Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SEARCHABLE ELECTRONIC RECORDS OF UNDERGROUND FACILITY
LOCATE MARKING OPERATIONS
Background
100011 Excavators are required to notify underground facility owners/operators
in
advance of their excavation activities and to describe and communicate the
geographic
area of those activities to underground facility owners/operators. The
geographic area so
described is commonly referred to as "the dig area." In turn, facility
owners/operators are
required to determine if they own or operate any underground facilities at an
identified dig
area. The presence of underground facilities at a dig area is generally
detected using a
device commonly referred to as a "locate wand." Locate wands use a number of
electronic methods to detect the presence of underground facilities. The
location of those
underground facilities, if any, which exist within a dig area, is marked using
paint or some
other physical marking system, such as flags. Paint is generally applied as a
sequence of
dashes or dots on the surface (grass, dirt, asphalt, concrete, etc.) directly
above the
underground facility and is color-coded to indicate to the excavator the type
(e.g., gas,
water, sewer, power, telephone, cable television, etc.) of the underground
facility present.
Flags, which also may identify the underground facility via color-coding, can
be placed in
the ground directly above the underground facility being marked. Paint and/or
flags can
be dispensed using various devices. The application of paint, flags, or some
other marking
object to indicate the presence of an underground facility is called a
"locate." The marks
resulting from a locate are commonly called underground facility "locate
marks."
100021 Underground facility owners/operators may perform locates with in-house
employees or choose to hire independent contract locating firms to perform
locates on
their behalf. Generally, the person performing the locate operation is called
a locate
technician. The set of instructions necessary for a locate technician to
perform a locate
operation may be called a "ticket." A ticket might specify, for example, the
address or
description of the dig area to be marked, the day and/or time that the dig
area is to be
marked, and/or whether the user is to mark the dig area for telecommunications
(e.g.,
telephone and/or cable television), power, gas, water, sewer, or some other
underground
facility.
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[00031 It is generally recommended, or in some jurisdictions required, to
document the
type and number of underground facilities located, i.e. telephone, power, gas,
water,
sewer, etc., and the approximate geographic location of the locate marks.
Often times it is
also recommended or required to document the distance, or "offset" of the
locate marks
from environmental landmarks that exist at the dig area. An environmental
landmark may
include any physical object that is likely to remain in a fixed location for
an extended
period of time. Examples of an environmental landmark may include a tree, a
curb, a
driveway, a utility pole, a fire hydrant, a storm drain, a pedestal, a water
meter box, a
manhole lid, a building structure (e.g., a residential or office building), or
a light post. For
example, a telephone cable located two and a half meters behind the curb of a
residential
street would be documented as being offset two and a half meters behind the
curb. These
offsets serve as evidence supporting the location of the locate marks after
those locate
marks may have been disturbed by the excavation process.
[00041 Documentation of some or all of the information regarding a locate
operation is
often called a "manifest." A manifest may typically contain a variety of
information
related to a locate operation including a sketch or drawing of the dig area
that identifies
the approximate location of the locate marks and environmental landmarks
present at the
dig area; the time and date the locate operation was performed; identification
of the entity
and the locate technician performing the locate operation; the entity
requesting the locate
operation; the geographic address of the dig area; the type of markings used
for the locate
operation (e.g., colored paint, flags, or other markers); notes from the
locate technician;
and/or a technician signature.
[00051 If performing locate operations with in-house employees, each
individual
underground facility owner/operator generally documents on the manifest only
the
existence of its facilities and the approximate location of its locate marks.
If an
independent contract locating firm is hired to perform locates for more than
one
underground facility owner/operator, the contract locating firm may document
on the
manifest some or all of the underground facilities at the dig area that it
located and the
approximate location of all the locate marks.
100061 Currently, locate marks are generally documented using a sketching
process
which results in the creation of a paper manifest. Sketches are produced by
hand, are not
to scale, prone to human error, and costly in drafting time spent by the
locate technician.
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They are stored manually or in some jurisdictions are digitally
scanned/photographed and
the image stored electronically. Because the manifests are stored as paper or
digital
images, they are not easily interrogated for data in any mechanized way.
Summary
[0007] Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to methods,
apparatus and systems for creating a searchable electronic record, or
"electronic manifest,"
relating to a geographic area including a dig area to be excavated or
otherwise disturbed.
As part of the electronic record, the geographic location of one or more
physical locate
marks, applied to the dig area during a locate operation to indicate a
presence (or absence)
of one or more located underground facilities, is somehow identified with
respect to its
immediate surroundings in the geographic area.
[0008] To create such an electronic record, in one exemplary implementation
one or
more input images relating to the geographic area including the dig area may
be utilized.
For example, source data representing one or more input images of a geographic
area
including the dig area is received and/or processed so that the input image(s)
may be
displayed on a display device. The geographic location of the physical locate
mark(s) is
then indicated in some manner on the displayed input image(s) so as to
generate one or
more marked-up images constituting at least a portion of the electronic
record. For
example, geographic locations of the physical locate mark(s) may be indicated
in the
marked-up image(s) using digital representation(s) of the physical locate
mark(s) ("locate
mark indicators") that are added to the marked-up image(s). In other
implementations, the
input image need not necessarily be displayed to add one or more locate mark
indicators;
for example, geographic information relating to one or more physical locate
marks applied
to the dig area may be received and locate mark indicator(s) may be added to
the input
image based on the geographic information, without requiring display of the
input image.
[0009] In some implementations of the inventive concepts disclosed herein, the
searchable electronic record may include a variety of non-image information to
facilitate
identification of the geographic location of the physical locate mark(s)
(e.g., a text
description of the geographic location of the physical locate mark(s), an
address or lot
number of a property within which the physical locate mark(s) are located, geo-
encoded
information such as geographic coordinates relating to the physical locate
mark(s) and/or
various aspects of the geographic area surrounding the physical locate
mark(s), as well as
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other non-image information relating generally to the locate operation (e.g.,
a timestamp
for the locate operation, geographic information relating to the dig area, one
or more
identifiers for a locate technician and/or a locate company performing the
locate operation,
information regarding one or more environmental landmarks, etc.). The marked-
up
image(s) and the non-image information may be formatted in a variety of
manners in the
searchable electronic record; for example, in one implementation the non-image
information may be included as metadata associated with the marked-up
image(s), while
in other implementations the marked-up image(s) and the non-image information
may be
formatted as separate data sets. These separate data sets may be transmitted
and/or stored
separately. In another aspect, whether transmitted/stored separately or
together, the
marked-up image(s) and the non-image information may be linked together in
some
manner as relating to a common electronic record.
100101 In sum, one embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method
performed by a device. The method comprises receiving information regarding a
particular geographic area; retrieving an aerial image of the particular
geographic area;
displaying the aerial image; determining an approximate geographic location of
a locate
mark denoting an underground facility; overlaying, on the displayed aerial
image,
information concerning the approximate geographic location of the locate mark
denoting
the underground facility; and storing the aerial image and the information
concerning the
approximate geographic location of the locate mark denoting the underground
facility.
[0011] Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a device,
comprising a memory to store aerial images of a plurality of geographic areas;
and a
processing unit to receive information regarding a particular one of the
geographic areas,
retrieve one of the aerial images from the memory based on the received
information,
receive information concerning an approximate geographic location of an
underground
facility locate mark located within the particular geographic area, present,
on the retrieved
aerial image, the information concerning the approximate geographic location
of the
underground facility locate mark, and store the retrieved aerial image and the
information
concerning the approximate geographic location of the underground facility
locate mark.
[0012] A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a system,
comprising means for identifying a geographic area; means for retrieving an
aerial image
of the geographic area; means for displaying the retrieved image; means for
receiving
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input from a user concerning an approximate geographic location of underground
facility
locate marks that are located within the geographic area; means for
presenting, on the
displayed aerial image, a marking that identifies the approximate geographic
location of
the underground facility locate marks within the geographic area; and means
for storing
the displayed aerial image with the marking that identifies the approximate
geographic
location of the underground facility locate marks.
[0013] Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a system,
comprising a central server to store a plurality of aerial images of a
corresponding
plurality of geographical locations; and a user device to identify a
particular geographic
location, determine whether the user device stores an aerial image
corresponding to the
particular geographic location, retrieve the aerial image from the central
server when the
user device does not store the aerial image corresponding to the particular
geographic
location, retrieve the aerial image from a local memory when the user device
stores the
aerial image corresponding to the particular geographic location, display the
aerial image,
receive information regarding an approximate location of underground facility
locate
marks located at the particular geographic location, and present, on the
displayed aerial
image, a marking that identifies the approximate location of the underground
facility
locate marks.
[0014] A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method
performed by a device. The method comprises receiving information regarding a
particular geographic area; retrieving an aerial image of the particular
geographic area;
receiving, from a global positioning system (GPS)-enabled device, information
regarding
an approximate location of underground facility locate marks; displaying, as a
combined
image, the aerial image and the information regarding the approximate location
of
underground facility locate marks; and storing the combined image.
[0015] Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a device,
comprising a memory to store images of a plurality of geographic locations; a
processing
unit to retrieve one of the images from the memory based on received
information, the
received information concerning a geographic location of an underground
facility locate
mark located within a particular dig area; present, on the retrieved image,
the received
information of the underground facility locate mark; and store the retrieved
image and the
received information of the geographic location of the underground facility
locate mark.
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[00161 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a system,
comprising means for identifying a geographic location; means for retrieving
an image of
the geographic location; means for displaying the retrieved image; means for
receiving
input from a user concerning a geographic location of underground facility
locate marks
that are located within the dig area; means for presenting, on the displayed
image, a
marking that identifies the geographic location of the underground facility
locate marks
within the dig area; and means for storing the displayed image with the
marking that
identifies the geographic location of the underground facility locate marks.
[00171 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a system,
comprising a central server to store a plurality of images of a plurality of
geographical
locations; a user device to identify at least one of the geographic locations,
and to retrieve
the image from the central server when the user device does not store the
image
corresponding to at least one of the geographic locations, or to retrieve the
image from a
local memory when the user device stores the image corresponding to the at
least one of
the geographic locations; display the image; receive information regarding an
approximate
location of underground facility locate marks located at the at least one
geographic
location; and present, on the displayed image, a marking that identifies the
approximate
location of the underground facility locate marks.
[00181 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method
for
generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a
locate
technician. The locate operation comprises identifying, using at least one
physical locate
mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a
dig area. At
least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation activities.
The method comprises A) electronically receiving a digital image of a
geographic area
comprising the dig area, at least a portion of the received digital image
being displayed on
a display device; B) adding to the displayed digital image at least one
digital
representation of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate
technician
during the locate operation so as to generate a marked-up digital image
including the at
least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and
C)
electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating
to the
marked-up digital image so as to generate the searchable electronic record of
the locate
operation.
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100191 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a
computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at
least one
processing unit, perform a method of generating a searchable electronic record
of a locate
operation performed by a locate technician. The locate operation comprises
identifying,
using at least one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least
one
underground facility within a dig area. At least a portion of the dig area may
be excavated
or disturbed during excavation activities, the method comprising A)
electronically
receiving a digital image of a geographic area comprising the dig area; B)
receiving user
input regarding a geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark
applied by
the locate technician during the locate operation; and C) rendering a screen
display
comprising at least a portion of the received digital image and at least one
digital
representation of the at least one physical locate mark, wherein the at least
one digital
representation is positioned with respect to the at least a portion of the
received digital
image based at least in part on the user input received in B).
100201 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to an
apparatus for
facilitating generation of a searchable electronic record of a locate
operation performed by
a locate technician. The locate operation comprising identifying, using at
least one
physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground
facility within
a dig area. At least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed
during
excavation activities. The apparatus comprises a communication interface; a
display
device; a user input device; a memory to store processor-executable
instructions; and a
processing unit coupled to the communication interface, the display device,
the user input
device, and the memory, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable
instructions
by the processing unit. The processing unit controls the communication
interface to
electronically receive a digital image of a geographic area including the dig
area; controls
the display device to display at least a portion of the received digital
image; acquires user
input from the user input device, the user input relating to a geographic
location of the at
least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician during the
locate operation;
generates a marked-up digital image including at least one digital
representation of the at
least one physical locate mark based at least in part on the user input; and
further controls
the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit
and/or
electronically store information relating to the marked-up digital image so as
to generate
the searchable electronic record of the locate operation.
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[00211 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for
generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a
locate
technician. The locate operation comprises identifying, using at least one
physical locate
mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a
dig area. At
least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation activities.
The method comprises A) electronically receiving a digital image of a
geographic area
comprising the dig area, at least a portion of the received digital image
being displayed on
a display device; B) electronically receiving location information regarding
an identified
location of the at least one physical locate mark; C) based at least in part
on the location
information received in B), digitally representing, on the displayed digital
image, the
identified location of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the
locate technician
during the locate operation so as to generate a marked-up digital image
including the at
least one digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and
D)
electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating
to the
marked-up digital image so as to generate the searchable electronic record of
the locate
operation.
100221 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a
computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at
least one
processing unit, perform a method of generating a searchable electronic record
of a locate
operation performed by a locate technician. The locate operation comprises
identifying,
using at least one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least
one
underground facility within a dig area. At least a portion of the dig area may
be excavated
or disturbed during excavation activities. The method comprises A)
electronically
receiving a digital image of a geographic area comprising the dig area; B)
electronically
receiving, from a GPS-enabled device, information regarding a GPS-determined
geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the
locate
technician during the locate operation; C) rendering a screen display
comprising at least a
portion of the received digital image and at least one digital representation
of the at least
one physical locate mark, wherein the at least one digital representation is
positioned with
respect to the at least a portion of the received digital image based on the
GPS-determined
geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark; and D)
electronically
transmitting and/or electronically storing information identifying the GPS-
determined
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geographic location of the at least one physical locate mark so as to document
the at least
one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician.
[00231 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to an apparatus
for
facilitating generation of a searchable electronic record of a locate
operation performed by
a locate technician. The locate operation comprises identifying, using at
least one physical
locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility
within a dig
area. At least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation
activities. The apparatus comprises a communication interface; a display
device; a
memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit
coupled to the
communication interface, the display device, and the memory, wherein upon
execution of
the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit. The processing
unit controls
the communication interface to electronically receive a digital image of a
geographic area
including the dig area; controls the display device to display at least a
portion of the
received digital image; acquires input from a marking device configured to
apply the at
least one physical locate mark to the dig area, the input relating to a
geographic location of
the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician during
the locate
operation; generates a marked-up digital image including at least one digital
representation
of the at least one physical locate mark, based at least in part on the input
acquired from
the marking device; and further controls the communication interface and/or
the memory
to electronically transmit and/or electronically store information relating to
the marked-up
digital image so as to generate the searchable electronic record of the locate
operation.
[00241 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to an
apparatus for
facilitating generation of a searchable electronic record of a locate
operation performed by
a locate technician. The locate operation comprises identifying a presence or
an absence
of at least one underground facility within a dig area. At least a portion of
the dig area
may be excavated or disturbed during excavation activities. The apparatus
comprises a
communication interface; a display device; a memory to store processor-
executable
instructions; and a processing unit coupled to the communication interface,
the display
device, and the memory. Upon execution of the processor-executable
instructions by the
processing unit, the processing unit controls the communication interface to
electronically
receive an image of a geographic area including the dig area; controls the
display device to
display at least a portion of the received image; combines the electronically
received
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image with image-related information so as to generate the searchable
electronic record,
and controls the communication interface and/or the memory to electronically
transmit and/or electronically store the searchable electronic record of the
locate operation
so that performance of the location operation is verifiable. The image-related
information
comprises a geographic location associated with the dig area; and a timestamp
indicative
of when the locate operation occurred.
[0025] Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for
generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a
locate
technician. The locate operation comprises identifying a presence or an
absence of at least
one underground facility within a dig area. At least a portion of the dig area
may be
excavated or disturbed during excavation activities. The method comprises A)
electronically receiving an image of a geographic area comprising the dig
area; B)
combining the electronically received image with image-related information so
as to
generate the searchable electronic record; and C) electronically transmitting
and/or
electronically storing the searchable electronic record of the locate
operation so that
performance of the location operation is verifiable. The image-related
information
comprises a geographic location associated with the dig area; and a timestamp
indicative
of when the locate operation occurred.
