ELECTRONIC MANIFEST OF UNDERGROUND FACILITY LOCATE MARKS
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A manifest including an electronic file associated with a geographic location and a portion of the geographic location indicating a dig area is provided. The manifest includes indicia noting a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within the dig area.
221 Citations
71 Claims
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1-41. -41. (canceled)
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42. A method for generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a locate technician, the locate operation comprising identifying, using at least one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) electronically receiving an aerial image of a geographic area comprising the dig area, at least a portion of the received aerial image being displayed on a display device; B) adding to the displayed aerial image at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician during the locate operation so as to generate a marked-up digital image including the at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and C) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing the searchable electronic record of the locate operation, wherein the searchable electronic record comprises the marked-up digital image and a data set and wherein the data set comprises; geographical coordinates corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; a property address associated with the at least one physical locate mark; a timestamp indicative of when the locate operation occurred; a name of the locate technician; a name of a company responsible for performing the locate operation; and a ticket number associated with the locate operation. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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51. A computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at least one processing unit, perform a method of generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a locate technician, the locate operation comprising identifying, using at least one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the method comprising:
electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing a searchable electronic record of the locate operation, wherein the searchable electronic record comprises; (i) a marked-up digital image comprising; a digital image of a geographic area comprising the dig area, and at least one digital representation, marked on the digital image of the geographic area, of the at least one physical locate mark, and (ii) a data set associated with the marked-up digital image, the data set comprising; geographical coordinates corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; a property address associated with the at least one physical locate mark; a timestamp indicative of when the locate operation occurred; a name of the locate technician; a name of a company responsible for performing the locate operation; and a ticket number associated with the locate operation. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. An apparatus for facilitating generation of a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a locate technician, the locate operation comprising identifying, using at least one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
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a communication interface; a display device; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit coupled to the communication interface, the display device, and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store a searchable electronic record of the locate operation, wherein the searchable electronic record comprises; (i) a marked-up digital image comprising; a digital image of a geographic area comprising the dig area, and at least one digital representation, marked on the digital image of the geographic area, of the at least one physical locate mark, and (ii) a data set associated with the marked-up digital image, the data set comprising; geographical coordinates corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; a property address associated with the at least one physical locate mark; a timestamp indicative of when the locate operation occurred; a name of the locate technician; a name of a company responsible for performing the locate operation; and a ticket number associated with the locate operation. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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- 69. The apparatus of claim 69, in combination with the marking device, wherein the marking device comprises a GPS-enabled device.
Specification