Pressure differential seafloor corer-carrier
First Claim
1. A pressure differential seafloor corer-carrier for obtaining long core samples of seafloor sediments, comprising:
- a. a space frame having a longitudinal axis;
b. a plurality of soil corers mounted lengthwise along the longitudinal axis of said space frame;
c. a pressure-differential pump unit connected to said space frame for driving said space frame and corers into the seafloor in a general direction along the longitudinal axis of said space frame;
d. said pump unit including means for pumping water and sediment from the seafloor through the pump unit to force said space frame and said soil corers into the seafloor;
e. said pump unit also including means for reversing the flow of water and sediment therethrough for backing said pump unit out of the seafloor together with said space frame and said soil corers.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A pressure differential seafloor corer-carrier for obtaining long core samples of seafloor sediments. The corer-carrier is composed of two main components: The first component is a pump assembly that pumps seawater and sediment as to create a negative pressure differential; the negative pressure differential being the driving force that forces the corers into the seafloor such that cores of over 100 feet in length can be obtained. The second component is a space frame mounted and fastened to the pump and functions as a rack to which conventional corers are attached. Once the corers are embedded to their full length, the pump is used to create a positive pressure differential which helps remove the corer-carrier from the seafloor.
-
Citations
14 Claims
-
1. A pressure differential seafloor corer-carrier for obtaining long core samples of seafloor sediments, comprising:
-
a. a space frame having a longitudinal axis; b. a plurality of soil corers mounted lengthwise along the longitudinal axis of said space frame; c. a pressure-differential pump unit connected to said space frame for driving said space frame and corers into the seafloor in a general direction along the longitudinal axis of said space frame; d. said pump unit including means for pumping water and sediment from the seafloor through the pump unit to force said space frame and said soil corers into the seafloor; e. said pump unit also including means for reversing the flow of water and sediment therethrough for backing said pump unit out of the seafloor together with said space frame and said soil corers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
Specification