Receiver for an acoustic telemetry system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9638030-B2
Application number	US-94505507-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 26, 2007
Priority date	Aug 24, 2004
Publication date	May 2, 2017
Grant date	May 2, 2017

Abstract

One embodiment includes a method comprising receiving an acoustic signal that is propagated along a drill string. The method also includes correlating the acoustic signal to a first stored acoustic signal representing a first symbol, wherein the first stored acoustic signal is acquired from a propagation along the drill string in an approximately noise free environment.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving an acoustic signal that is propagated along a drill string;
correlating the acoustic signal to a first stored acoustic signal representing a first symbol, wherein the first stored acoustic signal is acquired from a propagation along the drill string in an approximately noise free environment; and
correlating the acoustic signal to a second stored acoustic signal representing a second symbol, wherein correlating the acoustic signal to the first stored acoustic signal representing the first symbol outputs a first degree of correlation and wherein correlating the acoustic signal to the second stored acoustic signal representing the second symbol outputs a second degree of correlation.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising correlating the acoustic signal to a number of other stored acoustic signals representing a number of other symbols, wherein the number of other stored acoustic signals are acquired based on a propagation along the drill string in an approximately noise free environment.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising marking the acoustic signal as the first symbol or the second symbol based on the first degree of correlation and the second degree of correlation.

4. A non-transitory machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause said machine to perform operations comprising:
receiving an acoustic signal that is propagated along a drill string;
correlating the acoustic signal to a first stored acoustic signal representing a first symbol, wherein the first stored acoustic signal is acquired from a propagation along the drill string in an approximately noise free environment; and
correlating the acoustic signal to a second stored acoustic signal representing a second symbol, wherein correlating the acoustic signal to the first stored acoustic signal representing the first symbol outputs a first degree of correlation and wherein correlating the acoustic signal to the second stored acoustic signal representing the second symbol outputs a second degree of correlation.

5. The machine-readable medium of claim 4 , further comprising correlating the acoustic signal to a number of other stored acoustic signals representing a number of other symbols, wherein the number of other stored acoustic signal are acquired based on a propagation along the drill string in an approximately noise free environment.

6. The machine-readable medium of claim 4 , further comprising marking the acoustic signal as the first symbol or the second symbol based on the first degree of correlation and the second degree of correlation.

7. A system comprising:
a drill pipe that includes an acoustic telemetry receiver that is to receive an acoustic signal that is propagated along the drill pipe, wherein the acoustic telemetry receiver is to correlate the acoustic signal to a first stored acoustic signal representing a first symbol, wherein the first stored acoustic signal is acquired from a propagation along the drill pipe in an approximately noise free environment, wherein the acoustic telemetry receiver is to correlate the acoustic signal to a second stored acoustic signal representing a second symbol, wherein the acoustic telemetry receiver is to output a first degree of correlation from the correlation of the acoustic signal to the first stored acoustic signal that represents the first symbol, and wherein the acoustic telemetry receiver is to output a second degree of correlation from the correlation of the acoustic signal to the second stored acoustic signal that represents the second symbol.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the acoustic telemetry receiver is to correlate the acoustic signal to a number of other stored acoustic signals that represent a number of other symbols, wherein the number of other stored acoustic signal are acquired based on a propagation along the drill string in an approximately noise free environment.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the acoustic telemetry receiver is to mark the acoustic signal as the first symbol or the second symbol based on the first degree of correlation and the second degree of correlation.

Assignees

• Shah Vimal V
• Gardner Wallace R
• Kyle Donald G
• Halliburton Energy Services Inc

Inventors

• Shah Vimal V
• Gardner Wallace R
• Kyle Donald G

Classifications

• E21B47/12

  Means for transmitting measuring-signals or control signals from the well to the surface, or from the surface to the well, e.g. for logging while drilling · CPC title

• E21B47/16 Primary

  through the drill string or casing {, e.g. by torsional acoustic waves} · CPC title

• E21B47/14

  using acoustic waves · CPC title