Deep ocean mining, mineral harvesting and salvage vehicle

Claim 2

A deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle comprising a rigid elongated body integrally formed of a positive buoyancy material, said body having an annular configuration and including a central chamber therein, a plurality of cylindrical recesses concentrically arranged in said body about said central chamber, tank means including a plurality of variable buoyancy tanks each received in one of said recesses and each having a variable buoyancy to provide a negative buoyancy relative to sea water during descent of said vehicle and a positive buoyancy relative to sea water during ascent of said vehicle, removable payload receiving means in said central chamber, and mining means for delivering minerals from below said vehicle upward to said payload receiving means.

Claim 3

A deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 in which said mining means is removable at least in part.

Claim 4

A deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 including: means extending from the bottom of said body to initially contact the surface on which said vehicle rests; and shock absorbing means responsive to contact of said extending means with the surface on which said vehicle is to rest to slow the descent of said body.

Claim 5

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 3 wherein said extending means includes a plurality of elongated arms, said tank means includes first chamber means having pressurized fluid therein, second chamber means having fluid therein and control means responsive to movement of said legs to permit said pressurized fluid to expel said fluid from said second chamber means and said shock absorbing means includes nozzle means communicating with said second chamber means and directed toward the surface on which said vehicle is to rest whereby a jet of fluid from said second chamber means is issued from said nozzle means to provide a force on said vehicle opposite to the direction of descent.

Claim 6

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 3 wherein said extending means includes a skirt extending around the bottom of said body and axially slidable relative thereto, and said shock absorbing means includes fluidic control means having a first member carried by said body, a second member carried by said skirt and engaging said first member through a fluid under pressure and a rupturable disc permitting release of said fluid under pressure whereby said disc is ruptured upon contact of said skirt with the surface on which said vehicle is to rest.

Claim 7

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 5 wherein said first member is a cylinder and said second member is a rod and piston, said piston being disposed within said cylinder.

Claim 8

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 wherein said variable buoyancy tanks are removably received within said recesses.

Claim 9

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 wherein said variable buoyancy tanks are permanently received within said recesses, said variable buoyancy tanks each including a storage chamber, a high pressure chamber, an inlet port communicating with said storage chamber to fill said storage chamber with a first fluid and an inlet port communicating with said high pressure chamber to fill said high pressure chamber with a second fluid having a specific density substantially less than the specific density of said first fluid.

Claim 10

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 wherein said tank means includes storage chamber means having a first fluid therein, high pressure chamber means having a second fluid under pressure therein, and control means for expelling said first fluid from said storage chamber means by the pressure of said second fluid in said high pressure chamber means, and said mining means includes venturi means in communication with said storage chamber means to pass said first fluid, an eduction system communicating with said venturi means to receive minerals from the floor of the ocean, and conduit means communicating with said venturi means and said payload receiving means whereby minerals are delivered to said payload receiving means by eduction.

Claim 11

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 9 wherein said mining means includes jet means communicating with said venturi means to direct a jet of said first fluid toward the surface on which said vehicle rests.

Claim 12

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 10 wherein said mining means included accordion like skirt means depending from said body to engage the surface on which said vehicle rests to form a suction chamber.

Claim 13

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 9 and further comprising inflatable safety means, and means controlling communication between said high pressure chamber means and said safety means to permit inflation thereof whereby said vehicle may ascend to the surface of the ocean.

Claim 14

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 wherein said payload receiving means includes a filter disposed within said bucket.

Claim 15

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 wherein said tank means includes first chamber means having pressurized gas therein and second chamber means having liquid therein, and means responsive to the resting of said vehicle on a surface to permit said pressurized gas to expel said liquid and fill said second chamber means whereby said vehicle is raised.

Claim 16

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 wherein said mining means and said payload receiving means are embodied in a core extending from the bottom of said body, said core having a plurality of chambers thereon to capture minerals.

Claim 17

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 15 wherein said tank means includes first chamber means having pressurized gas thereIn and second chamber means having liquid therein, and means responsive to the resting of said vehicle on a surface to permit said pressurized gas to expel said liquid and fill said second chamber means whereby said vehicle is raised.

Claim 18

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 16 and further comprising jet means communicating with said second chamber means to pass liquid expelled therefrom to force said core into the surface on which said vehicle rests.

Claim 19

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 17 wherein said jet means extends externally of said body and is rotatable 180*.

Claim 20

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 18 and further comprising control means responsive to movement of said core into the surface on which said vehicle rests to rotate said jet means 180* whereby said vehicle is rotated and forced away from the surface on which said vehicle rests.

Claim 21

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 15 and further comprising means disposed adjacent said core to prevent washout of minerals captured in said chambers.

Claim 22

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 20 wherein said washout prevention means includes a plurality of nozzles projecting liquid jets in a direction transverse to the direction of ascent of said vehicle.

Claim 23

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 20 wherein said washout prevention means includes a pair of doors hingedly supported on said body, said doors being pivotably movable to cover said chambers of said core during ascent of said vehicle.

Claim 24

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 1 wherein said tank means includes first chamber means having pressurized fluid therein, second chamber means having liquid therein and control means for permitting said pressurized fluid to expel said fluid in said second chamber means, and further comprising nozzle means communicating with said second chamber means to issue a jet of said fluid from said second chamber means to cause movement of said vehicle along a surface on which said vehicle rests.

Claim 25

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 23 wherein said nozzle means includes a plurality of nozzles extending above said body and aligned in parallel relation.

Claim 26

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 23 and further comprising turbine wheel means receiving said fluid jet from said nozzle means, said turbine wheel means supporting said body and being rotatable along the surface on which said vehicle rests.

Claim 27

The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in claim 25 wherein said mining means includes an eduction system having a venturi unit communicating with an eduction head disposed adjacent the surface on which said vehicle rests and conduit means communicating with said payload receiving means, and said turbine wheel means includes an exhaust port communicating with said venturi unit whereby fluid from said second chamber means is utilized to rotate said turbine wheel means and is supplied through said exhaust port to said venturi unit to operate said eduction mining system.