Patent ID: 7668670

Claim:
A method for tracking vibrations on a pipeline network, the method comprising: installing multiple vibration recorders on the pipeline network, each recorder comprising a sensor, a processor, and a communication device; at each vibration recorder: receiving vibration signals from the sensor at programmed times under the control of the processor of the vibration recorder, and processing the received vibration signals with the processor of the vibration recorder; communicating processed vibration signals from the vibration recorders to one or more reader devices using the communication devices of the vibration recorders; at a particular vibration recorder, receiving meter readings from a flow meter associated with the particular vibration recorder, the meter readings being indicative of a level of flow in the pipeline network; communicating the meter readings from the particular vibration recorder to a reader device using the communication device of the particular vibration recorder; collecting the processed vibration signals from the one or more reader devices and the meter readings from the particular vibration recorder at a central computer system; and analyzing the collected processed vibration signals and the meter readings at the central computer system to determine abnormal vibration patterns and to obtain measures of any leaks present in the pipeline network.