CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/243,884, filed on September 14, 2021 , entitled “RECEPTACLE FOR SENSORS,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to a drilling system and method for drilling, and more particularly, to a sensor receptacle that can be attached to downhole well tools and the sensor receptacle is configured to house various sensors needed while drilling.

DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND

[0003] Drilling for accessing an underground reservoir (e.g., oil or gas) takes place on land or offshore, i.e. , in the ocean bottom. This process is a very complex process that requires utilization of various tools and devices for making the well, stabilizing the well, and then extracting the resources from the reservoir, through the well. Figure 1 depicts a land drilling system 100. Although an offshore drilling system is more complicated than the land drilling system, they share a similar drilling mechanism and thus, the problems associated with the system shown Figure 1 are similar for offshore drilling. The drilling system 100 has a drill rig 102 located above the ground’s surface 104, and a part located in the subsurface 106, under the ground’s surface 104. The drill rig 102 is configured to provide the necessary energy for the drilling process, i.e., for the lifting and rotation actions involved in this process. The drill rig 102 supports a drill string 108 that partially extends into the well 110 that is being drilled. The drill string 108 is made of a series of strings (pipes) connected to each other and is utilized to transmit the necessary rotational energy and drilling fluids downhole.

[0004] The drill string 108 is made of two sections, the drill pipes 112 and the bottom hole assembly (BHA) 114. The drill pipes 112 are pipes that provide means of connecting the BHA to the drill rig 102 on the surface, and also for providing a mud for removing the drilled pieces (i.e., debris) from the bottom of the well. The BHA 114 includes a plurality of tools that perform the actual drilling process, for example, a drill collar 116, which provides the required weight for the drill bit 118 to cut through the formation, and various other drilling tools 120. Drilling tools 120 include any other tool in the BHA to assist the drill bit 118 perform its task or to improve the hole.

[0005] Due to the complex nature of the drilling process, and because of the need of understanding the dynamic responses of the various components of the BHA 118 when interacting with the well, the well operators attach various downhole sensors to the BHA to provide data that could be utilized to understand the performance of the drilling tools while drilling. [0006] Attaching components to drilling tools has to be done in an accurate manner to avoid losing the components downhole while drilling or to avoid the unnecessary vibrations of the sensors while drilling, which may either damage the sensor or make the sensor to read and record erroneous data. Different techniques have been proposed and utilized to securely attach various components to the drilling tools to ensure that these components would remain attached to the drilling tool throughout the drilling process.

[0007] Since the creation of the Poly-crystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) cutters, the main concern was how to securely attach these cutters to fixed blade drill bits. Initially, the cutters were created as studs that were press fit into cavities created within the tool body. As the technology advanced, the industry shifted to create a bonded joint between the cutters and the tool body, known as brazing.

[0008] Press fitting and/or brazing various components to a well tool has been a common practice followed by different entities in the drilling domain for a long time. However, despite the fact that both techniques provide secure attachment of the components to the drill bit or other well tool, both techniques have their own disadvantages. Brazing introduces a large amount of heat, and therefore, it is not suitable for heat sensitive components. Press fitting techniques, on the other side, introduce high residual stresses on both the component (e.g., sensor) and the well tool, and therefore, it is unsuitable for those components that include brittle or weak parts. Also, components fixed using both techniques are hard to be replaced or removed for repair. [0009] Due to the above listed reasons, different techniques for component attachment to well tools have been developed over time. A method disclosed in [1] is to attach receptacles to the body of the well tool, by welding them at high temperatures. The cutters for the drilling bit could then be brazed (at lower temperatures) to these receptacles instead of using welding. Alternatively, the cutters can be pressed fit or even threaded to the brazed receptacles. After pulling out of hole the well tool, the cutters could be easily removed from their corresponding receptacles without producing any damage to the drilling tool’s body. [0010] Further advancements in the drilling industry have introduced the utilization of Metal reinforced Matrix products. These are products created from a hard material powder (Tungsten Carbide, for example) laid in a metallic matrix (Cobalt, for example). These require utilization of a mold for manufacturing the drilling tool. The authors in [2] suggested the utilization of receptacles to be placed in the mold assembly before applying the heat process. The cutters would then be brazed to the receptacles rather than brazing them to the matrix body since the brazing against the metallic receptacles is much easier than brazing against the matrix body.

[0011] Another concept discussed in [3] is to utilize receptacles made of a relatively soft material to be directly welded at high temperatures into the well tool body (whether steel or matrix). Components, cutters or cutting enhancement tools would then be inserted into the receptacle, whether by brazing (at low temperature) or by press fitting. Upon returning the well tool to the surface, if removing the components from their respective receptacles could not be performed for any reason, cylindrical drilling techniques could be employed to drill through the receptacle only to retrieve the components. Once the drilling process is completed, the component with part of the receptacle would be totally removed, and removal of the remaining part of the receptacle could be directly done by unwelding it.

[0012] The authors in [4] suggested a special technique to attach the cutter, created as a shaft, to its body to provide a rotating cutter assembly. Rotating cutters are PDC cutters that rotate about their own axis while drilling. The main concern in such cases is the failure of the locking elements that hold the rotating cutter in its body. The authors in [4] proposed attaching the body of the rotating cutter to the drilling tool either by brazing or fitting, and then attaching the cutter into its body. A retaining ring is utilized to hold the cutter shaft into the body. The retaining ring is press fit into the cutter body and it cannot be retrieved.

[0013] All the above techniques dealt with the problem of attaching drilling components, such as cutters and inserts, to drilling tools. Similar techniques were proposed for attaching sensors to the same drilling tools. The main difference between the sensors and the drilling components is that the sensors could not withstand brazing temperatures (i.e., high temperatures), nor could they withstand the pressure required for press fitting. Thus, simply applying the known techniques for attaching the cutting components to the body of the drilling bit would damage most of the sensors and thus, these techniques are not appropriate for this purpose. [0014] Some other techniques were proposed for dealing with sensors, for example, to embed the sensors directly inside the cutter body, both cylindrical cutters [5] and stud cutters [6]. Another proposal [7] discussed attaching different sensors to the drill bit and the benefit of all these sensors and also suggestions of where on the drilling tool to fix them, but no new method was proposed for attaching the sensors to the body of the drill bit.

[0015] Thus, there is a need for a new system and method for attaching sensors to a well tool so that the sensor is not damaged by the intense heat or mechanical pressure that are traditionally used to attach cutting components to a drill bit.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0016] According to an embodiment, there is a sensor attaching kit for attaching a sensor device to a well tool. The sensor attaching kit includes a receptacle configured to be fixedly attached to a hole formed in the well tool, wherein the receptacle is configured to withstand heat generated by welding or brazing, and a sensor enclosure configured to house the sensor device, wherein the sensor enclosure is configured to fit inside the receptacle and attach to the receptacle by threads or a ridge.

[0017] According to another embodiment, there is a well tool for drilling a well, and the well tool includes a body having a blade, each blade having plural teeth, a hole formed in the blade, and a sensor attaching kit for attaching a sensor device to the well tool. The sensor attaching kit includes a receptacle configured to be fixedly attached to the hole, wherein the receptacle is configured to withstand heat generated by welding or brazing, and a sensor enclosure configured to house the sensor device, wherein the sensor enclosure is configured to fit inside the receptacle and attach to the receptacle by threads or a ridge.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a drilling system;

[0020] Figures 2A to 2C illustrate various well tools for drilling a well;

[0021] Figure 3 illustrates a sensor device that can be attached to the drilling system for measuring one or more parameters inside the well;

[0022] Figure 4 illustrates a receptacle configured to be placed in a hole in the well tools and accommodate the sensor device;

[0023] Figures 5A and 5B illustrate how the receptacle and the sensor device are placed in a hole in the well tools;

[0024] Figures 6A to 6D illustrate the receptacle having different shapes;

[0025] Figures 7A and 7B illustrate a housing of the sensor device being assembled from various parts;

[0026] Figures 8A and 8B illustrate various mechanisms used by the receptacle for locking inside the sensor device;

[0027] Figure 9 illustrates a process of removing the sensor device and the receptacle from the hole in the well tool;

[0028] Figure 10 illustrates a tool that may be used to remove the sensor device and/or the receptacle from the well tool; [0029] Figure 11 illustrates a drilling bit having a hole for receiving a receptacle;

[0030] Figure 12 illustrates the various components of the sensor device and how its housing is assembled; and

[0031] Figure 13 is an overview of the sensor device and its various housing parts being assembled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] The following description of the embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. The following embodiments are discussed, for simplicity, with regard to a sensor receptacle that is placed in and attached to the well tool by any known techniques, and a sensor capsule that is configured to fit into the sensor receptacle and be securely attached to it without the need of applying high temperatures or large forces.

