Patent ID: 9418647
Filing Date: 2016-08-16
CPC Classification: A61B,E21B,G10K

Claim Text:
1. An acoustic communication system for use in a tubulation, comprising: a tubulation having a first end and at least a second end; a plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices, each of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices configured to send acoustic signals and to receive acoustic signals, a first one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices situated proximate to said first end of said tubulation and having at least one input port for communication with a controller and having at least one output port for communication with said controller, and a second one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices situated at a distance along said tubulation from said first one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices, said second one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices configured to communicate with and to receive instructions by way of said first one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices; and said controller configured to activate said first one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices by way of said at least one input port, configured to receive a signal from said first one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices by way of said at least one output port and configured to provide at a controller output port an electrical signal representative of an acoustic signal received by said first one of said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices; said plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices and said controller configured to communicate using a digital communication protocol, wherein the tubulation comprises a plurality of angled wall sections extending at an angle relative to a local longitudinal axis of the tubulation, and each bidirectional phased array acoustic communication device of the plurality of bidirectional phased array acoustic communication devices is located at a corresponding angled wall section of the plurality of angled wall sections.