SURFACE TRACKER
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surface tracker includes a tubular marker body having an interior electronic marker and a visual indicator attached to an upper end of the marker body which extends away from the marker body. When deployed, the marker body is mostly underground and the visual indictor extends upwardly from the ground level to provide above-ground visual recognition. The electronic marker may be a passive electronic marker that includes a ferrite core assembly having a longitudinal axis which is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the marker body. The visual indicator may be a plurality of resilient filaments which pass through a hole in a tab portion of the marker body at the upper end thereof, the filaments being folded about the tab portion and secured to the tab portion using a heat-shrink tube. In an exemplary embodiment, the filaments extend about six inches from the marker body and are brightly colored. Multiple trackers can be used to mark the path of a buried utility. Due to the resilient and durable nature of the filaments, they are resistant to wear and tear and the elements. The visual indication, along with the ability to electronically detect the marker, provides a tracker with superior locating capability.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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2. (canceled)
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3. (canceled)
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4. (canceled)
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5. (canceled)
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6. (canceled)
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7. (canceled)
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8. (canceled)
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9. An article comprising:
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a casing;
an electronic marker sealed in an interior portion of said casing; and
a visual indicator attached to and extending away from said casing, said visual indicator including at least one resilient polymeric filament and a flag attached to an end of said filament. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A surface tracker comprising:
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a tubular marker body having an interior chamber, a lower end, and an upper end;
a protrusion at said lower end of said tubular marker body to facilitate insertion of said tubular marker body into the ground;
an electronic marker located inside said interior chamber of said tubular marker body; and
a visual indicator attached to said upper end of said tubular marker body and extending away from said tubular marker body. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. (canceled)
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26. A method of tracking a particular field location, comprising the steps of:
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burying a tracker at the particular field location, the tracker having an electronic marker;
determining global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates of the buried tracker using a GPS receiver located at the particular field location;
recording a log entry indicative of the GPS coordinates;
after said burying, said determining and said recording, establishing a vicinity of the tracker using the log entry; and
locating the tracker by sensing the electronic marker at the vicinity of the tracker with an electronic receiver. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A method of deploying a surface tracker having a body portion with an electronic marker and a visual indicator attached to and extending away from the body portion, the method comprising:
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orienting the surface tracker such that the visual indicator extends vertically upward from the body portion;
placing the body portion in the ground; and
substantially burying the body portion with the visual indicator above the ground. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification