Patents by Inventor John M. Hufford

John M. Hufford 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: 6665618
    Abstract: An improved system for designing seismic surveys wherein the density and areal size of the seismic survey components (e.g., sources or receivers) are selected based on a plurality of calculated templates of the components that are generated using a mapping function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: ConocoPhillips Company
    Inventors: James W. Thomas, John M. Hufford, Warren H. Neff, Gary M. Hoover, Kay D. Wyatt
  • Patent number: 6330512
    Abstract: This invention relates to the general subject of seismic exploration and, in particular, to seismic processing and methods for attenuating ground roll in land and ocean bottom seismic surveys. According to a first aspect of the instant invention, there is provided a method of attenuating non-primary reflection events such as ground roll in an unstacked gather. In the preferred embodiment, the collected seismic data will be analyzed to determine the approximate velocity at which the ground roll appears to travel through the section. As a next step, a single-velocity migration is performed on the seismic data at the selected velocity. Those seismic events that are moved by the migration past an “attenuation line” on the section are intentionally discarded or attenuated. Finally, a reverse single velocity migration is performed which places the reflectors—minus those events such as ground roll that have been attenuated—back at their original unmigrated times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2001
    Assignee: Phillips Petroleum Company
    Inventors: James W. Thomas, John M. Hufford