[0026] A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a
computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at
least one
processing unit, perform a method of generating a searchable electronic record
of a locate
operation performed by a locate technician. The locate operation comprises
identifying a
presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a dig area,
wherein at
least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation activities.
The method comprises A) electronically receiving an image of a geographic area
comprising the dig area; B) combining the electronically received image with
image-related information so as to generate the searchable electronic record;
and C)
electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing the searchable
electronic record of
the locate operation so that performance of the location operation is
verifiable. The
image-related information comprises a geographic location associated with the
dig area;
and a timestamp indicative of when the locate operation occurred.
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[00271 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for
generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a
locate
technician. The locate operation comprises identifying, using at least one
physical locate
mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a
dig area. At
least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation activities.
The method comprises A) electronically receiving source data representing at
least one
input image of a geographic area comprising the dig area; B) processing the
source data so
as to display at least a portion of the at least one input image on a display
device; C)
adding to the displayed at least one input image at least one digital
representation of the at
least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician during the
locate operation
so as to generate a marked-up image including the at least one digital
representation of the
at least one physical locate mark; and D) electronically transmitting and/or
electronically
storing information relating to the marked-up image so as to generate the
searchable
electronic record of the locate operation.
[00281 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to at least
one
computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at
least one
processing unit, perform a method for generating a searchable electronic
record of a locate
operation performed by a locate technician. The locate operation comprises
identifying,
using at least one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least
one
underground facility within a dig area. At least a portion of the dig area may
be excavated
or disturbed during excavation activities. The method comprises A)
electronically
receiving source data representing at least one input image of a geographic
area
comprising the dig area; B) processing the source data so as to display at
least a portion of
the at least one input image on a display device; C) adding to the displayed
at least one
input image at least one digital representation of the at least one physical
locate mark
applied by the locate technician during the locate operation so as to generate
a marked-up
image including the at least one digital representation of the at least one
physical locate
mark; and D) electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing
information relating
to the marked-up image so as to generate the searchable electronic record of
the locate
operation.
[00291 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to an apparatus
for
facilitating generation of a searchable electronic record of a locate
operation performed by
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a locate technician. The locate operation comprises identifying, using at
least one physical
locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility
within a dig
area. At least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation
activities. The apparatus comprises a communication interface; a display
device; a
memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit
coupled to the
communication interface, the display device, and the memory, wherein upon
execution of
the processor-executable instructions by the processing unit. The processing
unit controls
the communication interface to electronically receive source data representing
at least one
input image of a geographic area including the dig area; processes the source
data and
controls the display device so as to display at least a portion of the at
least one input
image; adds to the displayed at least one input image at least one digital
representation of
the at least one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician during
the locate
operation so as to generate a marked-up image including the at least one
digital
representation of the at least one physical locate mark; and further controls
the
communication interface and/or the memory to electronically transmit and/or
electronically store information relating to the marked-up image so as to
generate the
searchable electronic record of the locate operation.
[00301 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method
for
generating a searchable electronic record of a locate operation performed by a
locate
technician. The locate operation comprises identifying, using at least one
physical locate
mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility within a
dig area. At
least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation activities.
The method comprises A) electronically receiving source data representing at
least one
input image of a geographic area comprising the dig area, the at least one
input image
including at least one dig area indicator to provide at least one indication
of the dig area in
the displayed at least one input image; B) processing the source data so as to
display at
least a portion of the at least one input image including the at least one dig
area indicator
on a display device; C) adding to the displayed at least one input image at
least one locate
mark indicator to provide a digital representation of the at least one
physical locate mark
applied by the locate technician during the locate operation, thereby
generating a
marked-up image including the at least one dig area indicator and the at least
one locate
mark indicator; and D) electronically transmitting and/or electronically
storing information
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relating to the marked-up image so as to generate the searchable electronic
record of the
locate operation.
100311 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed at least one
computer-readable medium encoded with instructions that, when executed on at
least one
processing unit, perform a method of generating a searchable electronic record
of a locate
operation performed by a locate technician. The locate operation comprises
identifying,
using at least one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least
one
underground facility within a dig area. At least a portion of the dig area may
be
excavated or disturbed during excavation activities. The method comprises A)
electronically receiving source data representing at least one input image of
a geographic
area comprising the dig area, the at least one input image including at least
one dig area
indicator to provide at least one indication of the dig area in the displayed
at least one
input image; B) processing the source data so as to display at least a portion
of the at least
one input image including the at least one dig area indicator on a display
device; C) adding
to the displayed at least one input image at least one locate mark indicator
to provide a
digital representation of the at least one physical locate mark applied by the
locate
technician during the locate operation, thereby generating a marked-up image
including
the at least one dig area indicator and the at least one locate mark
indicator; and D)
electronically transmitting and/or electronically storing information relating
to the
marked-up image so as to generate the searchable electronic record of the
locate operation.
[00321 A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to an
apparatus for
facilitating generation of a searchable electronic record of a locate
operation performed by
a locate technician. The locate operation comprises identifying, using at
least one physical
locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility
within a dig
area. At least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or disturbed during
excavation
activities. The apparatus comprises a communication interface; a display
device; a
memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processing unit
coupled to the
communication interface, the display device, and the memory. Upon execution of
the
processor-executable instructions by the processing unit, the processing unit
controls the
communication interface to electronically receive source data representing at
least one
input image of a geographic area comprising the dig area, the at least one
input image
including at least one dig area indicator to provide at least one indication
of the dig area in
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the displayed at least one input image; processes the source data and controls
the display
device so as to display at least a portion of the at least one input image
including the at
least one dig area indicator on the display device; adds to the displayed at
least one input
image at least one locate mark indicator to provide a digital representation
of the at least
one physical locate mark applied by the locate technician during the locate
operation,
thereby generating a marked-up image including the at least one dig area
indicator and the
at least one locate mark indicator; and further controls the communication
interface and/or
the memory to electronically transmit and/or electronically store information
relating to
the marked-up image so as to generate the searchable electronic record of the
locate
operation.
100331 Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method for
certifying a locate operation. The locate operation comprises identifying,
using at least
one physical locate mark, a presence or an absence of at least one underground
facility
within a dig area. At least a portion of the dig area may be excavated or
disturbed during
excavation activities. The method comprises A) electronically recalling, via a
display
device coupled to a central server, a searchable electronic record of a locate
operation
performed by a locate technician, the searchable electronic record stored in
memory
associated with the central server. The searchable electronic record comprises
(i) a
marked-up digital image comprising a digital image of a geographic area
comprising the
dig area, and at least one digital representation, marked on the digital image
of the
geographic area, of the at least one physical locate mark, and (ii) a data set
associated with
the marked-up digital image, the data set including information relating to
the locate
operation. The method further comprises B) verifying, based at least in part
on the
electronically recalled searchable electronic record, whether the at least one
digital
representation of the at least one physical locate mark in the marked-up
digital image
accurately reflects the presence or the absence of the at least one
underground facility
within the dig area; C) altering the searchable electronic record, via a user
interface device
associated with the display device, to indicate completion of B); and D)
electronically
transmitting and/or electronically storing the altered searchable electronic
record so as to
facilitate the excavation activities and/or an investigation thereof.
100341 It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing
concepts and
additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts
are not
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mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject
matter
disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter
appearing at the
end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject
matter
disclosed herein. It should also be appreciated that terminology explicitly
employed
herein should be accorded a meaning most consistent with the particular
concepts
disclosed herein.
Brief Description of the Drawings
100351 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:
[0036] Fig. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary searchable electronic record of a
locate
operation, according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0037] Fig. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary network in which the various
inventive
concepts described herein may be implemented, according to one embodiment of
the
present invention;
[0038] Fig. 3 is a diagram of exemplary components of the user device of Fig.
