Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02623761 2008-03-17
MARKING SYSTEM AND METHOD
BACKGROUND
Underground man-made objects, such as utility lines and pipes (hereinafter
"utility
lines"), are very susceptible to damage from excavation activities. Local and
federal laws
require that notification be given to owners of underground utility lines in
an area to be
excavated before any excavation takes place. The owners of the utility lines
typically must
locate and mark the location of any underground utility lines.
The tasks of locating and marking underground utility lines can be performed
by
either the utility line owner or by third party contractors. A marking tool is
typically used to
mark the ground, pavement or other surfaces in order to provide a visual
indication of the
location of underground utilities. Paint is commonly used as the marker, and
it is typically
applied using a paint marking tool. The color of the paint is typically chosen
based on the type
of utility line being marked (e.g., red for a power line). However, other
types of markers, such
as other types of liquids, flags and stakes are also used, and different
visual or other
characteristics of the marker are used for representing different types of
underground utility
lines. For example, the color, shape or other characteristic of a flag marker
can represent a
particular type of underground utility line (e.g., a square shaped flag can be
used to mark a
power line).
When paint is used as the marker, a worker marks the location of an
underground
utility line using a paint marking tool to spray paint on the ground above the
utility line. The
paint marking tools typically used have a paint canister holder that is
adapted to hold a single
aerosol can of paint in an axial orientation with respect to the long axis of
the aerosol can. The
paint marking tool is typically designed to enable a user to walk or stand
erect while dispensing
the paint.
When an underground utility line is located, the worker will load a paint can
of the
appropriate color for the utility line being marked into the paint marking
tool. When it is time to
mark a different type of utility line, the worker must change the paint can to
one of the
appropriate color for the new utility line being marked.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect, a marking system may include a marker dispenser to
hold
and dispense a marker; a processor to determine at least one characteristic
regarding the marker;
and a triggering system in communication with the marker dispenser and the
processor to trigger
the marker dispenser to dispense the marker and the processor to store the at
least one
characteristic regarding the marker and time data associated with the
dispensing of the marker.
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According to another aspect, a marking tool may include a marker dispenser to
hold
and dispense a marker from a marker container. A tag may be affixed to the
marker container,
where the tag may store information regarding at least one characteristic of
the marker. The
marking tool may further include a tag reader to read the information from the
tag, a processor
to receive the information from the tag reader, and a triggering system to
trigger the marker
dispenser to dispense the marker from the marker container and the processor
to store the
information and time data associated with the dispensing of the marker by the
marker dispenser.
According to yet another aspect, a method may include identifying a marker
characteristic regarding a marker loaded into a marking tool; receiving
activation of a trigger of
the marking tool; dispensing the marker when the activation of the trigger is
received; and
storing the marker characteristic and time data when the activation of the
trigger is received.
According to a further aspect, a system may include means for holding a
container
from which a marker is dispensed; means for identifying a marker
characteristic regarding the
marker in the container; means for receiving activation of a trigger; means
for dispensing the
marker from the container when the trigger is activated; and means for storing
the marker
characteristic and a timestamp when the trigger is activated.
According to another aspect, a system may include means for holding a
container
from which a marker is dispensed; means for identifying a marker
characteristic regarding the
marker in the container; means for receiving activation of a trigger; means
for dispensing the
marker from the container when the trigger is activated; and means for
increasing a count value
when the trigger is activated.
According to yet another aspect, a marking system may include means for
providing
a holder for a container from which a marker is dispensed; and means for
identifying a marker
characteristic regarding the marker in the container only when the container
is initially placed
into the holder.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of
this
specification, illustrate one or more embodiments described herein and,
together with the
description, explain these embodiments. In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary marking system;
Figure 2 is a diagram of an exemplary marking tool;
Figure 3 is a diagram of an exemplary triggering system that may be used in
the
marking tool of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a diagram of another exemplary marking tool;
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Figure 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for marking an area; and
Figures 6A-6C are diagrams of exemplary entries that can created.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The
same
reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar
elements. Also, the
following detailed description does not limit the invention.
Figure 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary marking system 100. The system 100
may include a communication system 110, an interface 120, a local memory 130,
a processor
140, a marker dispenser 150, a triggering system 160 and a tag reader 170. In
other
implementations, system 100 may include additional or different components.
