Helical conveyor for underwater seismic exploration
AssigneeFairfield Industries Incorporated
InventorsRoger L. Fyffe, Etienne Marc
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to a helical conveyor for underwater seismic exploration. The system can include a case having a cylindrical portion. A cap is positioned adjacent to a first end of the case. A conveyor having a helix structure is provided within the case. The conveyor can receive an ocean bottom seismometer (“OBS”) unit at a first end of the conveyer and transport the OBS unit via the helix structure to a second end of the conveyor to provide the OBS unit on the seabed to acquire the seismic data.
Claims34
A system for acquiring seismic data from a seabed, comprising:
- a case having a cylindrical portion;
- a cap positioned adjacent to a first end of the case;
- and
- a conveyor having a helix structure and provided within the case to receive an ocean bottom seismometer (“OBS”) unit at a first end of the conveyer and transport the OBS unit via the helix structure to a second end of the conveyor to provide the OBS unit on the seabed to acquire the seismic data, a first distance between the first end of the conveyor and the cap less than a second distance between the second end of the conveyor and the cap.
A system for acquiring seismic data from a seabed, comprising:
- a case having a first portion that is hydrodynamic and a second portion to produce drag;
- and
- a conveyor having a helix structure and provided within the case, the conveyor positioned to receive an ocean bottom seismometer (“OBS”) unit at a first end of the conveyer and transport the OBS unit via the helix structure to a second end of the conveyor.
A system for acquiring seismic data from a seabed, comprising:
- a case having a cylindrical portion;
- a cap positioned adjacent to a first end of the case;
- a conveyor having a helix structure and provided within the case, the conveyor configured to receive an ocean bottom seismometer (“OBS”) unit at a first end of the conveyer and transport the OBS unit via the helix structure to a second end of the conveyor;
- an underwater vehicle comprising a capture appliance to receive the OBS unit via an opening at the second end of the conveyor;
- and
- a deployment device of the underwater vehicle to place the OBS unit on the seabed to acquire the seismic data.
A system for acquiring seismic data from a seabed, comprising:
- a case having a cylindrical portion and one or more openings;
- a cap positioned adjacent to a first end of the case;
- a first conveyor having a helix structure and provided within the case, the first conveyor configured to receive one or more ocean bottom seismometer (“OBS”) units at a first end of the first conveyer and transport the one or more OBS units via the helix structure to a second end of the first conveyor;
- an underwater vehicle comprising a retrieval device to retrieve an OBS unit connected to the seabed, the OBS unit storing seismic data acquired via the seabed;
- and
- the underwater vehicle comprising a second conveyor to transfer the OBS unit retrieved from the seabed to the first conveyor in the case via the one or more openings of the case.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.