SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING A WELL

• US 20080316048A1
• Filed: 03/26/2008
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: vMonitor LLC (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: vMonitor, Inc.
• Inventors: Abdallah, Raed H.
• Application Number:
  US12/055,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20080316048A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/854.6
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 11/002 Details, e.g. power supply systems for logging instruments, transmitting or recording data, specially adapted for well logging, also if the prospecting method is irrelevant means for transmitting well survey signals E21B47/12; signal transmission systems in general G08C; transmission in general H04B

Abstract

A well site data communication system is disclosed, the system including a receiver coupled to a first communication terminal that receives information using a first communication protocol; a transmitter coupled to the first communication terminal that sends information from the first communication terminal to a second communication terminal located at a well site using a second communication protocol; and a processor coupled to the first communication terminal configured as a protocol translator to change the received information from the first communication protocol to the second communication protocol. A method for well site communication is also disclosed. A data structure used by the system and method is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A well site data communication system comprising:

a receiver coupled to a first network node that receives information using a first communication protocol;

a transmitter coupled to the first network that sends information from the first communication terminal to a second network node located in a network at a well site using a second communication protocol; and

a processor coupled to the first communication terminal configured as a protocol translator to change the received information from the first communication protocol to the second communication protocol for communicating with a network node

2. A well site data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol is a serial communication protocol and the second communication protocol is a parallel communication protocol.

3. A well site data communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mailbox flag indicating that a mailbox data is ready to be read by the first network node.

4. A well site data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal includes an embedded radio controller that controls any one of a plurality of radio types used as the receiver and the transmitter.

5. A well site data communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the embedded radio controller comprises firmware instructions in a computer readable medium wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to determine a radio type and instructions to translate a command to a protocol for the radio type.

6. A well site data communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first communication terminal includes a message storage mailbox that stores data prior to transmitting the information to the second network node.

7. A well site data communication system according to claim 1 further comprising a communication interface that communicates using an interface selected from the group consisting of a wired connection for transmitting the information, a communication interface that communicates using wireless short range unsolicited custom messaging protocol (UCMP), a communication interface that communicates using wireless long range UCMP and a communication interface that communicates using wireless long range MODBUS.

8. A well site data communication system according to claim 1 further comprising sensors in data communication with the first network node wherein the sensors are read and reported based on a command code received at the first communication terminal.

9. A well site data communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first network node and a second network are each in a mode selected from the group consisting of sleep, partial power, full power and continuous wherein the first network node and the second network node are in different modes.

10. A well site data communication system according to claim 9, wherein the first network node receives a command code to execute a command selected from the group consisting of change modes, read sensor, report, and reconfigure.

11. A well site data communication system according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of nodes in a mesh network topology, wherein each one of the plurality of nodes are in direct communication with a third party device and with every other one of the plurality of nodes in the mesh network.

12. A method for well site data communication, the method comprising:

receiving data at a receiver coupled to a first network node using a first communication protocol;

translating the received data from the first communication protocol to a second network node; and

sending data from a transmitter coupled to the first network node to a second network node located at a well site using the second communication protocol.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the first communication protocol is a serial communication protocol and the second communication protocol is a parallel communication protocol.

14. A well site data communication method according to claim 12, further comprising:

reading a mailbox flag indicating that a mailbox data is ready to be read by the first network node.

15. The well site data communication method according to claim 12, wherein the communication terminal includes an embedded radio controller that controls any one of a plurality of radio types used as the receiver and the transmitter.

16. The well site data communication method according to claim 15, wherein the embedded radio controller comprises firmware instructions in a computer readable medium wherein the instructions further comprise instructions to determine a radio type and instructions to translate command data to a protocol for the radio type.

17. The well site data communication method according to claim 12, wherein the first network node includes a message storage that stores data prior to transmitting the information to the second network node.

18. The well site data communication method according to claim 12, further comprising communicating data over a communication interface that communicates using an interface selected from the group consisting of a wired connection for transmitting the information, a wireless short range UCMP, a wireless long range UCMP and a wireless long range Modbus.

19. The well site data communication method according to claim 12, further comprising sensors in data communication with the first network node wherein the sensors are read and reported based on a command code received at the first network node.

20. The well site data communication method according to claim 12, wherein the first network node is in a mode selected from the group consisting of sleep, partial power, full power and continuous.

21. The well site data communication method according to claim 20, wherein the first network node receives a command code to execute a command selected from the group consisting of change modes, read sensor, report, and reconfigure.

22. The well site data communication method according to claim 12, further comprising a plurality of nodes in a mesh network topology, wherein each one of the plurality of nodes are in direct communication with a third party device and every other one of the plurality of nodes in the mesh network.