Telemetry System for Wireless Electro-Acoustical Transmission of Data Along a Wellbore
First Claim
1. An electro-acoustic system for wireless telemetry along a tubular body, comprising:
- a tubular body fabricated from steel;
at least one sensor disposed along the tubular body;
a sensor communications node placed along the tubular body and connected to a wall of the tubular body, the sensor communications node being in electrical communication with the at least one sensor and configured to receive signals from the at least one sensor, the signals representing a parameter associated with a subsurface location along the tubular body;
a topside communications node placed proximate a surface;
a plurality of intermediate communications nodes spaced along the tubular body and attached to an outer wall of the tubular body, the intermediate communications nodes configured to transmit acoustic waves from the sensor communications node to the topside communications node in node-to-node arrangement; and
a receiver at the surface configured to receive signals from the topside communications node;
wherein each of the intermediate communications nodes comprises;
a sealed housing;
an independent power source residing within the housing;
an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver also residing within the housing designed to receive and re-transmit the acoustic waves, thereby providing communications telemetry; and
wherein each of the acoustic waves represents a packet of information comprising a plurality of separate tones.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for downhole telemetry is provided herein. The system employs a series of communications nodes spaced along a tubular body either above or below ground, such as in a wellbore. The nodes allow for wireless communication between one or more sensors residing at the level of a subsurface formation or along a pipeline, and a receiver at the surface. The communications nodes employ electro-acoustic transducers that provide for node-to-node communication along the tubular body at high data transmission rates. A method of transmitting data in a wellbore is also provided herein. The method uses a plurality of data transmission nodes situated along a tubular body to accomplish a wireless transmission of data along the wellbore using acoustic energy.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. An electro-acoustic system for wireless telemetry along a tubular body, comprising:
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a tubular body fabricated from steel; at least one sensor disposed along the tubular body; a sensor communications node placed along the tubular body and connected to a wall of the tubular body, the sensor communications node being in electrical communication with the at least one sensor and configured to receive signals from the at least one sensor, the signals representing a parameter associated with a subsurface location along the tubular body; a topside communications node placed proximate a surface; a plurality of intermediate communications nodes spaced along the tubular body and attached to an outer wall of the tubular body, the intermediate communications nodes configured to transmit acoustic waves from the sensor communications node to the topside communications node in node-to-node arrangement; and a receiver at the surface configured to receive signals from the topside communications node; wherein each of the intermediate communications nodes comprises; a sealed housing; an independent power source residing within the housing; an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver also residing within the housing designed to receive and re-transmit the acoustic waves, thereby providing communications telemetry; and wherein each of the acoustic waves represents a packet of information comprising a plurality of separate tones. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 47)
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21. A method of transmitting data in a wellbore, comprising:
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providing a sensor along the wellbore at a depth of a subsurface formation; running joints of pipe into the wellbore, the joints of pipe being connected by threaded couplings; attaching a series of communications nodes to the joints of pipe according to a pre-designated spacing, wherein adjacent communications nodes are configured to communicate by acoustic signals transmitted through the joints of pipe; providing a receiver at a surface; and sending signals from the sensor to the receiver via the series of communications nodes, with the signals being indicative of a subsurface condition; wherein each of the communications nodes comprises; a sealed housing; an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver residing within the housing configured to send and receive acoustic signals between nodes; and an independent power source also residing within the housing for providing power to the transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method of transmitting data in a wellbore, comprising:
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running a tubular body into the wellbore, the wellbore penetrating into a subsurface formation and the tubular body being comprised of pipe joints; placing at least one sensor along the wellbore at a depth of the subsurface formation; attaching a sensor communications node to a wall of the tubular body proximate the depth of the subsurface formation, the sensor communications node being in electrical communication with the at least one sensor and configured to receive signals from the at least one sensor, the signals representing a subsurface condition; providing a topside communications node proximate a surface of the wellbore; and attaching a plurality of intermediate communications nodes to a wall of the tubular body in spaced-apart relation, the intermediate communications nodes configured to transmit acoustic waves from the sensor communications node to the topside communications node in node-to-node arrangement; wherein each of the intermediate communications nodes comprises; a sealed housing; an independent power source residing within the housing; an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver also residing within the housing designed to receive the acoustic waves and re-transmit them after reverberation of the acoustic waves has substantially attenuated, the acoustic waves correlating to the signals generated by the sensor; and at least one clamp for radially attaching the communications node onto an outer surface of the tubular body. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A communications node system for downhole telemetry, comprising:
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a tubular body having a pin end, a box end, and an elongated wall between the pin end and the box end, with the tubular body being fabricated from a steel material having a resonance frequency; and a communications node comprising; a housing also fabricated from a steel material, with the steel material of the housing having a resonance frequency; a sealed bore within the housing; an independent power source residing within the bore; an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver also residing within the bore for receiving and transmitting acoustic waves; and at least one clamp for radially clamping the communications node onto an outer surface of the tubular body. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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48. An electro-acoustic system for wireless telemetry along a pipeline, comprising:
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a tubular body fabricated from steel; at least one sensor disposed along the tubular body; a sensor communications node placed along the tubular body and connected to a wall of the tubular body, the sensor communications node being in electrical communication with the at least one sensor and configured to receive signals from the at least one sensor, the signals representing a parameter associated with a location along the tubular body; a proximal communications node placed at a beginning location along the tubular body; a plurality of intermediate communications nodes spaced along the tubular body and attached to an outer wall of the tubular body, the intermediate communications nodes configured to transmit acoustic waves from the sensor communications node to the proximal communications node in node-to-node arrangement; and a receiver configured to receive signals from the proximal communications node; wherein each of the intermediate communications nodes comprises; a sealed housing; an independent power source residing within the housing; and an electro-acoustic transducer and associated transceiver also residing within the housing designed to receive and re-transmit the acoustic waves, thereby providing communications telemetry. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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Specification