to the shield construction with a jacking head 4, which is driven in a forward direction from left to right along a desired axis 6 from a starting pit 1A into the ground 1. The tunnel bore 8 drilled by the driving head 4 is lined with a tunnel tube 10, which is inserted into the tunnel bore 8 at the rear end of the tunnel bore 8 through a tunnel tube insertion 12 which is known per se and is therefore not described further.

A conveying device 14 for the rock excavated by the driving head 4 runs inside the tunnel tube 10, starting from the rear end of the driving head 4. In the exemplary embodiment shown, this is designed as a tubular conveying device, in the interior of which the excavated rock is removed and discharged by known conveying means.

Between the tunnel tube 10 and the tubular conveyor 14 there is a running tube 16 in which a sensor unit 18 is guided. The sensor unit 18 is detachably connected to the propulsion head 4 in the manner described below and connected to a cable 20 which contains all supply and data transmission lines for the sensor unit 18. The cable 20 is formed in one strand without connecting elements and can be wound up and unwound on a drum 22, as a result of which the sensor unit 18 is moved in the running tube 16. The cable 20 is through a connection line 24, only indicated schematically, is connected to a control unit 26 arranged above ground. Through the connecting line 24, control signals coming from the sensor unit 18 are fed to the control unit 26, which monitors the propulsion of the jacking head 4 and controls them in accordance with the control signals coming from the sensor unit 18. The connecting line 24 is also intended to indicate that the drum 22 is actuated via this connecting line 24 in order to wind up or unwind the cable 20 and thereby move the sensor unit 18 accordingly in the running tube 16. The drum 20 contains a conventional path length measuring device which is used to measure the unwound cable length and is connected to the control unit 26.

In detail, the sensor unit contains a conventionally built, dynamically tuned gyroscope that is equipped with two linear accelerometers in two mutually orthogonal measuring axes and thus responds to azimuthal and pitching movements. In the starting pit 1A there is a starting and reference ramp as a reference point 15, via which the sensor unit 18 is aligned and extended and retracted into the running tube 16 with the aid of a telescopic tube. The start and reference ramp is aligned azimuthally, for example, by terrestrial measurement or by means of a north-searching gyroscope with an angular accuracy of 1.5 angular minutes.

The control unit 26 contains a navigation computer which receives and evaluates the signals coming from the sensor unit 18 and the path length measuring device. Coupling navigation of the sensor unit 18 is possible in that the dynamically tuned gyro with the two linear accelerometers is conventional The speed of rotation about the azimuth and pitch axis and, by integration, the respective rotation angle and the path length measuring device supplies signals about the path covered. Signals from the accelerometers are used in two ways: on the one hand, the position algorithm is calculated by feeding back these signals; on the other hand, the current signals are used for error compensation of the acceleration-dependent error terms of the gyro.

On the enlarged scale of FIG. 2 it can be seen that the tunnel tube 10 is composed of tube sections which are inserted one after the other into the tunnel bore 8 in the shield construction. Only the two pipe sections 10A and 10B are shown, which are held together in the usual way by an overlapping collar 10C. The running tube 16 is also composed of individual sections which are fixedly connected to the tube sections 10A and 10B and are therefore inserted into the tunnel bore 8 together with the tube sections of the tunnel tube 10.

The sensor unit 18 is located in a housing 28 which can be moved in the running tube 16 between a working position and a reference position by means of the cable 20. 2, the measuring probe 18 is released from the working position on the head 4. The connection is made in the working position by a plug connection 30 between the housing 28 and a connection box 33.

3, the running tube 16 has a rectangular cross section. The housing 28 of the sensor unit 18 is provided with guide elements which move the housing 28 within the running tube 16 in a reproducible setting lead to the running tube 16. It is thereby achieved that the sensor unit 18 assumes reproducible positions within the running tube 16. In detail, cf. 4 and 5, the housing 28 of the sensor unit 18 is cylindrical. The guide elements include, for example, a skid 32, which is attached to the upper side of the housing 28 and guided on the upper side of a rectangularly shaped running tube 16, and rollers 38 and 40, which on radially protruding from the housing 28 of the measuring probe 18 in opposite corners the bottom of the rectangular tube 16 are guided. However, other common guide elements and other geometric shapes for the running tube 16 and the guideways or grooves formed therein can be selected in order to ensure that the housing 28 and thus the sensor unit 18 are always guided in the running tube 16 in a reproducible position.

As shown in FIG. 4, the skid 32 extends over a substantial part of the axial length of the housing 28 of the sensor unit 18 and is supported on springs 34. The springs 34 are supported in spring housings 36 in the middle on the upper side of the housing 28 of the sensor unit 18. In the illustrated embodiment, two opposing pairs of rollers 38 and 40 are each provided near the axial ends of the housing 28.

6, the "reference point" is shown in a vertical section.

1A is a vertical starting pit, from which the horizontal tunnel bore 8 branches off. A tunnel tube 10, as shown in FIG. 2, is inserted into the tunnel bore 8 in individual sections. This is done in a known manner using a press plate 44. The press plate 44 is guided on a horizontal guide rail 46. The guide rail 46 is supported by stands 48, 50 on the concrete foundation 52 at the bottom of the starting pit. The press shield 44 and the guide rail 46 are aligned with the axis 54 of the tunnel bore 8. The press shield 44 can be advanced to the right in FIG. 6 by a press cylinder 56 and then presses a tube section of the tunnel tube 10 into the tunnel bore 8.

The reference point 15 for the sensor unit 18 is a start and reference ramp 58, which is supported on the floor via a stand 60 and its own foundation 62, independently of the pressing mechanism. The start and reference ramp 58 is therefore practically not influenced by the vibrations of the pressing mechanism.

7, a sensor unit 18 contains a two-axis, electrically tied dynamically tuned gyro 64 and two accelerometers 66 and 68 in a sensor block 70. The signals from the gyro 64 and the signals from the accelerometers 66 and 68 are connected to sensor electronics 72. The sensor electronics 72 contains the gyro operating electronics 74 and an analog-digital converter 76. The analog-digital converter 76 receives the acceleration signals from the accelerometers 66 and 68 and, via the gyro operating electronics 74, angular velocity signals from the gyro 64. The digitized signals are in one Signal processor 78 switched on. The signals are processed in the signal processor 78. A digital-analog conversion then takes place, the two analog output signals obtained being connected via lines 80 and 82 to torque generators of the dynamically tuned gyro 64. At an output 84 the Signal processor 78 digital output signals which correspond to the angular velocities around the input axes of the gyro 64. With 86 the power supply of the sensor unit 18 is designated.

The arrangement corresponds approximately to EP-A-0 251 157 or US-A-4 823 626. The swirl axis of the dynamically tuned gyro is in the direction of advance. The input axes of the gyro are essentially horizontal and vertical. The gyro 64 thereby provides angular velocities about the pitch and yaw axes. The input axes of the accelerometers 66 and 68 are parallel to the one input axis falling in the direction of the pitch axis and to the swirl axis.

The digital angular velocities at the output 84 are connected via the line 24 to the control unit 26 (FIG. 1) arranged on the surface of the earth. The control unit 26 contains a central computer 88 for navigation and control. The angular speeds of the gyro 64 and the accelerations of the accelerometers 66 and 68 are applied to the central computer 88 via an interface 90. The control unit 26 furthermore contains a path length measuring device 92. The path length measuring device 92 supplies the feed path of the sensor unit 18 on the basis of the length of the cable 20 which has been unwound from the drum 22. This feed path is also connected to the central computer 88 via the interface 90. Furthermore, the central computer 88 receives inputs from a display and operating unit 94. The power supply to the control unit 26 is designated 96.

The central computer 88 determines angular velocities of the sensor unit 18 from the device-fixed angular velocity and acceleration signals in an earth-fixed one System. From these angular velocities, position angles or elements of the direction cosine matrix are calculated. The respective position of the sensor unit 18 can be determined from the position angles or the elements of the direction cosine matrix in connection with the feed path from the path length measuring device 92.

The signal processing can be carried out in a similar manner to that described in DE-A-29 22 415. The control unit 26 supplies control signals for the propulsion head 4, which seek to keep the propulsion head 4 in a predetermined direction of advance but also work towards maintaining a predetermined path.