[0033] Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0034] According to an embodiment, a novel attachment kit includes a sensor receptacle that is attached to a hole formed into the well tool and a sensor capsule (housing) that hosts the sensor and is configured to securely attach to the sensor receptacle by a method that does not involve high heat or high tension. For example, the sensor capsule may be threaded to the sensor receptacle. Other locking mechanisms may be used as now discussed.

[0035] Figures 2A to 2C illustrate various drills bits and tools that may be used utilized while drilling. All these elements are considered herein to be a well tool. For example, Figure 2A shows a fixed blade drill bit 200A, Figure 2B shows a roller cone drill bit 200B, and Figure 2C shows a drilling reamer 200C. While the drill bits 200A and 200B are used in the well to drill the bottom of the well, the drilling reamer 200C is used to enlarge the diameter of the already created well. All these tools and other drilling tools, such as stabilizers, under-reamers, etc. or any other drilling tool that has direct contact with the borehole of the well can be used with the attachment kit to be discussed next.

[0036] All these tools have a main body 202A, 202B, and 202C, with blades 204A and 204C for the tools 200A and 200C, and cones 204B for the tool 200B, and these blades/cones protrude out of their corresponding main bodies. On these protrusions, a section that is in direct contact with the underground formation is called the “gauge.” Figures 2A to 2C show gauges 206A to 206C corresponding to the tools 200A to 200C, respectively. Each blade has plural griding teeth 207A to 207C. In this embodiment, the sensor is placed within corresponding cavities or chambers or holes 208A to 208C, which are made among the teeth 207A, 207B or 207C, in the gauges 206 to 206C, respectively, because it is the section which wears the most due to its direct contact with the formation and it is typically this section for which information like temperature, position, stress, etc. needs to be collected for surface analysis by the operator. [0037] In one embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 3, a sensor device 300 that is placed in these holes is configured to have a housing 302 that houses one or more sensors 304. The housing 302 may be made of two or more parts, as discussed later. The sensor 304 is shown in the figure to have a measuring part 306, for example, a resistor or capacitor or inductor, which is configured to have a measurable electrical property related to the measuring part. The measuring part 306 is connected to a processing unit 308, which receive the measurements and process them before storing them on a memory 310 or sending them to the operator of the rig via a communication system 312. A power supply 314 is also provided in the housing 302 for powering the parts discussed above.

[0038] The housing 302 (a part of which is called the “sensor capsule”) encapsulates the components of the sensor device. The housing may be made of a soft ductile material such as copper or aluminum, which is softer than a material used for a receptacle to be discussed later. A purpose of the sensor capsule is to protect the fragile sensor and its electronics. Any loads applied on the sensor would be absorbed by the housing without transmitting the loads to the sensor. The housing could be formed from more than one part. For example, Figure 3 shows the housing 302 being formed from two different parts. The parts may have the same or different exterior diameters. Figure 3 shows the two parts forming the housing having different diameters. However, an embodiment that is discussed later has the two parts formed to have the same diameter. In one application, the sensor housing is configured to fully encapsulate the sensor (except for a part of the measuring part 306, if necessary) and it is sized to fit snugly into the receptacle 400 shown in Figure

4.

[0039] The control unit 308 has two main tasks for this embodiment. The first task is to continuously or discretely measure an electrical property of the measuring part 306. The control unit 308 is then configured to provide this data to the operator of the drill rig. This could be achieved in real-time or the data could be logged at the memory 310 for later retrieval. For real time monitoring, the communication system 312 uses sound, light or electrical signals to exchange the data with the operator of the rig. Such system could then convert the data from the control unit into pulses to be carried through the mud in the well (sound system), or through wiring in smart pipes, or transmitted using electromagnetic waves if a transmitter/receiver module is placed within the drill string downhole. Data could be also transmitted to the surface utilizing wireless communication or through an actuated extended antenna. Any type of communication protocols between the control unit 308 and the surface is possible. [0040] The other option is to log the measured data at the memory unit 310, at the sensor device 300, and to retrieve this data at the surface, once the drilling is accomplished. In this case, the control unit 308 saves the data in the memory unit. Once the drilling is completed and the drill bit is pulled out of hole, the control and memory units could then be retrieved from the drill bit and analyzed to download all the data stored on the memory unit for analysis by the operator.

