General Electric Company

Trilogy Systems Corporation

Thomas E Flanders

Herbert E Moore

Bruce E Beakley

A moving coil linear motor having a central row of alternating, permanent magnets, with multi-phase, multi-pole coil assemblies located on both sides of the magnet row. Magnetic circuit completion material is located approximately the same height as the magnets and outside the coil assemblies. The coil assemblies are formed of a series of individual coils connected in a multi-phase, multi-pole relationship. At locations other than the coil assembly ends, the individual coils of a phase are adjacent and connected so that a current passes through them in a uniform direction. The individual coil total width is equal to the distance from a point on a magnet to the same point on the adjacent magnet, with the individual coil thickness being the total width divided by twice the number of phases. The coil assembly is coated with an epoxy to improve thermal mass and thermal conductivity and a phenolic to resist abrasion and the environment.

Linear motor

An inclinometer has a ferromagnetic ball levitated between pairs of electromagnets. When the inclinometer changes attitude, the ball moves in response to the change in relative gravity direction. Alternating currents are applied to the proper electromagnets and in the magnitudes needed to re-center the ball. The same signals which determine the re-centering currents are the inclinometer outputs.

Circuit for levitated ball inclinometer

A receiver of pulsed phase modulated signals is disclosed. These signals are produced by switching a reactance on and off a power line. The receiver produces a sinusoidal current in phase with the current on the power line and a sinusoidal voltage nominally 90 degrees out of phase with the voltage on the power line. These sinusoids are multiplied together to produce a sinusoid of double the original frequency (which may be filtered out) and voltage levels (positive when the reactance is on line and negative when it is off). The absolute value difference between these voltage levels (if any) is used as an error voltage for feedback. The voltage sinusoid is modified by this feedback.

Receiver of pulsed phase modulated signals

The circuitry and structure of a levitated ball inclinometer are disclosed. A ferromagnetic ball is centerized between pairs of electromagnets by electromagnetic forces of magnitudes sufficient to offset the gravitational forces imposed on the ball. The electric currents required are therefore proportional to the forces and can be used as measurements to determine inclination.

Levitated ball inclinometer

A method of coding to provide command signals simultaneously to selected devices is disclosed. Each device is assigned a different power of the same integer. Commands are then signaled to the desired devices by sending a series of pulses, the total of which is the sum of the integer raised to the power of each the devices to be commanded. Thus if devices having powers of 0 and 3 are to be commanded, and the integer is 2, 9 pulses would be sent. (2.degree.=1, 2.sup.3 =8, 1+8=9). Each different total will signal a unique device or a unique combination of devices.

Coding system for simultaneously signaling selected ones of a plurality

A single pair of conductors in a drill cable in a borehole is used not only to transmit power into the hole, but to transmit control commands into the hole, and to communicate sensor data back up to the surface. A frequency for power and communication of 1 kHz is employed; but this is frequency modulated by deviation of about 5 percent to transmit commands down-hole. A different non-interfering phase modulation is used to send data back to the surface by causing a susceptance (preferably capacitive) to be connected across the supply cable to signify a binary pulse. The alteration in phase between current into the cable and potential across it is observed at the surface and the pulses so detected are processed by conventional data processing techniques. A novel coding method is used for sending commands into the hole: Each of a series of possible commands is assigned a binary value so that, for example, if commands #2 and #4 are to be sent, a total of 2 + 8 pulses (all of equal weight) forming a command word are sent down-hole where they are counted by a binary counter. When the total number has been counted, outputs #2 and #4 of the counter (2.sup.1 and 2.sup.3) will have signals on them which constitute the transmitted orders. This method is wasteful of time-bandwidth product (which is in abundant supply in this invention's applications) but avoids problems of timing inherent in serial transmission of conventional binary signals.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Thomas E Flanders