The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 01, 2013
Filed:
Jun. 03, 2010
Device and method for generating a beam of acoustic energy from a borehole, and applications thereof
Cung Khac VU, Houston, TX (US);
Dipen N. Sinha, Los Alamos, NM (US);
Cristian Pantea, Los Alamos, NM (US);
Kurt T. Nihei, Oakland, CA (US);
Denis P. Schmitt, Katy, TX (US);
Christopher Skelt, Houston, TX (US);
Cung Khac Vu, Houston, TX (US);
Dipen N. Sinha, Los Alamos, NM (US);
Cristian Pantea, Los Alamos, NM (US);
Kurt T. Nihei, Oakland, CA (US);
Denis P. Schmitt, Katy, TX (US);
Christopher Skelt, Houston, TX (US);
Chevron U.S.A. Inc., San Ramon, CA (US);
Los Alamos National Security LLC, Los Alamos, NM (US);
Abstract
In some aspects of the invention, a method of generating a beam of acoustic energy in a borehole is disclosed. The method includes generating a first acoustic wave at a first frequency; generating a second acoustic wave at a second frequency different than the first frequency, wherein the first acoustic wave and second acoustic wave are generated by at least one transducer carried by a tool located within the borehole; transmitting the first and the second acoustic waves into an acoustically non-linear medium, wherein the composition of the non-linear medium produces a collimated beam by a non-linear mixing of the first and second acoustic waves, wherein the collimated beam has a frequency based upon a difference between the first frequency and the second frequency; and transmitting the collimated beam through a diverging acoustic lens to compensate for a refractive effect caused by the curvature of the borehole.