METHODS, APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS FOR COMMUNICATING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGROUND FACILITY LOCATE AND MARKING OPERATIONS TO EXCAVATORS AND OTHER ENTITIES
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing information regarding a locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking, in response to at least one locate request ticket, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
- a communication interface;
a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and
a processing unit communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit;
controls the communication interface to receive input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete; and
based on the input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete, further controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store performance information concerning the locate and/or marking operation so as to inform at least one party associated with providing at least one locate request relating to the locate and/or marking operation of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, the performance information including at least one of the following;
i. a virtual white line image indicating the dig area;
ii. an electronic copy of a completed locate request ticket;
iii. an electronic manifest image showing details of the locate and/or marking operation;
iv. an electronic representation of the locate and/or marking operation; and
v. an indication that the locate and/or marking operation has been certified to meet a quality standard and/or approved.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus, and systems for providing information regarding a locate and/or marking operation to identify a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area. At least one notification indicating a status of the locate and/or marking operation is electronically transmitted and/or stored so as to inform at least one party associated with requesting the operation (a “requesting party,” e.g., an excavator, a property owner, a facility owner, a regulatory authority, a damage investigator, etc.) of the status of the operation. In one aspect, a requesting party may designate a preferred format, content, and/or method of receiving notifications regarding the locate and/or marking operation. In another aspect, a computer-generated GUI is provided to facilitate submission of requests, generation of “virtual white line” images to indicate one or more dig areas on a digital image of a work site, and/or selection of notifications and preferences for same. In yet another aspect, a requesting party may provide an acknowledgement of receipt (e.g., a “return receipt”) for one or more received notifications.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing information regarding a locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking, in response to at least one locate request ticket, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
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a communication interface; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; controls the communication interface to receive input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete; and based on the input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete, further controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store performance information concerning the locate and/or marking operation so as to inform at least one party associated with providing at least one locate request relating to the locate and/or marking operation of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, the performance information including at least one of the following; i. a virtual white line image indicating the dig area; ii. an electronic copy of a completed locate request ticket; iii. an electronic manifest image showing details of the locate and/or marking operation; iv. an electronic representation of the locate and/or marking operation; and v. an indication that the locate and/or marking operation has been certified to meet a quality standard and/or approved. - 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, 27)
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28. At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at least one processing unit, perform a method for providing information regarding a locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking, in response to at least one locate request ticket, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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receiving input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete; and based on the input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete, electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing performance information concerning the locate and/or marking operation so as to inform at least one party associated with providing at least one locate request relating to the locate and/or marking operation of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, the performance information including at least one of the following; a) a virtual white line image indicating the dig area; b) an electronic copy of a completed locate request ticket; c) an electronic manifest image showing details of the locate and/or marking operation; d) an electronic representation of the locate and/or marking operation; and e) an indication that the locate and/or marking operation has been certified to meet a quality standard and/or approved.
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29. A method for providing information regarding a locate and/or marking operation comprising detecting and/or marking, in response to at least one locate request ticket, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) receiving input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete; and B) based on the input indicating that the locate and/or marking operation is complete, electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing performance information concerning the locate and/or marking operation so as to inform at least one party associated with providing at least one locate request relating to the locate and/or marking operation of the performance of the locate and/or marking operation, the performance information including at least one of the following; a) a virtual white line image indicating the dig area; b) an electronic copy of a completed locate request ticket; c) an electronic manifest image showing details of the locate and/or marking operation; d) an electronic representation of the locate and/or marking operation; and e) an indication that the locate and/or marking operation has been certified to meet a quality standard and/or approved. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification