U.S. patent number 3,812,922 [Application Number 05/226,911] was granted by the patent office on 1974-05-28 for deep ocean mining, mineral harvesting and salvage vehicle.
Invention is credited to Bernard G. Stechler.
United States Patent |
3,812,922 |
Stechler |
May 28, 1974 |
DEEP OCEAN MINING, MINERAL HARVESTING AND SALVAGE VEHICLE
Abstract
A deep ocean mining, mineral harvesting and salvage vehicles
including a body integrally formed of a positive buoyancy material
and having recesses therein to receive a plurality of variable
buoyancy tanks. Eduction and coring mining systems are
alternatively provided for the vehicles, and the vehicles are
propelled along the floor of the ocean by means of high velocity
jets and/or turbine wheels.
Inventors: |
Stechler; Bernard G. (Bronx,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
26920981 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/226,911 |
Filed: |
February 16, 1972 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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848012 |
Aug 6, 1969 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
175/6; 37/313;
37/314; 37/309; 114/313; 114/337; 175/254; 114/331; 175/58;
405/191 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E02F
3/8858 (20130101); E21B 25/10 (20130101); E21B
25/18 (20130101); B63C 11/34 (20130101); E02F
7/005 (20130101); B63C 7/08 (20130101); E21B
7/124 (20130101); E21C 50/00 (20130101); B63G
2008/004 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B63C
11/00 (20060101); B63C 7/08 (20060101); B63C
11/34 (20060101); B63C 7/00 (20060101); E21B
25/10 (20060101); E21B 25/18 (20060101); E02F
3/88 (20060101); E21B 25/00 (20060101); E02F
7/00 (20060101); E21C 45/00 (20060101); E21B
7/12 (20060101); E21B 7/124 (20060101); E21b
007/12 (); B63c 007/00 (); E02f 003/88 () |
Field of
Search: |
;37/56,61-63 ;61/69
;114/16,16E ;299/8 ;175/6,58,254 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pulfrey; Robert E.
Assistant Examiner: Crowder; Clifford D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sherman & Shalloway
Parent Case Text
The present application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.
S. Pat. Application Ser. No. 848,012 filed Aug. 6, 1969, now
abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. 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.
2. A deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in
claim 1 in which said mining means is removable at least in
part.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. The deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle as recited in
claim 1 wherein said variable buoyancy tanks are removably received
within said recesses.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.degree..
19. 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.degree. whereby said vehicle is
rotated and forced away from the surface on which said vehicle
rests.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. 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.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to submarine mining, recovery and
salvage, and more particularly, to vehicles for use in mining and
mineral recovery of the vast quantity of minerals and ores on the
floor of the ocean and for use in salvaging sunken vessels and
other large submerged objects.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
On the ocean floor are vast quantities of mineral reserves; their
exploitation being limited primarily by the technology of their
recovery or delivery to the surface of the ocean. Among the primary
mineral resources presently known are rich deposits of zinc,
copper, silver, lead, manganese and phosphate. There are two basic
varieties of mineral deposits on the ocean floor that are potential
ores. First, ore deposits of hydrothermal origin associated with
the worldwide ocean ridge system. Second, concentrations of
minerals probably derived from sea water and spread as a thin layer
or as nodules over large areas of the ocean floor. The latter
concentrations are the primary potential sources of manganese and
phosphate while the former deposits associated with the world ridge
system represent potentially concentrations of copper, zinc, lead,
gold and silver.
Ocean mining offers many advantages which are not possible with
traditional land mining. In the ocean there are materials that are
available without removing any overburden, without the use of
explosives, and without the expense of drilling operations for
sampling. With cameras and inexpensive coring operations the
complete deposit can be explored prior to mining. As a whole new
concept, ocean mining can be designated for automation in the
beginning which should result in new equipment designs not bound by
tradition. The same equipment could be used to mine various
deposits and could be easily moved from one area to another. Sea
transportation can be used to carry the mined ore to more of the
world's markets with no other form of transportation involved.
The midoceanic ridge system is a long ridge extending for some
40,000 miles through the main oceans of the world. Associated with
its crest is a narrow zone where volcanic activity is concentrated.
This is an area of high frequency of shallow earthquakes. Iceland
is a part of this ridge which is emergent, and the volcanic
activity and hot spring activity of Iceland is probably typical of
very long reaches of this ridge. Experts have hypothesized that the
crestal region of this ridge probably contains such vast quantities
of heavy metal deposits that it may revolutionize the whole heavy
metal industry. The metals, apparently, are derived from hot waters
emerging from deep within the earth carrying large amounts of
mineral materials, and these minerals are precipitated in the
sediment as the waters percolate through them. Two deposits of this
type have been found in the deep ocean, and a third found of
Southern California is associated with the same geological
feature.
The most thoroughly investigated of these deposits is an area of
heavy metals in the Red Sea. In 1964 two subsurface pools of hot
saline brine were discovered on the floor of the Red Sea, and a
third small pool was found in 1966. The pools occur in adjacent
local depressions along the medium valley of the Red Sea. The
brines in these pools have heavy metal concentrations that are much
above normal ocean water, and their associated bottom sediments
contain the highest contents of zinc, lead and copper yet found in
recent marine deposits.
At current smelter prices for zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold,
the metals of these deposits have been conservatively estimated as
worth about 2.3 billion dollars. Accordingly, impetus for providing
equipment capable of economically recovering these ores is clearly
present.
Aside from the deposits of heavy metal ores, manganese nodules are
considered by some experts as the most interesting, as a potential
economic resource, of the mineral deposits of the deep sea.
Large areas of the Pacific Ocean contain vast fields of manganese
nodules, and the only obstacles to their use as an ore is the cost
of recovery and transportation to some suitable refinery. A recent
discovery of a manganese crust on the Blake Plateau is of
particular interest because of its proximity to the United States
and suitable areas for refining the material and marketing it.
Dredge samples and photographs from the Blake Plateau off the
southeast coast of the United States indicate that a layer of
manganese oxide forms a pavement that may be continuous over an
area of about 5,000 square kilometers. The manganese pavement
grades into round manganese nodules to the south and east and into
phosphate nodules to the west. The Gulf Stream probably maintains a
very unusual environment that prohibits deposition of other
sediment on top of this deposit and permits the accretion of the
manganese pavement.
The largest problem in commercially exploiting these minerals on
the ocean floor in an economical way is the inability to harvest
and to move them from the ocean floor to the surface. This problem
exists with respect to mining of both heavy metal ores and mineral
nodules, which often involve different recovery techniques. Since
sea transportation is very inexpensive and the reduction of the
minerals to their economically marketable constituents can be done
at ports, transportation and refinement are not major problems. The
primary problem remains, however, of movement of mining and mineral
harvest from the ocean floor to the surface of the ocean.
In order to make deep ocean mining and mineral recovery
economically feasible, it is desirable to provide the mining and
recovery vehicle with a large load carrying capacity; and, thus, it
is desirable that the vehicle be capable of moving along the floor
of the ocean to increase the area of mining and mineral recovery.
This problem is another of those as yet not satisfactorily solved
by the prior art.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,045,623, 3,415,068 and 3,442,339 are
representative of prior art attempts to provide underwater mining
or mineral harvesting vehicles; however, the vehicles of the above
mentioned patents have not overcome the basic problem of
transporting large quantities of materials from the floor of the
ocean to the ocean surface. Accordingly, none of these vehicles
represent economically feasible means for harvesting materials
beneath the ocean. More particularly, the greater the depth
required for submersion for underwater mining or mineral recovery
vehicles, the more difficult is the ascent of the vehicle from the
floor of the ocean with a large load since these and other
conventional vehicles require increasing thickness of the shell
structure with increasing submergence depths in order to withstand
the increasing pressures. That is, the vehicles of the above
mentioned patents are ineffective at great depths due to increased
reinforcement of negative buoyancy structural portions thereof.
Other underwater vehicles such as submarines and human diving
vessels are known, however, such vehicles are not adapted to
transport large quantities of material, sunken vessels or large
submerged objects from the floor of the ocean to the ocean
surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,329,297 and 3,400,848 are representative of prior
art attempts to provide structure to permit deep submergence of
underwater vehicles; however, the use of such structure as of the
present to construct a practical mining, mineral harvesting and
salvage vehicle has not been accomplished due not only to the
requirement of being capable of withstanding tremendous pressures
at great depths, but further due to the requirement of transporting
a large load from the ocean floor to the ocean surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to
construct a deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle capable
of descending to great depths, collecting large quantities of
material, and returning to the surface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle for
economically recovering heavy metal ores from the ocean floor.
A further object of the present invention is to provide means for
mining and harvesting heavy metals, ores, sediment, nodules and any
other geological and biological constituents from the ocean floor
and move them to the surface of the ocean.
Still another object of the present invention is the construction
of a vehicle for economically recovering mineral nodules from the
ocean floor.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a
deep ocean mining and salvage vehicle having a permanent negative
buoyancy section, a permanent positive buoyancy portion, and a
variable buoyancy system.
Another specific object of the present invention is to provide a
mining vehicle for recovering minerals from the ocean floor
including a variable buoyancy chamber wherein the pressure used to
increase the positive buoyancy of the vehicle also operates to
power the mining system of the vehicle.
Still another specific object of the present invention is to
provide a deep ocean mining vehicle which is totally self-contained
and may operate through its mining cycle completely independently
of the mother ship.
Yet another specific object of the present invention is to provide
a deep ocean mining vehicle having a plurality of variable buoyancy
tanks, each including a high pressure chamber for receiving fluid
under pressure and a storage chamber for receiving a fluid, the
pressure and storage chambers being arranged such that the fluid
from the pressure chamber forces the fluid from the storage chamber
through a pumping system to remove minerals from the ocean floor
and place them in a payload receiving chamber whereby vehicle
buoyancy changes with collection of a payload.
A still more specific object of the present invention is to provide
a number of skirts on the base of the vehicle, each of which in
cooperation with the ocean floor forms a closed suction
chamber.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a
deep sea mining vehicle employing a core which is accelerated as
the vehicle approaches the ocean floor to bore into heavy metal
ores and retain the ore through capillary action within the
core.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a deep sea
mining vehicle employing a core for recovering heavy mineral ores
and an enclosure system for preventing release of the ore recovered
by the core as the ore is carried with the vehicle to the ocean
surface.
The present invention has another object in that the body of a deep
ocean mining, mineral and salvage recovery vehicle is formed of a
positive buoyancy material capable of withstanding pressures
concomitant with deep ocean submergence.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a
salvage vehicle having great variable buoyancy characteristics in
order to bring sunken vessels and large submerged objects to the
ocean surface.
A further object of the present invention is to construct a deep
ocean mining, mineral recovery and salvage vehicle having a body
not requiring a negative buoyancy material outer shell.
Another object of the present invention is to form a body for a
deep ocean vehicle of a positive buoyancy material such as a
syntactic foam matrix or a syntactic foam matrix encompassing large
hollow spheres or a combination thereof.
Briefly, the deep ocean mining, mineral recovery and salvage
vehicle of the present invention includes a body integrally formed
with a predetermined configuration of a material having a high
positive buoyancy and of substantial strength to withstand
pressures to which the vehicle will be subjected at great ocean
depths. The positive buoyancy material has an extremely low
specific density in order to enhance ascent of the vehicle to the
ocean surface upon completion of a submarine mining or salvage
operation.
The configuration of the positive buoyancy body defines a plurality
of cylindrical recesses opening at the top of the body to receive
variable buoyancy tanks which are operative to control ascent and
descent of the vehicle. The variable buoyancy tanks each include a
pressure chamber filled with a high pressure fluid and a storage
chamber filled with a fluid, usually a liquid such as sea water
which is readily available; the chambers being arranged to permit
expansion of the fluid in the pressure chamber to force the fluid
from the storage chamber at a high pressure.
Located centrally of the vehicle is a payload receiving chamber
which receives the mined material (e.g., mineral nodules) and
operates to separate the minerals (e.g., nodules) from the brine
and other sediment as they pass into the payload chamber through
the mining operation. The mining operation is performed in one
embodiment through a number of skirts each of which in cooperation
with the ocean floor forms a chamber. Eduction mining is performed
within the chamber by opening a valve in the variable buoyancy
tanks and permitting the fluid under pressure, preferably
compressed air, to force the fluid in the storage chambers,
preferably sea water, out of the variable buoyancy tanks. The sea
water is directed through an eduction mining unit including a
venturi type section which operates to draw material (e.g.,
nodules, sediment, ores, etc.) within the chamber formed by the
skirt and ocean floor, up through a pipe passing through the
vehicle and into the payload receiving chamber. A portion of the
sea water in the eduction mining system may be used to exert
considerable pressure on the sea floor and thus "stir up" the
sediment to facilitate drawing the sediment through the venturi and
into the payload chamber. As the gas in the variable buoyancy tanks
expands forcing the sea water out of the tanks, the density of air
being much less than the specific density of the sea water, at the
end of the harvesting phase the buoyancy of the vehicle will change
causing the vehicle to begin its ascent. The change in buoyancy of
the vehicle is sufficient to overcome the increased density caused
by the payload within the payload receiving chamber so that the
vehicle and payload are raised to the ocean surface automatically
as the mining cycle is completed.
The present invention is generally characterized in a deep ocean
mining and mineral recovery vehicle including a body formed of a
positive buoyancy material and having recesses formed therein,
variable buoyancy tanks disposed in the recesses to provide a
negative buoyancy relative to sea water during descent of the
vehicle and a positive buoyancy relative to sea water during ascent
of the vehicle, a payload receiver carried by the body, and mining
means for delivering minerals from a surface on which the vehicle
rests to the payload receiver.
Some of the advantages of the present invention over the prior art
are that the deep ocean mining, mineral recovery and salvage
vehicle can withstand great pressures to permit submergence to
great depths while maintaining sufficient buoyancy to permit the
collection of large payloads, the variable buoyancy tanks of the
vehicle may be easily removed therefrom and filling of the tanks
may be facilitated by the use of compressed air and sea water, the
vehicle is movable along the floor of the ocean in order to
increase the area to be mined and no outer shell is required for
the vehicle thereby reducing the weight of the vehicle and
increasing operating submergence depths while facilitating ascent
of the vehicle with a payload.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description of the preferred
embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a deep ocean
mining, mineral recovery and salvage vehicle according to the
present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the eduction mining system of the
deep ocean mining, mineral recovery and salvage vehicle of FIG.
1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the fail-safe device of the deep
ocean mining, mineral recovery and salvage vehicle of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a possible, permanent, positive
buoyancy material forming the body of the deep ocean mining,
mineral recovery and salvage vehicle of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partially in section, of another
embodiment of a deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle
according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the coring plates of the deep ocean
mining and mineral recovery vehicle of FIG. 5.
FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 illustrate various modifications of the
coring device of the deep ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle
of FIG. 5.
FIG. 12 is a cross-section of the wash-out prevention structure of
the present invention taken along line 12--12 of FIG. 13.
FIG. 13 is an elevation of the wash-out prevention structure of the
present invention.
FIG. 14 is an exploded view of an alternate wash-out prevention
structure according to the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a top plan view of a further embodiment of a deep ocean
mining and mineral recovery vehicle according to the present
invention.
FIG. 16 is a sectional view of the deep ocean mining and mineral
recovery vehicle of FIG. 15 taken along line 16--16 of FIG. 15.
FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a control system for the deep
ocean mining and mineral recovery vehicle of FIG. 15.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The vehicle 1 includes a body 2 integrally formed of a positive
buoyancy material to be described in greater detail hereinafter.
The body 2 has a generally cylindrical configuration and is annular
in cross-section to define an outer cylindrical surface 3, an inner
cylindrical surface 4, a bottom end surface 5 and a top end surface
6. Six cylindrical recesses 7 are formee in body 2 with their axes
in parallel relation and equally spaced around the central axis of
body 2. Recesses and passages are further formed within body 2 to
accommodate various conduits, inlets and outlets for the vehicle as
will be appreciated from the following detailed description of the
vehicle.
Each of the cylindrical recesses 7 receives a variable buoyancy
tank 8; and, preferably, a cylindrical liner or coating 7a is
disposed between each of the tanks 8 and the inner surfaces of the
recesses 7 in order to facilitate insertion and removal of the
tanks; such liner or coating 7a being advantageously made of nylon
or polytetrafluoroethylene or other suitable materials. Within each
tank 8, there is provided a piston 9 and/or an inflatable bladder
which divides the tank into upper and lower superposed chambers. As
illustrated, the upper or pressure chamber is filled with a fluid
such as a gas 10 under pressure. The lower or storage chamber is
filled with a fluid such as a liquid 11; and, for simplicity's
sake, it is convenient to employ salt water in this chamber. The
reasons for separating the tank into two chambers or sections and
having pressurized gas and liquid in the separated sections will
become apparent when the description of the operation of the
vehicle is set forth subsequently.
Each tank 8 may be provided with a valve 12 at an upper section
thereof for charging a fluid under pressure into the pressure
chamber of the tank above the piston. In preparing the vehicle for
launch, suction may be applied to the valve 12 with an inlet 13 at
the bottom of the tank 8 being open. The inlet 13 draws sea water
into the lower chamber of tank 8 as the suction is applied to the
upper chamber thereof. Alternatively, the sea water may be pumped
through inlet 13 with valve 12 closed. Once the piston reaches a
predetermined position within the tank 8, either by suctio or
pumping, the inlet 13 is sealed off, and the valve 12 is connected
to a compressor in order to charge the upper chamber of the tank 8
with high pressure gas. In normal operation, the vehicles are
placed in the water with a flotation collar holding the vehicles
adjacent the mother ship, and the compressor of the mother ship is
employed to charge the upper chamber of the tank 8 with make up
high pressure gas since the system will retain most of the gas
therein. Once the gas is charged to a sufficient pressure, the
valve 12 is shut off. The vehicle is protected from an over
pressure by a pressure relief valve 12a.
Centrally of the body 2 is carried a perforated bucket 14 spaced
from the inner surface 4 by spacers 15. The bucket 14 is adapted to
carry a payload generally illustrated at 16. The bucket 14 may be
provided with a filter 18 for separating the valuable minerals from
the brine which is passed into the bucket through the eduction
process. The spacers 15 positioning the bucket from the inner
surface 4 permit the brine and other undesirable elements that are
mined into the bucket 14 to exit the vehicle after passing through
the filter and the holes in the bucket wall. Thus, the payload that
is lifted from the ocean floor to the surface of the ocean is
generally comprised of substantially dense valuable mineral
deposits and hard metal ores along with other sediment which have
been separated through the filtering process from the brine and
salt water that is originally passed into the bucket through the
mining process. The bucket 14 may be provided with lifting rings 17
which facilitate removal of the bucket from the vehicle when the
vehicle returns to the surface of the ocean after the mining
process, and the bucket may be supported within body 2 on an
inwardly radially extending ledge 4a projecting from inner surface
4 at bottom end surface 5. To recover the payload (e.g., heavy
metals, nodules, ores, sediment, etc.) within the bucket, it is
merely necessary to connect some sort of lifting device provided on
the mother ship to the lifting rings 17 and carry or withdraw the
bucket from the central portion of the vehicle. The payload thus
removed is placed on a carrier ship for transportation to
subsequent processing equipment.
An eduction pumping system for mining with the vehicle of the
present invention is illustrated generally at 20 and includes a
generally conical skirt 21 associated with each of the variable
buoyancy tanks 8. The skirts 21 each have accordian-like pleats 22
and are adapted to engage the ocean floor and cooperate therewith
to form a suction chamber. The eduction system 20 includes conduits
24 adapted to communicate with the liquid chambers 11 of the
variable buoyancy tanks 8 through valves 27, venturi structures 25
disposed above the chambers formed by skirt 21 and reduced diameter
outlet jet ports 26.
