US2409635A - Mine destroyer - Google Patents

Description

Filed Aug. 26, 1943 www@ Patented Oct. 202, i946;

MINE- DESTROYER Lawrence Langner, New York, Nl Y., assignor t the Government of the United States of Amer'- his successors in office Application August 2.6, 1943, Serial No. 500,061

3 Claims.

the act of March 3, 1883, asv amended April4 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) (Granted under The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for' the Government' for governmental purposes, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to a mine' destroyer and more particularly it is directed to a device of this character for destroying land mines.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a mine destroyer adapted to be mounted on an armored vehicle for destroying' mines buried in the earth and adapted' to be exploded when tramped on or upon a vehicle passing overI the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mine destroyer including tamping elements adapted to be mounted on an armored vehicle and actuated by the vehicle for causing the tamping elements to contact the ground for exploding mines buried therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide a. mine destroyer adapted to be mounted on and actuated by an armored vehicle and which is simple in operation, constructed of few parts that can readily be replaced upon being damaged, which may be quickly mounted on and removed from the armored vehicle and well adapted for the purpose intended without subjecting the driver or crew of the armored vehicle to body injury or death upon destroying a mine.

Heretofore in destroying land mines buried in the ground by an enemy a crew of men had to go over the ground on foot to detect the presence of the mines therein before the mines could be destroyed or made ineffective, thereby subjecting the men to great danger of body injury or death.

It is therefore the aim and purpose of this invention to provide a mine destroyer on an armored vehicle and adapted to be automatically actuated by a mechanism of the armored vehicle for exploding land mines in a mine field over which troops or other vehicles are to pass, while at the same time protecting the driver of the vehicle from body injury,

With the above and other .objects and advantages in view the invention consists of certain features of construction and operation of parts which will hereinafter be described and shown in thel accompanying drawing in which:

Fig, l is a perspective view of an armored vehicle having the improved mine destroyer including one form of mine exploding tamping elements mounted thereon; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional detail View partly in elevation of a modified form of a mine explodica, as represented by the Secretary of War' and ing tamping element which may also be used in carrying out the invention.

Referring more specifically to Fig. 1, theimproved mine destroyer illustrated generally by A is mounted on an armored vehicle B in the form of a tank and comprises an oscillating lever or walking beam I pivotally connected or fulcrumed intermediate its ends 2 and 3 by a bolt 4 to a pair of brackets 5 which diverge outwardly and downwardly toward the front end of the armored' vehicle B from their connection with the beam I and having their lower ends mounted on the armored vehicle by bolts 0.

The walking beam I extends outwardly from and above the front end of the armored vehicle B and is ful'crumed at 4 to the upper ends of the,

brackets 5 a shorter distance from its rear end 2 than from the front end 3 thereof, whereby a long arm portion l is provided on the front end of the walking beam I and a short arm portion 8 is provided on the rear end of the walking beam for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

The rear end 2 of the walking beam I is pivotally connected by a bolt 9 to the upper end of a connecting rod I0 having a ring member or strap II mounted on its lower end. The strap I I surrounds an eccentric I2 mounted on one end of a shaft IS rotatably supported on a bracket I4 secured to the front end of the armored vehicle B by bolts l5. A sprocket wheel I6 is mounted on the opposite end of the shaft I3 from the eccentric I2 and is driven by a sprocket chain I'I, which in turn is driven by another sprocket wheel I8 mounted on one end of a shaft I 9 of a part of the mechanism for operating the armored' vehicle B.

A transversely extending supporting bar or rod 20 is mounted on and extends outwardly an equal distance from the outer end 3 of the oscillating lever or walking beam I and carries a plurality of connecting members 2I preferably in the form of flexible wire strands or cables which hang downwardly from the supporting bar 20 in suitable spaced relation and have mine explosion tamping elements 22 suitably secured to their lower or free ends 23, which mine explosion tamping elements 22 preferablyV consist of a plurality of sets of chains 24 as illustrated in Fig. l, but each of the mine explosion tamping elements'22 may comprise an expendable can or bag 25'filled with any suitable material such as sand or water and having metal soles 26 mounted on its lower end as illustrated in Fig.V 2.

In the operation of the improved mine destroyer, as the armored vehicle B travels over a field having land mines buried therein, thershaft I9 forming a part of the mechanism for driving the armored vehicle, drives the sprocket wheel I8 which in turn operates the sprocket chain I1 for driving the sprocket wheel I6. The sprocket wheel I6 -being rotated drives shaft I3, which in turn drives the eccentric I2 which rotates in the Strap or ring member I I periodically moving the strap II downwardly and upwardly whereby the connecting rod I Il is periodically moved downwardly and upwardly to cause the inner end 2 of the Walking beam I to be periodically pulled downwardly and moved upwardly which oscillates the walking beam i on its pivot 4, thus periodically moving its front end 3 upwardly and downwardly, causing the Vmine explosion tamping elements 22 to be periodically moved vertically downwardly to beat or strike heavy blows on the earth covering the Yland mines to be destroyed, and also to move upwardly therefrom, one of which land mines M being illustrated in Fig. l. By using the heavy chains 24 as mine explosion tamping elements, a greater mined area may be covered and in using the ilexible connecting members ZI the mine explosion tamping elements are permitted to spread over a wider ield and to disperse when an explosion of a mine takes place and the elements are lifted by the force of the explosion. The sprocket wheel I3 may be of various sizes to vary the speed of tamping relative to the speed of the tank B. Preferably, the speed of the vehicle and the tamping action will be such that every foot of ground will be tamped. A change speed device or" any well known kind (not shown) may be interposed in the drive between the walking beam and axle i8, or independent drive means may be employed for the walking beam.