The system 100 may be used to dispense markers. In one exemplary application
of
the system 100, the markers may be used to mark underground utility lines,
such as
telecommunications (e.g., telephone and/or cable), power, gas, water, or
sewer. The marker that
is used to mark underground utility lines may include a liquid, such as paint,
or objects, such as
flags, stakes, etc.
A user may control the operation of the system 100 via interface 120. In one
implementation, interface 120 may include a touch screen interface that can
provide various
operational controls and status indicators of the system 100, and can allow
the user to navigate
the controls by touching particular areas of the screen. In another
implementation, the interface
120 may include another form of input and/or output, such as, for example, a
display for
displaying information and a keypad for entering information. In either
situation, the interface
120 may provide operational controls to function as the triggering system 160.
The triggering system 160 may trigger the dispensing of markers and the
storing of
marking information. The marking information, which will be described in more
detail below,
may include information regarding a characteristic of the marker(s) being
dispensed, time data
(e.g., a timestamp and/or elapsed time information), and/or count data (e.g.,
a number of times
that markers were dispensed). In operation, a user may engage a triggering
mechanism in the
triggering system 160 (explained in more detail below) in order to dispense
the markers. When
the triggering mechanism is engaged, the triggering system 160 may also
initiate storing of the
marking information. This may be done by sending a signal to the processor
140, which may
cause processor 140 to store the marking information in local memory 130.
Alternatively, or
additionally, the processor 140 may store the marking information by
transmitting the marking
information for storage by a device or system external to system 100. In one
implementation,
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marking information may be stored only when a marker is being dispensed by the
marker
dispenser 150.
The marker dispenser 150 may hold the markers and may also contain an
actuation
mechanism (not shown in Fig. 1) that causes the markers to be dispensed when
the triggering
system 160 is activated. As described above, the markers dispensed by the
marker dispenser
150 may include a liquid (e.g., paint) or an object (e.g., flags or stakes).
Details of the marker
dispenser 150 will be discussed in more detail below.
The system 100 may also include a tag reader 170. In one implementation, tag
reader
170 may include a device that can read tags. A "tag," as the term is used
herein, may refer to
any item that is capable of storing machine-readable information, such as a
barcode, a radio
frequency identification (RFID) device, or a near field communication (NFC)
device. A tag
may be passive, active, or any combination thereof. A passive tag may transmit
data in response
to signals received from tag reader 170. An active tag may continuously
transmit data. Tags
can be attached to the markers that are loaded into the marker dispenser 150
and can incorporate
data that corresponds to one or more characteristics of the marker (e.g.,
paint color if the marker
is paint). Other examples of marker characteristics include, but are not
limited to, the type of
marker and a shape of marker. The tag reader 170 may incorporate an antenna
(not shown) to
read the data from a tag (whether passive, active, or any combination
thereof). The data read by
the tag reader 170 can then be sent to the processor 140 for a determination
of the corresponding
characteristic. The corresponding characteristic can then be stored in local
memory 130,
displayed by the interface 120, and/or transmitted external to system 100.
Communication system 110 may include an interface for transmitting data to
and/or
receiving data from one or more external devices and/or systems located either
local to or
remote from the system 100. Communication system 110 may include any type of
interface,
such as an interface for communicating via Ethernet, Bluetooth, Wifi, radio
frequency (RF), a
wide area network (WAN), or another type of network or protocol.
In one implementation, communication system 110 may send marking information
stored in local memory 130 to an external device/system and/or receive
information from an
external device/system. The marking information may be used by the external
device/system to
identify a marker dispensed by a user of system 100, identify a time at which
the marker was
dispensed, and/or determine an amount of the marker used at a particular
location.
System 100, as broadly described herein, may be particularly suited for
incorporation
into marking tools for marking underground utilities. As discussed above, a
marking tool is
used to mark the ground, pavement or other surfaces in order to provide a
visual indication of
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the location of underground utilities. The type of marker that may be used
includes paint that
may be supplied in aerosol canisters that are oriented axially with respect to
the long axis of the
aerosol canisters. The marking tool enables a user to walk or stand erect
while dispensing the
markers.
