Apparatus and method

Abstract

To provide a device or a method capable of easily constructing a block.SOLUTION: A method comprising a sintering step of irradiating a ground surface formed of sand or soil with a microwave to sinter the sand or the soil.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, one method for solidifying materials such as sand and soil is to irradiate them with a laser to melt and laminate them (Non-Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Takatoshi Tajima and four others, "Research on the manufacturing of base construction materials using lunar resources," Obayashi Corporation Technical Research Institute Bulletin No. 87, December 2023.<URL:https: / / www.obayashi.co.jp / technology / shoho / greeting / greeting.html> , [Retrieved May 13, 2024] Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional methods, blocks created using a laser had to be transported from the plant to the construction site and then installed, which required time and effort. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method including a sintering step of irradiating a ground surface made of sand or soil with microwaves to sinter the sand or soil.

[0006] In one embodiment, the present invention provides an irradiation device comprising a hollow housing covered with sand or soil and having a first opening formed at the bottom, and an oscillator that emits microwaves inside the housing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an apparatus or method that can easily install blocks. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, showing a state in which the main body of the device according to the embodiment is installed so as to penetrate into a material. [Figure 2] 1A is a perspective view showing the irregularities formed on the inner surface of the side portion, and FIG. 1B is a formula showing an example of the wavelength of microwaves. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram comparing the state of sintered lunar simulant sand with the state before sintering. [Figure 4] (a) A top view showing an example of a joint formed by a block, (b) a top view showing another example, and (c) a cross-sectional view of the material and surface from which the block is formed. [Figure 5] FIG. 10(a) is a perspective view of a modified device, and FIG. 10(b) is a perspective view of a block manufactured by the modified device. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a top view showing joints formed by blocks according to a modified example. [Figure 7] 10A is a perspective view of a device according to another modified example, and FIG. 10B is a perspective view of a device according to yet another modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on one embodiment thereof with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <Embodiment> Fig. 1 shows an apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus 1 is an apparatus that uses microwaves to sinter inorganic compound materials such as sand, clay, or soil, particularly lunar sand, clay, or soil, to produce a block B. Hereinafter, these materials will be simply referred to as "sand or soil," etc.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1(a), the apparatus 1 has a main body 10, a microwave oscillator 20, a vibrator 30, and an agitator 40. In the following, the up and down directions are defined based on the state in which the apparatus 1 is placed on a substantially horizontal ground surface GL of material M made of sand or soil, as shown in Figs. 1(a) and 1(b), and the description will be based on these directions. In this embodiment, the ground surface GL is horizontal, but the ground surface GL may also have a slope.

[0012] The main body 10 is a rectangular parallelepiped housing with a hollow interior. As shown in Fig. 1, the main body 10 has a side surface 11 that is a rectangular plate and extends vertically, and an upper surface 12 fixed to the upper end of the side surface 11. The upper surface 12 is a rectangular plate-like member that extends substantially horizontally. The main body 10 does not have a bottom surface, and is open downward by an opening 10A.

[0013] The inner surface of the main body 10 is formed with unevenness. The unevenness is formed so that microwaves are diffused as uniformly as possible inside the main body 10. The shape of the unevenness can vary depending on the shape of the main body 10 and the wavelength of the microwaves, but as an example, as shown in FIG. 2(a), multiple unevennesses can be formed protruding inward from the main body 10. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1(a), the inner surface of the side surface 11 is formed in the shape of multiple quadrangular pyramids arranged horizontally and vertically.

[0014] The internal dimensions of the main body 10 (shown in FIG. 1(b)) are preferably longer than the wavelength of the microwaves emitted by the oscillator 20, so as not to match the wavelength. This prevents the microwaves emitted from the oscillator 20 from being scattered in various directions inside the main body 10 or from having a biased energy density, and allows them to be uniformly irradiated onto the ground surface GL, as shown by the dotted arrows in FIG. 1(b) and other figures. Uniform irradiation of the microwaves allows the material M to be baked evenly, forming a block B with consistent quality in each part. An example of the wavelength is shown in equation (1) in FIG. 2(b).

[0015] The oscillator 20 is a device that irradiates microwaves into the inside of the main body 10. The oscillator 20 is fixed so as to penetrate the top surface 12, and an irradiation unit 21 that irradiates microwaves is installed below the oscillator 20. The irradiation unit 21 is located inside the main body 10.

[0016] The vibrator 30 is attached to the side surface 11 and is a machine that applies vibration to the entire main body 10 (FIG. 1). Various mechanisms are conceivable for generating vibration in the vibrator 30, but one example is a mechanism in which a rotating shaft with an eccentric center of gravity is driven and rotated by a motor. The rotation of the rotating shaft generates vibration, which can vibrate the main body 10. The vibrator 30 may also be attached to the top surface 12.

[0017] 1, the agitator 40 has a rotor 41 that rotates around a horizontally extending axis, and a drive device (not shown) that rotates the rotor 41. There are various possible specific examples of the drive device, one of which is a motor.

[0018] The rotor 41 is installed inside the main body 10. The rotor 41 can be rotated by being driven by a drive unit. The rotor 41 reflects microwaves, and by rotating itself, can change the angle at which the microwaves are reflected from moment to moment. When microwaves hit the rotating rotor 41, they are reflected in various directions depending on the time of day. The rotor 41 can be shaped like an axial fan as shown in the figure, but can also be in a variety of other shapes.

[0019] The process in which the device 1 irradiates microwaves onto the ground surface GL to form blocks will be described below.

[0020] (Step S1) A worker places the main body 10 on the ground surface GL and applies a downward force to the main body 10 using heavy machinery or the like. As a result of the downward force being applied to the main body 10, the lower end of the main body 10 sinks into the material M and moves below the ground surface GL. As a result, as shown in Figures 1(a) and (b), the lower part of the main body 10 penetrates into the material M and the upper part protrudes above the ground surface GL.

[0021] (Step S2) Depending on the state of the material M, the vibrator 30 may be activated. When the vibrator 30 is activated, the entire device 1 vibrates via the main body 10. When vibration is applied, the lower part of the main body 10 more easily sinks into the material M and moves, penetrating downward so as to sink into the material M.

[0022] (Step S3) After it is confirmed that the main body 10 has penetrated into the material M to a predetermined depth, the worker activates the oscillator 20 and the agitator 40.

[0023] When the oscillator 20 is activated, microwaves are emitted from the irradiating unit 21. The microwaves emitted from the irradiating unit 21 are reflected by the side surface portion 11 and the top surface portion 12, and are irradiated onto the ground surface GL.

[0024] Furthermore, the rotor 41 is also operated in conjunction with the operation of the oscillator 20. By being reflected by the rotor 41, the microwaves travel in various directions inside the main body 10.

[0025] The sand and soil irradiated with microwaves are sintered and integrated, forming block B whose overall top surface has roughly the same shape as the inner periphery of main body 10. Figure 3 shows the state of sand simulating lunar sand (simulated sand) sintered by microwaves, compared to the state before sintering. As shown in the enlarged photograph of Figure 3, it can be seen that the sand and soil particles in the sintered state are adhered or bonded to each other, with tiny gaps remaining in some places. Therefore, block B forms a structure with a certain degree of strength, and can be used for road paving, etc.

[0026] The worker can create multiple blocks B by shifting the position of the device 1 on the ground surface GL and repeating the above-mentioned work, and can carry out construction work such as road surface reinforcement and paving.

[0027] Figures 4(a) to (c) show the state of the joints formed by block B. As shown in the figure, depending on the construction conditions or design conditions, block B can be arranged to form a solid joint (Figure 4(a)), or to form a broken joint (Figure 4(b)).

[0028] (Step S4) The joints formed between the blocks B are filled with material M. Then, a worker rolls the blocks B from above to compact the blocks B and the joints, thereby creating an interlocking effect between the blocks B. As a result, the material M is paved by the blocks B, as shown in Figure 4(c).

[0029] <Modification> A modified device 100 is shown in Fig. 5. A main body 10 of device 100 has openings 10B, each rectangular in side view, formed at a plurality of locations on a side surface 11. Openings 10B are continuous with openings 10A below.

[0030] When microwaves are irradiated onto material M using such an apparatus 100, a block B1 as shown in Fig. 5(b) is formed. By irradiating microwaves onto the opening 10B, a protrusion B11 is formed on the side of block B1 at a position corresponding to opening 10B. Protrusion B11 is a protrusion that is rectangular in side view and is formed by the microwaves reaching the outside of main body 10 through opening 10B.

[0031] The protrusions B11 are formed asymmetrically with respect to the center lines CL1 and CL2 of the blocks B1 so that the protrusions B11 do not come into contact with each other in adjacent blocks B1. Naturally, the positions of the openings 10B are also formed asymmetrically with respect to the center line of the main body 10.

[0032] Figure 6 shows the state of road paving when blocks B1 are placed next to each other. As shown in the figure, the protrusions B11 of two adjacent blocks B1 are positioned so that they interlock, so the blocks B1 function as interlocking blocks. This has the effect of distributing the load applied to the blocks B1 among multiple blocks B1. It also prevents the blocks B1 from shifting from one another.

[0033] <Other variations> It is also possible to use the devices 1 and 100 in a linked manner. As shown in Fig. 7, the device 200 is formed by arranging the devices 1 or 100 in a horizontal direction and linking them together. In this way, it is also possible to configure a plurality of devices 1 and 100 in parallel.

[0034] The vibrator 30 is not an essential component, and the devices 1, 100, and 200 may be configured without the vibrator 30. Even in this configuration, the devices 1, 100, and 200 can be penetrated and sunk into the material M to a predetermined depth by applying a downward force to the main body 10 or by the weight of the main body 10.

[0035] The agitator 40 is not an essential component, and the devices 1, 100, and 200 may be configured without the agitator 40. Even in this configuration, microwaves are reflected inside the main body 10 and irradiated onto the ground surface GL, so that blocks B and B1 with uniform quality can be manufactured in each part.

[0036] The position and shape of the protrusions B11 are not limited to the above, and the protrusions B11 can be formed in various positions and shapes depending on the construction conditions and design requirements.

[0037] The opening 10B does not necessarily need to be provided contiguous with the opening 10A. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7(b), it is also possible to provide the opening 10B in the side surface portion 11 so as not to be contiguous with the opening 10A.

[0038] <Effects> (Aspect 1) In the above embodiment or variant, a method is disclosed that includes a step S3 (corresponding to a sintering step) of irradiating microwaves to the ground surface GL of material M, which is sand or soil that forms the ground surface, to sinter material M.

[0039] In the above-described embodiment, microwaves are irradiated directly onto the ground surface GL of the material M. Because there is no need for the conventional process of filling a form with sand or soil and heating it, it is possible to sinter the sand or soil in a short time. Furthermore, because there is no need to manufacture, transport, or install the blocks B and B1 in advance, manufacturing and construction can be carried out accurately and in a short time.

[0040] This method is particularly suitable for use on the lunar surface, as it does not require a burner or other combustion equipment and can be easily carried out using lunar sand already present at the construction site. Microwaves can heat even in a vacuum, making them ideal for use on the lunar surface.

[0041] (Embodiment 2) In step S3 of embodiment 1, material M is sintered into three-dimensional blocks B and B1.

[0042] In the above embodiment, by forming the blocks B and B1, it is possible to provide a paved surface with sufficient strength.

[0043] (Aspect 3) In aspect 1 or 2, the method further includes step S1 of placing a hollow main body 10 (an example of a housing) with an opening at the bottom on top of the material M, and in step S3, microwaves are emitted inside the main body 10 and irradiated onto the material M.

