Kinetic penetrator beacons for multistatic geophysical sensing
AssigneeElwha LLC
InventorJordin T. Kare
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A kinetic penetrator for multistatic geophysical sensing includes a tubular body having a first end and a second end, a nose coupled to the first end of the tubular body, and a sensing element coupled to at least one of the tubular body and the nose. The nose is configured to penetrate a ground surface and subsurface materials of a subterranean ground volume. The sensing element is configured to interface with an external geophysical sensing system.
Claims21
A kinetic penetrator for multistatic geophysical sensing, comprising:
- a tubular body having a first end and a second end;
- a nose coupled to the first end of the tubular body, wherein the nose is configured to penetrate a ground surface and subsurface materials of a subterranean ground volume;
- a sensing element releasably coupled to at least one of the tubular body and the nose, the sensing element configured to interface with an external geophysical sensing system;
- a tether coupled to the sensing element;
- and
- a surface drag device coupled to an end of the tether, wherein the sensing element is positioned along the length of the tether,
- wherein the tether is configured to facilitate retrieval of the sensing element from the subterranean ground volume.
A kinetic penetrator for multistatic geophysical sensing, comprising:
- a tubular body having a first end and a second end;
- a nose coupled to the first end of the tubular body, wherein the nose is configured to penetrate a ground surface and subsurface materials of a subterranean ground volume;
- a retrievable component releasably coupled to at least one of the tubular body and the nose and including a sensing element configured to interface with an external geophysical sensing system;
- and
- a retrieval system including a tether coupled to the retrievable component and a surface drag device coupled to an end of the tether, wherein the tether is configured to facilitate recovery of the retrievable component from the subterranean ground volume, wherein the retrievable component is positioned along the length of the tether.
A kinetic penetrator for multistatic geophysical sensing, comprising:
- a tubular body having a first end and a second end;
- a nose coupled to the first end of the tubular body, wherein the nose is configured to penetrate a ground surface and subsurface materials of a subterranean ground volume;
- a retrievable component including a sensing element configured to interface with an external geophysical sensing system;
- and
- a retrieval system including (a) a tether coupled to the retrievable component and (b) a surface drag device coupled to an end of the tether, wherein the tether is configured to facilitate recovery of the retrievable component from the subterranean ground volume, wherein the surface drag device is releasably coupled to the tubular body, and wherein the tether is configured to pay out as the surface drag device separates from the tubular body to position the retrievable component between the ground surface and the tubular body.
A kinetic penetrator for multistatic geophysical sensing, comprising:
- a tubular body having a first end and a second end;
- a nose fixed to the first end of the tubular body, wherein the nose is configured to penetrate a ground surface and subsurface materials of a subterranean ground volume;
- a retrievable component releasably coupled to at least one of the tubular body and the nose and including a sensing element configured to interface with an external geophysical sensing system;
- and
- a retrieval system including a tether, wherein the tether is configured to facilitate recovery of the retrievable component from the subterranean ground volume, wherein the tether is coupled to the retrievable component and at least a portion of the tubular body such that recovery of the tubular body likewise removes the retrievable component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.