1. A method of controlling fluid flow between a formation and a wellbore, the method comprising:
conveying a retrievable communication device including a control unit through a tubular to a selected location in the wellbore;
obtaining a measurement of a downhole parameter at a downhole sensor included in the tubular;
communicating a signal corresponding to the measurement of the downhole parameter from the downhole sensor to the retrievable communication device at the selected location via a downhole control node included in the tubular;
determining a control signal in response to the signal corresponding to the measurement of the downhole parameter at the control unit; and
communicating the determined control signal from the retrievable communication device to a flow control device included in the tubular via the control node to control the fluid flow between the formation and the wellbore.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein conveying the retrievable communication device comprises conveying the retrievable communication device via one of a wireline or a slickline.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein:
conveying the retrievable communication device comprises conveying an inductive coupling device; and
communicating signals between the retrievable communication device and the control node comprises inductively transmitting signals between the inductive coupling device and the control node.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising producing a fluid from the formation while the retrievable communication device is downhole.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the fluid flow comprises adjusting a position of a flow control device to control a flow rate.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising communicating between the control node and the retrievable communication device wirelessly via an inductive coupling.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the downhole parameter is selected from a group consisting of: (i) flow rate; (ii) resistivity; (iii) an acoustic property; (iv) pressure; (v) temperature; (vi) a nuclear magnetic resonance property; (vii) a chemical property of the fluid; (viii) a physical property of the fluid; and (ix) an optical property of the fluid.
8. The method of claim 1, comprising retrieving the retrievable communication device uphole after controlling the fluid flow.
9. An apparatus for controlling a fluid flow rate downhole, comprising:
a retrievable communication device configured to be conveyed downhole to a selected location in a tubular;
a control node included in the tubular at the selected location configured to communicate with the retrievable communication device at the selected location;
a sensor included in the tubular and coupled to the control node configured to provide a signal relating to a downhole parameter to the retrievable communication device via the control node; and
a control unit of the retrievable communication device and conveyed downhole with the retrievable communication device, the control unit configured to determine a control signal from the signal relating to the downhole parameter provided by the sensor; and
a flow control device included in the tubular and coupled to the control node and configured to receive the control signal from the retrievable communication device via the control node and control the fluid flow rate of the flow control device based on the received control signal, wherein at least one of the sensor and the flow control device are not at the selected location.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the retrievable communication device is configured to be conveyed downhole via one of a wireline or a slickline.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the retrievable communication device comprises an inductive coupling device configured to inductively transmit signals to the control node.
12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the flow control device is configured to produce a fluid from a formation while the retrievable communication device is downhole.
13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the retrievable communication device is configured to be retrieved uphole after controlling the flow rate.
14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the control node is located uphole of the at least one of the sensor and the flow control device and communicates with the at least one of the sensor and the flow control device via a network.
15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the downhole parameter is selected from the group consisting of: flow rate; resistivity; an acoustic property, pressure, temperature, a nuclear magnetic resonance property, a chemical property of the fluid, a physical property of the fluid; and an optical property of the fluid.
16. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of flow control devices and a plurality of sensors, wherein the control node is configured to communicate with the plurality of flow control devices and the plurality of sensors.
17. An apparatus for controlling a fluid flow rate downhole, comprising:
a control node included in a production string at a selected location configured to inductively communicate with a retrievable communication device including a control unit conveyed through a bore of the production string to the selected location;
a sensor in the production string configured to communicate a downhole parameter to the retrievable communication device via the control node; and
a flow control device in the production string configured to receive a control signal from the retrievable communication device via control node to control the fluid flow rate for the flow control device based on the control signal, wherein the control signal is determined at the control unit of the retrievable communication device in response to the communicated downhole parameter.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the flow control device is configured to produce a fluid from the formation while the retrievable communication device is downhole.
19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the retrievable communication device is configured to be deployed downhole temporarily to communicate with the flow control device and sensor.
20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the control node comprises an inductive coupling and the retrievable communication device comprises an inductive coupling, wherein the control node and retrievable communication device communicate wirelessly with each other using the inductive couplings.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method comprising:
receiving at a first user device a query from a second user device for encrypted data, the query being associated with a first user, the first user being described according to a first set of criteria;
based, at least in part, on the query and one or more second sets of criteria associated with a second user, determining by the first user device whether at least one of the second sets of criteria are matched, at least in part, to the first set of criteria; and
associating by the first user device the query with the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria used as a public key for encrypting the encrypted data according to an identity-based encryption scheme,
wherein the first set of criteria and the at least one of the second sets of criteria include one or more digital right management compliant requirements.
2. A method of claim 1, further comprising:
causing, at least in part, presentation of the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria to the second user,
receiving an input, from the second user, for selecting one of the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria;
causing, at least in part, reception by the second user device of the encrypted data, wherein the encrypted data was encrypted by the first user to share with others before the query is transmitted; and
causing, at least in part, decryption by the second user device the encrypted data based, at least in part, on the selected second set of criteria.
3. A method of claim 2, wherein the decryption further comprises:
causing, at least in part, transmission by the second user device a request for a decryption key for the selected second set of criteria;
verifying that the second user satisfies the selected one of the second sets of criteria by determining one or more access rights of the second user; and
causing, at least in part, transmission of the decryption key to the second user device in response to the request upon verifying that the second user satisfies the selected one of the second sets of criteria,
wherein the decryption is based, at least in part, on the decryption key.
4. A method of claim 1, wherein an information store maintains the set of criteria associated with the first user, the method further comprising:
negotiating with the information store to store, publish, keep confidential, or a combination thereof all or some of the first set of criteria.