[0044] By adopting the above-described embodiment, microwaves can be concentrated on the material M inside the main body 10, allowing sintering to proceed in a short time. Furthermore, the main body 10 can be used in place of a mold to manufacture blocks B and B1 that correspond to the shape of the main body 10. Note that the blocks B and B1 are not limited to rectangular parallelepipeds, and can also be manufactured in corrugated or polygonal shapes.

[0045] (Aspect 4) In the above embodiment or variant, the device 1, 100, 200 comprises a hollow main body 10 that covers the material M and has an opening 10A (corresponding to the first opening) formed at the bottom, and an oscillator 20 that emits microwaves inside the main body 10.

[0046] In the above-described configuration, microwaves are irradiated directly onto the ground surface GL of the material M. Because there is no need for the conventional process of filling a form with sand or soil and heating it, it is possible to sinter the sand or soil in a short time. Furthermore, because there is no need to manufacture, transport, or install the blocks B and B1 in advance, manufacturing and construction can be carried out accurately and in a short time.

[0047] (Embodiment 5) In embodiment 4, the device 1, 100, 200 further includes a vibrator 30 that vibrates the main body portion 10.

[0048] By adopting the above-described embodiment, the main body 10 vibrates and penetrates the material M more easily.

[0049] (Embodiment 6) In embodiment 4 or 5, the inner surface of the main body 10 is formed with irregularities.

[0050] According to the above embodiment, the device 1 can reflect microwaves internally and irradiate the microwaves almost uniformly onto the ground surface GL.

[0051] (Embodiment 7) In any one of embodiments 4 to 6, the device further includes stirring blades 41 that are installed on the inner surface of main body 10 and stir the microwaves.

[0052] In the above configuration, microwaves can be reflected in various directions depending on the time of day.

[0053] (Embodiment 8) In any of embodiments 4 to 7, the main body 10 has a side surface 11, and the side surface 11 is formed with an opening 10A and an opening 10B (corresponding to a second opening).

[0054] In the above configuration, protrusions B11 can be formed on the side surfaces of the blocks B1. By providing the protrusions B11, an interlocking effect is exerted between adjacent blocks B1.

[0055] (Embodiment 9) In any of embodiments 4 to 8, side portion 11 has a lower portion that penetrates material M in the penetration direction and an upper portion that appears above material M. Opening 10B is formed in the lower portion of side portion 11 so as to extend in the penetration direction.

[0056] In the above configuration, the main body 10, which is a single housing, can have two functions: a function to form the protrusions B11 and a function to reflect microwaves internally and irradiate them onto the ground surface GL. The block B1 can be manufactured with a simple configuration. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1, 100, 200 devices 10 Main body 20 Oscillators 30 Vibrator 40 Mixer

Claims

1. A method comprising a sintering step of irradiating microwaves onto a ground surface formed of sand or soil to sinter the sand or soil.

2. In the sintering step, the sand or the soil is sintered into a three-dimensional block. The method of claim 1.

3. The method further includes a step of placing a hollow housing having an opening at the bottom on the sand or the soil; In the sintering step, microwaves are generated inside the housing and irradiated onto the sand or the soil. The method of claim 1.

4. a hollow housing having a first opening at its bottom and covered with sand or soil; An oscillator that emits microwaves inside the housing, Irradiation device.

5. Further comprising a vibrator attached to the housing to vibrate the housing.

5. The illumination device according to claim 4.

6. The housing has an inner surface portion on which projections and depressions are formed.

5. The illumination device according to claim 4.

7. Further provided is a stirring unit that is installed inside the housing and that rotates and reflects microwaves.

5. The illumination device according to claim 4.

8. The housing has a side surface, A second opening different from the first opening is formed in the side surface portion.

5. The illumination device according to claim 4.

9. The side portion has a lower portion that penetrates into the sand in a penetration direction and an upper portion that appears above the sand or the soil, The second opening is formed in the lower part so as to extend in the penetration direction.

9. The illumination device according to claim 8.

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