Monitoring system

Communications: electrical – Wellbore telemetering or control – Multiplexed signals

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C340S853200, C340S853300, C166S250010, C370S254000, C709S220000, C709S222000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06677861

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention involves a tool assembly and components from which the tool assembly is assemblable, which are typically of an elongated tubular shape adapted for insertion into wells for field monitoring of conditions in the wells; and in particular a rotatably engageable connector to couple and electrically interconnect components, data collection, processing and storage functions, networkability and adaptation for use in very small holes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An ever increasing emphasis is being placed on systematic monitoring of environmental conditions in relation to ground and surface water resources. Examples of some situations when monitoring of conditions of a water resource may be desired include environmental monitoring of aquifers at an industrial site to detect possible contamination of the aquifer, monitoring the flow of storm water runoff and storm water runoff drainage patterns to determine effects on surface water resources, monitoring the flow or other conditions of water in a watershed from which a municipal water supply is obtained, monitoring lake, stream or reservoir levels, and monitoring ocean tidal movements.
These applications often involve taking data over an extended time and often over large geographic areas. For many applications, data is collected inside of wells or other holes in the ground. A common technique is to drill, or otherwise excavate, a number of monitoring wells and to insert down-hole monitoring tools into the wells to monitor some condition of water in the wells. Although such monitoring wells are sometimes very deep, they are more often relatively shallow. For example, a significant percentage of monitoring wells are less than 50 feet deep. The cost of drilling monitoring wells, even when relatively shallow, is significant, especially given that a large number of wells is often required. The down-hole monitoring tools also represent a significant cost.
One way to reduce costs is to use smaller diameter monitoring wells, because smaller diameter holes are less expensive to drill. One problem with smaller diameter holes, however, is that there is a lack of tools, and especially high performance tools, that are operable in the holes. For example, only tools with very limited capabilities are available for use in 1 inch diameter holes. There is a need for high performance tools for use in such small diameter holes.
One reason for the high cost of monitoring tools is that they use expensive components and designs that frequently require significant amounts of expensive machining. The tools often require the assembly of components to form a tool assembly for insertion into the monitoring wells, and significant manufacturing expense is often required to provide structures for coupling the components and for electrically interconnecting the components. These problems become even more pronounced when trying to provide a tool at reasonable cost for use in a small diameter monitoring well. Furthermore, assembly and disassembly of components of the down-hole tools frequently require the use of wrenches or other tools, and sometimes special tools. This complicates use of the down-hole monitoring tools, and providing features on the down-hole tools to accommodate tools required for assembly and disassembly often requires machining, which significantly adds to manufacturing costs. Furthermore, electrical interconnections between components typically require special keying of the components, or of the electrical connectors between the components, which result in difficulty of use and a possibility for tool damage or malfunction due to misalignment. There is a significant need for new designs for coupling and electrically interconnecting components to permit easier assembly of down-hole monitoring tools without the need for complex structures that are difficult to manufacture.
In addition to the high cost of monitoring wells and down-hole monitoring tools, a significant amount of ongoing labor is typically required to maintain the tools and to obtain and use data collected by the tools. For example, it is frequently necessary to have someone visit the monitoring wells at periodic intervals to make sure that the tools are still working and to obtain data collected by the tools. The data must then be analyzed for use. The frequency between visits to a well may be a function of a number of variables, such as the reliability of the tools, the frequency with which batteries need to be replaced, and the capacity of the tools to collect and store data. Moreover, many down-hole tools are difficult to service and must be returned to manufacturers or distributors for even relatively simple service tasks, such as changing batteries in the tool. There is a significant need for tools that require less attention and that are easier to service.
Many of the available down-hole monitoring tools also lack significant flexibility in the way they can be used. For example, many tool designs are not designed for remote communication, for networkability or for being powered by the variety of different power sources that may be suitable for different field applications. There is a need for down-hole monitoring tools having greater flexibility.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to provide a high performance tool assembly, and components thereof, operable for field applications to monitor at least one condition in a well or other hole having a diameter of 1 inch or smaller.
Another object is to provide a tool assembly, and components thereof, operable for field applications to monitor at least one condition in a well or other hole and with a high capacity for logging data prior to requiring servicing of the tool assembly and components. A related object is to provide such a tool assembly, and components thereof, operable to log data with low power consumption to prolong operation of the tool on battery power prior to requiring a change of batteries. Another related object is to provide such a tool assembly, and components thereof, operable in a manner to conserve computer memory during data logging operations.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tool assembly, and components thereof, operable for field applications to monitor at least one condition in a well or other hole and which is easy to use and service. Related objects are to provide such a tool assembly, and components thereof, in which field assembly and disassembly of the tool assembly is accomplishable without the use of tools and in a manner so that batteries are easy to access for replacement.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a tool assembly, and components thereof, operable for field applications to monitor at least one condition in a well or other hole and being easily networkable in a network controllable by at least one of the tool assemblies. A related object is to provide a network of such tool assemblies and a method for using the network to perform field monitoring applications.
These and other objects are addressed by various aspects of the present invention as described and claimed herein.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a tool assembly, and components thereof, adapted for insertion into a small diameter well or other hole to provide high performance monitoring of at least one condition in the well or other hole. At least one component of the tool assembly includes a computing unit including a processor and memory having stored therein instructions readable and executable by the processor to direct at least one operation, and preferably substantially all operations, of the tool assembly, including direction of obtainment of sensor readings from a sensor in the tool assembly. In a preferred embodiment, the tool assembly and its components are adapted for use in monitoring wells and other holes having a hole diameter of 1 inch, and in some cases even smaller. The tool assembly, and components thereof, typically have a substantially tubular shape of a substantially constant outside diameter of

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