United States Patent 1) Perkin et al, TG 80 A (54 19) bn 3] {sul [3] (58) {s6) OILFIELD EQUIPMENT IDENTIFICATION APPARATUS, Inventors: Gregg S, Perkia, 2218 N. Park Dr, Kingwood, Tex. 77339; Lawrence A. Denny, 2200 Jamie Dr., Oklahoma City, Okla. 73170, Appl. Nos 518,973 Filed: May 4, 1990 Im. GO6K 7/08; GOOF 15/46 US. Cl -. 238/915; 235/316; 364/474.16 Field of Search 235/375, 376, 383, 385, 235/462, 472, 493, 492: 364/474.17, 474.18, 494.21, 551.02, 420, 422 References Cited U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS: 4202490 5/1980 Gankel et al nasysso $'497029 1/1985 Kiyokaa| Seana S823. 4/1985 Vitro 29/395 456621 2/1986. Sancsteat s/s SsnE991 471986 Nowlie Tish 3.616322 10/1986. Niwa eva “3earan421 SQRASE 12/1986. Ona ea. near? $6982) 10/1887 Kelle Jeet a ovis S720826 1/1988 Nsbikawe eval Disses {1] Patent Number: 5,142,128 (43]_Date of Patent: Aug. 25, 1992 4742470 5/1988. Juenget 364/s7617 SBIGESS 471989 Mongeon et 235/440 ‘480,009 7/1989. Zook et 235/378 Primary Examiner-—Robert Weinhardt Attorney, Agent, oF Firm—Pravel, Gambrell, Hewitt, Kimball & Krieger 17 ABSTRACT ‘An apparatus for idemtiying oilfield equipment, includ. ing the maintenance of usage histories for the equipment and recommending whether the equipment is 0 be used ina prospective application based on prospective appli cation and usage history. A portable encapsulated pas- sive circuit capable of transmitting an identification code is affixed to a piece of oilfield equipment. The circuit s activated by a portable reader which receives land decodes the identification code and transmits it to a ‘central computer, The central computer verifies the reader and the existence ofthe equipment in a database and retrieves the usage history for the equipment. Based on the usage history, the. prospective application and guidelines for usage of equipment, the computer deter- mines the advisability of using the equipment in the prospective application and transmits the recommenda tion back to the portable reader. 6 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets seSheet 1 of 9 5,142,128 Aug, 25, 1992 USS. PatentUSS. Patent Aug. 25, 1992 Sheet 2 of 9 5,142,128 _ 206 204 213 as. (oe SEES ae 2107 208 216\214 210: | 212 204 f 213 214 FIG. 3C 202 216—7 210 206Sheet 3 of 9 5,142,128 Aug, 25, 1992 US. PatentUS. Patent Aug. 25, 1992 Sheet 5 of 9 5,142,128 502 510 LS 504 FIG. 6 508 506US, Patent Aug, 25, 1992 QUERY DATABASE. FOR VALID READER CODES CAPTURI IDENTIFICATION CODE 614 QUERY DATABASE FOR VALID IDENTIFICATION CODES IDENTIFI CATION CODE, VALID READER THAT IT IS NOT VALIDATED FOR SYSTEM Sheet 6 of 9 5,142,128 SEND MESSAGE TO RETRIEVE BLANK RECORD FOR TYPE OF EQUIPMENT 656 PROMPT USER FOR RECORD INFORMATION 632 658 RETRIEVE EQUIPMENT UPDATE DATABASE SERVICE RECORD WITH RECORD 634 RETRIEVE CURRENT JOB PARAMETERS T 636 RETRIEVE CRITERIA FOR EQUIPMENT TYPEU.S, Patent Aug. 25, 1992 Sheet 7 of 9 5,142,128 CREATE A TEMPORARY USAGE PARAMETER & UPDATE FOR PROJECTED SERVICE 642 DOES PROJECTED SERVICE VIOLATE, GUIDELINES, SEND MESSAGE INDICATING USAGE FOR EQUIPMENT EXCEED GUIDELINES SEND MESSAGE STATING RECORD NOT UPDATED & TAKE EQUIPMENT OUT OF SERVICE; FLUSH TEMP FILES SEND MESSAGE INDICATING EQUIPMENT RECORD UPDATED FIG. 7BU.S. Patent ‘Aug, 25, 1992 Sheet 8 of 9 5,142,128 SEND MESSAGE THAT EQUIPMENT IDENTIFICATION CODE NOT IN DATABASE SEND MESSAGE REQUESTING IDENTIFICATION OF TYPE OF EQUIPMENT ‘ADD TO DATABASE 2 QUERY DATABASE FOR VALID EQUIPMENT TYPE SEND INVALID IDENTIFICATION CODE/ EQUIPMENT TYPE FIG. 7C5,142,128 1 OILFIELD EQUIPMENT IDENTIFICATION ‘APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION “The present invention is related to the field of remote identification devices, in paticula, the remote identi Cction and maintenance of service records for various pieces of downhole and surfice oilfield equipment. 1. Field of the lavention ‘The present invention relates generally tothe field of, identifying downhole and surface oilfield equipment for the purposes of maintaining usage records for such ‘equipment. 2. Background of the Invention ‘The exploration, development and completion of an oil or gas field requires numerous pieces of equipment ‘and materials such as casing, drill pipe, packers and ‘other equipment. The cost of this equipment is rela- tively high. Accordingly, it i desirable to reuse many pieces of equipment for subsequent drilling and devel- pment operations. However, equipment undergoes considerable stress during drilling and completion oper- tions. Components such as dril pipe may suffer from ‘material fatigue which may ultimately result in failure of the drill pipe. The failure ofa joint of drill pipe when Gownhole will require a suspension of drilling opera- tions to recover the remainder of the drill string and ther related equipment. It will be appreciated that the recovery of a drill string can be an expensive and time Consuming operation. Accordingly. it is desirable to faintain a service record relating to various pieces of ‘equipment, such as drill pipe, for the purposes of deter mining fatigue and other factors relating to the use of equipment. "A number of methods have been utilized in an at tempt to track service time information selating 10 pieces of oilfield equipment. US, Pat. No. 