METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING UNBUFFERED DIG AREA INDICATORS ON AERIAL IMAGES TO DELIMIT PLANNED EXCAVATION SITES
First Claim
1. In a system comprising at least one processing unit, at least one memory, at least one communication interface, and at least one user interface device including at least one display device, a computer-facilitated method for indicating a precise geographic extent and a precise geographic location of at least one dig area at a work site at which excavation is planned so as to facilitate detection and/or marking of a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility in the at least one dig area, the method comprising:
- A) providing for display on the at least one display device a graphical user interface comprising;
A1) at least one aerial image of a geographic area proximate to and including the work site and the at least one dig area; and
A2) at least one drawing tool to facilitate placement, by a user of the at least one user interface device, of at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image, wherein the at least one aerial image provides a primary basis on which the user places the at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image;
B) receiving input from the user, using the at least one drawing tool via the at least one user interface device, to delimit the precise geographic extent and the precise geographic location of the at least one dig area on the displayed at least one aerial image so as to form the at least one dig area indicator representing at least one unbuffered dig area and thereby generate a marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator;
C) after B), determining a plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and
D) storing in the at least one memory, and/or transmitting via the at least one communication interface, a locate request ticket to facilitate detection and/or marking of the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility, the locate request ticket including at least one of;
the marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area;
the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and
a link to a webpage at which the marked-up aerial image may be viewed and/or the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area may be accessed.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Indicating a precise geographic extent and a precise geographic location of a dig area at a work site at which excavation is planned, to facilitate detection and/or marking of a presence or an absence of an underground facility in the dig area. A graphical user interface includes an aerial image of a geographic area proximate to and including the work site and the dig area, and a drawing tool to facilitate placement of one or more dig area indicators on the aerial image. A user uses the drawing tool to delimit the precise geographic extent and the precise geographic location of the dig area(s) on the displayed aerial image so as to form the dig area indicator(s), representing unbuffered dig areas, and thereby generate a marked-up aerial image. Geographic coordinates are determined corresponding to the unbuffered dig area(s) represented by the dig area indicator(s). A locate request ticket is generated that includes the marked-up aerial image itself, the geographic coordinates corresponding to the unbuffered dig area(s), and/or a link to a webpage at which the marked-up aerial image may be viewed and/or the geographic coordinates may be accessed.
188 Citations
21 Claims
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1. In a system comprising at least one processing unit, at least one memory, at least one communication interface, and at least one user interface device including at least one display device, a computer-facilitated method for indicating a precise geographic extent and a precise geographic location of at least one dig area at a work site at which excavation is planned so as to facilitate detection and/or marking of a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility in the at least one dig area, the method comprising:
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A) providing for display on the at least one display device a graphical user interface comprising; A1) at least one aerial image of a geographic area proximate to and including the work site and the at least one dig area; and A2) at least one drawing tool to facilitate placement, by a user of the at least one user interface device, of at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image, wherein the at least one aerial image provides a primary basis on which the user places the at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image; B) receiving input from the user, using the at least one drawing tool via the at least one user interface device, to delimit the precise geographic extent and the precise geographic location of the at least one dig area on the displayed at least one aerial image so as to form the at least one dig area indicator representing at least one unbuffered dig area and thereby generate a marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator; C) after B), determining a plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and D) storing in the at least one memory, and/or transmitting via the at least one communication interface, a locate request ticket to facilitate detection and/or marking of the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility, the locate request ticket including at least one of; the marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and a link to a webpage at which the marked-up aerial image may be viewed and/or the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area may be accessed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by at least one processing unit, perform a method for indicating a precise geographic extent and a precise geographic location of at least one dig area at a work site at which excavation is planned so as to facilitate detection and/or marking of a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility in the at least one dig area, the method comprising:
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A) providing for display on the at least one display device a graphical user interface comprising; A1) at least one aerial image of a geographic area proximate to and including the work site and the at least one dig area; and A2) at least one drawing tool to facilitate placement, by a user of the at least one user interface device, of at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image, wherein the at least one aerial image provides a primary basis on which the user places the at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image; B) receiving input from the user, using the at least one drawing tool via the at least one user interface device, to delimit the precise geographic extent and the precise geographic location of the at least one dig area on the displayed at least one aerial image so as to form the at least one dig area indicator representing at least one unbuffered dig area and thereby generate a marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator; C) after B), determining a plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and D) storing in the at least one memory, and/or transmitting via the at least one communication interface, a locate request ticket to facilitate detection and/or marking of the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility, the locate request ticket including at least one of; the marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and a link to a webpage at which the marked-up aerial image may be viewed and/or the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area may be accessed.
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21. An apparatus for indicating a precise geographic extent and a precise geographic location of at least one dig area at a work site at which excavation is planned so as to facilitate detection and/or marking of a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility in the at least one dig area, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one memory to store processor-executable instructions; at least one communication interface; at least one user interface device including at least one display device; and at least one processing unit communicatively coupled to the at least one memory, the at least one communication interface, and the at least one user interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; A) controls the at least one user interface to provide for display on the at least one display device a graphical user interface comprising; A1) at least one aerial image of a geographic area proximate to and including the work site and the at least one dig area; and A2) at least one drawing tool to facilitate placement, by a user of the at least one user interface device, of at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image, wherein the at least one aerial image provides a primary basis on which the user places the at least one dig area indicator on the displayed at least one aerial image; B) controls the at least one communication interface and/or the at least one user interface to receive input from the user, using the at least one drawing tool via the at least one user interface device, to delimit the precise geographic extent and the precise geographic location of the at least one dig area on the displayed at least one aerial image so as to form the at least one dig area indicator representing at least one unbuffered dig area and thereby generate a marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator; C) after B), determines a plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and D) controls the at least one memory and/or the at least one communication interface to store in the at least one memory, and/or transmit via the at least one communication interface, a locate request ticket to facilitate detection and/or marking of the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility, the locate request ticket including at least one of; the marked-up aerial image including the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area; and a link to a webpage at which the marked-up aerial image may be viewed and/or the plurality of geographic coordinates corresponding to the at least one dig area indicator representing the at least one unbuffered dig area may be accessed.
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Specification