Adaptive apparatus, system and method for communicating with a downhole device

• US 20080000688A1
• Filed: 09/27/2006
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MV Drilling And Services, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Feroze Michael Variava, Stephen John Mcloughlin
• Inventors: McLoughlin, Stephen John, Variava, Feroze Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,540,337 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 175/40
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 44/00 Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/18 through the well fluid , e.g. mud pressure pulse telemetry

Abstract

A system, apparatus and method for adaptive communication with a downhole device is disclosed. The instant invention proposes an adaptive system of communicating information from the surface of the earth to a device located downhole; thereby optimizing the drilling process by adaptively fitting the talkdown protocol around the existing drillstring RPM. A further economic benefit is that with this adaptive system the ΔRPM Offset between the optimized drilling condition and the RPM required for data transmission can be monitored and adjusted in real-time, resulting in less disruption to the drilling process. Several embodiments are given.

Claims

1. A method for delivering information from a surface location on the Earth via a rotary drilling assembly to a downhole location or device utilizing drillstring modulation in accordance with pre-defined adaptive rules of transmission, the method comprising;

Rotating the drillstring by motive means located on the surface of the earth,

Measuring rotary motion of the drillstring at surface,

Establishing optimal drilling rotary speed at surface then modulating the surface rotary speed in order to effect transmission of information to the downhole location or device,

Modifying drilling rotary speed at surface in order to optimize the environment for rotary communications such that harmonic vibrations of the drilling assembly are thereby diminished,

Identifying optimal rotary speed offset values for surface to downhole information transfer giving due consideration to limitations inherent in surface rotational, downhole equipment and the quality of downhole rotary motion,

Identifying the optimal timing for surface to downhole information data sets giving due consideration to limitations inherent in surface rotational equipment, downhole equipment and the quality of downhole rotary motion, and

Encoding information and selecting the appropriate format such that the information to be transmitted will be optimally received by any downhole device which is monitoring downhole drillstring rotation.

2. The method of claim 1 where an interface to the drilling rig rotary drive is provided, said interface being equipped with monitoring, control and logic means for controlling the rotary speed output of the rotary drive.

3. The method of claim 2 where said interface is manual.

4. The method of claim 2 where said interface is automated.

5. The method of claim 2 where said interface is computer controlled.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein said method becomes adaptive by using time based information pertaining to measurements of surface drillstring parameters incorporated at the surface, for application to drillstring modulation in furtherance of frequency modulation communications optimization.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein said method becomes adaptive by using time based information pertaining to measurements of downhole parameters made at the distal end of the drilling assembly, whether raw, processed or encoded data transmitted back to surface by pulse telemetry or other suitable means is incorporated at surface for subsequent application to drillstring modulation in furtherance of frequency modulation communications optimization

8. The method of claim 6 whereby said information may include any of, measurement of sensor output, acquisition, storage and retrieval of data.

9. The method of claim 6 whereby said information may be updated, manually or automatically

10. The method of claim 6 whereby said information may contain the attributes of the drillstring at surface and downhole as measured in relation to time or to depth.

11. The method of claim 5 whereby said computer may contain comparative elements of surface rotary motion and downhole rotary drillstring attributes incorporating time phase shifts as determined.

20. The method of claim 1 whereby downhole measurements are made of the rotary speed of the distal component of the drillstring.

21. The method of claim 20 whereby said downhole measurements are further made of vibration or linear acceleration and may be raw, pre-processed or encoded data.

22. The method of claim 20 where said downhole measurements are stored in downhole memory.

23. The method of claim 20 whereby said downhole measurements are transmitted from a downhole location to an apparatus or sensor located at the surface of the earth.

26. The method according to claim 1 where rotary modulation encoded information is received and decoded downhole, effecting a transfer of encoded information from the surface of the earth to a downhole location, where such data may be stored for future usage, used instantaneously, informative, empirical, qualitative, an actuation instruction for a downhole device, a trigger for actuation of a downhole device.

27. The downhole method of claim 1 where pump cycling may act as an additional toggle or state switching step in the communication sequence.

28. The method of claim 1 where the downhole monitoring of drillstring rotation includes the ability of a downhole device to subtract cyclically induced drilling abnormalities and drilling harmonics from downlinked rotary drilling parameters so as to be able to establish an accurate baseline for the downlink transmission sequence.

29. The downhole method, according to claim 1, of utilizing information transferred from the surface of the earth to any downhole instrument, mechanism or location as a means of actuating, altering state, toggling, switching or otherwise altering an operational state.

33. The method of claim 7 whereby incorporation may include any of, measurement of sensor output, acquisition, storage and retrieval of data.

34. The method of claim 7 whereby the information may be updated.

35. The method of claim 7 whereby the information may contain the attributes of the drillstring at surface and downhole as measured in relation to time or to depth.

36. The method of claim 6 where a library of information pertaining to drilling conditions is stored in a surface system, such information relating to a well specific or non-well specific database of measurements, information, commands and instructions.

37. The method of claim 7 where a library of information pertaining to drilling conditions is stored in a surface system, such information relating to a well specific or non-well specific database of measurements, information, commands and instructions.

12. An apparatus for delivering information from a surface location on the Earth via a rotary drilling assembly to a downhole location or device utilizing drillstring modulation in accordance with pre-defined but adaptive rules of transmission either integrated into or external to the existing drillstring surface rotary motion drive wherein an interface to the drilling rig rotary drive is provided, said interface being equipped with monitoring, control and logic means for controlling the rotary speed output of the rotary drive and utilizing a method comprising;

Rotating the drillstring by motive means located on the surface of the earth,

Measuring rotary motion of the drillstring at surface,

Establishing optimal drilling rotary speed at surface then modulating the surface rotary speed in order to effect transmission of information to the downhole location or device,

Modifying drilling rotary speed at surface in order to optimize the environment for rotary communications such that harmonic vibrations of the drilling assembly are diminished thereby,

Identifying optimal rotary speed offset values for surface to downhole information transfer giving due consideration to limitations inherent in surface rotational, downhole equipment and the quality of downhole rotary motion,

Identifying the optimal timing for surface to downhole information data sets giving due consideration to limitations inherent in surface rotational equipment, downhole equipment and the quality of downhole rotary motion, and

Encoding information and selecting the appropriate format such that the information to be transmitted will be optimally received by any downhole device which is monitoring downhole drillstring rotation.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 where a surface interface to the drilling rig rotary drive is provided, said interface being equipped with means for monitoring, measuring and providing input control to the rotary speed output of the surface rotary drive.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 where said surface interface is manual.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 where said surface interface may preferentially be electronic, electro-mechanical, electro-pneumatic or electro-hydraulic.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, whereby an adaptive library of information pertaining to drilling conditions is stored in said surface interface, such information relating to a well specific or non-well specific database of measurements, information, commands and instructions.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 where said surface interface is computer controlled and wherein said computer contains an adaptive library of functional commands.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 further having an input control and associated memory whereby said input control to the rotary speed output of the surface rotary drive is responsive to information which is stored and retrieved from said memory.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 whereby said library of information may be updated manually or automatically.

30. The downhole apparatus according to claim 12, which is located at the distal end of the drillstring and being equipped with sensors and software which are capable of identifying and measuring downhole rotary motion in any form is capable of quantifying and decoding rotary modulated communications sequences transmitted from the surface of the earth.

31. The downhole apparatus of claim 30 whereby rotational measurements made at the distal end of the drillstring are transmitted by any means back to an apparatus or sensor located at the surface of the earth.

32. The downhole apparatus of claim 30 whereby sensors capable of detecting pump pressure modulation may act as a state switching step in the communication sequence.

24. A method of affirmation that information which has been transmitted from surface by rotary drillstring modulation has been decoded at the distal end of the drilling assembly, such confirmation being either encoded, qualitative, quantitative, or forming a recommendation that alterations are made to future surface to downhole transmission protocol.

25. The method of claim 24 where the downhole software sequences including preambles and reference frames are receptive to adaptive communications protocols which are variable in time, baseline rotary drilling speed, and offset therefrom.

38. An apparatus for delivering information from a surface location on the Earth via a rotary drilling assembly to a downhole location or device utilizing drillstring modulation in accordance with pre-defined but adaptive rules of transmission either integrated into or external to the existing drillstring surface rotary motion drive wherein an interface to the drilling rig rotary drive is provided, said interface being equipped with monitoring, control and logic means for controlling the rotary speed output of the rotary drive comprising an adaptive system which as a first function, communicates with devices located at the distal end of the drilling assembly utilizing minor delta RPM offsets from an established but periodically variable drilling rotary speed, as a second function reduces unwanted drillstring harmonics, as a third function acquires selected environmental information from devices located downhole for storage, manipulation, phase shifting and improving communications harmonics, as a fourth function encrypts information in hexadecimal format with selective data set rotation with which to enhance transmission.