Side scan down hole video tool having two camera

• US 5,652,617 A
• Filed: 05/31/1996
• Issued: 07/29/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Joel Barbour
• Original Assignee: Joel Barbour
• Inventors: Barbour, Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US08/656,601
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• Field of Search: 348/82, 348/85, 367/35, 367/25, 367/69, 367/71, 367/76, 367/86, 367/911, 33/304, 73/152.54, 346/33 WL, 364/422
• US Class Current: 348/85
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 47/002 by visual inspection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes

Abstract

An apparatus and method of visually examining the sidewalls of a bore hole include a down hole video tool lowered into the bore hole by means of a cable and winch on the surface. The apparatus includes a wide angle end video camera positioned at the tip of a lower section and a rotatable side scan video camera mounted inboard from the end video camera. The end video provides a panorama view of a portion of the bore hole, and the side scan video camera provides a detailed close-up 360 degree view of a portion of the bore hole. An upper section houses a power supply/triplexer, a telemetry board, an FM modulator video amplifier transmission board, gyroscope data interface board, and a gyroscope for showing the directional orientation of either camera and apparatus in the bore hole. The gyroscope orientation and the visual image of the portion of the sidewall viewed is transmitted to a video display monitor in an equipment van on the surface. The image on the screen includes a directional reference point so that the direction of a portion of the sidewall being viewed can be ascertained. The camera images are recorded by a video cassette recorder for a permanent record of the visualization of the entire length of the bore hole. The tool is used to inspect exploratory bore holes, or bore holes previously encased by steel tubing to detect any leaks or other deterioration in the tubing system.

Claims

1. A down hole video tool for inspecting the interior of a bore hole using a suspension cable for suspending said tool in said bore hole, said suspension cable being capable of supporting said tool, carrying signals and carrying electrical power, said tool comprising:

a connection portion for attachment to said suspension cable to suspend said tool in said hole;

a rotatable housing rotatably attached to said connection portion at one end of said rotatable housing;

a down hole video camera in said rotatable housing adapted to produce down hole video images for transmission as video signals from said tool through said cable;

a side scan video camera in said rotatable housing adapted to produce side scan video images for transmission as video signals from said tool through said cable;

at least one light source in said rotatable housing adapted to receive electrical power transmitted to said tool through said cable; and

a rotation actuator for rotating said rotatable housing relative to said upper housing so as to scan said side scan video camera, said rotation actuator adapted to receive electrical power transmitted to said tool through said cable.

2. The tool of claim 1 wherein said down hole video camera has a field of view generally directed down said bore hole along a longitudinal axis of said bore hole while said side scan video camera has a field of view directed generally transverse to said longitudinal axis of said bore hole, and wherein the axis of rotation of said rotatable housing is generally parallel to said longitudinal axis.

3. The tool of claim 2 wherein said field of view of said side scan video camera is generally orthogonal to said longitudinal axis of said bore hole.

4. The tool of claim 1 further comprising:

an upper centralizer on said connection portion for positioning said connection portion in said hole;

a lower centralizer on said rotatable housing for positioning said rotatable housing in said hole; and

bearings between said lower centralizer and said rotatable housing for permitting rotation of said rotatable housing relative to said lower centralizer and relative to said connection portion.

5. The tool of claim 1 wherein said rotation actuator is energizable for initiating rotation of said rotatable housing whenever it is desired to rotate said rotatable housing.

6. The tool of claim 3 wherein said upper and lower centralizers are expandable whenever it is desired to stabilize said tool and retractable whenever it is desired to move said tool.

7. The tool of claim 2 wherein said field of view of said down hole video camera has a wider angle than the field of said side scan video camera.

8. The tool of claim 7 wherein said side scan video camera provides a higher resolution image of a side wall of said bore hole than said down hole video camera.

9. The tool of claim 1 further comprising a direction sensor in said rotatable housing, said direction sensor being adapted to produce an output representative of an orientation of said rotatable housing for transmission as a data signal from said tool through said cable.

10. The tool of claim 9 further comprising a video circuit board in said rotatable housing for producing said video signals from the video images of at least a selected one of said down hole and side scan video cameras.

11. The tool of claim 10 a power circuit board for conditioning electrical power received through said cable for use by said down hole video camera and side scan video camera.

12. The tool of claim 11 further comprising a data circuit board for converting said output of said direction sensor to said data signal for use in displaying a representation of said output of said direction sensor with a video image from at least a selected one of (a) said side scan video camera and (b) said down hole video camera.

13. The tool of claim 1 wherein said one light source is adapted to illuminate the field of view of said down hole video camera, said down hole video tool further comprising another light source adapted to illuminate the field of view of said side scan video camera.

14. The tool of claim 1 further comprising a side facing window in said rotatable housing for said side scan video camera.

