US4300653A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Seismic source array firing controller
Assignee: Ion Geophysical Corp
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Filing: 1979-04-23
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Granted: 1981-11-17
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Expires: 1999-04-23
Abstract
Abstract There is disclosed apparatus for controlling the precise time of firing of each air gun in an array of air guns employed in marine seismic exploration. For each air gun in the array, the apparatus maintains a record of past measured gun delays, that is the time period expiring between the triggering of an air gun and the time that the gun actually fires. Upon the receipt of a fire command, the apparatus inserts appropriate delays before triggering the individual air guns. In this way the air guns are controlled to fire in a precise predetermined sequence. The air guns may be caused to fire either simultaneously or sequentially so as to exercise effective control over the spectral content and the directionality of the energy generated by the array.
Inventors
- 👤 Chung Van Cao
- 👤 Phillip W. Ward
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 18:20
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01V; G01V1/00; G01V1/02; G01V1/04; G01V1/06; G01V1/08
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
188 words
An automatic firing controller for an array of marine seismic sources comprising: (a) a master counter for measuring the time delay between the triggering of the last source and the firing of the first source of said array; (b) a phase counter for each source, for determining the time between said firing of the first source and the firing of the corresponding source, plus the time between the triggering of the corresponding source and the triggering of the last source, the contacts of the corresponding phase counter plus the contents of the master counter being a measurement of the gun delay of the corresponding source for a given shot in a sequence; (c) means operable during the next shot in said sequence to cause said master and phase counters to begin counting, the contents of said counters at the initiation of counting being the same as at the instant the corresponding source fired on the immediately preceeding shot in the sequence; and (d) means for triggering each source when the sum of the counts in the master counter and the corresponding phase counter have reached a preselected value.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
188 words
An automatic firing controller for an array of marine seismic sources comprising: (a) a master counter for measuring the time delay between the triggering of the last source and the firing of the first source of said array; (b) a phase counter for each source, for determining the time between said firing of the first source and the firing of the corresponding source, plus the time between the triggering of the corresponding source and the triggering of the last source, the contacts of the corresponding phase counter plus the contents of the master counter being a measurement of the gun delay of the corresponding source for a given shot in a sequence; (c) means operable during the next shot in said sequence to cause said master and phase counters to begin counting, the contents of said counters at the initiation of counting being the same as at the instant the corresponding source fired on the immediately preceeding shot in the sequence; and (d) means for triggering each source when the sum of the counts in the master counter and the corresponding phase counter have reached a preselected value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
207 words
An automatic firing controller for an array of marine seismic sources comprising: (a) a master counter for measuring the time delay between the triggering of the last source and the firing of the first source of said array; (b) a phase counter for each source, for determining the time between said firing of the first source and the firing of the corresponding source, plus the time between the triggering of the corresponding source and the triggering of the last source, the contents of the corresponding phase counter plus the contents of the master counter being representative of the gun delay of the corresponding source; (c) means for combining a plurality of said gun delays for each source to provide an improved estimate of the gun delay for each source; (d) means responsive to a master fire signal to cause said counters to proceed through respective counts, the sum of the counts for said master counter and one of said phase counters being representative of the difference between a desired fire delay and the gun delay for the corresponding source; and (e) means for triggering each source when the master counter and the associated phase counter have counted through a number of clock pulses corresponding to said difference.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
207 words
An automatic firing controller for an array of marine seismic sources comprising: (a) a master counter for measuring the time delay between the triggering of the last source and the firing of the first source of said array; (b) a phase counter for each source, for determining the time between said firing of the first source and the firing of the corresponding source, plus the time between the triggering of the corresponding source and the triggering of the last source, the contents of the corresponding phase counter plus the contents of the master counter being representative of the gun delay of the corresponding source; (c) means for combining a plurality of said gun delays for each source to provide an improved estimate of the gun delay for each source; (d) means responsive to a master fire signal to cause said counters to proceed through respective counts, the sum of the counts for said master counter and one of said phase counters being representative of the difference between a desired fire delay and the gun delay for the corresponding source; and (e) means for triggering each source when the master counter and the associated phase counter have counted through a number of clock pulses corresponding to said difference.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
