The present patent application relates to the field of communications engineering. It relates to using electrically conductive elements or pipes of a construction equipment as a waveguide for the data communication. Embodiments concern the data communication in the microwave range over a pipe or drill pipe, e.g., in tunnel construction and mining applications, especially in connection with non-accessible drilling tools.
For construction equipment, it is desired to transfer data between various parts of a construction machine. For example, in tunnel construction and mining applications, it is desired to exchange sensor data or control data between a drill head in the underground and a drive at the surface. For example, it may be desired to monitor the rotation of or the forces applied to roller bits attached to the drill head in e.g., a raise drilling application or the rotation of or the forces applied to a cutting wheel of a drill head while drilling the bore hole. The data transmission is required to allow for timely reacting to certain events associated with the drill head, for example, to change worn parts or to avoid expensive deficient drilling. This in turn requires that data may be transmitted over a certain distance with a certain data rate. However, for the above applications, the presently available data rates are too low, the presently available operating distances are too short, or both.
The mud-pulse telemetry is one of the presently used systems to transfer data between the drill head in the underground and the drive at the surface. However, the mud-pulse telemetry is only usable if the drilling mud or slurry circuitry is attached and in operation. In addition, in the mud-pulse telemetry, the information is transferred by using pressure changes in the drilling mud or slurry. This results in data rates of a few bits per second which are typically too low.
A further known system used in construction and mining applications is the electromagnetic telemetry, for example, as used by the company Halliburton/Sperry Drilling. In this system, the drilling string is used as a transmit antenna for a communication in the frequency range between 2 and 10 Hz. A receive antenna is installed in the ground at a distance of about 100 m from the drill string. The low data rates and high complexity are disadvantageous of the presently used electromagnetic telemetry systems.
It is the object of the present invention to at least in part overcome one or more deficiencies attributable to the prior art systems.
This object is addressed by a coupling element according to claim 1, a method according to claim 9, a system according to claim 16 and a drilling device according to claim 18.
A coupling element connectable to a string of one or more pipes, for example, a drill string of one or more pipes or drill pipes is provided. The coupling element configured to excite, responsive to a data signal fed to the coupling element, an electromagnetic wave in the string. The coupling element comprises: a feed portion at a first end of the coupling element, the feed portion to receive the data signal; a first electrically conductive portion extending from the feed portion towards a second end of the coupling element, the second end to be connected to the string for forming an electrically conductive connection between the first electrically conductive portion and the string; and a second electrically conductive portion extending from the feed portion towards the second end of the coupling element. The first and second electrically conductive portions are arranged so as to define a waveguide, the waveguide expanding in a direction from the first end towards the second end.
According to an embodiment, the second electrically conductive portion may comprise a portion formed so as to protrude into the string, when the coupling element is connected to the string.
According to an embodiment, the portion to protrude into the string may have a constant diameter.
According to an embodiment, the first electrically conductive portion and the second electrically conductive portion may be rotationally symmetric.
According to an embodiment, the coupling element may be connectable to the string so as to be rotatable.
According to an embodiment, the electromagnetic wave may have rotationally symmetric field lines.
According to an embodiment, the first electrically conductive portion may have a flange connectable to the flange of the string.
According to an embodiment, a coupling element as described above may be used in a drill string of one or more drill pipes.
A method for data communication in a construction equipment over a string of one or more pipes, for example, a drill string of one or more pipes or drill pipes is provided. The method comprises the steps of
According to an embodiment, the electromagnetic wave may be excited using a coupling element as described above and/or the data signal may be coupled from the second end of the string using a coupling element as described above.
According to an embodiment, the string acting as the waveguide may have a band-pass property or a band-stop property so as to pass frequencies within certain ranges and to reject or attenuate frequencies outside the certain ranges, the certain ranges may define a plurality of channels, the plurality of channels may have the same or different bandwidths. The method may further comprise the steps of selecting from the plurality of channels a channel for transmitting the data signal, and transmitting the data signal using the selected channel.
According to an embodiment, selecting the channel may comprise the steps of selecting from list, which includes available channels for the string, an initial channel allowing for the data communication; testing one or more of the remaining available channels from the list so as to determine the respective communication qualities achievable by the respective channels; and selecting the channel providing the best communication quality, e.g., the channel having the lowest attenuation when compared to the initial channel and the remaining available channels.
According to an embodiment, selecting the channel may comprise the steps of testing channels in the string so as to determine the respective communication qualities achievable by the respective available channels; and selecting from the channels the channel providing the best communication quality, e.g., the channel having the lowest attenuation when compared to the other channels.
According to an embodiment, the testing and the selecting may be repeated during an operation of the construction equipment including the string
According to an embodiment, the method may further comprise, in response to determining that none of the channels provides a sufficient communication quality, selecting a predetermined channel.
A system for data communication in a construction equipment over a string of one or more pipes, for example, a drill string of one or more pipes or drill pipes is provided. The system comprises a first coupling element configured to excite, at a first end of the string, a first electromagnetic wave carrying a data signal, the string acting as a waveguide, and a second coupling element configured to couple the first electromagnetic wave from a second end of the string to obtain the data signal.
According to an embodiment, the first coupling element and/or the second coupling element may comprise a coupling element as described above.
A drilling device for drilling a hole along a drill path from a starting point to a destination point is provided. The drilling device contains a drill head, a drive for rotating the drill head, at least one pipe string, preferably a string of drill pipes, connected to the drill head, and an advancing unit for advancing the drill head along the drill path. The pipe string is connected to a first coupling element configured to excite, at a first end of the string, a first electromagnetic wave carrying a data signal, the pipe string acting as a waveguide, and a second coupling element configured to couple the first electromagnetic wave from a second end of the string to obtain the data signal.
According to an embodiment, the first coupling element and/or the second coupling element may comprise a coupling element as described above.
According to an embodiment, the method for data communication as described above may be used in a drilling method for drilling a hole along a drill path from a starting point to a destination point by rotating a drill head with a drive, advancing the drill head along the drill path with an advancing unit, providing a pipe string, preferably a string of drill pipes, connecting the drill head and the starting point.
Embodiments of the present invention will be discussed below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The same applies to the drilling system 100 of
For the drilling system 100, it is desirable to transmit data from the drill head 130 to the drive e.g. being sensor data associated with the drill head 130. Further, it is desirable to transfer data from the drive 110 to the drill head 130 e.g. being control data. According to the present invention, a hollow interior of the drill string 120 is used as a waveguide to transfer an electromagnetic wave between the drill head 130 and the drive 110. In order to transfer data from the drill head 130 to the drive 110, a coupling element 140 is used to excite the electromagnetic wave in the string 120 based on a signal carrying the sensor data of the drill head 130. The coupling element 140 may also be referred to as a mode coupler.
The electromagnetic wave travels through the interior of the drill string 120 from the drill head 130 towards the drill drive 110. Alternatively, a string of pipes can also be used. A coupling element 150 is used at the surface 101 to couple the electromagnetic wave from the drill string 120 to obtain the signal. The sensor data carried by the obtained signal may be used at the surface 101 by the drive 110 or a control equipment associated with the drive 110.
Similarly, the drive 110 or control equipment associated with the drive 110 may establish a control signal for the drill head 130. The coupling element 150 is used to excite at the surface 101 an electromagnetic wave in the string 120, which corresponds to the signal. The electromagnetic wave travels through the interior of the drill string 120 towards the drill head 130. It is coupled from the drill string 120 by the coupling 140 to obtain the signal at the drill head 130. Alternatively, a string of pipes can also be used. As a result, a bidirectional communication between the drill head 130 in the underground 102 and the drive 110 at the surface 101 is established. Changing the direction of communication can be done alternating or at the same time.
For data transfer as described before and will be described here after, it is preferred that the inside of the hollow drill string 120 is empty, especially unfilled with conductive liquids.
In an embodiment, one end of the string 220 may be connected to a drive 210 like the one described above with reference to
In an embodiment, the string 220 may have a circular cross section.
In an embodiment, the string 220 may be a drill string e.g. made of 11 ¼ inch pipes as offered, e.g., by the company MICON GmbH & Co. KG. Each pipe has a length of approximately 1.7 m. The pipes are screwed together to form the drill string. In the sections of the screwing, the inner diameter of the pipes enlarges. Due to these disturbing enlargements, the drill string has a band-pass property or a band-stop property so as to pass frequencies within certain ranges and to reject or attenuate frequencies outside of these ranges.
The channel may be selected from the plurality of channels so as to satisfy a predetermined data communication criterion, for example, a predetermined data rate. The method step of selecting a channel for transmitting the signal, 610, may comprise additional steps which are described in conjunction with
In the method step 620 illustrated in
The method steps illustrated in
The method for operating the system for data communication 200 according to the present invention may use any narrow-band modulation scheme, for example, the frequency shift keying (FSK) modulation scheme. Alternatively, a chirp sequence based modulation scheme, for example, the LoRa modulation scheme may be used. In addition, the time division duplexing may be used in order to allow for a bi-directional data communication. Alternatively, a frequency division duplexing may be used. As a result, the data communication for distances of a few hundred meters up to 2000 meters or more may be established. The achievable data rates may be in the range of hundreds of kbit per second and hence above the data rates achievable so far.
