System and method for measuring a closed-side and/or open-side setting of a gyratory crusher

A method of determining a close-side setting or an open-side setting for a gyratory crusher by measuring a gap width, wherein the gyratory crusher comprises an eccentrically rotatable mantle lined with a mantle liner, a concave lined with a concave liner, the concave housing the mantle to provide a crusher chamber, an outer edge of the concave liner and an outer edge of the mantle liner defining a gap, the method comprising the steps of:

• (i) positioning a laser emitter such that it is aligned to mark a laser trace traversing the gap and intersecting the concave liner at a predetermined rotational position of the mantle to provide an offset at the outer edge of the concave liner and a second offset for identifying an outer edge of the concave liner;
• (ii)determining a position of a drone carrying a machine vision system;
• and (iii) using the machine vision system that has been calibrated:
• capturing an image of the laser trace at the gap at the selected rotational position of the mantle;
• processing the image;
• measuring a distance between the outer edge of the mantle liner and the outer edge of the concave liner to provide a gap width;
• and calculating the closed-side setting or the open-side setting, thereby determining at least one of the close-side setting and the open-side setting.

A gyratory crusher combination, the gyratory crusher combination comprising:

• a gyratory crusher, the gyratory crusher including an eccentrically rotating mantle lined with a mantle liner, a concave lined with a concave liner, the concave housing the mantle to provide a crusher chamber, and the crusher chamber having a gap;
• and a system for determining a close-side setting or an open-side setting for the gyratory crusher including:
• a first point cloud generator proximate the crusher;
• a laser emitter, the laser emitter positioned to mark a laser trace traversing the gap and at least intersecting the concave liner at a predetermined rotational position of the mantle to provide an offset at the outer edge of the concave liner and a second offset for identifying an outer edge of the concave liner;
• a drone;
• a camera mounted on the drone to capture a series of image of the laser trace as the mantle of the gyratory crusher rotates;
• and a computer in communication with the camera, the first point cloud generator and the drone, the computer comprising a memory and a processor, the memory providing instructions to the processor to process the position of the drone, to send instructions to the drone to correctly position the drone, to process the image to provide a gap width and to determine at least one of a close-side setting or an open-side setting from the gap width.

A system for determining a close-side setting or an open-side setting for a jaw crusher, wherein the jaw crusher comprises a first jaw plate on a first side and a second jaw plate on a pivoting jaw to provide a crusher chamber, the crusher chamber having a gap, the system comprising:

• a point cloud generator mounted proximate the crusher;
• a laser emitter, the laser emitter mounted to mark a laser trace traversing the gap at a predetermined position of the pivoting jaw;
• a drone;
• a camera mounted on the drone to capture an at least one image of the laser trace at the predetermined position of the pivoting jaw;
• and a computer in communication with the camera, the point cloud generator and the drone, the computer comprising a memory and a processor, the memory providing instructions to the processor to process the position of the drone, to send instructions to the drone to correctly position the drone, to process the image to provide a gap width and to determine at least one of a close-side setting or an open-side setting from the gap width.

A system for determining a close-side setting or an open-side setting for a gyratory crusher, wherein the gyratory crusher comprises an eccentrically rotatable mantle lined with a mantle liner, a concave lined with a concave liner, the concave housing the mantle to provide a crusher chamber, the crusher chamber having a gap, the system comprising:

• a laser emitter, the laser emitter positioned to provide an image of one or more of the concave liner and the mantle liner;
• a drone;
• a camera mounted on the drone, the camera to capture the image;
• a positioner, which is either a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) base station for communication with a satellite or is a first point cloud generator;
• a computer in communication with the camera, the drone, and the first point cloud generator or the RTK base station, the computer comprising a memory and a processor, the memory providing instructions to the processor to process the position of the drone and to send instructions to the drone to correctly position the drone, the processor to process the image and to calculate at least one of the close-side setting and the open-side setting from the gap width.