Patents Represented by Attorney William A. Knox

Find this attorney in the Justia Lawyer Directory

  • Method for removing noise due to near surface scatterers
    Patent number: 5293352
    Abstract: A set of raw common shot gathers are resorted as common receiver gathers. The wavefield envelopes from the common receiver gathers are migrated using one half the near-surface velocity to provide migrated data sets. The migrated data sets are resorted back into common shot gathers and subtracted from the original raw common shot gathers to provide coherent-noise-reduced data sets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1994
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Ronald E. Chambers
  • Method and apparatus for calibrating the output measurement of a logging tool as a function of earth formation parameters
    Patent number: 5293128
    Abstract: A calibration fixture for an MWD logging tool consists of a plurality of concentric co-planar conductive calibration loops are mounted around the logging tool mandrel coaxially with the usual transmitter(s) and receivers that are mounted on the tool. The calibration loops are terminated with a multiple-tap impedance quantizing means for discretely varying the impedance of the calibration loops. When a transmitter is activated to emit an electromagnetic signal, the calibration loops are excited to reradiate a portion of that signal into the receivers with an intensity that is a function of the loop impedance thereby to simulate the effects of formations having known resistivities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1994
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Qiang Zhou
  • Magnetic flaw detector for use with ferromagnetic small diameter tubular goods using a second magnetic field to confine a first magnetic field
    Patent number: 5293117
    Abstract: A magnetic flaw detector for use in small-diameter tubular goods employs a second magnetic field to confine a first magnetic field to reside within a desired volumetric region in the wall of a specimen under test. A flux leakage detector and a variable reluctance sensor provide means for detecting and discriminating between defects on the inner and outer surfaces of the specimen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 8, 1994
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Jackson H. Hwang
  • Method for compensating 3D DMO for the effects of an inhomogeneous earth
    Patent number: 5285422
    Abstract: A three dimensional residual modeling operator is applied to seismic times that have been preprocessed by application of NMO and velocity independent DMO. The residual operator compensates for vertical velocity variation and anisotropy and its use precludes the need for ray tracing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1993
    Date of Patent: February 8, 1994
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventors: Alfonso Gonzalez, Everett C. Mobley, Ronald E. Chambers
  • Method of manufacturing a high-capacity servo valve body
    Patent number: 5235746
    Abstract: A servo valve body is made by first boring a central cylindrical passageway, for receiving a valve spool, through an elongated, substantially rectangular valve block of tool steel. A plurality of cross slots are cut through the valve block, from one side through to the opposite side, at intervals along the length of the block, orthogonally to the axis of the passageway. The cross slots are cut by use of electronic discharge machining technology. The cross slots serve as fluid flow chambers when the cross slots are terminated by transition plates secured to the opposite sides of the valve block. The transition plates provide fluid inlet, outlet and drain ports. The valve block in combination with the transition plates comprises the servo valve body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1993
    Assignee: Atlas Fluid Controls Inc.
    Inventor: Marc B. Leonard
  • Cable drier
    Patent number: 5235758
    Abstract: A device for force-drying an instrumented, multi-strand cable such as a seismic marine cable, consists of a reel having a slotted core around which the carcass of a cable is wrapped. A source of warmed, dehumidified air is blown into the interior of the core. The air circulates through the slots in the core, to circulate through the wraps of the cable, thereby to dry the cable carcass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 17, 1993
    Inventor: W. B. Leonard
  • Diving-wave migration using airy functions
    Patent number: 5235555
    Abstract: In areas where the velocity gradient is strong or exhibits a significant positive curvature, the usual phase shift f-k migration methods cannot properly image overtuned dips due to diving waves. In this disclosure, an Airy operator is substituted for the classical phase shift operator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1993
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Uwe K. Albertin
  • Modified residual migration of seismic data
    Patent number: 5233569
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for a two-step residual migration of dipping seismic events. A first migration pass is done using a fully-vertically-variable but laterally-invariable migration velocity that is selected from a first-stage mmigration velocity function. The first-stage velocity function approaches, but is less than, the velocity minima as determined by scanning the true velocity field in an area of interest. The second migration pass is performed with the aid of a dip-dependent residual migration velocity. The residual migration velocity is defined as the square root of the difference between the true migration velocity and a second migration velocity appropriate to the migrated time following the first migration pass.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 3, 1993
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig J. Beasley, Rolf Klotz
  • Acoustic isolator for a borehole logging tool
    Patent number: 5229553
    Abstract: An acoustic isolator for use with a logging-tool assembly for generating both flexural wavefields and compressional wavefields in the sidewall formations encountered by a borehole. The acoustic isolator is sub-flexible and is composed of a plurality of individual vertebrate links. The links are made up of a plurality of spools laid out end-to-end in tandem. The spools have upset end portions. The upset end portions of each pair of adjacent spools are externally gripped by a split shells having internal recesses that fit over the upset end portions of the spools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1993
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert A. Lester, Gregory J. Wilkinson
  • Method for compensating for the effect of irregular spatial sampling of seismic wavefields
    Patent number: 5206837
