Telescoping Modular Shelter for Confined Space Mining
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Solution Overview
Problem
In confined space mines, particularly shaft mines, the challenge lies in assembling and using large objects due to size and weight restrictions, making it difficult to deploy shelters that can protect users from external environments effectively.
Innovation Solution
A modular shelter system comprising an inner and outer front module and an inner and outer rear module that can be compactly transported and expanded to form an airtight chamber, with sliding attachments and seals to ensure protection from the external environment, allowing for assembly in tight spaces and providing a safe, expandable, and customizable solution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If a large shelter is transported to a confined space mine, then users can be protected from the external environment, but the shelter cannot fit through the shaft due to size and weight restrictions
Solution Approach 1:
The shelter is divided into multiple detachable modules that can be transported separately through the shaft and then assembled on-site. Each module is designed to fit within shaft size restrictions while the complete assembled shelter provides the required large volume for user protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The shelter modules are designed with telescoping capabilities where inner modules can be nested within outer modules during transport, reducing the overall dimension to fit through the shaft. Upon deployment, the modules extend outward to achieve the full shelter volume.
2Ease of operation
If the shelter is assembled in tight spaces, then it can be deployed in confined space mines, but the assembly process becomes complex and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The shelter is segmented into standardized modules with uniform connection interfaces. This segmentation allows for simplified assembly procedures where modules can be connected in series using standardized coupling mechanisms, reducing the overall assembly complexity despite the modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functional components are merged into integrated module designs that combine structural support, sealing, and connection functions into single unified elements. This merging reduces the number of separate assembly steps and simplifies the overall assembly process in confined spaces.
Data Source
AI summary
A shelter to protect users from an external environment has an inner front module having an airlock and an outer front module which is slidingly attached to the inner front module. The shelter has an inner rear module and an outer rear module slidingly attached to the inner rear module. When the outer front module and the inner front module are in an extended state and the outer rear module and the inner rear module are in an extended state and the outer front module and outer rear module are attached, they form an airtight chamber in which users are protected from the external environment. A method for constructing a shelter to protect users from an external environment is also disclosed.