Method and apparatus for correlating a pipeline inspection record to known external locations

Claim 5

The method claimed in claim 2 and including the following step which is performed prior to passing the pig through the pipeline, establishing a known time relationship between the timing means carried by the pipeline pig and the timing means located externally of the pipeline.

Claim 6

The method claimed in claim 2 where the step of externally producing time indications includes, sensing the passage of the pipeline pig past said known locations by the use of externally located sensing means that produces respective detection signals, and producing said time indications in response to said detection signals.

Claim 9

The method claimed in claim 5 and further including the steps producing in response to the detection signal a coded signal identifying said known location, transmitting the coded signal to a base station located remotely from the known location, receiving the transmitted coded signal at the base station, producing at the base station successively occurring time signals that bear a known time relationship to the indications of time recorded on the first record, recording on a second record at the base station the time signal produced there which represents the time the coded signal was received from the known location, and comparing the first and second records to identify the time indication on the first record which corresponds to the time signal on the second record.

Claim 12

The method claimed in claim 7 wherein the step of producing respective indications of time in response to said sensing of the pig at the known locations includes the steps transmitting a respective signal from each known location in response to the sensing of the pig thereat, receiving said transmitted signals at a base station located remotely from said known locations, said remainder of the timepieces being located at said base station, successively recording at the base station respective time indications provided by said remainder of the timepieces in response to said successively received signals.

Claim 13

The method claimed in claim 8 and including the steps playing back the record produced in said pig and the record produced at said base station and producing playback inspection signals and respective playback time signals of recorded times on said records, correlating the playback time signals, producing a correlating signal when the playback time signals are in correlation, simultaneously with the playing back of said two records, producing a third record of the playback inspection signals, and producing an indicia on said third record in response to said correlating signal to indicate adjacent the inspection signals the relative positions of the known locations.

Claim 14

Apparatus for making a pipeline inspection record and for indicating on the record the relative position of a known location along the route of the pipeline, comprising the combination inspection apparatus for providing inspection signals representing detected pipeline conditions, means for moving the inspection apparatus through the pipeline, timing means moving with the inspection apparatus through the pipeline for providing time signals, means included with said inspection apparatus for simultaneously recording said inspection signals and said time signals, means external to the pipeline for providing a second time signal indicating the time the moving apparatus arrived at said known location, playback means for playing back the record of inspection signals and time signals and for making an inspection record of said inspection signals, correlating means operating simultaneously with said playback means for correlating playback time signals with a signal corresponding to said second time signal for producing an indicium signal when correlation is achieved, and means for entering an indicium on said inspection record when correlation is achieved in the correlating means.

Claim 15

Apparatus for making a pipeline inspection record and for indicating on the record the relative position of a known location along the route of the pipeline, comprising the combination inspection apparatus for providing inspection signals representing detected pipeline conditions, means for moving the inspection apparatus through the pipeline, timing means moving with the inspection apparatus through the pipeline for providing time signals, means included with said inspection apparatus for simultaneously recording said inspection signals and said time signals, means external to the pipeline for providing a second time signal indicating the time the moving apparatus arrived at said known location, playback means for playing back the record of inspection signals and time signals and for making an inspection record of said inspection signals, correlating means operating simultaneously with said playback means for correlating playback time signals with a signal corresponding to said second time signal for producing an indicium signal when correlation is achieved, and means for entering an indicium on said inspection record when correlation is achieved in the correlating means.

Claim 16

Apparatus claimed in claim 10 and further including means for establishing a known time relationship between said timing means and the means external to the pipeline, said known time relationship being established prior to inserting the pipeline inspection apparatus within the pipeline.

Claim 17

Apparatus fOr making a pipeline inspection record and for indicating on the record the relative position of a known location along the route of the pipeline, comprising the combination inspection apparatus for providing inspection signals representing detected pipeline conditions, means for moving the inspection apparatus through the pipeline, timing means moving with the inspection apparatus through the pipeline for providing time signals, means included with said inspection apparatus for simultaneously recording said inspection signals and said time signals, means including a second timing means external to the pipeline for providing a record of the time the moving apparatus arrived at said known location, said second timing means having a known time relationship to the timing means moving with the inspection apparatus, means for comparing said two records to identify the time signal on the record made on the inspection apparatus which corresponds to the recorded time that the device arrived at said known location.

