Abstract:
This apparatus is for the destruction of land mines, improvised explosive devices and mechanical booby traps by creating strong forces on the ground. The apparatus comprises a physical structure having an electric motor-vanes housing assembly, that is connected to an electrical system. The electrical system comprises a portable control panel and a portable power supply. Undiscovered land mines pose problems for many countries of the world.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    I am told that at the rate that the government and nongovernmental organizations are clearing landmines it will take 450-500 years to rid the world of them—and that&#39;s just if no more are placed. However, when a serious conflict breaks out the U.S. Military is in need of a way to clear mines and IEDs, fast, economically and accurately. The invention could also speed up the humanitarian de-mining effort worldwide. 
         [0002]    The countries of Canada and Mexico, for example, do not have the problem of landmines at all. Therefore, strategy is very important in facing this worldwide problem. It is a problem in many areas of the world where fighting has taken place. These areas should be located and recorded. Undiscovered mines pose problems for countries that need to reclaim as much land as possible for agricultural purposes. 
         [0003]    There are many devices, methods, and equipment for the detection or clearance of IEDs and landmines. The following are a few examples of present detection methods. A remarkable skill found in giant African rats; some are being trained to detect landmines. Animal “sniffers” including dogs are expensive to train, subject to fatigue and can be fooled by masked scents. Metal detectors cannot reliably find plastic mines. Thermal neutron activation detectors are accurate but are too large for field use, slow and expensive. The same is true when various detectors are mounted on a low flying and slow moving airship. 
         [0004]    Also, infrared detectors can detect recently placed mines, but they are too large for field use, slow and expensive. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory&#39;s patented micro power impulse radar and advanced imaging technologies combination is for a landmine detection system; testing is ongoing. 
         [0005]    Our Government had a rude awakening from our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan through their use of improvised explosive devices (IEDS). This began a multi-billion dollar investment by the U.S. Military in vehicle and body armor, robots, ground-penetrating radar and other equipment to better protect our troops. The vehicle armor protects against the worst physical body damage. However, these modern wars have taught Military medicine its hardest lessons: a blast wave can still damage the brain causing dizziness, headaches and minor concentration problems. “It&#39;s not a physical wound,” a soldier recalls. “It&#39;s more like something doesn&#39;t feel right.” Inside the vehicle he was the closest to the blast. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    This aerial clearance system can, nearly one hundred percent of the time, cause harmful land devices to self-destruct and the other very, very small percentage of the time will visibly reveal any harmful device. The system is designed so that very little damage is done to it when a blast does go off, and the cost of repairs are kept relatively low compared to present ones. The operators will not suffer any physical or mental damage.  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 7  shows the fan-housing-drag chains arrangement.  FIG. 11  and  FIG. 12  show the housing-drag balls arrangement. The ultimate version is the fan-housing-drag balls. This is a combination of the above two arrangements; see  FIG. 13 . 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a physical structure of an aerial clearance system mounted to a helicopter. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged top view of the physical structure. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged front view of the physical structure with only the vanes housing shown section. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4 . is a block diagram of an electrical system of the aerial clearance system. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a physical structure of an aerial clearance system mounted to a helicopter. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged top view of the physical structure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged front view of the physical structure with only the vanes housing shown section. 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a block diagram of an electrical system of the aerial clearance system. 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a schematic of a top view of an array of electric motor-vanes housing assemblies of an aerial clearance system. 
           [0016]      FIG. 10  is a side view of a physical structure of an aerial clearance system mounted to a helicopter. 
           [0017]      FIG. 11  is a top view of an alternative physical structure of an aerial clearance system showing only an upper housing and its supporting lines. 
           [0018]      FIG. 12  is a front view of the physical structure of the aerial clearance system showing many other parts. 
           [0019]      FIG. 13  is a front view of an alternative physical structure of an aerial clearance system showing many parts. 
           [0020]      FIG. 14  is a geometric ellipse. 
           [0021]      FIG. 15  is a geometric octagon. 
           [0022]      FIG. 16  is a geometric triangle. 
           [0023]      FIG. 17  is a geometric square. 
