Patents Examined by Ari M. Diacou
  • Patent number: 9377546
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for modeling a fracture network are provided. The method includes mapping a sub-seismic data set to a portion of a seismic-resolution data set, and defining a fractal region of the seismic-resolution data set containing the portion thereof to which the sub-seismic data is mapped. The method also includes generating a training image for sub-seismic scale characteristics of the one or more fracture networks of the seismic-resolution data set using the portion of the seismic-resolution data, and modeling the sub-seismic scale characteristics of the one or more fracture networks of the fractal region of the seismic-resolution data set outside of the portion, using the training image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Manoj Vallikkat Thachaparambil, Renchu Wu, Dong Wang, Rui Zeng
  • Patent number: 9360578
    Abstract: A technique provides a source design and method for increasing low frequency output of a marine source array. The approach comprises providing a plurality of airguns. At least some of the airguns are activated to generate an effective bubble energy. The effective bubble energy may be optimized through use, preparation and/or arrangement of the airguns.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Schlumberger Technology Corporation
    Inventors: Jon-Fredrik Hopperstad, Robert Laws, John Richard Tulett
  • Patent number: 9354339
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method of processing seismic data using a single triaxial geophone is disclosed, where the method comprises acts of calibrating the single triaxial geophone sensor to determine a position and an orientation relative to a surrounding environment, configuring the single triaxial geophone sensor to receive seismic data from the surrounding environment along three orthogonal axes, measuring, with the single triaxial geophone sensor, a plurality of time series of seismic data from the surrounding environment for the three orthogonal axes, storing, with a computer system coupled to the single triaxial geophone sensor, the time series of seismic data from the surrounding environment for the three orthogonal axes, and processing, with the computer system, the time series of seismic data to identify a plurality of seismic waves of different polarizations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2016
    Assignee: Raytheon BBN Technologies Corp.
    Inventor: Kevin Bongiovanni
  • Patent number: 9348050
    Abstract: A seismic data processing method for predicting and removing unwanted near-surface noise, e.g. refracted waves and surface waves, from composite seismograms acquired with multiple, encoded seismic sources in which the time records from the different sources overlap or interfere. Surface-consistent properties are determined (403) for the near-surface noise and used to predict the noise waveforms (404) for the composite simultaneous-source seismograms, and the waveforms are then subtracted or adaptively subtracted (406) from the seismograms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventor: Christine E. Krohn
  • Patent number: 9348052
    Abstract: In some embodiments, apparatus and systems, as well as methods, may operate to record a plurality of acoustic waveforms corresponding to acoustic waves received at azimuthally orthogonal dipole receiver arrays surrounded by a geological formation, the waves being generated by azimuthally orthogonal transmitter arrays. Further activity may include analytically estimating a global minimum of a predefined objective function with respect to an azimuth angle at a point in an auxiliary parameter space associated with a set of auxiliary parameters, minimizing the objective function at the analytically estimated angle with respect to the auxiliary parameters, removing existing ambiguities associated with the fast and slow principal flexural wave axes, and determining at least one property of the geological formation based on the global minimum. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark V. Collins, Arthur Cheng
  • Patent number: 9341724
    Abstract: An embodiment of the invention includes combining pseudorandom sweeps with an independent, or nearly independent, survey acquisition technique. Targeted design of pseudorandom sweeps can direct the majority of cross-correlation noise to lie outside key time-lags of the record (i.e., windows of interest). Embodiments of the invention are described herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: WesternGeco L.L.C.
    Inventors: Timothy James Dean, Kambiz Iranpour, Pieter Leonard Vermeer, Claudio Bagaini
  • Patent number: 9341730
    Abstract: Seismic sources including a steerable submersible float and related methods are provided. A seismic source includes a submersible float and a plurality of individual sources. The submersible float is configured to control at least one of a depth and a horizontal position of the submersible float by adjusting angles of one or more rotatable surfaces attached to the submersible float. The individual sources hang under the submersible float and are configured to operate at a depth larger than the depth of the submersible float.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2016
    Assignee: CGG SERVICES SA
    Inventor: Zhaohong Wu
  • Patent number: 9321514
    Abstract: An underwater base handles an autonomous underwater vehicle. The underwater base includes a storing part configured to store the AUV; a control part configured to control the storing part; and a support part configured to support the control part and the storing part and to prevent a burial of the underwater base into the ocean bottom. The control part is further configured to guide the AUV while approaching a desired target position on the ocean bottom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: CGG SERVICES SA
    Inventors: Antoine Lelaurin, Thierry Brizard
  • Patent number: 9321080
    Abstract: An electromechanical transducer includes a plurality of elements each including a first electrode and a second electrode with a gap therebetween, a voltage applying unit configured to apply an AC voltage to the first electrode, and a sensitivity variation computing unit configured to compute a sensitivity variation for each of the elements using a signal output from the second electrode of the element due to the application of the AC voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Makoto Takagi, Masao Majima
  • Patent number: 9310483
    Abstract: An ultrasonic wave transceiving device is provided. The device includes a transmitter for transmitting at least one kind of first detection data ultrasonic signal and a plurality of kinds of second detection data ultrasonic signals, a receiver for receiving echo signals of the first and second detection data ultrasonic signals, and first and second information generators for generating first and second information based on the echo signal of the first and second detection data ultrasonic signals, respectively. The transmitter transmits the first and second detection data ultrasonic signals which transmission period of the first detection data ultrasonic signal intervenes between transmission periods of the second detection data ultrasonic signals in time axis. The second information generator generates the second information by using the echo signals of the second detection data ultrasonic signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2016
    Assignee: FURUNO ELECTRIC COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Satoshi Misonoo, Nicolas Borrallo, Yuji Onishi, Shogo Nagai, Suenobu Hase, Takeharu Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 9291727
    Abstract: The invention relates to acquiring seismic data from the earth using geophones that are tuned to have differing frequency sensitivity ranges. The differing frequency sensitivity ranges cover a broader effective frequency range so that low frequency energy and high frequency energy are less attenuated in the raw data record. Two separate geophones would be used at the same node and three or more geophones may be used in combination at each node. When three or more geophones are used in combination, each may have a separate but overlapping frequency sensitivity range or two or more of the geophones may have the same frequency range sensitivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2016
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: Peter M. Eick, Joel D. Brewer
  • Patent number: 9287677
    Abstract: The invention can include an optical pulse source for providing optical output pulses, comprising a master oscillator comprising a mode locked fiber oscillator producing optical pulses having an optical pulse frequency; at least one optical fiber amplifier optically coupled to the master oscillator, the at least one optical amplifier including a final optical fiber amplifier; a bulk optic amplifier element optically coupled to the output of the final optical fiber amplifier; a nonlinear optical fiber for nonlinearly producing light, the nonlinear optical fiber optically coupled to the output of the bulk optic amplifier element; an optical pulse compressor optically coupled to the output of the nonlinear optical fiber; and a pulse picker operable to reduce the optical pulse frequency of the optical output pulses to be less than the optical pulse frequency of the optical pulses produced by the master oscillator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2016
    Assignee: Fianium Ltd.