[0041 ] The power supply unit 314 is utilized to power the whole sensor device. It provides power to the control unit 308 to operate the measuring part. In one application, the power supply unit 314 may be implemented as a battery that operates the system for a specific period of time until the battery is depleted. In another application, the power supply unit may be a device that is configured to utilize a downhole power generation technique that utilizes mud to generate electricity. Another option could be to convert the vibrational energy of the drilling process to power up the system using, for example, a piezoelectric element. Any other form of powering up the system could be utilized.

[0042] The housing 302 may be made of one or more parts that fit together to fully encapsulate the sensor. For some sensors, it is necessary that the measuring part 306 is partially exposed to the ambient. For these cases, the housing 302 has a slot 303, at a top side 302A, which allows the measuring part 306 to freely and directly communicate with the ambient. In one application, a side of the measuring part 306 is flush with the top side 302A.

[0043] In one application, the housing 302 has one or more ridges 320 (or threads) formed circumferentially and externally to the housing, as shown in Figure

3. The ridge is sized to match a corresponding groove 402, formed in an interior wall 404 of a sensor receptacle 400, as shown in Figure 4. The sensor receptacle 400 may be shaped to be cylindrical, to tightly fit into one of the holes 208A to 208C shown in Figures 2A to 2C. The sensor receptacle may be made of a strong metal, for example, steel, to withstand to the high temperature and pressures that may be present in the well. In one application, the sensor receptacle 400 is brazed to the tool 200A or 200B or 200C, while the sensor device 300 is attached with the ridge and groove mechanism to the sensor receptacle. In this way, the electronics of the sensor device 300 is not affected by a high temperature necessary for the brazing process, or by a high tension that is applied to existing sensors when are press fitted inside a tool. In other words, the use of the sensor receptacle 400 shields the sensor device from high temperatures or high pressures during the process of attaching the sensor device to the body of the well tool.

[0044] As illustrated in Figures 5A and 5B for the drill bit 200A, the cavity 208A is made in the gauge 206A, so that the cavity directly faces the wall (see Figure 5B) of the well when the drill bit is placed inside the well. The cavity 208A could be created when the bit is manufactured or it could be created after the bit has been manufactured, before utilizing it. The receptacle 400 can be fixed within the cavity 208A using fastening features such as threads, welding or brazing techniques or any other method to attach the proposed device to the cavity. Once the receptable 400 is in place, the sensor device 300 is slid into place until its ridge 320 engages the groove 402 in the receptacle 400. This attachment technique should provide means for fixing the sensor device, indirectly to the drill bit body, with the advantage of minimizing heat transfer from the drill bit to the sensor device and isolating the transmission of vibrations as much as possible from the drill bit as heat and vibrations could have a negative impact on the sensor and the control unit.

[0045] The receptacle 400 may be shaped as a cup that fits into the drilling tool body and accepts and the sensor capsule. The receptacle and the housing of the sensor device could take any shape as shown in Figures 6A to 6D, i.e., it could be cylindrical as shown in Figure 6A, cubic as shown in Figure 6B, or irregular as shown in Figure 6C. Figure 6D shows a receptacle - sensor housing pair that does not follow the same form, i.e., the outer side of the receptacle 400 that fits in the drilling tool body is different from the shape of the internal cavity that accepts the sensor capsule.