5. A method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:
formatting the first set of criteria, the second sets of criteria, the query, the encrypted data, or a combination thereof respectively into predetermined information representation structures;
constructing reduced ordered binary decision diagrams from the information representation structures; and
computing a hash identifier corresponding to respective ones of the reduced ordered binary decision diagrams,
wherein the first set of criteria, the second sets of criteria, the query, the encrypted data, or a combination thereof are transmitted or received in as at least one of the information representation structure, the reduced ordered binary decision diagram, and the hash identifier.
6. An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including computer program code,
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus embedded in a first user device to perform at least the following,
receive a query from a second user device for encrypted data, the query being associated with a first user, the first user being described according to a first set of criteria;
based, at least in part, on the query and one or more second sets of criteria associated with a second user, determine whether at least one of the second sets of criteria are matched, at least in part, to the first set of criteria; and
set the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria as a public key for encrypting data, associated with the query, according to an identity-based encryption scheme,
wherein the first set of criteria and the at least one of the second sets of criteria include one or more digital right management compliant requirements.
7. An apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:
cause, at least in part, presentation of the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria to the second user,
receive an input, from the second user, for selecting one of the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria;
cause, at least in part, reception by the second user device of the encrypted data, wherein the encrypted data was encrypted by the first user to share with others before the query is transmitted; and
cause, at least in part, decryption by the second user device the encrypted data based, at least in part, on the selected second set of criteria.
8. An apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:
cause, at least in part, transmission by the second user device a request for a decryption key for the selected second set of criteria;
verify that the second user satisfies the selected one of the second sets of criteria by determining one or more access rights of the second user; and
cause, at least in part, transmission of the decryption key to the second user device in response to the request upon verifying that the second user satisfies the selected one of the second sets of criteria,
wherein the decryption is based, at least in part, on the decryption key.
9. A method comprising:
receiving at one or more second user devices a query sent from a first user device as made by a first user for encrypted data, the first user being described according to a first set of criteria;
matching, by the one or more second user devices, one or more second sets of criteria with all or part of the first set of criteria, wherein the matching defines respective second users who are qualified to receive the query, and wherein at least one of the second sets of criteria is matched with all or part of the first set of criteria and was used by a respective second user as a public key for encrypting data to be shared with others, the encrypted data is associated with the respective second user and was encrypted according to an identity-based encryption scheme; and
causing, at least in part, transmission of the at least one of the second sets of criteria to the first user device,
wherein the first set of criteria and the at least one of the second sets of criteria include one or more digital right management compliant requirements.
10. A method of claim 9, wherein the first set of criteria, the second sets of criteria, or a combination thereof include at least one of a user personality feature, a technical capability of the first device, a usage pattern of the first device, an environmental condition in which the first device is used, and context information associated with the first device.
11. A method of claim 9, further comprising:
receiving a request, from the first user device, for a decryption key for the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria;
causing, at least in part, verification of whether the first set of criteria substantially describe the first user; and
causing, at least in part, transmission of the decryption key based, at least in part, on the verification.
12. A method of claim 11, wherein the verification comprises at least one of:
determining one or more access rights associated with the first user; and
causing, at least in part, comparison of all or part of the first set of criteria against information associated with the first user that is available locally or externally, the information including an online or offline public record, a transaction history, an activity history, a history of visited locations, an interaction history, associated communication content items, associated memberships, or a combination thereof.
13. A method of claim 11, wherein the verification and the transmission are performed by a private key generator, the information store, or a combination thereof.
14. An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including computer program code,
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus embedded in one of a plurality of second user devices to perform at least the following,
receive a query sent from a first user device as made by a first user for data that is encrypted, the first user being described according to a first set of criteria;
match one or more second sets of criteria with all or part of the first set of criteria, wherein the matching defines respective second users who are qualified to receive the query for data, and wherein at least one of the second sets of criteria is matched with all or part of the first set of criteria and was used by a respective second user as a public key for encrypting data to be shared with others, the encrypted data is associated with the respective second user and was encrypted according to an identity-based encryption scheme; and
cause, at least in part, transmission of the at least one of the second sets of criteria to the first user device,
wherein the first set of criteria and the at least one of the second sets of criteria include one or more digital right management compliant requirements.
15. An apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first set of criteria, the second sets of criteria, or a combination thereof include at least one of a user personality feature, a technical capability of the first device, a usage pattern of the first device, an environmental condition in which the first device is used, and context information associated with the first device.
16. An apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:
receive a request, from the first user device, for a decryption key for the matched at least one of the second sets of criteria;
cause, at least in part, verification of whether the first set of criteria substantially describe the first user; and
cause, at least in part, transmission of the decryption key based, at least in part, on the verification.
17. An apparatus of claim 16, wherein in performing verification, the apparatus is further caused to:
determine one or more access rights associated with the first user; and
cause, at least in part, comparison of all or part of the first set of criteria against information associated with the first user that is available locally or externally, the information including an online or offline public record, a transaction history, an activity history, a history of visited locations, an interaction history, associated communication content items, associated memberships, or a combination thereof.
18. A method of claim 1, further comprising:
formatting by the first user device the public key into a predetermined information representation structure;
constructing by the first user device a reduced ordered binary decision diagram from the information representation structure of the public key; and
causing, at last in part by the first user device, storage of the decision diagram of the public key.
19. A method of claim 1, wherein the first set of criteria and the second set of criteria include one or more physical features, one or more personal interests, or a combination thereof, of the first user, the second user, or a combination thereof.
20. A method of claim 5, wherein the one or more digital right management compliant requirements are formatted into one or more portions of predetermined information representation structures and constructed as one or more portions of the reduced ordered binary decision diagrams.