    Inventors: John Redvers Clowes, Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin, Ian Michael Godfrey, Kestutis Vysniauskas
  • Patent number: 9281654
    Abstract: A Raman amplifier using semiconductor lasers of Fabry-Perot, DFB, or DBR type or MOPAs, to output pumping lights having different central wavelengths, an interval between adjacent central wavelengths greater than 6 nm and smaller than 35 nm. An optical repeater is adapted to compensate loss in an optical fiber transmission line by the Raman amplifier. A Raman amplification method wherein the shorter the central wavelength of the pumping light, the higher light power of the pumping light. In the Raman amplifier, a certain pumping 1 wavelength being a first channel, and second to n-th channels are arranged with an interval of about 1 THz toward a longer wavelength side, pumping lights having wavelengths corresponding to the first to n-th channels are multiplexed, and pumping light having a wavelength spaced apart from the n-th channel by 2 THz or more toward the longer wavelength side is combined with the multiplexed light, thereby forming the pumping light source.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2016
    Assignee: FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Youichi Akasaka, Yoshihiro Emori, Shu Namiki
  • Patent number: 9276370
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are generally related to a high-power liquid-cooled pump and signal combiner and methods thereof for fiber optic applications. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a pump and signal combiner capable of conveying several kilowatts of pump laser power for kilowatt class rare-earth doped fiber amplifiers without suffering thermal damage. In one embodiment of the present invention, a high-power, heat dissipating optical fiber device comprises a section of optical fiber configured to propagate light, a cooling chamber, substantially encapsulating the optical fiber, and a fluid within the cooling chamber having a refractive index selected to control the interaction and propagation of the light in the fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: OFS FITEL, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Fishteyn, Marc Mermelstein
  • Patent number: 9276371
    Abstract: A supercontinuum optical pulse source provides a combined supercontinuum. The supercontinuum optical pulse source comprises one or more seed pulse sources, and first and second optical amplifiers arranged along first and second respective optical paths. The first and second optical amplifiers are configured to amplify one or more optical signals generated by said one or more seed pulse sources. The supercontinuum optical pulse source further comprises a first microstructured light-guiding member arranged along the first optical path and configured to generate supercontinuum light responsive to an optical signal propagating along said first optical path, and a second microstructured light-guiding member arranged along the second optical path and configured to generate supercontinuum light responsive to an optical signal propagating along said second optical path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: Fianium Ltd
    Inventors: John Redvers Clowes, Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin, Adam Devine
  • Patent number: 9263853
    Abstract: An optical semiconductor device includes: a resonator end face; an optical waveguide; a window structure located between the resonator end face and the optical waveguide; and a vernier on the window structure and allowing measurement of length of the window structure along an optical axis direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yusuke Azuma, Eitaro Ishimura, Kimitaka Shibata
  • Patent number: 9261614
    Abstract: Automated detection of microseismic events is performed by a system and method that provides automated calculation of one or more statistical parameters for statistics-based detection of microseismic events of interest. An event detector to perform signal subspace-based detection may automatically, e.g. iteratively, be configured based on the one or more automatically calculated and/or estimated statistical parameters, which may include a signal subspace dimension, an effective embedding dimension, a detection threshold, and/or a false alarm rate. Some of the statistical parameters may be calculated based on custom-generated synthetic seismic data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2016
    Assignee: Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
    Inventors: Fuxian Song, Norman Warpinski
  • Patent number: 9255909
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for indicating an inconsistency. An apparatus comprises a platform, a location system, a transducer system, a projector system, and a data processing system. The platform is configured to move on a surface of an object. The location system is configured to generate location information for the platform on the surface of the object. The transducer system is configured to send signals into the object and receive a response to the signals. The projector system is configured to project an image onto the surface of the object. The data processing system is configured to generate the image using the response. An indication of an inconsistency in the image projected onto the surface of the object corresponds to a location of the inconsistency in the object. The data processing system is configured to control the projector system to project the image onto the surface of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Jeffrey R. Kollgaard, Tyler Holmes
  • Patent number: 9258062
    Abstract: An optical amplification device includes: a plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers to which an optical burst signal is input at a different timing; an optical coupler that combines output signals output from the plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers; a detection unit that detects an optical inputting to the plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers; and a control unit that activates one of the semiconductor optical amplifiers where the optical inputting is detected, inactivates the other semiconductor optical amplifier, and remains the activation until another optical inputting is detected in the other semiconductor optical amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2016
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventors: Susumu Kinoshita, Setsuo Yoshida
  • Patent number: 9246296
    Abstract: An optical apparatus comprising an optical source for providing output light for providing input signal light can comprise a pump source for pumping a four wave mixing (FWM) process with light pulses (“FWM pump light”); a FWM element in optical communication with said pump source, said FWM element configured for hosting the FWM process to generate, responsive to the FWM pump light, pulses of FWM signal light and FWM idler light having different wavelengths; and a laser or amplifier optical device comprising a gain material for providing optical gain at a gain wavelength via a process of stimulated emission responsive to optical pumping with pump light, said laser or amplifier optical device in optical communication with said optical source and receiving one of the FWM signal light and the FWM idler light as input signal light having the gain wavelength for optically seeding with input signal light the laser or amplifier optical device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2016
    Assignee: Fianium Ltd
    Inventors: John Redvers Clowes, Michael Yarrow