Geo-locating positions along optical waveguides

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9316762-B2
Application number	US-201314049330-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 9, 2013
Priority date	Oct 9, 2013
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

A method of correlating physical locations with respective positions along an optical waveguide can include transmitting to the waveguide a signal including an indication of the transmitting location, and the waveguide receiving the signal. A system for correlating a physical location with a position along an optical waveguide can include a transmitter which transmits to the optical waveguide a signal including an indication of the transmitter location, and a computer which correlates the location to the position, based on the signal as received by the waveguide. A method of determining a position along an optical waveguide at which a signal is transmitted can include modulating on the signal an indication of a transmission location, and transmitting the signal to the waveguide, thereby causing vibration of the waveguide.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
transmitting a signal to an optical waveguide from a transmitter, the transmitter located at a physical location, the signal including an indication of the physical location of the transmitter;
receiving the signal with the optical waveguide from exterior to the optical waveguide at a position along the optical waveguide from an input to the optical waveguide; and
correlating the physical location with the position along the optical waveguide using light injected at the input of the optical waveguide.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the physical location includes a latitude and longitude of the physical location.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the physical location includes a descriptor of the physical location.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting comprises acoustically transmitting the signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitting further comprises causing vibration of the optical waveguide.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a distance along the optical waveguide corresponding to the position at which the signal is received.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the position along the optical waveguide closest to the transmitting.

Assignees

• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Barfoot David A
• Mcphail Paul H

Classifications

• G01V8/24 Primary

  using optical fibres · CPC title

• G01D5/35338 Primary

  using other arrangements than interferometer arrangements · CPC title

• G01V8/16

  using optical fibres · CPC title

• G01V1/001

  Acoustic presence detection · CPC title