Continuous measurement-while-drilling surveying
First Claim
1. A continuous measurement-while-drilling surveying apparatus for surveying the drilling progress of a bottom hole assembly (“
- BHA”
) having a tool-spin axis and defining a central drilling fluid passage, said apparatus comprising;
(a) a fiber-optic gyroscope secured within or adjacent to the BHA and encircling the drilling fluid passage, said gyroscope having its sensitive axis aligned with the tool-spin axis; and
(b) first processing means for receiving the output of the gyroscope and producing a first signal representative of the angular velocity of the BHA about the tool-spin axis.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A continuous measurement-while-drilling surveying apparatus includes a fiber optic gyroscope sensitive to rotation about the tool spin axis of the bottom hole assembly and a second fiber optic gyroscope sensitive to rotation of the bottom hole assembly about an axis normal to the tool spin axis. The first gyroscope may be shaped as a torus to accommodate flow of drilling mud through the bottom hole assembly. The outputs of the first and second gyroscopes are processed together with acceleration signals from three accelerometers in a microprocessor which determines the orientation, velocity and position of the bottom hole assembly on a continuous basis.
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Citations
3 Claims
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1. A continuous measurement-while-drilling surveying apparatus for surveying the drilling progress of a bottom hole assembly (“
- BHA”
) having a tool-spin axis and defining a central drilling fluid passage, said apparatus comprising;
(a) a fiber-optic gyroscope secured within or adjacent to the BHA and encircling the drilling fluid passage, said gyroscope having its sensitive axis aligned with the tool-spin axis; and
(b) first processing means for receiving the output of the gyroscope and producing a first signal representative of the angular velocity of the BHA about the tool-spin axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
- BHA”
Specification