Russian developer Marina Chirkova has received a patent for an anti-mine shoe attachment – a device that enhances the protection of sappers when detonating anti-personnel mines. The invention is a metal structure that attaches to shoes.
Spring elements in the form of U-shaped or S-shaped brackets, connected by crossbars, are attached to the protective base fixed to the sole. The lower ends of these elements are secured to a ground-contacting support via shear bolts.
Principle of operation: when stepping on a mine, the blast wave is transmitted to the support, then the shear bolts break, and the spring elements compress, absorbing part of the explosion energy. This reduces pressure on the sapper's foot and lessens the severity of the injury.
The development can be used in conjunction with personal protective equipment and applied in humanitarian demining and engineering reconnaissance. The design, as stated in the patent, does not restrict the sapper's mobility, allowing them to move almost as if in ordinary shoes.