    Abstract: This invention provides a method for compensating for the deleterious effects of irregular spatial sampling of seismic data. The imbalance caused by sparse sampling is corrected by decomposing a processed data gather into its constituent dip and azimuth components, analyzing the movement and scaling of selected attributes of those components and applying an inverse sampling operator to the processed data based upon the analytical results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 27, 1993
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig J. Beasley, Rolf Klotz
  • Acoustic borehole televiewer
    Patent number: 5179541
    Abstract: A system is provided for optimizing the output power of an acoustic wavetrain emitted from a transducer rotatably mounted in a downhole borehole televiewer for scanning the sidewall of the borehole. The purpose is to prevent destructive interference between the caudal portion of the outgoing wave train and the returning echo signals from the borehole sidewall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 12, 1993
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Vincent C. Weido
  • Method for estimating the residual source of receiver coordinates from CMP gathers
    Patent number: 5136550
    Abstract: This is a method for optimizing the coordinates of transducer stations involved in a common mid point gather. Relative reflection-data misalignments between the traces of the gather are attributed to errors in the reported offsets between transducers. Each trace of the gather is iteratively cross-correlated with a pilot trace, using a different offset increment for each iteration. The offset increment that maximizes the correlation coefficient is accepted as the most likely offset residual appropriate to the trace in question. The offset residual is applied to the nominal offset to provide a range measurement vector. The intersection of the range measurement vectors from a plurality of interdependent common mid-point gathers is the best estimate of the transducer location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1992
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Ronald E. Chambers
  • Marine hydrophone
    Patent number: 5136549
    Abstract: A hydrophone is provided for use with a hydrophone array enclosed in a streamer cable that is deployed in a body of water. The active transducer elements of the hydrophone are electrically isolated from the sealed metal case in which they are mounted. The signal input and output terminals are protected from short-circuiting due to water invasion of a faulty streamer cable jacket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 4, 1992
    Assignee: Teledyne Exploration
    Inventor: Carl O. Berglund
  • Method for estimating the location of a sensor relative to a seismic energy source
    Patent number: 5128904
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for determining the separation between a seismic energy source and a seismic sensor, the location of which is known imperfectly. After the source emits a wavefield, the first-arriving impulse at the sensor is statistically processed to form a range statistic that is related to the true travel time between the source and the sensor. A set of range statistics from a plurality of source positions are filtered and converted to range loci, the intersection of which marks the location of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 1991
    Date of Patent: July 7, 1992
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Ronald E. Chambers
  • Distributed seismic energy source
    Patent number: 5109947
    Abstract: A drill string in a fluid-filled borehole acts as a waveguide for an extensional wavefield that is generated in the drill string when it is excited by the vibrations of a drill bit secured to the lower end of the drill string. The waveguide acts as a distributed acoustic energy source which initiates head waves in the surrounding formation. The head waves are detected at one or more discrete locations near the surface of the earth. The extensional wavefield is detected by a sensing means mounted at the top of the drill string. The detected head waves are cross-correlated with the detected extensional waves to create a cross-correlogram which may be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1992
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: James W. Rector, III
  • Analysis of migration velocity by migration of velocity spectra
    Patent number: 5097452
    Abstract: Velocity spectra are computed from unmigrated CMP gathers after correction for dip moveout. The velocity spectra are then migrated to their true spatial position. The migrated velocity spectra are then used to calculate a migrated dip section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 17, 1992
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Craig J. Beasley
  • Pixel image enhancer
    Patent number: 5055918
    Abstract: A simple hardware module for insertion between a source of video signals such as a graphics computer or a VCR, and a video display device such as a TV monitor, for applying a shading effect to two-dimensional graphics for the purpose of simulating a depth of field around the resulting video image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 8, 1991
    Inventor: Robert A. Berman
  • Multiple-unit water depth sensor system
    Patent number: 5052222
    Abstract: Each unit of an array of submerged oceanographic devices is provided with a depth gauge of the air bubbler type. A typical depth gauge consists of a tube or air line that has one end fluidly coupled to a manifold; the other end of the air line is open. The open end of the air line is secured adjacent a corresponding submerged device. A small flow of air is established from the manifold, through the air line, to bubble out the open end into the water. A pressure transducer is fluidly coupled to the air line and senses the backpressure due to the hydrostatic water head existing above the submerged device. Means are provided for inhibiting pneumatic cross feed in the manifold between the respective air lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 1, 1991
    Assignee: Teledyne Exploration
    Inventor: Daniel L. Stoepfel
  • Acousto-optical marine sensor array
    Patent number: 5051965
    Abstract: An acousto-optical seismic sensor array includes a distributed set of optical-fiber sensing coils. A light pulse is launched through the sensing coils in serial order. The light pulse is cumulatively data-modulated by the respective sensing coils and is returned as a time-division multiplexed pulse train. The pulse train is split into a first pulse train and a retarded second pulse train. The retardation time equals the travel-time delay of a light pulse between sensors. The retarded pulse train is compared with the first pulse train to determine the phase shift therebetween for consecutive pulses. The phase shift is an analog of the quantity being sensed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 24, 1991
    Assignee: Western Atlas International, Inc.
    Inventor: Thomas J. Poorman
  • Control panel
    Patent number: D340660
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Inventor: Larry R. Russell