Apparatus for transmitting well bore data

Abstract

In the representative embodiments of the present invention described herein, a drilling mud is circulated through a drill string at a sufficient rate to effectively operate an impeller-driven electrical generator arranged on a tool coupled in the drill string for supplying power to downhole electrical circuits and one or more downhole condition-measuring devices on the tool. By selectively controlling the flow of drilling mud past the impeller in accordance with the conditions being monitored by the condition-measuring devices, data-encoded acoustic signals are produced in the circulating fluid and transmitted to the surface for detecting and decoding as power is simultaneously supplied to the downhole system by the generator.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. Apparatus adapted for producing signals at the surface representative of at least one downhole condition occurring while drilling a borehole and comprising: a body adapted to be tandemly coupled into a tubular drill string and defining a fluid passage for carrying drilling fluids being circulated to a borehole-drilling device dependently coupled therebelow;   data-signaling means on said body and including circuit means for producing digitally-encoded electrical data signals;   power-supply means on said body and including an electrical generator adapted to be rotatively driven for producing electrical power for said circuit means; .Iadd.and .Iaddend.   impeller means coupled to said generator and cooperatively arranged in fluid passage for rotatively driving said generator upon flow of drilling fluids through said fluid passage and said impeller means; .[.and.]. .Iadd.said impeller means including .Iaddend.signal-producing means .[.cooperatively arranged on said impeller means and.]. adapted for .Iadd.at least .Iaddend.partially obstructing the flow of drilling fluids through said .[.impeller means.]. .Iadd.fluid passage .Iaddend.in response to said electrical data signals to selectively produce correspondingly-encoded acoustic signals in drilling fluids circulating through said body.   
     
     
       2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured downhole condition during the drilling of a borehole.   
     
     
       3. The apparatus of claim 1 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured formation characteristic during the drilling of a borehole.   
     
     
       4. The apparatus of claim 1 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured characteristic of the drilling fluids circulating through a borehole exterior of said body during the drilling thereof.   
     
     
       5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said impeller means include a reaction-type turbine impeller having a plurality of flow passages cooperatively arranged therein for rotatively driving said impeller; and said signal-producing means include a passage-obstructing member cooperatively mounted on said impeller for movement between one operating position where flow of drilling fluids through at least one of said flow passages is at least substantially blocked and another operating position where flow of drilling fluids through said flow passages is at least substantially unimpeded, and actuating means cooperatively arranged for selectively moving said passage-obstructing member between its said operating positions in response to said electrical data signals. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of claim 5 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured downhole condition during the drilling of a borehole to correspondingly move said passage-obstructing member between its said operating positions and produce said encoded acoustic signals.   
     
     
       7. The apparatus of claim 5 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured formation characteristic during the drilling of a borehole to correspondingly move said passage-obstructing member between its said operating positions and produce said encoded acoustic signals.   
     
     
       8. The apparatus of claim 5 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured characteristic of the drilling fluids circulating through a borehole exterior of said body during the drilling thereof to correspondingly move said passage-obstructing member between its said operating positions and produce said encoded acoustic signals.   
     
     
       9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said impeller means include a multi-bladed impeller having a plurality of selectively-adjustable impeller blades cooperatively arranged for movement between selected pitch angles; and said signal-producing means include blade-positioning means cooperatively coupled to said impeller blades for movement between one operating position where said impeller blades are shifted to one pitch angle substantially blocking flow of drilling fluids through said fluid passage and another operating position where said impeller blades are shifted to another pitch angle substantially facilitating flow of drilling fluids through said fluid passage, and actuating means cooperatively arranged for selectively moving said blade-positioning means between said operating positions in response to said electrical data signals. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of claim 9 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured downhole condition during the drilling of a borehole to correspondingly move said blade-positioning means between said operating positions and produce said encoded acoustic signals.   
     
     
       11. The apparatus of claim 9 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured formation characteristic during the drilling of a borehole to correspondingly move said blade-positioning means between said operating positions and produce said encoded acoustic signals.   
     
     
       12. The apparatus of claim 9 further including: condition-responsive measuring means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one measured characteristic of the drilling fluids circulating through a borehole exterior of said body during the drilling thereof to correspondingly move said blade-positioning means between said operating positions and produce said encoded acoustic signals.   
     
     
       13. Apparatus adapted for measuring at least one downhole condition while drilling a borehole and comprising: a body tandemly coupled in a tubular drill string having a borehole-drilling device independently coupled thereto and defining a fluid passage for circulating drilling fluids between the surface and said borehole-drilling device;   data-signaling means on said body and adapted for providing digitally-encoded data signals representative of at least one downhole condition;   power-supply means on said body and including an electrical generator adapted to be rotatively driven for producing electrical power for said data-signaling means;   a multi-ported reaction-type turbine impeller coupled to said generator and cooperatively journalled in said fluid passage for rotatively driving said generator upon circulation of drilling fluids through the ports of said impeller;   signal-producing means including a port-obstructing member cooperatively mounted on said impeller for movement between one operating position where flow of drilling fluids through said impeller ports is at least substantially unimpeded and another operating position where flow of drilling fluids through at least one of said impeller ports is at least substantially blocked for producing a pressure pulse in drilling fluids circulating through said fluid passage, and actuating means coupled to said port-obstructing member and operable in response to said data signals for selectively moving said port-obstructing member between its said operating positions to produce corresponding digitally-encoded pressure pulses in drilling fluids circulating through said fluid passage; and   pulse-detecting means cooperatively coupled to the surface end of said drill string for detecting said pressure pulses to provide indications at the surface representative of of said downhole condition.   
     
     
       14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said port-obstructing member is cooperatively arranged upstream of said impeller for blocking entrance of drilling fluids into said one impeller port upon movement of said port-obstructing member to its said other operating position. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said actuating means include an electro-mechanical actuator cooperatively arranged for moving said port-obstructing member between its said operating positions in response to electrical signals from said data-signaling means. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said data-signaling means include circuit means coupled to said actuator and cooperatively arranged for supplying digitally-encoded electrical output signals thereto, and condition-responsive means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying electrical input signals thereto representative of said downhole condition. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said downhole condition is a selected formation characteristic and said data-signaling means include circuit means for supplying electrical input signals thereto representative of said formation characteristic. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said downhole condition is a selected characteristic of drilling fluids circulating through a borehole exterior of said body and said data-signaling means include circuit means for supplying electrical input signals thereto representative of said drilling fluid characteristic. 
     
     
       19. Apparatus adapted for measuring at least one downhole condition while drilling a borehole and comprising: a body tandemly coupled in a tubular drill string having a borehole-drilling device dependently coupled thereto and defining a fluid passage for circulating drilling fluids between the surface and said borehole-drilling device;   data-signaling means on said body and adapted for providing digitally-encoded electrical data signals representative of at least one downhole condition;   power-supply means on said body and including an electrical generator adapted to be rotatively driven for producing electrical power for said data-signaling means;   a multi-bladed turbine impeller coupled to said generator and cooperatively journalled in said fluid passage for rotatively driving said generator upon circulation of drilling fluids through the openings between the blades of said impeller, said impeller blades being cooperatively arranged for movement between selected pitch angles;   signal-producing means including cam means cooperatively associated with said impeller blades for simultaneously shifting said impeller blades between one operative pitch angle where flow of drilling fluids through said impeller openings is at least substantially unimpeded and another operative pitch angle where flow of drilling fluids through said impeller openings is at least substantially impeded for producing a pressure pulse in drilling fluids circulating through said fluid passage, and actuating means coupled to said cam means and operable in response to said data signals for selectively moving said impeller blades between their said operative pitch angles to produce corresponding digitally-encoded pressure pulses in drilling fluids circulating through said fluid passage; and   pulse-detecting means cooperatively coupled to the surface end of said drill string for detecting said pressure pulses to provide indications at the surface representative of said downhole condition.   
     
     
       20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said actuating means include an electro-mechanical actuator cooperatively arranged for moving said impeller blades between their said operative pitch angles in response to said electrical data signals from said data-signaling means. 
     
     
       21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said data-signaling means include circuit means coupled to said actuator and cooperatively arranged for supplying digitally-encoded electrical output signals thereto, and condition-responsive means on said body and coupled to said circuit means for supplying electrical input signals thereto representative of said downhole condition. 
     
     
       22. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said downhole condition is a selected formation characteristic and said data-signaling means include circuit means for supplying electrical input signals thereto representative of said formation characteristic. 
     
     
       23. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said downhole condition is a selected characteristic of drilling fluids circulating through a borehole exterior of said body and said data-signaling means include circuit means for supplying electrical input signals thereto representative of said drilling fluid characteristic. 
     
     
       24. Apparatus adapted for producing acoustic signals at the surface representative of at least one downhole condition and comprising: a body having a fluid passage and adapted for mounting in a well bore pipe string carrying flowing fluids between the surface and a downhole location in a well bore;   data-signaling means on said body and cooperatively arranged for producing digitally-encoded electrical signals representative of at least one downhole condition;   power-supply means on said body and including an electrical generator adapted to be rotatively driven for supplying electrical power to said data-signaling means, and a multi-ported turbine impeller coupled to said generator and cooperatively arranged in said fluid passage for operatively driving said generator upon flow of fluids through the ports of said impeller; and   signal-producing means including a member movably arranged on said impeller and selectively operable in response to said electrical signals for momentarily obstructing the flow of fluids through at least one of said impeller ports to produce correspondingly-encoded acoustic signals in such fluids.   
     
     
       25. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said data-signaling means include: circuit means cooperatively arranged for producing said electrical signals in response to input signals supplied thereto; and   condition-measuring means coupled to said circuit means and cooperatively arranged for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one formation characteristic.   
     
     
       26. The apparatus of claim 25 further including: detecting means adapted for coupling to the surface end of a well bore pipe string carrying said body for detecting said acoustic signals to provide indications at the surface representative of said formation characteristic.   
     
     
       27. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said data-signaling means include: circuit means cooperatively arranged for producing said electrical signals in response to input signals supplied thereto; and   condition-measuring means coupled to said circuit means and cooperatively arranged for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one characteristic of such fluids.   
     
     
       28. The apparatus of claim 27 further including: detecting means adapted for coupling to the surface end of a well bore pipe string carrying said body for detecting said acoustic signals to provide indications at the surface representative of said fluid characteristic.   
     
     
       29. Apparatus adapted for producing acoustic signals at the surface representative of at least one downhole condition and comprising: a body having a fluid passage and adapted for mounting in a well bore pipe string carrying flowing fluids between the surface and a downhole location in a well bore;   data-signaling means on said body and cooperatively arranged for producing digitally-encoded electrical data signals representative of at least one downhole condition;   power-supply means on said body and including an electrical generator having a tubular driving shaft and adapted to be rotatively driven for supplying electrical power to said signaling means, and a multi-ported turbine impeller coupled to said driving shaft and cooperatively arranged in said fluid passage for operatively driving said generator upon flow of fluids through the ports of said impeller; and   signal-producing means on said body and including a port-obstructing member cooperatively mounted on said impeller for angular movement relative thereto between one operating position where flow of fluids through said impeller ports is substantially unimpeded and another operating position where flow of fluids through at least one of said impeller ports is substantially obstructed, an actuating shaft coaxially disposed in said driving shaft and coupled to said port-obstructing member for moving said port-obstructing member between its said operating positions upon angular movement of said actuating shaft in relation to said driving shaft, a tubular cam follower coaxially disposed around said shafts and adapted for longitudinal movement in relation thereto between one cam-actuating position where an enlarged-diameter first internal bore portion of said cam follower is adjacent to a lateral opening in said tubular shaft and another cam-actuating position where a reduced-diameter second internal bore portion of said cam follower is adjacent to said shaft opening, a spiraling intermediate internal bore portion joining said first and second internal bore portions, an electro-mechanical actuator coupled to said data-signaling means and responsive to said electrical data signals for selectively shifting said cam follower between said cam-actuating positions, a rotatable cam adapted for rolling movement along said internal bore portions in first and second orbital paths around said shafts respectively determined by the diameters of said first and second internal bore portions, and linkage means cooperatively coupling said cam between said shafts for angularly moving said actuating shaft in relation to said tubular shaft and including a first linkage member secured to said tubular shaft to one side of said shaft opening and a second linkage member secured to said actuating shaft and disposed within said shaft opening for angular movement therein in accordance with radial movements of said cam between its said orbital paths.   
     
