Monitoring System for Drilling Instruments

Abstract

Drilling instruments may include a flexible portion, such as a flexible conduit and/or a universal joint. Sensors may be utilized to detect the position of various portions of the drilling instrument, such as the flexible conduit, the universal joint, and/or a drill bit assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A drilling instrument comprising:
 a universal joint;   a flexible conduit disposed at least partially in the universal joint; and   one or more sensors to detect position information of the flexible conduit.   
     
     
         2 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein one or more of the sensors is coupled to the flexible conduit. 
     
     
         3 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein the position information comprises at least one of a measure of a deviation in position of the flexible conduit from a predetermined position of the flexible conduit or a deflection of the flexible conduit. 
     
     
         4 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  further comprising a drill bit assembly, wherein the flexible conduit is coupled to at least a portion of the drill bit assembly. 
     
     
         5 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the sensors measures at least one of temperature, pressure, deflection, position, compression, extension, or torque. 
     
     
         6 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein a position of at least one of the sensors is based at least partially on deflection properties of the flexible conduit. 
     
     
         7 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the sensors comprises at least one sensing element, and wherein at least one of the sensing elements comprises at least one of a strain gauge or a displacement sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the sensors comprises a first sensing element set and a second sensing element set radially disposed about the flexible conduit, and wherein the first sensing element set is disposed approximately 60 degrees to approximately 120 degrees apart circumferentially from the second sensing element set. 
     
     
         9 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the sensors is coupled to the universal joint. 
     
     
         10 . The drilling instrument of  claim 1  wherein at least one of the sensors detects positional information of the universal joint. 
     
     
         11 . A method of monitoring a drilling instrument comprising:
 detecting a signal from one or more sensors, wherein at least one of the sensors is disposed on a flexible conduit positioned at least partially in a universal joint of a drilling instrument; and   determining position information of the flexible conduit based at least partially on the detected signal.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising determining a control signal for the drilling instrument based at least partially on the determined position information. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising determining whether the determined position information is within a predetermined range, and wherein the control signal is determined based at least partially on whether the detected signal is within the predetermined range. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising determining property information based at least partially on the determined positional information. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the property information includes at least one of temperature, pressure exerted on the universal joint, compressive force exerted on the universal joint, or condition of the drilling instrument. 
     
     
         16 . A method for testing the performance of a drilling instrument comprising:
 transmitting at least one first control signal for a drill bit assembly of the drilling instrument, wherein the at least one first control signal is associated with a first position of the drill bit assembly;   detecting a signal from one or more sensors, wherein at least one of the sensors is disposed on a flexible conduit coupled to the drill bit assembly;   determining position information of the drill bit assembly based at least partially on the detected signal; and   comparing the determined position information of the drill bit assembly to the first position of the drill bit assembly.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising transmitting at least one second control signal based at least partially on comparing the determined position information of the drill bit assembly to the first position of the drill bit assembly. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein at least one of the second control signals is either substantially similar to at least one of the first control signals or substantially different from at least one of the first control signals. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising determining position information of a universal joint of the drilling instrument at least partially based on signals transmitted from one or more additional sensors, wherein the one or more additional sensors are coupled to the universal joint, and wherein the flexible conduit is disposed at least partially in the universal joint. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising monitoring the drilling instrument based at least partially on comparing the determined position information of the drill bit assembly to the first position of the drill bit assembly.