If system 100 is incorporated into a paint marking tool, a tag may be attached
to the
paint canisters to identify a characteristic of the paint, such as the color
of the paint in the paint
canister. The tag reader 170 can read this paint characteristic (e.g., the
color information) from
the tag when the paint canister is inserted into the marker dispenser 150, and
the processor 140
can display the color information read by the tag reader 170 on the interface
120. Alternatively,
or additionally, the color information may be provided to the user in other
ways. For example,
the color information may be audibly provided to the user (e.g., via a
generated voice or a series
of beeps or honks). The color information may also, or alternatively, be
provided to the user
visually in a manner other than via interface 120. For example, the color
information may be
provided on an object worn or carried by the user (e.g., a pair of glasses, a
bracelet, a ring, etc.
having display capabilities and/or being capable of changing color).
In one implementation, the processor 140 can estimate how much paint of a
particular color has been dispensed. The processor 140 could do this by
maintaining a separate
timer for each color. The timer for a particular color would increase its
count every time the
triggering mechanism is activated and that color is mounted in the marker
dispenser 150 (which
can be determined by reading the tag on the paint canister using the tag
reader 170). This
information can be useful for managing paint inventory or determining whether
the amount of
paint used at a particular location is reasonable given the job to be
performed at that location.
A paint marking tool is just one possible application of system 100. System
100 can
be applied to any marking system that uses markers that can be affixed with
tags. Any marker
characteristic that a user would find useful can be stored on the tag that is
affixed to the marker.
Figure 2 is a diagram of an exemplary marking tool 200. For the description to
follow, assume that the marking too1200 uses paint as the marker. However, it
should be
appreciated that any other marker, such as another type of liquid, flags,
stakes, etc., may be used
in other implementations.
The marking tool 200 may include a housing 220 with an elongated center
housing
portion 240, a top housing portion 260 and a bottom housing portion 280. The
housing 220 may
be formed of any at least semi-rigid material, and may be formed of a
lightweight material such
as aluminum or plastic.
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A paint canister holder 282 may be attached to the bottom housing portion 280.
The
paint canister holder 282 may include an open-ended tubular structure that is
attached to the
bottom housing portion 280 by any suitable attachment mechanisms, such as
rivets, adhesive,
mechanical fasteners or the like. The paint canister holder 282 may be formed
of any material
such as injection-molded plastic, formed sheet metal or any other appropriate
material that may
be fabricated into an open tubular configuration or any other configuration
that will serve to
support a paint canister 284 with the paint canister axis substantially
parallel to the housing 220.
A tag reader 246, which may include a device that can read tags, may be
mounted on
or located within the housing 220. The tag reader 246 may incorporate an
antenna (not shown)
that is capable of reading data from a tag. When a tag 286 is attached to a
paint canister 284 that
incorporates data that corresponds to characteristics of the paint (e.g.,
paint color), the tag reader
246 may read that data. Other examples of marker characteristics include, but
are not limited to,
the type of marker and the shape of marker. The data read by the tag reader
246 can then be sent
to a processor 268 for a determination of the corresponding characteristic.
The corresponding
characteristic can then be provided to the user, stored in local memory 270,
and/or transmitted
external to marking tool 200.
The tag reader 246 may be mounted anywhere on the housing or on the paint
canister
holder 282. However, the tag reader 246 does not have to be mounted anywhere
on the marking
tool 200 itself. For example, the tag reader 246 may be carried by a user. In
general, the tag
reader 246 may be mounted or located at any location, as long as it can
receive data transmitted
from the tag 286.
An actuation mechanism 288 may be attached to the bottom housing portion 280
at a
location from which it can actuate the nozzle 290 of the paint canister 284.
The actuation
mechanism 288 may include a rigid material that depresses the nozzle 290 when
actuated.
However, any mechanism may be used to actuate the nozzle 290 of the paint
canister 284.
A handle 262 may be provided at the top housing portion 260. The handle 262
may
be formed of injection-molded plastic or any other appropriate material, and
may be attached to
the top housing portion 260 by rivets, adhesive, or any other suitable means.
A mechanical
trigger 264 may be provided on the top housing portion 260. The mechanical
trigger 264 may
be located on the handle 262 and attached using any suitable means.
The display 266 may be provided on the top housing portion 260. The display
266
may include a touch-screen display for displaying information to a user, as
well as acting as an
input device. The processor 268 and the local memory 270 are located in the
housing 220. In
one implementation, the processor 268 and local memory 270 may be located in
the top housing
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portion 260 so as to be in close proximity to the display 266 and mechanical
trigger 264. In
another implementation, the processor 268 and local memory 270 may be located
elsewhere
within the housing 220.
