Communication Between Sensor Units and a Recorder

Abstract

A seismic acquisition system. In one implementation, the seismic acquisition system includes a recorder having a memory having a communication protocol application stored therein and one or more sensor units in communication with the recorder through a communications network. Each sensor unit may include a memory having the communication protocol application stored therein.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/385,439, filed Mar. 21, 2006, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

Implementations of various technologies described herein generally relate to seismic acquisition.

2. Description of the Related Art

The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.

A seismic survey typically includes an acquisition system consisting of a plurality of seismic sources that exert energy on the earth, a recorder and a plurality of sensor units configured to record signals containing the reflected energy exerted by the seismic sources, which may commonly be referred to as seismic data. Typically, the seismic data may be forwarded to the recorder through a set of transport network nodes that run applications configured to gather the seismic data from the sensor units by a polling technique and push the seismic data to the recorder.

SUMMARY

Described herein are implementations of various technologies for a seismic acquisition system. In one implementation, the seismic acquisition system includes a recorder having a memory having a communication protocol application stored therein and one or more sensor units in communication with the recorder through a communications network. Each sensor unit may include a memory having the communication protocol application stored therein.

Described herein are also implementations of various technologies for sending seismic data to a recorder by a sensor unit. In one implementation, the method includes sampling seismic data from a sensor of the sensor unit, sending the seismic data to the recorder using a communication protocol and receiving a signal acknowledging receipt of the seismic data by the recorder.

Described herein are also implementations of various technologies for a sensor unit for a seismic acquisition system. In one implementation, the sensor unit includes a sensor, a processor and a memory comprising program instructions executable by the processor to sample seismic data from the sensor and send the seismic data using a communication protocol.

Described herein are also implementations of various technologies for a recorder for a seismic acquisition system, which may include a processor and a memory comprising program instructions executable by the processor to receive seismic data from one or more sensor units using a communication protocol and send an acknowledgement signal to the sensor units using the communication protocol.

The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all of the noted disadvantages. Further, the summary section is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description section. The summary section is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a seismic acquisition system in accordance with implementations of various technologies described herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a sensor unit in accordance with implementations of various technologies described herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a recorder in accordance with implementations of various technologies described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for sending seismic data in accordance with various technologies described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a seismic acquisition system 100 in accordance with implementations of various technologies described herein. In one implementation, the seismic acquisition system 100 is used on land. However, it should be understood that in some implementations, the seismic acquisition system 100 may be used in other settings, such as a marine setting. The seismic acquisition system 100 may include sensor units 110, 120 and 130 in communication with a communications network 140. Although only three sensor units are shown, it should be understood that, in some implementations, more or less than three sensor units may be used in the seismic acquisition system 100. Each sensor unit will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

The seismic acquisition system 100 further includes a recorder 150 in communication with the communications network 140. In this manner, the sensor units may communicate with the recorder 150 through the communications network 140, which may be any type of communications network, including hardwired cables, wireless links, fiber optic, Ethernet network and the like. In one implementation, the communications network 140 provides each sensor unit with two or more communication paths to the recorder 150, which may be configured to receive seismic data and store them into records. The recorder 150 will be described in more detail in the paragraphs below with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a sensor unit 200 in accordance with implementations of various technologies described herein. In one implementation, the sensor unit 200 may include a digital signal processor 210, a system memory 220, and a system bus 230 that couples the digital signal processor 210 with the system memory 220. The system memory 220 may include a random access memory (RAM) 225 and a read-only memory (ROM) 228. The digital signal processor 210 may include a microprocessor. A basic input/output system containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between components within the computer, such as during startup, may be stored in the ROM 228.

The sensor unit 200 may further include a sensor 250, which is configured to detect seismic energy in the form of ground motion or a pressure wave in fluid and transform it to an electrical impulse. The sensor 250 may also be commonly referred to in the seismic acquisition industry as a receiver. In one implementation, the sensor 250 may be an accelerometer, which may be configured to measure the acceleration of a ship or aircraft, or to detect ground acceleration in boreholes or on the earth's surface produced by acoustic vibrations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various types of sensors may be practiced in implementations of various technologies described herein. Further, although the sensor unit 200 is described as having one sensor, it should be understood that, in some implementations, the sensor unit 200 may have more than one sensor.

The sensor unit 200 may further include a storage device 240 for storing an operating system 245, a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol application 246, a seismic acquisition application 248 and other program modules executable by the digital signal processor 210. The operating system 245 may be configured to control the operation of the sensor unit 200. The operating system 245 may be Windows® XP, Mac OS® X, Unix-variants, like Linux® and BSD®, and the like.

The TCP/IP protocol application 245 may be defined as a layered software architecture that allows the sensor units to communicate with the recorder 150 across the communications network 140. TCP/IP protocol may also be commonly known as the basic communication language or protocol of the Internet. As such, the sensor units may use the TCP/IP protocol application 245 to transfer seismic data to the recorder 150. Although the above referenced implementations are described with reference to a TCP/IP protocol, it should be understood that some implementations may use other types of communication protocols, such as connection-oriented end-to-end protocols, Open Systems Interconnection (OSI), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and the like.

The seismic acquisition application 248 may be configured to sample seismic data from the sensor 250 and send the seismic data to the recorder 150 using the TCP/IP protocol application 246. The manner in which seismic data are transferred between the sensor units and the recorder will be described in more detail in the following paragraphs with reference to FIG. 4.

The storage device 240 may be connected to the digital signal processor 210 through the system bus 230 and a mass storage controller (not shown). The storage device 240 and its associated computer-readable media may be configured to provide non-volatile storage for the sensor unit 200. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that computer-readable media may refer to any available media that can be accessed by the sensor unit 200. For example, computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media further includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the sensor unit 200.

The sensor unit 200 may connect to the communications network 140 through a network interface unit 260 connected to the system bus 230. It should be appreciated that the network interface unit 260 may be configured to connect to any type of communications network, including a wireless network.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a recorder 300 in accordance with implementations of various technologies described herein. In one implementation, the recorder 300 may include a CPU 310, a system memory 320, a storage device 340, a system bus 330 that couples the CPU 310 with the system memory 320 and the storage device 340. The CPU 310 may be configured to process various program modules stored inside the storage device 340, some of which will be discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs.

The system memory 320 may include a random access memory (RAM) 325 and a read-only memory (ROM) 328. A basic input/output system containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between components within the computer, such as during startup, may be stored in the ROM 328.

The storage device 340 may include an operating system 345, a TCP/IP protocol application 346, a receipt and acknowledgement application 348 and other program modules executable by the CPU 310. The operating system 345 may be configured to control the operation of the recorder 300. The operating system 345 may be Windows® XP, Mac OS® X, Unix-variants, like Linux® and BSD®, and the like. The TCP/IP protocol application 346 may enable the recorder 300 to communicate with the sensor unit 200 through the communications network 140. As mentioned above, it should be understood that in some implementations other communication protocols, such as ATM, OSI and the like, may be used to facilitate communications between the sensor unit 200 and the recorder 300. The receipt-and-acknowledgement application 348 may be configured to receive seismic data from the sensor unit 200 and send an acknowledgement signal back to the sensor unit 200 using the TCP/IP protocol application 346.

The storage device 340 and its associated computer-readable media may be configured to provide non-volatile storage for the recorder 300. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that computer-readable media may refer to any available media that can be accessed by the recorder 300. For example, computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, and removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media further includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the recorder 300.

