Ordnance – Mine-destroying devices
Reexamination Certificate
2003-04-28
2004-10-05
Johnson, Stephen M. (Department: 3641)
Ordnance
Mine-destroying devices
C102S402000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06799499
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus to neutralize landmines and, in particular, to an apparatus to neutralize landmines with high power microwaves
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Canadian Forces soldiers deployed abroad during the early 1990's suffered a large number of landmine accidents, many involving vehicles that were struck by low metal content landmines buried in roads. Existing detection technology at that time, primarily based on metal detection, had failed to detect landmines which were located in the path of the vehicles.
A mine neutralisation study in 1995 assumed that neutralisation activities would follow a robot detection vehicle. That study considered that, for the short term, a mini-flail could be used in concert with an array of shaped charges to neutralize detected landmines. It recommended, however, that the potential of using High Power Microwaves (HPM) to neutralize landmines be investigated.
W. J. Graham, in an internal research report looked into the feasibility of a focussed microwave array for detecting and neutralising buried landmines. A focussed array consists of a series of flat elements with precision-machined slots from which microwave radiation is emitted. The neutralisation concept was based on the ability of the system to concentrate sufficient microwave energy on a small patch of ground approximately 25-30 cm
2
in size to reach a field intensity over 100W/cm
2
. Neutralisation of the landmine was intended to be obtained through melting the plastic components of the pressure plate in order to disable the functioning mechanism rather than the initiation of a high order detonation.
An article in The Mail on Sunday on Jun. 15, 1997 entitled “Will a British microwave stop the worldwide horror of the landmine?” indicated that if they could design a radar antenna which could concentrate microwaves into a tight beam there would be a reasonable chance of setting off a spark that could detonate a landmine from a distance.
An article “Electromagnetic Scattering by an Object Buried in Soil” by S. Kashyap et al appeared in the ANTEM '98 Symposium on Antenna Technology and Applied Electromagnetics examined the scattering of electromagnetic wave by an object buried in the soil and their effects.
A German Patent DE19744794 by Samland Thomas which was published on Nov. 15, 1998 is directed to a mine clearance method using a high power focussed microwave beam by detection of reflected radiation in the microwave or IR range. Another U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,534 by S. Khanna et al also teaches the detection of landmines using high power microwaves. In this US Patent, a thermal signature of the soil surface is obtained in real time as the soil is being irradiated forming an interference pattern at the soil surface and also further thermal signatures are obtained after irradiation resulting from thermal conduction from a mine heated by the microwaves.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus to neutralize landmines using high power microwaves and to provide a design that prevents damage to the microwave generator when a landmine is detonated by the apparatus.
An apparatus to neutralize landmines using high power microwaves, according to one embodiment of the present invention, comprises an antenna mounted on a vehicle at an angle to the vertical such that a microwave beam is directed to a surface of soil near the vehicle when a microwave generator is energized, the microwave generator and a power source being mounted on said vehicle with a waveguide being connected between the microwave generator and a feed horn for the antenna, at least one plug that is transparent to said microwaves being positioned in said waveguide to prevent any blast wave produced by a detonated mine from propagating inside of said waveguide towards the microwave generator.
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Author unknown; “Assembly and Test Results of a Focused Beam Parabolic Antenna”; IMT; Final Report (Phase II), Mar. 1998; 35 pages.
Seregelyi et al; “Neutralisation of Landmines Using a High-Power Microwave Applicator”; Defence Research Establishments Ottawa & Suffield—Technical Report DRES-TR-01-127; Aug. 10, 2001 ; 72 pages.
Chamma et al; “Numerical Modelling of the Microwave Coupling to Buried Targets”; Defence Research Establishment Ottawa; Technical Report DREO TR 2000-116; Dec. 13, 2000; 30 pages.
Author unknown; “Design of a High Power, Small Spot Size Microwave Antenna”; IMT Final Report; Executive Summary; Feb., 1997; 7 pages.
Seregelyi et al; “Neutralisation of Landmines Using a High-Power Microwave Applicator”, Phase I; Defence Research Establishments Ottawa & Suffield—Technical Report DRES-TR-01-127; pp. 1-67; Aug. 10, 2001; 84 pages.
Hasue et al; “Initiation of Some Energetic Materials by Microwave Heating”; Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics 15, 181-186, 1990.
Gardner et al; The Feasibility of HPM for the Neutralisation of No-Metallic Mines (U); Defence Research Establishment Ottawa—Technical Memorandum # 95-01; Jan. 24, 1995; 8 pages.
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Seregelyi et al; “Microwave Heating of Soil”; Defence Research Establishment Ottawa—Report No. 1331, pp. 1-35; Feb. 1998.
Kashyap et al; “EM Field Penetration into Metallic Land Mines”; Defence Research Establishment Ottawa; pp. 1-34; Jun. 1995.
Kashyap et al; “Electromagnetic Scattering by an Object Buried in Soil”; ANTEM'98 Symposium on Antenna Technology and Applied Electromagnetic; pp. 397-400; no date.
Seregelyi et al; “Neutralisation of Land Mines Using High-Power Microwaves”; AMEREM—Annapolis; Jun. 2-7, 2002; 23 pages.
Chamma et al; “Microwave Heating of Buried Targets by Non-Planar Electromagnetic Waves”; Antem 2000 Symposium on Antennas and Electromagnetics; Winnipeg; Aug. 2000; pp 171-175.
Chamma et al; “EM Scattering by Inhomogenous Structures in the Fresnel Region of Aperture Antennas: A Numerical Approach”; Proc. of Joint URSI-IEEE AP Symposium; Salt Lake City, Utah; Jul. 2000; pp 1328-1331.
Seregelyi; HPM/IR Detection of Land Mines: Measurement and Modeling of Surrogate Mines; EUROEM, 2000; May 2000.
Bergeron Denis M.
Kashyap Satish
Seregelyi Joseph S.
Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada as represented by the
Hunt, Jr. Ross F.
Johnson Stephen M.
Stites & Harbison PLLC
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