2;
[00391 Fig. 4 is a diagram of exemplary components of the central server of
Fig. 2;
[00401 Fig. 5 is a diagram of exemplary software routines for components of
Fig. 2;
[0041] Fig. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for creating an
electronic
manifest of underground facility locate marks, according to one embodiment of
the present
invention;
[00421 Fig. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary data set that may be stored in the
memory
of Fig. 3 and/or Fig. 4, according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[00431 Fig. 8 is a diagram of an exemplary user interface that may be
presented via the
user device of Fig. 2, according to one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0044] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating various elements of a searchable
electronic
record of a locate operation according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
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Detailed Description
100451 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.
OVERVIEW
100461 Fig. I is a diagram illustrating an exemplary searchable electronic
record, or
"electronic manifest," of a locate operation, according to one embodiment of
the present
invention. When locating underground facilities at a geographic location, such
as at a dig
area 100 associated with a residence or a business, it may be beneficial to
document locate
marks in a permanent and reproducible manner. For example, a locate technician
may
locate and mark underground facilities using a locating device and/or a
marking device. A
locating device may generally be defined as a locating wand or another device
used to
detect the presence of underground facilities, while a marking device may
generally be
defined as any tool (e.g., a paint wand) to apply a physical locate mark, such
as paint or
other material to a surface. The locate technician may use paint, flags, or
some other
object with a particular color or other characteristic to mark the location of
an
underground facility. Referring to the example shown in Fig. 1, the locate
technician may
use red paint to mark underground power lines 110, orange paint to mark
telecommunications (e.g., telephone and/or cable television) lines 120, and
yellow paint to
mark gas lines 130.
[00471 The locate technician may also identify one or more environmental
landmarks
that are present at or near the dig area and/or determine the distance between
the
environmental landmark(s) and the located underground facility. For example, a
transformer 140 may be indicated as an environmental landmark, as shown in
Fig. 1. The
geographic location of transformer 140 may be used to measure offsets to other
locate
marks in the dig area.
[00481 As described herein, documentation of some or all of this information
regarding a locate operation is created as a searchable electronic record,
also referred to
herein as "an electronic manifest." An electronic manifest, as used herein,
may generally
refer to one or more computer-readable files that include some or all of the
information in
a manifest. The electronic manifest may be created using one or more input
images of a
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dig area, such as dig area 100, that may be combined with other information
(e.g.,
non-image information) that is added by the user (e.g., a locate technician)
about the locate
operation. In other implementations, an electronic manifest may be created
using one or
more input images of a dig area combined with information about locate marks
that is
provided by other sources. Other implementations may use one or more input
images of a
dig area combined with information that is added by the user and information
that is
provided by other sources. As used herein, a "user" may refer to any person
operating a
device to create an electronic manifest, such as a locate technician, a site
supervisor, or
any other person or group of people.
[00491 Accordingly, various embodiments of the present invention are directed
to
methods, apparatus and systems for creating a searchable electronic record, or
"electronic
manifest," relating to a geographic area including a dig area to be excavated
or otherwise
disturbed. As part of the electronic record, the geographic location of one or
more
physical locate marks, applied to the dig area during a locate operation to
indicate a
presence (or absence) of one or more located underground facilities, is
somehow identified
with respect to its immediate surroundings in the geographic area.
100501 To create such an electronic record, in one exemplary implementation
one or
more input images relating to the geographic area including the dig area may
be utilized.
For example, source data representing one or more input images of a geographic
area
including the dig area is received and/or processed so that the input image(s)
may be
displayed on a display device. The geographic location of the physical locate
mark(s) is
then indicated in some manner on the displayed input image(s) so as to
generate one or
more marked-up images constituting at least a portion of the electronic
record. For
example, geographic locations of the physical locate mark(s) may be indicated
in the
marked-up image(s) using digital representation(s) of the physical locate
mark(s) ("locate
mark indicators") that are added to the marked-up image(s). In other
implementations, the
input image need not necessarily be displayed to add one or more locate mark
indicators;
for example, geographic information relating to one or more physical locate
marks applied
to the dig area may be received and locate mark indicator(s) may be added to
the input
image based on the geographic information, without requiring display of the
input image.
[00511 In some implementations of the inventive concepts disclosed herein, the
searchable electronic record may include a variety of non-image information
regarding the
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locate operation (e.g., a text description of the geographic location of the
dig area, an
address or lot number of a property within which the dig area is located, geo-
encoded
information such as geographic coordinates relating to the physical locate
mark(s) and/or
various aspects of the geographic area surrounding the physical locate
mark(s), a
timestamp for the locate operation, one or more identifiers for a locate
technician and/or a
locate company performing the locate operation, information regarding one or
more
environmental landmarks, etc.). The marked-up image(s) and the non-image
information
may be formatted in a variety of manners in the searchable electronic record;
for example,
in one implementation the non-image information may be included as metadata
associated
with the marked-up image(s), while in other implementations the marked-up
image(s) and
the non-image information may be formatted as separate data sets. These
separate data
sets may be transmitted and/or stored separately. In another aspect, whether
transmitted/stored separately or together, the marked-up image(s) and the non-
image
information may be linked together in some manner as relating to a common
electronic
record.
100521 As may be observed from Fig. 1, an input image serving as a starting
point for
creating a searchable electronic record according to various embodiments of
the present
invention may be displayed (e.g., on a laptop computer), and the displayed
input image
provides a view of the geographic area including dig area 100 (which, in Fig.
1, is
essentially an entire property surrounding a building). Various embodiments
relating to
the inventive concepts disclosed herein enable locate technicians or other
users to indicate
a geographic location of physical locate mark(s) applied to the dig area
during a locate
operation on one or more displayed input images. For purposes of the present
disclosure,
an input image is any image represented by source data that is electronically
processed
(e.g., the source data is in a computer-readable format) to display the image
on a display
device. An input image may include any of a variety of paper/tangible image
sources that
are scanned (e.g., via an electronic scanner) or otherwise converted so as to
create source
data (e.g., in various formats such as XML, PDF, JPG, BMP, etc.) that can be
processed to
display the input image. An input image also may include an image that
originates as
source data or an electronic file without necessarily having a corresponding
paper/tangible
copy of the image (e.g., an image of a "real-world" scene acquired by a
digital still frame
or video camera or other image acquisition device, in which the source data,
at least in
part, represents pixel information from the image acquisition device).
I I I ..
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[00531 In some exemplary implementations, input images according to the
present
disclosure may be created, provided, and/or processed by a geographic
information system
(GIS) that captures, stores, analyzes, manages and presents data referring to
(or linked to)
location, such that the source data representing the input image includes
pixel information
from an image acquisition device (corresponding to an acquired "real world"
scene or
representation thereof), and/or spatial/geographic information ("geo-encoded
information"). In this manner, a GIS provides a framework for data
manipulation and
display of images that may facilitate one or more of (a) location
verification, (b) location
correlation, (c) locational relationships, (d) district coding, (e) route
analysis, (f) area
analysis and (g) mapping/display creation, for example.
[00541 In view of the foregoing, various examples of input images and source
data
representing input images according to the present disclosure, to which the
inventive
concepts disclosed herein may be applied, include but are not limited to:
= Manual "free-hand" paper sketches of the geographic area (which may include
one or more buildings, natural or man-made landmarks, property boundaries,
streets/intersections, public works or facilities such as street lighting,
signage,
fire hydrants, mail boxes, parking meters, etc.);
= Various maps indicating surface features and/or extents of geographical
areas,
such as street/road maps, topographical maps, military maps, parcel maps, tax
maps, town and county planning maps, call-center and/or facility polygon
maps, virtual maps, etc. (such maps may or may not include geo-encoded
information);
= Facility maps illustrating installed underground facilities, such as gas,
power,
telephone, cable, fiber optics, water, sewer, drainage, etc. Facility maps may
also indicate street-level features (streets, buildings, public facilities,
etc.) in
relation to the depicted underground facilities. Examples of facility maps
include CAD drawings that may be created and viewed with a GIS to include
geo-encoded information (e.g., metadata) that provides location information
(e.g., infrastructure vectors) for represented items on the facility map;
= Architectural, construction and/or engineering drawings and virtual
renditions
of a space/geographic area (including "as built" or post-construction
drawings);
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= Land surveys, i.e., plots produced at ground level using references to known
points such as the center line of a street to plot the metes and bounds and
related location data regarding a building, parcel, utility, roadway, or other
object or installation;
= A grid (a pattern of horizontal and vertical lines used as a reference) to
provide
representational geographic information (which may be used "as is" for an
input image or as an overlay for an acquired "real world" scene, drawing, map,
etc.);
= "Bare" data representing geo-encoded information (geographical data points)
and not necessarily derived from an acquired/captured real-world scene (e.g.,
not pixel information from a digital camera or other digital image acquisition
device). Such "bare" data may be nonetheless used to construct a displayed
input image, and may be in any of a variety of computer-readable formats,
including XML);
= Photographic renderings/images, including street level, topographical,
satellite,
and aerial photographic renderings/images, any of which may be updated
periodically to capture changes in a given geographic area over time (e.g.,
seasonal changes such as foliage density, which may variably impact the
ability
to see some aspects of the image); and
= An image, such as any of the above image types, that includes one or more
dig
area indicators, or "virtual white lines," that provide one or more
indications of
or graphically delimit a dig area, as described in U.S. Patent Application
Publication No. 2009/0238417. The virtual white lines may include lines,
drawing shapes, shades, symbols, coordinates, data sets, or other indicators
that
are added to an image, and may assist a locate technician in the performance
of
a locate operation by identifying the area of interest, i.e., the dig area. In
this
manner, a searchable electronic record according to the concepts disclosed
herein may be generated based on a previously marked-up input image on
which the dig area is indicated.
[0055] It should also be appreciated that source data representing an input
image may
be compiled from multiple data/information sources; for example, any two or
more of the
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examples provided above for input images and source data representing input
images, or
any two or more other data sources, can provide information that can be
combined or
integrated to form source data that is electronically processed to display an
image on a
display device.
[00561 As noted above, in some implementations an input image may be indexed
to
Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates or another coordinate system that
provides
geo-spatial positioning. An input image may include geo-coding or other
geographical
identification metadata and may be provided in any computer-readable format.
An input
image may also include images of map symbols, such as roads and street names,
that may
be superimposed upon or displayed separately from an underlying geographic
area when
the input image is displayed on a display device.
[00571 With reference again to Fig. 1, it may be observed that the dig area
100 is
indicated in the displayed input image by a dig area indicator or virtual
white line 150. As
noted above, in one embodiment the input image may have been received with one
or
more dig area indicators previously provided so that the dig area may be
readily identified
in the displayed input image. While Fig. 1 illustrates a virtual white line
150 as an
essentially continuous line delimiting a boundary of the dig area, it should
be appreciated
that one or more dig area indicators are not limited in this respect, and that
such indicators
may include lines having various colors and line-types (dashed, dotted, etc.),
drawing
shapes, shades, symbols, etc., and need not necessarily delimit an entire
boundary of a dig
area. Additionally, as also noted above, it should be appreciated that in some
embodiments an input image need not include any dig area indicators to provide
a
foundation for generating a searchable electronic record of a locate
operation.
100581 In Fig. 1, digital representations of the physical locate marks applied
to a dig
area (e.g., corresponding to power lines 110, telecommunications lines 120 and
gas lines
130 shown in Fig. 1), may be added to the displayed input image to graphically
indicate
the geographic locations of the physical locate marks in the dig area 100.
Representations
of the physical locate marks, also referred to as "locate mark indicators,"
may be added to
the displayed input image through the use of a drawing application or marking
tool
application, which may superimpose over or otherwise display one or more
locate mark
indicators on the displayed input image. As used herein, "representations of
physical
locate marks" or "locate mark indicators" may include lines, drawing shapes,
shades,
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symbols, coordinates, data sets, or other indicators to provide one or more
indications of
the geographic locations of the physical locate marks on a displayed input
image. As
discussed further below, a given locate mark indicator may have an associated
attribute
representing a type of underground facility corresponding to the physical
locate mark(s)
applied to the dig area. Examples of different attributes for a locate mark
indicator
include, but are not limited to, color, line-type, symbol-type, shape, shade,
etc. (e.g., a first
locate mark indicator for a gas line may include a green dashed-line, a second
locate mark
indicator for a fiber optic cable may include a red dotted-line, a third
locate mark indicator
for an electric line may include one or more gray diamond shapes arranged
along a path
traversed in the input image by the buried electric line, etc.).
[0059] In some exemplary embodiments described herein, the marked-up images
having one or both of locate mark indicators and dig area indicators ("virtual
white lines"),
as well as non-image information, may form part of the searchable electronic
record, and
information regarding the searchable electronic record (and in some instances
the record
itself) may be electronically transmitted and/or stored to facilitate
verification of the locate
operation. In one implementation, the non-image information may include a
series of
geographical coordinates representing the locate mark indicator(s). These
marked-up
images and coordinates enable documentation of where the physical locate marks
were
made, even after the physical locate marks no longer exist. Such documentation
may be
important in the event of accidental damage to an underground facility or
another event
triggering a dispute concerning whether the underground facilities were
appropriately
marked. Further, documentation provided by the searchable electronic records
according
to the present disclosure may be helpful for training locate technicians,
assessing the
quality of locate operations, and ensuring that locate operations have
actually and/or
accurately been performed without a need to visit the dig site thereafter. An
electronic
record comprising the marked-up image may be stored for later retrieval, and
may be
searchable. For example, data embedded within or otherwise associated with the
marked-up image may be searchable (e.g., via a search engine) using key words.
EXEMPLARY NETWORK
[00601 Fig. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary network 200 in which systems and
methods described herein may be implemented. As shown in Fig. 2, the network
200 may
include a user device 210 connected to a central server 220 and an image
server 230 via a
I I CA 02715312 2011-06-16
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network 240. A single user device 210, central server 220, and image server
230 have
been illustrated as connected to network 240 for simplicity. In practice,
there may be
more or fewer user devices and/or servers. For example, in one alternative
implementation, the user device 210 may operate as a comprehensive device and,
thus, the
network 200 may include no central server, with user device 210 communicating
directly
through network 240 to image server 230. Also, in some instances, the user
device 210
may perform one or more of the functions of the central server 220 and/or
central server
220 may perform one or more of the functions of the user device 210. In still
another
implementation, multiple user devices 210 may be connected to the central
server 220
through the network 240.
[00611 The user device 210 may encompass a computer device, such as a laptop
computer, a small personal computer, a tablet device, a personal digital
assistant (PDA), a
mobile computing device, a touch-screen device, or generally any device
including or
connecting to a processor and a display. The user device 210 may be portable
so as to be
separately carried by the user performing a locate operation. Alternatively,
the user device
210 may be integrated with or affixed to another moveable object, such as a
vehicle.
[00621 The central server 220 may include a computer device that may store
information received from or provided to the user device 210 and/or the image
server 230.
The central server 220 may include storage capacity and/or optionally include
networked
access to one or more separate hardware components, such as images cache 235,
to store
cached images and the like.
[0063] The image server 230 may include a computer device that may store and
provide input images of geographic locations The image server 230 may be
associated
with the same, or a different, party that maintains the central server 220.
For example, the
image server 230 may be associated with a party that provides input images for
a fee.
[00641 The network 240 may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area
network
(WAN), a telephone network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN) or
a cellular network, an intranet, the Internet, a communications link, or a
combination of
networks. The user device 210, central server 220, and image server 230 may
connect to
the network 240 via wired and/or wireless connections. The user device 210 and
central
server 220 may communicate using any communication protocol.
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EXEMPLARY USER DEVICE ARCHITECTURE
[0065] Fig. 3 is a diagram of exemplary components of the user device 210. The
user
device 210 may include a bus 310, a processing unit 320, a memory 330, an
input device
340, an output device 350 (e.g., a display device), a location identification
unit 360, and a
communication interface 370. In another implementation, the user device 210
may
include more, fewer, or different components. For example, the location
identification
unit 360 may not be included, or the location identification unit 360 may be
included as a
device located external to the user device 210, such as a device worn or
carried by a user
of the user device 210.
[0066] The bus 310 may include a path that permits communication among the
components of the user device 210. The processing unit 320 may include a
processor, a
microprocessor, or processing logic that may interpret and execute
instructions. The
memory 330 may include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),
a memory card, a magnetic and/or optical recording medium and its
corresponding drive,
or another type of memory device. Generally, the memory 330 may be sufficient
to store
and manipulate input images, such as those stored in a local image cache 335.