A timer 272 may be provided on the top housing portion 260. The timer 272 may
include any device that can output time data to some level of accuracy (e.g.,
accuracy to the
minute, the second, the millisecond, etc.). In one implementation, the timer
272 may be capable
of generating the time data itself. In this situation, the timer 272 may take
the form of a clock.
In another implementation, the timer 272 may receive the time data from
another device external
to marking tool 200. In this situation, the timer 272 may take the form of a
receiver. In some
situations, it may be beneficial for the timer 272 to be synchronized to
another timer. The timer
272 may output time data to the processor 268.
A wireless communication antenna 242 may be located on the housing 220, and
used
to transmit data, such as marking information stored in local memory 270, to
an external
device/system and/or to receive information from an external device/system.
The marking tool 200 may also include one or more input/output ports 244, such
as
USB, SCSI, Firewire, Ethernet and/or other ports, for interfacing with other
equipment and/or
computers.
In operation, a user operates the marking tool 200 while standing or walking
in an
upright manner. A user may control the operation of the tool 200 via display
266, a mechanical
trigger 264, and/or a wireless or wired (hereinafter "wireless/wired")
interface that may be
provided via wireless communication antenna 242 and/or input/output ports 244.
The various operational controls and status indicators of the tool 200 are
displayed on
display 266, and the user can also navigate the controls by touching
particular areas of the
display 266. Although a touch-screen display is one form of the display 266,
any other type of
display or interface may be used such as, for example, a display for
displaying information and a
keypad for entering information. The user may use the display 266 to trigger
the dispensing of
paint and the storing of marking information.
The mechanical trigger 264 may trigger the dispensing of paint and the storing
of
marking information. In one implementation, the tool 200 may store the marking
information
only when paint is being dispensed. This may be accomplished by using a
mechanical trigger
264 that, when activated by the user, triggers both the actuation mechanism
288 for the paint
canister 284 and the storing of the marking information by the processor 268.
The mechanical trigger 264 can trigger the actuation mechanism 288 via a
mechanical connection between the trigger 264 and the actuation mechanism 288.
For example,
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the actuation mechanism 288 can be a rigid material that is connected to the
mechanical trigger
264 via a mechanical linkage (not shown), in which case depressing the
mechanical trigger 264
may cause the actuation mechanism to apply pressure to the nozzle 290 of the
paint canister 284.
However, the mechanical trigger 264 may also, or alternatively, trigger the
actuation mechanism
288 via an electronic connection. The electronic connection may be a hardwired
connection or a
wireless connection. If the connection between the mechanical trigger 264 and
the actuation
mechanism 288 is an electronic connection, the actuation mechanism 288 may
include a
mechanism for generating the force necessary to depress the nozzle 290 of the
paint canister
284.
The wireless/wired interface may be capable of capturing signals that reflect
a user's
intent. For example, the wireless/wired interface may include a microphone
that can capture a
user's intent by capturing the user's audible commands. Alternatively, the
wireless/wired
interface may interact with a device that monitors a condition of the user,
such as eye
movement, brain activity, or heart rate. In either event, the wireless/wired
interface may
generate signals that may be sent to the processor 268 for processing. The
processor 268 may
use the signals to trigger the dispensing of paint and the storing of marking
information.
Figure 3 is a diagram of one embodiment of a triggering system 300 that may be
used
in the marking tool 200 of Figure 2. As shown in Figure 3, the triggering
system 300 may
include the mechanical trigger 264, a wireless/wired trigger 320, and/or a
touch screen display
266, the mechanical actuation device 288, and a signal generator 310.
In operation, a user may trigger the storing of the marking information and
the
dispensing of paint by activating the mechanical trigger 264. The storing of
the marking
information and the dispensing of paint may also, or alternatively, be
triggered by a trigger
signal from wireless/wired trigger 320 or by choosing a command that is
displayed on the touch
screen display 266. It should be appreciated that triggering system 300 may
include a
mechanical trigger 264, a trigger signal from wireless/wired trigger 320, a
trigger command on a
touch screen display 266, or a combination of a mechanical trigger 264, a
trigger signal from
wireless/wired trigger 320, and/or a trigger command on a touch screen display
266 for initiating
the storing of the marking information and the dispensing of paint.
When a user activates the mechanical trigger 264, the mechanical actuation
device
288 and the signal generator 310 are both activated. The mechanical actuation
device 288
actuates the nozzle 290 of the paint canister 284, thus dispensing paint out
of the paint canister
284. The signal generator 310, when activated, sends a signal to the processor
268 indicating
that the mechanical trigger is being activated. As discussed above, this
signal could be used to
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trigger the storing of marking information and/or a timer for keeping track of
how much paint of
a particular color has been dispensed when a tag 286 that identifies the paint
color is attached to
the paint canister 284 that is mounted in the paint canister holder 282.
The mechanical trigger 264 can activate the mechanical actuation device 288
via a
mechanical connection, e.g., a mechanical linkage, between the mechanical
trigger 264 and the
mechanical actuation device 288. Alternatively, the mechanical trigger 264 can
activate the
mechanical actuation device 288 via a wired or wireless electronic connection
between the
mechanical trigger 264 and the mechanical actuation device 288.
If a trigger signal from wireless/wired trigger 320 is used by the user to
initiate
marking information storing and paint dispersal, the wireless/wired trigger
320 may send a
signal to both the mechanical actuation device 288 and the processor 268. The
signal sent to the
mechanical actuation device 288 by the wireless/wired trigger 320 may result
in the actuation of
the nozzle 290 of the paint canister 284 by the mechanical actuation device
288. The signal sent
to the processor 268 by the wireless/wired trigger 320 may trigger the storing
of the marking
information. The signals sent by the wireless/wired trigger 320 to the
mechanical actuation
device 288 and the processor 268 may be sent via a wired or wireless
connection.
If a command on the touch screen display 266 is used by the user to initiate
storing of
marking information and paint dispersal, the touch screen display 266 can send
a signal to both
the mechanical actuation device 288 and the processor 268. The signal sent to
the mechanical
actuation device 288 by the touch screen display 266 may result in the
actuation of the nozzle
290 of the paint canister 284 by the mechanical actuation device 288. The
signal sent to the
processor 268 by the touch screen display 266 may trigger the storing of the
marking
information. The signals sent by the touch screen display 266 to the
mechanical actuation
device 288 and the processor 268 may be sent via a wired or wireless
connection.
The marking information may be used by an external device and/or system to
identify which markers were dispensed, when the markers were dispensed, and/or
an amount of
markers that were dispensed. The marking information may be useful to
determine whether a
user dispensed the correct marker(s) (e.g., the correct color paint) in a
particular location. Also,
the marking information may be used to visually depict (e.g., in real time as
the dispensing
occurs) or reconstruct (e.g., at a later time after the dispensing is
complete) the dispensing of the
markers on an electronic representation of the area that is currently being
marked or was
previously marked. Also, the marking information may be used to determine
whether the job
was completed correctly (e.g., that the amount of paint dispensed at the
location was reasonable
given the job that was to be performed at the location).
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As shown in Figure 4, the marking system 100 may be incorporated into already
existing marking tools by locating the electronics on a board 410 that can be
mounted onto an
existing marking too1400. The processor 268, local memory 270, input/output
ports 244, tag
reader 246 and/or wireless communication antenna 242 may be mounted on the
board 410. The
board 410 can be attached to the marking tool 400 using any means, such as
with fasteners,
clamps, glue, etc.
Figure 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for marking an area. The
process of
Figure 5 may begin with a user of a marking tool, such as marking tool 200
(Figure 2), being
dispatched to a location to be marked. The user might be given a ticket that
identifies what
utilities the user needs to mark at the location. The ticket might specify,
for example, the
location to be marked, the day and/or time that the location is to be marked,
and/or whether the
user is to mark the location for telecommunications (e.g., telephone and/or
cable), power, gas,
water, and/or sewer. The user might arrive at the location and take his/her
marking tool out of
his/her vehicle. In some situations, the user might load his/her pockets with
extra markers (e.g.,
extra canisters of the same color of paint or different colors of paint).
A marker may be loaded into the marking tool (block 510). For example, the
user
may load a paint canister 284 of the appropriate color into paint canister
holder 282. If the user
is going to mark power, for example, the user might load a paint canister 284
containing red
paint. The paint canister 284 may be loaded such that nozzle 290 extends out
of the bottom of
the marking too1200, as illustrated in Figure 2.
