| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20110071966 | CONDITION MONITORING OF AN UNDERWATER FACILITY - A method for monitoring the condition of apparatus located at an underwater facility that includes sensing at least one parameter associated with the apparatus, providing a model of expected behaviour of said at least one parameter, comparing said sensed parameter with said model, and assessing the condition of the apparatus based upon said comparison. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110079391 | COOLING APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR USE WITH DOWNHOLE TOOLS - Cooling apparatus and methods for use with downhole tools are described. An example apparatus includes a cooling apparatus for use with a downhole tool. The cooling apparatus includes a flow passage having an inlet and an outlet. The outlet is configured for fluid communication with a wellbore and the inlet is spaced from the outlet. The cooling apparatus also includes a pump configured to convey at least one of a drilling fluid or a formation fluid between the inlet and the outlet. Additionally, the cooling apparatus includes a heat exchanger coupled to a surface adjacent the flow passage and a component of the downhole tool to convey heat from the component to the cooling fluid. | 04-07-2011 |
| 20110143175 | UNDERWATER POWER GENERATION - A method for providing auxiliary electrical power to an underwater well installation, the installation being linked to a surface location via an umbilical cable, to supplement any electrical power received at the installation from the umbilical cable, comprises the steps of: providing power generation means at the installation; and providing an electrical power output line for transferring electrical power generated by the power generation means to the installation. | 06-16-2011 |
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| 20090025983 | Methods and Apparatus to Apply Axial Force to a Packer in a Downhole Tool - Methods and apparatus to apply axial force to a packer in a downhole tool are described. In one described example, an apparatus to apply an axial force to an inflatable packer associated with a downhole tool includes a sleeve slidingly coupled to a body of the downhole tool and an end of the packer. An inner portion of the sleeve is sealed against the body of the downhole tool to form a chamber, and the chamber is fluidly coupled to a pump associated with the downhole tool to receive a pressurized fluid to cause the sleeve to apply an axial force to the packer. | 01-29-2009 |
| 20100050762 | METHODS AND APPARATUS TO PERFORM PRESSURE TESTING OF GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS - Example methods and apparatus to perform pressure testing of geological formations are disclosed. A disclosed example method comprises positioning a testing tool in a wellbore formed in the geological formation, sealing a sample interval around the testing tool, sealing a first guard interval around the testing tool and adjacent to the sample interval, reducing a first pressure in the sample interval, reducing a second pressure in the first guard interval, maintaining a volume of a first chamber fluidly coupled to the sample interval during a time interval, and measuring a plurality of pressure data for a fluid captured in the first chamber during the time interval. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100071910 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR USING WELLBORE INSTRUMENTS WITH A WIRED PIPE STRING - A wellbore instrument system includes a pipe string extending from earth's surface to a selected depth in a wellbore. The pipe string includes at least one of an electrical conductor and an optical fiber signal channel. A power generator sub is coupled at one end to a lower end of the pipe string. At least one electrically powered wellbore instrument is coupled to the other end of the adapter sub. | 03-25-2010 |
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| 20080274538 | Acoustic Radiation for Ejecting and Monitoring Pathogenic Fluids - The invention relates to methods and devices that use focused radiation to handle and/or monitor pathogenic fluids. In particular, a method is provided for dispensing one or more droplets of a fluid containing a pathogen. The method involves providing the pathogen-containing fluid in a reservoir and applying focused radiation to the pathogen-containing fluid in the reservoir in a manner effective to eject a droplet of the fluid therefrom. Often, a pathogen-impermeable enclosure is used. | 11-06-2008 |
