Seismic Acquisition Unit Buffering for Reliable Data Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Seismic data acquisition is hindered by intermittent communication disruptions, particularly for digitizer units near cell edges or in areas with poor radio propagation, leading to slowed data acquisition and potential data loss due to wireless signal interference and terrain/vegetation obstacles.
Innovation Solution
The method involves converting geophone data into digital form within an acquisition unit, storing it in both a buffer for temporary holding and a non-volatile bulk store for secure, continuous data retention, allowing for reliable transmission to a central control unit even during communication errors or failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wireless communication is used to transmit seismic data from digitizer units to central control, then ease of deployment and data processing speed are improved, but communication reliability deteriorates due to signal interference and terrain obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by storing seismic data in non-volatile bulk memory at the digitizer unit before transmission is needed. This ensures data is preserved and ready for transmission even when communication conditions are poor or temporarily unavailable, preventing data loss due to communication interruptions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by maintaining a buffer store of seismic data locally at each digitizer unit. This buffer acts as a cushion against communication failures, allowing the system to withstand intermittent transmission disruptions without losing data, thereby improving communication reliability.
2Productivity
If data is transmitted in real-time from digitizer units to central control, then data processing efficiency is improved, but data loss increases during communication disruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-storing data in non-volatile bulk memory before transmission is attempted. This ensures that even if real-time transmission fails due to communication disruptions, the data remains preserved and can be transmitted later without loss, thus preventing information loss while maintaining processing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary bulk memory store at each digitizer unit that acts as a buffer between data acquisition and transmission. This intermediary storage decouples the data collection process from transmission timing, allowing continuous data acquisition without loss while enabling flexible transmission scheduling to maintain processing efficiency.
3Reliability
If buffer store is used for temporary data holding, then data transmission reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the bulk memory store to serve multiple functions: it acts as a buffer for temporary data holding, provides long-term data storage, enables data recovery after communication failures, and supports both real-time and delayed transmission modes. This multi-functionality improves transmission reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Data Source
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Figure 3
AI summary
A seismic system uses a plurality of remote acquisition units (12) in each of which geophone signals in digital form are temporarily stored in a buffer (24) for near-real-time transmission by a transmitter (26). The whole of the digital data is also stored in a bulk store (28) within the acquisition unit (12), from which it can be retrieved and transmitted under control of signals received by a receiver (32). This allows a central control unit to cause lost or low quality data to be retransmitted in a flexible manner.