Marking apparatus for receiving environmental information regarding underground facility marking operations, and associated methods and systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for marking a presence or absence of an underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
- at least one actuator to control dispensing of a marking material for marking the presence or absence of the underground facility;
a memory to store processor-executable instructions;
at least one communication interface; and
at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one actuator, the memory, and the at least one communication interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor;
controls the at least one communication interface to receive environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the apparatus is located; and
stores at least some of the received environmental information in the memory,wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor controls the at least one communication interface to receive the environmental information periodically.
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Abstract
Methods, apparatus and systems for marking a presence or absence of an underground facility. Marking material is dispensed, via actuation of an actuation system of a marking device, onto a target surface. Environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking device is located is received via at least one communication interface of the marking device, and marking information is logged into local memory of the marking device. In one aspect, the stored marking information includes at least some of the environmental information.
559 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus for marking a presence or absence of an underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one actuator to control dispensing of a marking material for marking the presence or absence of the underground facility; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; at least one communication interface; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one actuator, the memory, and the at least one communication interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; controls the at least one communication interface to receive environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the apparatus is located; and stores at least some of the received environmental information in the memory, wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor controls the at least one communication interface to receive the environmental information periodically. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 7, 8)
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5. An apparatus for marking a presence or absence of an underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one actuator to control dispensing of a marking material for marking the presence or absence of the underground facility; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; at least one communication interface; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one actuator, the memory, and the at least one communication interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; controls the at least one communication interface to receive environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the apparatus is located; and stores at least some of the received environmental information in the memory, wherein the at least one communication interface communicatively couples the apparatus to a network, and wherein the environmental information is received over the network. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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9. An apparatus for marking a presence or absence of an underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one actuator to control dispensing of a marking material for marking the presence or absence of the underground facility; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; at least one communication interface; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one actuator, the memory, and the at least one communication interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; controls the at least one communication interface to receive environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the apparatus is located; and stores at least some of the received environmental information in the memory, wherein the at least one environmental condition is at least one first environmental condition, and wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one input device communicatively coupled to the at least one processor and configured to sense at least one second environmental condition of the environment in which the apparatus is located and provide an output signal to the at least one processor indicative of the at least one second environmental condition. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for marking a presence or absence of an underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
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at least one actuator to control dispensing of a marking material for marking the presence or absence of the underground facility; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; at least one communication interface; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one actuator, the memory, and the at least one communication interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; controls the at least one communication interface to receive environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the apparatus is located; and stores at least some of the received environmental information in the memory, wherein, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; controls the at least one communication interface to receive the environmental information upon actuation of the at least one actuator.
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13. A method for performing a marking operation to mark a presence or absence of at least one underground facility using a marking device, the method comprising:
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A) dispensing, via actuation of an actuation system of the marking device, marking material onto a target surface; B) receiving, via at least one communication interface of the marking device, environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking device is located; and C) logging into local memory of the marking device marking information relating at least in part to A) and B); wherein B) comprises receiving the environmental information periodically. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 25)
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17. A method for performing a marking operation to mark a presence or absence of at least one underground facility using a marking device, the method comprising:
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A) dispensing, via actuation of an actuation system of the marking device, marking material onto a target surface; B) receiving, via at least one communication interface of the marking device, environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking device is located; and C) logging into local memory of the marking device marking information relating at least in part to A) and B), wherein the at least one communication interface communicatively couples the marking device to a network, and wherein B) comprises receiving the environmental information over the network. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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22. A method for performing a marking operation to mark a presence or absence of at least one underground facility using a marking device, the method comprising:
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A) dispensing, via actuation of an actuation system of the marking device, marking material onto a target surface; B) receiving, via at least one communication interface of the marking device, environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking device is located; and C) logging into local memory of the marking device marking information relating at least in part to A) and B), wherein the at least one environmental condition is at least one first environmental condition, and wherein the method further comprises; D) detecting, via at least one input device of the marking device, at least one second environmental condition of the environment in which the marking device is located, and wherein C) comprises logging into local memory of the marking device marking information relating at least in part to A), B) and D). - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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26. At least one computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, perform a method for facilitating a marking operation to mark a presence or absence of at least one underground facility using a marking device, the method comprising:
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A) receiving, via at least one communication interface of the marking device, environmental information regarding at least one environmental condition of an environment in which the marking device is located; and B) logging into local memory of the marking device at least some of the environmental information received in A); wherein A) comprises receiving the environmental information periodically.
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Specification