           [0024]      FIG. 18  is a side view of a physical structure of an aerial clearance system mounted to a complimentary land vehicle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    An aerial clearance system for hidden harmful land devices is comprised of a physical structure and an electrical system. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a version that is mainly for roadways RW, it drags several chains  12  along a roadway RW and sends a strong forced airflow AF onto the roadway RW. This physical structure  10  can be carried by a medium-sized helicopter MH. The physical structure  10  has three electric motor  30 —vanes housing  37  assemblies. They are supported by a center upper line  20  and its branches  20 A,  20 B, and  20 C, and stabilized by two upper side lines  22 A and  22 B. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged top view of the three electric motor  30 —vanes housing  37  assembles. The upper holding rings  32 —shown enlarged in  FIG. 3 —and the chains  12  and upper lines  20 ,  20 A,  20 B,  20 C,  22 A, and  22 B are omitted in this view for clarity. The motors  30  are held together by connecting bars  36 , their ends are welded to the motors  30  or screwed into the motors  30 . The motors  30  are mounted on the vanes housings  37  by mounting legs  34  and fastening means  26 . The vanes housings  37  are fastened together by fastening means  24 . Hooks  39  are placed around the bottom of each housing  37 ; therein each housing  37  are the vanes  35 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged front view of the three electric motor  30 —vanes housing  37  assemblies of the physical structure  10 . The vanes housings  37  are the only parts shown section. The upper holding rings  32  and upper lines  20 ,  20 A,  20 B,  20 C,  22 A, and  22 B are shown. The motors  30  are held together by connecting bars  36  and mounted on the vanes housing  37  by mounting legs  34  and fastening means  26 . The mountings legs  34  should raise the motors  30  higher over the housings  37 . The housings  37  are held together by fastening means  24 . Hooks  39  for the chains  12  are placed around the bottom of each housing  37 ; therein each housing  37  is the vanes  35 . 
         [0029]    There is a shaft  38  between the motor  30  and the vanes  35 . This version is mainly for roadways RW. Each of the housings  37  can have a diameter of approximately eight feet. Each chain  12  should be approximately 10 feet long; a good number of chains  12  would be six per housing  37 . Review  FIG. 1 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the electrical system  40  for the aerial clearance system. A portable control panel  42  and a portable or fixed power supply  44  are inside the helicopter Mil. Portable is best. The panel  42  and power supply  44  send electric energy to the motors  30 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 5  is a front view of a version that is mainly for narrow paths NP. It drags several chains  62  along a narrow path NP and sends a strong forced airflow AF onto the path NP. This physical structure  50  can be carried by a small size helicopter SH. This version has one electric motor  70 —vanes housing  77  assembly. It is supported by an upper line  60 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged top view of the electric motor  70 —vanes housing  77  assembly. An upper holding ring  72 , the claims  62  and the upper line  60  are omitted in this view for clarity. The motor  70  is mounted on the vanes housing  77  by mounting legs  74  and fastening mean  66 . Hooks  79  are placed around the bottom of the housing  77 ; therein housing  77  is the vanes  75 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged front view of the electric motor  70 —vanes housing  77  assembly. The vanes housing  77  is the only part shown section. The upper holding ring  72  and upper line  60  are shown. The motor  70  is mounted on the vanes housing  77  by mounting legs  74  and fastening mean  66 . The mounting legs  74  should raise the motor  70  higher over the housing  77 . Hooks  79  for the chains  62  are placed around the bottom of the housing  77 ; therein housing  77  is the vanes  75 . 
         [0034]    There is a shaft  78  between the motor  70  and the vanes  75 . This version is mainly for narrow paths NP. The housing  77  can have a diameter of approximately five feet. Each chain  62  should be approximately 10 feet long; a good number of chains  62  would be eight for the housing  77 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 8  is a block diagram of the electrical system  80  for the entire aerial clearance system. A portable control panel  82  and a power supply  84  are inside the helicopter SH. They send power to the electric motor  70 . The power supply  84  can be independent (portable) or dependent; portable is best. 
         [0036]      FIG. 9  is a schematic the top view of an array of electric motor-vanes housing assemblies  90 . This aerial clearance system can have any number of assemble rows R or columns C. This version is mainly for large open fields. One helicopter that can lift this array of motor-housing assemblies  90  is a CH-53E Super Stallion. 
         [0037]      FIG. 10  is a side view of a physical structure  100  mounted to a small helicopter H. There is only one electric motor  120 —vanes housing  127  assembly it is supported by an upper line  110 . This version is mainly for narrow paths P. It drags several chains  112  along a path and sends a strong forced airflow AF onto the path P. To insure that the chains  12  are making good contact with the ground below, a nearby ground observer NGO controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV can be used. 
         [0038]    There are three more options. An observer secured in a doorway of a helicopter could watch the ground below by a mounted portable tilted mirror. A portable closed-circuit system with its camera mounted under a helicopter, the ground below can be observed from within the helicopter. An observer on the ground with binoculars and a two-way radio can be used. The aerial vehicles—helicopters—would fly 100 to 300 feet above ground. This would solve any dust problem that may arise. 
         [0039]      FIG. 11  is a top view of an upper housing  177 —drag balls  164  assembly of a physical structure  150 . The drag balls  164  and their cables  162  are omitted in this view for clarity. The supporting lines  160 ,  160 A,  160 B,  160 C, and  160 D and the upper hooks  179 A are shown. 