A plurality of sensor elements 23 extend downwardly below the
bottom of vehicle 1 and are connected to operate valves 27
positioned between the liquid chambers 11 of the variable buoyancy
tanks 8 and the eduction system 20. When the sensors, which are
usually 20 - 40 feet long but can be of any desired length, reach
the ocean floor, the valves 27 are opened and the high pressure in
the gas chambers of the variable buoyancy tanks 8 moves the pistons
9 downwardly to expel the liquid 11 from the liquid chambers past
valves 27 and at a high velocity through conduits 24. The high
velocity liquid passing through the conduits 24 is directed through
the venturis 25 and jets 26. The liquid passing through the jets 26
operates to stir up the sediment on the ocean floor and the
valuable constituents (e.g., heavy metals, ores, nodules, etc.)
contained therein. As previously discussed, when employing a
vehicle of the type according to the present invention to mine the
minerals that act as loose pavement on the ocean floor, it is very
easy to draw these valuable minerals into the recovery portion of
the vehicle when the minerals are stirred or agitated by employing
the jets 26. Each venturi 25 has an opening 28 on the upper side
thereof so that as the velocity of the liquid passing through the
venturi increases, the sediment in the chamber formed by the skirt
21 and the ocean floor is entrained into the liquid passing through
the venturi and drawn through collection pipes 29 which extend from
the bottom end surface 5 of body 2 to the top end surface 6 between
tanks 8. A screen 30 is disposed across the opening in the bottom
of body 2 of the top edge of each skirt 21 in order to discriminate
between the desirable mesh size material and any undesirable large
stones, etc., that would be found on the ocean floor.
The valuable mineral nodules entrained into the flow passing
through the venturis are drawn through the pipes 29 and up to the
upper portion of the vehicle. At the upper portion of the vehicle,
each pipe 29 is divided into a depositing section 21 and a guidance
section 32. A screen 33 is placed in each guidance section 32 to
deflect nodules through the depositing section 31. The entraining
liquid and mined nodules pass through the pipes 29 and depositing
sections 31 and are deposited in the bucket 14 with the entraining
liquid passing through the filter and openings within the bucket so
that the payload of nodules becomes highly compacted within the
bucket. The liquid passing through the screen and out the guidance
section 32 of the pipe 29 operates to give a rotational movement to
the vehicle as well as a transitory motion in order to sweep the
vehicle across the ocean floor in the sense of a vacuum cleaner so
that large quantities of valuable minerals may be mined during the
course of one descent of the vehicle.
Of course it will be recognized that a skirt and eduction unit 20
are associated with each of the variable buoyancy tanks 8 of the
vehicle and that the buoyancy of the vehicle is constantly changing
due to the expanded vacuum containing the fluid 10 and decreasing
volume containing the fluid 11 which is of greater density towards
the end of the harvesting operation. When considering the variable
buoyancy or buoyancy change of the vehicle, the payload 16 within
the bucket 14 must also be added into the larger or greater density
structural features of the vehicle.
Depending upon the specific density of the payload being mined, the
vehicle may be pre-charged with the fluid 10 under pressure in such
a manner as to control the point when the vehicle will change from
negative buoyancy to positive buoyancy with respect to the quantity
of salt water displaced by the vehicle.
The density of the vehicle is controlled consistent with the
following formulae:
DESCENT
1. .rho. pressure tanks .times. Vpressure tanks + .rho. bucket
.times. Vbucket + .rho. piping .times. Vpiping + .rho. body .times.
Vbody + .rho. air Vair + .rho. H.sub.2 O .times. VH.sub.2 O + .rho.
misc. .times. Vmisc. > 64.4#/ft..sup.3 (Vtotal)
ASCENT
2. .rho. pressure tanks .times. Vpressure tanks + .rho. bucket
.times. Vbucket + .rho. piping .times. Vpiping + .rho. body .times.
Vbody + .rho. air .times. V air+.rho. minerals .times. Vminerals +
.rho. misc. .times. Vmisc. < 64.4#/ft..sup.3 (Vtotal)
wherein
.rho. = density (No./ft.sup.3)
V = Volume (ft.sup.3)
As will be readily recognized, the density and volume of the body,
pressure tank structure, bucket and piping will remain constant so
that the only variables on the left side of the equations are the
density and volume of air, the volume of the water, and the density
and volume of the minerals. Since the density of the water under
pressure will remain substantially constant, the only variables of
any significance are the weight of air, the volume of water, and
the density and volume of minerals. For descent, the left side of
Equation 1 must be greater than 64.4 times the total volume.
Likewise for ascent, the left side of Equation 2 must be less than
64.4 times total volume. From Equations 1 and 2 it is evident that
the weight of the water displaced is greater than the weight of the
payload. The velocity of descent and ascent have been considered in
the overall design with the variables determining optimum velocity
being shape, dimensions, weight and volume. By having the total of
the left side of the equation being greater than the 64.4 .times.
the total volume of the vehicle, the vehicle is thus heavier than
water and will operate to displace water and sink at a
predetermined rate of descent.
Considering the formula as it applies in the ascent phase of the
operation of the vehicle, the water has been discharged from the
chamber so that the water factor of the equation is eliminated. The
change in the weight of the vehicle is due to the increased volume
of the chambers containing air, the decrease in the volume of the
chambers containing water, and the increase in the volume of the
minerals carried by the vehicle.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a schematic of the eduction system of the
present invention is illustrated. A single variable buoyancy tank 8
is illustrated with piston 9 and/or an inflatable bladder
separating the gas 10 in the high pressure chamber and the liquid
11 within the storage chamber. Valve 27 is connected between the
storage chamber within the tank 8 and conduit 24. The high pressure
10 forces the piston 9 downwardly within the tank 8 and causes the
liquid 11 within the tank to exhaust through the pipe 24 at a very
high velocity. Th high velocity liquid passing through the pipe 24
is directed partially through the jet 26 which opens within skirt
21. A valve 34 may be disposed between conduit 24 and jet 26 for
selectively controlling the flow through the jet 26. The remaining
portion of the high velocity liquid is passed through the venturi
25 to draw the embodiment stirred up by the jet 26 through opening
28 into the pipe 29.
The nodules and other sediment stirred up by liquid issuing from
the jet 26 pass through the upper portion of the skirt 21 at a
comparatively low pressure but with a high volume of minerals being
drawn into the pipe 29 through the action of the venturi 25 which
creates a low pressure adjacent the openings 28 due to the
increased velocity at that point.
The depositing section 31 and guidance section 32 operate
respectively to deposit the minerals within the collection chamber
or bucket 15 while the carrier water exits through the openings in
the bucket so that the sediment and nodules becomes a highly
compacted payload within the bucket of the vehicle and to provide
movement for the vehicle. The nodules and sediment entrained in the
liquid passing through the guidance section 32 having been
deflected into the depositing section 31 by the screen 33, the
carrying liquid passes through a jet attached to the guidance
section 32 to propel the vehicle in a sweeping motion across the
ocean floor. A valve 35 may be disposed between pipe 29 and each
guidance section 32 to control the jets on the ends of the guidance
sections 32 for selectively determining the course of movement of
the vehicle 1.
