Buried object locating device with a plurality of spherical sensor balls that include a plurality of orthogonal antennae

• US 9,989,662 B1
• Filed: 06/26/2017
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seescan, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Seescan, Inc.
• Inventors: Olsson, Mark S., Shaffer, Dawn E., Merewether, Ray, Martin, Michael J., Cox, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Patidar, Jay
• Application Number:
  US15/633,682
• Time in Patent Office: 344 Days
• Field of Search: 324326-329
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/885 for ground probing prospecting or detecting using electromagnetic waves G01V3/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/03 Details of HF subsystems specially adapted therefor, e.g. common to transmitter and receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/08 operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified by objects or geological structures or by detecting devices with electromagnetic waves G01V3/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 3/15 specially adapted for use during transport, e.g. by a person, vehicle or boat
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

A buried object locator which may include at least one antenna array including three mutually orthogonal antennas each sharing a common center point senses electromagnetic signals emitted by two or more buried objects such as utility lines, pipes or sondes. A circuit at least partially mounted in a housing of the locator may be connected to the array and used to determine location information of the buried objects by measuring signal strength and field angles in three dimensions.

Claims

1. A system for locating a buried object, comprising

a housing including one or more rigid openable shells;

a plurality of spherical sensor balls each including at least one antenna array having a plurality of orthogonal antennas sharing a common center point and positioned in a nested concentric arrangement within the corresponding sensor balls, the antenna array of each sensor ball is calibrated in a uniform and rotationally symmetric calibration field to match a field response of one orthogonal antenna with other orthogonal antennas within the same antenna array;

an elongate member supporting the spherical sensor balls in a spaced-apart orientation, the elongate member having a central axis extending through the common center point; and

an electronic circuit having one or more circuit elements disposed in the housing and one or more further circuit elements disposed in each of the sensor balls, to;

sense an electromagnetic signal emitted from a buried object;

determine magnetic fields associated with the electromagnetic signal;

measure strength of the magnetic fields and magnetic field angles in three orthogonal dimensions;

determine nulls and false peaks associated with the magnetic fields based on the measurement; and

determine a location of the buried object based on the measured strength and magnetic field angles upon eliminating the nulls and false peaks.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the orthogonal antennas is formed by a wire coil wrapped around a circular plastic mandrel.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the wire coil is segmented.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising s display to provide a visual indication of the location of the buried object.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a GPS receiver.

6. The locator of claim 1, wherein the one or more circuit elements include a circuit for providing an audible indication of the determined location.