| 20090007676 | ACOUSTIC DETERMINATION OF PROPERTIES OF RESERVOIRS AND OF FLUIDS CONTAINED THEREIN - The invention provides devices and methods for acoustically determining the properties of the contents of one or more reservoirs in a plurality of reservoirs. Each reservoir is adapted to contain a fluid. An acoustic radiation generator can be positioned in acoustic coupling relationship to each of the reservoirs. Acoustic radiation generated by the acoustic radiation generator is transmitted through each reservoir to an analyzer. The analyzer is capable of analyzing a characteristic of the transmitted acoustic radiation and optionally correlating the characteristic to a property of the reservoirs' contents. Properties that may be determined include volume, temperature, and composition. The invention is particularly suited to determining the properties of the contents of a plurality of reservoirs to allow for accuracy and control over the dispensing of fluids therefrom. | 01-08-2009 |
| 20090019956 | Closures Which Contain Reservoirs and Allow Acoustic Ejection - In an aspect of this invention, a closure for a well plate is provided which has a reservoir. The closure has openings through which acoustic ejection of fluid droplets can take place without removing the closure. The reservoirs in the closure may help to maintain acceptable levels of solvent in the wells of the well plate despite the evaporation which may occur during the course of ejection. | 01-22-2009 |
| 20110108555 | FLUID CONTAINERS WITH RESERVOIRS IN THEIR CLOSURES AND METHODS OF USE - Fluid containers are disclosed which have fluid reservoirs in their closures. These reservoirs are advantageous to hold sacrificial fluid which lessens the loss of the fluid of interest to the outside through evaporation. The reservoirs may have openings to the inside or outside of the container, or to both. Reservoirs with openings to the outside serve to reduce evaporative loss by raising the partial pressure of fluid in the vicinity of the contact between the closure and the remainder of the container. The reservoirs may be refillable without opening the container. In one embodiment a fluid reservoir allows the zone of contact between the closure and the remainder of the container to be immersed in fluid, so that gases seeking to escape the interior of the container must pass through fluid. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110166797 | ACOUSTIC DETERMINATION OF PROPERTIES OF RESERVOIRS AND OF FLUIDS CONTAINED THEREIN - The invention provides devices and methods for acoustically determining the properties of the contents of one or more reservoirs in a plurality of reservoirs. Each reservoir is adapted to contain a fluid. An acoustic radiation generator can be positioned in acoustic coupling relationship to each of the reservoirs. Acoustic radiation generated by the acoustic radiation generator is transmitted through each reservoir to an analyzer. The analyzer is capable of analyzing a characteristic of the transmitted acoustic radiation and optionally correlating the characteristic to a property of the reservoirs' contents. Properties that may be determined include volume, temperature, and composition. The invention is particularly suited to determining the properties of the contents of a plurality of reservoirs to allow for accuracy and control over the dispensing of fluids therefrom. | 07-07-2011 |
| 20110181663 | Focus-Activated Acoustic Ejection - To ejecting a droplet from a reservoir, the reservoir holding a fluid is moved with respect to an acoustic ejector. As the reservoir and ejector move closer together, the acoustic ejector sends one or more interrogation pulses towards the reservoir. Based on the interrogation pulses, the system determines when the movement of the reservoir has placed a free surface of the fluid in a position where a droplet can be ejected. | 07-28-2011 |
| 20110277425 | METHOD FOR STORING FLUID WITH CLOSURE INCLUDING MEMBERS WITH CHANGEABLE RELATIVE POSITIONS AND DEVICE THEREOF - In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a closure for a container comprises at least two closure members. The relative position of the closure members with respect to each other is altered upon mating of the closure and container. The alteration of the relative position of the closure members may result in one or more of the members approaching the container more closely. The alteration may result in one or more of the members pressing against the container. The pressing may take place in such a way that exit paths for vapor from fluid in the container would require passage through the pressed surfaces. | 11-17-2011 |
| 20120006106 | ACOUSTIC ASSESSMENT OF CHARACTERISTICS OF A FLUID RELEVANT TO ACOUSTIC EJECTION - Methods are provided for analyzing characteristics of fluids in the context of an acoustic ejection system. Such a system has a controller, an acoustic radiation generator, and a coupling medium coupling the radiation to a reservoir holding fluid. The methods can use acoustic radiation to both perturb a surface of the fluid in the reservoir and analyze the effect of the perturbation. The methods may use information about prior fluids. The methods of the invention can determine physical characteristics such as speed of sound and viscosity. The methods also include ways to determine a level of acoustic energy suitable to eject a droplet. Preferably the methods are executed automatically under control of programming of a controller of an acoustic ejection system. | 01-12-2012 |
