Hidden cage, the Peruvian invention created to protect the passengers of mining vehicles from accidents

Unfortunately, traffic accidents in the mining sector are a common occurrence. Alfredo Alfaro, director of the Institute of Mining Engineers of Peru, declared in the web portal of said institution that in the year 2021, “63 fatal accidents were recorded” in the mentioned sector. From this figure, he noted that “66% originated on the highway”.

Faced with this problem, there are mechanisms designed to protect the personnel who work in the mines, such as the roll cage. It is a metallic structure in charge of provide a safe environment for those who travel in a van in the event of an accident.

SIGHT: These five jobs would be taken by AI in the next 10 years

If this is the case, this system will prevent the roof from collapsing and thus avoid a fateful end.

In Peru there are a variety of brands that offer this protection system. However, the company AMSEC Peru proposes a design that they have baptized as hidden cageand which was recently awarded at the 2022 Annual Recognition event for the Commercialization of the Patented Invention (RACIP), organized by Indecopi.

This invention stands out from other traditional cages thanks to a particular feature. Below we tell you the details.

LOOK: Who are the richest youtubers in each country? This chart gives you the answer.

An “invisible” protection system

Conceived in 2013, the Hidden cage flowed as a result of a accident who had an armored car manufactured by the company.

“It fell into a mine a few years ago and the survivors didn’t have any major problems because the armor it had, high in steel, prevented the structure of the car from collapsing”, points to Trade Alberto Santillana, general manager of AMSEC Peru.

The company, which works in the field of automotive armoring, then created a steel structure capable of protecting passengers from accidents, but with a distinctive factor: it is installed under the car upholstery. It is a kind of “invisible” protection system.

The manufacturing process begins with the welding of 6 mm thick steel plates, “with the hardest iron on the market for mining”in the words of Santillana.

These are then trimmed and re-welded onto the crown of the vehicle. “So the truck has a steel frame, if you will. It is attached by a weld to the front post, center post, and rear post and all tied to the roof by the crown that supports the roof of the bodywork”, adds.

The cage is installed inside the original body of the vehicle. (Photo: Indecopi)

LOOK: FairPlay, the Peruvian app that allows you to reserve soccer fields in less than two minutes

Application in conventional vehicles

Initially, the company considered applying the idea to off road racing, a sport in which modified vehicles are used to run on different terrains. However, they ended up opting for the mining sector. Despite this, Santillana points out that the cage can be installed in any vehicle.

“We have already made some cages for ambulances that go to the mines”points, “Since it is a hidden cage, it does not reduce space for the medical equipment that goes inside these vehicles.”

They are also embarking on a project in partnership with a mine to install the cage on buses and vans. “The Hidden cage can be installed in any vehicle, of any type”ends.

This innovation made them creditors of the Annual Recognition for the Commercialization of the Patented Invention (RACIP) 2022, granted by Indecopi. (Photo: Indecopi)

Patented at Indecopi

The challenge to patent his invention began in 2014, when they presented it to Indecopi. Three years had to pass before, in 2017, they finally received the good news.

Santillana emphasizes that it was a quite long process but it was worth it, since the legal protection of their invention will allow them to advance in commercial development plans without fear that another company will copy them.

“The patent has allowed us to have that certainty to be able to handle everything within a rule of law that gives us the legitimacy of being the intellectual authors of the invention”adds the general manager.

According to Andina, since the patent was granted to date, the company sold close to 2,000 cages to different mining companies throughout the country. These, in turn, represent income of more than US$ 200 million.

This year, the Hidden cage has earned them the Annual Recognition for the Commercialization of the Patented Invention (RACIP) 2022, granted by the same institution. It is an activity that “distinguishes the most outstanding commercial experience in the use and exploitation of patents”.

LOOK: The AI ​​that helps you know if you have a double somewhere in the world

In search of expansion into new markets

“Our idea is to take this product to all the mines in the world where there is an open pit and adit”, Santillana says. And it is that the company is already generating new utility models of the cage with certain modifications. “We are registering them in the United States market and the Canadian market”add.

Although it is a long process, he is sure that once they have the patent registration number, They will be able to work globally.

In addition to the United States and Canada, AMSEC Peru also wants to land in Australia and continue working in the neighboring country, Chile. “We have recently been there, we have an assembly plant, and we have already made cages for a mining company”, he commented to this newspaper. It is still in a trial period and they hope to be equally successful in their next projects.

Source: Elcomercio