ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,553,212, issued on Feb. 17, was assigned to Deeptech NV (Ostend, Belgium).
"Deep-sea mining vehicle" was invented by Kris De Bruyne (Antwerp, Belgium), Harm Stoffers (Dorst, Netherlands) and Stephane Flamen (Antwerp, Belgium).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Described is a deep-sea mining vehicle for taking up mineral deposits from a seabed at great depth, and optionally transporting said deposits to a floating device. The vehicle includes a support frame provided with means for moving the vehicle forward on the seabed, a storage for the mineral deposits taken up, and further a suction head with an open suction side which is directed toward...