IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0703958
(2010-02-11)
|
등록번호 |
US-8442766
(2013-05-14)
|
우선권정보 |
CA-2691707 (2010-02-10) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Nielsen, Steven
- Chambers, Curtis
- Farr, Jeffrey
|
출원인 / 주소 |
- Certusview Technologies, LLC
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
4 인용 특허 :
261 |
초록
▼
Marking information relating to use of a marking device to perform a marking operation may be acquired from one or more input devices, logged/stored in local memory of a marking device, formatted in various manners, processed and/or analyzed at the marking device itself, and/or transmitted to anothe
Marking information relating to use of a marking device to perform a marking operation may be acquired from one or more input devices, logged/stored in local memory of a marking device, formatted in various manners, processed and/or analyzed at the marking device itself, and/or transmitted to another device (e.g., a remote computer/server) for storage, processing and/or analysis. In one example, a marking device may include one or more environmental sensors and/or operational sensors, and the marking information may include environmental information and operational information derived from such sensors. Environmental and/or operational information may be used to control operation of the marking device, assess out-of-tolerance conditions in connection with use of the marking device, and/or provide alerts or other feedback. Additional enhancements are disclosed relating to improving the determination of a location (e.g., GPS coordinates) of a dispensing tip of the marking device during use, a group/solo mode, and tactile functionality of a user interface.
대표청구항
▼
1. A marking apparatus for use in performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the marking apparatus comprising: a hand-held housing;at least one processor disposed within the hand-held housing;a holder configured to hold to the hand-held
1. A marking apparatus for use in performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the marking apparatus comprising: a hand-held housing;at least one processor disposed within the hand-held housing;a holder configured to hold to the hand-held housing at least one marking dispenser containing a marking material;at least one actuator configured to actuate the marking dispenser to dispense a marking material; andat least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking apparatus is located and provide an output signal to the at least one processor indicative of the sensed at least one environmental condition,wherein the at least one processor is programmed with processor-executable instructions which, when executed, cause the at least one processor to compare the output signal of the at least one input device to at least one target value and wherein the at least one processor is further configured to disable the at least one actuator in response to the comparison of the output signal of the at least one input device to the at least one target value. 2. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device comprises a temperature sensor and wherein the at least one environmental condition is an ambient temperature of the environment. 3. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device comprises a temperature sensor and wherein the at least one environmental condition is a surface temperature of a surface on which marking material is to be dispensed. 4. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device comprises a humidity sensor and wherein the at least one environmental condition is humidity of the environment. 5. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device comprises a light sensor and wherein the at least one environmental condition is an amount of ambient light of the environment. 6. The marking apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a light source. 7. The marking apparatus of claim 6, wherein the light source is configured to be automatically activated in response to the output signal indicating the amount of ambient light is below a threshold value. 8. The marking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an image capture device configured to capture an image of the environment. 9. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device comprises an audio recorder configured to record acoustic signals from the environment, and wherein the output signal represents at least part of a recording of the audio recorder. 10. The marking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising memory disposed within the hand-held housing, communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and configured to store the at least one target value. 11. The marking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a location tracking system communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to determine a geo-location of the apparatus. 12. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device comprises a first input device configured to sense a first environmental condition of the environment in which the marking apparatus is located and a second input device configured to sense a second environmental condition of the environment in which the marking apparatus is located, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to process an output signal of the first input device in combination with an output signal of the second input device to assess a state of the environment in which the marking apparatus is located. 13. The marking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense an operating condition of the marking apparatus and provide an output signal to the at least one processor indicative of the sensed operating condition. 14. The marking apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense an operating condition of the marking apparatus is an accelerometer, and wherein the operating condition is an acceleration of the marking apparatus. 15. The marking apparatus of claim 14, wherein the accelerometer is a first accelerometer located at a first position of the marking apparatus, and wherein the marking apparatus further comprises a second accelerometer located at a second position of the marking apparatus. 16. The marking apparatus of claim 15, wherein each of the first and second accelerometers is a three-axis accelerometer. 17. The marking apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense an operating condition of the apparatus is an accelerometer configured to sense an inclination of the marking apparatus. 18. The marking apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense an operating condition of the marking apparatus is an inclinometer and wherein the operating condition is an inclination of the marking apparatus. 19. The marking apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense an operating condition of the marking apparatus is a proximity sensor and wherein the operating condition is a distance. 20. The marking apparatus of claim 19, wherein the operating condition is a distance of the marking apparatus to a target surface. 21. The marking apparatus of claim 20, wherein the proximity sensor is configured proximate to a tip of the marking apparatus and wherein the operating condition is a distance of the tip of the marking apparatus to the target surface. 22. The marking apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense an operating condition of the marking apparatus is a yaw rate sensor and wherein the operating condition is a yaw rate of the marking apparatus. 23. The marking apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a location tracking system communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to determine a geo-location of the apparatus. 24. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device comprises an altitude sensor and wherein the at least one environmental condition is an altitude of the marking apparatus. 25. A marking apparatus for use in performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the marking apparatus comprising: a hand-held housing;at least one processor disposed within the hand-held housing;a holder configured to hold to the hand-held housing at least one marking dispenser containing a marking material;at least one actuator configured to actuate the marking dispenser to dispense the marking material;a location tracking system configured to determine a location of the apparatus;a temperature sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense an ambient temperature of an environment in which the marking apparatus is located and provide a first output signal indicative of the ambient temperature to the at least one processor;a humidity sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense humidity of the environment in which the marking apparatus is located and provide a second output signal indicative of the humidity to the at least one processor,wherein the at least one processor is programmed with processor-executable instructions which, when executed, cause the at least one processor to compare the first output signal to a target ambient temperature range for dispensing the marking material and the second output signal to a target humidity range for dispensing the marking material, and, in response to determining that one or both of the first output signal and the second output signal is indicative an out-of-range ambient temperature and/or out-of-range humidity, do at least one of (i) generate an alert to a technician using the marking apparatus and (ii) disable the at least one actuator. 26. A marking apparatus for use in performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the marking apparatus comprising: a hand-held housing;at least one processor disposed within the hand-held housing;a holder configured to hold to the hand-held housing at least one marking dispenser containing a marking material;at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking apparatus is located and provide an output signal to the at least one processor indicative of the sensed at least one environmental condition; anda tactile indicator configured to generate a tactile alert in response to the output signal being provided to the at least one processor by the at least one input device.
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