Systems, Methods and Devices for Collecting Data at Remote Oil and Natural Gas Sites
First Claim
1. A system for collecting data at a remote site comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle configured to move to a remote site and to wirelessly receive data associated with the remote site; and
a processor wirelessly coupled to the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to wirelessly transmit the data to the processor.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, methods and devices are provided for collecting operational data at remote oil and natural gas sites, such as wells, and or processing and refinery plants. One such system comprises a remote transmitter and/or controller at the site and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), such as a drone aircraft, configured for aerial dispatch to the remote site and wireless connection to the remote transmitter for subsequent relay or upload of data to an external processor. The UAV may include still or video cameras for collecting images around the well site that can be uploaded and transmitted to the external processor. The system may also include logic-based applications allowing for feedback control of the well site to change operational parameters based on the received data. The system may also include a variety of sophisticated sensor devices on the UAV or located at the remote site to collect additional operational data, such as airborne particulate and/or toxic gas concentrations, audio files of pumps or other equipment and levels and properties of produced water and other fluids.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A system for collecting data at a remote site comprising:
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an unmanned aerial vehicle configured to move to a remote site and to wirelessly receive data associated with the remote site; and a processor wirelessly coupled to the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the unmanned aerial vehicle is configured to wirelessly transmit the data to the processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for collecting data from a remote site comprising:
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moving an unmanned aerial vehicle to the remote site; collecting data from the remote site with the unmanned aerial vehicle; and wirelessly transmitting said data to a processor located remotely from the remote site. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. An unmanned aerial vehicle for collecting data at a remote site comprising:
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a software program configured to receive dispatch information from an external processor and to move to the remote site based on the dispatch information; a means for collecting data from the remote site; and a transmitter configured to transmit said data to the external processor. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification