Patent Application
20160047634
This invention relates to the excavation and deactivation of ordnance concealed by terrain. In particular, the invention lies in the field of disrupting loose fill material around unexploded ordnance using a means of generating an air or gas flow mounted on a remote operated vehicle, thereby ensuring operator safety. The invention further relates to components and/or tools that may be powered by the generated gas stream.
By the term unexploded ordnance as used herein is meant any munition (such as, for example, a bomb, rocket, mine or similar device) which has been primed or activated to function, but has yet to function. By the term terrain is meant ground coverings, examples being soil, sand or shale.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a terrain disruption device comprising an air or gas flow generation device mounted on a remote operated vehicle (ROV) having an extendable arm, wherein the air or gas flow generation device comprises an elongate ducting arrangement to direct the air or gas flow.
The air or gas flow generation device and/or the elongate ducting arrangement may be mounted on the extendable arm. The elongate ducting arrangement may be detachable.
The air or gas flow generation device may be a powered fan, such as, for example, a centrifugal fan, a ducted fan, an open propeller etc. Preferably, the powered fan is a ducted fan. Ducted fans typically comprise a propeller mounted within a cylindrical shroud or duct. The duct reduces losses in thrust and—advantageously—varying the cross-section of the duct allows the designer to control the velocity and pressure of the airflow. Preferably, the ducted fan is mounted on the extendable arm of the ROV.
The fan may be powered by any suitable means, such as—for example—an electrical power source or an engine (e.g. an internal combustion engine powered by a fuel such as petrol, diesel or methane). In a preferred option, the means of powering the fan is an electrical power source, because the use of volatile and/or combustible fuels can increase the risk of an already hazardous operation. A yet further advantage of electrically powered fans is that the power is instantly available, thereby providing simple control of operational speed without the use of gears. In a preferred embodiment, the fan is an electric ducted fan (EDF). The electrical supply may be the power supply of the ROV, ROVs typically being electrically powered so as to avoid the use of volatile fuels. Alternatively, the electric fan may be powered from a separate electrical power source. Examples of electrical power sources are a battery, a fuel cell and/or a photovoltaic cell.
Alternatively, the air or gas flow generation device may be a high pressure gas flow device. The high pressure gas flow device is preferably mounted on the ROV, with an elongate ducting arrangement—preferably a detachable elongate ducting arrangement—mounted on the extendable arm of said ROV. The high pressure gas flow device may be a compressor capable of generating pressurised air or gas, or—alternatively—may be a cylinder of pressurised gas, whose valve may be opened remotely to cause a positive pressure to disrupt the terrain, via the elongate ducting. The high pressure gas flow device may also be a plenum chamber fed by a compressor.
The elongate ducting—preferably detachable elongate ducting—serves to channel the flow of air or gas to or from the immediate vicinity of the covered ordnance, such that the output of the air or gas generation device is not compromised by dust from the disrupted terrain. The elongate ducting may be comprised of one or more modules, so that the overall length of said elongate ducting may be selected by joining together a plurality of modules to create the desired length. In an alternative arrangement, the elongate ducting may be prepared from telescopic modules, such that the adjacent modules slide within each other. This creates a more compact design, thereby reducing the need for separate transportation of additional portions of elongate ducting. Advantageously, the telescopic modules may be locked in position to retain said modules in position.
The elongate ducting may—at the end distal to the air or gas generation device—comprise a nozzle. The nozzle may be fixed, or may be rotatable to more precisely control the direction of the air or gas flow. Conveniently, the end of the nozzle is modified to alter the velocity of the airflow, for example by the use of castellations, veins, spikes, co-axial tubes (Coanda effect) and/or flappers.
The components of the disruption device, such as, for example, the air or gas generation device, any shroud or duct associated with the air or gas generation device (particularly in the case of a ducted fan), the elongate ducting and/or the optional nozzle, may be formed from materials selected from the group consisting of metals, metal alloys, composites, natural polymers, synthetic polymers and fibre reinforced polymers, and any combination thereof. Preferably, the materials are lightweight materials such as, for example, aluminium, carbon fibre reinforced resins or glass fibre reinforced resins, and more preferably the materials are lightweight composites.
It may be desirable to provide certain components that are frangible, so that—in the event of a minor explosive event from the ordnance—the components do not cause further damage to the ROV. Preferably, components such as power supply leads to the preferred electric fan are detachably mounted on the ROV, so that their deployment may be via quick fitting links. This allows rapid deployment and compactness for ease of transport.
The ROV may contain a number of tools and/or components which allow the ordnance to be disposed of. Examples are gripping devices, retrieval devices and/or cutting tools such as cutting discs. The tools may be directly powered by their own separate electric motors; however this may add to the overall weight of the ROV. Accordingly, the tools are preferably powered by the power supply of the ROV, and even more preferably powered by the air or gas flow (as discussed below).
The air or gas flow present in the elongate ducting may be used to perform other work, such as, for example, powering other components or tools. An example is a rotary disc cutting tool, which may be detachably mounted to the ROV, wherein the disc is operably linked to an impeller which is powered by an air supply from an electric fan.
Typically, deactivation of ordnance is carried out remotely. In order that the operator can view events, the ROV is usually fitted with a camera, so as to relay video to the operator in real time. In a highly preferred embodiment, an air bleed is provided from the elongate ducting to produce an air flow across the camera lens. The air flow helps to keep the lens substantially free from debris during the disruption (i.e. excavation) procedure.
The ROV may, upon disruption (excavation) of the terrain, be required to remove small ordnance from the location. Thus, the ROV may employ a retrieval means, one example being an impaling device (such as, for example, a spike or harpoon), to retrieve the ordnance. Another example, suitable for metallic ordnance, is an electromagnet.
For small ordnance, the nozzle may take the form of a hollow spike, with an optional barb, flange or lip appended thereto, wherein said barb, flange or lip may be retractable or fixed. After the airflow (optionally via the nozzle) has disrupted the terrain, the impaling device may impale the ordnance and then retract the ordnance from the location, either through reversing the ROV, or moving the extendable arm, or a combination of both. The barb, flange or lip may help to prevent the ordnance from slipping off of the impaling device during retraction of the ordnance. The ordnance may then be disposed according to normal disposal procedures.
The air or gas flow generation device may be operated to provide a positive air flow (i.e. blow terrain from around the unexploded ordnance) or the device may operate with a negative airflow (i.e. it may create a vacuum, drawing away the loose terrain from around the ordnance). It may be desirable to provide the air intake of a fan with a series of filters to mitigate against the effect of fine particulates reducing the efficiency of the moving parts of said fan.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of uncovering unexploded ordnance comprising the steps of deploying an ROV fitted with a device according to the first aspect to the vicinity of said ordnance and operating the air or gas flow generation device to remove loose terrain from around said ordnance. Preferably, the method comprises the additional step of impaling said ordnance and retracting said ordnance from the original location. The air or gas flow generation device may be a powered fan, preferably an electric ducted fan.
According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit of parts comprising an ROV, an air or gas generation device, an elongate ducting arrangement and (optionally) a nozzle. Preferably, the air or gas flow generation device is a powered fan, more preferably an electric ducted fan.
The invention also provides a terrain disruption device comprising a ducted fan mounted on an extendable arm of a remote operated vehicle, wherein the fan comprises a detachable elongate ducting arrangement.
The invention further provides a terrain disruption device comprising an electric fan mounted on an extendable arm of a remote operated vehicle, wherein the electric fan comprises a detachable elongate ducting arrangement.
It may be desirable to fit a counter mass to balance the system and/or a stabilising arm to resist an overturning moment of the chassis when a positive airflow is being used.
Any feature in one aspect of the invention may be applied to any other aspects of the invention, in any appropriate combination. In particular, device aspects may be applied to method aspects, and vice versa.
Embodiments of the invention are described below by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
a shows a side view of a nozzle configured into a hollow spike arrangement with a cutting disc;
b shows a schematic of the cutting disc arrangement shown in
The extendable arm 2 may have a number of other auxiliary components or tools appended thereto, such as a pincer 7 and/or a camera 6.
a shows a side elevation of an elongate ducting 24 which terminates in a nozzle 25 formed into the shape of a hollow spike or hollow sharpened end 29. The hollow spike 29 may further comprise some form of barb or lip (not shown), which may assist the retention of an impaled ordnance (not shown) onto the spike 29. The elongate ducting 24 may also house a cutting disc 20 (optionally mounted on pivot 28, and optionally comprising a “bird's mouth” element 22) which may be powered by the airflow, as is more clearly shown in
b shows an end view of the elongate ducting 24 and a cutting disc 20 which is operably attached to an impeller arrangement 21. The disc 20 and impeller 21 are co-axially mounted on pivot 28 about which they are free to rotate. Upon a positive air flow being produced, the impeller 21 is forced to rotate, thus causing the cutting disc 20 to rotate.
In an alternative arrangement, the impeller 21 and cutting disc may be located remote from the elongate ducting 24, and an air bleed may be taken from the elongate ducting 24 to power the disc cutting arrangement (not shown).
The output from the chamber 43 is fed via the elongate ducting 44. The flow may be varied by control valve 45, which may be a ball valve operated by a stepper motor to allow incremental changes to the flow rate.
It will be understood that the present invention has been described above purely by way of example, and modification of detail can be made within the scope of the invention. Each feature disclosed in the description and (where appropriate) the claims and drawings may be provided independently or in any appropriate combination.
Moreover, the invention has been described with specific reference to the excavation and deactivation of ordnance It will be understood that this is not intended to be limiting and the method of the invention may be used more generally in applications where an object, particularly a hazardous object, needs to be remotely excavated and (optionally) removed from its original location.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1008965.4 | May 2010 | GB | national |
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/697,895, filed on Nov. 14, 2012, which is in turn a U.S. National Stage application of International Application No. PCT/GB2011/000798, filed May 26, 2011, which claims the benefit of British Patent Application No. GB 1008965.4 filed May 28, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13697895 | Nov 2012 | US |
| Child | 14921630 | US |
