Patents by Inventor Alan Joseph Hunter

Alan Joseph Hunter has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10253615
    Abstract: A well bore is inspected to detect cement defects that can give rise to leakage. The well bore comprises an inner metal pipe. Outside the inner metal pipe its configuration may vary with distance from the top of the well bore in terms of concentric pipes outside the inner metal pipe and presence of cement between the pipes. A probe with is lowered through the inner metal pipe. An ultrasound signal is transmitted from the probe into the inner metal pipe and responses to the transmitted signal are received at a series of ultrasound receivers at different axial positions. A selection of a spatial frequency of waves arriving along the axial direction at the ultrasound receivers and/or the apparent velocity of said waves is retrieved dependent on the configuration. The received responses are band pass filtered accordingly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST-NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO
    Inventors: Alan Joseph Hunter, Mariana De Soares Silva e Melo Mota, Arno Willem Frederik Volker
  • Patent number: 9739752
    Abstract: Improved imaging is provided for structures under test that have propagation direction dependent ultrasound propagation speed or position dependent ultrasound propagation speed due to fibrous, coarse grain or single crystalline material. A set reflection points is selected in the structure under test and ultrasound propagation time delays between the reflection point or points on one hand and the plurality of positions on the other hand that fit an observed time delay of the detected reflections are computed. This may be done by means of an iterative method. In the iterative method a synthetically focused ultrasound beam is realized by summing measurements after compensation for propagation time delay from different transmitting transducers to the reflection points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2017
    Assignee: NEDERLANDSE ORGANISTIE VOOR TOEGEPAST-NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO
    Inventors: Alan Joseph Hunter, Arno Willem Frederik Volker
  • Publication number: 20170058660
    Abstract: A well bore is inspected to detect cement defects that can give rise to leakage. The well bore comprises an inner metal pipe. Outside the inner metal pipe its configuration may vary with distance from the top of the well bore in terms of concentric pipes outside the inner metal pipe and presence of cement between the pipes. A probe with is lowered through the inner metal pipe. An ultrasound signal is transmitted from the probe into the inner metal pipe and responses to the transmitted signal are received at a series of ultrasound receivers at different axial positions. A selection of a spatial frequency of waves arriving along the axial direction at the ultrasound receivers and/or the apparent velocity of said waves is retrieved dependent on the configuration. The received responses are band pass filtered accordingly.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2015
    Publication date: March 2, 2017
    Inventors: Alan Joseph Hunter, Mariana De Soares Silva e Melo Mota, Arno Willem Frederik Volker
  • Publication number: 20140140167
    Abstract: Improved imaging is provided for structures under test that have propagation direction dependent ultrasound propagation speed or position dependent ultrasound propagation speed due to fibrous, coarse grain or single crystalline material. A set reflection points is selected in the structure under test and ultrasound propagation time delays between the reflection point or points on one hand and the plurality of positions on the other hand that fit an observed time delay of the detected reflections are computed. This may be done by means of an iterative method. In the iterative method a synthetically focused ultrasound beam is realized by summing measurements after compensation for propagation time delay from different transmitting transducers to the reflection points.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2012
    Publication date: May 22, 2014
    Applicant: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast-natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO
    Inventors: Alan Joseph Hunter, Arno Willem Frederik Volker