MXPA06003920A - Apparatus and methods for seismic streamer positioning - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods for positioning seismic streamers are disclosed that enable two or more streamers to be positioned in over/under configuration. One system comprises first and second pluralities of remotely controllable birds mounted on or inline in first and second streamers, the birds functioning to control position of the streamers relative to each other, to another pair of streamers, or to some reference. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).

Description

APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PLACING SEISMIC CATCHER Cross Reference with Related Requests This application claims priority in accordance with title 35 § 119 (e) of the United States of America Code on the United States Provisional Patent Application Series No. 60 / 669,534, filed in April 8, 2005, incorporated by reference in its entirety to the present description. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of marine seismic instrumentation and methods for using it. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus and methods for improving seismic images obtained using seismic instrumentation, as well as related systems, methods and apparatus. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Marine seismic exploration investigates and maps the structure and character of the subsurface of the geological formations underlying a body of water. For large research areas, seismic vessels tow one or more seismic sources and multiple seismic capture cables through! Water. Seismic sources usually include compressed air guns for generate acoustic pulses in the water. The energy of these impulses propagates downwards within the geological formations and is reflected upwards from the interfaces between the geological formations of the subsurface. The energy reflected along with the phantom signals from other surfaces are perceived by the hydrophones attached to the seismic grabber and the data representing that energy is recorded and processed to provide information about the underlying geological features. The formation of ghosts can be reduced by controlling the position of the captors. Catchers can be placed using directional birds, deviators, buoys, which can be steered and the like. Previous attempts have not provided optimal ghosting of marine seismic images. Although these techniques are improvements in the art, further improvements are desired. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, systems and methods are described for controlling the position of at least portions of the seismic catchers in the upper / lower configuration, referring to the cross section of the geometry of the grabber in the vertical plane . The systems and methods of the present invention reduce or overcome problems with prior systems and methods in the Ghost removal of the data. The systems and methods of the present invention can be used to collect reduced data in phantom signals or to which phantoms can be eliminated. Other uses include the use of the vertical sampling data obtained to calculate a spatial calculation of the data with respect to z (vertical). Sampling of the data online provides the spatial derivative with respect to x (along the grabber). These spatial derivatives can be used to calculate, using the equations described by the physics of the movement of the wave, the spatial derivative with respect to y (cross-line direction). This at the same time, can be used to forecast the seismic wave field away from a grabber in the horizontal plane. A first aspect of the present invention is a system which comprises: (a) a first seismic grabber having a first portion in a vertical position and having a first orientation element; (b) a second seismic grabber having a second portion in a second vertical position different from the first vertical position and having a second orientation element; (c) the orientation elements work to control the vertical and horizontal position of minus the first and second portions in the upper / lower configuration. It should be understood that certain system modes may have more than two capturers in the upper / lower configuration, how that term is defined in this description. It should also be understood that certain system modes may have trappers that are not in the upper / lower configuration, in other words, two or more trappers may be in the upper / lower configuration and one or more trappers may be placed laterally away from the upper / lower captors in the direction of the crossed line (y), or in the direction (z). In addition, each grabber may have more than two orientation elements associated therewith. For reasons of simplicity only, we explain two capturers in the upper / lower configuration (as defined herein), each having at least one orientation element. One or both of the first and second targeting elements can be remotely controlled and each can be a bird that can be remotely controlled. The first and second orientation elements can control both the vertical and horizontal position of their respective catchers, or the first and second orientation elements can each comprise a combination of two or more orientation elements, one in the combination that controls the vertical position and a second in the combination that controls the horizontal position. The systems of the present invention include versions wherein a first plurality of orientation elements are operably connected to the first grabber and a second plurality of orientation elements are operably connected to the second grabber. The first plurality of orientation elements can be separated in a substantially uniform manner along the length of the first grabber. The second plurality of orientation elements may also be substantially uniformly spaced along the length of the second capturing device. Other portions of the grabbers can be horizontally compensated from the upper / lower configuration, either in a curved position or in a straight line. Alternatively, the full lengths of the first and second capturers can be placed in the upper / lower adaptation. Another aspect of the present invention comprises methods for controlling the orientation of a pair of seismic grabmers in the upper / lower configuration, the method comprising: (a) releasably adhering a first orientation element to the first seismic grabber and a second grabber element; orientation to a second seismic grabber, the first seismic grabber having a first portion in a first vertical position, the second seismic grabber having a portion in a second vertical position different from the first vertical position; Y (b) adjusting the orientation elements to control the vertical and horizontal position of at least the first and second portions in the upper / lower configuration. As with the systems of the present invention, the methods of the present invention are not limited in the number of trappers whose positions are controlled in the upper / lower configuration, nor is there any limit to the number of targeting elements of any grabber. In addition, one or more trappers can be controlled to be separated laterally in the direction of the crossed line away from the grabbers being placed in the upper / lower configuration. The methods of the present invention can comprise, where the adjustment is made by communicating with one or both of the orientation elements. The communication with the orientation elements can be done by selected telemetry of hard cable, wireless and optical telemetry. Other methods of the invention comprise adjusting one or more orientation elements to move the pair of seismic catchers to a desired position, which can be any direction in 3 dimensions, for example, lateral (horizontal), vertical or any direction between these ends. The desired position may be relative to the other pair of catchers or to a natural reference, such as the surface of the water, the bottom of the water or a geological feature or a man-made reference, such as a buoy, vessel, well driller, production driller or similar. The other pair of trappers can employ the systems of the present invention. The systems and methods of the present invention may be better appreciated by reviewing the brief description of the drawings, the detailed description of the invention and the appended claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The manner in which the objects of the invention and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1A and 1B illustrate two of many towing adaptations employing systems and methods of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic representation of an orientation element useful in the present invention; Figure 3 illustrates a control scheme that can be used to control the orientation elements in the systems of the present invention; Figures 4 through 6 illustrate the operation of the orientation element of Figure 2; Figure 7A is a principle or side view of another orientation element useful in the present invention; Figure 7B is a front view of the apparatus of the figure 7A; Figure 7C illustrates the apparatus of Figures 7A and 7B seen from above; Figure 8 illustrates the orientation element of the figures from 7A to 7C seen from above and with a view of the way in which the element is seen in the interior; Figure 9 is a front view of another orientation element useful in the present invention; Fig. 10 is a sectional view of an orientation element of Fig. 9 along the lines of section 10-10 of Fig. 9; Figure 11 is a front view of another orientation element useful in the present invention; and Figure 12 is a sectional view of the orientation element of Figure 11 along the lines of section 11-11 of Figure 11. However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings are not to scale and illustrate only the typical modalities of the present invention and, therefore, should not be considered as limiting its scope, since the present invention can admit other equally effective modalities. Detailed Description of the Invention In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be practiced without these details and numerous variations or modifications to the described modalities are possible. For example, in the present explanation, the aspects of the present invention are developed within the general context of the controlled positioning of seismic catchers, which may employ computer executable instructions, such as program modules, which are being executed by one or more conventional computers. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced in whole or in part with other computer system configurations, including portable devices, personal digital assistants, systems multiprocessor, programmable or microprocessor-based electronic components, network PCs, minicomputers, computer systems and the like. In a distributed computing environment, the program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. However, it should be noted that such modifications can be made to the systems and methods described herein without departing from the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, although it is developed within the context of the position control of seismic grabs, those skilled in the art will appreciate, from the following explanation, that the principles of the present invention can also be applied to other aspects of seismic data acquisition. Therefore, the systems and methods described below are simply illustrative implementations of a broader inventive concept. All the phrases, derivatives, placements and expressions of multiple words used in the present description, in particular in the following claims, are not expressly limited to nouns and verbs. It can be seen that meanings are not justly expressed by nouns and verbs or words alone. Languages use a variety of ways to express content. The existence of inventive concepts and the ways in which which are expressed varies in cultures and languages. For example, many lexicalized compounds, in Germanic languages are often expressed as noun-adjective combinations, noun-preposition-noun compositions or derivatives of the Latin languages. The possibility of including phrases, derivatives and placements in the claims is essential for high quality patents, making it possible to reduce expressions to the conceptual content and it is intended that all possible conceptual combinations of words that are compatible with said content (either within a language or in the languages) are included in the phrases used. The present invention relates to various systems and methods for controlling the vertical and horizontal position of one or more marine seismic components. The systems and methods of the present invention can be used in any form of marine seismology, including, but not limited to, 2-D, 3-D and 4-D seismology. One aspect of the present invention relates to systems for seismic grabber placement, a combination of two grabbers, not connected, but placed controlled using an orientation element in each grabber. Other aspects of the present invention, which are further explained below, relate to methods for remotely controlling the vertical and horizontal position of marine seismic catchers. As used in the present description, the phrases "upper / lower configuration" and "upper / lower configuration" mean when a cross-section of the geometry of the grabber is being viewed in a vertical plane, a grabber is directly above and / or below from one or more other capturers or an unlimited number of capturers. The upper / lower configuration can be only for selected cross sections in the selected vertical planes or for all vertical planes along the length of any particular grabber. The phrase "orientation element" means an apparatus that has the capability of movements that can result in any movement of multiple straight line trajectories or curves of a grabber in 3 dimensions, such as lateral (horizontal), vertical upward, vertical down and combinations thereof. The terms "bird", "cable controller", "tracker control apparatus" and similar terms and phrases are used interchangeably in the present description and refer to orientation elements that have one or more surfaces of control adhered to them or to some of them. A "front end derailleur that can be steered" (or simply "derailleur") as it is placed generally at the front end of the captor that is located more to the outside, and other elements of deviation, such as those that can be used in the frontal end of the seismic sources or the adaptations of source, can work like elements of direction in some modalities , although they are used mainly to pull the catchers and direct the sources laterally with respect to the direction of movement of the towing boat. The phrases "vertical and horizontal position control", "controlling the vertical and horizontal position", "position that can be controlled", "position that is remotely controlled" and the term "address" are generally used interchangeably in the present description, although it should be recognized by those experts in the field. technique, that the "direction" generally refers to following a defined trajectory, while the "control of the vertical and horizontal position", "controlling the vertical and horizontal position", "position that can be controlled" and "position that is remotely controls "could mean directing, but they also include maintaining a relative position, for example, a captor relative to a second or third grabber or any number of grabbers relative to one or more reference points, such as natural objects or manufactured by the man, or simply by diverting an object or directing a group of captors towards a target point defined by themselves, for example, all the catchers directed towards their common average position. These phrases also include controlling the position, so that the catchers form a "V" or "W", or some other pattern, referring to the cross section of the geometry of the grabber in a vertical plane. As the "control of the vertical and horizontal position", "position that can be controlled" and "controlling the vertical and horizontal position" are somewhat broader terms than "direction", these terms are used in the present description, except when the specific cases demand the use of more specific words. The term "position", when used as a noun, is broader than "depth" or lateral movement alone, and pretends to be synonymous with a "spatial relationship". Therefore, "the vertical position" includes the depth, but also the distance from the seabed or distance above or below a submerged or semi-submerged object or an object having submerged portions. When used as a verb "to place" means to cause it to be in a desired place, condition or spatial relationship. The term "control", used as a transitory verb, means to verify or regulate by comparison with a standard or desired value and when it is used as a noun ("controller") means a mechanism that controls. The control can be open circuit, closed circuit, feedback, forward power, cascade, adaptive, heuristic or combinations thereof. The phrase "which functions to control vertical and horizontal position", when referring to two or more orientation elements, means that they function independently or interdependently to control the vertical and horizontal position of the captors to which they are attached. The term "adjustment" means the change of one or more parameters or characteristics in real time or close to real time. "Real-time" means a data flow that occurs without any aggregate delay beyond the minimum required for the generation of the components of the data flow. This implies that there is no greater interval between the storage of information in the data flow and the retrieval of that information. There may be any additional requirement that the data flow components be generated fast enough to allow control decisions to be made that use them fast enough to be effective. "Close to real time" means data flows that have been delayed in some way, such as to allow the calculation of results using symmetric filters. Generally, the decisions made with this type of data flow are for the improvement of real-time decisions. Both real-time and near-real-time data flows are used immediately after they are received by the next process in the decision line. The trailer of the upper / lower configuration can improve the seismic image considerably, since the acoustic wave field that propagates downwards from the wave field that propagates upwards can be separated. Among geophysicists this is termed as the elimination of the ghost. Cross-data interpolation and prediction of the seismic wave field away from a grabber in a horizontal plane that includes the grabber can also be performed. By towing two or more sets of upper / lower configured catchers, for example, by towing two or more sets of catchers, each set in the upper / lower configuration with lateral spacing between them, may form an adaptation to cover a rectangle. Figures 1A and 1B illustrate two trailer adaptations employing systems and methods of the present invention. Many variations are possible and it should be emphasized again that the systems and methods of the present invention are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein and illustrated. The seismic vessel 10 is shown towing an adaptation 24 of seismic hydrophones (not shown), hidden within the 2, 2 'catchers. The number of catcher pairs can exceed ten, but four to eight will probably be common. An example of a configuration of four trap pairs as shown in FIG. 1A, wherein each pair of grabber 2, 2 'comprises a grabber 2' positioned as accurately as possible on the top of the other grabber 2, in one top / bottom adaptation of the total length of each grabber. Figure 1B illustrates a mode where only a portion of the two trap pairs 2, 2 'is in the upper / lower configuration and where the other trappers may be in the same plane, or in a cross-line pattern " W "or" V ", as will be explained further below. Also, trappers 2 are illustrated as capturers shorter than 2 ', although they may be of the same length as 2' grabs. A seismic source 8 is towed by the towing elements of sources 3i and 3j (for reasons of clarity, only two towing elements of sources are shown) provide a pressure impulse that is reflected in the subsurface layer of the sea floor and recorded by the seismic hydrophones. This signal is used to map the geological structure beyond the seabed. In Figures 1A and 1B, trappers 2 are towed deeper than capturers 2 '. Referring again to Figures 1A and 1B, the captors 2 and 2 'can be deflected laterally by the seismic deviators 12, 14, 16 and 18, which can be passive or can be controlled remotely and to the point where they help to place the grabbers at least laterally, also they can be found within the category of orientation elements. In both Figures 1A and 1B there are illustrated eight captures 2 and 2 'towed by eight respective towing elements as indicated from 3a to 3h, with the separation elements 4, 5, 6 and 7 provided between the adjacent deep capturers 2, and the adjacent flat capturers 2 '. Passive or active towing elements (not shown) can connect the source 8 with one or more towing elements of the catch. The vertical distance between the grabber 2, 2 'in a pair of grabber can be found in a range of 1 meter to 50 meters, and can be approximately 5 meters. A selected number of hydrophones, either mounted within the grabber or in / on the equipment mounted on the grabber, can be used as receivers in an acoustic range training system and thus provide knowledge of the horizontal and vertical position of the captors 2 and 2 '. The horizontal separation between the individual captors can be in a range of 0 (for example, in the modality illustrated in Figure 1A, exclusively in the upper / lower configuration) up to approximately 200 meters when the portions of the capturers are not configured in the upper / lower adaptation, as in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1B. When the capturers are explained in the upper / lower configuration, such as in Figure 1A, the horizontal separation between the adjacent pairs can be in a range of about 0 to about 200 meters, however, as the horizontal separation approaches zero, the ratio of cost and risk of loss and / or that the captors roll up becomes greater. In the embodiment of Figure 1B, the separation of the horizontal grabber in those portions of the grabber that are not in the upper / lower configuration may be consistent between a grabber 2 and its grabbers 2 'being much closer. The horizontal and vertical control of the grabber 2 and 2 'is provided by the orientation elements 22 which can be of any type, as explained herein, such as hydrofoils or birds that can provide forces in the horizontal and vertical planes . In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the orientation elements 22 of the capturers 2 'appear larger only to reflect that they are closer to the surface of the water than the orientation elements 22 of the capturers 2, since the capturers 2 are towed deeper in these modalities. The orientation elements 22 can be separated uniformly along the length of the catchers. The orientation elements 