Seismic source apparatus
US12117575B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 31, 2023 |
| Grant date | Oct 15, 2024 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 31, 2043 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01V1/3808
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The embodiments herein describe a seismic source that includes at least two firing heads connected to a shared reservoir of compressed gas. When underwater, a controller can instruct the firing heads to fire at the same time or at different times to create gas bubbles that generate seismic energy for identifying structures underneath a body of water. If the firing heads fire at the same, the resulting gas bubble may coalesce to form a single bubble, depending on the size of the respective bubbles and the separation distance between the firing heads. In one embodiment, the firing heads are attached at opposite ends of the shared reservoir (although this is not a requirement). The length of the reservoir, which dictates in part the separation distance of the firing heads, can be set so that gas bubbles generated by the firing heads at substantially the same time coalesce.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.