         [0040]      FIG. 12 . is a front view of the physical structure  150  with all its parts. The upper housing  177 —drag balls  164  assembly is supported by lines  160 ,  160 A,  160 B,  160 C, and  160 D. Upper hooks  179 A and lower hooks  179 B are placed around the housing  177 . Each drag ball  164  has a hook  165 . A good number of drag balls  164  would be four dragging on the ground G. Each cable  162  has an upper ring  163 A and a lower ring  163 B. For effectiveness the heavy balls  164  should be kept on the ground the same as the heavy chains  112  above. 
         [0041]    Means for a drag object can be any solid object—a solid object is better than a hollow one—it can be a cube, cylinder, ellipsoid, octahedron, pyramid, or a sphere (ball). A fastening means can be a pin, screw, rivet, or a bolt-nut combination. A holding means can be a hook, ring, or clamp. A line—a suspending means—can be a rope, cable, or chain; it can be metal or non-metal. 
         [0042]    For a system to be economical the electric motors and the lines can be all metal, they will be the farthest from any blast. The housings and the vanes and their shafts to the motors will be nearer to any blast. Now there is a choice between expensive metal parts that can take much abuse from blasts, or less expensive non-metal parts that normally take less abuse from blasts. 
         [0043]    A chain or a drag ball is on the ground and should be made from a metal; steel would be ideal. The shape of a hard chain or a hard ball (sphere) would help them to survive many blasts. They are relatively easier to make and it is relatively harder for them to get hung on ground objects. The explosions should just throw the chains or balls around violently. There is the possibility that cheap and very hard non-metal chains and balls would be the best choice. 
         [0044]      FIG. 13  is a front view of a physical structure  200  with all its parts. An electric motor  220 —vanes housing  227  assembly. The upper holding ring  222  and upper line  210  are shown. The motor  220  is mounted on the vanes housing  227  by four mounting legs  224  and secured with fastening means. The four mounting legs  224  should raise the motor  220  over the circular housing  227 . 
         [0045]    There is a shaft  228  between the motor  220  and the vanes  225  inside the housing  227 . The housing  227  is attached to the drag balls  214  with hooks  215  by cables  212  with upper rings  213 A and lower rings  213 B. The vanes  225  send a strong forced airflow AF onto the ground G. 
         [0046]    The top view of a vanes housing can have many geometric shapes.  FIG. 14  is an ellipse.  FIG. 15  is an octagon.  FIG. 16  is a triangle.  FIG. 17  is a square. However, the circle will be used for this system. 
         [0047]      FIG. 18  shows a modified land vehicle LV it can serve as a complement. The portable structural assembly SA comprise metal support structures SS and a steel cable SC attached to a rear O-ring OR and passes through two other O-rings OR. The portable control panel and portable power supply are mounted inside the vehicle LV. 
         [0048]    This physical structure  300  can be a roadway version, see  FIG. 1 , or a narrow path version, see  FIG. 5 . It is hung at a safe distance in front of the vehicle LV. The drag balls  314  can be unhooked from the lines  312  and placed inside the vehicle LV. 
         [0049]    During the conflict a helicopter with an aerial clearance system could survey a roadway first. Next, a modified land vehicle would survey the roadway. This would insure a convoy was 100 percent safe along this roadway. The number of expensive armored land vehicles could be cut in numbers by 90 percent. The helicopters above would be escorted by Army Apache helicopters or Marine Viper helicopters. 
         [0050]    An aerial clearance system has the advantage of nearly 100 percent of the time causing explosive devices to self-destruct by the downward airflow and the drag objects, and always revealing a harmful device by the downward strong airflow AF. IF the revealed device is a mine or IED it can be destroyed by shooting it. 
         [0051]    The electric motors, vanes housings, chains, drag balls, fastening means and all lines should be made of interchangeable as is possible between the various versions. The vanes housings can be any diameter. There can be any number of chains of any length per housing. Any number of vanes housing—electric motor assemblies can be used per physical structure, from one to a few to a plurity. No new technology is needed for this system. 
         [0052]    In the field of land mine detection there are three very important criterions. There are: 100 percent accuracy, good speed, and tolerable expense. I know of no other device, equipment, or method that satisfactorily passes the above criterions. 
         [0053]    This system is in the field of land mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mechanical boogy traps clearance. It is designed to be extremely reliable, swift detection, and economically feasible in clearing a narrow path, a roadway or a large open field of hidden harmful land devices. 
         [0054]    For greater protection, at the bottom of the housings screens can be placed. This will help protect the motors and their vanes. The screens can be made permanent or removable; see  37  ( FIG. 3 ),  77  ( FIG. 7 ),  127  ( FIGS. 10 ), and  227  ( FIG. 13 ). 
         [0055]    In addition, a helicopter with an aerial clearance system will give the occupant of the helicopter, a good chance to spot a triggerman for a hidden IED below.