In one implementation, as described above, a tag 286 may be affixed to the
paint
canister 284. The tag 286 may store information regarding one or more
characteristics of the
marker. For example, the tag 286 may identify the type of marker (e.g., paint,
flag, stake, etc.),
the color of marker (e.g., orange, red, yellow, blue, or green), and/or the
shape of the marker
(e.g., square, triangular, circular, etc.).
The marker characteristic(s) may be identified (block 520). In one
implementation,
the marker characteristic(s) may be automatically determined. For example,
data from the tag
286 may be read by tag reader 246 and sent to processor 268. The processor 268
may determine
the marker characteristic(s) from this data, and cause information regarding
the marker
characteristic(s) to be presented to the user (e.g., visually and/or audibly).
For example, a user interface may identify a characteristic of the marker. The
user
interface may optionally request the user to confirm that the user intended to
load a marker with
the identified characteristic. The confirmation may establish that the user
actually looked at the
user interface before performing any marking operation. In one implementation,
the user may
CA 02623761 2008-03-17
be unable to activate a trigger for dispensing a marker if the user does not
confirm that the
correct marker is loaded.
In another implementation, the marker characteristic(s) may be manually
determined.
For example, the user may specify the marker characteristic(s) via a user
interface. The user
interface may identify a number of possible characteristics (e.g., paint
colors) of the marker. In
this case, the user interface may request that that user select the paint
color to be dispensed. The
user interface may also identify the utility that corresponds to each of the
possible paint colors
so that the user can confirm that the correct marker is loaded.
Trigger activation may be received (block 530). For example, the user may
effect
trigger activation by applying pressure to the mechanical trigger 264 with
his/her hand.
Alternatively, or additionally, the user may effect trigger activation by, for
example, speaking a
particular command to cause a trigger signal to be output by wireless/wired
trigger 320.
Alternatively, or additionally, the user may effect trigger activation by
touching a particular area
of display 266 to cause a trigger command to be output by display 266.
It may optionally be determined whether to permit trigger activation (block
540).
For example, the user may be required to confirm that a marker with the
correct marker
characteristic was loaded before trigger activation may be permitted.
Alternatively, the marking
tool 200 may be loaded with information from the user's ticket. In this case,
trigger activation
may be prevented when the marker characteristic of the marker does not match
the ticket
information. For example, if the ticket information indicates that the user is
to dispense blue and
yellow paint at a particular location, then activation of the trigger may be
permitted if blue or
yellow paint is loaded into the marking tool 200, and activation of the
trigger may be prevented
otherwise.
If activation of the trigger is permitted, then a marker may be dispensed
(block 550),
and marking information may be stored (block 560). To dispense a marker (block
550), the
actuation device 288 may be activated to cause the nozzle 290 of the paint
canister 284 to be
depressed, which may cause paint from the paint canister 284 to be output via
the nozzle 290.
To store marking information (block 560), a signal may be sent to the
processor 268.
The signal may be sent from the signal generator 310, the wireless/wired
trigger 320, and/or the
display 266, as described above. The signal may instruct the processor 268 to
store the marking
information. For example, the processor 268 may store the marking information
in local
memory 270. In this case, the processor 268 may create an entry in local
memory 270.
Alternatively, or additionally, the processor 268 may store the marking
information by
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transmitting the marking information for storage by a device or system
external to marking tool
200.
Figure 6A is a diagram of an exemplary entry that may be created. As shown in
Figure 6A, an entry may include a marker characteristic(s) field 610 and a
timestamp field 620.
The marker characteristic(s) field 610 may include information regarding one
or more marker
characteristics, such as marker color, marker shape, or marker type. The
information in the
marker characteristic(s) field 610 is shown in Figure 6A as "yellow" or
"yellow paint"--although
any type of descriptive information may be used. The timestamp field 620 may
include time
data that identifies the day and/or time that the marker was dispensed. The
time data in the
timestamp field 620 is shown in Figure 6A as 10:45 a.m. on October 20, 2005--
although any
type of date and/or time code may be used. As explained above, the marking
information may
be useful to determine whether the user dispensed the correct marker(s) (e.g.,
the correct color
paint) in a particular location. For example, the user's ticket may identify
what utility lines were
to be marked in the area. The marking information may help insure that the job
was completed
correctly.
