Methods and apparatus for electro-optical hybrid telemetry
First Claim
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1. A downhole telemetry system comprising:
- a surface data acquisition unit comprising a surface optical telemetry unit;
a downhole optical telemetry cartridge comprising a downhole electro-optic unit;
a fiber optic interface between the surface data acquisition unit and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge;
a downhole tool; and
a downhole electrical tool bus operatively connected between the downhole electro-optic unit and the downhole tool.
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Abstract
Hybrid electrical-optical telemetry systems and methods are disclosed. The methods and systems facilitate faster data transmission rates between the surface and downhole tools and sensors. The methods and systems may also include a downhole electrical bus for inter-tool and intra-tool communication to facilitate limited changes to existing downhole equipment. Some embodiments of the hybrid electrical-optical telemetry system include a light source at the surface and a downhole modulator. Some embodiments also include redundant, selectable optical systems. The methods and systems may operate via a single optical input/output cable.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A downhole telemetry system comprising:
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a surface data acquisition unit comprising a surface optical telemetry unit;
a downhole optical telemetry cartridge comprising a downhole electro-optic unit;
a fiber optic interface between the surface data acquisition unit and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge;
a downhole tool; and
a downhole electrical tool bus operatively connected between the downhole electro-optic unit and the downhole tool. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A downhole optical telemetry system, comprising:
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a surface optical telemetry unit comprising an optical source and a photodetector;
a downhole optical telemetry unit comprising an optical source, a photodetector, and an external modulator;
an optical interface extending between the surface and downhole optical telemetry units;
a 2×
2 optical coupler disposed along the optical interface;
wherein the surface and downhole optical telemetry units are selectable between a first mode of data transmission wherein the downhole optical source directly modulates data, and a second mode of data transmission wherein the surface optical source is modulated downhole by the external modulator. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of subterranean tool communication, comprising:
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providing a downhole electrical tool bus;
communicating downhole between downhole tools via the electrical tool bus;
providing an optical tool bus between the downhole tools and a surface location;
communicating data from the downhole tools to the surface location via the optical tool bus. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. A downhole optical telemetry system comprising:
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a downhole optical telemetry cartridge, the downhole optical telemetry cartridge comprising an electro-optic unit, the electro-optic unit including an uplink electrical-to-optical modulator and a first optical wavelength separator assigned to separate a first wavelength, and a downlink optical-to-electrical demodulator;
a first downhole tool comprising an optical uplink electrical-to-optical modulator and a second optical wavelength separator assigned to separate a second wavelength;
a downhole optical tool bus operatively connected to the first downhole tool and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge for uplink data; and
a downhole electrical tool bus operatively connected to the first downhole tool and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge for downlink data. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A downhole optical telemetry system comprising:
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a downhole optical telemetry cartridge, the downhole optical telemetry cartridge comprising;
an electro-optic unit, the electro-optic unit including an uplink electrical-to-optical modulator and a first AOTF tuned to a first wavelength; and
a downlink optical-to-electrical demodulator;
a first downhole tool comprising an optical uplink electrical-to-optical modulator and a second AOTF tuned to a second wavelength;
a downhole optical tool bus operatively connected to the first downhole tool and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge for uplink data; and
a downhole electrical tool bus operatively connected to the first downhole tool and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge for communicating downlink data to the first downhole tool. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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37. A downhole optical telemetry system comprising:
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a downhole optical telemetry cartridge, the downhole optical telemetry cartridge comprising an electro-optic unit, the electro-optic unit including an uplink electrical-to-optical modulator with a Bragg grating assigned to a first wavelength, and a downlink optical-to-electrical demodulator;
a first downhole tool comprising an uplink electrical-to-optical modulator with a Bragg grating assigned to a second wavelength;
a downhole optical tool bus operatively connected to the first downhole tool and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge for uplink data; and
a downhole electrical tool bus operatively connected to the first downhole tool and the downhole optical telemetry cartridge for downlink data. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A downhole optical telemetry system comprising:
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a downhole tool, the downhole tool including an uplink electrical-to-optical modulator and optical source assigned to a first wavelength, and a downlink optical-to-electrical demodulator;
a plurality of downhole tool sensors, each of the plurality of downhole tool sensors comprising an uplink electrical-to-optical modulator and an optical source assigned to a unique wavelength;
a downhole optical tool bus operatively connected to the optical sources of the plurality of downhole tool sensors for transmitting sensor data; and
a downhole electrical tool bus operatively connected to the downhole tool for transmission of downlink data. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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46. A downhole optical telemetry system comprising:
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a downhole optical telemetry cartridge, the downhole optical telemetry cartridge comprising an electro-optic unit, the electro-optic unit including a first uplink electrical-to-optical modulator assigned to a first wavelength, and a downlink optical-to-electrical demodulator;
a downhole tool comprising a second uplink electrical-to-optical modulator assigned to a second wavelength;
a plurality of downhole optical fiber sensors;
an uplink optical tool bus operatively connected to the plurality of optical sensors, the optical telemetry cartridge, and the first and second uplink electrical-to-optical modulators; and
a downhole electrical tool bus operatively connected to the downhole tool and the downhole electro-optic unit of the downhole optical telemetry cartridge for transmission of downlink data;
wherein the first and second uplink electrical-to-optical modulators comprise lithium niobate waveguide type intensity modulators. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48)
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49. A downhole optical telemetry system comprising:
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a surface data acquisition unit;
a first downhole tool comprising and analog-to-digital converter and an electro-optic unit operating at a first frequency, the electro-optic unit including a lithium niobate modulator;
a downhole optical tool bus operatively connected to the first downhole tool;
a second downhole tool comprising a second electro-optic unit operating at a second frequency, the second electro-optic unit including a lithium niobate modulator and being operatively connected to the downhole optical tool bus.
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Specification