§
Luxuse
Patent Intelligence
Sign In
← Back to Patent Explorer
US3885286A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Streamer manufacture

Assignee: Teledyne Exploration Co
•
Filing: 1973-11-23
•
Granted: 1975-05-27
•
Expires: 1993-11-23
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract A seismic streamer comprises a cable harness inside an oil filled sheath. The sheath is a flexible plastic tube. The harness includes a plurality of hydrophones and associated electrical conductors, strain rope, spacers, and bulkheads. Prior to assembly with the sheath, the harness is wound on a reel inside a pressure vessel containing oil and air. One end of the harness is fed through a spigot at the side of the vessel below the oil level and connected to a free piston which is inserted into one end of the sheath. The sheath is attached to the spigot at the side of the vessel below the oil-air interface. The air in the tank is presurized placing the oil under pressure, and the harness and oil are fed to the sheath through the spigot. The pressurized oil forces the piston to move along the several hundred feet of sheath, pulling the harness into the sheath at a rate regulated by unwinding of the reel. The reel is actuated by a hydraulic motor. The piston is provided with a lubricator at its leading end, a pint or so of oil being placed in the sheath before it is attached to the spigot. The sheath is initially expanded by admitting air under pressure through a check valve at the other end of the sheath from the end attached to the spigot. A pressure relief valve maintains the desired air pressure in the sheath.

Inventors

  • 👤 A C Hill

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-28 14:15
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01V; G01V1/00; G01V1/38; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/4957; Y10T29/49826; Y10T29/49838; Y10T29/53; Y10T29/5313; Y10T29/532; Y10T29/53443; Y10T29/53696

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim 88 words
Apparatus for assembling a seismic streamer comprising a pressure vessel containing a rotatably mounted reel adapted to have a seismic streamer harness wound thereon, said vessel being adapted to contain oil, adapted for filling a seismic streamer sheath, and pressurized air over the oil, said vessel having an outlet adapted to be connected to said sheath for a seismic streamer and through which a harness wound on the reel can extend, and means for drIving the reel at controlled speed to pay out the harness to such sheath.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 88 words
Apparatus for assembling a seismic streamer comprising a pressure vessel containing a rotatably mounted reel adapted to have a seismic streamer harness wound thereon, said vessel being adapted to contain oil, adapted for filling a seismic streamer sheath, and pressurized air over the oil, said vessel having an outlet adapted to be connected to said sheath for a seismic streamer and through which a harness wound on the reel can extend, and means for drIving the reel at controlled speed to pay out the harness to such sheath.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 47 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 having a seismic streamer harness wound on the reel and having attached to the free end of the harness a go-devil comprising a piston adapted to seal with the inner periphery of said sheath and a lubricator in advance of the piston.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 21 words
Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the lubricator includes a hub having a plurality of circumferentially overlapping helical ribs thereabout.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 15 words
Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the hub is rotatably mounted about the go-devil axis.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 56 words
Apparatus according to claim 2 including a tubular seismic streamer sheath connected at one end to the pressure vessel outlet and closed at the other by a constant pressure relief valve, the go-devil being disposed in said sheath, and a quantity of lubricating oil being disposed in said sheath between the piston and said relief valve.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 44 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 including a tubular seismic streamer sheath connected at one end to the pressure vessel outlet, and valve means connected to the other end of the sheath including a relief valve to hold a preset air pressure within the sheath.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 25 words
Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the valve means further includes an inlet check valve through which air can be admitted to pressurize the sheath.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 25 words
Apparatus according to claim 7, the go-devil including a piston, a lubricator ahead of the piston and a guide to the rear of the piston.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 65 words
Method of operating the apparatus of claim 7 comprising maintaining a pressure differential in the apparatus between the air in the pressure vessel and the air in the sheath tending to move the oil in the vessel and the go-devil in the sheath toward the valve means at the end of the sheath and drawing the reel at desired speed to pay out the harness.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 28 words
Method of operating the apparatus of claim 7 comprising maintaining a constant above atmosphere air pressure in the sheath in advance of the go-devil to expand the sheath.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 21 words
Method of operating the apparatus of claim 8 including introduction of lubricating oil into the sheath in advance of the lubricator.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US646545A Cited
US2869226A Cited
US3179375A Cited
US3763896A Cited
US3778878A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1978-05-26 1978-11-25 1979-05-27 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1982-05-26 1982-11-25 1983-05-27 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1986-05-26 1986-11-25 1987-05-27 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag