Method of and system for rapidly locating all passive underground electronic marker types

• US 7,170,411 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2004
• Issued: 01/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tempo Communications, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tempo Research Corp. (Textron Inc)
• Inventors: Thompson, James W., Wood, William C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Previl; Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/800,301
• Publication Number:
  US 20040183680A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/568.1, 340/572.7, 340/10.1, 340/572.4, 340/551, 340/568.2, 340/5.32, 340/309.4, 340/853.7, 340/854.2, 340/854.5, 340/854.9, 340/855.5
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 3/009 Compensating quadrature phase or amplitude imbalances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2649 Demodulators
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/364 Arrangements for overcoming imperfections in the modulator, e.g. quadrature error or unbalanced I and Q levels

Abstract

A method of and system for rapidly locating all passive underground electronic marker types in an area under survey may locate various marker types simultaneously. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a marker locator may sequentially transmit and receive multiple frequencies very quickly; alternatively, the transmitter may transmit a broadband signal on multiple frequencies.

Claims

1. A method of locating multiple passive electronic marker types, said method comprising:

simultaneously transmitting a signal at each of a plurality of frequencies;

simultaneously receiving a signal from each of a plurality of markers; and

determining a marker type for each of the plurality of markers based upon said receiving, wherein said determining a marker type includes determining a frequency distribution of each received signal, and each received signal is passed in parallel through each of a plurality of narrow-band filters.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including displaying the identity of a located marker responsive to said determining.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, further including displaying a received signal strength for all marker types.

4. A method of locating multiple passive electronic marker types;

said method comprising;

simultaneously transmitting at each of a plurality of marker type frequencies;

simultaneously receiving a plurality of signals at a plurality of marker type frequencies; and

determining an amplitude value for each marker type frequency received responsive to said simultaneous transmitting and receiving, wherein said determining an amplitude value includes determining a frequency distribution of each received signal of the plurality of signals, each received signal of the plurality of received signals being passed in parallel through each of a plurality of narrow-band filters.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further including displaying a marker type associated with the greatest amplitude value responsive to said determining.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, including displaying an amplitude value for each marker type.

7. A method of locating multiple passive electronic marker types, said method comprising:

simultaneously transmitting a signal at each of a plurality of frequencies;

simultaneously receiving a signal from each of a plurality of markers; and

determining a marker type for each of the plurality of markers based upon said receiving, wherein said determining a marker type includes determining a frequency distribution of a received signal, the received signal from each of the plurality of markers is passed in parallel through each of a plurality of narrow-band filters, and each of the plurality of narrow-band filters is selected from a group consisting of a non-potable narrow-band filter, a CATV narrow-band filter, a sanitary narrow-band filter, a water narrow-band filter, and a gas narrow-band filter.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising displaying a marker type associated with the greatest amplitude value responsive to said determining.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, including displaying an amplitude value for each marker type.