REMOTE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSEMBLY

ENSEMBLE DE TELECOMMUNICATIONS A DISTANCE

English Abstract

A remote telecommunications assembly for use at a gas wellhead
or other remote location includes a base formed of concrete curb sections, a
steel frame mounted on the base and one or more masts mounted on the steel
frame for carrying the electronic components of the assembly, batteries, a solar
panel and an antenna for transmitting and receiving signals.

French Abstract

L'invention concerne un ensemble de télécommunications à distance à utiliser dans une tête de puits de gaz ou un autre endroit éloigné, comprenant une base formée de bordures en béton, un cadre d'acier monté sur la base et un ou plusieurs mâts montés sur le cadre d'acier et supportant les composants électroniques de l'ensemble, des batteries, un panneau solaire et une antenne de transmission et de réception des signaux.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN
EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS
FOLLOWS:
1. A remote telecommunications assembly comprising a modular,
skeletal base for installation at a monitoring site, said base including a
plurality of
narrow concrete curb sections for defining a pair of sides and a pair of ends,
said
sides and ends being interconnectable, whereby the base is rectangular with a
hollow centre; a skeletal frame for mounting on said base; a power supply for
mounting on said frame; a remote telecommunications unit for mounting on said
frame; and an antenna for mounting on said frame far receiving and
transmitting
signals from said remote telecommunications unit.
2. The remote telecommunications assembly of claim 1, wherein
said concrete curb sections include complementary shoulders at each end
thereof, whereby the ends of the curb sections can form lap points with each
other when assembled.
3. The remote telecommunications assembly of claim 2, wherein
said frame includes a rectangular bottom section of substantially the same
length
as said base, a post for carrying said remote telecommunications unit; a mast
for
carrying said antenna; and a socket on said frame carrying said mast.
4. The remote telecommunications assembly of claim 2, including
a pair of masts, one mast carrying said remote telecommunications unit and the
other mast carrying said antenna; and a crossbar interconnecting said masts.
5. The remote telecommunications assembly of claim 4, wherein
said frame includes a rectangular bottom section of substantially the same
length
as said base, and a pair of sockets on the bottom section carrying said masts.

6. The remote telecommunications assembly of claim 2, wherein
said frame includes a cruciform bottom section; and a socket at the center of
said
bottom section for supporting a mast; said mast carrying a remote
telecommunications unit enclosure, a solar panel and an antenna.
7. The remote telecommunications assembly of claim 1 including a
skeletal guard railing around said frame for preventing damage to the assembly
by livestock.
8. The remote telecommunications assembly of clam 7, wherein
said guard railing includes corner posts and horizontal rails defining a
frusto-
pyramidal enclosure for the frame of the assembly.
9. The remote telecommunications assembly of claim 8, including a
gate in one end of said guard railing.

Description

CA 02220158 2003-05-05
This invention relates to a remote telecommunications assembly.
While the assembly of the present invention was designed
specifically for gas well flow measuring, control and alarm monitoring, it
will be
appreciated that the assembly can be used at any remote site requiring
electronic measuring control and/or monitoring.
The assembly described herein was developed to satisfy a need to
reduce the cost of installing electronic gas well flow measuring, control and
alarm
monitoring apparatuses. In this connection, it is worth noting that
conventional
apparatuses are normally housed in a permanent structure of the type described
in US Patent No. 5,004,004, which issued to l~.l~." Hill on May 1 ~, 1999.
Such
structures necessitate the transporting, mixing arrd pouring of concrete and
reinforcing materials to form supports for' the structures. Because of the
high
cost of existing methods of installing such apparatuses, remote access to such
facilities using electronic means has been reserved for only high production
natural gas wells because of the high cost of existing methods of installing
such
apparatuses.
Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote
telecommunications assembly which is universal" being able to accommodate
the products of most remote telecommunications equipment manufacturers.
Another abject of the invention is to provide a relatively simple
remote telecommunications assembly, which is inexpensive and easy to install.
By reducing the cost of the overall installation, the threshold of well
production
that justifies installation of remote telecommunications equipment is lowered.
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CA 02220158 2003-05-05
This is important to owners and regulatory agencies alike, bath of whom
require
better information on gas production and non-renewable resources management.
Accordingly, the invention relates to a remote telecommunications
assembly comprising a modular base for installation at a monitoring site, said
base including interconnectable, concrete curb sections for defining a
floating
15
1a