The vehicle 1 is also provided with a fail-safe recovery unit which
is indicated generally at 40 in FIG. 1 and shown more clearly in
schematic form in FIG. 3. Once the vehicle descends to the ocean
floor, if for some reason due to the terrain of the ocean floor,
one or number of sensors 23 are not actuated, so that the buoyancy
of the vehicle does not change sufficiently to cause the vehicle to
start the ascent after the mining phase, the fail safe recovery is
automatically operated. The fail safe unit 40 includes a thin
walled, plastic, inflatable canopy 41 which is securely but
releasably attached to the upper sections of the variable buoyancy
tanks 8. A valve 42 is disposed in a pipe between the pressure
chambers of the variable buoyancy tanks and canopy 41 and may be
operated by either a timer mechanism alone or a timer mechanism in
conjunction with the sensors 23. In any event, if, after a
predetermined time from either launch or the time the vehicle
reaches the ocean floor, the vehicle has not started its ascent,
the timer mechansim operates to automatically open the valve 42 and
inflate the canopy 41. Since the gas 10 under pressure will seek
the relief afforded to the valve 42 and the canopy 41, the canopy
41 will be inflated and displace a sufficient amount of water to
change the buoyancy of the vehicle to a net positive buoyancy and
cause the vehicle to start its ascent to the ocean surface.
The canopy preferably has the configuration of a cylindrical bag
and is fitted with a bleeder valve at the top to equalize the
pressure differential between the air pocket and the outside water
pressure. The timer mechanism may be any standard timer that is
sufficiently packaged to withstand the high pressure and severe
treatment that such a device would receive in the vehicle
contemplated.
In order to form the body 2 of positive buoyancy material, the
variable buoyancy tanks, the piping and the components of the
eduction system are placed in their proper positions, as
illustrated in FIG. 1, within a cylindrical shell having a
configuration mating with the surfaces 3, 4 and 5. That is, the
cylindrical shell will have a central axially extended cylinder in
order to define the cylindrical portion for receiving bucket 14.
The liners or coatings 7a may be formed around the variable
buoyancy tanks 8 as they are positioned within the cylindrical
shell, and a top plate corresponding to the configuration of
components along top end surface 6 of the body may be provided to
form the top surface 6 as required. Dependent upon the weight of
the payload to be brought to the surface of the ocean, the
cylindrical shell is filled with large, hollow, plastic spheres
properly spaced, and the cylindrical shell is then filled with
microspheres. Of course, the number and size of the plastic spheres
is dependent on design considerations, and for some applications no
plastic spheres will be required. Once all of the openings are
filled with the microspheres, a resin in sucked into the
cylindrical shell and the body is then subjected to curing. After
curing the cylindrical shell is removed and the deep ocean mining
and mineral recovery vehicle, as illustrted in FIG. 1, is
formed.
Applicant has found that one of the most effective positive
buoyancy material for forming body 2 is one formed of a syntactic
foam matrix encompassing large hollow spheres and microspheres, as
mentioned above. FIG. 4 illustrates a module of such material
including a foam matrix 45 and hollow spheres 46. The spheres 46
are of various diameter and may range anywhere from one to three
inches. Buoyancy material constructed in this manner has a net
buoyancy of approximately 28-36 lbs. per cubic foot with a
hydroxtatic compressive strength of 13,500 lbs. per square inch.
Accordingly, the positive buoyancy force produced by body 2 will
operate to displace a considerable amount of sea water when the
vehicle is submerged and represent the major positive buoyancy
force for the vehicle. The remaining positive buoyancy forces for
the vehicle result from the variable buoyancy tanks 8 when the
compressed fluid 10 is expanded upon opening of the valves 27
through the mining process so that the total volume of the
plurality of variable buoyancy tanks combine at a very low density
path with the low density buoyancy material to provide sufficient
positive buoyancy to overcome the negative buoyancy constituents in
order to raise the vehicle to the ocean surface. The particulars of
the buoyancy material have been more completely described in a
paper given by applicant as co-author at the third U.S. Navy
symposium on military oceanography at San Diego, Calif. on May 12,
1966. The article is entitled "Composite Modules: A New Design for
Deep Ocean Buoyancy Application" and is authored by B.G. Stechler
and Israel Resnick.
Referring now to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the present
invention is illustrated, such embodiment being employed primarily
for the mining of heavy metal ores which are at times compacted on
the ocean floor. The vehicle of FIG. 5 is utilized to recover
minerals and heavy metal ores that are not so freely agitated as
the material mined by the vehicle of FIG. 1 and operates on a
coring principle. The basic structure of the vehicle is
substantially the same as that described in connection with the
vehicle of FIG. 1, and elements in FIG. 5 identical to elements in
FIG. 1 are given identical reference numbers and are not described
again. The primary difference between the vehicle of FIG. 5 and the
previously described vehicle is the coring mechanism 50 located
centrally of the body 2.
The coring mechanism 50 can be constructed of any preferred metal
so long as the core is provided with sharpened ends and has ore
receiving chambers 51 extending axially of the vehicle. The ore
receiving chambers are partially operated on a capillary principle
so that as the core is driven into the ocean floor the minerals
collected in the ore receiving chambers 51 will be held in such
chambers by the capillary action due to the size of the
chambers.
The vehicle is provided with pipes 52 connected between the storage
chambers of the tanks 8 and accelerating jets 53. The pipes 52 each
have an elbow to provide a radial section 54 extending outwardly of
the vehicle, and accelerating jets 53 are rotatably mounted on the
outer ends of the radial sections 54.
As the vehicle descends and approaches the ocean floor, the sensors
23 open the valves 27 to cause the liquid 11 in the tanks 8 to be
forced through the pipes 52 due to the pressure on the pistons 9
caused by the pressurized gas 10 in the upper portion of the tanks
8. The high velocity liquid passing through the pipe 52 is forced
through radial section 54 and out of the accelerating jets 53 which
are directed upwardly so as to aceelerate the vehicle in a downward
direction. The acceleration of the vehicle in response to the
opening of the valves 27 causes the core to be driven into the
heavy metal ores on the ocean floor and forces the ores into the
capillary type chambers 51 of the core.
As the ores are driven into the chamber 51, a sensor element 55 is
actuated. The sensor element 55 includes a rack 56 which is in
engagement with a pinion 57 carried by a shaft 58. The shaft 58 has
at its opposite end a second pinion 59 which engages a gear 60
formed integrally with the jets 53.
By providing only a limited rack section 56 which moves axially of
the vehicle in response to the filling of one of the capillary
chambers or tubes 51, the pinion 57 is caused to revolve through
180.degree.. Revolvement of the pinion 57 opperates to invert the
jets 53 through rotation of shaft 58 and pinion 59 which engages
the integral gear 60 on the jets 53. Thus, once the vehicle has
reached the ocean floor and been accelerated into the minerals to
be recovered, the jets are revolved 180.degree. and directed
downwardly so as to provide propulsion upwardly for the vehicle.
This operates to assist in removing the core 50 from the heavy
metal ores into which it had been embedded.
As continuous high velocity liquid is passed through the pipes 52
and the jets 53 are revolved through the 180.degree., for a brief
span, the jets are all directed to provide rotational movement to
the vehicle. That is, as the jets are turned they have a horizontal
force component tending to rotate the vehicle 1, and this assists
in loosening the core 50 from its surrounding material so that when
the jets reach full revolvement of 180.degree. and are directed
downwardly, the high pressure liquid passing through the jets may
easily propel the vehicle from the ocean floor.
The exhausting of the liquid 11 from the tanks 8 operates to
increase the positive buoyancy of the vehicle so that the net
buoyancy of the vehicle is sufficient to return the vehicle to the
ocean surface in the same manner as previously described with
respect to the vehicle of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 illustrates a modification of the coring head of the vehicle
of FIG. 5. The coring head includes a blade 61 having a knife edge
62 and an interlocking blade 63 having a knife edge 64. Blades 61
and 63 have centrally located slots 65 and 66 extending halfway
therethrough to permit interlocking of the blades as shown in
dotted lines in FIG. 6. Once the blades have been interlocked, they
are rigidly secured within the opening axial portion of the vehicle
to provide the mining core 50.
FIGS. 7 to 11 illustrate various embodiments of the core head 50
including hexagonal, circular, triangular, square or rectangular
and radial capillary chambers 51 formed in any convenient manner,
through interlocking blades or otherwise to provide the core 50. Of
course, each of the edges of the alternative core heads 50 is
provided with a knife edge to assist the core in penetrating the
heavy metal ores which it is designed to recover.
In order to prevent wash-out of the heavy metal ores recovered by
the vehicle of FIG. 5 a wash-out prevention device, as illustrated
in FIGS. 12 and 13, may be provided. The washout device includes a
sleeve 70 which may be positioned about either the outer surface 3
of body 2 or the core 50. Slidably mounted within the sleeve 70 are
pair of doors 71. The doors 71 are slidably mounted on tracks 72
and positioned in the upstation as shown in full lines in FIG. 13
as the vehicle descends. Upon impact of the vehicle with the ocean
floor, the doors are released and slide down the tracks 72 into the
position shown in dotted lines. Alternatively, the doors may slide
down the tracks 72 in response to the revolving of the jets 53 so
that the doors will move into position to enclose the lower portion
of the core 50 as the jets operate to accelerate and withdraw the
core 50 from the heavy metal ores.
When the doors slide down the track 72 to the position shown in
dotted lines, they are free to pivot about hinges 73 and operate as
wash-out prevention structure by enclosing the area beneath the
core 60. The doors will automatically pivot about the hinges 72
since the force of the vehicle moving upwardly and the water
passing over the different surface areas of the vehicle tends to
pivot the doors about the hinges 73 and causes them to move into
the down position as illustrated in FIG. 13.
An alternate method of rotating the jets 53 and of preventing
wash-out of the minerals captured in the coring device is
illustrated in FIG. 14. The jets 53 are locked in an upward
vertical position by two hydrostatically balanced pressurized
cylinders 80 and 81 attached to the jet nozzles through a shaft 82
and arranged parallel to the vertical axes of the jets. One of the
pressure cylinders 80 is equipped on its bottom surface with a
burst disc 83.
In place of the rack shown in the previous embodiments several of
the cores are equipped with bayonets 84 aligned with the burst disc
or check valve actuator of the pressurized cylinder 80 described
above. Impact of the cores with the ocean floor will cause the
bayonents 84 to penetrate the burst disc 83 due to the force on a
staff 85 being driven upwardly by the minerals. When the bayonet 84
perforates the burst disc 83, allowing the hydrostatic fluid on one
side of the nozzle to escape, the forces on shaft 82 become
unbalanced thereby causing the jets to rotate 180.degree. in a
bearing 86 carried by body 2. A collar or stop member 87 is secured
to the outer shell of the vehicle to limit rotation of the jets 53
to 180.degree. so that the jet is secured in a position directed
vertically downward.
In order to prevent wash-out of the minerals captured in the coring
unit, a series of jets 88 are radially arranged in a direction so
that material passing through the jets flows beneath the coring
device. The staff 85 is sealed by members 89 and 90 which also
operate as sleeve bearings for permitting the axial movement of the
staff; and, when the imbalance is created by bursting the disc on
one of the pressurized cylinders, rotation of the shaft 82 may be
used to open a valve for directing a bleed-off portion of the water
remaining in the tanks 8 into the corer 91 through the port 92.
Thus, the bleed-off water passing into the corer 91 is forced out
of jets 88 and creates a force beneath the mining core for
preventing wash-out of the mined materials.
As an alternate arrangement, the bleed-off port 92 could be
provided with an open connection to the tanks with the staff 85
being provided with a plug or other sealing member which seals the
opening to the jets 88 so that the water may not escape through the
jets until the shaft is forced axially upwardly to disengage the
seal between the sealing member of the staff and the opening
passing to the jets 88 when the staff is actuated by engagement of
the core with the ocean floor.
Another embodiment of the mining and mineral recovery vehicle of
the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16 and
includes a body 100 integrally constructed of a positive buoyancy
material, such as the syntactic foam matrix made up of microspheres
and large, hollow spheres as described with respect to the vehicle
of FIG. 1 and the modules of FIG. 4. The body 100 is integrally
formed with an annular configuration in cross-section defining an
outer cylindrical surface 102, an inner cylindrical surface 104, a
bottom end surface 106 and a top end surface 108.
Body 100 is formed with six equally angularly spaced recesses 110
therein to receive six identical variable buoyancy tanks 112. The
body is constructed in the same manner as described above with
respect to the body 2 of the vehicle 1 of FIG. 1. That is, all of
the required components and piping as well as the variable buoyancy
tanks are properly positioned within a cylindrical shell, and
thereafter the spaces within the shell are filled with microspheres
and large hollow spheres. The resin is then sucked into the foam
matrix, and the body is cured. It will be appreciated that any
support structure to be carried by the vehicle and required to be
of a material other than the positive buoyancy material may be
integrally formed with the body 100 such that components to be
carried thereby may be later secured thereto.
Each of the variable buoyancy tanks 112 includes a storage chamber
114 for storing a fluid 116, such as salt water, disposed over a
high pressure chamber 118 for storing a fluid 120, such as a gas,
under high pressure. The variable buoyancy tanks 112, as
illustrated in FIG. 16, are permanently secured within body 100;
however, it will be appreciated that if it is desired to utilize
replaceable variable buoyancy tanks, the body may be formed such
that the tanks extend above the top end surface 108 as in the
vehicle of FIG. 1. A valve 122 communicates with storage chamber
114 at the top thereof and may be opened in order to permit the
filling of chamber 114 with fluid 116. Similarly, a valve 124
communicates with high pressure chamber 118 at the bottom thereof
through a conduit 126 in order to permit the chamber 118 to be
filled with a high pressure fluid such as compressed air supplied
by a compressor carried by a mother ship. Communication between
storage chamber 114 and high pressure chamber 118 is established
through a conduit 128 and a control valve 130 which is normally
closed and opened only to commence the mining operation.
