Patents Examined by Anthony Gutierrez
  • Patent number: 6668234
    Abstract: A sampled data system for computing the amplitude of a signal received from a vibration sensing probe minus the fundamental frequency associated with the running speed of a rotating machinery shaft. This signal is known as the Not 1X waveform and variations in its amplitude can signal problems with bearings, rotors, cracks or mechanical looseness, and/or fluids of the rotating machine. The amplitude of the Not 1X waveform can be provided in either peak to peak amplitude, peak amplitude, absolute average or root mean square.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2003
    Assignee: ABB Inc.
    Inventors: Anthony M. DiTommaso, Kevin Dowdell, Ljubisa Milojevic
  • Patent number: 6665615
    Abstract: A method for determining from measured reflection data on a plurality of trace positions, a plurality of subsurface parameters. The method includes the steps of: preprocessing the measured reflection data into a plurality of partial or full stacks; specifying one or more initial subsurface parameters defining an initial subsurface model; specifying a wavelet or wavelet field for each of the partial or full stacks of the measured reflection data; calculating synthetic reflection data based on the specified wavelets and the initial subsurface parameters; optimizing an objective function, including the weighted difference between measured reflection data and synthetic reflection data for a plurality of trace positions simultaneously; and outputting the optimized subsurface parameters. A device for implementing this method is also included.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Jason Geosystems B.V.
    Inventors: Paul Van Riel, Hendrik Willem Johan Debeye
  • Patent number: 6662111
    Abstract: A method of calculating reflection curvature in a seismic data volume wherein an apparent dip value is calculated in a first direction to generate a first apparent dip volume. A horizontal gradient is calculated in the first direction in the first apparent dip volume using a specified length scale to generate a first curvature volume. The process may be repeated one or more times, and the individual curvature volumes combined to generate a combined curvature volume for the seismic data volume.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2003
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Brian P. West, Steven R. May, Dominique Gillard, John E. Eastwood, Michael D. Gross, Thomas J. Frantes
  • Patent number: 6657921
    Abstract: A system for collecting seismic data from geologic formations underlying water. A plurality of hydrodynamic housings are deployable in the water and are permitted to descend at a fast rate through the water until the housings contact the geologic formations. A controller engaged with each housing reconfigures the housing to enhance contact between the housing and the geologic formations and to reduce impact of ocean currents acting against the housing. A marine seismic sensor is engaged with each housing to detect seismic data and to sensor orientation. Each housing can be disconnected from the associated marine seismic sensor to facilitate retrieval of the seismic sensors to the water surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2003
    Assignee: WesternGeco LLC
    Inventor: Loran D. Ambs
  • Patent number: 6654693
    Abstract: A method of processing data that uses an angle dependent filter from two-component sensor data allows for attenuation of free surface multiples. Typically, the sensors that are used to produce two-component ocean bottom sensor data are hydrophones and geophones. The method decomposes the recorded dual sensor data into upgoing and downgoing wavefields by combining the recorded pressure at the hydrophone with the vertical particle velocity from the geophone recorded at the ocean floor. Surface multiple attenuation is accomplished by application of an incident angle dependent deconvolution of the downgoing wavefield from the upgoing wavefield. The method uses an angle dependent filter to calibrate the geophone response so that the different coupling of the two instruments and associated noise are taken into account. In a further embodiment, a method of attenuation of multiple reflections in seismic data is provided. The seismic data comprises pressure data and particle velocity data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: PGS Americas, Inc.
    Inventors: Mrinal K. Sen, Paul L. Stoffa, Faqi Liu
  • Patent number: 6654689
    Abstract: A system and method for generating storm warnings which are precisely tailored automatically for a particular individual or business user's geographic location of interest. The user establishes an individualized user profile, in which the user may define a particular location of interest and a contact address to which a personalized storm warning is to be delivered. The user may also establish a storm profile defining characteristics of a storm for which the user desires a storm warning to be provided. A detailed and accurate storm track is generated. Generated storm tracks are compared to individual user profiles. Personalized storm warnings are generated for user profiles defining locations of interest within a predicted storm track, if the storm track characteristics of the storm meet the characteristics specified in the storm profile established by the user, and may be delivered to users via e-mail, cell phone, pager, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Weather Central, Inc.
    Inventors: Terence F. Kelly, Victor W. Marsh, Randall T. Wiggins
  • Patent number: 6654690
    Abstract: An automated method is for making a topographical model of an area including terrain and buildings thereon based upon randomly spaced data of elevation versus position. The method may include processing the randomly spaced data to generate gridded data of elevation versus position conforming to a predetermined position grid, processing the gridded data to distinguish building data from terrain data, and performing polygon extraction for the building data to make the topographical model of the area including terrain and buildings thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2003
    Assignee: Harris Corporation
    Inventors: Mark Donald Rahmes, John Philip Karp
  • Patent number: 6651006
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for processing a seismic 2-D or 3-D measurement data set comprised of a multitude of seismic traces each comprising a series of data points provided with amplitude values. The inventive method is characterized by the following steps: Converting the measurement data set into a binary data set in which either the number “0” is assigned to each data point when an amplitude value is less than a predetermined threshold value, or else the number “1” is assigned to each data point; including a vicinity which is located around each binarized data point and which is defined by a predetermined cell size in a similarity analysis, hereby a value is assigned to each data point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Henning Trappe
    Inventors: Henning Trappe, Carsten Hellmich, Marc Föll
  • Patent number: 6622093
    Abstract: A casing pipe is inserted into a drilled hole reaching the inside of a confined aquifer in which groundwater is stored and flows or a position near the confined aquifer. A measuring device measures an electromagnetic field at the distal end of the casing pipe. An analyzing device analyzes data concerning the electromagnetic field measured by the measuring device to sense motion of ground pore water, thereby predicting rapid motion in the earth's crust, such as a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, a landslide and ground collapse. The casing pipe is an electrically conductive pipe having a non-magnetic screen portion formed at the distal end thereof so that recycling groundwater passes through the screen portion. The measuring device includes an electromagnetic field sensor placed in the screen portion and the conductive casing pipe as an electrode for measuring an electric potential relative to an electric potential at the earth's surface detected with a reference electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2003
    Assignees: Science and Technology Agency National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Communications Research Laboratory
    Inventors: Yukio Fujinawa, Hiroshi Iitaka, Kozo Takahashi
  • Patent number: 6618678
    Abstract: A method for classification of a subsurface includes the steps of: inputting at least two seismic drive layer property data sets; inputting data defining one or more zones of interest in the classification input data sets; inputting analysis data sets with data types corresponding to that of the classification input data sets; inputting data defining a subset of interest in the analysis data sets; defining in the subset of interest within the data type space one or more data type subspaces that characterize subsurface features; selecting at least one data type subspace to be used for classification; determining which data points in the zone of interest fall within the selected data type subspaces; and typifying these data points to so classify these data points of the classification input data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2003
    Assignee: Jason Geosystems B.V.
    Inventor: Paul Van Riel
  • Patent number: 6615139
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a digitally implemented method for determining basement depths of 3-dimensional density interfaces from gridded gravity data, wherein density contrast above the interface is assumed to be varying parabolically with depth, the present invention method assumes a continuous decrease in density contrast of sedimentary rocks with depth, a phenomena well observed all over the world.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Assignee: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research
    Inventor: Vishnubhotla Chakravarthi
  • Patent number: 6611761
    Abstract: A method for determining a radial profile of sonic shear velocity of formations surrounding a fluid-containing borehole, including: suspending a logging device in the borehole; transmitting sonic energy from the logging device to establish flexural waves in the formation; receiving sonic energy from the flexural waves and producing, from the received sonic energy, measurement signals at a number of frequencies; determining, at each frequency, the flexural wave velocity in the formation; deriving sonic compressional and shear velocities of the substantially undisturbed formation; deriving sonic compressional velocity of the borehole fluid; and determining the radial profile of sonic shear velocity from the derived compressional and shear velocities of the substantially undisturbed formation, the derived compressional velocity of the borehole fluid, and the flexural wave velocities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2003
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Bikash K. Sinha, Robert Burridge, Michael R. Kane
  • Patent number: 6597991
    Abstract: A method and system for evaluating the water stress status of growing crops in nearly real time employing remote monitoring of entire crop-growing areas, rather than sampling or spot checks, at sufficiently high resolution to recognize features in the crop-growing area, especially to distinguish between crop foliage and non-foliage features, and requiring minimal additional measurements of environmental parameters in the crop-growing area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Agrosense Ltd.