Claim 18

Apparatus fOr making a pipeline inspection record and for indicating on the record the relative position of a known location along the route of the pipeline, comprising the combination inspection apparatus for providing inspection signals representing detected pipeline conditions, means for moving the inspection apparatus through the pipeline, timing means moving with the inspection apparatus through the pipeline for providing time signals, means included with said inspection apparatus for simultaneously recording said inspection signals and said time signals, means including a second timing means external to the pipeline for providing a record of the time the moving apparatus arrived at said known location, said second timing means having a known time relationship to the timing means moving with the inspection apparatus, means for comparing said two records to identify the time signal on the record made on the inspection apparatus which corresponds to the recorded time that the device arrived at said known location.

Claim 19

Apparatus for making a pipeline inspection record and for indicating on the record the relative positions of known locations along the route of the pipeline, comprising the combination inspection apparatus for producing inspection signals representing detected pipeline conditions, means for moving the inspection apparatus through the pipeline and past said known locations, a first timing means included with said apparatus for producing time signals as the apparatus moves through the pipeline, means included with said apparatus for simultaneously recording said inspection signals and said time signals as the apparatus moves through the pipeline, means located externally of the pipeline at each of said known locations for detecting the presence of said apparatus at each of the respective locations and for producing respective detection signals upon detection of said apparatus at each of said locations, additional timing means located externally of the pipeline, the additional timing means having a predetermined time relationship with the first timing means, means external to the pipeline and operably connected with said additional timing means for producing a respective time indication in response to each of said detection signals, and means for comparing the recorded time signals on the record made in the pipeline with the respective time indications produced externally of the pipeline to identify the time signals which were recorded when the apparatus was detected at the respective known locations.

Claim 20

Apparatus for making a pipeline inspection record and for indicating on the record the relative positions of known locations along the route of the pipeline, comprising the combination inspection apparatus for producing inspection signals representing detected pipeline conditions, means for moving the inspection apparatus through the pipeline and past said known locations, a first timing means included with said apparatus for producing time signals as the apparatus moves through the pipeline, means included with said apparatus for simultaneously recording said inspection signals and said time signals as the apparatus moves through the pipeline, means located externally of the pipeline at each of said known locations for detecting the presence of said apparatus at each of the respective locations and for producing respective detection signals upon detection of said apparatus at each of said locations, additional timing means located externally of the pipeline, the additional timing means having a predetermined time relationship with the first timing means, means external to the pipeline and operably connected with said additional timing means for producing a respective time indication in response to each of said detection signals, and means for comparing the recorded time signals on the record made in the pipeline with the respective time indications produced externally of the pipeline to identify the time signals which were recorded when the apparatus was detected at the respective known locations.

Claim 21

The apparatus claimed in claim 13 where the additional timing means located externally of the pipeline includes a plurality of timepieces each located at a respective known location, and wherein said means operably connected to the additional timing means includes respective means at each known location responsive to a respective detection signal for causing the respective timepiece to produce a time indication.

Claim 22

The apparatus claimed in claim 13 wherein the means external to the pipeline and operably connected to said additional timing means includes, transmitting means located at each of said locations and responsive to a respective detection signal for transmitting a corresponding detection signal to a base station located remotely from the known locations, receiving means located at said base station for receiving said corresponding detection signals from the known locations, said additional timing means comprising a second timing means at said base station, means responsive to said received corresponding detection signals and operable with said second timing means for producing a second record of successive time indications produced by the second timing means at the times that respective corresponding detection signals were received.

Claim 23

The apparatus claimed in claim 15 and further including playback means for simultaneously plaYing back the record produced in the pipeline and the second record produced at the base station, thereby to produce corresponding playback inspection signals, playback time signals, and playback time indications, means for correlating said playback time signals and said playback time indications to produce a correlation signal each time a predetermined correlation is achieved, means for producing a third record of playback inspection signals, and means responsive to correlation signals for providing an indicium on said third record to identify the inspection signals that occur in coincidence with a correlation signal, thereby to locate on said third record the relative positions of said known locations.

Claim 24

The apparatus claimed in claim 16 and further including means responsive to said playback time signals for recording corresponding times on said third record along with the recorded inspection signals.