Methods and apparatus employing a reference grid for generating electronic manifests of underground facility marking operations
DCFirst Claim
1. An apparatus for facilitating generation of an electronic manifest of at least one physical locate mark applied to a ground surface by a technician at an excavation site prior to excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
- a communication interface;
a display device;
a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and
a processing unit coupled to the communication interface, the display device, and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit;
controls the display device so as to display at least one grid to provide a reference for a geographic area including the excavation site;
acquires user input from a user input device, the user input relating to a geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the technician to the ground surface at the excavation site to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at the excavation site;
further controls the display device to add to the displayed at least one grid, based at least in part on the user input acquired from the user input device, at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark so as to generate a marked-up image including the at least one grid and the at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and
controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store information relating to the marked-up image so as to generate the electronic manifest.
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Abstract
A grid is displayed on a display device to provide a reference for a geographic area including an excavation site. User input is acquired that relates to a geographic location of at least one physical locate mark applied by a technician to a ground surface at the excavation site to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at the excavation site. Based on the user input, at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark is added to the displayed grid so as to generate a marked-up image. Information relating to the marked-up image is electronically stored and/or electronically transmitted so as to generate an electronic manifest.
363 Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for facilitating generation of an electronic manifest of at least one physical locate mark applied to a ground surface by a technician at an excavation site prior to excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
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a communication interface; a display device; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit coupled to the communication interface, the display device, and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; controls the display device so as to display at least one grid to provide a reference for a geographic area including the excavation site; acquires user input from a user input device, the user input relating to a geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the technician to the ground surface at the excavation site to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at the excavation site; further controls the display device to add to the displayed at least one grid, based at least in part on the user input acquired from the user input device, at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark so as to generate a marked-up image including the at least one grid and the at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store information relating to the marked-up image so as to generate the electronic manifest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for generating an electronic manifest of at least one physical locate mark applied to a ground surface by a technician at an excavation site prior to excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) displaying, on a display device, at least one grid to provide a reference for a geographic area including the excavation site; B) acquiring user input from a user input device, the user input relating to a geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the technician to the ground surface at the excavation site to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at the excavation site; C) adding to the displayed at least one grid, based at least in part on the user input acquired in B) from the user input device, at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark so as to generate a marked-up image including the at least one grid and the at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and D) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the marked-up image so as to generate the electronic manifest. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. At least one computer-readable storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed on at least one processing unit, perform a method for generating an electronic manifest of at least one physical locate mark applied to a ground surface by a technician at an excavation site prior to excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) displaying, on a display device, at least one grid to provide a reference for a geographic area including the excavation site; B) acquiring user input from a user input device, the user input relating to a geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the technician to the ground surface at the excavation site to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at the excavation site; C) adding to the displayed at least one grid, based at least in part on the user input acquired in B) from the user input device, at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark so as to generate a marked-up image including the at least one grid and the at least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and D) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating to the marked-up image so as to generate the electronic manifest.
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Specification