22 can be secured to the capturers 2, 2 ', hung from the capturers 2, 2', or inserted in line in the capturers 2, 2 'to provide the desired control of the horizontal and vertical position. Additional guiding elements (not shown) can be placed at intervals between the guiding elements 22 for a supplementary position control, for example, to reduce the "skewing" of the grabber between the locations where the guiding elements 22 are located at the captors 2, 2 '. In some embodiments of the present invention, it may be possible to change the capturer configuration during the seismic investigation, using the orientation elements 22, optionally aided by a crane system or other adaptation to alter the length of the cables 4 and 6. Alternatively , the cables 4 and 6 can be circuits and the ends of the captors 2 are adapted to the cables of the circuits 4 and 6. As a non-limiting example, the diffusion can be further illustrated with the upper / lower configuration as shown between capturers 2 and 2 'and then changed by moving the deeper capturers 2 a little so that they are below the adjacent 2' flat capturers, as indicated by the transparent line 2a. One type of targeting element useful in the present invention is described in commonly assigned US Patent No. 6,671,223 which describes a steerable bird known under the trade designation "Q-FIN", available from WesternGeco LLC, Houston, Texas which is designed to be electrically or mechanically connected in series with a grabber. The orientation element, or "bird", illustrated in FIG. 2 generally with the number 22, may comprise an elongated designed body 11 adapted to be mechanically or electrically connected in series in a seismic marine sequester of multiple sections 2 or 2 'of the type which is towed by a seismic research vessel and which is used, in conjunction with a seismic source also towed by the vessel or towed by a separate vessel, for conducting seismic investigations, as briefly described in this document. To allow such connection, each end of the body 11 is provided with a respective mechanical and electrical connector, 26 and 28, these connectors being complementary with and designed to interconnect the catcher end connectors 30, 32, which are generally used to join sections adjacent to a grabber. The bird 22 can be provided with two opposing control surfaces, or wings, 34, which can be molded from fiber reinforced plastic materials, which project out of the body 11 and which can rotate independently about a common axis extending substantially perpendicularly through the longitudinal axis of the body. The rotation of the wings 34 can be effected under the control of a control system seated in a sealed manner within the body 11. The wings 34 can be generally rounded or swept back with respect to the towing direction of the captors 2 and 2. '(whose address is indicated by arrow 38), in order to reduce the possibility of waste getting caught in them. To facilitate its removal and rapid re-assembly, the wings 34 can be secured to the body 11 by a quick-release attachment 40. As mentioned above, the grabber 2 includes hydrophones distributed along its length; it also includes the system of control and conversion circuits to convert the outputs of the hydrophones into digital data signals and control the longitudinally extending control and data lines to drive the control and data signals to and from the circuit system of control and conversion and the electric power supply line to supply electric power from the vessel to the circuit system. All these lines are connected together from section 2a of the catcher to section 2b of the catcher by means of the respective corresponding lines 42 which extend through the body 11 of the bird 22 between the connectors 26, 28. Additionally, a control system 27 is connected to receive control signals and electrical power from the respective lines 42. The most of the length of the body 11 of the bird 22 is flexible, the only rigid portions being the connectors 30, 32, and a short central section which houses the control system 27 and from which the wings 34 project. central, which is made of aluminum or titanium and has perforations that pass through it longitudinally from the passage of the stress elements, such as those known under the commercial designation Kevlar, which carry the longitudinal load in the body 1 and they are kept as short as possible, generally around 40 cm, so that once the wings 34 have been disassembled from the body 11, the catch 2 can be rolled up and unrolling a large drum used to store the grabber, with the body 11 still connected to the grabber. The quick release attachment 40 allows the disassembly and assembly of the wings 34 to be at least partially automatic as the catch 2 is being wound in and out during the investigation. One modality of this bird has two opposite wings that can be controlled independently in order to control the lateral position of the birds. capturing, as well as its depth. Other birds useful in the present invention include birds that receive energy from batteries suspended beyond the lower catcher of a pair of catchers and that include a pair of wings projecting laterally, the combination of catchers, the orientation elements being accommodated (birds ) to be floating neutrally. Clamped birds can also be used, as explained above. The birds useful in the present invention, including suspended birds, line birds, clamped birds, may include on-board controllers and / or communication apparatuses, which may be microprocessor-based, to receive control signals representative of the desired depth. , the actual depth, the desired lateral position, the actual lateral position, the roll angle of the bird. The bird of the on-board controllers can communicate with local controllers mounted on other birds and / or communicate with other local controllers and / or remote controllers, such as a monitoring controller. Said control system is explained with reference to figure 3. For example, the control schemes could be cascaded. Working independently of or with other birds, the control circuit of the bird can then adjust each of its wings independently by means of staggering motors to begin to achieve the bird's rolling angle calculated and the angular position of the wings. Although the main function of the birds attached to each catcher is to function as guidance elements to control the relative position between the catchers and / or catchers of catchers, the birds useful in the present description may include seismic receivers, such as hydrophones and in said cases may include a partially flexible elongate body to house one or more receivers. As mentioned above, the capturers 2 and 2 ', include hydrophones distributed along their length, may also include the control and conversion circuit system for converting the signals of the hydrophones into digital data signals, control lines and longitudinally extending data for driving the control and data signals to and from the conversion and control circuitry and the electric power supply lines for supplying electrical power from the vessel to the circuit system. All these lines can be connected together from one section of the catcher to another section of the catcher by means of the respective corresponding lines which extend through the body 11 of the steerable bird 22, through the adjacent sections of the catcher and through your bird that can be directed closer 22 and in this way, below the length of the grabber. Alternative or additionally, wireless and optical transmission signals can be generated and received by functional components in or on the capturers 2 and 2 'and the body of the steerable bird 11. One reason for providing the elongate flexible body parts 11 is to provide a length sufficient for the optional inclusion of one or more hydrophones or groups of hydrophones, if necessary, to preserve the desired uniform separation of the hydrophone along the length of the catch 2 or 2 '. If hydrophones are not included, the flexible parts of the body 11 can be omitted altogether, together with the aforementioned stretching elements. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a control scheme useful in the present invention for controlling orientation elements in the system and methods of the invention. In Figure 3, "N" refers to the orientation element Nth, while N1, N2 and so on, refer to an orientation element N1, an orientation element N2 and so on. The control system 126N comprises a control circuit based on a microprocessor 134N having the respective inputs of 135N to 139N to receive the control signals representative of the desired vertical position, the actual vertical position, the desired lateral position, the lateral position actual and the roll angle of the orientation element N (for example, the angular position of the body 11 N in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the grabber 2 or 2 '). The control circuit 134N may also receive information through the input 133N with respect to the condition or position of the orientation elements N1, N2 and the like. The desired vertical position signal can be either a fixed signal or an adjustable signal, while the actual vertical position signal can be produced by a 140N depth sensor mounted on or on the N-element. The position signals Lateral can be derived from a position determination system of the type described in our US Patent No. 4,992,990 or our International Patent Application No. W09621163. The roll angle signal may be produced by an inclinometer 142N mounted on or within the orientation element N. The control circuit 134N may have control outputs 144N, 146N, connected to control the respective electric stepped motors 148N, 150N and each one of which is connected in a conductive manner to one of the respective wings 34N. The stepping motors 148N, 150N can have respective outputs in which they produce signals representative of their respective current angular positions, (and therefore, the current angular positions of the wings 34N), whose outputs can be connected to the inputs of respective control 152N, 154N of the control circuit 134N. The figures from 4 to 6 illustrate the operation of the bird 22 in the case where the catch 2 or 2 'is slightly heavy (with slightly negative float), and the bird 22 therefore needs to produce an elevation to maintain the catch. in the desired vertical position. This elevation is produced by a water flow on the wings 34 of the bird 22, resulting from the desired towing speed of the captors 2, 2 'through the water, and can be changed by changing the angle of attack of the wings with respect to to the flow. The magnitude of the elevation required to move the grabber 2 is indicated by the length of the arrows 60. If grabber 2 now needs to be moved laterally to the right (as can be seen in figures 4 to 6), the angular position of the left wing 34 of the bird 22 can be adjusted first to increase its elevation, while the angular position of the right wing 34 is adjusted to decrease its elevation, as represented by the length of the arrows 64 in Figure 5, causing this so that the bird 22 rotates clockwise from the position shown in figure 4 to the position shown in figure 5. This clockwise rotation may continue until the bird 22 reaches a stable condition shown in Figure 6, where it can be observed that the vertical component of elevation produced by the wings 34, indicated by arrows 66, is equal to the elevation represented by arrows 60 of figure 4, required to keep grabber 2 in the desired vertical position, while the much larger horizontal component, represented by arrows 68 , move grabber 2 to the right. Figure 7A illustrates a principle or side view of another orientation element 22a useful in the present invention. The orientation element 22a is characterized in the US Patent No. 5,532,975 of the successor in title and the following explanation is derived from the Patent 975. The orientation element 22a comprises a part of the body 54, the wings 46 with balance rudders 48, and rudders of the tail 50. Figure 7B is a front view of the orientation element 22a, in which the stabilizing rudders 56 are provided. In figure 7C the rudders 56 are illustrated even more clearly. A top view also provides an illustration of two other tail rudders 52. The towing element 3 is the connection, which has the boat 10 (figure 1) with the towed equipment or with the boat. Figure 8 illustrates a possible internal design of the orientation element 22a of the figures from 7A to 7C useful in the present invention. Figure 8 is an example of how the body of an element can be designed or adapted of orientation 22a. The illustrated embodiment is not intended to be restricted to this form and distribution, thereby making it possible for orientation elements of different types to be useful in the present invention. In the orientation element, the front and rear ends can be provided with acoustic positioning equipment 66. The instruments can be provided in a water-tight compartment 63 for use in the positioning of the orientation element 22a. Instruments that include an inclinometer, a compass, static pressure transmitters, pitot pressure transducers and the like can be provided. In addition, there may be transmitters that record the angle deviation of the wings and rudders. There may be a hydraulic system that operates the position of the adjustable parts of the orientation element 22a. Common components for a hydraulic system such as pumps, oil, control valves and the like, can be located in a compartment 65. Cylinders 68 can be provided in the same compartment for adjustment of tail rudders 52. A supply of Energy can be partially transmitted from the tow cable directly to the electrical system and / or the batteries 64 can also be provided in the sealed compartment to! water 67. The batteries may be located in the orientation element 22a as a backup power supply and supplementary. Two ballast tanks or floatation tanks 60 that can be dimensioned can optionally be provided in the orientation element 22a. These can be placed in the water as soon as the orientation element 22a is placed in the water. If extra flotation is required, these tanks can be filled with air or another gas, such as nitrogen, helium and mixtures thereof and the like. The air or other gas can be transported from a reservoir of compressed gas in a compartment 61 in the on-board orientation element 22a via the conduits to any of the ballast tanks or in the real part of the body 22a and for the tanks of flotation balasta on the wings. A valve 62 can be provided between the gas supply to the wings and the supply of gas to the reserve tanks in the body part of the orientation element 22a. The wings can be moved by two parallel cylinders 58. The balance rudders 48 (FIG. 7A) can be regulated by means of separate cylinders located inside the wings, closer to the body. An arrow ensures the force transferred to the balance rudders 48. Although the orientation element 22a can be directed primarily from the central control system of the ship 10, the orientation member 22a itself can adjust its course by means of its own control circuits. control, based on the information of the angle indicators, pressure transmitters, speed transmitters, depth gauges, positioning instruments and other instruments installed in the orientation element 22a in order to provide as accurate a placement as possible. Figure 9 illustrates a front view and figure 10 a cross-sectional view of another orientation element 22b useful in the present invention. The orientation element 22b is described in US Patent No. 3,605,674, and the following explanation summarizes the important portions of that patent. The orientation element 22b comprises a body 83 having a removable section 84 to allow the body 83 to be secured around the grabber 2. The removable section 84 can be secured to the rest of the body by any suitable means, such as screws 85, trims, fasteners and the like. In the embodiment 22b of Figures 9 and 10, only one pair of pallets 86 is used. Accordingly, the mode 22b will allow control of the orientation element and the grabber connected only in the horizontal plane. Therefore, the system would also employ other orientation elements that control the vertical position of the grabber, such as the bird 22 described with reference to Fig. 2 and 4 to 6. The paddles 86 are connected together by means of a hhorquilla 87 having a curved central section for allowing the passage of the grabber 2. A ring 88 is fixedly secured to the grabber 2 and coincides with a recess 89 in the body sections 83 and 84 to secure the orientation element 22b in the desired position and fixed in the grabber 2. When the removable portion 84 is secured to the body 83, the steps 89 are satisfactorily secured around the portion of the ring 88 to prevent the orientation element 22b from sliding longitudinally in the catch 2. However, the orientation element 22b can rotate around the catch 2, to maintain the correct orientation of the orientation element 22b in relation to the surface of the water and the sea floor, a weight 90 can be secured in a suitable location in the body 83. The weight 90 will ensure that the pallets 86, as well as the second pair of pallets of the modes having pallets placed horizontally (not shown), are maintained in the vertical planes Lime and horizontal correct, as to provide complete and accurate control in the orientation element. A bevel gear 91 is connected to the fork 87 and a second bevel gear 92 is connected to the arrow of the reversible direct current stepping motor 93. This motor 93 is again secured to the body 83, and as can easily be said, the operation of the motor 93 will cause the gear 91 to rotate lengthwise with the fork 87 to the which is fixedly secured to the gear 91. It should be noted that the fork 87 is rotatably mounted on the body 83, and that it has suitable bearing elements 94 for this purpose. The bearing elements also contain seal elements 95 to prevent the flow of water within the body, which could possibly damage the actuation elements of the orientation element. Fixedly secured to the direct current motor 93 is the receiver 96, which can also be secured to the body 83 if desired. The receiver 96 may contain a power source for the motor 93, such as a battery. The purpose of the receiver 96 is to receive the signals transmitted from a transmitter 99 carried by the grabber 2 (the transmitter being placed in each orientation element of this type), to drive the motor 93 accordingly. The appropriate wiring 98 leads through the grabber 2 to carry the signals of the boat to the transmitters 99. By means of the correct signals, the motor 93 can be driven in any direction, thereby rotating the blades 86 in any direction. If for some reason the captors move out of position, the appropriate signals can be transmitted to the receivers 96 which will drive the motor 93 accordingly in the respective orientation elements of this type. The change in the position of the palette is achieved, therefore, supplying direct current in one direction or the other for a specific amount of time. Of course, a change in the direction of the current flow will reverse the rotation direction of the motor shaft and therefore provide the means to rotate the vanes in any direction. The time of the direct current flow is convertible in degrees of the angle change of the pallet and the operator can form graphs of the same for a ease of reference, or the process can be automated. Where the stepping motor is used, each signal or electrical pulse transmitted to the receiver will result in rotation of the motor shaft through a separate increase, for example, to twelve degrees. With this knowledge and with the knowledge of the gear ratio used, the amount of rotation of the blade for an impulse or a train of pulses can be determined. The change in the position of the paddle will bring the necessary adjustment to the travel path of the orientation elements. Once the correct position has been assumed again, the vanes can be adjusted again to the neutral position of Figure 9, so that the grabber will continue along the desired path. In a situation such as passing through a cross-flow area, the paddles can be rotated in the necessary position to keep the catcher in line with the desired travel path through this area. Once that the crossed current area has been passed, the paddles are again returned to their neutral position shown in figure 9. All the adjustments explained above can be done manually or with the provision of the appropriate equipment, automatically, for example, through the use of a control scheme, such as the one illustrated in figure 3 and explained above. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, pickers 2 and 2 'may include weights (not shown) to provide a balasta effect, thereby giving each picker a neutral balance at the desired depth, or so close as possible, and in this way the captors will tend to submerge and remain at the desired depths. However, there are situations in which it would be desirable to be able to adjust the depth of the orientation elements, or in a more exact manner, adjust the distance between the orientation elements and the capturers and / or between the lower capturer and the bottom of the body. of water in the case of upper / lower configurations. For this purpose, orientation elements 22b '(not shown) using two pairs of vanes can be used. Again, a weight 90 (see Figure 10) is employed to ensure the correct orientation of the orientation element 22b 'which must be maintained so that the movement of the pallets of control make the desired changes in direction or depth. The operation of this last modality 22b 'described, is in fact the same as that of mode 22b, with the exception that it provides means to control the position of a captor, both in the vertical and horizontal plane, undoubtedly in 3 dimensions. Figures 11 and 12 are a front and a diagrammatic sectional view of a lateral profile, respectively, of another orientation element 22c useful in the present invention. The division collars 211 are fixedly attached to the catch 2 where it is desired to mount the orientation element 22c. Each collar contains a channel that accepts a concentric ring 212. Each ring 212 is divided to fit around the collar 211 and is secured by appropriate means after assembly. Once secured, each ring 212 is free to rotate within the channel of its collar 211. The mounting brackets 213 and 214 are secured securely by suitable means to each ring 212. Each mounting bracket 213 and 214 accepts a first tube 202 and a second tube 203. Mounting brackets 213 and 214 secure each tube 202 and 203 along the diametral axis 210 of the grabber 2. The first tube 202 may contain the receiving means, encoder means, drive means and engine means. The second tube 203 may contain a plurality of batteries which provide power through correct wiring 215 to the motor means and electrical components of the first tube 202. The mounting bracket 213 is also suitably formed to accept a pair of diametrically opposed colinear arrows 204 of a fork 87 having a curved central section 216 to allow passage of the grabber 2. Permanently attached to each arrow 204 is a pair of vertically