US3974330A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Miniature underwater bore hole inspection apparatus
Assignee: Unisys Corp
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Filing: 1975-06-09
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Granted: 1976-08-10
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Expires: 1995-06-09
Abstract
Abstract A miniature submergible inspection device is provided for the visual inspection and survey of the strata of dry or water-filled bore holes providing data for video display or recording at the earth's surface and controllable therefrom. Adapted for reversing azimuth scan of the bore hole surface, the raster scan generates a display presented to the operator that does not rotate with the scanning of the surface and that is always upright.
Inventors
- 👤 Burton J. Askowith
- 👤 Merphis C. Ellis
- 👤 Robert H. Oberlies
- 👤 Frank A. Peterson
- 👤 Parmanand Prasad
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 09:30
CPC Classifications
E; E21; E21B; E21B47/00; E21B47/002; G; G01; G01M; G01M3/00; G01M3/005; G01M3/38; H; H04; H04N; H04N7/00; H04N7/18; H04N7/183; H04N7/185
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
218 words
Survey apparatus for the inspection of an inner surface of an elongate hole having a major axis comprising: electro-optical means for viewing said inner surface, means including electrical signal transmission cable means for determining the position of said electro-optical means along said axis, envelope means coupled to said electrical signal transmission cable means and forming therewith an elongate sealed envelope about said electro-optical means, said sealed elongate envelope means having optically transparent cylindrical window means for orientation generally along said axis, said electro-optical viewing means including: reversible motive means supported within said sealed elongate envelope means, hollow support means rotatable with respect to and within said sealed elongate envelope means generally about said axis by said reversible motive means, light source means and cooperating tilted mirror means affixed within said hollow support means for illuminating a portion of said surface through an aperture in said hollow support means and through said transparent cylindrical window means, image tube means cooperating with lens means both supported within said hollow support means for forming an image of said illuminated inner surface on the image sensing surface of said image tube means, and circuit means cooperating with said image tube means for transmitting timing and video signals via electrical leads within said electrical signal transmission cable means to remotely located utilization means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
218 words
Survey apparatus for the inspection of an inner surface of an elongate hole having a major axis comprising: electro-optical means for viewing said inner surface, means including electrical signal transmission cable means for determining the position of said electro-optical means along said axis, envelope means coupled to said electrical signal transmission cable means and forming therewith an elongate sealed envelope about said electro-optical means, said sealed elongate envelope means having optically transparent cylindrical window means for orientation generally along said axis, said electro-optical viewing means including: reversible motive means supported within said sealed elongate envelope means, hollow support means rotatable with respect to and within said sealed elongate envelope means generally about said axis by said reversible motive means, light source means and cooperating tilted mirror means affixed within said hollow support means for illuminating a portion of said surface through an aperture in said hollow support means and through said transparent cylindrical window means, image tube means cooperating with lens means both supported within said hollow support means for forming an image of said illuminated inner surface on the image sensing surface of said image tube means, and circuit means cooperating with said image tube means for transmitting timing and video signals via electrical leads within said electrical signal transmission cable means to remotely located utilization means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
66 words
Apparatus as described in claim 1 further including: compass means affixed opposite said image tube means with respect to said tilted mirror means within said hollow support means, and compass illumination means, said tilted mirror means being sufficiently transparent that an image of said compass means is formed on said image sensing surface of said image tube means only when said compass illumination means is actuated.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
Apparatus as described in claim 2 including control means adjacent said utilization means coupled through said electrical signal transmission cable means for actuating said compass illumination means whereby an image of said compass means may be displayed by said utilization means.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
Apparatus as described in claim 1 including reversing switch means actuated by said reversible motive means for automatically and cyclically reversing the sense of rotation of said hollow support means for permitting scanning of an arc of predetermined angular extent of said inner surface by said image tube means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus as described in claim 4 including electrically actuable focusing means for accurately focusing said image of said illuminated surface on said image sensing surface of said image tube means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
28 words
Apparatus as described in claim 5 including control means adjacent said utilization means coupled through said electrical signal transmission cable means for operating said electrically actuable focusing means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
36 words
Apparatus as described in claim 4 including a flexible section of multiple-lead electrical signal transmission means for flexibly and conductively coupling signals of said electrical signal transmission cable means to said relatively rotatable image tube means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
50 words
Apparatus as described in claim 7 further including: relatively low voltage power supply means coupled adjacent said utilization means into said electrical signal transmission cable means, relatively high voltage converter means responsive to signals of said multiple-lead electrical signal transmission means for supply to said relatively rotatable image tube means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
35 words
Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said remotely located utilization means includes raster scan cathode ray tube display means responsive to said timing and video signals for providing a display of said inner surface.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus as described in claim 9 wherein said circuit means includes synchronizer means for synchronizing the operation of said image tube means and of said raster scan cathode ray tube display means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus as described in claim 1 including control means adjacent said utilization means coupled through said electrical signal transmission cable means for determining the brightness of said light source means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus as described in claim 11 including control means adjacent said utilization means coupled through said electrical signal transmission cable means for determining the rate of operation of said reversible motive means.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1979-08-10 | 1980-02-09 | 1980-08-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1983-08-10 | 1984-02-09 | 1984-08-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1987-08-10 | 1988-02-09 | 1988-08-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |