US3885440A - Free-grab device for collecting underwater samples - Google Patents

Free-grab device for collecting underwater samples Download PDF

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Publication number
US3885440A
US3885440A US379940A US37994073A US3885440A US 3885440 A US3885440 A US 3885440A US 379940 A US379940 A US 379940A US 37994073 A US37994073 A US 37994073A US 3885440 A US3885440 A US 3885440A
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United States
Prior art keywords
jaws
frame
free
open position
grab
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Expired - Lifetime
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US379940A
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English (en)
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Andre Rossfelder
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Societe Le Nickel SLN SA
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Individual
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    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B49/00—Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells
    • E21B49/02—Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells by mechanically taking samples of the soil
    • E21B49/025—Testing the nature of borehole walls; Formation testing; Methods or apparatus for obtaining samples of soil or well fluids, specially adapted to earth drilling or wells by mechanically taking samples of the soil of underwater soil, e.g. with grab devices
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21C—MINING OR QUARRYING
    • E21C50/00—Obtaining minerals from underwater, not otherwise provided for

Definitions

  • This device comprises a box-like frame, the bottom and two side faces of which are covered at least partially by an orificed wall, the other side'faces being uncovered; two similar pick-up jaws which are fitted with scraping blades and which are pivoted on said frame to be displaceable between an open position in which they extend generally towards one another and a closed position in which they are in effective engagement with the uncovered side faces of the frame; return means acting on said jaws to urge them outwardly of said open position towards said closed position; releasable locking means acting on said jaws to lock them in said open position; and release means acting on said locking means to free said jaws when the device touches the sea-bed.
  • the present invention relates to a free-grab device for collecting underwater samples, particularly polymetallic nodules deposited on ocean beds, sometimes at very great depths which may be as much as 6,000
  • free-grab device is used to designate sampling equipment which, in contrast to dredges, is released at the surface of the water without being connected to a ship or to a fixed surface installation.
  • the free-grab device is caused to sink by a ballast which overcomes the action of one or more floats; when the device touches the seabed it releases the ballast automatically and, under float action, rises to the sea surface where it is recovered and where the samples contained are removed.
  • One of the objects of the present invention is therefore to provide a free-grab device which enables a large quantity of samples to be collected in a single operation carried out in a reliable manner.
  • a further object of the invention is to provide a freegrab device which enables the ballast to be cast off in a simple and reliable manner.
  • Yet another object of the invention is to provide a free-grab device which is of simple construction and inexpensive to produce
  • a free-grab device for collecting underwater samples, the device comprising a box-like frame, the bottom and two side faces of which are covered at least partially by an orificed wall, the other side faces being uncovered; two similar pick-up jaws which are fitted with scraping blades and which are pivoted on said frame to be displaceable between an open position in which they extend generally towards one another and a closed position in which they are in effective engagement with the uncovered side faces of the frame; return means acting on said jaws to urge them outwardly of said open position towards said closed position; releasable locking means acting on said jaws to lock them in said open position; and release means acting on said locking means to free said arms when the device touches the sea-bed.
  • Each of said jaws preferably comprises a cutting blade mounted between two walls pivoted on said frame, said jaws being covered at least partially byan orificed wall.
  • Said orificed walls advantageously comprise a net, the edges of which are secured to said frame and to said jaws.
  • Said resilient return means may comprise two resilient loops stretched between said jaws and passing over members secured to said frame.
  • Said means for locking the jaws preferably comprise two substantially non-resilient cables each of which is secured by its ends to said jaws on the same side of the sampling device, and the two cables being interconnected at their mid zones at the upper part of the device by means of a releasable connecting member,
  • the means for releasing the jaws may be a casting-off device of the kind described in our U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 379,939 filed on July 17, 1973.
  • the device of the present invention may also include a resilient cradle mounted on said frame to hold ballast in position.
  • said jaws When said jaws are in the open position, they are preferably at an angle of the order of to one another, said cutting blades then being substantially contiguous.
  • the jaws of the sampling device pivot outwardly during the pick up operation, and this eliminates or at least minimises the risk of their becoming jammed on the sea-bed or jammed as a result of samples becoming jammed between the cutting blades. Also, if one jaw were to be jammed, the other should still be effective.
  • the ballast is cast off in a simple and reliable manner, since it is released downwardly between the jaws when they pivot outwardly.
  • the device of the invention includes a box-like frame 1 which is constructed of, for example, U-section members welded together to form upper and lower sub-frames 2 and 3 which are interconnectedby vertical members 4a, 4b.
  • Two similar jaws 5 and 6 are pivoted about shafts 7 and 8, respectively, which are secured to the frame 1 and each of which is located close to a short end of the lower sub-frame 3.
  • the shafts 7 and 8 are substantially parallel to the short ends of the sub-frame 3.
  • the jaw 5 has a cutting blade 9 which extends between the end parts of two vertical walls 10. Near their other end parts, within the frame, each wall 10 which is in the form of an elongated plate disposed near the side of the frame 1, is formed with a hole for receiving the shaft 7.
  • the jaw 6 has two walls 12 pivotally mounted on the The faces of jaws 5 and 6, and of the lower sub-frame 3, and the two long side faces of the main frame 1, are covered by a net, such as conventional fishing net, the size of the net openings depending on the particlesize of the sediments that are to be collected.
  • a net such as conventional fishing net
  • Each of these faces can be covered by a separate piece of net, of rectangular form, the edges of the pieces being secured along the elements defining the face.
  • the piece of net covering the jaw 5 could extend between the walls 10, the blade 9, and the adjacent short side of the lower sub-frame 3.
  • this piece of net 17 can be readily determined; it suffices for this purpose to imagine that the jaws 5 and 6 and the long side faces 15 of the frame 1 as being turned outwardly to lie in the plane of the lower subframe 3. There is then obtained a cruciform area which provides the required shape, after increasing its size to give the form of a pocket. Only the edges of the net 17 are secured to the device.
  • the net is secured to the elements in the following order: along the blade 9, then along the rear wall 10, the rear left-hand vertical member 4a of the frame, the rear edge of the upper sub-frame 2, the rear right-hand vertical member 4b, the rear wall 12 ofjaw 6, the blade 14, the front wall 12, the front right-hand vertical member 4b of the frame, the front edge of the upper sub-frame 2, the front left-hand vertical member 4a of the frame, and, finally, the front wall 10 of the jaw 5.
  • the device is fitted with return means which force the jaws 5 and 6 to pivot outwardly in a precise manner and to move into contact with the short end faces of the frame 1.
  • This return means may be constituted by a pair of resilient endless loops 18 which are advantageously made of a synthetic material such as NEO- PRENE.
  • One of the loops 18 is fitted at the front of the device and the other at its rear, and each loop passes over two pulleys 19 and 20 mounted on the wall 10 of the jaw 5 and on the wall 12 of the jaw 6, respectively.
  • the two strands of each loop pass on theexterior over sleeves 7a and 8a mounted, respectively, on the pivot shafts 7 and 8 of the jaws 5 and 6 and, at the top of the device, these strands pass over two transverse bars 21 and 22 secured to the upper sub-frame 2 of the main frame 1.
  • the length of the resilient loops 18 is, of course, such that they are firmly tensioned when fitted so that they apply to the jaws 5 and 6 a couple which tends to cause the jaws to pivot outwardly about the shafts 7 and 8 and also urge the jaws 5 and 6 firmly against the frame 1 when the device is in the closed position.
  • the lengths of the cables 23 are such that, if the front cable is held at its mid point and passed over the front edge of the upper sub-frame 2 of the main frame 1 and horizontally in the rearward direction, its mid point comes substantially into contact with the mid point of the similar cable 23 extending from the rear part of the device. It then suffices to connect the two cables firmly together for example by means of shackles 26 connected by a releasable means (not illustrated) in order to lock the jaws 5 and 6 in the open position.
  • a resilient cradle is formed by two loops 28, made of, for example, NEOPRENE, which are stretched between two transverse bars 29 and 30 secured to the lower sub-frame 3 of the main frame 1.
  • the purpose of this cradle is to carry a cylindrical ballast element, shown diagrammatically at 31, when the device is in the inverted position as will be described later.
  • the device is mounted on a rigid frame to enable it to be ready for use more easily, but inverted so that the sub-frame 2 which is in the upper position in the drawing is located at the bottom.
  • the ballast 31 is placed in the resilient cradle 28, the space enclosed by the net 17, in its form described above, being employed for this purpose.
  • the jaws 5 and'6 are then pivoted inwardly against the action of the resilient loops 18. This operation, which may be facilitated by the use of two similar levers bearing against the sleeves 7a and 8a, is completed when the jaws 5 and 6 have moved so that the blades 9 and 14 abut against one another.
  • the device may then be temporarily locked by passing a U- shaped pin 32 into holes 33 formed in the jaws 5 and 6.
  • the device is then reinverted to bring it to its normal operating position and is lowered into the sea.
  • the ballast 31 now rests on the walls 10 and 12 of the jaws 5 and 6, and can be cast off after automatic release means, which have replaced the U-shaped pin 32, disconnect the cables 23 When the device touches the seabed. When this occurs, the jaws 5 and 6 swing outwardly, the blades 9 and 14 scraping the sea-bed, and the sedimentary material that is to be sampled is moved by the net which covers the jaws. The material is trapped in the device when the jaws abut against the small side-faces of the frame. The ballast 31 is deposited on the sea-bed, and is generally not recoverable.
  • the net or trap formed by the device is emptied, and the cycle can be repeated.
  • the metallic parts of the device according to the invention are preferably made of an aluminium alloy resistant to corrosion by water, for example certain alloys of aluminium and magnesium.
  • a free-grab device for collecting underwater samples comprising a box-like frame, the bottom and two side faces of which are covered at least partially by an orificed wall, the other side faces being uncovered; two similar pick-up jaws which are fitted with scrapingblades and which are pivoted on said frame to be displaceable between an open position in which they extend generally towards one another and a closed position in which they are in effective engagement with the uncovered side faces of the frame; return means acting on said jaws to urge them outwardly of said open position towards said closed position; releasable locking means acting on said jaws to lock them in said open position; and release means acting on said locking means to free said jaws when the device touches the sea-bed.
  • each of said jaws comprises a cutting blade mounted between two walls pivoted on said frame, said jaws being covered at least partially by an orificed wall.
  • a free-grab device according to claim 1, in which said orificied walls comprise net, the edges of which are secured to said frame and to said jaws.
  • a free-grab device according to claim 1, in which said return means comprise two resilient loops stretched between said jaws and passing over members secured to said frame.
  • said locking means comprise two substantially nonresilient cables each of which is secured by its end to said jaws on the same side of the sampling device, and the two cables being interconnected at their mid zones at the upper part of the device by means of a releasable connecting member.
  • a free'grab device which comprises a releasable ballast and a resilient cradle mounted on said frame to hold said ballast in position.
  • a free-grab device according to claim 1, in which said jaws are at an angle of the order of to one another, in said open position of the device. the cutting blades then being substantially contiguous

