US 12,473,830 B2
Mining productivity improvement methods and systems
Charles Constancon, North Vancouver (CA); Keegan Michael Kelly, Aldergrove (CA); and Ali Yaghini, North Vancouver (CA)
Assigned to Hummingbird Solutions Inc., North Vancouver (CA)
Appl. No. 18/550,736
Filed by Hummingbird Solutions Inc., North Vancouver (CA)
PCT Filed Mar. 25, 2022, PCT No. PCT/CA2022/050447
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 15, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/198331, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 29, 2022.
Claims priority of application No. 3113339 (CA), filed on Mar. 26, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2024/0159146 A1, May 16, 2024
Int. Cl. E21C 47/00 (2006.01); E02F 9/26 (2006.01); G01S 17/88 (2006.01)
CPC E21C 47/00 (2013.01) [E02F 9/26 (2013.01); G01S 17/88 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for improving the efficiency of a mining operation, comprising the steps of:
obtaining volume measurements of a volume of mined material removed from terrain by an excavator, a volume of the mined material carried in a bucket of the excavator after removal of the material from the terrain, and a volume of the mined material deposited by the bucket in a truck tray;
alerting an operator of the excavator to a possible spillage or carry-back condition if a difference between at least two of the volume measurements exceeds a threshold value; and
automatically determining whether a cause of the difference between the at least two volume measurements is spillage, or carry-back, or a combination of the two, and wherein alerting the operator comprises identifying the cause.