PIPELINE INSPECTION
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a data taking head configured to examine a pipeline and generate pipeline data indicative of a characteristic of the pipeline in response thereto; and
a central station configured to receive pipeline data and provide topography data from which one or more operating commands for the data taking head are derived.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present application provides for examining a pipeline, such as a hydrocarbon pipeline. It finds particular application with the examination of pipelines located in harsh environments. An external facility, such as a remote station and/or a central station, transmits topography data to a data taking head configured to examine the pipeline. Based upon the topography data, one or more data taking heads examine the pipeline and generate pipeline data and/or position data, which may be used to identify one or more characteristics of the pipeline. This data may be transferred to a remote station, such as a truck, which may analyze the data to determine where to perform maintenance on the pipeline, for example. A human operator may observe the data taking heads from the remote station and respond to problems encountered by the data taking head.
14 Citations
36 Claims
-
1. An apparatus comprising:
-
a data taking head configured to examine a pipeline and generate pipeline data indicative of a characteristic of the pipeline in response thereto; and a central station configured to receive pipeline data and provide topography data from which one or more operating commands for the data taking head are derived. - View Dependent Claims (2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14)
-
-
3. (canceled)
-
4. (canceled)
-
8. (canceled)
-
9. (canceled)
-
10. (canceled)
-
11. (canceled)
-
13. (canceled)
-
15. (canceled)
-
16. An apparatus for communication with a data taking head, comprising:
-
a transceiver for two way communication with at least one data taking head; an analyzer configured to analyze pipeline data received from the at least one data taking head; and a controller configured to generate instructions for the at least one data taking head regarding at least one of how to examine a pipeline and how to traverse the pipeline. - View Dependent Claims (18, 20, 22, 23)
-
-
17. (canceled)
-
19. (canceled)
-
21. (canceled)
-
24. A data taking head, comprising:
-
a pipeline inspection component configured to inspect a pipeline and generate pipeline data in response thereto; a position determiner configured to generate position data indicative of a location of the data taking head; a transceiver configured to transmit at least one of the pipeline data and the position data to an external data handling facility and to receive topography data from the external data handling facility; and a controller configured to control movement of the data taking head based upon the received topography data. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. (canceled)
-
29. A method of collecting data, comprising:
-
receiving topography data from a remote station; examining a pipeline based upon the topography data; generating pipeline data based upon the examination; and generating position data identifying a location on the pipeline that is under examination. - View Dependent Claims (30, 32, 33)
-
-
31. (canceled)
-
34. (canceled)
-
35. (canceled)
-
36. (canceled)
Specification