Method and apparatus for adjusting the position of stabilizer blades
First Claim
1. An adjustable blade stabilizer for use in a drill string located in a borehole, comprising:
- a tubular body having a substantially cylindrical outer wall;
said body having a plurality of openings extending through the outer wall, said openings being circumferentially spaced about said wall;
a plurality of blades, each blade being movably mounted within a respective opening to extend from a first position to a plurality of positions extending at different radial distances from the tubular body;
drive means for moving the blades from the first position to the plurality of extended positions;
positioning means for limiting the radial extent of the blades;
measuring means for determining the location of the positioning means for any given point in time and for generating a signal correlating to the different positions of said blades; and
means for encoding the signal generated by said measuring means into a combined time/pressure signal for transmission to the surface whereby the time/pressure signal uniquely identifies the determined position of said blades.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A telemetering system is disclosed for communicating command signals to a downhole adjustable blade stabilizer, and for transmitting encoded time/pressure signals back to the surface. The command signal provides information regarding a desired blade position for an adjustable blade stabilizer. The stabilizer sets a positioning piston in response to the command signal to limit the extent of blade expansion. A position sensor is provided in association with the positioning piston to measure precisely the position of the blades. An encoded signal is generated in response to the measurement and is transmitted to the surface in a combined time/pressure format to uniquely identify the position of the blades.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. An adjustable blade stabilizer for use in a drill string located in a borehole, comprising:
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a tubular body having a substantially cylindrical outer wall; said body having a plurality of openings extending through the outer wall, said openings being circumferentially spaced about said wall; a plurality of blades, each blade being movably mounted within a respective opening to extend from a first position to a plurality of positions extending at different radial distances from the tubular body; drive means for moving the blades from the first position to the plurality of extended positions; positioning means for limiting the radial extent of the blades; measuring means for determining the location of the positioning means for any given point in time and for generating a signal correlating to the different positions of said blades; and means for encoding the signal generated by said measuring means into a combined time/pressure signal for transmission to the surface whereby the time/pressure signal uniquely identifies the determined position of said blades. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An adjustable blade stabilizer system comprising:
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a housing with a plurality of slots therein; a plurality of stabilizer blades mounted in said slots; means for driving said plurality of blades to a plurality of settings extended from said housing; means for retracting said blades back toward said housing; means for receiving a command signal indicative of a particular blade setting, said command signal comprising drilling mud flow of a predetermined duration. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for setting the position of a remotely adjustable downhole tool with an actuating member, comprising the steps of:
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(a) transmitting a command signal indicating a desired setting of said actuating member to the adjustable tool; (b) activating a positioning mechanism to restrain the degree of motion of the actuating member to the desired setting; (c) activating the flow of drilling mud through the adjustable tool to thereby activate a drive mechanism to move the actuating member to the desired setting; (d) measuring the position of the actuating member; (e) generating an encoded time/pressure signal indicative of the measured position of said actuating member; and (f) transmitting the encoded time/pressure signal to the surface. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification