Common tangent stacking method and system for locating sonic energy velocity discontinuities

Claim 1

THE METHOD FOR LOCATING SUBSURFACE ACOUSTIC VELOCITY DISCONTINUITIES FROM A PLURALITY OF ACOUSTIC RESPONSE SIGNALS EACH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMPLITUDE OF ACOUSTIC ENERGY RECEIVED AT A DETECTION POINT AND INDUCED AT A SOURCE POINT WHICH COMPRISES: CONVERTING EACH OF THE RESPONSE SIGNALS TO DATA REPRESENTATIVE OF A SCALED WAVE-FRONT PATTERN COORDINATE POINTS OF EACH SCALED WAVE-FRONT PATTERN HAVING A VALUE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMPLITUDE OF THE RESPECTIVE ACOUSTIC RESPONSE SIGNAL AT THE POINT OF TIME ON THE RESPONSE SIGNAL THAT IS EQUAL TO THE ACOUSTIC TRAVEL TIME FROM THE RESPECTIVE SOURCE POINT TO THE COORDINATE POINT AND BACK TO THE RESPECTIVE DETECTION POINT, AND COMBINING THE DATA REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SCALED WAVEFRONT PATTERNS TO PRODUCE DATA REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SUMS OF THE AMPLITUDE VALUES OF THE COMMON COORDINATE POINTS OF THE WAVE-FRONT PATTERNS IF THE PATTERNS WERE SUPERIMPOSED IN RELATIVE SCALE POSITIONS WHEREBY THE COMBINED DATA WILL BE REPRESENTATIVE OF A COMPOSITE PATTERN HAVING REINFORCING PATTERNS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SCALE POSITIONS OF THE ACOUSTIC VELOCITY DISCONTINUITIES.

Claim 2

THE METHOD FOR LOCATING SUBSURFACE ACOUSTIC VELOCITY DISCONTINUITIES FROM A PLURALITY OF ACOUSTIC RESPONSE SIGNALS EACH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMPLITUDE OF ACOUSTIC ENERGY RECEIVED AT A DETECTION POINT AND INDUCED AT A SOURCE POINT WHICH COMPRISES: CONVERTING EACH OF THE RESPONSE SIGNALS TO DATA REPRESENTATIVE OF A SCALED WAVE-FRONT PATTERN COORDINATE POINTS OF EACH SCALED WAVE-FRONT PATTERN HAVING A VALUE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMPLITUDE OF THE RESPECTIVE ACOUSTIC RESPONSE SIGNAL AT THE POINT OF TIME ON THE RESPONSE SIGNAL THAT IS EQUAL TO THE ACOUSTIC TRAVEL TIME FROM THE RESPECTIVE SOURCE POINT TO THE COORDINATE POINT AND BACK TO THE RESPECTIVE DETECTION POINT, AND COMBINING THE DATA REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SCALED WAVEFRONT PATTERNS TO PRODUCE DATA REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SUMS OF THE AMPLITUDE VALUES OF THE COMMON COORDINATE POINTS OF THE WAVE-FRONT PATTERNS IF THE PATTERNS WERE SUPERIMPOSED IN RELATIVE SCALE POSITIONS WHEREBY THE COMBINED DATA WILL BE REPRESENTATIVE OF A COMPOSITE PATTERN HAVING REINFORCING PATTERNS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SCALE POSITIONS OF THE ACOUSTIC VELOCITY DISCONTINUITIES.