In one
implementation, the local image cache 335 may include one or more input images
of a dig
area to be marked by a user. In another implementation, the local image cache
335 may
include a series of input images that correspond to the geographical region to
which a
particular user is assigned. For example, local image cache 335 may include a
collection
of high-resolution images of a particular zip code or town. In still another
implementation, the local image cache 335 may include an entire set of input
images
intended to be made available to multiple users.
[0067] The input device 340 may include one or more mechanisms that permit a
user
to input information to the user device 210, such as a keyboard, a keypad, a
touchpad, a
mouse, a stylus, a touch screen, a camera, or the like. Alternatively, or
additionally, the
input device 340 may include a microphone that can capture a user's intent by
capturing
the user's audible commands. Alternatively, or additionally, the input device
340 may
interact with a device that monitors a condition of the user, such as eye
movement, brain
activity, or heart rate. The output device 350 may include a mechanism that
outputs
information to the user, such as a display, a speaker, or the like. The
condition
information may be used to assess the reliability of the user inputs that are
used to
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generate the marked-up image or other aspects of the electronic record. For
example, if
the monitored heart rate of the user is sufficiently high as to indicate that
the user is under
stress, the reliability of the user inputs may be assessed as poor.
[0068] The location identification unit 360 may include a device that can
determine its
geographic location to a certain degree of accuracy, such as a global
positioning system
(GPS) or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver. In another
implementation, the location identification unit 360 may include a device that
determines
location using another technique, such as tower (e.g., cellular tower)
triangularization.
The location identification unit 360 may receive location tracking signals
(e.g., GPS
signals) and determine its location based on these signals. In one
implementation, location
identification unit 360 may be capable of determining its location within
approximately
thirty centimeters or less.
[0069] The communication interface 370 may include any transceiver-like
mechanism
that enables user device 210 to communicate with other devices and/or systems.
For
example, the communication interface 370 may include mechanisms for
communicating
with another device or system via a network. For example, the communication
interface
370 may enable communications between the user device 210 and the central
server 220
and/or image server 230 over network 240.
[0070] As will be described in detail below, user device 210 may perform
certain
operations relating to the documentation of locate operations and/or the
creation of an
electronic manifest. User device 210 may perform these operations in response
to the
processing unit 320 executing software instructions contained in a computer-
readable
medium, such as the memory 330. A computer-readable medium may be defined as a
physical or logical memory device.
[0071] The software instructions may be read into the memory 330 from another
computer-readable medium, or from another device via the communication
interface 370.
The software instructions contained in the memory 330 may cause processing
unit 320 to
perform processes that will be described later. Alternatively, hardwired
circuitry may be
used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions to implement
processes
described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to
any specific
combination of hardware circuitry and software.
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EXEMPLARY CENTRAL SERVER ARCHITECTURE
[0072] Fig. 4 is a diagram of exemplary components of the central server 220.
The
central server 220 may include a bus 410, a processing unit 420, a memory 430,
and a
communication interface 440. In another implementation, the central server 220
may
include more, fewer, or different components. For example, an input device
and/or an
output device (not shown) may be included, as necessary.
[0073] The bus 410 may include a path that permits communication among the
components of the central server 220. The processing unit 420 may include a
processor, a
microprocessor, or processing logic that may interpret and execute
instructions. The
memory 430 may include a magnetic and/or optical recording medium and its
corresponding drive, a RAM, a ROM, a memory card, or another type of memory
device
suitable for high capacity data storage. Generally, the memory 430 may be
sufficient to
store input images of particular geographic locations, such as those stored in
a central
image cache 435. In one implementation, the central image cache 435 may
include a set
of input images that correspond to the geographical regions to which a group
of users are
assigned. In still another implementation, the central image cache 435 may
include the
entire set of input images intended to be made available to any of a group of
users. For
example, central image cache 435 may include a collection of high-resolution
input
images of a particular county, state or other geographic region. In another
implementation, as shown in Fig. 2, central image cache 435 may be replaced or
supplemented with one or more networked storage components, such as image
cache 235.
[0074] The communication interface 440 may include any transceiver-like
mechanism
that enables the central server 220 to communicate with other devices and/or
systems. For
example, the communication interface 440 may include mechanisms for
communicating
with another device or system via a network. For example, the communication
interface
440 may enable communications between the central server 220 and the user
device 210
and/or image server 230 over network 240.
[0075] As will be described in detail below, the central server 220 may
perform
certain operations to facilitate the documentation of locate operations and/or
the creation
of an electronic manifest. The central server 220 may perform these operations
in
response to the processing unit 420 executing software instructions contained
in a
computer-readable medium, such as the memory 430.
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[00761 The software instructions may be read into the memory 430 from another
computer-readable medium, or from another device via the communication
interface 440.
The software instructions contained in the memory 430 may cause processing
unit 420 to
perform processes that will be described later. Alternatively, hardwired
circuitry may be
used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement
processes
described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to
any specific
combination of hardware circuitry and software.
EXEMPLARY ROUTINES
[00771 Fig. 5 is a diagram of exemplary software routines for the components
shown
in Fig. 2. The central server 220 may include an image retrieval routine 510
and a central
image cache routine 520. The user device 210 may include a synchronize routine
530, a
local image cache routine 540, an image display routine 550, a user input
routine 560, and
a ticket manager routine 570. As discussed in more detail herein, the examples
of routines
associated with the central server 220 and the user device 210 may be
interchangeable
between each hardware component. Furthermore, some or all of routines 510,
520, 530,
540, 550, 560, and 570 need not be performed exclusively by any one hardware
component.
[00781 Still referring to Fig. 5, the image server 230 may store a library of
input
images. Generally, input images such as aerial images may be of sufficient
resolution at
an optimal elevation to be useful as a record of the locate operation. The
input images
from the image server 230 may include geocoding or other geographical
identification
metadata and may be provided in any computer-readable format, such as JPEG
file
interchange format (JPEG), tagged image file format (TIFF), portable document
format
(PDF), graphics interchange format (GIF), bitmap (BMP), portable network
graphics
(PNG), Windows metafile (WMF), and/or the like. Also, input images from the
image
server 230 may include a combination of images or overlays, such as overlays
of street
names, regions, landmark descriptions, and/or other information about areas
displayed in
an image. The input images from the image server 230 may be supplied by a
third-party
provider if the coverage area of the third-party image provider overlaps with
the desired
area of the user.
[00791 The central image cache routine 510 and the image retrieval routine 520
of the
central server 220 may include a variety of functionalities. In certain
implementations, the
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central image cache routine 510 may receive information about specific tickets
and parse
tickets in order to discern location information. For example, a ticket may
identify the dig
area by an address of the property or by geographic coordinates. The ticket
might specify,
for example, the address or description of the dig area to be marked, the day
and/or time
that the dig area is to be marked, and/or whether the user is to mark the dig
area for
telecommunications (e.g., telephone and/or cable television), power, gas,
water, sewer, or
some other underground facility.
[0080] The central image cache routine 510 may also convert dig area location
information to latitude/longitude coordinates or other coordinates. When
location
information from a ticket is sufficiently precise to allow for identification
of
corresponding imagery, the central image cache routine 510 may calculate the
image
extent (which may be generally defined as the bounding region of the dig area
of interest),
and update the ticket with the calculated extent. In one implementation, the
central image
cache routine 510 may determine image date, coordinates, and resolution of
each image
that may be stored in the central image cache 435 or in another location. In
another
implementation, when location information from a ticket is imprecise (or
"fuzzy"), the
central image cache routine 510 may mark the ticket to indicate that no
corresponding
image was able to be retrieved based on the ticket information.
[0081] In another implementation, central image cache 510 may identify an
image to
retrieve based on GPS coordinates of a GPS-enabled device associated with a
user. For
example, a user may arrive at an excavation site in a GPS-enabled vehicle and
the GPS
information from the vehicle may be used to identify coordinates corresponding
to an
image to be retrieved. GPS coordinates may also be obtained from other GPS-
enabled
devices being used by or in the vicinity of the user. As used herein a GPS-
enabled device
may include any device or combination of devices capable of interfacing with a
global
navigation satellite system, geo-spatial positioning system, or other location-
identification
system to determine a location. Examples of GPS-enabled devices may include a
marking
device (e.g., a paint wand) with an integrated GPS receiver; a locating device
(e.g., a
locating wand) with a GPS receiver; a wearable GPS-enabled device; a vehicle-
mounted
GPS system; certain PDAs, computers, and cellular telephones; and stand-alone
GPS-enabled systems.
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[0082] In still another implementation, central image cache 510 may identify
one or
more images to request based on a designated geographical area assigned to a
user. For
example, a user may be assigned to work in several dig areas associated with a
particular
section of a neighborhood. The user may input coordinates associated with the
entire
selected section of the neighborhood, and central image cache 510 may then
retrieve
images for those coordinates.
[0083] The image retrieval routine 520 catalogues and stores images from the
image
server 230 to the central server 220. For example, images may be stored in the
central
image cache 435 in the memory 430 of the central server 220. In one
implementation, the
image retrieval routine 520 may query the central image cache 435 or other
cache for an
image associated with a particular dig area relating to a ticket of interest,
and determine,
based on (for example) the age and resolution of the cached image, whether the
image in
the central image cache 435 needs to be updated from the image server 230.
[0084] In another implementation, the image retrieval routine 520 may
interface with
multiple image providers and image servers 230. The image retrieval routine
520 may
determine which image provider is the best source for the image corresponding
to a
particular dig area relating to a ticket of interest based on algorithms that
factor, for
example, each image provider's geographical coverage, image resolution, cost,
and
availability. Regarding geographical coverage, it will be beneficial to
confirm that the
image provider's area of coverage includes the desired extent (in other words,
the entire
geographical region of interest to the user).
[0085] Regarding image resolution, available resolution may be measured in
meters
(or centimeters, feet, or inches) per pixel. For example, one provider may
offer thirty
centimeters per pixel, while another offers fifteen centimeters or less per
pixel, for the
same coverage area. If an image is requested at a standard altitude, then the
image
retrieval routine 520 may choose a pre-defined optimal scale (for example,
thirty
centimeters per pixel for a rural area, but fifteen centimeters per pixel for
an urban area)
and determine which provider provides images at the pre-defined optimal scale.
Alternatively, if the image of interest is at a less granular scale (for
example, a community
or neighborhood image that allows the locator to pan around the image), then
resolution
may not be a significant factor.
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[0086] Regarding cost, the image retrieval routine 520 may have access to
pricing
information for a variety of image providers. The image retrieval routine 520
may identify
which provider has the lowest cost for the desired image. Cost analysis may be
based on
images desired for an individual ticket or the algorithm may account for a
group of image
requests, including volume incentives and/or penalties from each image
provider
[0087] Regarding availability of image providers, the image retrieval routine
520 may
identify what providers are available and/or operational. Also, if an image
provider has a
regular latency profile (for example, if a provider has a particular server
that is busiest 3-5
PM Pacific time), then the image retrieval routine 520 may manage requests to
be
provided to another image provider or to a particular server of that image
provider to
efficiently load share the image retrieval.
[0088] When an image provider is selected, the image retrieval routine 520 may
download the image from the selected image provider's server, which may be an
image
server 230. The downloaded image may be stored locally, for example, in the
central
image cache 435.
[0089] It should be understood that some of the routines and/or
functionalities
described above with respect to the central image cache routine 510 and the
image
retrieval routine 520 may be performed by one or both of the routines 510 and
520 above,
and the arrangement of functionalities are not limited to the implementations
disclosed
herein.
[0090] The synchronize routine 530 for user device 210 may ensure that images
already stored and manipulated on the user device 210 correspond to images
stored in the
central server 220. When a user performing a locate operation identifies a
ticket or dig
area, the synchronize routine 530 may check if an image exists in the central
server 220
that matches the extent requested, and if the matching image is up-to-date in,
for example,
the local image cache 335. The synchronize routine 530 may also synchronize
images
from the central server 220 cache and store copies locally in the user device
210.
[0091] If the ticket has a valid extent (i.e., a recognizable boundary), the
local image
cache routine 540 may associate the ticket information with an image matching
the extent.
The local image cache routine 540 may load the image from the local image
cache 335. If
the ticket does not have a valid extent, the local image cache routine 540 may
accept
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address information that is entered by the user. Alternatively, the local
image cache
routine 540 may read the local address information from the ticket or from a
GPS-enabled
device in communication with the user device 210 so that address information
may be
pre-entered for the user to the extent possible. Address information may
include, for
example, a street address, street name, city, state and/or zip code. If either
none or
multiple stored addresses appear to be associated with particular address
information, the
local image cache routine 540 may display a list of best match addresses from
which a
user can select.
100921 Once an image is loaded from the local cache 335, image display routine
550
may provide a variety of view options for the user. For example, the image
display
routine 550 may support zooming in and out of the image by changing the image
scale.
Also, the image display routine 550 may support panning horizontally and
vertically in the
image. Furthermore, the image display routine 550 may support "roaming"
outside the
boundaries of the initial extent. Roaming generally occurs when the user zooms
or pans,
such that images beyond the boundaries of the stored images may be required to
be
retrieved (using, for example, synchronize routine 530) from either the local
image cache
335 or the central server 220. The additional images retrieved from either the
local image
cache 335 or the central server 220 may be displayed and stitched together to
display a
complete image.
10093] The user input routine 560 allows the user to add information to the
image to
create an electronic manifest. The user input routine 560 may accept user
input from, for
example, input device 340, and may support the addition of lines, freehand
forms (or
scribbling), shapes such as circles and rectangles, shading, or other markings
which denote
the approximate location of underground facilities which are present within
the dig area.
A drawing shape may generally be any kind of drawing shape or mark. The user
input
routine 560 may further enable drawing of underground facility locate marks
for
telecommunications (e.g., telephone and cable television), gas, power, water,
sewer, and
the like, so that each type of drawn locate mark is distinguishable from the
other(s). The
user input routine 560 may limit the display of such facilities by the type of
work which is
to be performed according to the instructions included within the user's
assigned ticket.
Accordingly, a given locate mark indicator, serving as a digital
representation of a
physical locate mark applied to the dig area, may have an associated attribute
representing
i
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a type of underground facility corresponding to the physical locate mark.
Examples of
different attributes for a locate mark indicator include, but are not limited
to, color,
line-type, symbol-type, shape, shade, etc. (e.g., a first locate mark
indicator for a gas line
may include a green dashed-line, a second locate mark indicator for a fiber
optic cable
may include a red dotted-line, a third locate mark indicator for an electric
line may include
one or more gray diamond shapes arranged along a path traversed in the input
image by
the buried electric line, etc.).
[0094] In addition to the marking of the underground facility locate marks on
the input
image, user input routine 560 may also include offsets from environmental
landmarks that
may be displayed on the image in, for example, English or metric units.
Environmental
landmarks may also be marked and/or highlighted on the input image. The user
input
routine 560 may also accept positioning information from external sources,
such as a
GPS-enabled device. The user input routine 560 may further include features to
annotate
the image with text and to revise user inputs by, for example deleting,
dragging or pasting
shapes. In one implementation, when the user zooms the image view in or out,
user input
(e.g., lines and/or shapes) that have been added to the original image may
adhere to the
changing image scale and remain in the original user-input locations.
[0095] The electronic manifest, which is a compilation of one or more input
images
and user inputs, may be saved as an image file. In another implementation, the
user inputs
may be saved in a mark-up format, including the geo-coordinates and
underground facility
type of each input.
[0096] In one implementation, the user device 210 may interface with a ticket
management program for coordinating multiple tickets. The ticket manager
routine 570
may facilitate such an interface. The ticket management program for
coordinating
multiple tickets may reside on the central server 220, for example, or on a
separate server
that is accessible to the user device 210. Generally, tickets may be stored on
a central
server and assigned to a user. When a user edits a ticket, the user may also
have created
an electronic manifest associated with the ticket. The ticket manager routine
570 may
allow the user to synchronize the user's ticket cache with the company's
central database
and also synchronize the images and user input. The ticket manager routine 570
may copy
images from the central server 220 to the user device 210 for new tickets, and
will copy
the user input from the user device 210 to the central server 220 for
completed tickets.
i I I it
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The ticket manager routine 570 may interface with the routines described above
to
correlate a user's assigned tickets with images for those tickets and download
the images
to the user device from the central server 220. The ticket manager routine 570
may
retrieve the corresponding ticket number from the ticket management program
when the
user retrieves an image, or the ticket manager routine 570 may retrieve the
image
corresponding to an entered ticket number.
