# US 11,906,283 B2 · System and method for locating, measuring, counting, and aiding in the handling of drill pipes > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,906,283 B2 - Document ID: US11906283B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/805,200 - Filed: 2022-06-02 - Published: 2022-09-22 - Granted: 2024-02-20 - Earliest claimed: 2014-11-12 - Assignees: Helmerich & Payne Technologies, LLC - Applicants: Helmerich & Payne Technologies, LLC - Inventors: Peter A. Torrione - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11906283B2 ## CPC - G01B 11/08: for measuring diameters - E21B 17/006: {Accessories for drilling pipes, e.g. cleaners (wear protectors E21B17/10; handling drilling pipes E21B19/00; thread protectors B65D59/00)} - E21B 19/06: Elevators, i.e. rod- or tube-gripping devices - E21B 19/20: Combined feeding from rack and connecting, e.g. automatically - E21B 41/00: Equipment or details not covered by groups E21B15/00 - E21B40/00 - E21B 44/00: Automatic control systems specially adapted for drilling operations, i.e. self-operating systems which function to carry out or modify a drilling operation without intervention of a human operator, e.g. computer-controlled drilling systems; Systems specially adapted for monitoring a plurality of drilling variables or conditions - E21B 47/04: Measuring depth or liquid level - G01B 11/02: for measuring length, width or thickness (G01B11/08 takes precedence) - G01B 11/022: {by means of tv-camera scanning} - G06T 7/0004: {Industrial image inspection} - G08B 21/182: {Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold} - G08B 21/187: {Machine fault alarms} - G06T 2207/30108: Industrial image inspection - G01B: MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS - E21B: EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G08B: SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS ## Abstract Disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for locating, measuring, counting or aiding in the handling of drill pipes 106. The system 100 comprises at least one camera 102 capable of gathering visual data 150 regarding detecting, localizing or both, pipes 106, roughnecks 116, elevators 118 and combinations thereof. The system 100 further comprises a processor 110 and a logging system 114 for recording the gathered visual data 150. The method 200 comprises acquiring visual data 150 using a camera 106, analyzing the acquired data 150, and recording the acquired data 150. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for handling drill pipe, the system comprising a computer system coupled to a drill pipe elevator or roughneck associated with a drilling rig, wherein the computer system is adapted to: receive image data from at least one camera at a drill site, wherein the camera has a field of view comprising a space above a borehole of a well; determine, responsive to the image data, a pipe in the field of view and a diameter of the pipe; determine, responsive to the diameter of the pipe, if a pre-determined condition has occurred; and adjust or halt a drill pipe elevator operation or a roughneck operation upon determining that the pre-determined condition has occurred. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising the at least one camera. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one camera comprises at least one processor. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer system is further adapted to: generate a well state report comprising a pipe tally responsive to the image data; determine, responsive to the image data, an aggregate motion of the drill pipe within the field of view relative to the borehole; and update the well state report based on the determined aggregate motion being in well or out of well relative to the borehole. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer system is adapted to determine if the pre-determined condition has occurred by: estimating an enter length and diameter of the drill pipe entering the borehole based on the image data; estimating an exit length and diameter of the drill pipe exiting the borehole based on the image data; comparing the exit length and diameter with the enter length and diameter; and determining the pre-determined condition has occurred based on the exit length and diameter being outside of a tolerance of the enter length and diameter. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the computer system is adapted determine if the pre-determined condition has occurred responsive to a detection of a marking system on the drill pipe in the image data. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one display system for displaying collected or analyzed data responsive to the image data. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising an alarm for alerting staff to the occurrence of the pre-determined condition. ### Claim 9 A method for handling of a drill pipe, the method comprising: acquiring visual data from at least one camera at a drill site, wherein the camera has a field of view comprising a space above a borehole of a well, analyzing said visual data and detecting an object in the visual data as the drill pipe; determining, responsive to the visual data, a diameter of the drill pipe; determining, responsive to the diameter of the drill pipe, if a pre-determined condition has occurred; and adjusting or halting a drill pipe elevator operation or a roughneck operation upon determining that the pre-determined condition has occurred. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising detecting an aggregate motion of the drill pipe responsive to the visual data and relative to the borehole, and wherein determining if the pre-determined condition has occurred is further responsive to the detected aggregate motion of the drill pipe. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising: recording the visual data from the at least one camera; and displaying recorded data on a display. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, further comprising generating an alert upon determining that the pre-determined condition has occurred. ### Claim 13 A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a plurality of instructions executable by one or more processors, the instructions comprising instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including: acquiring visual data from at least one camera at a drill site, wherein the camera has a field of view comprising a space above a borehole of a well, analyzing said visual data and detecting an object in the visual data as a drill pipe; determining, responsive to the visual data, a diameter of the drill pipe; determining, responsive to the diameter of the drill pipe, if a pre-determined condition has occurred; and providing instructions to adjust or halt a drill pipe elevator operation or a roughneck operation upon determining that the pre-determined condition has occurred. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including: generating a well state report comprising a pipe tally responsive to the visual data; determining, responsive to the visual data, an aggregate motion of the drill pipe within the field of view relative to the borehole; and updating the well state report based on the determined aggregate motion being in well or out of well relative to the borehole. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including: estimating an entry length and diameter of the drill pipe entering the borehole based on the visual data; estimating an exit length and diameter of the drill pipe exiting the borehole based on the visual data; comparing the exit length and diameter with the entry length and diameter; and determining the pre-determined condition has occurred based on the exit length and diameter being outside of a tolerance of the entry length and diameter. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including: determining if the pre-determined condition has occurred responsive to a detection of a marking system on the drill pipe in the visual data. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including displaying collected or analyzed data responsive to the visual data. ### Claim 18 (depends on 13) The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions which, when executed on the one or more data processors, cause the one or more data processors to perform actions including alerting staff to the occurrence of the pre-determined condition. ### Claim 19 A computer vision system for drilling, the system comprising: a computer system adapted to receive image data from at least one camera at a drill site, wherein the camera has a field of view comprising a space above a borehole of a well being drilled, and wherein the computer system comprises a processor adapted to execute instructions for: determining, responsive to the image data, a diameter of a pipe; determining, responsive to the diameter of the pipe, if a pre-determined condition has occurred; and adjusting or halting a drill pipe elevator operation or a roughneck operation upon determining that a pre-determined condition has occurred. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The computer vision system of claim 19, wherein the pre-determined condition comprises an incorrect pipe diameter for a current drill string. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The computer vision system of claim 20, wherein determining the diameter of the pipe comprises determining an average of the diameter of the pipe. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The computer vision system of claim 21, wherein determining the diameter of the pipe is responsive to a number of pixels of the image data that comprise the pipe. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The computer vision system of claim 22, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for determining a length of the pipe. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The computer vision system of claim 23, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for updating a pipe tally responsive to the determination of the diameter and length of the pipe. ### Claim 25 (depends on 21) The computer vision system of claim 21, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for generating an alarm if the pre-determined condition has occurred.