Underwater collecting and lifting device

Claim 2

A submergeable underwater collecting and lifting device comprising A. a first chamber having a normally closed venting valve at a normally uppermost end thereof and having a fluid passage at an opposite end thereof, B. a materials collecting and storing second chamber mounted with and normally below said first chamber, C. a diaphragm element dividing said second chamber into first and second compartments normally vertically arranged with said second compartment above said first compartment, D. a normally closed pressure-responsive valved port for controlling the passage of material between the environment of said device and said first compartment of said second chamber, and E. control means carried with said chambers for selectively releasing buoyant fluid to said first chamber and for selectively pumping liquid into and out of said second compartment for charging the volume of said first compartment.

Claim 3

A collecting and lifting device as defined in claim 1 further comprising overflow and evacuating port means coupled at one end thereof with said first compartment of said second chamber and having a second end normally disposed above said one end thereof.

Claim 4

An under water collecting and lifting device as defined in claim 1 in which said venting valve opens in response to a greater pressure outside said first chamber than within it, and in which said valved port opens in response to a pressure outside said first compartment greater than the pressure within it.

Claim 5

A submergeable chambered device for carrying material in an underwater environment and for transferring material between the chamber interior thereof and the environment outside it, said device comprising A. a first chamber for controlling the buoyancy of said device and having valve means for controlling fluid passage between the first chamber interior and said environment of said device, B. a materials transferring and storing second chamber mounted with said first chamber, C. a diaphragm element dividing said second chamber into first and second compartments normally of relative volumes such that there is a minimal pressure differential thereacross, D. a valved port for controlling the passage of material between said environment of said device and said first compartment of said second chamber in response to the pressuRe differential between the interior of said first compartment and said environment, and E. control means carried with said chambers for selectively releasing buoyant fluid to said first chamber and for selectively pumping liquid into and out of said second compartment for changing the volume of said second compartment inversely relative to the volume of said first compartment.

Claim 6

A submergeable chambered device for carrying material in an underwater environment and for transferring material between the chamber interior thereof and the environment outside it, said device comprising A. a first chamber for controlling the buoyancy of said device and having valve means for controlling fluid passage between the first chamber interior and said environment of said device, B. a materials transferring and storing second chamber mounted with said first chamber, C. a diaphragm element dividing said second chamber into first and second compartments normally of relative volumes such that there is a minimal pressure differential thereacross, D. a valved port for controlling the passage of material between said environment of said device and said first compartment of said second chamber in response to the pressuRe differential between the interior of said first compartment and said environment, and E. control means carried with said chambers for selectively releasing buoyant fluid to said first chamber and for selectively pumping liquid into and out of said second compartment for changing the volume of said second compartment inversely relative to the volume of said first compartment.

Claim 7

A device as defined in claim 4 in which said control means withdraws fluid from said second compartment to draw said diaphragm increasingly into said second compartment and produce a pressure differential across said valved port, thereby opening said valved port for drawing material from the environment into said first compartment.

Claim 8

A devices defined in claim 4 A. in which said valve means in said first chamber comprises a pressure-responsive valve for venting buoyant fluid from said first chamber in response to a greater pressure outside said first chamber than within it, and B. further comprising a port for passing ballast fluid between said first chamber and said environment.

Claim 9

A device as defined in claim 4 in which the volume of said first chamber is significantly larger than the volume of said second chamber, and said chambers and said fluid-releasing means and said control means are arranged to maintain said first chamber more buoyant than said second chamber such that said device normally maintains an orientation in water with said first chamber above said second chamber.