As shown in
As soon as a certain pipe is brought sufficiently deep into the underground, the drive portion 710 and the attachment portion 715 are moved in a direction opposite to the direction indicated by arrow 724, thereby allowing that a pipe handling portion (not shown) attaches a further pipe into the drill string 120. The other pipe is also attached to the attachment portion 715. The attachment portion 715 is again rotated by the drive portion 710. The force is again exhibited onto the attachment portion 715 such that the drilling operation progresses. The above procedure is repeated and thereby a hole is drilled. The drilled hole corresponds to the diameter of the drill string 120/the pilot bore drill head 130.
As soon as the drill head together with the string 120 reaches a tunnel or another accessible cavity, a drill head 730 (see
As shown in
The signal obtained by the coupling 717 is provided by the coupling 717 to a processing unit 712 by using a wired connection or wirelessly. The processing unit 712 processes the signal so as to obtain the sensor data. The coupling element 717 may be attached to the attachment portion 715 such that it is fixed relative to the drive portion 710 or such that it rotates relative to the drive portion 710. In case the coupling element 717 rotates relative to the drive portion 710, a rotary coupling may be provided in order to transfer signals between the drive portion 710 and the coupling element 717. The rotary coupling may also be used to provide electric power to power, for example, electric components such as amplifiers or filters, which may be attached to or integrated with the coupling element 717. Such electric components may be useful for conditioning of the signal obtained by the coupling element 717 from the interior 726 of the drill string 720 prior to providing the obtained signal to the processing unit 712.
The coupling element 717 shown in
The coupling element 736 shown in
The coupling element 717 is rotationally symmetric around the axis A and it is to be connected with tubular or cylindrical pipes. When the coupling element 717 is mounted to a pipe, directly or using the adapter 713, the axis A coincides with the axis 722 of the pipe.
The coupling element 717 comprises a cylindrical body section 802 having a diameter dB and a cylindrical flange section 804 having a diameter dF. The diameter dF is greater than the diameter dB. The diameter dF of the flange section corresponds to the diameter of the pipe to which the coupling element 717 may be mounted and which includes a flange to which the flange section 804 of the coupling element 717 may be connected. In the depicted embodiment, the body section 802 and the flange section 804 are shown as integral parts. However, the invention is not limited to such embodiments. The body section 802 and the flange section 804 may be separate elements connected to each other, for example, by clamping, by welding, by screws or the like.
The coupling element 717 comprises a conical opening O extending from a first end to a second end. The opening O has a first diameter d1 at the first end which is smaller than a second diameter d2 at the second end. The body section 802 and the flange section 804 may be formed of an electrically conducive material so as to provide the first electrically conductive portion 717a. In accordance with other embodiments, the body section 802 and the flange section 804 may be formed of an insulating material with an electrically conductive layer on the surface of the conical opening O and the part of the flange portion 804 facing the pipe.
The flange section 804 comprises a plurality of holes 810 dispersed circumferentially at a diameter which is greater than the diameter d2 and smaller than the diameter dF. In addition, the flange section 804 comprises also a protrusion 812 located at the surface of the flange section 804 facing the pipe. The protrusion 812 is located at a diameter which corresponds to the diameter at which the inwards of the holes 810 are located.
The coupling element 717 comprises a conically shaped insert I mounted at the first end. The insert I has a diameter d3 at the first end, which is smaller than the diameter d1, and a diameter d4 at the second end, which is smaller than the dimeter d2. The insert I may be formed of an electrically conductive material so as to provide the second electrically conductive portion 717b. In accordance with other embodiments, the insert I may be formed of an insulating material with an electrically conductive layer on its surface. The insert I is mounted to the body section 802 by using, e.g., a screw 814. The insert I is supported on the flange section 804 by using a supporting portion 816, e.g., a plate, a disc or the like, made of an electrically non-conductive material, e.g., plastic, Polytetrafluoroethylene, or the like. The supporting portion 816 is mounted to the insert I and to the flange section 804 by using screws 818.
The diameters d1, d2, d3 and d4 are selected so as to provide a waveguide between the first electrically conductive portion 717a and the second electrically conductive portion 717b. The waveguide may have a predetermined wave impedance. For example, the wave impedance may equate to 50 Ohm.
The insert I is electrically and mechanically coupled to a portion 820. The portion 820 is formed as to protrude into a pipe or into the adapter 713, when the coupling element 717 is mounted to a pipe. The portion 820 is mechanically coupled to the insert I by using the thread 822. The portion 820 may excite the mode TM01 in the pipe.
The coupling element 736 is rotationally symmetric around the axis A and it is to be connected with tubular or cylindrical pipes. When the coupling element 736 is mounted to a pipe, directly or using the adapter 738, the axis A coincides with the axis 722 of the pipe.
The coupling element 736 comprises a cylindrical body section 802 having a diameter dB and a cylindrical flange section 804 having a diameter dF. The diameter dF is greater than the diameter dB. The diameter dF of the flange section corresponds to the diameter of the pipe to which the coupling element 736 may be mounted and which includes a flange to which the flange section 804 of the coupling element 736 may be connected. In the depicted embodiment, the body section 802 and the flange section 804 are shown as integral parts. However, the invention is not limited to such embodiments. The body section 802 and the flange section 804 may be separate elements connected to each other, for example, by clamping, by welding, by screws or the like.
The coupling element 736 comprises a conical opening O extending from a first end to a second end. The opening O has a first diameter d1 at the first end which is smaller than a second diameter d2 at the second end. The body section 802 and the flange section 804 may be formed of an electrically conducive material so as to provide the first electrically conductive portion 736a. In accordance with other embodiments, the body section 802 and the flange section 804 may be formed of an insulating material with an electrically conductive layer on the surface of the conical opening O and the part of the flange portion 804 facing the pipe.
The flange section 804 comprises a plurality of holes 810 dispersed circumferentially at a diameter which is greater than the diameter d2 and smaller than the diameter dF. In addition, the flange section 804 comprises also a protrusion 812 located at the surface of the flange section 804 facing the pipe. The protrusion 812 is located at a diameter which corresponds to the diameter at which the inwards of the holes 810 are located.
The coupling element 736 comprises a conically shaped insert I mounted at the first end. The insert I has a diameter d3 at the first end, which is smaller than the diameter d1, and a diameter d4 at the second end, which is smaller than the dimeter d2. The insert I may be formed of an electrically conductive material so as to provide the second electrically conductive portion 736b. In accordance with other embodiments, the insert I may be formed of an insulating material with an electrically conductive layer on its surface. The insert I is mounted to the body section 802 by using, e.g., a screw 814. The insert I is supported on the flange section 804 by using a supporting portion 816, e.g., a plate, a disc or the like, made of an electrically non-conductive material, e.g., plastic, Polytetrafluoroethylene, or the like. The supporting portion 816 is mounted to the insert I and to the flange section 804 by using screws 818.
The diameters d1, d2, d3 and d4 are selected so as to provide a waveguide between the first electrically conductive portion 736a and the second electrically conductive portion 736b. The waveguide may have a predetermined wave impedance. For example, the wave impedance may equate to 50 Ohm.
The insert I is electrically and mechanically coupled to a portion 820. The portion 820 is formed as to protrude into a pipe or into the adapter 738, when the coupling element 736 is mounted to a pipe. The portion 820 is mechanically coupled to the insert 1 by using the thread 822. The portion 820 may excite the mode TM01 in the pipe.
It is understood that the method for data communication, the system for data communication and the coupling element in accordance with the present invention may be used in any construction equipment having an arbitrary string which is capable of acting as a waveguide for an electromagnetic wave, for example, in any string having an electrically conductive wall and optionally having a circular cross-section. In other words, the references to the drilling equipment and to the drilling string in the present patent application are intended to be for illustrative purposes only.
Although some aspects of the described concept have been described in the context of an apparatus, it is clear that these aspects also represent a description of the corresponding method, where a block or a device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Analogously, aspects described in the context of a method step also represent a description of a corresponding block or item or feature of a corresponding apparatus.
The above described embodiments are merely illustrative for the principles of the present invention. It is understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and the details described herein are apparent to others skilled in the art. It is the intent, therefore, to be limited only by the scope of the impending patent claims and not by the specific details presented by way of description and explanation of the embodiments herein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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19164653 | Mar 2019 | EP | regional |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2020/057810 | 3/20/2020 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2020/193416 | 10/1/2020 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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7303029 | Hall | Dec 2007 | B2 |
20020135179 | Boyle | Sep 2002 | A1 |
20090266609 | Hall | Oct 2009 | A1 |
20170254194 | Mazyar | Sep 2017 | A1 |
20170314390 | Thompson | Nov 2017 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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WO-2011066624 | Jun 2011 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220251947 A1 | Aug 2022 | US |