oriented control fins 86. As only vertically oriented fins 86 are provided in this embodiment, the apparatus 22c may be used only to control the location of the grabber 2 in the horizontal plane. Each ring 212 allows free rotation of each support 213 and 214 with the assembled tubes 202 and 203 and the fork 87 as the captor 2 rotates. The weight of the tubes 202 and 203 will maintain the orientation element 22c in the correct vertical orientation. If desired, floatation means 218 can be provided to help maintain the orientation element 22c in the vertical orientation and also provide neutral flotation. The fork 87 and the connected fins 86 can be rotated by means of the motor inside the tube 202. A first bevel gear 216 is adhered to an arrow 217 from the direct current reversible stepper motor within the first tube 202. A bearing element and proper seal (not illustrated) is provided at one end of the tube 202 for the passage and rotation of the arrow 217 while preventing the ingress of water. A second bevel gear 219 is fixedly secured to the arrow 204 of the fork 87. As can be seen, the operation of the engine will cause the gears 216 and 219 to rotate together with the fork 87 to which the fork is fixedly secured. 219. The mounting brackets 213 and 214 may also be provided with suitable bearing elements 220 for the rotary mounting of the fork 87. If desired, an aerodynamic body 222 (illustrated transparent in Figure 12) made of fiberglass or other suitable material for the additional aerofoil orientation element 22c. It is envisaged that the fuselage 222 may be provided in two halves 84 and 84 'which are fixedly secured to another grabber and around the grabber 2, by suitable means such as screws 85, trimmings, clamps and the like. The tubes 202 and 203 can provide protection for the components they contain, so that it is not necessary to seal the fuselage 222, if provided. The induction means may be located in the first tube 202 and the perception of the coded control signals transmitted along the cables by the transmission means (not shown). The elements of guidance useful in this invention can connect at least one grabber in a way that can communicate with the outside world, which can be a boat, a satellite or an apparatus that is on land. The means by which this can be achieved varies according to the amount of energy required by the orientation elements and the amount of energy that can be stored locally in terms of batteries, fuel cells and the like. If the local storage capacity for batteries, fuel cells and the like is sufficient, the orientation elements can be secured in the skin of the catcher at the locations where an inducer is located within the skin of the catcher. Then any particular orientation element and its captor can be communicated through the skin by means of electrical impulses. If, on the other hand, an orientation element needs to load current from the grabber, a different method is required. In this case, the orientation element can be mounted between two sections of the grabber and as such comprise an insert between the two grabber sections, as described herein. It is within the scope of the present invention to combine the systems of the invention with other position control equipment, such as deviating element of the adaptation of sources and deviators of the grabber Some of these may include flange systems, pneumatic systems, hydraulic systems and combinations thereof. As mentioned herein, the construction materials of the targeting elements and trappers useful in the systems and methods of the present invention may vary. However, there may be a need to balance the seismic equipment, so that the system is balanced so that it floats neutrally in the water, or almost does, to perform its intended function. Polymeric compounds with appropriate fillers used to adjust flotation and mechanical properties may be employed, as desired. During use, the position of the capturing pair can be actively controlled by means of the GPS, or another position detector that perceives the position of the pair of tilt sensors and sensors, acoustic sensors or other means to perceive the orientation of one or more individual captors and feed this data to the navigation and control systems. The positions of the GPS nodes can be measured while the shape of the grabber can be calculated using a simulation and the optional current direction and magnitude measurements optionally. Or all the positions of the grabber could be determined only by the simulation.

Alternatively, the data can be fed directly to the local controllers in one, some or all of the orientation elements. The natural position and local movement of the pair of catchers can be controlled on board a towing boat, in some other vessel, locally or undoubtedly, in a remote location. Using a communication system, either hard or wireless, the information from the remote controller can be sent to one or more local controllers in the guidance elements and, when present or when desired, one or more diverter or diverter elements of the catcher. The local controllers are simultaneously operably connected for the adjustment of mechanisms comprising motors or other means of motive energy and actuators or couplers connected to the orientation elements, and if present, deviators which function to move in the manner desired the captors. This in turn adjusts the position of the pair of trappers, causing them to move, as desired. The feedback control can be achieved by using the local sensors placed correctly depending on the specific mode used, which can inform the local and remote controllers the position of one or more orientation elements, the angle of inclination of a pair of catchers, the distance between the catchers, a position of an actuator, the condition of an engine or hydraulic cylinder, the condition of a bird and the like. Therefore, a computer or a human operator can have access to the information and control the entire placement effort, and in this way obtain much better control in the process of acquiring seismic data. Very often, water currents vary significantly with depth and two or more trappers in an upper / lower configuration can easily exit the ideal depth and lateral position, or trappers can be "dragged" or "smeared" . In order to correct these movements, the guidance elements useful in the systems of the present invention can put into effect the vertical and / or lateral movement of said capturing devices. For example, the rotational movement can be achieved by moving the wings 34 of two particular orientation elements 22, say one of each grabber 2 and 2 ', in opposite directions and the translational force can be imposed by placing the wings 34 in identical directions . A combination of these movements can also be imposed. Although only a few example embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications to the exemplary embodiments without departing materially from the teachings and novel advantages of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. In the claims, no clause is intended to be in a media-plus-function format permitted by title 35 § 112, paragraph 6 of the United States Code, unless "means for" is explicitly mentioned. together with an associated function. The clauses of "means for" are intended to cover the structures described here as performing the aforementioned function and not only the structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Therefore, although a clamped bird or a line bird may not be structural equivalents because the clamped bird employs a type of fastener, while an in line bird uses a different clamp, in the environment of bird use for placing the catchers, a clamped bird and a bird in line can be equivalent structures.