15. The tool of claim 14 wherein said side scan video camera is side mounted in said rotatable housing.

16. The tool of claim 14 wherein said side scan video camera comprises an image sensor facing down hole and an angled reflective mirror providing an optical path from said down hole facing image sensor of said side scan video camera through said side facing window.

17. The tool of claim 1 further comprising a down hole facing window in the down hole end of said tool, wherein said down hole video camera comprises an image sensor facing down hole through said down hole facing window.

18. The tool of claim 12 wherein said rotatable housing comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, said video circuit board, said power circuit board and said gyro board residing in said upper portion of said rotatable housing, and said down hole video camera and said side scan video camera reside in said lower portion of said rotatable housing.

19. A tool for inspecting the interior of a passage, said tool adapted to be inserted into said passage in the direction of a longitudinal axis of said tool, said tool comprising:

a head portion for supporting said tool in said passage;

a rotatable housing rotatably attached to said head portion at one end of said rotatable housing;

an axial camera in said rotatable housing having a longitudinal view facing generally along a longitudinal axis of said tool and adapted to produce images for transmission as video signals from said tool through said head portion;

a transverse camera in said rotatable housing having a transverse view facing generally transverse to said longitudinal axis of said tool and adapted to produce images for transmission as video signals from said tool through said head portion; and

a rotation actuator for rotating said rotatable housing relative to said upper housing so as to scan said transverse camera.

20. The tool of claim 19 further comprising at least one light source in said rotatable housing.

21. The tool of claim 20 wherein said axial camera, said transverse camera, said light source and said rotation actuator are each electrically energized through said head portion.

22. The tool of claim 19 wherein said field of view of said transverse camera is generally orthogonal to said longitudinal axis of said passage.

23. The tool of claim 19 further comprising:

an upper centralizer on said head portion for positioning said head portion in said hole;

a lower centralizer on said rotatable housing for positioning said rotatable housing in said hole; and

bearings between said lower centralizer and said rotatable housing for permitting rotation of said rotatable housing relative to said lower centralizer and relative to said head portion.

24. The tool of claim 19 wherein said rotation actuator is energizable for initiating rotation of said rotatable housing whenever it is desired to rotate said rotatable housing.

25. The tool of claim 23 wherein said upper and lower centralizers are expandable whenever it is desired to stabilize said tool and retractable whenever it is desired to move said tool.

26. The tool of claim 23 further comprising a direction sensor in said rotatable housing, said direction sensor being adapted to produce an output representative of an orientation of said rotatable housing for transmission as a data signal from said tool through said head portion.

27. The tool of claim 26 further comprising a data circuit board for converting said output of said direction sensor to said data signal for use in displaying a representation of said output of said direction sensor with a video image from at least a selected one of (a) said axial video camera and (b) said transverse video camera.

28. A down hole video inspection system for inspecting the interior of a bore hole, said system comprising:

(a) a vehicle having a controllable winch, a power supply proximal said vehicle, a video monitor proximal said vehicle, processing circuits proximal said vehicle connected to said video monitor and a terminal proximal said vehicle for entering control commands;

(b) a suspension cable connected to said winch, said suspension cable being capable of carrying signals to and from said processing circuits and carrying electrical power from said power supply; and

(c) a down hole video tool comprising;

(1) a connection portion for attachment to said suspension cable to suspend said tool, whereby said winch controls the position of said tool in said hole;

(2) a rotatable housing rotatably attached to said connection portion at one end of said rotatable housing;

(3) a down hole video camera in said rotatable housing adapted to produce down hole video images for transmission as video signals from said tool through said cable to said processing circuits for display on said monitor;

(4) a side scan video camera in said rotatable housing adapted to produce side scan video images for transmission as video signals from said tool through said cable to said processing circuits for display on said monitor;

(5) at least one light source in said rotatable housing adapted to receive electrical power transmitted to said tool through said cable from said power supply;

(6) a rotation actuator for rotating said rotatable housing relative to said upper housing so as to scan said side scan video camera, said rotation actuator adapted to receive electrical power transmitted to said tool through said cable.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein said down hole video camera has a field of view generally directed down said bore hole along a longitudinal axis of said bore hole while said side scan video camera has a field of view directed sideways relative to said bore hole and generally transverse to said longitudinal axis of said bore hole and is a high resolution camera.

30. The system of claim 28 further comprising:

an upper centralizer on said connection portion for positioning said connection portion in said hole;

a lower centralizer on said rotatable housing for positioning said rotatable housing in said hole; and

bearings between said lower centralizer and said rotatable housing for permitting rotation of said rotatable housing relative to said lower centralizer and relative to said connection portion.

31. The system of claim 28 further comprising a direction sensor in said rotatable housing, said direction sensor being adapted to produce an output representative of an orientation of said rotatable housing for transmission as a data signal from said tool through said cable to said processing circuits for displaying orientation of said tool on said monitor with a video image from at least a selected one of (a) said down hole video camera and (b) said side scan video camera.