Imdex gets grant for a drill hole logging tool

According to GlobalData’s company profile on Imdex, was a key innovation area identified from patents. Imdex‘s grant share as of September 2023 was 42%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.

A patent granted for a drill hole logging tool

Source: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Credit: Imdex Ltd

A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11754739B2) describes a drill hole logging tool that can measure the combined geophysical parameters of magnetic susceptibility and conductivity of a blast hole formation. The tool includes a magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measuring device that consists of a transmit circuit for sending a signal into the formation, a receive circuit for receiving the signal after it has interacted with the formation, and an electronic circuit for processing the signals to provide a drill hole formation signal.

One notable feature of the tool is that it does not require a bucking coil to eliminate the direct mutual coupling from the receiver signal. Instead, the electronic circuit generates a synthetic null from the transmitter signal, which is used to buck out the direct mutual coupling. This eliminates the need for a bucking coil, simplifying the design of the tool.

The tool also includes a transmitter coil that is energized with a time-varying current, which induces a data signal that includes a primary mutual coupling signal and a formation coupling signal. The receiver circuit consists of one or more receiver coils spaced apart from the transmitter coil, which output a receiver coil voltage induced by the data signal.

The electronic circuit includes a synthetic null circuit that multiplies a digital coil current voltage signal with a predetermined constant for the amplitude of a base primary mutual coupling signal and shifts the phase with a predetermined phase offset. This synthetic null signal is then subtracted from the receiver coil voltage to provide a process signal. The process signal is further conditioned, digitized, and processed by a synchronous demodulator circuit to obtain conductivity and magnetic susceptibility signals.

In addition to the drill hole logging tool, the patent also describes a magnetic susceptibility and conductivity module that can be used in the tool. The module includes a transmitter coil, one or more receiver coils, a transmitter coil current sense circuit, a synthetic null circuit, a subtraction circuit, a signal precondition circuit, an analog to digital converter, and a synchronous demodulator circuit.

Overall, this patented technology offers a novel approach to measuring the magnetic susceptibility and conductivity of blast hole formations without the need for a bucking coil. The simplified design of the tool and module could potentially lead to more efficient and cost-effective drilling operations in various industries.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.

GlobalData Patent Analytics tracks bibliographic data, legal events data, point in time patent ownerships, and backward and forward citations from global patenting offices. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.