In providing a longer front end arm portion 'I on the walking beam I than the short rear end arm portion 8 thereof, the front end 3 of the walking beam is caused to move downwardly and upwardly a greater vertical distance than the vertical distance traveled by the rear end 2 of the walking beam, whereby the mine explosion tamping elements 22 may be lowered vwith a greater impact onto the ground to explodeV the land mines buried therein. Upon explosion of the mine, the tamping elements 22 are deilected by the force of the explosion but are not broken thereby; and the supporting bar 20 and walking beam are suciently far away from the mine to avoid damage.

It will thus be seen that there is herein provided a novel and eiiicient form of mine destroyer which is well adapted for the purpose indicated above. The mine destroying operation takes place far ahead of the position of the tank itself, making the operation relatively safe.

Even though there has herein been shown and described certain features of construction and operation of parts, it is nevertheless to be understood that various changes may be made therein if the changes do not depart from the spirit and scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent 1. In combination, an armored motor vehicle, a pair f bracket members mounted on the front end of said vehicle and extending outwardly and upwardly from the front end of said vehicle and converging upwardly toward each other, a walking beam, said walking beam extending outwardly from and above the front end of said vehicle and pivotally mounted adjacent one end thereof to the upper ends of said bracket members, whereby a long arm portion is provided on the front end of the walking beam and a short arm portion is provided on the rear end thereof, means for actuating said walking beam, said means including a sprocket mechanism connected to Ibe actuated by the vehicle motor, an eccentric rotated by said sprocket mechanism, a ring member actuated by said eccentric and a rod connected to be actuated by said ring member, one end of said rod secured to said ring member and the other end thereof pivotally connected to the rear end of said walking beam, a supporting bar mounted on and extending transversely outwardly from the front end of said walking beam and mine explosion elements connected to said bar, said actuating means being constructed and arranged so that upon the actuation of the vehicle motor the walking beam is oscillated on its pivotal connection with said bracket members for periodically actuating said explosion elements into contact with the ground for exploding mines buried therein.

2. In combination, an armored motor vehicle, a pair of bracket members mounted on the front end of said vehicle and extending outwardly and upwardly from the front end of said vehicle and converging upwardly toward each other, a walking beam, said walking beam extending outwardly from and above the front end of said vehicle and pivotally mounted adjacent one end thereof to the upper ends of said bracket members, whereby a long arm portion is provided on the front end of the walking beam and a short arm portion is provided on the rear end thereof, means for actuating said walking beam, said means including a sprocket mechanism connected to be actuated by the vehicle motor, an eccentric rotated by said sprocket mechanism, a ring member actuated by said eccentric and a rod connected to be actuated by said ring member, one end of said rod secured to said ring member and the other end thereof pivotally connected to the rear end of said walking beam, a supporting bar mounted on and extending transversely outwardly from the front end of said walking beam and sets of explosion tamping chains and cables connecting said chains to said bar, said actuating means being constructed and arranged so that upon the actuation of the vehicle motor the walking beam is oscillated on its pivotal connection with said bracket members for periodically actuating said explosion chains into Contact with the ground for exploding mines buried therein.

3. In combination, an armored motor vehicle, a pair of bracket members mounted on the front end of said vehicle and extending outwardly and upwardly from the fro-nt end of said vehicle and converging upwardly toward each other, a walking beam, said walking beam extending outwardly from and above the front end of said vehicle and pivotally mounted adjacent one end thereof to the upper ends oi said bracket members, whereby a long arm portion is provided on the front end of the walking beam and a short arm portion is provided on the rear end thereof, means for actuating said Walking beam, said means including a sprocket mechanism connected to be actuated by the vehicle motor, lan eccentric rotated by said sprocketmechanism, a ring member actuated by said eccentric and a rod connected to be actuated by said ring member, one end of said rod secured to said ring member and the other end thereof pivotally connected to the rear end of said walking beam, a supporting bar mounted on and extending transversely outwardly from the front end of said Walking beam and expendable weighted containers including metal soies connected to said bar, said actuating means being constructed and arranged so that upon the actuation of the vehicle motor the Walking beam is oscillated on its pivotal connection with said bracket members for periodically actuating said expendable weighted containers into contact With the ground for exploding mines buried therein.

LAWRENCE LANGNER.

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