Ground-tracking systems and apparatus
First Claim
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1. A buried object locator, comprising:
- an antenna array;
a moving or rolling element including one or more sondes, with each sonde including a coil wound on a core material;
a circuit coupled to the antenna array for receiving magnetic field signals from a buried object and the one or more sondes; and
a processing element configured to;
determining information about the buried object; and
determine motion, position, or orientation information associated with the locator based at least in part on the received magnetic field signals provided from the sondes.
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Abstract
A ground tracking system including a ground follower assembly for use with a locator or other device for determining position, motion, and/or orientation information is disclosed. The ground follower assembly may include a wheel assembly coupled to a locator and configured to swivel and/or pivot relative to an antenna node of the locator to generate signals for use in determining position information during a locate operation, such as from a sonde array.
12 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A buried object locator, comprising:
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an antenna array; a moving or rolling element including one or more sondes, with each sonde including a coil wound on a core material; a circuit coupled to the antenna array for receiving magnetic field signals from a buried object and the one or more sondes; and a processing element configured to; determining information about the buried object; and determine motion, position, or orientation information associated with the locator based at least in part on the received magnetic field signals provided from the sondes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A buried object locator, comprising:
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an antenna array; a moving or rolling element including one or more sondes; a circuit coupled to the antenna array for receiving magnetic field signals from a buried object and the one or more sondes; and a processing element configured to; determining information about the buried object; and determine motion, position, or orientation information associated with the locator based at least in part on the received magnetic field signals provided from the sondes; wherein the moving or rolling element comprises a wheel assembly and the sondes are disposed on or within one or more of wheels of the wheel assembly. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A buried object locator, comprising:
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an antenna array; a moving or rolling element including one or more sondes; a circuit coupled to the antenna array for receiving magnetic field signals from a buried object and the one or more sondes; a processing element configured to; determine information about the buried object; determine motion, position, or orientation information associated with the locator based at least in part on the received magnetic field signals provided from the sondes; and determine one or more characteristics of a ground surface based on the motion, position, or orientation information. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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Specification