Methods, apparatus, and systems for providing an enhanced positive response for underground facility locate and marking operations based on an electronic manifest documenting physical locate marks on ground, pavement or other surface
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing a positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
- a user input device;
a display device;
a communication interface;
a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and
a processing unit communicatively coupled to the user input device, the display device, the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit;
A) controls the display device so as to display at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area;
B) receives user input from the locate technician via the user input device and controls the display device to facilitate electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and
C) controls the communication interface to electronically transmit information so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of;
an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and
an electronic link to the enhanced positive response,wherein the enhanced positive response includes at least one of;
the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation as created in B); and
geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A positive response notification to provide information regarding locate and/or marking operations for underground facilities may include time-stamp information to provide proof of a time at which the locate and/or marking operation was completed by a locate technician, and/or place-stamp information to provide proof of a presence of the locate technician at or near a work site. An electronic manifest image and/or a virtual white line image similarly may be included in a positive response notification. In one example, such images may be bundled together based on respective descriptor files (or descriptor metadata) that associates the corresponding images with a locate request ticket for the operation. In another example, a positive response notification may include environmental information regarding one or more environmental conditions present at or near the work site during the locate and/or marking operation.
402 Citations
171 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing a positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
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a user input device; a display device; a communication interface; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the user input device, the display device, the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; A) controls the display device so as to display at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receives user input from the locate technician via the user input device and controls the display device to facilitate electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) controls the communication interface to electronically transmit information so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation as created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - 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, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. An apparatus for providing a positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
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a user input device; a display device; a communication interface; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the user input device, the display device, the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; A) controls the display device so as to display at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receives user input from the locate technician via the user input device and controls the display device to facilitate electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) controls the communication interface to electronically transmit information so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes; at least one member code assigned to a facility owner of the at least one underground facility; at least one positive response code representing a status of the locate and marking operation; and at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (47)
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48. An apparatus for providing a positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
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a user input device; a display device; a communication interface; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the user input device, the display device, the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; A) controls the display device so as to display at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receives user input from the locate technician via the user input device and controls the display device to facilitate electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) controls the communication interface to electronically transmit information so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes; an electronic copy of the locate request ticket or a completed locate request ticket; a descriptive or numeric assessment of a risk of excavation in the dig area based at least in part on a high risk condition within or near the dig area; and at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation as created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A computer-facilitated method for providing an enhanced positive response for a locate and marking operation, the method comprising:
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A) receiving, by a locate technician, at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center; B) in response to the at least one locate request ticket received in A), performing, by the locate technician, the locate and marking operation by applying at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities; C) electronically displaying to the locate technician, via a display device, at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; D) electronically drawing by the locate technician on the displayed at least one digital image, via a user input device, at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied in B) by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and E) electronically transmitting, via a communication interface, information so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation as created in D); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102)
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103. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at least one processing unit, perform a method for providing an enhanced positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) displaying at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receiving user input from the locate technician corresponding to electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) electronically transmitting information so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147)
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148. A computer-facilitated method for providing a positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) displaying, via a display device, at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receiving user input from the locate technician, via a user input device, and facilitating, via the display device, electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) electronically transmitting, via a communication interface, information so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes; at least one member code assigned to a facility owner of the at least one underground facility; at least one positive response code representing a status of the locate and marking operation; and at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (149)
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150. A computer-facilitated method for providing a positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) displaying, via a display device, at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receiving user input from the locate technician, via a user input device, and facilitating, via the display device, electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) electronically transmitting, via a communication interface, so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes; an electronic copy of the locate request ticket or a completed locate request ticket; a descriptive or numeric assessment of a risk of excavation in the dig area based at least in part on a high risk condition within or near the dig area; and at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159)
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160. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at least one processing unit, perform a method for providing an enhanced positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) displaying, via a display device, at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receiving user input from the locate technician, via a user input device, and facilitating, via the display device, electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) electronically transmitting information, via a communication interface, so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes; at least one member code assigned to a facility owner of the at least one underground facility; at least one positive response code representing a status of the locate and marking operation; and at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (161)
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162. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at least one processing unit, perform a method for providing an enhanced positive response for a locate and marking operation performed by a locate technician in response to at least one locate request ticket generated by a one-call center, the locate and marking operation comprising applying, by the locate technician, at least one physical locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to indicate a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area, wherein at least a portion of the dig area is planned to be excavated or disturbed by an excavator during excavation activities, the method comprising:
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A) displaying, via a display device, at least one digital image of a geographic area proximate to and including the dig area; B) receiving user input from the locate technician, via a user input device, and facilitating, via the display device, electronic drawing by the locate technician, on the displayed at least one digital image, of at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface during the locate and marking operation, so as to graphically depict the locate and marking operation performed by the locate technician and thereby create an electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation, the electronic manifest including the at least one digital image and the at least one electronic marking electronically drawn by the locate technician and corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark; and C) electronically transmitting information, via a communication interface, so as to communicate to at least one of the one-call center and the excavator at least one of; an enhanced positive response for the graphically-depicted locate and marking operation; and an electronic link to the enhanced positive response, wherein the enhanced positive response includes; an electronic copy of the locate request ticket or a completed locate request ticket; a descriptive or numeric assessment of a risk of excavation in the dig area based at least in part on a high risk condition within or near the dig area; and at least one of; the electronic manifest of the locate and marking operation created in B); and geographic coordinates for the at least one electronic marking corresponding to the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician to the ground, pavement or other surface. - View Dependent Claims (163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171)
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Specification