Imaging sensor
AssigneeProneta Limited
InventorJohn A. Hother
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to an imaging sensor, particularly for use in oil-filled passages such as wells or pipelines, or for passages containing other similar viscous fluids. There is provided a downhole imaging system which operates in a wavelength region outside the visible band, preferably in the infrared region, to permit penetration of the surrounding fluid medium, e.g., oil. Positioning the optical part of the imaging sensor in a chamber whose walls are transparent to the radiation reduces the path length of the radiation in the oil. The chamber is filled with a material highly transmissive of the radiation.
Claims16
A method of providing images of the interior of a cavity filled with a fluid opaque to visible light, comprising the steps of:
- transmitting infrared or near infrared radiation through the fluid inside the cavity;
- reducing the path length of the transmitted radiation through the fluid by positioning a lens of an imaging sensor in a chamber having walls made of a material which is transparent to the transmitted radiation, said chamber being filled with a material transmissive to the transmitted radiation;
- detecting radiation reflected from the interior of the cavity;
- and
- providing an image at a remote point according to the detected radiation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.