Patent ID: 8867310

Claim:
A seismic data transmission system, comprising: a plurality of seismic data acquisition units that acquire and transmit seismic data from an acoustic signal that propagates into earth and is reflected by subsurface lithologic formations or fluid layers of the earth, each of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units comprising: a transmitter; a receiver; a local clock; a local memory; and a processor; the system further comprising: a geophone associated with each of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units; a plurality of concentrators, each of the plurality of concentrators comprising a transmitter, a receiver, mass memory, a local clock, and a processor; each of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units in wireless 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; and wherein one of the plurality of concentrators acquires at least a portion of the seismic data from one of the at least two of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units via short range wireless communication 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 between a first of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units and 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 between a third of the plurality of seismic data acquisition units and 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; and 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.