CA 02220158 2000-06-16
concrete pad; a skeletal frame for mounting on said base; a power supply for
mounting on said frame; a remote telecommunications unit for mounting on said
frame; and an antenna for mounting on said frame for receiving and
transmitting
signals from said remote telecommunications unit.
The invention is described hereinafter in greater detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments
of the invention, and wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic isometric view of a remote
telecommunications assembly in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded isometric view of the base of the assembly
of Fig. 1;
Figure 3 is a partly sectioned top view of the assembly of Fig. 1;
Figure 4 is a side view of the bottom portion of the assembly of
Figs. 1 and 3;
Figure 5 is an isometric view of a mast support socket used in the
assembly of Figs. 1 and 3;
Figure 6 is an isometric view of a second embodiment of the
assembly of the present invention; and
Figure 7 is an isometric view of a livestock guard used with the
assembly of the present invention.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, the remote telecommunications assembly
of the present invention includes a modular, skeletal base generally indicated
at
1 carrying a skeletal frame 2. The base 1 is formed of four narrow concrete
curb
sections defining sides 3 and ends 4 around a hollow center. Shoulders 6 are
provided at the ends of each curb section
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CA 02220158 1997-11-04
so that the lap joints can be formed between the sides 3 and the ends 4 of the
base. As best shown in Fig. 2, the sides 3 and ends 4 are held together by
bolts 7 and nuts 8. Reinforcing sleeves 9 are provided in the sides 3 and the
ends 4 for receiving the bolts 8. The finished base performs like a cast-in-
place
floating concrete pad. Thus, on site form production and concrete mixing are
avoided while adequate mass is provided to ensure stability of the structure.
Moreover, it is easy to re-level the structure should movement occur after
installation, and the structure is easy to remove for reuse at another
location.
The frame 2 includes a rectangular bottom section or base
constructed with steel C-channel members defining a pair of sides 10, ends 11
and crossbars 12 extending between the sides 10. A platform including legs
13 and a top 14 is mounted on the sides 10 of the base for supporting a
battery box 16, which forms part of the power supply for the assembly. As best
shown in Fig. 3, the top 14 of the platform is a rectangle of tubular steel.
The
frame 2 also supports a pair of masts 17 and 18. For such purpose, sockets
and 21 are mounted on the crossbars 12. Each of the sockets 20 and 21 is
mounted on a plate 22 (Fig. 4) which is connected to the crossbar 12 by a
hinge 23 at one end, and by a bolt 24 and a nut 25 at the other end. By
removing the bolt 24, the mast 17 or 18 can be rotated around the horizontal
20 axis of the hinge 23 to facilitate erection of the mast and access to the
top of
the mast. During assembly, the bottom end of the mast 17 or 18 is placed in
the socket 20 or 21, and the mast is easily pushed into the vertical position.
By
tilting the mast 17 or 18 downwardly, the solar panels can readily be accessed
for cleaning or replacement.
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The mast structure is reinforced by a top portion of the frame
defined by a pair of posts 27 and 28 interconnected a crossbar 29. Brackets
defined by collars 31 on the mast 17 and 18 and a plate 32 secure the masts
to the crossbar 29 of the frame. The mast 17 carries a solar panel 33, the
mast
18 carries an antenna 34, and the post 27 carries the remainder of the remote
telecommunications unit, i.e. a box 35 containing the off-the-shelf electronic
well flow monitoring, control and alarm components of the assembly.
Referring to Fig. 6, a second embodiment of the invention
includes a base generally indicated at 1, which is similar to the base
employed
in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3. The skeletal
frame in this case is defined by a generally cruciform base formed by four
interconnected feet 37, which are connected to the sides 3 and the ends 4 of
the base 1 by tie down plates or brackets 38. A well at the centre of the feet
37 receives a socket 40, which supports a single mast 41.
The mast 41 carries the battery box 16, the solar panel 33, the
antenna 34 and the box 35 containing the electronic components of the
assembly. For such purpose, a shelf is provided on the mast 41 a short
distance from the socket 40. The shelf is defined by a T-shaped assembly 43
of tubular steel connected to a collar 44, which is mounted on the mast 41
using a set screw (not shown). A leg 45 extends downwardly from the collar
44 to the top of the socket 40 for providing additional support for the shelf.
With reference to Fig. 7, the assembly may include a livestock
guard generally indicated at 48 which deters livestock from using the assembly
as a scratching post, or from damaging cables or other components of the
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CA 02220158 1997-11-04
structure. The guard 48 is a skeletal, tubular steel, frusto-pyramidal frame
defined by a plurality of rails 49 interconnected by corner posts 50. A pair
of
generally U-shaped feet 52 support the frame on the base of the frame 2. The
feet 52 extend downwardly from top rails 49, and are connected to bottom rails
by reinforcing crossbars 53. A gate 55 is provided in one end of the guard.
One side of the gate 55 is connected to the remainder of the end of the guard
by hinges 56, and latches 57 are provided on the other side of the gate.
While not shown, an electronic guard can also be provided for
keeping bears away from the assembly. The electronic guard consists of three
steel wires strung on a steel tubing frame attached to the base 1. The wire is
electrically pulsed with up to 3,000 volts, which is effective in keeping
animals
away from the structure. Power for the electronic guard comes from the DC
power supply of the assembly.
During installation, the curb sections defining the sides and ends
3 and 4, respectively of the base 1 are assembled on-site, obviating the need
for concrete mixing and heavy equipment. The base provides adequate mass
to ensure stability of the remainder of the assembly, and can readily be re-
levelled should the base soil move due to settling. Moreover, the base 1 can
easily be removed for re-use at the same or another location. The steel frame
2 mounted on the base 1 is preferably formed of C-channel skid base
reinforced by tubular steel crossbars. The rigid frame 2 also defined a bale
facilitating the lifting of the entire assembly.
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CA 02220158 1997-11-04
As mentioned above, the use of sockets 20 and 21 or 40 on the
base 1 of the assembly facilitates the erection of the masts and makes it easy
to access components for cleaning on servicing.
The components housed in the box 35 include an inexpensive,
off-the-shelf microprocessor requiring minimal power for operation. Measured
data is fed into and stored in the remote telecommunications unit in the box
35.
The unit typically has the capacity to store seven days of data which is a
form
of back up in the event of a communications failure. At a gas well site, well
data is forwarded to and flow rates are calculated by a host computer. This is
a significant departure from conventional practice, because source data at the
host computer can be stored indefinitely. Typically, with existing methods,
the
flow rate is calculated at the remote telecommunications unit using source
data
at the time the data is collected, and the data is discarded. Retained source
data is useful when adjustments are required, e.g.- because an instrument
drifts
out of calibration.
6

Representative Drawing