Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for underground deposit detection

US4065972A · kind A · utility

17Cited by
9References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 24, 1976
Grant dateJan 3, 1978
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 24, 1996

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01V9/007
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A method and apparatus for collecting gas samples associated with underground minerals. A plurality of small gas sample containers are planted in an inverted position in shallow holes in the surface of the earth in a predetermined pattern, and upwardly migrating gases associated with the underground minerals being sought are collected in the containers for a predetermined time period, to obtain a time-integrated representation of the amount of one or more gases of interest migrating to the surface over that time period. Two types of containers are alternately employed: A total gas sample container in which all upwardly migrating gases are admitted into a sealed compartment at a preselected flow rate; and a specific gas sampler container in which strips of detector material which are sensitive to predetermined specific gaseous substances are mounted within the inverted container and exposed to the upwardly migrating gases over the predetermined time interval. The containers are removed from the shallow holes after the lapse of the predetermined time interval, and the detector material alone, or the containers with the detector material still mounted, are subjected to qualitative and…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.