Acoustic velocimeter for ocean bottom coring apparatus

Claim 2

An improved acoustic velocimeter coring head apparatus for collecting bottom sediment samples from bodies of water, comprising: a. first and second apertures in a coring head spaced from each other; said coring head adapted to be carried by a coring device; b. a sound generator in said first aperture; c. a sound receiver in said second aperture; d. first electrical circuitry connected to said generator to cause said generator to produce sound pulses, and; e. second electrical circuitry connected to said sound receiver to measure the received sound pulses.

Claim 3

The improved apparatus of claim 1 wherein said first and second apertures are at opposite ends of a diameter of a corer head.

Claim 4

The improved apparatus of claim 2 wherein said generator and receiver are positioned on said diameter and said generator projects sound pulses along said diameter.

Claim 5

The improved apparatus of claim 3 wherein said electrical circuitry is mounted in a waterproof package mounted remotely on said coring device and connected to said generator and said receiver by a cable.

Claim 6

The improved apparatus of claim 4 wherein a preamplifier is mounted on said coring head, adjacent to and connected to said receiver to amplify the received signal for transmission of said electronics package along said cable.

Claim 7

The improved apparatus of claim 5 wherein said first electrical circuitry includes an oscillator for generating an electrical signal as a first signal and a gating circuit to pulse said signal at a rate to allow successive pulses of acoustical energy from said generator to traverse said diameter before the next pulse is generated.

Claim 8

The improved apparatus of claim 6 wherein an accelerometer''s output is connected to said second electrical circuit to give position of said sound pulses with respect to the position of the corer head as it passes through the sediment.

Claim 9

An improved acoustic velocimeter coring head apparatus for ocean bottom coring comprising; a. a pair of apertures in a coring head on an axis at right angles to said corer head and to the corer barrel on which said corer head is mounted; b. a removable acoustical projector mounted on the first of said apertures for producing a sound wave along said axis to said second aperture; c. a removable receiver in said second aperture for receiving acoustical signals from said projector; d. means for holding said projector and receiver individually in said apertures; e. means remotely located from said projector for generating electrical signals coupled to said projector; f. means remotely located coupled to said receiver for receiving signals from said receiver and generating an output coupled to said receiver; and, g. means for measuring the time difference between projection of the sound and receiving of the sound.

Claim 10

An improved acoustic velocimeter coring head apparatus for ocean bottom coring comprising; a. a pair of apertures in a coring head on an axis at right angles to said corer head and to the corer barrel on which said corer head is mounted; b. a removable acoustical projector mounted on the first of said apertures for producing a sound wave along said axis to said second aperture; c. a removable receiver in said second aperture for receiving acoustical signals from said projector; d. means for holding said projector and receiver individually in said apertures; e. means remotely located from said projector for generating electrical signals coupled to said projector; f. means remotely located coupled to said receiver for receiving signals from said receiver and generating an output coupled to said receiver; and, g. means for measuring the time difference between projection of the sound and receiving of the sound.

Claim 11

The device of claim 8 wherein there is provided an oscillator for generating an electrical signal which is fed to a modulator circuit for pulsing said signals for generating an acoustical signal from said projector whose repetition rate is such that there is not more than one projected signal pulse travelling towards the receiver at one time.

Claim 12

The device of claim 9 wherein said time measuring means includes an accelerometer on said corer which is coupled to the receiving circuitry so that the depth of the corer is related to transmitted signals.