Separable Cabin with Positive Pressure Shielding

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing manned vehicles for special environments face challenges in easily converting from normal to radiation-safe operations, as current solutions require substantial alterations and are costly, and often fail to prevent the ingress of harmful substances due to incomplete shielding and particle protection.

Innovation Solution

A manned vehicle design featuring a separable cabin with a purified air introducing unit, a metal ceiling for shielding, and decontamination filters, which maintains a positive pressure inside the cabin to prevent the ingress of harmful substances, allowing for easy conversion from normal to special environment use without compromising the vehicle's functionality or increasing costs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If shielding members are attached to cover the entire vehicle, then radiation protection capability is improved, but manufacturing cost and structural complexity increase substantially

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveradiation protection capabilityVSAvoidmanufacturing cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The vehicle is divided into two distinct parts: a normal vehicle body and a separable cabin structure. The cabin alone provides radiation shielding, while the vehicle body remains unmodified. This segmentation allows radiation protection to be achieved without covering the entire vehicle, reducing manufacturing cost and complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The cabin structure serves multiple functions: it provides radiation shielding, maintains a sealed environment, and can be attached to or detached from various vehicle bodies. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate shielding components for each vehicle type, reducing overall manufacturing cost.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If shielding members are attached to cover the entire vehicle, then radiation protection capability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveradiation protection capabilityVSAvoidstructural complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The radiation protection function is segmented into a dedicated cabin module rather than being distributed across the entire vehicle structure. This reduces structural complexity by concentrating shielding requirements in one separable component rather than modifying the whole vehicle.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Adaptability or versatility

If the cabin is made separable from the vehicle body, then ease of conversion to special environment use is improved, but sealing performance against harmful substance ingress may worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of conversionVSAvoidsealing performance

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The sealing and pressurization system is extracted as a dedicated function of the cabin structure, separate from the vehicle body. The cabin includes its own sealing mechanisms and purified air introducing unit, ensuring that separability does not compromise sealing performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

A purified air introducing unit is installed in the cabin to maintain positive internal pressure. This pneumatic approach ensures that even with a separable structure, harmful substances cannot ingress through gaps, as the positive pressure prevents inward flow of contaminated air.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #29Pneumatics and hydraulics

4Object-affected harmful factors

If purified air is introduced to maintain positive pressure, then prevention of harmful substance ingress is improved, but energy consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprevention of harmful substance ingressVSAvoidenergy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The purified air introducing unit is installed locally within the cabin rather than throughout the entire vehicle. This localized approach maintains positive pressure only where needed (in the cabin space), reducing overall energy consumption compared to pressurizing the entire vehicle structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

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 solution effectively prevents the ingress of harmful substances by maintaining a positive internal pressure and using a robust shielding system, ensuring operator safety while allowing for cost-effective and straightforward conversion of vehicles for special environment operations.

Implementation Method 1

a purified air introducing unit for introducing purified air into the casing body to maintain a positive pressure level inside the cabin

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPositive pressure: Pressure Increase

Implementation Method 2

the cabin is formed as a casing body partitioned and separable from the vehicle body and includes a metal ceiling for shielding

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectRadiation shielding: Absorption (EM radiation)

Data Source

PatentUS9248773B2Manned vehicle and cabin structure thereof

Publication Date: 2016.02.02 MITSUBISHI HEAVY IND LTD

AI summary

A cabin is formed as a casing body partitioned and separable from a vehicle body and includes an air purifier for introducing purified air into the casing body to maintain the pressure inside the cabin at a positive level by the air purifier.