Method and apparatus for monitoring the relative position of a cable boring head during a boring operation
First Claim
1. A method for accurately monitoring the position of a boring head relative to a buried utility conveyance during a boring operation in the vicinity of the conveyance, comprising the steps of:
- impressing on the conveyance a pulsed, lower power signal whose pulse pattern is unique to an owner of the conveyance;
the signal being detectable within a limited distance from the conveyance corresponding to a minimum allowable distance between the boring head and the conveyance;
detecting, via at least one detector carried by the boring head, whether the signal is present; and
interrupting movement of the boring head upon detection of the signal.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
To more accurately detect the position of a boring head (16) relative to a utility conveyance (22) during a boring operation, the conveyance carries a low power, pulsed signal. The signal is detectable only with a limited distance from the conveyance corresponding to a minimum allowable distance between the boring head and the conveyance. The boring head (16) carries at least one detector (28) for detecting the signal radiated by the cable. If the detector (28) detects the signal, then the boring head is too close and boring operation is interrupted.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A method for accurately monitoring the position of a boring head relative to a buried utility conveyance during a boring operation in the vicinity of the conveyance, comprising the steps of:
-
impressing on the conveyance a pulsed, lower power signal whose pulse pattern is unique to an owner of the conveyance;
the signal being detectable within a limited distance from the conveyance corresponding to a minimum allowable distance between the boring head and the conveyance;detecting, via at least one detector carried by the boring head, whether the signal is present; and interrupting movement of the boring head upon detection of the signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. Apparatus for more accurately determining the position of a boring head relative to an existing buried utility conveyance during a boring operation in the vicinity of the conveyance, comprising:
-
means for impressing a pulsed, low-power, low frequency signal on the buried utility conveyance whose pulse pattern is unique to an owner of the conveyance such that the signal radiates a limited distance from the conveyance corresponding to a minimum allowable distance between the boring head and the conveyance; means carried by the boring head for detecting if the signal is present; and means associated with the detector for determining how strong the signal is to determine whether the boring head is to close to the buried conveyance. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
Specification