Back up directional and inclination sensors and method of operating same
First Claim
1. A downhole probe assembly comprising:
- (a) primary sensors comprising primary accelerometers and primary magnetometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z;
(b) back up sensors comprising back up solid state accelerometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z;
(c) a controller in electrical communication with the primary sensors and the back up sensors, the controller configured to receive and process information from the primary sensors and the back up sensors so that information from the back up accelerometers can be used when one or more of the primary accelerometers fails; and
(d) a downhole probe assembly module comprising a longitudinally extending housing enclosing a body and an end cap structure positioned at one end of the housing, wherein the body forms part of the end cap structure and extends into a portion of the housing and the back up sensors are attached to the body, and wherein the end cap structure is a male end cap structure or a female end cap structure configured to respectively mate with a female end cap structure or a male end cap structure of a longitudinally adjacent module of the downhole probe assembly, and mating of the male and female end cap structures physically and electrically interconnects the downhole probe assembly module and the longitudinally adjacent module,wherein the primary accelerometers are a different type of accelerometer than the back up solid state accelerometers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The embodiments described herein generally relate to a method and apparatus for providing a back up system of Directional and Inclination (D&I) information to be gathered and transmitted in addition to primary D&I sensors currently employed in industry. A downhole probe assembly including primary sensors, back up sensors and a controller is disclosed. The primary sensors comprise primary accelerometers and primary magnetometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z. The back up sensors comprise back up accelerometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z, the back up accelerometers being solid state accelerometers. The controller is in electrical communication with the primary sensors and the back up sensors. The controller is configured to receive and process information from the primary sensors and the back up sensors so that information from the back up accelerometers can be used when one or more of the primary accelerometers fail, which may allow drilling operations to continue despite such failure.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A downhole probe assembly comprising:
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(a) primary sensors comprising primary accelerometers and primary magnetometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z; (b) back up sensors comprising back up solid state accelerometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z; (c) a controller in electrical communication with the primary sensors and the back up sensors, the controller configured to receive and process information from the primary sensors and the back up sensors so that information from the back up accelerometers can be used when one or more of the primary accelerometers fails; and (d) a downhole probe assembly module comprising a longitudinally extending housing enclosing a body and an end cap structure positioned at one end of the housing, wherein the body forms part of the end cap structure and extends into a portion of the housing and the back up sensors are attached to the body, and wherein the end cap structure is a male end cap structure or a female end cap structure configured to respectively mate with a female end cap structure or a male end cap structure of a longitudinally adjacent module of the downhole probe assembly, and mating of the male and female end cap structures physically and electrically interconnects the downhole probe assembly module and the longitudinally adjacent module, wherein the primary accelerometers are a different type of accelerometer than the back up solid state accelerometers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A downhole probe assembly comprising:
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(a) primary sensors comprising primary accelerometers and primary magnetometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z; (b) back up sensors comprising back up solid state accelerometers configured to gather information relating to each of orthogonal axes X, Y and Z; and (c) a controller in electrical communication with the primary sensors and the back up sensors, the controller configured to receive and process information from the primary sensors and the back up sensors so that information from the back up accelerometers can be used when one or more of the primary accelerometers fails; and (d) a back up sensor module configured for interconnection with a longitudinally adjacent module of the downhole probe assembly, the back up sensor module comprising a longitudinally extending housing enclosing a body and an end cap structure positioned at one end of the longitudinally extending housing, wherein the back up sensors are attached to the body and the end cap structure is a male end cap structure or a female end cap structure configured to respectively mate with a female end cap structure or a male end cap structure of the longitudinally adjacent module of the downhole probe assembly, and mating of the male and female end cap structures physically and electrically interconnects the back up sensor module with the longitudinally adjacent module, wherein the primary accelerometers are a different type of accelerometer than the back up solid state accelerometers. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification