ENHANCED PRECISE LOCATION

• US 20080309315A1
• Filed: 05/16/2008
• Published: 12/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MetroTech Corporation Inc.
• Original Assignee: MetroTech Corporation Inc.
• Inventors: LI, KUN
• Granted Patent: US 8,209,136 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/67
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/085 for detecting presence or location of electric lines or cables fault detection G01R31/50; fault location G01R31/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/081 the magnetic field is produced by the objects or geological structures characterised by the method of magnetic field measurement G01R33/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/165 operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified by the object or by the detecting device with electromagnetic waves G01V3/17
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/38 Processing data, e.g. for analysis, for interpretation, for correction

Abstract

A line locator includes a signal detector to detect signals from an underground line; an error modeler that models a phase error in the signal from neighboring underground lines; and an enhanced electromagnetic field modeler that provides a location of the underground line based on the signal and a result from the error modeler.

Claims

1. A line locator, comprising:

a plurality of coil detectors, each of the plurality of coil detectors oriented to measure a component of an electromagnetic field;

circuitry coupled to receive signals from the plurality of coil detectors and provide quadrature signals indicating a complex electromagnetic field strength;

a position locator for indicating a position of the line locator;

a processor coupled to receive the complex electromagnetic field strength and the position and calculate values related to a target line;

a memory configured to store instructions; and

a display coupled to the processor, the display indicating to a user the values related to the target line,

wherein the processor executes the instructions for performing the following;

modeling an expected complex field strength corresponding to complex field strengths and a phase error measured at the plurality of coil detectors at each of a plurality of positions determined by the position locator with the target line and a hypothesized number of bleedover cables to form a set of hypothesized values corresponding to a set of individual models for the target line for each of the hypothesized number of bleedover cables;

determining which of the set of individual models is a best model; and

determining parameters related to the target line from the best model.

2. The line locator of claim 1, wherein the parameters related to the target line include at least one estimated value chosen from a list consisting of a centerline position, depth of the target line, and a current carried in the target line.

3. The line locator of claim 1, wherein determining which of the set of individual models is the best model includes applying a cost function to each of the set of individual models and choosing the best model.

4. The line locator of claim 1, further including estimating a confidence interval for the hypothesized values associated with the best model.

5. The line locator of claim 1, wherein the plurality of coil detectors includes a first coil for determining a first electromagnetic field and a second coil for determining a second electromagnetic field strength from the second coil, the first coil being orthogonal to the second coil.

6. The line locator of claim 5, wherein the plurality of coil detectors includes a third coil for determining a third electromagnetic field, wherein the third coil is substantially parallel with the first coil.

7. The line locator of claim 1, wherein the position locator can indicate the position along the plurality of positions positioned along a path determined by inertial tracking.

8. The line locator of claim 1, wherein the position locator can detect pitch, roll, and yaw angles by inertial tracking and the processor can correct the complex electromagnetic field strengths for aberrations that occur while measuring the set of complex electromagnetic field strengths.

9. The line locator of claim 1, wherein modeling expected complex field strengths includes optimizing each of the set of individual models.

10. A method of locating an underground line, comprising:

measuring an electromagnetic field;

modeling a phase error based on the presence of lines neighboring the underground target line; and

utilizing the phase error in an enhanced electromagnetic field model to locate the target line.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying parameters related to the target line.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying values associated with the set of hypothesized values corresponding to a best model.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the values includes an indication of a number of neighboring lines utilized in the best model.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein an indication of the relative strength of different directions of detected electromagnetic field.

15. The method of claim 10, where measuring an electromagnetic field includes measuring a set of complex electromagnetic field strengths at a plurality of positions along a path that crosses the underground line.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein modeling the phase error includes modeling an expected complex field strength at each of the plurality of positions with the target line and a hypothesized number of bleedover lines to form a set of hypothesized values corresponding to a set of individual models for the underground line for each of the hypothesized number of bleedover lines.

17. The method of claim 16, further including estimating a confidence interval for the hypothesized values associated with a best model.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein modeling expected complex field strengths includes optimizing each of the set of individual models.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein optimizing includes applying a Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein utilizing the phase error includes determining which of the set of individual models is a best model, and determining parameters related to the target line from the best model.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the parameters related to the target line include at least one estimated value chosen from a list consisting of at least one of a centerline position, depth of the target line, and a current carried in the target line.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein determining which of the set of individual models is the best model includes:

applying a cost function to each of the set of individual models; and

choosing the best model.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the cost function includes a penalty for a number of neighboring lines used.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the cost function includes a mean square error fit to the set of complex electromagnetic field strengths.

25. The method of claim 22, further including rejecting false positive locates due to excessive noise and interference.

26. The method of claim 22, further including optimizing the cost function.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the optimizing includes applying a global grid search algorithm.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the optimizing includes applying a minimum norm algorithm.

29. The method of claim 15, wherein measuring a set of complex electromagnetic field strengths includes traversing a handheld locate receiver over the target line by walking.

30. The method of claim 15, wherein measuring a set of complex electromagnetic field strengths includes traversing a handheld locate receiver over the target line by using a pull cart.

31. The method of claim 15, wherein measuring a set of complex electromagnetic field strengths includes determining a first electromagnetic field strength from a first coil and determining a second electromagnetic field strength from a second coil, the first coil being orthogonal to the second coil.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein measuring a set of complex electromagnetic field strengths includes determining a third electromagnetic field strength from a third coil, wherein the third coil is substantially parallel with a position of the first coil.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the first coil and the second coil are oriented in a “

V”

configuration, with one coil tilted above horizontal and the other tilted below horizontal, both of which are aligned in a direction transverse to a line direction.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein modeling an expected complex field strength includes employing a first field model to estimate the first electromagnetic field strength by adjusting the hypothesized values and employing a second field model to estimate the second electromagnetic field strength by adjusting the hypothesized values.

35. The method of claim 34, further including detecting pitch, roll, and yaw angles by inertial tracking and correcting the complex electromagnetic field strengths for aberrations that occur while measuring the set of complex electromagnetic field strengths.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein a best field model to be utilized for determining the first electromagnetic field strength and the second electromagnetic field strength is chosen for each of the plurality of positions depending on which of the first electromagnetic field strength or second electromagnetic field strength is stronger, thereby avoiding null fields sensed by one of the first coil or the second coil by replacing that complex field measurement with values from an alternative model.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein a dedicated digital phase locked loop operates on the signal from each of the first coil and the second coil, thereby enhancing performance when null fields are sensed by one of the first coil and the second coil and are at a maximum on the other of the first coil and the second coil.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the first coil and the second coil includes:

a horizontal coil arranged to detect a horizontal component of an electromagnetic field; and

a vertical coil arranged to detect a vertical component of the electromagnetic field.

39. The method of claim 15, wherein measuring a set of complex electromagnetic field strengths includes measuring electromagnetic field strengths with three orthogonal coils, and modeling an expected complex field strength includes utilizing a full three-dimensional field model that adjusts the hypothesized values to estimate the complex electromagnetic field strengths.

40. The method of claim 15, wherein measuring a set of complex electromagnetic field strengths includes measuring electromagnetic field strengths with three orthogonal coils and wherein modeling an expected complex field strength includes utilizing a two dimensional field model that relates the set of hypothesized values to generate the expected complex field strength at two of the three orthogonal coils and utilizes a third of the three orthogonal coils to validate that the path is roughly perpendicular to a direction along a length of the target line.

41. The method of claim 15, wherein an amplitude and phase of the complex electromagnetic field strengths are derived from demodulated in-phase and quadrature signals.

42. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of positions along the path are determined by inertial tracking.

43. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of positions along the path are determined by stereo imaging.

44. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of positions along the path are determined by laser or ultrasonic rangefinding.

45. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of positions along the path are determined with a measuring wheel.

46. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of positions along the path are determined using remote sensing.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the remote sensing includes detection of tick marks on a tape measure.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the remote sensing includes user input that a predetermined measurement position has been reached.

49. A line locator, comprising:

a signal detector to detect signals from an underground line;

an error modeler that models a phase error in the signal from neighboring underground lines; and

an enhanced electromagnetic field modeler that provides a location of the underground line based on the signal and a result from the error modeler.