METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING MARKING MATERIAL IN CONNECTION WITH UNDERGROUND FACILITY MARKING OPERATIONS BASED ON ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION AND/OR OPERATIONAL INFORMATION
First Claim
1. A marking apparatus for performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
- an actuator to dispense a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility;
at least one input device to provide marking information regarding the marking operation, the marking information including at least one of;
environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed; and
operating information representative of at least one operating condition of the marking apparatus;
a memory to store processor-executable instructions;
a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the actuator, and the at least one input device, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor controls a dispensing of the marking material based at least in part on the marking information provided by the at least one input device.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus, and systems for facilitating a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility. Marking information relating to the marking operations, including one or both of environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed, and operating information representative of at least one operating condition of a marking device used to perform the marking operation, is electronically acquired. A marking material is dispensed to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility is dispensed, and the dispensing is controlled based at least in part on the acquired marking information.
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. A marking apparatus for performing a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
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an actuator to dispense a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility; at least one input device to provide marking information regarding the marking operation, the marking information including at least one of; environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed; and operating information representative of at least one operating condition of the marking apparatus; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the actuator, and the at least one input device, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor controls a dispensing of the marking material based at least in part on the marking information provided by the at least one input device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A marking method for facilitating a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising:
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A) electronically acquiring marking information relating to the marking operation, the marking information including at least one of; environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed; and operating information representative of at least one operating condition of a marking device used to perform the marking operation; B) dispensing a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility; and C) controlling B) based at least in part on the marking information acquired in A). - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. At least one computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method for facilitating a marking operation to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising:
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A) electronically acquiring marking information relating to the marking operation, the marking information including at least one of; environmental information representative of at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking operation is performed; and operating information representative of at least one operating condition of a marking device used to perform the marking operation; B) dispensing a marking material to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility; and C) controlling B) based at least in part on the marking information acquired in A).
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Specification