Back up directional and inclination sensors and method of operating same
First Claim
1. A downhole probe assembly comprising:
- (a) primary sensors comprising primary accelerometers and primary magnetometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z;
(b) back up sensors comprising back up solid state accelerometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z; and
(c) a controller in electrical communication with the primary sensors and the back up sensors, the controller configured to receive and process information from the primary sensors and the back up sensors so that information from the back up accelerometers can be used when one or more of the primary accelerometers fails,wherein;
the primary accelerometers are a different type of accelerometer than the back up solid state accelerometers;
at least one of the back up solid state accelerometers is less accurate than the primary accelerometers; and
at least one of the back up solid state accelerometers is less prone to failure than the primary accelerometers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The embodiments described herein generally relate to a method and apparatus for providing a back up system of Directional and Inclination (D&I) information to be gathered and transmitted in addition to primary D&I sensors currently employed in industry. A downhole probe assembly including primary sensors, back up sensors and a controller is disclosed. The primary sensors comprise primary accelerometers and primary magnetometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z. The back up sensors comprise back up accelerometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z, the back up accelerometers being solid state accelerometers. The controller is in electrical communication with the primary sensors and the back up sensors. The controller is configured to receive and process information from the primary sensors and the back up sensors so that information from the back up accelerometers can be used when one or more of the primary accelerometers fail, which may allow drilling operations to continue despite such failure.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A downhole probe assembly comprising:
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(a) primary sensors comprising primary accelerometers and primary magnetometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z; (b) back up sensors comprising back up solid state accelerometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z; and (c) a controller in electrical communication with the primary sensors and the back up sensors, the controller configured to receive and process information from the primary sensors and the back up sensors so that information from the back up accelerometers can be used when one or more of the primary accelerometers fails, wherein; the primary accelerometers are a different type of accelerometer than the back up solid state accelerometers; at least one of the back up solid state accelerometers is less accurate than the primary accelerometers; and at least one of the back up solid state accelerometers is less prone to failure than the primary accelerometers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification