IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0859394
(2010-08-19)
|
등록번호 |
US-8620572
(2013-12-31)
|
우선권정보 |
CA-2713282 (2010-08-13) |
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Nielsen, Steven
- Chambers, Curtis
- Farr, Jeffrey
|
출원인 / 주소 |
- CertusView Technologies, LLC
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
20 인용 특허 :
267 |
초록
▼
Methods, apparatus and systems for determining the location of a marking device during performance of a marking operation using triangulation are described. The marking device may be of the type used to mark the presence or absence of underground facilities and may include a marking material dispens
Methods, apparatus and systems for determining the location of a marking device during performance of a marking operation using triangulation are described. The marking device may be of the type used to mark the presence or absence of underground facilities and may include a marking material dispenser to dispense marking material as an indicator. The marking device may include a transmitter which transmits a signal received by a receiving system including two or more receiving devices at separate locations. Triangulation algorithms may then be used to determine the location of the marking device relative to the receiving system.
대표청구항
▼
1. A system for tracking location of a marking device used to mark a presence or an absence of an underground facility during performance of a marking operation at a work site, the system comprising: the marking device comprising a transmitter configured to transmit a wireless signal;a first receivi
1. A system for tracking location of a marking device used to mark a presence or an absence of an underground facility during performance of a marking operation at a work site, the system comprising: the marking device comprising a transmitter configured to transmit a wireless signal;a first receiving system coupled to a vehicle at the work site, disposed at a first stationary location on the vehicle, and configured to receive the wireless signal and produce a first output signal;a second receiving system coupled to the vehicle, disposed at a second stationary location on the vehicle, and configured to receive the wireless signal and produce a second output signal;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the first receiving system and the second receiving system to receive the first output signal and the second output signal and to execute a triangulation algorithm utilizing the first output signal and the second output signal;a marking material dispenser; andan actuator configured to initiate dispensing of marking material from the marking material dispenser upon actuation of the actuator;wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit the wireless signal upon actuation of the actuator. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein: the wireless signal is a radio frequency signal;the transmitter is a radio frequency transmitter;the first receiving system includes a first receiving antenna; andthe second receiving system includes a second receiving antenna. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein: the wireless signal is an acoustic signal;the transmitter is an acoustic transmitter;the first receiving system includes a first acoustic transducer; andthe second receiving system includes a second acoustic transducer. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless signal comprises an identification of the marking device. 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the marking device further comprises storage storing the identification in electronic form. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the transmitter is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and wherein the storage is the RFID tag. 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising the vehicle. 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a passive transmitter, and wherein the system further comprises an interrogator configured to cause the transmitter to transmit the wireless signal. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the interrogator comprises at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna. 10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a location tracking system positioned at a known location relative to the first receiving antenna and the second receiving antenna. 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the location tracking system comprises a global positioning system (GPS) receiver. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the GPS receiver is coupled to the at least one processor and configured to provide an output signal indicative of location of the GPS receiver to the at least one processor. 13. The system of claim 1, wherein the marking device comprises a tip configured to be disposed proximate ground when the marking device is in use, wherein the transmitter is mechanically coupled to the marking device and disposed near the tip, and wherein the wireless signal is indicative of a location of the tip of the marking device. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the marking device further comprises a marking material dispenser configured proximate the tip of the marking device. 15. A system for tracking location of a marking device used to mark a presence or an absence of an underground facility during performance of a marking operation at a work site, the system comprising: the marking device comprising: a tip configured to be disposed proximate ground when the marking device is muse;a marking material dispenser disposed proximate the tip of the marking device and configured to dispense a marking material;an actuator operable by a user of the marking device to dispense the marking material;a wireless transmitter disposed proximate the tip of the marking device and coupled to the actuator, wherein the transmitter is configured to, in response to actuation of the actuator, transmit a wireless signal including an identification of the marking device;a first receiving antenna coupled to a vehicle and disposed at a first stationary location of the work site and configured to receive the wireless signal and produce a first output signal;a second receiving antenna coupled to the vehicle and disposed at a second stationary location of the work site and configured to receive the wireless signal and produce a second output signal;a global positioning system (GPS) receiver disposed at a third stationary location of the work site and configured to output a third output signal identifying the third stationary location; and;at least one processor communicatively coupled to the first receiving antenna, the second receiving antenna, and the GPS receiver to receive the first output signal, the second output signal, and the third output signal, and configured to execute a triangulation algorithm utilizing the first output signal, the second output signal, and the third output signal to determine a location of the tip of the marking device. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the wireless transmitter is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the RFID tag is a passive RFID tag, and wherein the system further comprises an RFID reader disposed at the work site remotely from the marking device and configured to read the RFID tag. 18. A method of tracking a location of a marking device, comprising an actuator, the marking device being used to mark a presence or an absence of an underground facility during performance of a marking operation at a work site, the method comprising: transmitting a wireless transmission signal from the marking device, upon actuation of the actuator, to multiple receivers disposed at respective fixed locations at a vehicle at the work site, the multiple receivers forming at least part of a triangulation system; andtriangulating, based on reception of the wireless transmission signal by the multiple receivers, the location of the marking device. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein triangulating the location of the marking device further comprises transmitting a wireless interrogation signal to the marking device to cause the marking device to send the wireless transmission signal. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the marking device comprises a marking material dispenser for dispensing marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the underground facility, and where triangulating the location of the marking device comprises triangulating a location of a portion of the marking device substantially corresponding to the marking material dispenser. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein triangulating the location of the portion of the marking device comprises triangulating the location of the portion only when marking material is being dispensed. 22. The method of claim 18, further comprising dispensing marking material from the marking device to mark the presence or the absence of the underground facility, and wherein triangulating the location of the marking device is performed in connection with the dispensing of the marking material.
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