Advanced passive interference management in directional drilling system, apparatus and methods
First Claim
1. A system, comprising:
- a transmitter that is configured to move through the ground in a region during an operational procedure while transmitting a depth signal at a depth frequency that is selectable in a depth signal frequency range below 1 KHz to provide at least some immunity to passive interference and which is also subject to electromagnetic noise that can vary within said region; and
a portable device configured to scan a plurality of frequencies within said depth signal frequency range to measure the electromagnetic noise at each one of the plurality of frequencies and identify a lowest one of the frequencies as a potential depth frequency which satisfies a low noise requirement based on the measured noise.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A transmitter for inground use controls a depth signal transmit power in relation to a data signal transmit power such that one reception range of the depth signal at least approximately matches another, different reception range of the data signal. A portable device can form a system with the transmitter in which the portable device scans a plurality of frequencies within at least one low frequency depth signal range to measure the electromagnetic noise at each one of the plurality of frequencies and identify at least one of the frequencies as a potential depth frequency for the transmitter. The portable device can include a dual mode filter having a rebar mode and a normal mode filter. The depth signal frequency is dynamically positionable in relation to low frequency noise.
41 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A system, comprising:
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a transmitter that is configured to move through the ground in a region during an operational procedure while transmitting a depth signal at a depth frequency that is selectable in a depth signal frequency range below 1 KHz to provide at least some immunity to passive interference and which is also subject to electromagnetic noise that can vary within said region; and a portable device configured to scan a plurality of frequencies within said depth signal frequency range to measure the electromagnetic noise at each one of the plurality of frequencies and identify a lowest one of the frequencies as a potential depth frequency which satisfies a low noise requirement based on the measured noise. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A portable device as part of a system in which a transmitter is configured to move through the ground in a region during an operational procedure while transmitting a depth signal, said portable device comprising:
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an antenna having an output; and a receiver configured to scan a plurality of frequencies within a depth signal frequency range that is below 1 KHz to measure the electromagnetic noise at each one of the plurality of frequencies based on the antenna output and identify a lowest one of the frequencies as a potential depth frequency which satisfies a low noise requirement.
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12. A portable device as part of a system in which a transmitter is configured to move through the ground in a region during an operational procedure while transmitting a depth signal, said portable device comprising:
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an antenna having an output; and a receiver configured to measure the electromagnetic noise based on the antenna output in at least two different frequency bands below 1 KHz by incrementally scanning each frequency band to generate a plurality of incremental noise readings across each frequency band and to display one or more potential depth frequencies for each frequency band for selection by the operator based on the incremental noise readings. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system, comprising:
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a transmitter that is configured to move through the ground in a region during an operational procedure while transmitting a depth signal at a depth frequency that is selectable in a depth signal frequency range below 1 KHz to provide at least some immunity to passive interference and which is also subject to electromagnetic noise that can vary within said region; and a portable device configured to measure the electromagnetic noise based on the antenna output in at least two different frequency bands below 1 KHz by incrementally scanning each frequency band to generate a plurality of incremental noise readings across each frequency band and to display one or more potential depth frequencies for each frequency band for selection by the operator based on the incremental noise readings. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification