Patent ID: 8873335

Claim:
A seismic data transmission system, comprising: a plurality of seismic data acquisition units that acquire seismic data reflected by subsurface lithologic formations or fluid layers responsive to an acoustic signal that propagates into earth, each of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units comprising: a transmitter; a receiver; a local clock; a local memory; a processor; and the system further comprising: a seismic sensor associated with each of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units; a control station; a plurality of concentrators that are different types of devices than each of the plurality seismic data acquisition units, each of the plurality of concentrators comprising a transmitter, a receiver, mass memory, a local clock, and a processor, at least one of the plurality of concentrators connected to the control station by a data communications cable; each of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units in radio transmission and reception communication with at least two other of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units; each of the plurality of concentrators in a transmission range of at least one of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units; the plurality of seismic data acquisition units transmit the seismic data to the control station via: a first short range wireless transmission, in a time period, with a first transmission parameter, of at least a first portion of the seismic data from a first of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units to a second of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units; a second short range wireless transmission, in the time period, with a second transmission parameter, of at least a second portion of the seismic data from a third of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units to a fourth of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units, wherein the third of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units and the fourth of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units are different data acquisition units than the first of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units and the second of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units; the first transmission parameter and the second transmission parameter substantially prevent communication interference between the first short range wireless transmission and the second short range wireless transmission in the time period; and a third short range wireless transmission of at least the first portion of the seismic data from the second of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units to a first of the plurality of concentrators; and the first of the plurality of concentrators transmits at least the first portion of the seismic data to the control station via the data communications cable.