Survey tool system for blast hole drilling rigs

Inventors: Michael Ayris (Welshpool, AU); John T. Flam (Heimdal, NO); Alexander Butler (Heimdal, NO); Arnstein Løvø (Heimdal, NO); Rune Lindhjem (Heimdal, NO)

Assignee: DEVICO AS

E21B47/022 E21B7/025 G01C19/34

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12698704
App. No.: 18/549,116
Granted: Aug 4, 2026
Kind: B2

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

A survey tool system ( 100 ) for surveying deviation of a previously drilled hole ( 10, 20 ) from a selected hole path ( 30 ) comprises: an assembly of drill pipe sections ( 55 ) co-operable with said previously drilled hole ( 10, 20 ); and at least one sensor ( 125 ) included within the assembly of drill pipe sections ( 55 ) for collecting survey data including data correlated with deviation of said previously drilled hole ( 10, 20 ) from said selected hole path ( 30 ). A processor ( 130 ) processes data collected from the at least one sensor ( 125 ) and determines deviation of the previously drilled hole ( 10, 20 ) from the selected path ( 30 ) for said previously drilled hole ( 10, 20 ).

Claims (28)

1 . A survey tool system for surveying deviation of a previously drilled uphole from a selected hole path comprising:

an assembly of drill pipe sections co-operable with said previously drilled uphole;

at least one sensor included within the assembly of drill pipe sections for collecting survey data including data correlated with deviation of said previously drilled hole from said selected hole path; and

a processor for processing said data collected from said at least one sensor and determining deviation of said previously drilled hole from said selected path for said previously drilled hole,

wherein an open end of the previously drilled uphole is at a lower elevation than a terminal end of the previously drilled uphole.

2 . The survey tool system of claim 1 , wherein said at least one sensor includes one or more of a gyroscopic sensor, a magnetometer, an accelerometer, or an inclinometer.

3 . The survey tool system of claim 2 , wherein the at least sensor includes a gyroscope configured for continuous collection of the survey data.

4 . The survey tool system of claim 1 , wherein the survey tool assembly includes a further sensor for determining proximity to other previously drilled holes, whether or not included within the survey.

5 . The survey tool system of claim 1 , wherein the assembly of drill pipe sections forms a drilling string configured to be moved through the previously drilled hole.

6 . The survey tool system of claim 1 , including communication means for wirelessly communicating data between the survey tool assembly and the processor.

7 . A method for surveying deviation of a previously drilled uphole from a selected hole path with a survey tool system, said method comprising:

co-operating an assembly of drill pipe sections with said previously drilled uphole, the previously drilled uphole having an open end at a lower elevation than a terminal end of the previously drilled uphole;

collecting survey data from at least one sensor included within the assembly of drill pipe sections, said survey data including data correlated with deviation of said previously drilled hole from said selected hole path; and

processing said survey data collected from said at least one sensor and determining deviation of said previously drilled hole from said selected hole path,

characterized in that said at least one sensor is included within a survey tool assembly connected to a frontmost end of the assembly of drill pipe sections and configured to form a terminal end of the assembly of drill pipe sections, and characterized in that collecting of survey data follows completion of a drilling operation and replacement of a drilling bit assembly with said survey tool assembly.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein a corrective action is implemented in response to deviation in hole path being above a predetermined threshold.

9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one sensor is included within the survey tool assembly for measuring data as the survey tool assembly is moved in said previously drilled hole.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the data is data from which deviation from selected hole path can be derived.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the drilling string is rotated when moving the drilling string between selected depth intervals for data collection from the sensor or logging instrument.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the drilling string is rotated at a constant rate.

13 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one sensor is a gyroscopic sensor for measuring data as the survey tool assembly is moved in said previously drilled hole.

14 . The method of claim 7 , wherein said survey tool system determines a starting direction of the drilling string.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein said starting direction does not correspond with the starting direction of the hole.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein said starting direction is provided by a gyroscope external to the survey tool assembly.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein said starting direction is provided by a North seeking fibre optic gyroscope external to ta survey tool assembly.

18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the starting direction of the drilling string is determined autonomously.

19 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the assembly of drill pipe sections is in situ within the previously drilled hole and the survey tool assembly is moved inside the assembly of drill pipes.