Figure 6B is a diagram of another exemplary entry that may be created. As
shown in
Figure 6B, an entry may include a marker characteristic(s) field 610, a
timestamp field 620, and
a count field 630. The marker characteristic(s) field 610 and the timestamp
field 620 may be
similar to the similarly named fields in Figure 6A. The count field 630 may
include information
that identifies the number of times that the user activated the trigger to
dispense a marker (e.g.,
yellow paint). The information in the count field 630 is shown in Figure 6B as
twenty-three--
although any count value can be used. The information in the count field 630
may be useful to
determine or estimate an amount of paint that was dispensed at the location
and, thus, whether
the amount of paint was reasonable given the job that was to be performed.
Figure 6C is a diagram of another exemplary entry that may be created. As
shown in
Figure 6C, an entry may include a marker characteristic(s) field 640, a
timestamp field 620, and
an elapsed time field 650. The marker characteristic(s) field 640 and the
timestamp field 620
may be similar to the similarly named fields in Figure 6A. In this case,
however, the marker
characteristic(s) field 640 may additionally store an identifier that
identifies a particular marker
(e.g., a particular canister of paint). The identifier is shown in Figure 6C
as " 12345 "--although
any type of identifier may be used.
The elapsed time field 650 may include information that identifies the amount
of
time that has elapsed from when the user activated the trigger for dispensing
a marker (e.g.,
yellow paint) to when the user ceased activating the trigger. The information
in the elapsed time
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CA 02623761 2008-03-17
field 650 is shown in Figure 6C as three minutes, forty five seconds, and
three one hundredths of
a second--although any time code can be used. The information in the elapsed
time field 650
may be useful to determine or estimate when a supply of markers is nearly
empty. The
information in the elapsed time field 650 may help determine when to replace
the canister. The
elapsed time or a signal indicating that a supply of markers needs to be
replaced may be
presented to the user visually and/or audibly. The information in the elapsed
time field 650 may
also, or alternatively, be useful to determine or estimate an amount of
markers used in a
particular location.
While three exemplary entries have been described with regard to Figs. 6A-6C,
an
entry may include more, fewer, different, or combinations of the fields shown
in Figs. 6A-6C.
The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the
description
to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in
light of the above
disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the invention.
For example, the processors 140 and 268 can be general purpose computers.
Alternatively, they can be special purpose computers, programmed
microprocessors or
microcontrollers and peripheral integrated circuit elements, ASICs or other
integrated circuits,
hardwired electronic or logic circuits such as discrete element circuits,
programmable logic
devices such as FPGA, PLD, PLA or PAL or the like. In general, any device
capable of
executing code can be used to implement processors 140 and 268. Local memories
130 and 270
can be implemented with any type of electronic memory and/or storage device
using any type of
media, such as magnetic, optical or other media.
Further, while a series of blocks have been illustrated in Figure 5, the order
of the
blocks may differ in other implementations. Also, non-dependent blocks may be
performed in
parallel.
Also, it has been described that information regarding an elapsed time can be
used to
determine or estimate when a supply of markers is nearly empty. In another
implementation, a
sensor may be used to detect a weight of a paint canister 284. The sensor may
be placed on the
paint canister 284 or within the paint canister holder 282. The weight of the
paint canister 284
may be used to estimate how full or empty the paint canister 284 is. This
information may be
provided to an operator of the marking tool 200 visually and/or audibly. In
one implementation,
replacing the paint canister 284 may trigger the identification of the marker
characteristic (e.g.,
paint color) by the tag reader 246. This may help reduce the overall battery
life of the tag reader
246 and/or the tag 286 by limiting the number of times that the tag reader 246
is used (e.g., only
13
CA 02623761 2008-03-17
obtain the marker characteristic when the paint canister 284 is initially
loaded into paint canister
holder 282).
It will be apparent that aspects, as described above, may be implemented in
many
different forms of software, firmware, and hardware in the implementations
illustrated in the
figures. The actual software code or specialized control hardware used to
implement these
aspects is not limiting of the description provided herein. Thus, the
operation and behavior of
the aspects were described without reference to the specific software code-=it
being understood
that software and control hardware can be designed to implement the aspects
based on the
description herein.
No element, act, or instruction used in the present application should be
construed as
critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such.
Also, as used herein, the
article "a" is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is
intended, the term
"one" or similar language is used. Further, the phrase "based on" is intended
to mean "based, at
least in part, on" unless explicitly stated otherwise.
14