[0046] Parts 702 and 704 (if only two parts are used) of the housing 302 of the sensor device 300 may be assembled to join each other along a plane that is perpendicular to a longitudinal axis Z of the housing, as shown in Figure 7A, or along a plane that is parallel to the longitudinal axis Z, as shown in Figure 7B. The housing 302 may be attached to the receptacle 400 by using the ridge 320 discussed above with regard to Figure 3. Alternatively, in one embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 8A, the receptacle 400 may have threads 410 and the ridge 320 on the housing 302 may be replaced with matching threads, so that the sensor device 300 is screwed into the receptacle 400. In yet another embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 8B, the housing 302 has no ridge or threads 320, but the groove 402 in the receptacle 400 is paired with an internal snapping ring 420 so that after the housing 302 is placed inside the receptacle, the snapping ring 420 is attached to the groove 402 and blocks the sensor device 300 from exiting the receptacle. In this embodiment, removing the sensor device from the receptacle at the end or during the drilling process is the simplest and fastest. In yet another embodiment, it is possible to utilize press fitting. Press fitting in this case would not damage the sensor device’s electronics because the fitting stresses would be only applied on the sensor housing 302. No stresses would be transmitted through the sensor housing 302 to the sensor itself to protect it. [0047] When the time to remove the drill bit from the well arrives, once the drill bit is at the surface, the sensor device 300 can be retrieved from the body of the drill bit. The sensor housing 302 could be easily relieved from the receptacle 400, for example, by unscrewing it or by removing the snapping ring 420. If for any reason the sensor housing 302 is stuck inside the receptacle 400, a cylindrical drill 910 could be utilized to drill through the sensor housing 302, thus relieving the pressing stresses and releasing it. Figure 9 shows the cylindrical drill 910 being located to release the sensor housing 302 from the receptacle 400. The remaining part of the sensor housing 302 could be easily pulled out after removing the sensor capsule core by cylindrical drilling.

[0048] If required, the receptacle 400 could also be retrieved by unwelding it or by pulling it out from the hole 208A. Different receptacle retrieval systems may be used to pull out the receptacle in case the receptacle is press fitted in the drilling tool body. Figure 10 shows an internal puller device 1000 that can be utilized for the pulling process of the receptacle. The figure shows the jaws 1010 of the puller in both open state 1012 and in the closed state 1014. The puller could be utilized with a receptacle having a groove specially formed to hold the puller jaws 1010. In case a threaded receptacle is utilized, a threaded puller could be tightened to the receptacle’s threads and pulled out of the pocket. Another receptacle retrieval approach may be to utilize an adapter (not shown) that could be press fitted in the receptacle from one side, and a puller would be attached (by any attaching technique such as welding, pressing, or tightening or even utilizing the puller jaws) to the adapter to pull the receptacle out from its hole.

[0049] The measuring part 306 of the sensor device 300 may include one or more sensors for collecting data with regard to the drilling process. For example, a temperature sensor can be added to notify the operator about the temperature at the drill bit while drilling. This data could be utilized to identify the effect of temperature of the wear and wear rates experienced by the drill bit. Another embodiment may have an accelerometer as the measuring part 306 to identify vibrations during drilling. This could also be utilized to study whether the magnitude and frequency of the vibrations have effects on the wear on the drill bit. Other sensors could be also added to the sensor device 300, such as pressure transducers, or chemical sensors (partially exposed to the embodiment) to measure a concentration of any chemicals that are present downhole, such as hydrogen sulfide H2S, which is a very harmful compound emitted occasionally from the formation while drilling. All this information may be used to study and correlate the ambient conditions with the wear on the drill bit.

[0050] A specific implementation of the sensor device 300 is now discussed in more details with regard to Figures 11 to 13. Figure 11 shows the drill bit 200A having a cavity 208A formed into a gauge region 206A of a blade 204A. The attachment of the sensor device 300 to drill bit can also be applied to any well tool. The cavity 208A may have a diameter of about 2.5 cm and a depth between 2.5 and 5.0 cm. In this embodiment, the receptacle 400 is placed in the cavity 208A and the housing 302 of the sensor device 300 is attached to the receptacle 400 as discussed in the previous embodiments. While the receptacle 400 is fixed in place inside the blade of the drill bit or tool by, for example, brazing, or other strong method, the sensor device 300 is attached to the receptacle either by the internal, circumferential groove 402 or by threads so that the sensor device 300 can be easily removed from the drill bit. [0051] One possible implementation of the sensor device 300 is illustrated in Figure 12 and has a printed circuit board 1210 that houses various electronic devices 1212, for example, the control unit 308, the memory unit 310, and the communication system 312. The power supply 314 is attached with two wires 1214A and 1214B to the printed circuit board 1210 as shown in the figure. The control unit is electrically insulated from the power supply by an electrical insulator layer 1216-1 . Additional insulator layers 1216-2 and 1216-3 may be used to insulate the control unit and the power supply from an electronics housing 1218 (note that the electronics housing is part of the housing 302 and may correspond to part 704 shown in Figure 7A). One of the insulator layers 1216-3 may be mechanically attached to the bottom of the electronics housing 1218 to close the electronics housing 1218. In this embodiment, the bottom of the electronics housing 1218 is open. The top 1219 of the electronics housing is partially closed. A hole 1218A may be formed in top portion 1219 of the electronics housing 1218 for allowing a puller device (e.g., device 1000 discussed above) to retrieve the sensor device 300 when desired. The hole 1218A may be a threaded hole. The top of the electronics housing may also have two holes 1218B and 1218C for allowing the wires 1214A and 1214B, respectively to exit the electronics housing.