The control device described above works as follows:
The driving head 4 of the tunnel boring machine 2 is driven in the ground along the desired axis 6, the broken rock being continuously removed and discharged by the tubular conveying device 14. The housing 28 of the sensor unit 18 is connected to the jacking head 4 by the plug-in connection 30 and is driven together with the latter in the separate running tube 16. The data or control signals emanating from the measuring probe 18 are fed via the cable 20 to the control unit 26, as a result of which the propulsion of the propulsion head 4 is continuously monitored and kept in alignment with the desired axis 6. The control unit 26 also receives from the path length measuring device of the drum 20 the data about the path covered from the unrolled cable length, so that the position of the sensor unit 18 and thus the position of the propulsion head 4 is precisely determined at all times by the navigation computer of the control unit 26 during the propulsion . If the propulsion of the Tunnel bore 8 over the length of the tube section 10A of the tunnel tube 10, the drum 22 is driven to wind up the cable 20, to detach the housing 28 of the sensor unit 18 from the plug connection 30 and the housing 28 with the sensor unit 18 in the running tube 16 to move from the working position into the reference position on the start and reference ramp 58. When the housing 28 of the sensor unit 18 has reached the reference position, the adjustment of the sensor unit 18 is checked. The pipe section 10B is inserted into the tunnel bore 8 and brought into engagement with the flange 10C at the rear end of the pipe section 10A already inserted. This creates a tunnel tube 10 that is elongated by the length of the tube section 10B, the tube sections 10A and 10B of which are exactly aligned with one another. As a result, a further section of the running tube 16 is introduced in alignment with the section already present.

Thereafter, the housing 28 is re-inserted into the elongated running tube 16 by unwinding the cable 20 from the drum 22 from the starting and reference ramp 58 via the telescopic tube and is moved in an exactly reproducible manner to the working position in which the plug connection 30 to the connection box 33 is restored. The jacking head 4 is then ready for further jacking in alignment with the desired axis 6 by a further pipe section length.

The readjustment of the sensor unit 18 after the advance of the head 4 over a pipe section length has the advantage that a sensor unit 18 and thus a gyroscope of relatively small installation size and with relatively low accuracy requirements can be used, in particular with regard to long-term constancy.

Another advantage results from the above-described operating mode that the sensor unit 18 can also detect a parallel offset of the propulsion head 4 to the desired axis 6.

The control device with the sensor unit 18 has been described above in connection with a tunnel boring machine 2 operating according to the shield construction. It is self-evident that such a control device can also be used in conjunction with tunnel boring machines operating according to other principles in the case of corresponding modifications which are readily accessible to the person skilled in the art.

Claims (9)

Control device for controlling the advance of a tunneling head (4), for example for a tunnel boring machine, with a control signal transmitter, from which control signals can be derived in the sense of guiding the tunneling head along a predetermined path, characterized in that the control signal transmitter with the tunneling head (4) or its Carrier is connected to an autonomous inertial sensor unit (18) which responds to changes in position in space. Control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor unit (18) can be coupled in a defined position to the propulsion head (4) by releasable connecting means (30) and can optionally be returned to a precisely measured starting position (15) for drift correction. Control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sensor unit (18) is guided in a running tube (16) running in the tunnel bore. Control device according to Claim 3, characterized in that the sensor unit (18) is guided in a defined position to the wall of the running tube (16) by guide members (38, 40). Control device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sensor unit (18) contains a two-axis, electrically bound gyro (64) with two input axes perpendicular to one another and to the swirl axis. Control device according to claim 5, characterized in that the control unit (18) has two accelerometers (66,68) which respond to accelerations in the direction of one of the input axes or the swirl axis of the two-axis gyroscope (64). Control device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a displacement sensor (92) is provided which provides a measure of the feed path of the sensor unit in relation to a reference point (15) and that means for determining the position of the sensor unit (18) Position signals of the sensor unit (18) and displacement signals of the displacement sensor (92) are provided using the dead reckoning method. Control device according to claim 7, characterized in that the displacement sensor (92) contains a cable (20) which can be unwound from a cable storage device (22) arranged in the reference point (15). Control device according to claim 8, characterized in that the cable (20) contains supply and measurement lines of the sensor unit (18).

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