Body 100 is formed with an annular shoulder 132 extending outwardly
from outer cylindrical surface 102 adjacent bottom end surface 106
and an annular shoulder 134 extending inwardly from inner
cylindrical surface 104 adjacent bottom end surface 106. A
perforated bucket 136 is supported within the chamber formed by
inner cylindrical surface 104 and has a bottom edge adapted to abut
shoulder 134 to support the bucket within the center of the
vehicle. A plurality of spacers 138 are provided along inner
cylindrical surface 104 to center the bucket 136 therein to permit
water to escape between surface 104 and bucket 136 as a payload is
being collected. The top of bucket 136 may be provided with a
collar 138 to engage a counterbore-type shoulder 140 formed in
inner surface 104, and a plurality of lifting rings may be secured
to collar 138 to facilitate removal of the bucket from the
vehicle.
Annular skirt 142 is formed with a collar 144 extending radially
inwardly from the top thereof with the inner diameter of collar 144
corresponding to the outer diameter of cylindrical surface 102 of
body 100. The bottom of collar 144 abuts shoulder 132 of body 100
due to the force from a piston rod 146 engaging an inner annular
shoulder 148 carried by skirt 142. The piston carried by rod 146
cooperates with a pneumatic cylinder 150 which has a high pressure
gas stored therein and communicates through a bleed line 152 with a
rupturable disc 154 disposed adjacent the top end surface 108 of
body 100. The rod, piston, pneumatic cylinder and rupturable disc
define a shock absorber unit generally indicated at 156, and it
will be appreciated that as many such shock absorber units may be
utilized with the vehicle as is desired with such shock absorber
units preferably being six in number and being equally angularly
spaced about the central axis of the vehicle.
Six impulse turbine wheels 158 are rotatably supported in the
bottom edge of skirt 142 such that the periphery of wheels 158
extend below the bottom of the skirt to facilitate movement of the
vehicle along the floor of the ocean. Any suitable journal and
bearing structure may be utilized to support the wheels 158 with
such structure being able to withstand the pressure and general
environment at the bottom of the ocean. The axles of of wheels 158
are all maintained parallel such that the vehicle can be moved in a
single direction. Extending from the bottom surface 106 of body 100
are a plurality of slip couplings 160 receiving conduits 162, each
of which extends from an outlet port 163 in the storage chambers
114 of the variable buoyancy tanks 112, and the conduits 162 each
have an elbow disposed below slip couplings 160 supporting an
impulse turbine nozzle 164. Nozzles 164 are each received within an
opening in the outer shell of one of the turbines 158 to direct a
liquid jet against blades of a rotating impeller 166 carried within
the turbine wheels. A valve 168 is positioned in conduit 162 to
control the flow of fluid 116 therethrough as will be described
hereinafter with respect to the system schematically shown in FIG.
17.
The impulse water turbines 158 each have an exhaust port 170 which
communicates through a conduit 172 and an eduction control valve
174 with a venturi unit 176. The conduit 172 communicates with the
venturi unit 176 such that high velocity water enters around a
conduit 178 to create a low pressure whereby minerals on the floor
of the ocean are drawn into conduit 178 through eduction heads 180.
The minerals are then entrained with the water and drawn up through
an eduction pipe 182 to empty into bucket 136, the minerals being
compacted in the bucket and the water being expelled through the
perforations in the bucket and the space between the bucket and the
inner cylindrical surface 104 of body 100. A portion of the high
velocity water flowing through eduction pipe 182 flows through a
movement booster conduit 184 to a nozzle 186 which is oriented to
provide a jet of water therefrom in a direction opposite to the
direction of travel of the vehicle. The nozzles 186 are aligned in
parallel in order to obtain as much vehicle movement from the jets
issuing therefrom as is possible. Deflection screens may be
provided within conduits 184 in order to prevent mineral nodules
from exiting therethrough.
In operation when the vehicle descends sufficiently to contact the
floor of the ocean, pressure within cylinder 150 will be
sufficiently increased due to the force tending to move skirt 142
towards body 100 such that rupture disc 154 will break and permit
slow exhaust of the pressure within cylinder 150 through bleed line
152. Accordingly, the body 100 will slowly settle within skirt 142
until the bottom surface 106 of body 100 engages shoulder 148.
Thus, the shock of impact with the floor of the ocean will be
absorbed by the shock absorber units, and the body will be moved to
a position for mining such that eduction heads 180 are disposed
adjacent the floor of the ocean as indicated in phantom at 180' in
FIG. 16.
The operation of the vehicle of FIGS. 15 and 16 will be more
clearly understood relative to FIG. 17 wherein the control system
for the vehicle is schematically illustrated. The control system
includes a sonic transducer 188, antenna 189, a source of
electricity 190 and suitable receiving, transmitting and control
circuitry 191 all encased in a protective housing 192. The control
circuitry supplies output signals on a lead 193 to valves 130, 168
and 174, which valves are normally closed and may be electrically
actuated to an open position such as by means of a solenoid. After
the vehicle has contacted the floor of the ocean, a signal may be
transmitted from the mother ship on the ocean surface and received
by the sonic transducer to supply an electrical signal to lead 193
and open valves 130, 168 and 174. Accordingly, air from chamber 118
will flow through a pressure regulator 194, valve 130 and conduit
128 to storage chamber 114 to force fluid therefrom through a check
valve 195, valve 168 and conduit 162 to turbine nozzle 164 to
rotate turbine wheel 158 in a counterclockwise direction looking at
FIG. 17. The high velocity fluid is expelled at exhaust port 170
and supplied through conduit 172, a check valve 196 and valve 174
to venturi unit 176 where minerals from the floor of the ocean are
entrained from eduction head 180 and delivered to bucket 136. The
velocity of the fluid contacting impeller blades 166 is desirably
utilized to move the vehicle forward at a desired speed with the
eduction picking up minerals as the vehicle moves.
A pressure control loop generally indicated at 198 is provided
between conduit 128 and valve 130 and includes pressure transducer
200, a controller 202 which may be set by signals on lead 193
received from the mother ship and a gate 204 connected to receive
inputs from the controller 202 and lead 193 to control the
operation of valve 130. A similar control loop 205 is provided for
valve 168 and includes a pressure transducer 206, a controller 208
and a gate 210. In operation, set points for controllers 202 and
208 may be adjusted by signals from the mother ship, and the set
points are compared with the pressures sensed by transducers 200
and 206 by controllers 202 and 208, respectively, to provide output
signals to control the positions of valves 130 and 168 in order to
maintain the gas pressure supplied to tank 114 at a constant
controllable level and to maintain the speed at which the vehicle
moves at a constant controllable level. That is, the use of the
control loops permits constant operation of the vehicle rather than
a decaying operation as would normally occur with reduction of
pressure in chamber 118. Once the water within chamber 114 is
entirely exhausted, the valves may be closed and the vehicle will
become buoyant and rise to the surface of the ocean at a desired
speed.
A pressure relief valve 212 communicates with conduit 128 in order
to bleed off any excess pressure in such conduit should the
pressure control loop become inoperative, and a burst or rupture
disc 214 is similarly in a communication with conduit 128 to
provide fail safe operation to bring the vehicle to the surface
should anything go wrong during operation of the vehicle. In the
same manner as previously described with respect to the mineral and
mining recovery vehicle of FIG. 1, once the burst disc 214 is
ruptured, the air from chamber 118 will fill a canopy to displace
sufficient water to bring the vehicle to the surface of the
ocean.
While the vehicle of FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 have been described as
being operable in response to signals supplied from a mother ship,
it will be appreciated that the legs or feelers 23 illustrated and
described with respect to the vehicle of FIG. 1 may be utilized
with the vehicles of FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 in order to commence the
mining operation automatically upon descent of the vehicle to the
ocean floor. Similarly, the various variable buoyancy tank, piping
and filling valve modifications illustrated in the various
embodiments of the present invention may be utilized with any of
the other embodiments.
The vehicles illustrated in FIGS. 1, 5 and 16 may be utilized as
salvage vehicles in order to recover sunken vessels or other large
objects from the ocean floor. In order to provide such salvage
operations with the vehicles of the present invention, the vehicle
or a plurality of such vehicles descend to the object to be raised
and are attached thereto in any suitable manner, such as by a diver
or a deep sea vessel having extensions to permit such attachment.
Once the deep ocean vehicles of the present invention are suitably
attached, a valve such as 27 in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 5 or
130 in the embodiment of FIG. 16 is opened to permit the high
pressure fluid in the pressure chambers to expand and expel the
fluid in the storage chambers thereby providing the vehicles with
positive buoyancy. When the buoyancy equations including the weight
of the object to be raised are satisfied, the vehicles along with
the object to be raised will ascend to the surface of the
ocean.
The control valves 27 or 130 may be remotely controlled from the
mother ship or the diver or deep sea attaching vessel after all of
the deep ocean vehicles of the present invention are properly
attached. In order to facilitate initial movement of the object to
be raised, the fluid expelled from the storage chambers is directed
down towards the floor of the ocean and exits the vehicle from a
nozzle to provide the function of a retroactive jet in a manner
similar to that described with respect to the release of the coring
section of the embodiment of FIG. 5.
While the previously described and illustrated embodiments of the
deep ocean vehicle of the present invention can be utilized for
salvage operations as described above, advantageously the vehicles
are modified to provide greater buoyancy change as permitted by the
decreased depth to which the vehicles are to be submerged and the
lack of a requirement for the payload receiving bucket and the
mining equipment. That is, all equipment associated with the
eduction and coring mining systems as well as, if desired, the
means for removing the vehicles along the bottom of the ocean may
be eliminated, and the negative buoyancy weight constituted thereby
may be replaced with fluid in the storage chambers, which fluid is,
of course, expelled during the salvage operation thereby greatly
increasing the buoyancy of the vehicle. Furthermore, due to the
decreased diving depth, the amount of fluid in the pressure
chambers required to expel all of the fluid in the storage chambers
is decreased thereby permitting more fluid to be stored in the
storage chambers relative to the fluid in the pressure chambers.
This change in ratio of the fluid in the storage chambers to the
fluid in the pressure chambers permits additional positive buoyancy
material to be added to the bodies 2 such that once the fluid in
the storage chambers is expelled during the salvage operation, the
buoyancy of the vehicle is substantially increased.
Thus, the use of the deep ocean vehicles of the present invention
for salvage operations is extremely advantageous in that the
vehicles may be used to salvage sunken vehicles and large objects
that may not be conveniently reached by conduits extending from a
compressor on a mother ship while still maintaining the capability
of raising extremely large loads.
One of the distinct advantages of the mining, mineral recovery and
salvage vehicles of the present invention over prior art deep
submergence vehicles is that no outer shell is required to house
the variable buoyancy and mining equipment of the vehicle.
Accordingly, the weight of the vehicle is decreased substantially
for submergence to deeper depths thereby providing greater relative
payload capabilities with respect to overall vehicle weight. It
should be noted, however, that a shell could be utilized, if
desired, around the integral body of positive buoyancy material;
but, as mentioned above, such shell does add undesired negative
buoyancy to the vehicle.
The number of variable buoyancy tanks to be utilized with the
vehicles of the present invention is, of course, variable in
accordance with the weight and payload requirements for the
vehicle. Advantageously, however, there is provided for each
variable buoyancy tank a separate eduction mining system and, in
the case of the vehicles of FIGS. 15, 16 and 17, a separate impulse
turbine wheel. The variable buoyancy tanks may be constructed of
any suitable metal such as steel, aluminum or titanium, for
example, and the tanks may be formed with the body of positive
buoyancy material so as to be removable as in the embodiment of
FIG. 1 or permanently formed therein as in the embodiment of FIGS.
15 and 16.
Movement of the vehicles of the present invention along the floor
of the ocean is enhanced by the use of parallel aligned nozzles
extending from the top of the body and issuing fluid jets in a
direction opposite the direction of movement of the vehicle. In the
embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16 movement is accomplished by means of
impulse turbine wheels which receive a jet of high velocity fluid
from the storage chambers of the variable buoyancy tanks, and
movement is further aided by fluid jets issuing from nozzles 186 at
the top of the body.
It is important, due to the great weight and momentum of the
vehicles according to the present invention, that contact with the
floor of the ocean be cushioned to some extent, for instance, by
decreasing the speed of descent of the vehicle. Accordingly, in the
embodiment of FIG. 1 the liquid jets issuing from ports 26 in
response to opening of valve 27 by movement of legs 23 serve to
provide a force in a direction opposite to the direction of descent
of the vehicle to slow the descent speed thereof thereby cushioning
contact of the vehicle with the floor of the ocean. In the
embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16 contact is cushioned by means of the
shock absorber units 156 which slowly permit the body to slide
relative to the skirt and thereby cushion impact of the
vehicle.
As used herein, the term "negative buoyancy" means the tendency of
an article to sink in a fluid medium and the term "positive
buoyancy" means the tendency of an article to float or rise in a
fluid medium.
As discussed above, the deep ocean vehicles of the present
invention may be utilized for mining, mineral harvesting and
salvage of sunken vessels or large submerged objects; and, further,
the deep ocean vehicles of the present invention may be utilized to
collect large tonnages of vegetation and fish live. The
configuration of the integrally formed positive buoyancy bodies of
the vehicles of the present invention may be varied dependent upon
the intended utilization of the vehicle; however, advantageously
the bodies are formed to be symmetrical about a central
longitudinal axis.
Inasmuch as the present invention is subject to many variations,
modifications and changes in detail, it is intended that all matter
described above or shown in the accompanying drawings be
interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
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