Weighted Roller Mine Detonator for Portable Land Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing landmine detonation devices are slow, cumbersome, expensive, and difficult to transport, posing risks to civilians and agricultural equipment due to their inability to discriminate between combatants and non-combatants.
Innovation Solution
A mobile explosives detonator with weighted rollers mounted on a frame, designed to roll over land and detonate mines ahead of a vehicle, featuring a roller mount system allowing pivotable movement and a blast shield for protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional landmine detonation devices are used, then mines can be detonated, but the devices are slow, cumbersome, expensive, and difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The detonation device is segmented into multiple independent weighted rollers that can be spaced apart, allowing the system to clear mines across a wider area while maintaining individual roller simplicity for easy transport and deployment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex electronic or chemical detonation systems with a simple mechanical weighted roller system that relies on gravity and mechanical pressure to trigger mines, eliminating the need for power sources, electronics, or complex mechanisms
2Reliability
If weighted rollers are used to detonate pressure-sensitive mines, then detonation effectiveness is improved, but the device becomes heavier and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple weighted rollers are merged into a single integrated frame structure that can be towed by a vehicle, distributing the total weight across multiple rollers while maintaining individual roller effectiveness for triggering mines
Solution Approach 2:
The weighted rollers serve multiple functions: they provide the necessary weight to trigger pressure-sensitive mines, roll over terrain to clear a path, and can be adjusted or removed individually, making the overall system versatile and adaptable to different mine-clearing scenarios
3Area of stationary object
If rollers are spaced apart to cover wider area, then more mines can be detonated, but the frame structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure incorporates dynamic elements such as pivoting or adjustable roller mounts that allow the roller spacing and orientation to adapt to terrain conditions, enabling wider coverage without requiring a permanently complex rigid frame structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the mine-clearing capability into the lateral dimension by spacing rollers apart across the width of the frame, allowing simultaneous coverage of a wider area while the frame structure remains relatively simple through clever geometric arrangement
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively detonates landmines in the path of a vehicle, protecting it and its occupants by triggering mines before contact, while being easily transportable and cost-effective.
Implementation Method 1
The rollers are weighted to exert pressure of approximately 800 pounds of weight across a maximum width of 4.5 inches on the ground and activate any pressure-sensitive explosives
Implementation Method 2
The roller-support pin allows pivotable movement of each roller relative to the frame about a vertical roller axis
Data Source
AI summary
An explosives detonator is configured to be moved across land by a vehicle platform to detonate explosives positioned on or in the land. The explosives detonator includes a frame and a plurality of rollers coupled to the frame. The plurality of rollers are configured to engage and roll along the land relative to the frame about respective roller axes as the vehicle travels along the land. The rollers are weighted to exert pressure on the land and activate any pressure-sensitive explosives, such as mines.