Bandwidth enhancing liquid coupled piezoelectric sensor apparatus and method of use thereof
AssigneeSolid Seismic, LLC
InventorRichard E. Pearce
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Sensors used in mapping strata beneath a marine body are described, such as in a flexible neutrally buoyant towed array. A first sensor is a motion sensor including a conductive liquid in a chamber between a rigid tube and a piezoelectric motion film circumferentially wrapped about the tube. The liquid transfer signal from a gravitational bottom of the sensor while rejecting water body surface reflected noise. A second sensor is a traditional acoustic sensor or a novel acoustic sensor using a piezoelectric sensor mounted with a thin film separation layer of flexible microspheres on a rigid substrate. Combinations of motion sensors and acoustic sensors co-located in a rigid streamer housing sections are provided.
Claims23
A sensor, comprising:
- a rigid hollow tube, comprising a concave inner surface and a convex outer surface;
- a channel radially exterior to said hollow tube, and at least partially circumferentially surrounding said hollow tube;
- a piezoelectric motion film radially exterior to the channel and circumferentially wrapped over the channel about said rigid hollow tube, said channel comprising a total volume between said rigid hollow tube and said piezoelectric motion film;
- and
- an electrically conductive liquid in the channel, said electrically conductive liquid contacting both said rigid hollow tube and said piezoelectric motion film.
A method for detecting motion, comprising the steps of:
- providing a rigid hollow tube, said tube comprising a concave inner surface and a convex outer surface;
- providing a channel in said convex outer surface and radially exterior to said hollow tube, the channel at least partially circumferentially surrounding said hollow tube;
- providing a piezoelectric motion film radially exterior to said channel and circumferentially wrapped over the channel about said rigid hollow tube, said piezoelectric film coated on an outer surface with a metal conductor;
- and
- using an electrically conductive fluid, said electrically conductive fluid in the channel contacting both said rigid hollow tube and said piezoelectric motion film, and said metal conductor to measure electric charge, the electric charge generated by motion of said tube conveyed to said piezoelectric film through said electrically conductive fluid.
A method for detecting motion, comprising the steps of:
- providing a rigid hollow tube;
- providing a channel exterior to the rigid hollow tube;
- providing a piezoelectric sensor exterior to the channel and at least partly circumferentially wrapped over the channel, the channel comprising an entire volume between the rigid hollow tube and the piezoelectric sensor;
- proximately contacting both said piezoelectric sensor and said tube with an electrically conductive liquid in the channel, said electrically conductive fluid present at a gravitational low point of said channel, said electrically conductive fluid substantially not contacting a gravitation high point of said channel;
- and
- measuring motion using electrical leads attached to said piezoelectric sensor to measure electric charge generated by a piezoelectric film of said piezoelectric sensor responsive to motion propagated through said electrically conductive liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.