US3699510A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Borehole data transmission system
Assignee: Sperry Sun Well Surveying Co
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Filing: 1969-11-21
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Granted: 1972-10-17
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Expires: 1989-11-21
Abstract
Abstract The particular embodiment described herein as illustrative of one form of the invention utilizes an instrument system for detecting the angular position and directional orientation of a housing within a wellbore and for generating signals indicative of such information. These signals are stored in binary form and then coded for transmission to the surface over a conductor which also carries the power supply for the system. At the surface the signals are decoded to provide data indicative of downhole information.
Inventors
- 👤 James M Lindsey
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 01:25
CPC Classifications
E; E21; E21B; E21B47/00; E21B47/02; E21B47/024; E21B47/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 43
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
In a position sensing and indicating apparatus for use in a borehole and having a single conductor for supplying power from the surface to said apparatus and transmitting detected data to the surface, saId downhole instrument means comprising; means for generating pulses and passing said pulses into a circuit system; means for gateing the passage of said pulses into said circuit system in time relation with the magnitude of the detected parameter; means in said circuit system for counting the pulses passed into said circuit system; and means for transmitting said counted pulses to the surface over said single conductor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
100 words
In a position sensing and indicating apparatus for use in a borehole and having a single conductor for supplying power from the surface to said apparatus and transmitting detected data to the surface, saId downhole instrument means comprising; means for generating pulses and passing said pulses into a circuit system; means for gateing the passage of said pulses into said circuit system in time relation with the magnitude of the detected parameter; means in said circuit system for counting the pulses passed into said circuit system; and means for transmitting said counted pulses to the surface over said single conductor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 1 and further including downhole means in said circuit system for storing said counted pulses as data.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said downhole instrument means further includes data switching means responsive to the presence of stored data for placing coded pulses on said single conductor, and surface means for decoding said coded pulses to provide said data at the surface.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said power for operating said instrument means is in the form of an alternating current wave and said coded pulses are passed through said system in time relation with a predetermined position on the period of said wave.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 4 and further including data insertion means for placing an anomaly on said wave to form said coded data pulses.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
The apparatus of claim 5 and further including means for placing a second anomaly on said wave at a different position relative to the period of said wave to produce a synchronization signal at the surface.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
118 words
In apparatus for use in a borehole, downhole means for detecting a plurality of parameters in the borehole and transmitting detected data to the surface, said downhole means including single conductor means for supplying power to said detecting means; means for generating pulses and passing said pulses into a circuit system; means responsive to the downhole detecting means for gateing the passage of pulses from said pulse generating means into said circuit system in proportion to the magnitude of said detected parameters; means in said circuit system for storing said counted pulses as coded data for each detected parameter; and means for sequentially transmitting the coded data from said storing means to the surface over said single conductor.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
118 words
In apparatus for use in a borehole, downhole means for detecting a plurality of parameters in the borehole and transmitting detected data to the surface, said downhole means including single conductor means for supplying power to said detecting means; means for generating pulses and passing said pulses into a circuit system; means responsive to the downhole detecting means for gateing the passage of pulses from said pulse generating means into said circuit system in proportion to the magnitude of said detected parameters; means in said circuit system for storing said counted pulses as coded data for each detected parameter; and means for sequentially transmitting the coded data from said storing means to the surface over said single conductor.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said storing means includes separate storage sections for each detected parameter.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
98 words
Apparatus for use in a borehole, including: means for detecting a plurality of wellbore parameters; means for connecting said detecting means with the surface; means for providing data pulses indicative of each of such parameters; means for storing a plurality of data bits derived from said data pulses and representative of the magnitude of a detected parameter, with separate of such storing means being provided for each parameter detected; scanning means for determining the presence or absence of data bits within said storing means; and program means for sequentially applying said scanning means to such separate storing means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
98 words
