Excavating – Processes
Reexamination Certificate
1997-02-13
2001-05-22
Batson, Victor (Department: 3671)
Excavating
Processes
C037S905000, C172S371000, C175S020000, C175S057000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233851
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of manual excavation and, more particularly, to a relatively inexpensive lightweight and portable system for expediting the excavating of a military fighting position or foxhole.
For many years, military people have been looking at ways to significantly reduce the time it takes a soldier to establish a two-man fighting position and thereby improve a soldier's combat effectiveness. The need for infantryman or others to “dig in” to secure a position or reduce exposure to enemy fire, of course, is longstanding. Most of the time spent and energy consumed in creating a two-man fighting position is expended in the “digging” or soil loosening operation. If this significant segment of the fighting position creation operation could be automated or mechanized so that the soldier would only need to throw the dirt out of the hole without having to spend time and energy digging and loosening the dirt, he would gain a decided advantage. To date, that effort has been generally unsuccessful primarily because there has been no approach that meets the necessary criteria and so there remains a need for a lightweight, simple apparatus that is portable and compatible with the soldier's combat load and which works quickly and is able to address a variety of soils under a variety of weather conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
By means of the present invention, many of the problems associated with increasing the efficiency of establishing a two-man fighting position have been solved by the provision of a method and system that includes the use of a hole boring device in combination with soil loosening explosive charges that makes it necessary for the soldier only to have to throw the dirt out of the hole without having to spend time and energy loosening the soil.
In the preferred embodiment, the boring device is an auger of a modified bucket type which retains the material in a hollow central portion thereby creating a clean bore. These devices are similar to those used, for example, by the forest industry for taking soil samples. The auger is preferably an optimized design for making a number of bore holes in a wide variety of soils.
An explosive material which is preferably a binary type explosive, i.e., one which involves a mixture of two distinct materials, each of which is itself non-explosive but which combine to form an explosive mixture, is provided to be placed in prepared bores created by the auger to thereafter loosen soil according to a predetermined pattern based on bore depth and spacing. The binary explosive material is contained in a multi-compartment or two-piece container to ensure that mixing does not occur until the soldier completes certain required steps. Other types of explosive charges, of course, may be used.
An initiation system for safely fusing and detonating the explosive is also provided which may be a conventional electrically operated system or a non-electric or NONEL detonation system. The electrical system uses a standard blasting cap in conjunction with a spaced activating or firing device of the type typically used in military applications. A non-electric version of the system includes a Shock Tube Initiator (STI) used in combination with a non-electric detonator or (NONEL) which includes a length of shock tube and a remote blasting cap. The blasting cap is equipped with a small amount of igniter to initiate the detonation sequence for the binary explosive and is attached by an E-Z detonator connector to the binary explosive container by means of the shock tube connected to a primer cord (Primaline) having a small transition charge in a manner such that no primary explosives are buried in the ground.
The entire system is designed for compact assembly into a relatively small, lightweight carrying pack that can be carried by an individual soldier and is further designed to be compatible with the soldier's normal combat load. Total weight of the system may be less than 9 pounds (slightly more if additional explosive materials are carried for excavating additional fighting positions). The system is further designed to be transported and stored in hot, normal and cold temperatures and can be dropped to the user unit by fixed or rotary wing aircraft or other delivery method. There is no need for special tools or maintenance beyond routine inspection.
The method of use includes boring a plurality of spaced holes, normally two, in the ground to the desired depth, normally about 3½ feet (42 inches). The auger handle may be designed of a combined convenient length such that the desired depth can properly be gauged. Likewise, hole separation distance may be conveniently based on the length of the auger so that the soldier can lay the auger down from the first bore to identify the location for the second. Of course, the bore depth and separation distance need only to be an approximation based on the auger length to achieve the required result. This eliminates burdening the soldier with time-consuming tasks such as staking out and measuring base and depth and allows for ease of operation both daytime and nighttime conditions with or without cold weather gear.
If a binary explosive is used, the next step is to mix the binary explosive that is stored in separate parts in a self-contained explosive container. This is accomplished by combining the contents of the separate storage containers. The mixed binary explosive canister or container is then connected to the appropriate electrical or non-electrical detonation or initiation system. The soldier, from a safe distance, normally over 20 meters, can electronically fire or connect the shock tube which can be used to initiate the explosive from a safe distance using a conventional firing pin/blasting cap.
Detonating the explosive is designed to loosen the soil to a size and consistency easily shoveled and create a pocket of loose soil that is slightly less than the dimensions required for the fighting position. After the detonation of the explosive, the soldier can quickly and easily remove the bulk of loosened soil with a conventional digging spade.
The soldier then shapes the final foxhole ensuring that the side walls remain structurally sound. A grenade sump can then be formed using the auger. It has been found that the time required to prepare the fighting position is less than one-half of that conventionally needed, using entirely un-aided manual means.
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Alexander Alan A.
Erickson Gary W.
Schmidt Paul F.
Alliant Techsystems Inc.
Batson Victor
Nikolai Mersereau & Dietz, P.A.
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