Detector for detecting a current carrying conductor
First Claim
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1. A locator for locating a concealed conductor, comprising:
- a first field detector operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a first axis parallel to a primary axis of the locator;
a second field detector, displaced from the first field detector and operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a second axis parallel to the primary axis of the locator;
a processor operable to calculate a difference between a field detected by the first detector and a field detected by the second detector, and to calculate an indication of the lateral displacement of the axis of the concealed conductor from the primary axis of the locator using the difference;
at least one of the first field detector and the second field detector being configured to detect a reference alternating magnetic field along a reference axis orthogonal to the primary axis; and
the processor further configured to compare a phase of the reference magnetic field with a phase of the difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field and determine a lateral direction to the concealed conductor from a result of the comparison,wherein the first axis and the second axis are coaxial with the primary axis.
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Abstract
A locator for locating a concealed conductor comprises a first field detector operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a first axis parallel to a primary axis of the locator; a second field detector, displaced from the first field detector and operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a second axis parallel to the primary axis of the locator; and a processor operable to calculate a difference between a field detected by the first detector and a field detected by the second detector, and to calculate an indication of the lateral displacement of the concealed conductor from the primary axis of the locator using the difference.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A locator for locating a concealed conductor, comprising:
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a first field detector operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a first axis parallel to a primary axis of the locator; a second field detector, displaced from the first field detector and operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a second axis parallel to the primary axis of the locator; a processor operable to calculate a difference between a field detected by the first detector and a field detected by the second detector, and to calculate an indication of the lateral displacement of the axis of the concealed conductor from the primary axis of the locator using the difference; at least one of the first field detector and the second field detector being configured to detect a reference alternating magnetic field along a reference axis orthogonal to the primary axis; and the processor further configured to compare a phase of the reference magnetic field with a phase of the difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field and determine a lateral direction to the concealed conductor from a result of the comparison, wherein the first axis and the second axis are coaxial with the primary axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of locating a concealed conductor, comprising:
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detecting a first alternating magnetic field, at a first location, along a first axis; detecting a second alternating magnetic field, at a second location displaced from the first location, along a second axis parallel to the first axis; calculating a difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field; calculating an indication of a lateral displacement of the concealed conductor from a primary axis parallel to the first axis and the second axis; detecting a reference alternating magnetic field along a reference axis orthogonal to the primary axis; and comparing a phase of the reference magnetic field with a phase of the difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field and determining a lateral direction to the concealed conductor from a result of the comparison, wherein the first axis and the second axis are coaxial with the primary axis. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A non-transitory non-volatile carrier medium containing computer instructions stored therein for causing a computer processor in a locator to perform locating a concealed conductor having a first field detector operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a first axis parallel to a primary axis of the locator, and a second field detector, displaced from the first field detector and operable to detect an alternating magnetic field along a second axis parallel to the primary axis of the locator;
- the instructions comprising;
instructions for controlling the processor to calculate a difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field; instructions for calculating e an indication of a lateral displacement of the concealed conductor from a primary axis parallel to the first axis and the second axis; and instructions for controlling the processor to compare the phase of a reference magnetic field along a reference axis orthogonal to the primary axis with the phase of the difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field, and to determine a lateral direction to the concealed conductor from the result of the comparison, wherein the first axis and the second axis are coaxial with the primary axis. - View Dependent Claims (10)
- the instructions comprising;
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11. A method of locating a concealed conductor, comprising:
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detecting a first alternating magnetic field, at a first location, along a first axis; detecting a second alternating magnetic field, at a second location displaced from the first location, along a second axis parallel to the first axis; calculating a difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field; calculating an indication of a lateral displacement of the concealed conductor from a primary axis parallel to the first axis and the second axis; detecting a reference alternating magnetic field along a reference axis orthogonal to the primary axis; and comparing a phase of the reference magnetic field with a phase of the difference between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field and determining a lateral direction to the concealed conductor from a result of the comparison.
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Specification