Claims (20)

1. CLAIMS 1. A system which comprises: (a) a first seismic grabber having a first portion in a first vertical position and a first orientation element; (b) a second seismic grabber having a second portion in a second vertical position different from the first vertical position and having a second orientation element; (c) the orientation elements operating to control the vertical and horizontal position of at least the first and second portions in the upper / lower configuration. The system as described in claim 1, characterized in that the first orientation element comprises the first control surfaces. The system as described in claim 2, characterized in that the second orientation element comprises the second control surfaces. The system as described in claim 3, characterized in that the first and second control surfaces are adapted to be independently controlled. 5. The system as described in claim 1, characterized in that the first orientation element comprises a first plurality of birds that can be controlled remotely, and at least some of which can control the vertical position and at least some of which can control the horizontal position of the first captor . The system as described in claim 5, characterized in that the second orientation element comprises a second plurality of birds that can be controlled remotely and at least some of which can control the vertical position and at least some of the which can control the horizontal position of the second grabber. The system as described in claim 6, characterized in that each bird of the first plurality of birds that can be controlled remotely is placed near a corresponding bird of the second plurality of birds that can be controlled in a manner remote 8. The system as described in claim 7, characterized in that all birds that can be controlled remotely are adapted to both control the vertical and horizontal position of the first and second seismic catchers. 9. The system as described in claim 1, characterized in that all the elements of Orientation are adapted to control both the vertical and horizontal position of the first and second seismic catchers. The system as described in claim 1, characterized in that the first orientation element comprises a first portion of the orientation elements that controls only the vertical position of the seismic grabber and a second portion of the orientation elements that it controls only the horizontal position and the second orientation element control both the vertical and horizontal positions of the second seismic grabber. The system as described in claim 1, which includes features selected from: a) a control system that allows each targeting element to send signals to and receive signals from each of the other targeting elements; b) a control system that allows each guidance element to send signals to and receive signals from a remote controller; c) a first seismic grabber comprising a third portion having a third vertical position different from the first and second vertical positions; d) the second seismic collector comprising one fourth portion that has a fourth vertical position different from the first, second and third vertical positions; e) a third grabber having a third portion in a third vertical position, characterized in that the third grabber has a horizontal compensation ranging from zero to some non-zero value, with respect to the first and second grabbers; and f) combinations thereof. 12. A method which comprises: (a) releasably adhering a first orientation element to a first seismic grabber and a second orientation element to a second seismic grabber, the first seismic grabber having a first portion in a first vertical position , the second seismic grabber having a second portion in a second vertical position different from the first vertical position; and (b) adjusting the orientation elements to control the vertical and horizontal position of at least the first and second portions in an upper / lower configuration. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that the adjustment is made by communicating with the orientation elements. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that the adjustment comprises transmitting signals to one or more orientation elements that can be controlled remotely mounted on line in the first and second seismic seismic. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that the adjustment is selected from: a) transmitting signals to one or more remotely controllable guidance elements mounted on the first and second seismic capturers; b) move the first seismic grabber so that it is placed at a shallower depth than the second seismic grabber; c) pointing to a third orientation element to move a third portion of the first seismic grabber to a different vertical position than the first and second vertical positions; d) signaling the first and second guidance elements to move the first and second seismic catchers as a first pair relative to the second pair of seismic catchers; e) signaling the first and second orientation elements to move the first and second seismic grabs as a first pair in relation to a natural reference or manufacaturadas by man; f) signaling the first and second guidance elements to move the first and second capturing devices seismic in a regular cross-line pattern; and g) combinations thereof. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that the adjustment comprises signaling the first and second orientation elements for moving the first and second seismic capturers to repeat a previously used capturer configuration. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that the adjustment comprises pointing the first orientation element to move it only vertically and pointing the second orientation element to move it both vertically and horizontally, or vice versa. The method as described in claim 12, characterized in that the adjustment comprises signaling the first and second orientation elements to vary a distance between the first portion of the first seismic grabber and the second portion of the second seismic grabber. 19. A system which comprises: (a) an adaptation of seismic catchers accommodated in an upper / lower configuration; and (b) a plurality of orientation elements capable of controlling the vertical and horizontal position of seismic catchers, the first being attached plurality of orientation elements for at least some of the seismic catchers. 20. A method which comprises: (a) towing an adaptation of seismic catchers in an upper / lower configuration; and (b) control the vertical and horizontal position of the seismic catchers by adjusting the orientation elements attached to the seismic catchers.