Device for remote transmission of information

• US 4,698,794 A
• Filed: 07/22/1985
• Issued: 10/06/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1984
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eastman Christensen Company (Baker Hughes Company)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Christensen
• Inventors: Hense, Ulrich, Kruger, Volker
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pihulic, Daniel T.
• Application Number:
  US06/757,711
• Time in Patent Office: 806 Days
• Field of Search: 367/81-85, 340/853, 340/861
• US Class Current: 367/83
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 4/02 Fluid rotary type drives
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/18 through the well fluid , e.g. mud pressure pulse telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/20 by modulation of mud waves, e.g. by continuous modulation

Abstract

In a device for the transmission of information from a borehole to the surface during the operation of a drilling device which comprises a rotary drill bit, a tubular housing and a pump which delivers a drilling fluid downwards through the tubular housing, through the rotary drill bit and upwards in the annular space between the tubular housing and the borehole, there is provided a detector arranged in the tubular housing, for detecting information, a processor for converting that information into a sequence of electrical control signals and a transducer for generating pressure pulses in the downwardly-directed flow of drilling fluid as a function of the control signals, and a remote detector arranged at a position spaced from the processor by a wire-less transmission path with a transmitter unit associated with the remote detector at one end of said path and a receiver unit at the other end of said path.

Claims

1. In a device for transmitting information from an underground borehole to the surface during drilling of the borehole comprising an information transmitting assembly mounted in a portion of a drill housing situated a remote distance from a drill bit and the surface including power supply means, at least one detector means for detecting a variable and providing information as a function of said variable, a processor connected to the detector means for converting said information from said detector means into electrical control signals and a transducer for generating in a drilling fluid forced through said drill housing a frequency spectrum of pressure pulses propagated toward and processed at the surface as a function of said electrical control signals, the improvement comprising:

at least one remote detector means situated at a position in the drill housing and borehole remote from said processor, said remote detector means being separated from said processor by a wire-less transmission path having first and second ends and being provided with a signal transmitter, associated with the remote detector means, at the first end of said transmission path for transmitting information from the remote detector at a different frequency spectrum than that of the transducer and a signal receiver at the second end of said transmission path connected to provide information detected by the remote detector to the processor for transmission to the surface by the transducer and in which the frequency spectrum emitted by the signal transmitter is different from that of the transducer which generates pressure pulses in said drilling fluid.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the transmission path comprises the drilling fluid.

3. A device according to claim 2 in which the frequency spectrum of the signal transmitter is higher than that of the transducer.

4. A device according to claim 1 in which the remote detector means is a revolution detector associated with a drill bit drive.

5. A device according to claim 4 in which the signal transmitter is in the form of a rotary slide valve.

6. Drilling apparatus for drilling underground boreholes comprising:

a down-hole motor adapted to be driven by a drilling fluid forced downwardly through a tubular housing to said motor;

drive means arranged to be driven by the down-hole motor;

a drill bit arranged to be driven by the drive means;

means for forcing drilling fluid downwardly through said tubular housing from and backup to an upper surface about the borehole;

an information transmitting assembly mounted within a section of said housing situated a remote distance from the upper surface and the drill bit and said information transmitting assembly including power supply means, at least one detector means for detecting a variable and providing information as a function of said variable, a processor connected to the detector means for converting said information from said detector means into electrical control signals and a transducer for generating in said downwardly flowing drilling fluid a frequency spectrum of pressure pulses propagated toward and processed at the upper surface as a function of said electrical control signals;

a receiver for receiving said pressure pulses generated by said transducer and propagated toward and processed at the upper surface;

a remote detector means situated at a position in the housing and borehole remote and separated from said processor, for detecting a variable;

pressure pulse transmitting means associated with said remote detector means to generate and transmit pressure pulses in said drilling fluid and which pulses are a function of information detected by said remote detector means and transmitted at a different frequency spectrum than that of the transducer; and

a signal receiver for receiving said pressure pulses from said transmitting means associated with said remote detector, said signal receiver being positioned in said information transmitting assembly and connected to provide information detected by the remote detector to said processor for transmission to the upper surface by the transducer.

7. Drilling apparatus according to claim 6 in which the remote detector means is arranged to determine the speed of rotation of the down-hole motor.