DETECTION SYSTEM SUITABLE FOR IDENTIFYING AND TRACKING BURIED PIPES OR OTHER BODIES BURIED IN THE GROUND OR EMBEDDED IN CIVIL ENGINEERING WORKS

• US 20100109670A1
• Filed: 06/01/2007
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alloys Imphy, Societe Plymouth Francaise
• Original Assignee: Alloys Imphy, Societe Plymouth Francaise
• Inventors: Belloir, Fabian, Reyal, Jean-Pierre, Damour, Francois-Xavier, Arnaud, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US12/303,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20100109670A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/326
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 1/11 for the detection or protection of pipes in the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 15/00 Tags attached to, or associated with, an object, in order to enable detection of the object record carriers for use with machines having a detectable tag or marker G06K19/00

Abstract

The invention relates to a detection system suitable for identifying and tracking buried pipes or other bodies buried the ground or embedded in civil engineering works, which comprises: a coding device affixed to or integrated into the objects (1), taking the form of a succession of thin coding elements (3), each forming a surface of predetermined size, these elements being separated from one another, and their arrangement making it possible to define a code; and a detection device comprising at least one transmission coil (5), at least one reception coil (6) and a signal processing device for processing the signals coming from the various coils (5, 6), characterized in that at least some of the coding elements (3) are made of magnetic material, the detection device being designed to saturate or modify the point of operation of the coding elements (3) in their operating cycle, which then emit a frequency-rich signal made up of a wave having the fundamental frequency and waves having a frequency that is a multiple of the fundamental frequency, called harmonics, to gather and process the signal coming from these elements (3) and to reconstruct the coding of the object (1).

Claims

1. A detection system, designed for identifying and for tracking buried pipes and conduits or other bodies buried in the ground or embedded in civil engineering works, comprising:

a coding device, affixed to or integrated into the objects or placed at a pre-determined distance from the objects, taking the form of a succession of coding elements of limited thickness, each forming a surface with pre-determined dimensions, these elements being separated from one another, and their arrangement allowing a code to be defined,

a detection device comprising at least one transmission coil, at least one receiving coil, and

a device for processing the signals coming from the various coils,

wherein at least some of the coding elements are made from a magnetic material, the detection device being configured to saturate or modify the operating point of the coding elements within their operating cycle, which then emit a signal containing many frequencies, composed of a wave of fundamental frequency together with waves of a frequency multiple of the value of the fundamental frequency, called harmonics, to acquire and to process the signal coming from these elements, and to reconstitute the coding of the object.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements have a permeability lower than 200,000, a saturation induction less than 2 Tesla and a coercive field less than 1 A/m.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements are made from ferromagnetic alloy of the nano crystalline type.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the alloy has a composition of the type (Fe_74.5Si_13.5B9Nb₃Cu_x), fabricated by rapid quenching on a wheel rotating at high speed, or else alloys of the FeZrBCu type.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements are made from alloy of the nickel-iron or cobalt-iron type, from amorphous magnetic iron-based or cobalt-based alloy, from alloy of the iron-silicon type or made from steel.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements are coated with films, for example of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), of polyethylene (PE) or of polyamide.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements comprise several layers of different magnetic materials.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements comprise at least one layer of magnetic material and at least one layer of conducting material.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements, designed to equip a longitudinal body of the pipe or conduit type, come in the form of elongated tags, the coding elements being spaced out with respect to one another along the axis of the body and oriented along this axis and/or forming an angle with the latter.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements come in various forms and/or various dimensions.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the coding elements comprise at least one magnetic strip or wire.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coding elements comprise at least one layer of paint with a ferrite and/or nanocrystalline alloy powder base.