The controller of claim 2 further comprising means for determining the depths of the sources and means for including in said respective counts, corrections corresponding to the acoustic wave travel time differences arising from failure of said sources to be located at a predetermined depth.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The controller of claim 2 wherein said respective counts are selected so that at least two of said sources fire at different times.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of automatically controlling the firing of an array of seismic sources initiated by a master fire signal comprising the steps of: (a) monitoring a signal representative of the firing of a source; (b) upon each triggering of a source by a trigger signal, measuring time that expires before the source fires; (c) upon the next occurrence of a master fire signal delaying the trigger signal to each source by a time equal to the difference between a preselected fire delay time and the last measured trigger to fire time for that source; and (d) if a trigger signal is issued to a source but no firing signal is received from the source automatically using a preselected default delay for the source during the next succeeding firing sequence.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
129 words
A method of automatically controlling the firing of an array of seismic sources initiated by a master fire signal comprising the steps of: (a) monitoring a signal representative of the firing of a source; (b) upon each triggering of a source by a trigger signal, measuring time that expires before the source fires; (c) upon the next occurrence of a master fire signal delaying the trigger signal to each source by a time equal to the difference between a preselected fire delay time and the last measured trigger to fire time for that source; and (d) if a trigger signal is issued to a source but no firing signal is received from the source automatically using a preselected default delay for the source during the next succeeding firing sequence.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of: (e) if a source fires without a trigger signal having been issued, automatically disabling the source.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
114 words
A system for automatically firing the sources of a seismic array in a predetermined sequence, the system comprising: (a) first means for estimating the gun delays of the sources and for repeatedly updating the resultant estimate; (b) second means responsive to the first means for selectively setting the triggering of the sources to correspond to the updated estimates; (c) third means for detecting the occurrence of self-fire and no-fire conditions. (d) fourth means, responsive to the third means for automatically preventing a source from triggering when a self-fire condition is detected for that source; and (e) default timing means, activated by the third means when a non-fire condition occurs to fire the no-fire source.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
114 words
A system for automatically firing the sources of a seismic array in a predetermined sequence, the system comprising: (a) first means for estimating the gun delays of the sources and for repeatedly updating the resultant estimate; (b) second means responsive to the first means for selectively setting the triggering of the sources to correspond to the updated estimates; (c) third means for detecting the occurrence of self-fire and no-fire conditions. (d) fourth means, responsive to the third means for automatically preventing a source from triggering when a self-fire condition is detected for that source; and (e) default timing means, activated by the third means when a non-fire condition occurs to fire the no-fire source.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
113 words
A system for automatically firing the marine seismic sources of a seismic array in a predetermined sequence, the system comprising: (a) first means for estimating the gun delays of the sources and for repeatedly updating the resultant estimate; (b) second means responsive to the first means for selectively setting the triggering of the sources to correspond to the updated estimates, including means for determining travel time delays resulting from placement of said sources at varying depths; (c) third means for detecting the occurrence of self-fire and no-fire conditions; and (d) fourth means, responsive to the third means for automatically preventing a source from triggering when a self-fire condition is detected for that source.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
113 words
A system for automatically firing the marine seismic sources of a seismic array in a predetermined sequence, the system comprising: (a) first means for estimating the gun delays of the sources and for repeatedly updating the resultant estimate; (b) second means responsive to the first means for selectively setting the triggering of the sources to correspond to the updated estimates, including means for determining travel time delays resulting from placement of said sources at varying depths; (c) third means for detecting the occurrence of self-fire and no-fire conditions; and (d) fourth means, responsive to the third means for automatically preventing a source from triggering when a self-fire condition is detected for that source.
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) | 1984-11-16 | 1985-05-18 | 1985-11-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1988-11-16 | 1989-05-18 | 1989-11-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1992-11-16 | 1993-05-18 | 1993-11-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |