# US 11,028,691 B2 · Drive system with both fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and variable-displacement hydraulic motors for cutter head of boring machine and control method thereof

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- Number: US 11,028,691 B2
- Document ID: US11028691B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/335,667
- Filed: 2016-12-21
- Published: 2020-01-30
- Granted: 2021-06-08
- Earliest claimed: 2016-12-21
- Assignees: Zhejiang University
- Applicants: Zhejiang University
- Inventors: Guofang Gong; Xu Yang; Lintao Wang; Chao Wang; Yakun Zhang; Weiqiang Wu; Tong Liu; Liwen Duan
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11028691B2

## CPC

- E21D 9/093: Control of the driving shield {, e.g. of the hydraulic advancing cylinders (arrangement of measuring or indicating devices for use during driving of tunnels E21D9/003)}
- E21D 9/1086: {Drives or transmissions specially adapted therefor}
- E21D: SHAFTS; TUNNELS; GALLERIES; LARGE UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS (soil-conditioning or soil-stabilising materials C09K17/00; drilling or cutting machines for mining or quarrying E21C; safety devices, transport, rescue, ventilation or drainage E21F)

## Abstract

A drive system with both fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and variable-displacement hydraulic motors for a cutter head of a boring machine and a control method thereof are provided. The drive system includes a variable-displacement hydraulic motor group, a fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group and a variable-displacement hydraulic pump group. The variable-displacement hydraulic motor group, the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group, and the variable-displacement hydraulic pump group are all connected to a main oil circuit of a cutter head system of the boring machine. The variable-displacement hydraulic pump group inputs flow to the main oil circuit; and, the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group and the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group acquire flow from the main oil circuit. Displacements of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group and the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group are set in a way of specific displacement combination. The present invention decreases an engineering cost, and improves system reliability and efficiency.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A drive system with both fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and variable-displacement hydraulic motors for a cutter head of a boring machine, comprising a variable-displacement hydraulic motor group, a fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group, and a variable-displacement hydraulic pump group, wherein: the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group, the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group, and the variable-displacement hydraulic pump group are all connected to a main oil circuit of a cutter head system of the boring machine; the variable-displacement hydraulic pump group inputs flow to the main oil circuit; and, the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group and the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group acquire flow from the main oil circuit.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 1, wherein: the drive system is constructed with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors; displacements of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group and the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group are set in a way of displacement combination; and a rotational speed of the cutter head of the boring machine is determined by the displacements of the two motor groups and a displacement of the pump group.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 2, wherein: the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group comprises multiple variable-displacement hydraulic motors which are connected to the main oil circuit in parallel; two ends of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor are respectively connected to two circuits of the main oil circuit; the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group are controlled simultaneously or respectively.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 3, wherein: the number of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors in the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group is determined by taking an integer portion m of a motor number x obtained through calculating a formula of
x
=
V
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
;
in the formula of
x
=
V
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
Vg max represents a maximum displacement of each fixed-displacement hydraulic motor, and V represents a required motor displacement for reaching a highest designed rotational speed, which is determined according to an actual engineering load; and
the number of the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group is n−m; n is a design motor number of the cutter head of the boring machine; a designed minimum value of displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor is
x
-
m
n
-
m
⁣
·
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
and a designed maximum value is Vg max′; Vg max′ represents the maximum displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 4, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with a stepless displacement setting, particularly a hydraulic-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or an electric-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 4, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with two displacements of Vg min and Vg max, particularly a two-point hydraulically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or a two-point electrically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 2, wherein: the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group comprises multiple fixed-displacement hydraulic motors which are connected to the main oil circuit in parallel; two ends of each fixed-displacement hydraulic motor are respectively connected to two circuits of the main oil circuit.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 7, wherein: the number of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors in the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group is determined by taking an integer portion m of a motor number x obtained through calculating a formula of
x
=
V
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
;
in the formula of
x
=
V
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
Vg max represents a maximum displacement of each fixed-displacement hydraulic motor, and V represents a required motor displacement for reaching a highest designed rotational speed, which is determined according to an actual engineering load; and
the number of the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group is n−m; n is a design motor number of the cutter head of the boring machine; a designed minimum value of displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor is
x
-
m
n
-
m
⁣
·
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
and a designed maximum value is Vg max′; Vg max′ represents the maximum displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 8, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with a stepless displacement setting, particularly a hydraulic-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or an electric-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 8, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with two displacements of Vg min and Vg max, particularly a two-point hydraulically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or a two-point electrically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 1, wherein: the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group comprises multiple variable-displacement hydraulic motors which are connected to the main oil circuit in parallel; two ends of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor are respectively connected to two circuits of the main oil circuit; the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group are controlled simultaneously or respectively.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 1, wherein: the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group comprises multiple fixed-displacement hydraulic motors which are connected to the main oil circuit in parallel; two ends of each fixed-displacement hydraulic motor are respectively connected to two circuits of the main oil circuit.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 1, wherein: the number of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors in the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group is determined by taking an integer portion m of a motor number x obtained through calculating a formula of
x
=
V
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
;
in the formula of
x
=
V
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
Vg max represents a maximum displacement of each fixed-displacement hydraulic motor, and V represents a required motor displacement for reaching a highest designed rotational speed, which is determined according to an actual engineering load; and
the number of the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group is n−m; n is a design motor number of the cutter head of the boring machine; a designed minimum value of displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor is
x
-
m
n
-
m
⁣
·
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
and a designed maximum value is Vg max′; Vg max′ represents the maximum displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 1, further comprising a motor concentrated flushing device which is connected between the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group, the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group and the main oil circuit, wherein: the motor concentrated flushing device comprises a speed regulation valve (2), an energy accumulator (3) and a two-position three-way valve (4); a P port of the two-position three-way valve (4) is connected to a second oil circuit B of the main oil circuit; a T port of the two-position three-way valve (4) is connected to a first oil circuit A of the main oil circuit; an A port of the two-position three-way valve (4) is connected to the energy accumulator (3) through the speed regulation valve (2); a flow speed of oil is regulated through the speed regulation valve (2); the oil after passing through the speed regulation valve (2) flows into motor housings of the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group and the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group through a throttle value (1), so as to flush and cool motor bearings; and the oil after flushing and cooling flows back to an oil tank.

### Claim 15

A method for controlling a drive system with both fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and variable-displacement hydraulic motors for a cutter head of a boring machine, comprising steps of:
connecting both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors to a main oil circuit of a cutter head system of the boring machine, so as to construct the hydraulic drive system for the cutter head of the boring machine; setting displacements of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in a way of specific displacement combination; and controlling a rotational speed of the cutter head of the boring machine with the displacements of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors and displacements of variable-displacement hydraulic pumps.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method for controlling the drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 15, wherein “setting displacements of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in a way of specific displacement combination” particularly comprises steps of:
determining a required motor displacement V for reaching a highest designed rotational speed according to an actual engineering load; and calculating a required motor number x when the cutter head system of the boring machine works at a maximum displacement through a formula of
x
=
V
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
wherein Vg max represents a maximum displacement of each fixed-displacement hydraulic motor;
taking an integer portion m of the required motor number x as a total number of the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors in a fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group; and taking n−m as a total number of the variable-displacement hydraulic motors in a variable-displacement hydraulic motor group; wherein: n is the design motor number of the boring machine; and, n represents a total number of all motors in the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group and the fixed-displacement hydraulic motor group; and
for the variable-displacement hydraulic motor group, setting a displacement range of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor to be
x
-
m
n
-
m
⁣
·
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
∼
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
′
,
namely setting a designed minimum value of displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor to be
x
-
m
n
-
m
⁣
·
V
g
⁢
⁢
max
,
wherein Vg max′ represents a maximum displacement of each variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method for controlling the drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 16, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with a stepless displacement setting, particularly a hydraulic-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or an electric-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method for controlling the drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 16, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with two displacements of Vg and Vg, particularly a two-point hydraulically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or a two-point electrically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The method for controlling the drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 15, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with a stepless displacement setting, particularly a hydraulic-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or an electric-proportion-controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The method for controlling the drive system with both the fixed-displacement hydraulic motors and the variable-displacement hydraulic motors for the cutter head of the boring machine, as recited in claim 15, wherein: each variable-displacement hydraulic motor adopts a variable-displacement hydraulic motor with two displacements of Vg min and Vg max, particularly a two-point hydraulically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor or a two-point electrically controlled variable-displacement hydraulic motor.