[0052] Figure 12 further shows the electronics housing 1218 being provided with a spacer ring 1220 located over the top 1219. A potting compound is then placed through the existing holes, e.g., 1218A, 1218B, or 1218C to fill the electronics housing. The potting compound protects the electronics from violent oscillations. The figure also shows a body 1230 of the sensor 306 being attached to the wires 1214A and 1214B, which protrude through the top 1219. The wires 1214A and 1214B are electrically connected to a resistive element 1232, for example, by welding, with screws or with similar means. The resistive element 1232 is used in this embodiment to measure an ambient temperature. Other elements may be used if other sensors are used, for example, capacitive or inductive. The wires 1214A and 1214B may be tucked into the spacer ring 1220.

[0053] Figure 13 shows a top view of the sensor device 300 with a sensor enclosure 1320 (corresponding to element 702 in Figure 7A) placed over the body 1230 to protect the resistors 1232. The sensor enclosure 1320 has a top slit 1322 through which the top side of the body 1230 extends so that the top of the sensor enclosure 1320 and the top side of the body 1230 are flush. In this way, the top side of the body 1230 will be in direct contact with the formation in the well when the drill bill is lowered into the well. The sensor enclosure 1320 has a cylindrical shape, with the bottom end being opened and sized to tightly fit over the spacer ring 1220. The top of the sensor enclosure 1320 shows two optional threaded holes 1324 formed to receive a removal tool. The figure shows the sensor enclosure 1320 added to the spacer ring 1220. In one application, the sensor enclosure 1320 is press fitted over the spacer ring 1220 until the sensor enclosure 1320 touches the electronics housing 1218. In another application, the sensor enclosure is press fitted over the electronics housing. In yet another application, either the sensor enclosure 1320 or the electronics housing 1218 has a corresponding external, circumferential ridge 1330 that is sized to fit inside the groove 402 of the receptacle 400 shown in Figure 11 . [0054] Thus, the sensor enclosure 1320 of the sensor device 300 with the ridge/thread 1330 and the receptacle 400 with the groove 402 form an attachment kit 1340 that can be added to any well tool, either during the manufacturing of the well tool, or any other time after the manufacturing process. The kit may also include the other parts of the sensor device 300. In one application, the sensor enclosure 1320 does not touch the electronics housing 1218, so that the spacer ring 1220 is visible. No matter which approach is taken, an epoxy resin is then injected inside the sensor enclosure 1320, around the body 1230, to fill the slit 1322 defined by the sensor enclosure 1320, so that the probe 306 does not oscillate inside the slit. In one application, the slit extends longitudinally along the entire sensor enclosure.

[0055] The disclosed embodiments provide a sensor device and associated receptacle that are configured to be attached to a gauge portion of a drill bit or tool in a well. It should be understood that this description is not intended to limit the invention. On the contrary, the embodiments are intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which are included in the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Further, in the detailed description of the embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the claimed invention. However, one skilled in the art would understand that various embodiments may be practiced without such specific details.

[0056] Although the features and elements of the present embodiments are described in the embodiments in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements of the embodiments or in various combinations with or without other features and elements disclosed herein. [0057] This written description uses examples of the subject matter disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the same, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

References

The entire content of all the publications listed herein is incorporated by reference in this patent application.

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[2] U.S. Patent No. 4,877,096.

[3] U.S. Patent No. 5,737,980.

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