Methods, apparatus, and systems for facilitating compliance with marking specifications for dispensing marking material
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling a marking device used by a locate technician to perform a marking operation to mark a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a work site, the apparatus comprising:
- a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and
at least one processing unit communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the at least one processing unit;
A) generates at least one control signal relating to dispensing of a marking material by the marking device based at least in part on;
marking specifications that define one or more marking patterns to be applied on ground, pavement or other surface at the work site;
location information representative of a location of the marking device during the marking operation; and
actuation information representative of one or more actuations of the marking device to dispense the marking material.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Control of locating equipment used by a locate technician to perform a locate and/or marking operation to detect and/or mark a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a work site is based at least in part on marking specifications (e.g., government-based regulations, industry-based recommended guidelines/best practices, standard operating procedures of locate companies and/or facility owners, and/or contractual obligations relating to marking operations). In various examples, control signals are generated to alert a locate technician when to start and stop dispensing of a marking material, or control signals are generated to automatically or semi-automatically control dispensing of the marking material by a marking device, so as to facilitate compliance with marking specifications.
283 Citations
40 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling a marking device used by a locate technician to perform a marking operation to mark a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a work site, the apparatus comprising:
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a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and at least one processing unit communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the at least one processing unit; A) generates at least one control signal relating to dispensing of a marking material by the marking device based at least in part on; marking specifications that define one or more marking patterns to be applied on ground, pavement or other surface at the work site; location information representative of a location of the marking device during the marking operation; and actuation information representative of one or more actuations of the marking device to dispense the marking material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 39)
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29. A computer-implemented method for controlling a marking device during a marking operation to mark a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a work site, the method comprising:
A) generating at least one control signal relating to dispensing of a marking material by the marking device based at least in part on; marking specifications that define one or more marking patterns to be applied on ground, pavement or other surface at the work site; location information representative of a location of the marking device during the marking operation; and actuation information representative of one or more actuations of the marking device to dispense the marking material. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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40. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-readable instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computing device, control the computing device to perform a method for controlling a marking device during a marking operation to mark a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility at a work site, the method comprising:
A) generating at least one control signal relating to dispensing of a marking material by the marking device based at least in part on; marking specifications that define one or more marking patterns to be applied on ground, pavement or other surface at the work site; location information representative of a location of the marking device during the marking operation; and actuation information representative of one or more actuations of the marking device to dispense the marking material.
Specification