Patent Application
20160290064
The present disclosure relates generally to oil field exploration and, more particularly, to a system and method for electronically coupling electronics in downhole tools without a harness.
The use of downhole tools is well known in the subterranean well drilling and completion art. Those tools include electronics inserts, which typically are electronically interconnected using wires that may be bundled together in a harness. The wire harnesses may use pin and socket type connectors and may be secured via adhesive tape and cable ties. The wires are of fixed/static configuration and must be manually reconnected if tool configurations are changed. Further, the wires may cause noise and interference that potentially degrades tool performance.
Some specific exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be understood by referring, in part, to the following description and the accompanying drawings.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.
The present disclosure relates generally to oil field exploration and, more particularly, to a system and method for electronically coupling electronics in downhole tools without a harness.
Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail herein. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actual implementation may be described in this specification. It will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the specific implementation goals, which will vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure.
To facilitate a better understanding of the present disclosure, the following examples of certain embodiments are given. In no way should the following examples be read to limit, or define, the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicable to horizontal, vertical, deviated, multilateral, u-tube connection, intersection, bypass (drill around a mid-depth stuck fish and back into the well below), or otherwise nonlinear wellbores in any type of subterranean formation. Embodiments may be applicable to injection wells, and production wells, including natural resource production wells such as hydrogen sulfide, hydrocarbons or geothermal wells; as well as borehole construction for river crossing tunneling and other such tunneling boreholes for near surface construction purposes or borehole u-tube pipelines used for the transportation of fluids such as hydrocarbons. Devices and methods in accordance with embodiments described herein may be used in one or more of measurement-while-drilling (“MWD”) and logging-while-drilling (“LWD”) operations. Embodiments described below with respect to one implementation are not intended to be limiting.
The terms “couple” or “couples” as used herein are intended to mean either an indirect or a direct connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect mechanical or electrical connection via other devices and connections. Similarly, the term “communicatively coupled” as used herein is intended to mean either a direct or an indirect communication connection. Such connection may be a wired or wireless connection such as, for example, Ethernet or LAN. Such wired and wireless connections are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art and will therefore not be discussed in detail herein. Thus, if a first device communicatively couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection, or through an indirect communication connection via other devices and connections.
The present disclosure describes a system and means for interconnecting electronics modules in downhole tools using a backplane, an apparatus that communicatively couples electronics modules together. The backplane may include two or more connectors (such as sockets), where communication points in one connector (such as pins) may be communicatively coupled to communication points in another connector. Electric circuits plugged into one connector may thereby be coupled to electrical circuits plugged into another connector. The communicative coupling between communications points may be accomplished using wires. In one or more embodiments, the backplane may be a printed circuit board (PCB) where communicative couplings are formed by etched copper conductive paths. In passive backplanes, the selection and routing of conductive paths between connectors may be fixed; in active backplanes, circuitry may be included for dynamic selection and routing of the conductive paths between connectors.
The electronics modules to be interconnected using the backplane may include electronics boards, power sources, sensors, and other electronic/electrical modules known to those of skill in the art. The backplane PCB may provide improved interconnection between such electronics modules. Unlike wire harnesses, which must be manually reconfigured based on the specific electronics modules used, backplane PCBs may contain universal connectors and dynamically route signals based on the connected electronics modules. Additionally, backplane PCBs may be reprogrammable and may support features not possible in wire harnesses, such as electronic inventory management schemes and high-speed optical interconnections.
Downhole tool assembly 100 may include a tool insert 110, electronics modules 120 and 130, and base metal ring 140. Electronics modules 120 and 130 may be arrayed around the exterior of tool insert 110. Tool insert 110 may be a rigid structure to which electronics modules may be mounted. Although in
The interconnection of the electronics modules 120 and 130 in the embodiment of
The backplane PCBs 155 and 165 may include connectors to interface with similar connectors on electronics modules 120 and 130. Specifically, backplane PCBs 155 and 165 may include backplane-to-electronics-module connectors 157 and 167, respectively, which are configured to interconnect with PCB connectors 150 and 160, located on electronics modules 120 and 130, respectively.
In
In the embodiment of
Connectors 212 and 214 may be same-side backplane PCB connectors for electronically coupling backplane PCB segment 200 to other backplane PCB segments disposed adjacent to it. Connector 216 may be an opposite-side backplane PCB connector for electronically coupling backplane PCB segment 200 to other backplane PCB segments disposed across from backplane PCB segment 200 (rather than adjacent to it). Connector 218 may be a backplane-to-electronics-module connector, similar to PCB connectors 157 and 167, for electronically coupling backplane PCB segment 200 to an electronics module. Connector 219 may be an optical connector and is optionally included to provide optical coupling between backplane PCB segment 200 and, for example, an electronics module with an optical connector.
Connectors 212, 214, 216, and 218 may be high-speed connectors such as gigabit speed connectors. Connector 219, which may be an optical connector, may interface with the backplane PCB segment 200 using, for example, a gigabit interface convertor that translates optical signals received at connector 219 into electrical signals. Alternatively, backplane PCB segment 200 may include optical communications pathways.
Backplane PCB segment 200 may be composed of a plurality of layers.
Backplane PCB segment 200 may optionally include one or more active device chips 230. Active device chips may contain information regarding electronics modules that may be connected to backplane PCB segment 200. Based on the electronics modules that are connected, an active device chip 230 may, for example, dynamically switch or reroute signals within backplane PCB segment 200 to optimize for the identified electronics module. In this way, manual configuration of the backplane PCB may be avoided when new electronics modules are introduced to the system.
Backplane PCB segment 200 may also optionally include an ID chip 240. The ID chip 240 may be, for example, an electronically-erasable/programmable read-only memory that includes identification information for the backplane PCB segment 200. The identification information may be used for an inventory management system. For example, an inventory management system may track the IDs of which components have been deployed downhole and where they are deployed. Optionally, the ID chip may also store identification information for the electronics modules connected to backplane PCB segment 200. In one embodiment, information stored on an ID chip 240 may be accessed by means of downhole telemetry systems.
In each of the embodiments of
Similarly, in the example embodiment of
In the embodiments shown in
Thus, tool inserts may come in a variety of configurations, such as the three-, four-, and six-faced configurations shown in
As shown in
The drilling system 600 comprises a derrick 604 supported by the drilling platform 602 and having a traveling block 606 for raising and lowering a drill string 608. A kelly 610 may support the drill string 608 as it is lowered through a rotary table 612. A drill bit 614 may be coupled to the drill string 608 and driven by a downhole motor and/or rotation of the drill string 608 by the rotary table 612. As bit 614 rotates, it creates a borehole 616 that passes through one or more rock strata or layers 618. A pump 620 may circulate drilling fluid through a feed pipe 622 to kelly 610, downhole through the interior of drill string 608, through orifices in drill bit 614, back to the surface via the annulus around drill string 608, and into a retention pit 624. The drilling fluid transports cuttings from the borehole 616 into the pit 624 and aids in maintaining integrity or the borehole 616.
The drilling system 600 may comprise a bottom hole assembly (BHA) coupled to the drill string 608 near the drill bit 614. The BHA may comprise a LWD/MWD tool 626 and a telemetry element 628. In certain embodiments, the LWD/MWD tool 626 may be integrated at any point along the drill string 608. The LWD/MWD tool 626 may include receivers and/or transmitters (e.g., antennas capable of receiving and/or transmitting one or more electromagnetic signals). In some embodiments, the LWD/MWD tool 626 may include a transceiver array that functions as both a transmitter and a receiver. As the bit extends the borehole 616 through the formations 618, the LWD/MWD tool 626 may collect measurements relating to various formation properties as well as the tool orientation and position and various other drilling conditions. The orientation measurements may be performed using an azimuthal orientation indicator, which may include magnetometers, inclinometers, and/or accelerometers, though other sensor types such as gyroscopes may be used in some embodiments. In embodiments including an azimuthal orientation indicator, resistivity and/or dielectric constant measurements may be associated with a particular azimuthal orientation (e.g., by azimuthal binning). The telemetry sub 628 may transfer measurements from the LWD/MWD tool 626 to a surface receiver 630 and/or to receive commands from the surface receiver 630. Measurements taken at the LWD/MWD tool 626 may also be stored within the tool 626 for later retrieval when the LWD/MWD tool 626 is removed from the borehole 616.
In certain embodiments, the drilling system 600 may comprise an information handling system 632 positioned at the surface 601. The information handling system 632 may be communicably coupled to the surface receiver 630 and may receive measurements from the LWD/MWD tool 626 and/or transmit commands to the LWD/MWD tool 626 though the surface receiver 630. The information handling system 632 may also receive measurements from the LWD/MWD tool 626 when it is retrieved at the surface 601. In certain embodiments, the information handling system 632 may process the measurements to determine certain characteristics of the formation 603 (e.g., resistivity, permeability, conductivity, porosity, etc.) In some cases, the measurements and formation characteristics may be plotted, charted, or otherwise visualized at the information handling system 632 to allow drilling operators to alter the operation of the drilling system 600 to account for downhole conditions.
At various times during the drilling process, the drill string 608 may be removed from the borehole 616 as shown in
Therefore, the present disclosure is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the present disclosure may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Also, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. The indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that it introduces.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2013/075999 | 12/18/2013 | WO | 00 |