    Inventors: Moshe Meron, Joseph B. Tsipris
  • Patent number: 6597995
    Abstract: A method for forming a prograde kinematic model allowing reproduction in 3D intermediate geometries of geologic objects of an underground zone such as a sedimentary basin, from an initial state to a current state. A representation of the current geometry of the geologic objects of the zone is formed by interpretation of acquired data obtained by seismic exploration, by in-situ measurements and by observations, then each geologic object is subdivided into layers separated by deformation interfaces. Each one of the layers is defined by means of a grid pattern into a series of hexahedral volume elements. Tectonic deformations are then applied separately and successively to each series of volume elements of a layer in relation to an underlying layer while conserving the thickness and the surface area of an intermediate neutral surface in each volume element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2003
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventors: Tristan Cornu, Frédéric Schneider
  • Patent number: 6594585
    Abstract: The instant invention teaches an improved frequency domain based method of generating attributes from 2D or 3D seismic data. The central idea of the instant invention is that if a curve characterized by constant coefficients is fitted to a short-window Fourier transform amplitude or phase spectrum, the coefficient estimates that are obtained thereby can be used as seismic attributes for use in detecting changes in subsurface properties that may be associated with the generation, migration, accumulation, or presence of hydrocarbons. Since it is well known that many subsurface structural and stratigraphic features alter the frequency characteristics of seismic waveforms passing therethrough, the instant invention provides a new way to search through large numbers of seismic traces for frequency changes that may be correlated with subsurface features of exploration interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2003
    Assignee: BP Corporation North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Adam Gersztenkorn
  • Patent number: 6574561
    Abstract: A system for automating the gathering of field information that describes the condition of specific geographical locations at specific times via a field information recording device having a GPS receiver for the recording and assignment of the space-time coordinates as information is gathered. The information and space-time coordinates are transmitted to a management center for processing over a communication network. Upon receipt, the field information is integrated into a geographic database such that the information generates a template showing the current state or condition of the identified geographical location on an automated basis. The template and the associated geographical portion of the geographical database are distributed to users via the Internet, intranet or other communication means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: The University of North Florida
    Inventors: John Franklin Alexander, Gerald Merckel, J. David Lambert
  • Patent number: 6574562
    Abstract: Skin-effect corrections are applied to measurements made by a transverse induction logging tool to give corrected measurements indicative of vertical conductivities of a formation. Data from a conventional induction logging tool are inverted or focused to give an isotropic model of formation resistivity. A forward modeling is used to derive from the isotropic model measurements that would be expected with a transverse induction logging tool. Skin-effect corrections are applied to these expected measurements. The formation anisotropy is determined from the skin-effect corrected transverse induction measurements, the skin-effect corrected expected measurements and from the isotropic model conductivities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Baker Hughes Incorporated
    Inventors: Leonty A. Tabarovsky, Michael B. Rabinovich
  • Patent number: 6574564
    Abstract: A prestack migration method allowing imaging of an underground zone, for a given velocity model of arbitrary complexity. The method allows obtaining elementary migrated images associated with the values assumed by a parameter and the sum of the images obtained for the different values of the parameter (post-migration stacking), in the depth domain as well as in the time domain. This migration is independent of the volume of the results calculated and of the number of seismic traces recorded. Volume images are obtained by taking account of all the seismic traces. Azimuth movout correction is applied to the received data to compensate for drift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2003
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventors: Patrick Lailly, Bertrand Duquet, Andreas Ehinger
  • Patent number: 6564150
    Abstract: A system for, and method of, orienting seismic energy sources and seismic energy receivers to substantially separate a compressional wave from a vertical shear wave. The method includes reflecting a seismic energy from a subsurface interface to produce a reflected seismic energy wave that has a compressional energy and vertical shear energy associated therewith. A first seismic energy receiver is oriented such that it is aligned with an angle of emergence of the reflected seismic energy wave to thereby maximize the vertical shear energy received by a second seismic energy receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2003
    Assignees: Board of Regents for the University of Texas, Vecta Technologies, LP
    Inventors: Allen L. Gilmer, Bob A. Hardage, James L. Simmons, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6522974
    Abstract: A process for analyzing, decomposing, synthesizing and extracting seismic signal components, such as the fundamental of a pilot sweep or its harmonics, from seismic data uses a set of basis functions. The basis functions may be any of the harmonics or other components derived from the pilot sweep. These basis functions are modulated with the data being analyzed. The resulting data output from the modulation are then low-pass filtered so that the instantaneous amplitude and differential phase of the particular signal component to be synthesized may be computed. Each targeted component is then synthesized and the result subtracted from the remaining data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: Westerngeco, L.L.C.
    Inventor: Gary Arthur Sitton