US 4,400,115 A · Method for depositing material on the ocean bed and apparatus for performing the same

Abstract

Method and installation for depositing materials on an ocean bed in accordance with a given line in which the autonomous vehicle is displaced on the ocean bed by accurately following said line, whereby the vehicle is provided with a hopper, a ship is moved on the surface of the ocean roughly in accordance with said line, the materials are discharged from this ship towards the hopper and are guided by means of a pipe suspended beneath the ship and whose lower end is not integral with the hopper, wherein the propulsion means of the pipe disposed at the lower end thereof are operated so that the lower end of the pipe is forced to remain above the hopper.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A vehicle for depositing materials on a pipeline placed on a sea bed, comprising:

a rigid chassis to which are fixed a hopper which has an upper opening and a lower opening, at least one pair of propulsion means, each being disposed on one side of the lower opening of the hopper, motive means able to drive the propulsion means, and first detection means able to detect without contact the position variation between the vehicle and the pipeline and to control said motive means for cancelling out said variation.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method for depositing material on the ocean bed and apparatus for performing the same

Life of this patent

Method for depositing material on the ocean bed and apparatus for performing the same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10