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Soil Sciences (AREA)
  • Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
  • Earth Drilling (AREA)
  • Drilling And Exploitation, And Mining Machines And Methods (AREA)
US379940A 1972-07-19 1973-07-17 Free-grab device for collecting underwater samples Expired - Lifetime US3885440A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR7226061A FR2193480A5 (en)) 1972-07-19 1972-07-19

Publications (1)

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US379940A Expired - Lifetime US3885440A (en) 1972-07-19 1973-07-17 Free-grab device for collecting underwater samples

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JP (1) JPS5329115B2 (en))
AU (1) AU468460B2 (en))
BE (1) BE802349A (en))
CA (1) CA988121A (en))
DE (1) DE2336800C3 (en))
ES (1) ES417029A1 (en))
FR (1) FR2193480A5 (en))
GB (1) GB1382388A (en))
IT (1) IT992271B (en))
NL (1) NL156355B (en))
NO (1) NO134817C (en))
SE (1) SE404057B (en))
SU (1) SU576059A3 (en))
ZA (1) ZA734886B (en))

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4019380A (en) * 1976-03-08 1977-04-26 Benthos, Inc. Underwater sampler
US4196531A (en) * 1977-02-25 1980-04-08 Commissariat A L'energie Atomique Independent unit for the collection and upward transfer of nodules which rest on an underwater bed
WO2003000422A1 (en) * 2001-06-20 2003-01-03 Cytonome, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US20030059345A1 (en) * 2001-09-25 2003-03-27 Coventor, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US20030170146A1 (en) * 2001-12-21 2003-09-11 Teragenics, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin system for biomolecule crystallization
US20030194353A1 (en) * 2001-12-21 2003-10-16 Teragenics, Inc. Temperature controlled microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US20030221598A1 (en) * 2002-02-15 2003-12-04 Anderson James F. Sea grass slab planter with arcuate bucket and related process
US6684536B2 (en) 2001-07-24 2004-02-03 James F. Anderson Sea grass slab planter and related process
US20070054408A1 (en) * 2001-09-25 2007-03-08 Cytonome, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin system for biomolecule crystallization
KR101192740B1 (ko) 2010-07-02 2012-10-18 오션테크 주식회사 실시간 영상 제어 채니기 시스템
CN103774947A (zh) * 2014-01-16 2014-05-07 国家海洋局第二海洋研究所 一种直流无刷电机驱动的开关网机构及其应用方法
CN105424414A (zh) * 2015-11-03 2016-03-23 长江水利委员会长江科学院 电磁控制的具有可视化功能的抓斗式表层沉积物采样器
CN115356158A (zh) * 2022-10-21 2022-11-18 江苏固莱特环保科技有限公司 一种环境保护用的湖水取样检测设备
CN115783186A (zh) * 2023-02-09 2023-03-14 威海海洋职业学院 一种船用水下物品打捞架