Apparatus for use in a borehole, including: means for detecting a plurality of wellbore parameters; means for connecting said detecting means with the surface; means for providing data pulses indicative of each of such parameters; means for storing a plurality of data bits derived from said data pulses and representative of the magnitude of a detected parameter, with separate of such storing means being provided for each parameter detected; scanning means for determining the presence or absence of data bits within said storing means; and program means for sequentially applying said scanning means to such separate storing means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus of claim 9 and further including means for transmitting data signals representative of such scanned data bits to the surface over said connecting means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said connecting means includes a single conductor cable which carries a power supply signal from the surface to said detecting means.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said transmitting means includes means for superimposing said data signal on said power supply signal for transmission to the surface over said single conductor cable.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus of claim 12 and further including means for generating a synchronization signal, and means for superimposing said synchronization signal on said power supply signal at predetermined intervals to provide detectable divisions in the transmission of said data signals.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus of claim 13 and further including means for differentiating between said data signals and said synchronization signals, and means for recording said data signals.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus of claim 10 wherein saiD program means includes a plurality of gate means arranged in a configuration for repeatedly operating in sequence to apply said scanning means to such separate storing means.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus of claim 15 and further including means responsive to the operation of one of said gate means for generating a synchronization signal to be transmitted to the surface over said connecting means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
47 words
The apparatus of claim 9 and further including means for counting said data pulses and wherein said separate storing means are each comprised of a series of storage units for storing said data bits, said data bits being indicative of the number of such counted data pulses.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
49 words
The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said scanning means sequentially determines the presence or absence of data bits within said storage units, and further including means for applying a data signal to said connecting means indicative of the presence or absence of the data bits within said storage units.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
44 words
The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said connecting means includes conductor means for supplying a power signal to said borehole apparatus, and further including means responsive to the frequency variations of said power signal for sequentially operating said scanning means and said program means.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
32 words
The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said data signal is superimposed on said power signal at a position corresponding with one of the positive and negative peak amplitudes of said power signal.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of claim 20 and further including means responsive to the sequential operation of said program means for superimposing a synchronization signal on said power signal at a position corresponding with the other of the positive and negative peak amplitudes of said power signal.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
57 words
The apparatus of claim 9 and further including a first series of switch means for operating said scanning means, a second series of switch means for operating said program means, and means responsive to the last switch means in said second series for sequencing said first and second series to the first switch means of each series.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said first and second series of switch means are comprised of an array of flip flops in ring configuration.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
122 words
Apparatus for detecting wellbore parameters and passing signals indicative of such parameters to the surface over a single conductor, including: downhole parameter detecting means; means for providing a power signal to the parameter detecting means; downhole circuit means for superimposing first and second signals on said power signal, said first signal being time correlated with a particular portion of the period of said power signal and said second signal being time correlated with a different particular portion of the period of said power signal; surface means for separating said first and second signals from said power signal; and means for comparing said separated first and second signals with the period of the power signal to differentiate between said first and second signals.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
122 words
Apparatus for detecting wellbore parameters and passing signals indicative of such parameters to the surface over a single conductor, including: downhole parameter detecting means; means for providing a power signal to the parameter detecting means; downhole circuit means for superimposing first and second signals on said power signal, said first signal being time correlated with a particular portion of the period of said power signal and said second signal being time correlated with a different particular portion of the period of said power signal; surface means for separating said first and second signals from said power signal; and means for comparing said separated first and second signals with the period of the power signal to differentiate between said first and second signals.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 24 and further including means for registering said first and second signals in a manner indicative of detected wellbore parameters.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
139 words
A method of detecting wellbore data and transmitting such data to the earth''s surface, including the steps of: providing a power signal to wellbore data detecting apparatus; detecting wellbore data; providing electrical data signals indicative of such detected data; superimposing such data signals on the power signal to form a combined signal; such data signals being positioned on such power signal in a particular timed relationship with the period of such power signal providing a synchronization signal which is positioned with respect to such power signal in a different time spaced relationship with respect to the period of such power signal to provide a marker in said combined signal between data signal portions; passing such combined signal to the surface; and comparing such combined signAl with the power signal period to separate such data signal from such combined signal.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
139 words
