Downhole valve assembly
AssigneeWeatherford Technology Holdings, LLC
InventorMatthew David KNIGHT
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A downhole valve assembly comprises a sleeve concentric with a housing and movable relative to a port through the housing to control flow of fluid through the port. A sensor assembly provides indicates the relative positions of the sleeve and housing, and comprises first and second sensors on e.g. the housing which detect markers on e.g. the sleeve. The sensor outputs are produced by processing (e.g. combining, integrating, summing, subtracting or otherwise processing) the signal components of each of the first and second sensors to correct for misalignment of the sleeve with the housing. The sensor output provides position information for more than one plane, and the output signal therefore allows for correction of errors in the position information arising from misalignment of the sleeve with the housing.
Claims28
-27. (canceled)
A downhole valve assembly, comprising:
- a housing with an axis and a sleeve concentric with the housing and that is movable relative to a flowpath through the housing to vary flow of fluid through the flowpath in different relative positions of the housing and the sleeve, wherein the valve assembly incorporates a sensor assembly providing an output signal indicating the position of the sleeve relative to the housing, wherein the sensor assembly comprises:
- first and second primary sensors disposed on one of the housing and the sleeve adapted to detect markers on the other of the housing and the sleeve, wherein the first and second primary sensors are disposed in different circumferential positions around the axis, and wherein the output signal is produced by processing the signal components of each of the first and second primary sensors to correct for misalignment of the sleeve with the housing.
A method of determining the state of a downhole valve assembly, wherein the downhole valve assembly comprises:
- a housing with an axis and a sleeve concentric with the housing wherein the sleeve is movable relative to a flowpath through the housing to vary flow of fluid through the flowpath in different relative positions of the housing and the sleeve;
- and
- a primary sensor assembly comprising first and second primary sensors disposed on one of the housing and the sleeve adapted to detect markers on the other of the housing and the sleeve, wherein the first and second primary sensors are disposed at different circumferential positions around the axis,
- wherein the method includes:
- detecting a marker with each of the first and second primary sensors;
- and
- producing an output signal by processing signal components of each of the first and second primary sensors to correct for misalignment of the sleeve with the housing.
A downhole valve assembly, comprising:
- a housing with an axis and a sleeve concentric with the housing and that is movable relative to a flowpath through the housing to vary flow of fluid through the flowpath in different relative positions of the housing and the sleeve, wherein the valve assembly incorporates a sensor assembly providing an output signal indicating the position of the sleeve relative to the housing, wherein the sensor assembly comprises:
- first and second primary sensors disposed on one of the housing and the sleeve adapted to detect markers on the other of the housing and the sleeve, wherein the first and second primary sensors are disposed in diagonally opposite circumferential positions around the axis, and wherein the output signal is produced by processing the signal components of each of the first and second primary sensors to correct for misalignment of the sleeve with the housing, and wherein the first and second primary sensors comprise inductive proximity sensors.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.