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4116069A (en) * 1976-07-16 1978-09-26 Georgy Mikhailovich Lezgintsev Device for taking bottom soil samples from deep water basins
CN115290373B (zh) * 2022-10-08 2022-12-20 山东省林业保护和发展服务中心 一种林地凋落物的收集储存运输装置及其使用方法
CN116793173A (zh) * 2023-08-14 2023-09-22 江西国泰五洲爆破工程有限公司 一种爆破药柱安放工具
CN119309868A (zh) * 2024-12-17 2025-01-14 河南省厚朴环保科技有限公司 一种便于拆装的组合式水环境监测装置及使用方法

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3509772A (en) * 1968-05-22 1970-05-05 Alexander E Blair Hydrographic sampling device
US3572129A (en) * 1968-03-08 1971-03-23 Bear Creek Mining Co Free-fall bottom sampler

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3572129A (en) * 1968-03-08 1971-03-23 Bear Creek Mining Co Free-fall bottom sampler
US3509772A (en) * 1968-05-22 1970-05-05 Alexander E Blair Hydrographic sampling device

Cited By (19)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4019380A (en) * 1976-03-08 1977-04-26 Benthos, Inc. Underwater sampler
US4196531A (en) * 1977-02-25 1980-04-08 Commissariat A L'energie Atomique Independent unit for the collection and upward transfer of nodules which rest on an underwater bed
WO2003000422A1 (en) * 2001-06-20 2003-01-03 Cytonome, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US6684536B2 (en) 2001-07-24 2004-02-03 James F. Anderson Sea grass slab planter and related process
US20030059345A1 (en) * 2001-09-25 2003-03-27 Coventor, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US20070054408A1 (en) * 2001-09-25 2007-03-08 Cytonome, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin system for biomolecule crystallization
US7041257B2 (en) 2001-09-25 2006-05-09 Cytonome, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US20030170146A1 (en) * 2001-12-21 2003-09-11 Teragenics, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin system for biomolecule crystallization
US7153699B2 (en) 2001-12-21 2006-12-26 Cytonome, Inc. Microfabricated two-pin system for biomolecule crystallization
US20030194353A1 (en) * 2001-12-21 2003-10-16 Teragenics, Inc. Temperature controlled microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US7258839B2 (en) 2001-12-21 2007-08-21 Cytonome, Inc. Temperature controlled microfabricated two-pin liquid sample dispensing system
US20030221598A1 (en) * 2002-02-15 2003-12-04 Anderson James F. Sea grass slab planter with arcuate bucket and related process
KR101192740B1 (ko) 2010-07-02 2012-10-18 오션테크 주식회사 실시간 영상 제어 채니기 시스템
CN103774947A (zh) * 2014-01-16 2014-05-07 国家海洋局第二海洋研究所 一种直流无刷电机驱动的开关网机构及其应用方法
CN103774947B (zh) * 2014-01-16 2016-04-20 国家海洋局第二海洋研究所 一种直流无刷电机驱动的开关网机构及其应用方法
CN105424414A (zh) * 2015-11-03 2016-03-23 长江水利委员会长江科学院 电磁控制的具有可视化功能的抓斗式表层沉积物采样器
CN105424414B (zh) * 2015-11-03 2018-04-10 长江水利委员会长江科学院 电磁控制的具有可视化功能的抓斗式表层沉积物采样器
CN115356158A (zh) * 2022-10-21 2022-11-18 江苏固莱特环保科技有限公司 一种环境保护用的湖水取样检测设备
CN115783186A (zh) * 2023-02-09 2023-03-14 威海海洋职业学院 一种船用水下物品打捞架

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
SU576059A3 (ru) 1977-10-05
FR2193480A5 (en)) 1974-02-15
CA988121A (en) 1976-04-27
AU5816273A (en) 1975-01-30
JPS4944903A (en)) 1974-04-27
ES417029A1 (es) 1976-03-01
NO134817C (en)) 1976-12-15
BE802349A (fr) 1973-11-05
NL7310013A (en)) 1974-01-22
ZA734886B (en) 1974-06-26
AU468460B2 (en) 1976-01-15
GB1382388A (en) 1975-01-29
SE404057B (sv) 1978-09-18
DE2336800A1 (de) 1974-02-07
DE2336800C3 (de) 1975-07-10
NO134817B (en)) 1976-09-06
NL156355B (nl) 1978-04-17
IT992271B (it) 1975-09-10
JPS5329115B2 (en)) 1978-08-18
DE2336800B2 (de) 1974-11-28

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