Patent ID: 8242929

Claim:
A communication module for inductive transfer of information along a drill string, said module comprising: at least one antenna coil; and wherein the communication module is configured to be affixed to the drill string within a recess formed in an outer surface thereof such that a central coil axis of the antenna coil as a whole is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the drill string and a length of the antenna coil is aligned with a radial dimension of the drill string; and wherein the communication module for transfer of information along a drill string includes a high magnetic permeability material substrate upon which the at least one antenna coil is mounted, and wherein the communication module is configured such that the high magnetic permeability material substrate is located between the antenna coil and the drill string with the communication module abutting the high magnetic permeability material substrate in the radial dimension and being axially spaced from the high magnetic permeability material substrate along the longitudinal axis of the drill string.