     
       30. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein said data-signaling means include: circuit means cooperatively arranged for producing said electrical data signals in response to input signals supplied thereto; and   condition-measuring means coupled to said circuit means and cooperatively arranged for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one formation characteristic.   
     
     
       31. The apparatus of claim 30 further including: detecting means adapted for coupling to the surface end of a well bore pipe string carrying said body for detecting said acoustic signals to provide indications at the surface representative of said formation characteristic.   
     
     
       32. The apparatus of claim 29 wherein said data-signaling means include: circuit means cooperatively arranged for producing said electrical data signals in response to input signals supplied thereto; and   condition-measuring means coupled to said circuit means and cooperatively arranged for supplying input signals thereto representative of at least one characteristic of such fluids.   
     
     
       33. The apparatus of claim 32 further including: detecting means adapted for coupling to the surface end of a well bore pipe string carrying said body for detecting said acoustic signals to provide indications at the surface representative of said fluid characteristic. .Iadd. 34. Apparatus adapted for producing acoustic signals for transmission to the surface representative of at least one downhole condition occurring while drilling a borehole, comprising:   a housing adapted to be positioned within a tubular body defining a fluid passage that conducts drilling fluids being circulated to a borehole-drilling device dependently coupled therebelow;   circuit means for producing encoded electrical signals representative of a downhole measurement;   power generating means in said housing and including an electrical generator adapted to be rotatively driven for producing electrical power for said circuit means; and   impeller means coupled to said generator and cooperatively arranged in said fluid passage for rotatively driving said generator upon flow of drilling fluids through said fluid passage, said impeller means including means responsive to said encoded electrical signals for at least partially obstructing the flow of drilling fluids through said passage to thereby produce correspondingly encoded acoustic signals in said drilling fluids. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 35. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said impeller means includes a reaction-type turbine impeller having a plurality of flow passages; and said obstructing means includes a passage-obstructing member mounted for movement between one operating position where flow of drilling fluids through at least one of said flow passages is at least substantially blocked and another operating position where flow of drilling fluids through said flow passages is at least substantially unimpeded. .Iaddend..Iadd. 36. The apparatus of claim 35 wherein said obstructing means further includes actuating means cooperatively arranged for selectively moving said passage obstructing member between its operating positions in response to said encoded electrical signals. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 37. The apparatus of claim 34 wherein said impeller means includes a multi-bladed impeller having a plurality of selectively adjustable blades cooperatively arranged for movement between selected pitch angles; and said obstructing means includes blade-positioning means cooperatively arranged coupled to said blades for movement between one operating position where said blades are shifted to one pitch angle substantially blocking flow of drilling fluids through said fluid passage and another operating position where said blades are shifted to another pitch angle substantially facilitating flow of drilling fluids through said fluid passage. .Iaddend..Iadd. 38. The apparatus of claim 37 wherein said obstructing means further includes means cooperatively arranged for selectively moving said blade-positioning means between said operating positions in response to said encoded electrical signals. .Iaddend.