Ground Excavation Shield Guide Rails for Course Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ground excavation shields with flat bottoms are easily moved off course by heavy construction equipment and fail to track in a straight line, especially when encountering rocks and debris, leading to scattered excavation materials.
Innovation Solution
A ground excavation shield design featuring multiple walls and guide rails, including a third wall coupled to the first and second walls at various angles, with guide rails secured to the bottom to maintain stability and prevent deviation, and optional extensions and couplers for attachment to a ground excavator, allowing the shield to maintain a horizontal plane and track straight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flat bottom shield design is used, then the shield is simple to manufacture and easy to move, but it easily deviates from course when encountered by heavy construction equipment and rocks
Solution Approach 1:
The shield bottom is segmented into multiple guide rails (first guide rail, second guide rail, third guide rail) that are distributed along the bottom surface. These guide rails work together to constrain the shield's movement path, preventing deviation while maintaining ease of operation. The segmentation allows the shield to resist lateral forces from heavy equipment and rocks effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide rails act as intermediary elements between the shield body and the ground. They provide a structured interface that guides the shield along a predetermined path and prevents direct contact between the shield bottom and irregular ground conditions (rocks, debris), thereby maintaining course stability without compromising ease of movement.
2Reliability
If guide rails are added to the shield bottom, then course stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rails are strategically positioned at specific locations on the shield bottom (first guide rail on the first side, second guide rail on the second side, third guide rail on the third side) rather than uniformly distributed. This localized placement provides sufficient course stability while minimizing the overall amount of material and manufacturing complexity required.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the entire shield bottom complex to achieve stability, the invention inverts the approach by keeping the overall shield design simple and adding only the necessary guide rail elements. The guide rails are designed as simple linear structures rather than complex mechanisms, achieving stability through minimal added complexity.
3Reliability
If multiple walls are used to form the shield, then containment of excavation materials is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is divided into multiple wall sections (first wall, second wall, third wall, fourth wall) that can be manufactured separately and then assembled. Each wall can be optimized for its specific function and position, making the manufacturing process more manageable while achieving effective material containment through the combined structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple wall members are combined to form a cohesive shield structure that provides comprehensive material containment. The walls are connected through the guide rail system and coupling mechanisms, creating a unified structure that maintains containment effectiveness while allowing for modular manufacturing and assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
A ground excavation shield that can include a first wall, a second wall, and a third wall, a first guide rail, and a second guide rail. The first wall can be disposed on a first side of the ground excavation shield. The second wall can be disposed on a second side of the ground excavation shield. The third wall can be disposed on a third side of the ground excavation shield and can be coupled to the first and second walls. The first guide rail can be coupled to a bottom of the first wall and the second guide rail can be coupled to a bottom of the second wall.