Methods, apparatus, and systems for exchanging information between excavators and other entities associated with underground facility locate and marking operations
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing information regarding a locate and marking operation to mark a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility in a dig area of proposed excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
- a data-enabled marking device to dispense a marking material on a ground surface in the dig area during the locate and marking operation to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility in response to a locate request ticket, the data-enabled marking device comprising at least one input device to provide locate and marking information relating to the locate and marking operation, the at least one input device including at least one of a marking material detection mechanism, a location tracking system, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a light sensor, a compass, an inclinometer, an accelerometer, a digital camera, and an audio recorder; and
a locate personnel device comprising;
a communication interface;
a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and
a processing unit communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit;
controls the communication interface to read in the locate and marking information from the data-enabled marking device;
based on the locate and marking information read in from the data-enabled marking device, electronically renders a graphical depiction of the locate and marking operation;
automatically generates at least one notification relating to the locate and marking operation, the at least one notification comprising performance information derived from the graphical depiction of the locate and marking operation; and
further controls the communication interface to electronically transmit prior to the proposed excavation activities, the at least one notification so as to provide the performance information to at least one party associated with requesting the locate and marking operation.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus, and systems for providing information regarding a locate and/or marking operation to identify a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area. At least one notification indicating a status of the locate and/or marking operation is electronically transmitted and/or stored so as to inform at least one party associated with requesting the operation (a “requesting party,” e.g., an excavator, a property owner, a facility owner, a regulatory authority, a damage investigator, etc.) of the status of the operation. In one aspect, a requesting party may designate a preferred format, content, and/or method of receiving notifications regarding the locate and/or marking operation. In another aspect, a computer-generated GUI is provided to facilitate submission of requests, generation of “virtual white line” images to indicate one or more dig areas on a digital image of a work site, and/or selection of notifications and preferences for same. In yet another aspect, a requesting party may provide an acknowledgement of receipt (e.g., a “return receipt”) for one or more received notifications.
240 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing information regarding a locate and marking operation to mark a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility in a dig area of proposed excavation activities, the apparatus comprising:
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a data-enabled marking device to dispense a marking material on a ground surface in the dig area during the locate and marking operation to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility in response to a locate request ticket, the data-enabled marking device comprising at least one input device to provide locate and marking information relating to the locate and marking operation, the at least one input device including at least one of a marking material detection mechanism, a location tracking system, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a light sensor, a compass, an inclinometer, an accelerometer, a digital camera, and an audio recorder; and a locate personnel device comprising; a communication interface; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit; controls the communication interface to read in the locate and marking information from the data-enabled marking device; based on the locate and marking information read in from the data-enabled marking device, electronically renders a graphical depiction of the locate and marking operation; automatically generates at least one notification relating to the locate and marking operation, the at least one notification comprising performance information derived from the graphical depiction of the locate and marking operation; and further controls the communication interface to electronically transmit prior to the proposed excavation activities, the at least one notification so as to provide the performance information to at least one party associated with requesting the locate and marking operation. - 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)
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Specification