Apparatus for distinguishing false signals in cable locating

• US 7,397,249 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2006
• Issued: 07/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Merlin Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Merlin Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Mercer, John E., Chau, Albert W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patidar; Jay M
• Application Number:
  US11/557,432
• Publication Number:
  US 20070170908A1
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• Field of Search: 324 66- 67, 324326-329
• US Class Current: 324/326
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/08 operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified by objects or geological structures or by detecting devices with electromagnetic waves G01V3/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/12 operating with electromagnetic waves operating with millimetre waves G01V8/005
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/165 operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified by the object or by the detecting device with electromagnetic waves G01V3/17
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/17 operating with electromagnetic waves operating with millimetre waves G01V8/005

Abstract

Discriminating between a cable locating signal and a false cable locating signal is described. A reference signal, which contains a locating signal frequency impressed on it, is transmitted in a way which provides for detection of a phase shift between the locating signal and the false locating signal. Based on the phase shift, a receiver is used to distinguish the locating signal from the false locating signal.

Claims

1. For use in a region which contains at least first and second in-ground cables, each of which cables includes an electrically conductive component such that, when the first cable is driven at a locating signal frequency to emit a locating signal in an electromagnetic form, the locating signal can be coupled to the second cable in a way which causes the second cable to generate a false locating signal in electromagnetic form, as part of an overall apparatus for discriminating between the locating signal and the false locating signal, a transmitter, comprising:

a frequency generator for generating said locating signal frequency;

a phase shifter that is configured for receiving the locating signal frequency and subjecting the locating signal frequency to a given phase shift to produce a phase shifted locating signal frequency;

an arrangement producing a reference signal and for impressing the phase shifted locating signal frequency thereon, to provide for distinguishing between the locating signal and the false locating signal and for transferring the reference signal; and

a coupling configuration for coupling the locating signal frequency onto the first cable to generate the locating signal in a way which subjects the locating signal frequency to a coupling configuration phase shift such that the phase shifted locating frequency, as part of the reference signal subsequent to transfer thereof, can compensate for the coupling configuration phase shift of the locating signal frequency in the locating signal as emitted by the first cable.

2. The transmitter of claim 1 wherein said locating signal frequency is at least approximately in a fixed phase relationship with said locating signal such that distinguishing between the locating signal and the false locating signal can be based, at least in part, on said fixed phase relationship.

3. The transmitter of claim 1 wherein said coupling configuration is further configured for driving said locating signal onto the first cable using inductive coupling such that the coupling configuration phase shift is at least approximately 90 degrees and wherein the phase shifter is configured to produce the given phase shift at least approximately at 90 degrees such that the phase shifted locating frequency and the locating signal are at least approximately in phase.

4. The transmitter of claim 2 wherein said fixed phase relationship is of a known magnitude and phase angle in relationship to said locating signal frequency.

5. The transmitter of claim 1 wherein said arrangement is configured to transfer the reference signal to the coupling configuration and wherein said coupling configuration is further configured for driving the locating signal onto said first cable along with the reference signal in which the phase shifted locating signal frequency serves as a modulation envelope that is subject to the coupling configuration phase shift such that the first cable emits the reference signal having a phase shifted modulation envelope which phase shifted modulation envelope is essentially identical to the modulation envelope of the reference signal prior to being subjected to the coupling configuration phase shift.

6. The transmitter of claim 1 configured for producing said reference signal including a carrier frequency that is modulated by said phase shifted locating signal frequency.

7. The transmitter of claim 6 configured to produce a ratio of the carrier frequency to the locating signal frequency of at least 5.

8. The transmitter of claim 6 wherein the locating signal frequency is in a range from approximately 1 Hz to 80 KHz and the carrier frequency is in a range from approximately 10 Hz to 300 KHz.

9. The transmitter of claim 1 wherein said phase shifter is configured for producing said given phase shift based on a phase shift between the locating signal and the false locating signal that is in quadrature.

10. The transmitter of claim 1 including a single telemetry arrangement for sending the reference signal to a receiver which forms part of the overall system.

11. The transmitter of claim 10 wherein said telemetry arrangement is configured to modulate an RF carrier with said reference signal and to transmit the RF carrier above ground for reception by said receiver.

12. The transmitter of claim 1 wherein said coupling configuration includes a summer for summing the locating signal frequency and the reference signal to produce a summer output and for coupling the reference signal onto the first cable along with the locating signal frequency.

13. The transmitter of claim 12 wherein the coupling configuration includes an amplifier that receives the summer output and couples an amplified summer output to the first cable with a single signal connection thereto.

14. The transmitter of claim 1 wherein the given phase shift causes the phase shifted locating signal to be at least approximately in phase with the locating signal, as emitted by the first cable.

15. The transmitter of claim 14 wherein said locating signal frequency is subject to a circuitry induced phase shift and said phase shifter is further configured to compensate for said circuitry induced phase shift by introducing an additional phase shift that causes the phase shifted locating frequency to be closer in phase to the locating signal than it would otherwise be without the additional phase shift.

16. For use in a region which contains at least first and second in-ground cables, each of which cables includes an electrically conductive component such that, when the first cable is driven at a locating signal frequency to emit a locating signal in an electromagnetic form, the locating signal can be coupled to the second cable in a way which causes the second cable to generate a false locating signal in electromagnetic form, as part of an overall apparatus for discriminating between the locating signal and the false locating signal, a receiver, comprising:

a receiver section that receives the locating signal and the false locating signal as well as receiving a reference signal which contains said locating signal frequency impressed thereon, wherein a transmitter transmits said reference signal in a way which provides for distinguishing between the locating signal and the false locating signal; and

a detector for distinguishing the locating signal from the false locating signal based on said locating signal frequency as contained by the reference signal.

17. The receiver of claim 16 wherein the locating signal is electromagnetically coupled from the first cable to the second cable through the ground to cause the second cable to emit the false locating signal and wherein said receiver is configured to

(a) recover the locating signal frequency from the reference signal, and

(b) synchronously detect

(i) said locating signal frequency, and

(ii) a selected frequency band, which includes said locating signal and said false locating signal, in a way which substantially rejects the false locating signal while providing an output responsive to the locating signal.

18. The receiver of claim 16 wherein said locating signal frequency, as contained by the reference signal, is at least approximately in a fixed phase relationship with said locating signal and distinguishing between the locating signal and the false locating signal by said receiver is based, at least in part, on said fixed phase relationship.

19. The receiver of claim 18 wherein said fixed phase relationship is at least approximately 90 degrees.

20. The receiver of claim 18 wherein said fixed phase relationship is of a known magnitude and phase angle in relationship to said locating signal frequency.

21. The receiver of claim 16 configured for receiving the reference signal as including a carrier frequency that is modulated by said locating signal frequency.

22. The receiver of claim 21 wherein a ratio of the carrier frequency to the locating signal frequency is at least 5 to 1.

23. The receiver of claim 21 wherein the locating signal frequency is in a range from approximately 1 Hz to 80 KHz and the carrier frequency is in a range from approximately 10 Hz to 300 KHz.

24. The receiver of claim 16 configured for distinguishing between the locating signal and the false locating signal based on a phase shift therebetween that is in quadrature.

25. The receiver of claim 16 wherein the first cable and the second cable each include a distal end and the distal ends are resistively connected to one another such that the locating signal is resistively coupled from the first cable to the second cable to produce the false locating signal in an inverted phase relationship with respect to the locating signal and said receiver is configured to indicate a signal strength of one sign for the locating signal when an opposite sign signal strength is indicated for the false locating signal.

26. The receiver of claim 16 including a telemetry arrangement forming part of the receiver for receiving the reference signal.

27. The receiver of claim 26 wherein an RF carrier is modulated with said reference signal and transmitted above ground for reception by said receiver and said telemetry arrangement demodulates the RF carrier to recover the reference signal for use at the receiver.

28. The receiver of claim 16 wherein the locating signal is subject to a given phase shift relative to the locating signal frequency in being coupled onto said first cable and wherein said receiver section is configured for recovering the locating signal frequency from the reference signal and further includes a phase shifter for phase shifting the locating signal frequency to produce a phase shifted locating signal frequency that is at least approximately in phase with the locating signal to compensate for said given phase shift.

29. The receiver of claim 28 configured to subject the locating signal frequency to a circuitry induced phase shift and said phase shifter is further configured to compensate for said circuitry induced phase shift by introducing an additional phase shift that causes the phase shifted locating frequency to be closer in phase to the locating signal than it would otherwise be without the additional phase shift.

30. For use in a region which contains at least first and second in-ground cables, each of which cables includes an electrically conductive component such that, when the first cable is driven at a locating signal frequency to emit a locating signal in an electromagnetic form, the locating signal can be coupled to the second cable in a way which causes the second cable to generate a false locating signal in electromagnetic form, as part of an overall apparatus for discriminating between the locating signal and the false locating signal, a transmitter, comprising:

a frequency generator for generating said locating signal frequency;

an arrangement for producing a reference signal and for impressing the locating signal frequency thereon, in a way which provides for distinguishing between the locating signal and the false locating signal; and

a coupling arrangement for summing the locating signal frequency and the reference signal to produce a summer output and for coupling the summer output onto the first cable such that the first cable emanates the locating signal and the reference signal.

31. The transmitter of claim 30 wherein the locating signal frequency is impressed onto the reference signal as a modulation envelope and wherein said coupling arrangement couples the locating signal frequency and the reference signal, including the modulation envelope, to the first cable subject to a coupling phase shift such that the first cable emits a phase shifted reference signal having a phase shifted modulation envelope which phase shifted modulation envelope is essentially identical to the modulation envelope of the reference signal irrespective of the coupling phase shift.