The recorder 300 may connect to the communications network 140 through a network interface unit 360 connected to the system bus 330. It should be appreciated that the network interface unit 360 may also be used to connect to other types of networks and remote computer systems.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 400 for sending seismic data to a recorder in accordance with various technologies described herein. At step 410, a command for sending seismic data to an IP address is received by the sensor unit 200. In one implementation, the IP address is the IP address of the recorder 300. In response to receiving the command from the recorder 300, the sensor unit 200 samples the seismic data and sends the seismic data through the communications network 140 using the TCP/IP protocol application 246 to the recorder 300 (step 420). In one implementation, the sensor unit 200 performs step 420 without having to receive the request command from the recorder 300. In another implementation, the seismic data may be sent to the recorder 300 using another communication protocol, such as OSI and the like. At step 430, an acknowledgement signal from the recorder 300 is received by the sensor unit 200. The sensor unit 200 may continue to sample and send seismic data to the recorder 300 until the seismic acquisition process is completed.

In one implementation, if no acknowledgement signal from the recorder is received, then the sensor unit 200 may resend the seismic data through a different path in the communications network 140. In this manner, the sensor unit 200 may simply resend a package of seismic data through a different path in the event that the package of seismic data is lost during the earlier transmission, without having to analyze whether the communication breakdown occurred between the sensor unit 200 and the communications network 140 or between the communications network 140 and the recorder 300. Although the use of the TCP/IP communication protocol has been described with reference to seismic data, it should be understood that, in some implementations, other information, such as commands between the recorder and the sensor units, status information from the sensor units to the recorder, and the like, may be communicated via the TCP/IP communication protocol as well.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A seismic acquisition system, comprising:

a seismic recorder for recording seismic data;

a plurality of seismic sensor units in communication with the seismic recorder through a communications network, wherein the sensor units are configured to: send the seismic data to the seismic recorder via a first communication path; and send the seismic data again to the seismic recorder via a second communication path if an acknowledgement signal is not received, wherein the first communication path is different from the second communication path.

2. The seismic acquisition system of claim 1, wherein the sensor units comprise one or more sensors.

3. The seismic acquisition system of claim 2, wherein the sensors are accelerometers for measuring ground acceleration on the earth's surface produced by acoustic vibrations.

4. The seismic acquisition system of claim 2, wherein the sensor units are further configured to sample the seismic data from the sensors.

5. The seismic acquisition system of claim 1, wherein the first communication path and the second communication path are part of a communications protocol.

6. The seismic acquisition system of claim 1, wherein the seismic recorder is configured to send the acknowledgement signal to the sensor units upon receipt of the seismic data from the sensor units.

7. The seismic acquisition system of claim 1, wherein the communications network is a wireless network.

8. The seismic acquisition system of claim 1, wherein the acknowledgement signal indicates that the seismic recorder received the seismic data.

9. The acquisition system of claim 1, wherein the seismic data are sent again without analyzing the communications network.

10. A sensor unit for a seismic acquisition system, comprising:

a sensor;

a processor; and

a memory comprising program instructions executable by the processor to: send seismic data via a first communication path; and send the seismic data again via a second communication path if an acknowledgement signal is not received, wherein the first communication path is different from the second communication path.

11. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the memory further comprises program instructions executable by the processor to sample the seismic data from the sensor.

12. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the first communication path and the second communication path are part of a communication protocol.

13. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the communications protocol is a TCP/IP or an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) protocol.

14. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the seismic data are sent to a seismic recorder.

15. The sensor unit of claim 14, wherein the acknowledgement signal indicates that the seismic recorder received the seismic data.

16. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the seismic data are acquired during a land seismic survey or a marine seismic survey.

17. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the memory further comprises program instructions executable by the processor to receive a command to start sending the seismic data to a seismic recorder.

18. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the first communication path and the second communication path are part of a communications network and the seismic data are sent again without analyzing the communications network.

19. The sensor unit of claim 10, further comprising a network interface unit configured to communicate with a wireless communications network.

20. The sensor unit of claim 10, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer for measuring ground acceleration on the earth's surface produced by acoustic vibrations.