Spherical Protective Capsule for Tsunami and Hurricane Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Human shelters are inadequate in protecting individuals and animals during abnormal events such as tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, as they are not designed to withstand extreme forces and volumes of water.
Innovation Solution
A protective capsule with a spherical, water-tight shell and internal frame that includes sealable entry doors, anchoring systems, and self-righting features to ensure safety during such events, constructed from lightweight yet strong materials like aluminum and stainless steel, with optional features like air-tightness and internal ballasts for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional human shelters are used, then utility and comfort are provided, but protection against extreme forces and volumes of water during abnormal events is inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a spherical or substantially spherical shell design for the protective shelter. This curved geometry distributes external water pressure and impact forces uniformly across the structure, significantly enhancing its ability to withstand extreme forces and volumes of water during abnormal events such as tsunamis, while maintaining utility and comfort for occupants.
2Reliability
If a spherical water-tight shell is used, then protection against extreme water forces is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective shelter is divided into distinct functional components: a spherical water-tight shell, an internal frame structure, sealable entry doors, anchoring systems, and self-righting features. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently for its specific function while simplifying manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance of the overall system.
3Weight of moving object
If lightweight materials like aluminum and stainless steel are used, then ease of deployment is improved, but strength against extreme pressure may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes composite material construction, combining lightweight aluminum and stainless steel materials that provide both low weight for ease of deployment and high strength for pressure resistance. The spherical geometry further amplifies the strength-to-weight ratio by distributing stresses uniformly, enabling the shelter to withstand extreme water pressures while remaining lightweight and deployable.
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 protective capsule effectively shields individuals and animals from extreme weather conditions by withstanding high pressures and self-righting mechanisms, ensuring safety before, during, and after disasters, and can be used in various emergency situations.
Implementation Method 1
The capsule includes a spherical or substantially spherical, water-tight shell configured to withstand high pressures
Implementation Method 2
self-righting features to ensure safety during such events
Implementation Method 3
self-righting mechanisms, ensuring safety before, during, and after disasters
Data Source
AI summary
Protective shelters for enclosing one or more persons and/or animals are described. A capsule can be a spherical or substantially spherical, water-tight shell surrounding a frame and forming an interior portion which accommodates the one or more persons and/or animal; and at least one sealable entry door configured to seal at least one opening formed in the shell.