The Charles Machine Works, Inc.

Martin A Williams

Frank S Nickel

Austin L Widener

Michael A Wilson

A monitoring system for use with a horizontal directional drilling machine and adapted to determine the roll and/or pitch orientation of the downhole tool assembly by detecting signals from a sensor assembly supported by the downhole tool assembly. In a preferred embodiment, the monitoring system uses an antenna assembly to detect a signal transmitted from the sensor assembly. The antenna assembly transmits the detected signal to a processor which determines a calibration factor indicative of the actual orientation of the sensor relative to the known orientation of the downhole tool assembly. The processor then uses the calibration factor and the signal emitted from the sensor, indicative of the actual orientation of the sensor, to determine the actual orientation of the downhole tool assembly.

Electronically calibrated beacon for a horizontal directional drilling machine

A system for regulating an alternating current voltage source has a pair of P-channel MOSFETs and a pair of N-channel MOSFETs in a bridge configuration with an inductor-capacitor tank there between. A processor in conjunction with a feedback circuit regulates the energy transferred to the tank by modulating the pulse width of signals that are output from the processor and which are used as inputs to the gates of the MOSFETs. By increasing or decreasing the pulse widths transmitted to the various gates of the MOSFETs, the processor increases or decreases the energy transferred to the tank. The feedback circuit is connected between the tank and the processor so that the processor can compare the feedback voltage from the tank to a threshold level in the processor and modify the pulse widths at the output of the processor accordingly.

Growing community of inventors

Tulsa, OK, United States of America

Martin A Williams