IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0797227
(2010-06-09)
|
등록번호 |
US-8478524
(2013-07-02)
|
우선권정보 |
CA-2691707 (2010-02-10) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Nielsen, Steven
- Chambers, Curtis
- Farr, Jeffrey
|
출원인 / 주소 |
- Certusview Technologies, LLC
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
21 인용 특허 :
284 |
초록
▼
Methods, apparatus, and systems for facilitating a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility. Marking information relating to the marking operations, including one or both of environmental information representative of at least one environmental cond
Methods, apparatus, and systems for facilitating a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility. Marking information relating to the marking operations, including one or both of environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed, and operating information representative of at least one operating condition of a marking device used to perform the marking operation, is electronically acquired. A marking material is dispensed to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility is dispensed, and the dispensing is controlled based at least in part on the acquired marking information.
대표청구항
▼
1. A marking apparatus for performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising: an actuator to dispense a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;at least one input de
1. A marking apparatus for performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising: an actuator to dispense a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;at least one input device to provide marking information regarding the marking operation, the marking information including at least one of: environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed; andoperating information representative of at least one operating condition of the marking apparatus;a memory to store processor-executable instructions;a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the actuator, and the at least one input device, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor controls a dispensing of the marking material based at least in part on the marking information provided by the at least one input device. 2. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device is an environmental sensor and wherein the marking information includes environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed. 3. The marking apparatus of claim 2, 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 in which the marking operation is performed. 4. The marking apparatus of claim 2, 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 the marking material is to be dispensed. 5. The marking apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one input device comprises a humidity sensor and wherein the at least one environmental condition is humidity of the environment in which the marking operation is performed. 6. The marking apparatus of claim 2, 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 in the environment in which the marking operation is performed. 7. The marking apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at least one input device is a communication interface of the marking apparatus configured to receive the environmental information. 8. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one input device is an operational sensor and wherein the marking information includes operating information representative of at least one operating condition of the marking apparatus. 9. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device comprises an inclinometer and wherein the at least one operating condition is a degree of inclination of the marking apparatus. 10. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device comprises a compass and wherein the at least one operating condition is a heading of the marking apparatus. 11. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device is a temperature sensor and wherein the at least one operating condition is a temperature of the processor. 12. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device is a proximity sensor and the at least one operating condition is a distance between the marking apparatus and a target surface. 13. The marking apparatus of claim 12, wherein the distance between the marking apparatus and a target surface is a distance between a tip of the marking apparatus and a surface on which the marking material is to be dispensed. 14. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device is a yaw rate sensor and wherein the at least one operating condition is a yaw rate of the marking apparatus. 15. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device is an accelerometer and wherein the at least one operating condition is an acceleration of the marking apparatus. 16. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device comprises a pressure sensor and wherein the at least one operating condition is a pressure applied to at least a portion of a housing of the marking apparatus. 17. The marking apparatus of claim 16, wherein the housing includes a handle, and wherein the at least one operating condition is a pressure applied to the handle. 18. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device comprises a pressure sensor and wherein the at least one operating condition is a pressure applied to the actuator. 19. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device is a device health sensor and wherein the at least one operating condition is indicative of an operating state of at least one component of the marking apparatus. 20. The marking apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one input device comprises an audio recorder and wherein the at least one operating condition is an acoustic signal emitted by dispensing of the marking material. 21. The marking apparatus of claim 20, further comprising a microphone coupled to the audio recorder and configured to detect the acoustic signal and provide an analog representation of the acoustic signal to the audio recorder. 22. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor inhibits dispensing of the marking material based at least in part on the marking information provided by the at least one input device. 23. The marking apparatus of claim 22, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor disables the actuator. 24. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor enables the actuator based at least in part on the marking information provided by the at least one input device to allow dispensing of the marking material. 25. The marking apparatus of claim 1, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor controls a duration of dispensing of the marking material. 26. The marking apparatus of claim 25, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor controls a number of dispensing actions triggered by a single actuation of the actuator. 27. A marking method for facilitating a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising: A) electronically acquiring marking information relating to the marking operation, the marking information including at least one of: environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed; andoperating information representative of at least one operating condition of a marking device used to perform the marking operation;B) dispensing a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility; andC) controlling B) based at least in part on the marking information acquired in A). 28. The method of claim 27, wherein A) comprises: electronically acquiring marking information including environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is located. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the environmental information is an ambient temperature of the environment in which the marking operation is located. 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the environmental information is a temperature of a target surface toward which the marking device is pointing. 31. The method of claim 28, wherein the environmental information is a humidity of the environment in which the marking operation is located. 32. The method of claim 28, wherein the environmental information is an amount of ambient light of the environment in which the marking operation is located. 33. The method of claim 28, wherein the environmental information is an altitude of the environment in which the marking operation is located. 34. The method of claim 28, wherein A) comprises electronically receiving the marking information via a communication interface of the marking device. 35. The method of claim 27, wherein A) comprises: electronically acquiring marking information including operating information representative of at least one operating condition of a marking device used to perform the marking operation. 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is a degree of inclination of the marking device. 37. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is a heading of the marking device. 38. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is a temperature of at least one processor of the marking device. 39. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is a distance between the marking device and a target surface. 40. The method of claim 39, wherein the distance between the marking device and a target surface is a distance between a tip of the marking device and a surface on which the marking material is to be dispensed. 41. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is a yaw rate of the marking device. 42. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is an acceleration of the marking device. 43. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is a pressure applied to at least a portion of a housing of the marking device. 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the housing includes a handle, and wherein the operating information is a pressure applied to the handle. 45. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is a pressure applied to at least one actuator of the marking device. 46. The method of claim 35, wherein the operating information is indicative of an operating state of at least one component of the marking device. 47. The method of claim 27, further comprising D) receiving data from an image capture device of the marking device. 48. The method of claim 27, further comprising D) acquiring audio input. 49. The method of claim 27, wherein C) comprises inhibiting dispensing of the marking material. 50. The method of claim 27, wherein C) comprises disabling an actuator of the marking device. 51. The method of claim 27, wherein C) comprises enabling an actuator of the marking device. 52. The method of claim 27, wherein C) comprises controlling a duration of dispensing of the marking material. 53. The method of claim 27, wherein dispensing of the marking material is initiated by actuation of an actuator of the marking device, and wherein C) comprises controlling a number of dispensing actions triggered by a single actuation of the actuator. 54. At least one computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method for facilitating a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising: A) electronically acquiring marking information relating to the marking operation, the marking information including at least one of: environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed; andoperating information representative of at least one operating condition of a marking device used to perform the marking operation;B) dispensing a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility; andC) controlling B) based at least in part on the marking information acquired in A).
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