Methods, apparatus and systems for generating searchable electronic records of underground facility locate and/or marking operations
First Claim
1. A method for managing and displaying information relating to a marking operation to mark a presence or an affirmative absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising:
- A) electronically storing first information relating to a first electronic rendering of the marking operation, the marking operation being performed after generation of and pursuant to a locate request ticket relating to a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during prospective excavation activities, the marking operation comprising, in response to the locate request ticket, providing at least one visible warning to an excavator performing the prospective excavation activities of the presence or the affirmative absence of the at least one underground facility at the dig area using at least one physical locate mark that includes at least one of non-white paint and a non-white flag;
B) accepting from at least one user interface at least one user input relating to a modification of the first electronic rendering;
C) electronically storing second information relating to a second electronic rendering of the marking operation, wherein the second electronic rendering is based at least in part on the at least one user input relating to the modification of the first electronic rendering; and
D) providing for independent enabling or disabling for display, via the at least one user interface, of (i) at least one first layer constituting at least part of the first electronic rendering, and/or (ii) at least one second layer constituting at least part of the second electronic rendering.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Manual, semi-automated or automated image-based electronic manifests of locate operations. Image layers may be selectively enabled or disabled for display to facilitate viewing of base images and/or categories of information overlaid on the base image(s) relating to the locate operation. Accuracy indicators and/or calibration factors may be employed to ensure geographic integrity and appropriate registration of displayed information. Revision layers may be employed so that “raw” data, modified data, and/or annotated images may be maintained and locked to prevent unauthorized modifications. Limited access files may be employed to prevent unauthorized edits or use. Base images may be sketched manually with a drawing tool, and/or edge-detection and other image processing algorithms may be employed to improve feature recognition and/or remove undesirable features. Safeguards are employed to ensure that manifests are created at or near the work site, and information in the manifests may be analyzed to assess labor/material costs.
371 Citations
57 Claims
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1. A method for managing and displaying information relating to a marking operation to mark a presence or an affirmative absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising:
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A) electronically storing first information relating to a first electronic rendering of the marking operation, the marking operation being performed after generation of and pursuant to a locate request ticket relating to a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during prospective excavation activities, the marking operation comprising, in response to the locate request ticket, providing at least one visible warning to an excavator performing the prospective excavation activities of the presence or the affirmative absence of the at least one underground facility at the dig area using at least one physical locate mark that includes at least one of non-white paint and a non-white flag; B) accepting from at least one user interface at least one user input relating to a modification of the first electronic rendering; C) electronically storing second information relating to a second electronic rendering of the marking operation, wherein the second electronic rendering is based at least in part on the at least one user input relating to the modification of the first electronic rendering; and D) providing for independent enabling or disabling for display, via the at least one user interface, of (i) at least one first layer constituting at least part of the first electronic rendering, and/or (ii) at least one second layer constituting at least part of the second electronic rendering. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus for managing and displaying information relating to a marking operation to mark a presence or an affirmative absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
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a memory to store processor-executable instructions; at least one user interface; and a processor coupled to the memory and the at least one user interface, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; A) controls the memory to electronically store first information relating to a first electronic rendering of the marking operation, the marking operation being performed after generation of and pursuant to a locate request ticket relating to a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during prospective excavation activities, the marking operation comprising, in response to the locate request ticket, providing at least one visible warning to an excavator performing the prospective excavation activities of the presence or the affirmative absence of the at least one underground facility at the dig area using at least one physical locate mark that includes at least one of non-white paint and a non-white flag; B) accepts from the at least one user interface at least one user input relating to a modification of the first electronic rendering; C) controls the memory to electronically store second information relating to a second electronic rendering of the marking operation, wherein the second electronic rendering is based at least in part based on the at least one user input; and D) provides for independent enabling or disabling for display, via the at least one user interface, of (i) at least one first layer constituting at least part of the first electronic rendering, and/or (ii) at least one second layer constituting at least part of the second electronic rendering. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with at least one program including processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method for managing and displaying information relating to a marking operation to mark a presence or an affirmative absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising:
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A) electronically storing first information relating to a first electronic rendering of the marking operation, the marking operation being performed after generation of and pursuant to a locate request ticket relating to a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during prospective excavation activities, the marking operation comprising, in response to the locate request ticket, providing at least one visible warning to an excavator performing the prospective excavation activities of the presence or the affirmative absence of the at least one underground facility at the dig area using at least one physical locate mark that includes at least one of non-white paint and a non-white flag; B) accepting at least one user input relating to a modification of the first electronic rendering; C) electronically storing second information relating to a second electronic rendering of the marking operation, wherein the second electronic rendering is based at least in part on the at least one user input relating to the modification of the first electronic rendering; and D) providing for independent enabling or disabling for display of (i) at least one first layer comprising the first electronic rendering, and/or (ii) at least one second layer comprising the second electronic rendering.
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35. A method for providing on a display device an electronic rendering of a marking operation to mark a presence or an affirmative absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising:
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A) electronically categorizing information relating to the marking operation into a plurality of display layers of the electronic rendering, the plurality of display layers including; at least one first display layer comprising original information relating to the marking operation, the marking operation being performed after generation of and pursuant to a locate request ticket relating to a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during prospective excavation activities, the marking operation comprising, in response to the locate request ticket, providing at least one visible warning to an excavator performing the prospective excavation activities of the presence or the affirmative absence of the at least one underground facility at the dig area using at least one physical locate mark that includes at least one of non-white paint and a non-white flag; and at least one second display layer comprising modified information relating to the marking operation, wherein the modified information is based at least in part on one or more revisions to the original information; B) providing for independent enabling or disabling for display, via at least one user interface, of the at least one first display layer and the at least one second display layer; and C) displaying in a display field of the display device only enabled display layers of the plurality of display layers so as to provide the electronic rendering of the marking operation. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An apparatus for providing on a display device an electronic rendering of a marking operation to mark a presence or an affirmative absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising:
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a memory to store processor-executable instructions; at least one user interface; a display device; and a processor coupled to the memory, the at least one user interface, and the display device, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, the processor; A) electronically categorizes information relating to the marking operation into a plurality of display layers of the electronic rendering, the plurality of display layers including; at least one first display layer comprising original information relating to the marking operation, the marking operation being performed after generation of and pursuant to a locate request ticket relating to a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during prospective excavation activities, the marking operation comprising, in response to the locate request ticket, providing at least one visible warning to an excavator performing the prospective excavation activities of the presence or the affirmative absence of the at least one underground facility at the dig area using at least one physical locate mark that includes at least one of non-white paint and a non-white flag; and at least one second display layer comprising modified information relating to the marking operation, wherein the modified information is based at least in part on one or more revisions to the original information; B) provides for independent enabling or disabling for display, via at least one user interface, of the at least one first display layer and the at least one second display layer; and C) controls the display device so as to display only enabled display layers of the plurality of display layers so as to provide the electronic rendering of the marking operation. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with at least one program including processor-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform a method for providing on a display device an electronic rendering of a marking operation to mark a presence or an affirmative absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising:
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A) electronically categorizing information relating to the marking operation into a plurality of display layers of the electronic rendering, the plurality of display layers including; at least one first display layer comprising original information relating to the marking operation, the marking operation being performed after generation of and pursuant to a locate request ticket relating to a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed during prospective excavation activities, the marking operation comprising, in response to the locate request ticket, providing at least one visible warning to an excavator performing the prospective excavation activities of the presence or the affirmative absence of the at least one underground facility at the dig area using at least one physical locate mark that includes at least one of non-white paint and a non-white flag; and at least one second display layer comprising modified information relating to the marking operation, wherein the modified information is based at least in part on one or more revisions to the original information; B) providing for independent enabling or disabling for display of the at least one first display layer and the at least one second display layer; and C) displaying in a display field only enabled display layers of the plurality of display layers so as to provide the electronic rendering of the marking operation.
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Specification