System and method for detecting the passage of an object in pipeline including shielded magnetometer and a microcontroller with adaptive thresholding detection means
First Claim
1. A system for detecting the passage of an object in a pipeline, the system comprising:
- a detector configured for arrangement about and secured to an external surface of the pipeline and including at least one magnetometer sensor;
a shielding surrounding the at least one magnetometer sensor; and
a microcontroller in communication with the at least one magnetometer sensor and having an adaptive thresholding detection means for processing a magnetic flux data stream collected by the at least one magnetometer sensor and detecting a passage event;
the adaptive thresholding detection means calculating a baseline estimate and a noise estimate and using the baseline and noise estimates to determine an upper threshold and a lower threshold, the upper threshold being used to detect movement and the lower threshold being used to reset the detector.
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Abstract
A pipeline pig signal made according to this invention houses one or more shielded magnetometer sensors and a microcontroller with adaptive thresholding detection means for reducing the likelihood of false alarms. The adaptive thresholding detection means removes outlier data from the magnetic flux data stream and then passes the outlier-free data stream through four low pass filters. A smoothed magnitude of the data stream is compared to detection limits and, if a passage event has occurred, a recent detection is indicated, a counter of a display unit is incremented, a time of passage is recorded, and both statistics are displayed on the display unit. Because a single object may produce multiple magnetic fields, the detector may be locked-out for a predetermined period of time after the passage event to prevent a second detection of the same object as it passes the detection device.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A system for detecting the passage of an object in a pipeline, the system comprising:
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a detector configured for arrangement about and secured to an external surface of the pipeline and including at least one magnetometer sensor; a shielding surrounding the at least one magnetometer sensor; and a microcontroller in communication with the at least one magnetometer sensor and having an adaptive thresholding detection means for processing a magnetic flux data stream collected by the at least one magnetometer sensor and detecting a passage event; the adaptive thresholding detection means calculating a baseline estimate and a noise estimate and using the baseline and noise estimates to determine an upper threshold and a lower threshold, the upper threshold being used to detect movement and the lower threshold being used to reset the detector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for detecting the passage of an object in a pipeline, the method comprising the steps of:
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securing a detector housing at least one magnetometer sensor on an exterior surface of the pipeline; collecting a magnetic fax data stream from the at least one magnetometer sensor; processing the magnetic flux data stream through an adaptive thresholding detection algorithm; and using the processed magnetic flux data stream to detect a passage event; wherein the adaptive thresholding detection algorithm calculates a baseline estimate and a noise estimate and uses the baseline and noise estimates to determine an upper threshold and a lower threshold, the upper threshold being used to detect movement and the lower threshold being used to reset the detector. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A pipeline pig system comprising:
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a detector configured for arrangement about an external surface of the pipeline and including a housing having at least one magnetometer sensor; a shielding surrounding the at least one magnetometer sensor; microcontroller in communication with the at least one magnetometer sensor and having an adaptive thresholding detection means and a first, a second, a third, and a fourth low pass filter; the adaptive thresholding detection means removing outlier data from a magnetic flux data stream to provide an outlier-free magnetic flux data stream; the first low pass filter processing the outlier-free magnetic flux data stream to estimate a baseline; the second low pass filter processing the outlier-free magnetic flux data stream to produce a noise estimate; the third low pass filter processing the outlier-free magnetic flux data stream to produce a smoothed magnitude of the outlier-free magnetic flux data stream; the fourth low pass filter processing the smoothed magnitude of the outlier-free magnetic flux data stream to determine the length of a detection event.
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Specification