4,578,991 Giscloses a means for identifying drill pipe uilizing ‘concentric rings of ferrous and non-ferrous material 10 ‘create an identification code for the particular piece of {il pipe and a sensing means which detects the bands fs the drill pipe passes the sensing means. The method Gisclosed therein suffers from limitations in the dentii- cation system in that only so many concentric rings may bbe mounted on any one length of drill pipe. Further, the isclosure cals fora stationary detector. US. Pat. No. 4061,967 alo disclosed a means of identifying aril pipe vilizing a stationary electromag netic detector “shoe” which sensed magnetic and non ‘magnetic inserts placed on the periphery of stool joint pipe. However, the system disclosed therein required thatthe pipe be identified ast traversed the detector on its way downhole. It will be appreciated that in order to Temove a joint of drill pipe which has exceeded its nominal service time, the joint will have to be uncou- pled from the remainder of the drill pipe sting. U.S. Pat, No, 4,202,490 also disclosed a similar identification system also utilizing magnetic and non-magnetic inserts Gispersed around the periphery of a pipe joint and detecting coil. This disclosure suffers from the same problems as U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,967. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ‘The present invention provides for a new apparatus for identifying various pieces of oilfield equipment, ‘maintaining usage information relating tothe equipment and generating recommendations relating tothe use of a 5 0 0 0 © 2) piece of cfild equipment with respect to 2 prospective use. The present invention includes a portable reader which is capable of ‘demtfying the equipment away from the immediate job site. This permits the user t0 identify the equipment and determine the advisability of ‘using the particular piece of equipment in advance of it being transported to the immediate job site. The present invention is capable of supporting multiple portable readers thus expediting the task af identifying various pieces of equipment prior to installation at 2 job site. ‘The present invention utilizes the basic technology for a pasive circuit and reader as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,855 (the “855 patent”) relating to an identifi cation system, and is incorporated herein by reference. ‘The present invention ealls for a pasive circuit, of the type disclosed in the "855 patent, tobe encapsulated in a hostile environment package and affixed 10 a piece of cilfield equipment. Each ofthe passive circuits includes 4 unique identification code stored in a read-only mem- ory. The encapsulation utilized within the present + vention is designed to withstand conditions encoun- tered within the oilfield, including downhole well con- ditions. The encapsulated cireuit is energized by a por- table reader which transmits an electromagnetic field as disclosed in the '885 patent. The encapsulated circuit is tuned tothe reader transmissions and transmits the iden- tiffeation code stored within memory in the encapsu- lated circuit thereby sending an identifying signal for the particular piece of oilfield equipment. The reader receives the coded transmissions from the encapsulated cireuit and decodes the transmission to arrive at Unique identification number. The reader relays the circuit transmission to a central computer. The central computer receives the information from the reader and sccesses a computer database which maintains informa tion relating to the service history for various pieces of oilfield equipment oilfield equipment. The computer database may include information relating to the num- bor of times a,piece of pipe has been utilized in a well, ‘the type of Borehole environment and other factors ‘which may relate to equipment reliability for the partic- ular environment. It will be appreciated that the com- pputer database would include information relating 10 the particular piece of equipment and various parame- ters relating 10 the use ofthe type of equipment, such as number of uses, date of last usage and special conditions ‘encountered in each use. The particular format for the ‘computer database isto be set by the user and may vary with each application or type of equipment. Based on 2 set of eriteria for usage of the particular type of the equipment, the central computer determines whether the particular piece of equipment should be utilized ins particular job and what type of action is to be taken ‘with respect to the equipment, ie 10 use i, take it out of service, discard it, ete. The decision rules and usage criteria with regard to each type of equipment may be ‘customized for the particular type of equipment by the ‘user of the present invention. The action 10 be taken is transmitted back to the reader which visually displays this information to the user. The transmission of infor ‘mation between the reader and the central computer may be accomplished via electrical interconnection “Alternatively, the reader and the centra} computer may ‘transmit and receive via an RF signal. Thus, the present Jnvention may be used to identify and track oilfield too! usage away from the immediate job site.