Videometric systems and methods for offshore and oil-well drilling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9464492-B2
Application number	US-201113695241-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2011
Priority date	Apr 29, 2010
Publication date	Oct 11, 2016
Grant date	Oct 11, 2016

Abstract

A system is disclosed for determining the position of a downhole drill pipe relative to a pipe handling device. The system comprises: an imaging means arranged to capture an image of the drill pipe in a region of the pipe for engagement by the device; and a processor operable to analyze said captured image and to determine therefrom the position of the drill pipe relative to said device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for determining a position of a downhole drill pipe relative to a wrench arrangement, and for controlling the wrench arrangement for connecting adjacent drill pipes in a downhole drill-string and comprising:
an imaging means configured to capture a sequence of images of the drill-string in a region above a well bore for engagement by a wrench whilst the wrench arrangement is moved towards the drill pipe projecting from the well bore, the sequence of images includes a static position of the drill pipe and the wrench arrangement while moving;
a processor operable to:
analyze said captured images; and to determine therefrom, via a motion detection algorithm, position of an uppermost end of the drill pipe projecting from the well bore relative to said wrench; and
filter out parts of said image sequence containing motion and to determine from remaining static parts of the image the position of the uppermost end of the drill pipe; and
control means operable in response to signals from the processor to control the position of the wrench arrangement in dependence on the position of the uppermost end of said drill pipe projecting from the well bore; and
for disconnecting adjacent drill pipes in the drill-string:
said imaging means is configured to capture an image of a joint between connected ends of said adjacent drill pipes in a region of the drill-string above the well bore; and
said processor is operable to:
analyze said captured image and to determine therefrom position of an uppermost end of a lower of said drill pipes projecting from the well bore, and
analyze the edge contours of said drill-string in said captured image to determine position of said joint and then to perform an edge detection algorithm on the region of said image depicting said joint to determine the uppermost end of the lower of the drill pipes.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein said imaging means is positioned on a side of the drill pipe opposite the wrench arrangement.

3. The system of claim 1 , configured to control the wrench arrangement for disconnecting adjacent drill pipes in the drill-string, wherein:
the system further comprises control means operable in response to signals from the processor to control position of the wrench arrangement in dependence on the position of the uppermost end of the lower of the drill pipes projecting from the well bore.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
apparatus for determining the position of a downhole drill pipe relative to an elevator configured to lift and lower drill pipes, the elevator comprising a collar configured to fit around and grip a drill pipe; the apparatus comprising:
a collar imaging means arranged to capture an image of said collar and the drill pipe in a region of the pipe for engagement by the collar; and
a processor operable to analyze said image and to determine therefrom whether or not a drill pipe is received within the collar.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising a memory configured to store a first datum image from said collar imaging means, the first datum image depicting said collar; without a drill pipe therein.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said memory is further configured to store a second datum image from said collar imaging means, the second datum image depicting said collar with a drill pipe received therein.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said processor is operable to compare the image of said collar and the drill pipe with the first datum image and to determine from said comparison whether or not the drill pipe is received within said collar.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein said processor is operable to perform said comparison in accordance with a color based segmentation algorithm.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein said imaging means is a video camera.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein said imaging means is a still camera.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein said still camera is configured to capture a plurality of successive images.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to control horizontal and vertical position of the wrench arrangement via the control means.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the capture of the sequence of images is synchronized with operation of the wrench arrangement.

14. A method for controlling a wrench arrangement for connecting and disconnecting adjacent drill pipes in a downhole drill-string, comprising:
capturing a sequence of images of the drill-string in a region above a well bore whilst the wrench arrangement is moved towards the drill pipe projecting from the well bore, the sequence of images includes a static position of the drill pipe and the wrench arrangement while moving;
analyzing said captured images; and determining therefrom position of an uppermost end of the drill pipe projecting from the well bore relative to said wrench arrangement;
filtering out parts of said image sequence containing motion and determining from remaining static parts of the image the position of the uppermost end of the drill pipe;
controlling the position of the wrench arrangement in dependence on the determined position of the uppermost end of said drill pipe projecting from the well bore;
capturing an image of a joint between connected ends of said adjacent drill pipes in a region of the drill-string above the well bore;
analyzing said captured image and determining therefrom position of an uppermost end of a lower of said drill pipes projecting from the well bore;
analyzing edge contours of said drill-string in said captured image to determine position of said joint; and
performing an edge detection algorithm on the region of said image depicting said joint to determine the uppermost end of the lower of the drill pipes.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the capturing comprising positioning a camera on a side of the drill-string opposite the wrench arrangement.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:
controlling position of the wrench arrangement in dependence on the determined position of the uppermost end of the lower of the drill pipes projecting from the well bore.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein controlling position comprises controlling horizontal and vertical position of the wrench arrangement based on the captured image.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the filtering comprises filtering out parts of the image depicting the wrench arrangement.

Assignees

• Austefjord Arne
• Nessjoen Pal Jacob
• Nat Oilwell Varco Lp

Inventors

• Austefjord Arne
• Nessjoen Pal Jacob

Classifications

• B66C23/16

  with jibs supported by columns, e.g. towers having their lower end mounted for slewing movements · CPC title

• B66C13/02

  Devices for facilitating retrieval of floating objects, e.g. for recovering crafts from water (handling live-boats B63B; salvaging, or hauling-out on slipways, waterborne vessels B63C; winding mechanism controls B66D1/52) · CPC title

• B66C13/085

  electrical · CPC title

• H04N7/18

  Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast · CPC title

• E21B19/165 Primary

  Control or monitoring arrangements therefor · CPC title