Geo Space Corporation

Litton Resources Systems, Inc.

Western Atlas International, Inc.

Mark Products, Inc.

Western Geophysical Company of America

I/o Exploration Products

William O McNeel

James A Sackett

Joe N Wood

Ben B Thigpen

Otis A Johnston

Royel F Montieth

Stephen E Scott

Nathaniel K McPeek

E Eugene Crump

Gary Dwayne Freeman

Julian Soliz, Iii

Leo Patrick Murphy

A geophysical connector (10) having a housing (46, 52) and first (11) and second (131) connection members. First member (11) includes a low durometer soft plastic body (12) molded to the electrical contacts (20, 21) and encloses a rigid waterproof molded seal (34) molded about said contacts (20, 21). The second connection member (131) includes a rigid plastic insert (133) supporting a second coacting electrical contacts (135, 137) and a soft plastic body (159) bonded to the insert (133) and the electrical cable (163) connected to the second contacts.

Waterproof low temperature geophysical connector

An electrical geophysical connector comprising an outer housing, a first connection member and a second connection member. First and second coacting electrical contacts are positioned in the first and second members, respectively. The first member includes a rigid outer shell and a resilient inner core bonded to the first electrical contacts. The first ends of the first contacts are positioned in cavities located in one end of the inner core and resilient seal rings are formed about the cavities for engaging and sealing the coacting engagement of the first and second contacts. A dust cap is rotatably mounted with a 360.degree. rotation to the housing and the exterior of the housing is tri-lobed in cross section for ease of gripping.

Repairable electrical geophysical connector

A repairable geophone housing having a fully molded waterproof one piece upper body which is seabably and releasably connectible to a lower body. All surfaces within the upper body are bonded to prevent moisture entering and the geophone transducer may be replaced if desired.

Repairable waterproof geophone housing

This invention provides a dual gimbal geophone assembly. The geophone is placed in the cavity of a mass member. The mass member is rotatably attached to a frame so that the mass member rotates about a first plane. The frame is rotatably attached to support members so that the frame rotates about a second plane which is orthogonal to the first plane. This geophone provides two degrees of rotation, one along the first plane and the second along the second orthogonal plane. The geophone remains vertical within the tilt tolerance of the geophone regardless of the orientation of the assembly.

Dual gimbal geophone

A light weight and compact geophone assembly for detecting transient seismic signals along orthogonal axes. The geophone assembly having a plurality of geophones arranged within close proximity of each other within a compact housing. The geophones are interconnected to a conductor cable passing through the housing in a unique water-tight sealing arrangement. At the cable entrance into the housing, the conductor cable is surrounded by a tapered boot compressed about the cable by a sleeve which in turn is fixed in place by a locking nut. The locking nut is received by complementary threads at the cable entrance into the housing. When tightened, the locking nut forces the compression sleeve over the tapered surface of the boot, compressing the boot about the cable. In addition, the locking nut and compression sleeve urge the boot in compression between the cable and the housing. Located atop of the housing is a bubble leveling device. The level is recessed within the top of the housing and is equipped with a means for magnifying the bubble level. The bottom of the housing is equipped with ground coupling spikes to engage the housing with the earth. After the geophone assembly is firmly coupled to the earth, the operator adjusts the depth of each spike to level the housing. A level housing assures proper operation of the enclosed geophones within the housing.

Three-dimensional geophone

A transducer assembly for use along the surface of the earth or in a borehole to detect seismic signals along mutually orthogonal axes. The transducer assembly includes at least two geophones or accelerometers gimbally-mounted within a housing such that when the housing is oriented at substantially any angle, the enclosed geophones remain in their respective planes with respect to gravity and their axes of sensitivity to the seismic signals remain orthogonal to each other.

Three-axis sensor

A cable-entry seal for a multicontact seismic cable connector consists of a cable anchor molded near an end of a multiconductor cable and a sphincter grommet. A compression sleeve, urged by a gland nut axially compresses the sphincter causing it to expand radially to form a water tight seal. A rotatable locking cam has a spiral slot lined with a low friction material to lock a pair of cable connectors together.

Multiple-contact connector assembly

A ruggedized depth transducer for measuring ambient hydrostatic pressure adjacent an acoustic source wherein the transducer includes a housing having a depth sensor mounted therein. The housing further includes a bore for placing the depth sensor in fluid communication with the ambient pressure. Mounted within the housing bore are a series of mechanical filters for attenuating high-intensity pressure spikes generated by the acoustic source from damaging the depth sensor contained within the housing. The mechanical filters allow gradual changes in ambient pressure to pass into the bore and influence the depth sensor.

Depth transducer protective assembly

The compound accelerometer is made by combining two simple accelerometer units. The simple accelerometer units consist of a hollow container closed at each end by a piezo-electric transducer. The two transducers are oppositely polarized and are selected to have a desired combined series capacitance value. The container is partially filled with a volume of heavy liquid and the accelerometer is excited. During excitation, the output voltage is continuously measured and the volume of liquid is microadjusted until the output voltage equals a prescribed level. The outputs of the individual transducers are measured, the residual voltage difference is tabulated and the dominant transducer is identified. Two simple accelerometer units having the same residual voltage difference are secured together with the dominant transducers facing oppositely with respect to each other.

Compound piezoelectric accelerometer with residual voltage matching

A method for manufacturing a compound accelerometer that is maximally sensitive to a desired acceleration vector to the exclusion of orthogonal vectors. The compound accelerometer is made by combining two simple accelerometer units. The simple accelerometer units consist of a hollow container closed at each end by a piezo-electric transducer. The two transducers are oppositely polarized and are selected to have a desired combined series capacitance value. The container is partially filled with a volume of heavy liquid and the accelerometer is excited. During excitation, the output voltage is continuously measured and the volume of liquid is microadjusted until the output voltage equals a prescribed level. The outputs of the individual transducers are measured, the residual voltage difference is tabulated and the dominant transducer is identified. Two simple accelerometer units having the same residual voltage difference are secured together with the dominant transducers facing oppositely with respect to each other.

Accelerometer manufacturing method

A geophone marsh case, for use in wetlands, contains a geophone. An electric cable delivers geophone signals to the outside world and provides a means for pulling an emplaced geophone from the mud. The cable is anchored to the marsh case both internally and externally in order to preserve the integrity of a water seal that surrounds the cable in the cable entry port of the marsh case.

Marsh case for a geophone

A multiple pin connector for a multiple conductor cable formed of a housing having a face plate, a hollowed-out central area and a passageway to permit a multiple conductor cable to extend from the housing exterior into the hollowed-out central area wherein the housing includes a raised 'U-shaped' collar having 'U-shaped' collar ends terminating in a differential locking boss having a keyway which extends toward the other end of the face plate and with a clamping lip located on the exterior of the 'U-shaped' base of the raised collar, a pair of aligned inserts located in the face plate having a plurality of elongated male connectors in a first semi-circle section and a plurality of elongated female connector sockets in a second semi-circle section with the male pins and female connector sockets extending substantially perpendicular from the face plate and arranged in the inserts in a parallel spaced relationship and in identical pattern to form a hermaphrodite connector, and a stirrup interlock having bifurcated locking arms each of which terminates in a differential locking member which defines a key and a cam and the other end of the stirrup interlock terminating with a releasable clamping member with the stirrup interlock rotatable around pivotal mountings on the housing into a locking position or release positon is shown.

Multiple pin connector for multiple conductor cable

A geophone comprising an annular coil-mass and a permanent magnet assembly positioned inside the annular coil-mass with their longitudinal axes generally coinciding to place the coil-mass in the magnetic field of the permanent magnet assembly. Spring spiders support the coil-mass on the permanent magnet assembly for axial and rotational movement relative to the permanent magnet assembly along and around the longitudinal axis thereof. Contacts extend outside the housing of the geophone to connect the geophone into an electrical circuit. Two axially spaced, parallel, spring spiders or diaphragm springs electrically connect the outside contacts to the terminals of the coils of the coil-mass.

Geophone

A waterproof multiple wire electrical cable connecting device is disclosed. The device includes two connector assemblies with each assembly adapted to be connected to the end of a multiple wire electrical cable. Each connector assembly is of the same construction and includes both a male pin type connector and a female socket type connector so that any two connector assemblies can be connected together to connect electrically the conductors in the cables to which they are attached. The male and female connectors of each assembly are mounted in a face plate in side-by-side position to mate with male and female connectors in another assembly. Seal means are provided to seal the connectors of each connector assembly, when assembled with the connectors of another connector assembly, from the ambient environment. The seal means includes a pad or body of elastomeric material having openings through which the pin connectors extend and a thickness such that when the two connector assemblies are connected together, the pad or body of elastomeric material in each connector assembly will be compressed into sealing engagement with the connectors and with each other to isolate the connectors from the ambient environment.

Waterproof multiple wire cable connecting device

A compact, high sensitivity low distortion seismometer having an elongated tubular outer pole formed of a magnetic material, a magnetic assembly located in the interior of the outer pole and having a permanent magnet and a pair of conductive pole pieces electrically and magnetically coupled to the magnet, a coil and mass assembly positioned for vertical and rotational movement relative to the magnetic assembly and which includes a coil form, a pair of conductive preformed springs one of which is fixedly attached to each end of the coil form, a pair of coils having the center thereof axially aligned with the axis of the coil form with one of the coils positioned at each end of the coil form, a pair of commutating rings, one of which is attached to each end of the coil form and in electrical and physical contact with an adjacent spring, a pair of insulators, one of which is attached to each end of the coil form to support and electrically insulate the conductive spring and commutating ring adjacent thereto from the coil form, a pair of O-rings, one of which is positioned at each end of the coil form and adapted to clamp the conductive spring, commutating ring and insulator adjacent thereto into an integral sub-assembly with the coil form, and a top assembly and a bottom assembly each of which include slideable wiping contacts which are slideably electrically connected to the coil and mass assembly and to the magnetic assembly for forming an electrically conductive path through the rotating coil form is shown.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

William O McNeel