A method of detecting wellbore data and transmitting such data to the earth''s surface, including the steps of: providing a power signal to wellbore data detecting apparatus; detecting wellbore data; providing electrical data signals indicative of such detected data; superimposing such data signals on the power signal to form a combined signal; such data signals being positioned on such power signal in a particular timed relationship with the period of such power signal providing a synchronization signal which is positioned with respect to such power signal in a different time spaced relationship with respect to the period of such power signal to provide a marker in said combined signal between data signal portions; passing such combined signal to the surface; and comparing such combined signAl with the power signal period to separate such data signal from such combined signal.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 26 and further including the step of transforming such data signal into indicia determinative of detected wellbore data.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 26 wherein said synchronization signal is used for separating such data signal portions.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for detecting wellbore parameters and providing surface indications of such parameters, including the steps of: passing a power signal from the surface to a downhole detecting system over a conductor; generating a series of downhole electrical pulses; gateing the passage of said pulses into an electrical system in proportion to the magnitude of such detected parameters; counting the number of pulses gated into such electrical system; storing coded data indicative of the number of counted pulses in a data storage system; sequentially scanning such data storage system for the presence of such coded data; providing data signals indicative of such coded data; and passing such data signals over such conductor to the surface.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for detecting wellbore parameters and providing surface indications of such parameters, including the steps of: passing a power signal from the surface to a downhole detecting system over a conductor; generating a series of downhole electrical pulses; gateing the passage of said pulses into an electrical system in proportion to the magnitude of such detected parameters; counting the number of pulses gated into such electrical system; storing coded data indicative of the number of counted pulses in a data storage system; sequentially scanning such data storage system for the presence of such coded data; providing data signals indicative of such coded data; and passing such data signals over such conductor to the surface.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 29 and further including the steps of providing a synchronization signal, and passing such synchronization signal over such conductor to the surface for separating data signal portions.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 30 and further including the steps of separating such data signal and synchronization signal from such power signal at the surface.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 31 and further including the step of comparing such data signals and synchronization signal with such power signal to differentiate such data signal and synchronization signal.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of measuring the angular and directional orientation of a borehole, including the steps of: suspending angular and directional orientation measuring instruments in a borehole on a single conductor cable; passing a power signal to such instruments over the single conductor cable; detecting angular and directional parameters of the wellbore; generating downhole signals indicative of such detected parameters; superimposing such downhole generated signals on such power signal in a predetermined timed relationship with the period of such power signal; and passing such superimposed signals to the surface over the single conductor cable.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
93 words
A method of measuring the angular and directional orientation of a borehole, including the steps of: suspending angular and directional orientation measuring instruments in a borehole on a single conductor cable; passing a power signal to such instruments over the single conductor cable; detecting angular and directional parameters of the wellbore; generating downhole signals indicative of such detected parameters; superimposing such downhole generated signals on such power signal in a predetermined timed relationship with the period of such power signal; and passing such superimposed signals to the surface over the single conductor cable.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method of claim 33 wherein the angular parameters measured include the angular deviation from vertical of the instruments in planes 90* to one another and further including the steps of separating the superimposed signals from the power signal to provide data indicative of the angular directional parameters; vectorially summing the angular deviations; and applying directional parameters to such summation to provide an accurate measure of the borehole orientation.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
98 words
A method of measuring the directional characteristics of a borehole, including the steps of: placing a measuring instrument in the borehole, passing a power signal over a conductor path to the instrument in the borehole; generating signals in response to measured borehole characteristics, superimposing the generated signal on the power signal at a predetermined position with respect to the period of the power signal to form a combined signal; passing such combined signal to the surface over the conductor path; and comparing the combined signal with the power signal to separate the generated signal indicative of borehole characteristics.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
98 words
A method of measuring the directional characteristics of a borehole, including the steps of: placing a measuring instrument in the borehole, passing a power signal over a conductor path to the instrument in the borehole; generating signals in response to measured borehole characteristics, superimposing the generated signal on the power signal at a predetermined position with respect to the period of the power signal to form a combined signal; passing such combined signal to the surface over the conductor path; and comparing the combined signal with the power signal to separate the generated signal indicative of borehole characteristics.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-17 | 1976-04-17 | 1976-10-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-17 | 1980-04-17 | 1980-10-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-17 | 1984-04-17 | 1984-10-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |