Omnidirectional sonde and line locator
First Claim
1. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating a buried object by sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted by the buried object, comprising:
- at least one antenna array including three substantially mutually orthogonal antennas each sharing a common center point;
a housing connected to and supporting the antenna array; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the antennas in the antenna array for sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted from a buried object and determining a location of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles in three dimensions.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
At least one antenna array including three mutually orthogonal antennas each sharing a common center point senses an electromagnetic signal emitted by a buried object such as a utility line, pipe or sonde. A circuit at least partially mounted in a housing is connected to the array and determines a location of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles in three dimensions without having to align the antenna array relative to the buried object while eliminating nulls and false peaks. A graphical user interface (GUI) has user-friendly icons, symbols, menus, numbers and graphical and auditory representation of signal strength. A SEARCH view indicates signal strength by showing a rotating strength indicator, a trace mode MAP view in which line location is shown by a line that moves side-to-side, and a sonde mode MAP view in which sonde location is shown by a moving line, pole and equator.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating a buried object by sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted by the buried object, comprising:
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at least one antenna array including three substantially mutually orthogonal antennas each sharing a common center point;
a housing connected to and supporting the antenna array; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the antennas in the antenna array for sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted from a buried object and determining a location of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles in three dimensions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16)
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11. A method of locating a buried object by sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted by the object, comprising:
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traversing a topside area beneath which an object emitting an electromagnetic signal is buried with at least one antenna array including three substantially mutually orthogonal antennas;
sensing the electromagnetic signal emitted from the buried object with the one array; and
determining a location of the buried object based on the sensed electromagnetic signal without having to align the antenna array relative to the buried object and while eliminating nulls and false peaks. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating a buried object by sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted by the object, comprising:
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a first antenna array including three substantially mutually orthogonal antennas in the form of a first plurality of coils sharing a first common center point;
a second antenna array including three substantially mutually orthogonal antennas in the form of a second plurality of coils sharing a second common center point;
a housing including a handle portion;
an elongate member connecting the first and second antenna arrays to the housing and extending through the first and second common center points and supporting the first and second antenna arrays in spaced apart relation; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the antennas in the first and second antenna arrays for sensing an electromagnetic signal having a frequency in a range of approximately 50 Hz to 500 kHz emitted by a buried object and determining a location and depth of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles in three dimensions utilizing the first and second antenna arrays, the circuit means including means for providing a visual and/or audible indication of the determined location and depth of the buried object.
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21. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating buried lines by sensing an electromagnetic signal, comprising:
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a manually portable housing including a display;
at least one antenna array mounted to the manually portable housing; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the manually portable housing and connected to the array for sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted from a buried line and determining a location of the buried line by measuring signal strength and field angles, including means for causing the display to indicate a graphic line that moves on the display to represent a location of the antenna array relative to the buried line.
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22. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating buried objects by sensing an electromagnetic signal, comprising:
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a housing including a display;
at least one antenna array mounted to the housing; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the array for sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted from a buried object and determining a location of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles, including means for causing the display to show a signal strength indicator that moves in a non-linear manner in a first direction in proportion to an increasing amount of electromagnetic signal sensed by the antenna array and in a second direction in proportion to a decreasing amount of electromagnetic signal sensed by the antenna array. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating buried objects using an electromagnetic signal, comprising:
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a housing including a display;
at least one antenna array mounted to the housing and including three mutually orthogonal antennas; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the array for sensing a substantially dipole electromagnetic field emitted by a buried sonde and determining a location of the buried sonde by measuring signal strength and field angles, including means for causing the display to indicate a sonde axis and at least one pole that moves on the display to represent a location of the antenna array relative to the buried sonde. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating buried lines using an electromagnetic signal, comprising:
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a housing including a display;
at least one antenna array mounted to the housing; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the array for sensing a substantially cylindrically shaped electromagnetic field emitted by a buried line and determining a location of the buried line by measuring signal strength and field angles, including means for causing the display to indicate representation of a globe in which the measured field angle is shown as being located on the pole if it is at ninety degrees and shown as being on the equator if it is at zero degrees.
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31. An omnidirectional manually portable system for locating buried objects by sensing an electromagnetic signal, comprising:
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a housing including a display;
at least one antenna array mounted to the housing; and
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the array for sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted from a buried object and determining a location of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles, including means for causing the display to show a currently sensed signal strength, means for storing a maximum sensed signal strength, and means for providing a visual indication whenever the current signal strength shown on the display is equal to the maximum signal strength that has been sensed during a locating session.
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32. A manually portable system for locating buried objects by sensing an electromagnetic signal, comprising:
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a housing including a display;
at least one antenna array mounted to the housing;
circuit means at least partially mounted in the housing and connected to the array for sensing an electromagnetic signal emitted from a buried object and determining a location of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles, including means for causing the display to show a sensed signal strength;
a plurality of markers; and
means connected to the housing for removably mounting the markers. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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Specification