[0097] Fig. 6 provides a flowchart 600 of an exemplary process for creating an
electronic manifest relating to a locate operation and the application of
locate marks to a
dig area to indicate a presence (or absence) of one or more underground
facilities. In one
implementation, at least some of the blocks of Fig. 6 may be performed using
user device
210 (Fig. 2). In another implementation, one or more of the blocks of Fig. 6
may be
manually performed or performed by another device, such as central server 220.
[0098] The process 600 may begin with a user being dispatched to a dig area to
be
located, in response to a locate request ticket being generated for a locate
operation. For
example, the user might be given a ticket that identifies what underground
facilities the
user needs to locate at the dig area. The ticket might specify, for example,
the address or
description of the dig area to be located, the day and/or time that the dig
area is to be
located, and/or whether the user is to locate the dig area for
telecommunications, power,
gas, water, sewer, or other underground facility. Based on information in the
ticket, or
other information about the dig area to be located, user device 210 in block
610 may
associate the property address with a stored input image of the dig area. Such
association
may include associating the address with geographic location information, such
as global
positioning coordinates for the dig area extent (or boundary).
[0099] In one exemplary embodiment, the locate request ticket may be an
electronic
locate request ticket that comprises a previously marked-up image of a
geographic area
including the dig area, on which one or more dig area indicators, or "virtual
white lines,"
were placed (e.g., by an excavator or a one-call center) to provide an
indication of the dig
area. In this manner, an electronic locate request ticket received by a locate
company or
locate technician may include both image data and non-image data; for example,
a locate
request ticket may include a marked-up image with one or more dig area
indicators, as
well as associated non-image information providing additional details of the
locate
operation to be performed, as noted above. Further details of locate request
tickets
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including marked-up images with one or more dig area indicators are given in
U.S. Patent
Application Publication No. 2009/0238417, entitled "Virtual White Lines for
Indicating
Planned Excavation Sites on Electronic Images".
[001001 In block 620, the stored input image associated with the dig area to
be located
is retrieved from a cache of images and loaded into the user device 210. As
previously
described and discussed herein with respect to Fig. 5, the cache of images may
reside
within the user device 210, the central server 220, a separate image server,
or another
storage device. As discussed above, the input image may be represented by a
wide variety
of source data that, when processed, facilitates display of the input image.
In one
exemplary implementation, the input image for the searchable electronic record
may be a
previously marked-up image with one or more dig area indicators or virtual
white lines; in
one aspect, such an input image may be received as part of the locate request
ticket
specifying the locate operation. In various implementations, it should be
appreciated that
the input image may or may not be displayed, as discussed further below.
[001011 In block 630, the user may perform a locate operation to locate the
underground facilities present within the dig area and mark the located
underground
facilities using a locating device and/or marking device, or a combined
locating/marking
device. For example, the user may use the locating device to identify an
underground
facility at the dig area, and may use the marking device to mark the
underground facility
with the appropriate marker (e.g., color paint, flag, or some other object).
In certain
implementations, information regarding the approximate geographic location of
the
applied underground facility locate marks may be gathered and stored
electronically using
a GPS-enabled device or other location identification device. The approximate
geographic
location of the underground facility locate marks may be determined, for
example, by
identifying the current geographic location of the GPS-enabled device as the
user performs
the locating or marking. In another implementation, a user may use a
triangularization
technique to determine the approximate geographic location of the underground
facility
locate marks. In yet another implementation, a user may determine latitude and
longitude
coordinates or some other measurement of a geographic location.
1001021 In block 640, information about the approximate geographic location of
the
underground facility locate marks may be added to the input image that was
retrieved
previously in block 620. The information about the approximate geographic
location of
I I i
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the underground facility locate marks may be input by the user using an input
device, such
as input device 340 (Fig. 3) of user device 210, and added to the displayed
input image as
one or more locate mark indicators. In one exemplary implementation in which
the input
image is a previously marked-up image having one or more dig area indicators,
this image
may be further marked-up to add one or more locate mark indicators that are
displayed
together with the one or more dig area indicators. Additional aspects
regarding
information to be input by the user are discussed in more detail herein with
respect to Fig.
8.
[001031 Still referring to block 640, information about the approximate
geographic
location of the underground facility locate marks may also be received
directly from a
GPS-enabled device, such as the GPS-enabled locating device or marking device
used in
block 630, and overlaid on the input image. In one exemplary implementation,
one or
more locate indicator marks based on this information may be added to the
input image
automatically, and in some instances without any requirement to display the
input image.
Alternatively, the user may use of a combination of received GPS information
and manual
entries to create an electronic manifest of the underground facility locate
marks.
[001041 In block 645, as an optional step, information about offsets of the
underground
facility locate marks from environmental landmarks may be added to the input
image. As
with the input of the facility locations in block 640, the location of the
environmental
landmarks may be input by the user using an input device, such as input device
340 (Fig.
3) of user device 210, or automatically input from a GPS-enabled device. The
offset
information may be automatically calculated or input by the user. Offset
information may
also be obtained by identifying selected environmental landmarks on the
retrieved image
and automatically calculating the distance from the selected environmental
landmarks to
the underground facility locate marks overlaid on the image.
[001051 In block 650, as an optional step, information about the location of
the
underground facility locate marks (e.g., the locate mark indicators added to
the input
image) may be converted to GPS coordinates. In block 660, the marked-up input
image
and other information (e.g., non-image information) about the location
operation may be
stored in memory as a searchable electronic record or "electronic manifest,"
which may be
formatted as a single combined image (e.g., image data and non-image metadata)
or as
separate image data and non-image data that are linked. In exemplary
implementations,
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the electronic manifest may be stored as, for example, a digital image or an
interactive
electronic map. Additionally or alternatively, in block 670, the geographical
coordinates
of the underground facility locate marks may be stored in memory, such as
memory 330
(Fig. 3), as a separate data set. The data set may be compiled as, for
example, a database
of GPS coordinates. In block 680, the combined image and/or separate data set
may
optionally be transmitted to a central location, such as central server 220
(Fig. 2).
1001061 Thus, the marked-up image(s) and the non-image information may be
formatted in a variety of manners in the searchable electronic record; for
example, in one
implementation the non-image information may be included as metadata
associated with
the marked-up image(s), while in other implementations the marked-up image(s)
and the
non-image information may be formatted as separate data sets. These separate
data sets
may be transmitted and/or stored separately. In another aspect, whether
transmitted/stored
separately or together, the marked-up image(s) and the non-image information
may be
linked together in some manner as relating to a common electronic record.
1001071 In some locate operations, no underground facilities are determined to
be
present in a designated dig area. Such locate operations are sometimes
referred to as
"clears." In some implementations of the inventive concepts discussed herein,
an input
image may nonetheless be employed to provide an electronic record of a
"clear;" more
specifically, although no locate mark indicators may be added to an input
image (i.e., the
step 640 may not be necessary because there are no physical locate marks to
digitally
represent), other non-image information associated with the "clear" locate
operation (e.g.,
a timestamp of when the locate operation was performed, an identifier for a
technician or
locate company performing the locate operation, a text address or other
geographical
identifier for the dig area, a location stamp, etc.) may be associated with
the input image
(e.g., as a separate data set linked to the input image, as metadata, a
combined file of
image and non-image data, etc.) to create a searchable electronic record that
may be
consulted to verify that the locate operation was indeed completed, even
though no
underground facilities were found.
[001081 Fig. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary data set that may be stored in
memory 330
and/or transmitted to server 220. As shown in Fig. 7, a data set 700 may
include a
timestamp field 710, an underground facility identifier field 720, an
underground facility
location field 730, an environmental landmark identifier field 740, an
environmental
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landmark location field 750, an other information field 760, a facility
owner/operator field
765, a marking method field 770, a property address field 780, a ticket number
field 790, a
location stamp field 715, and a certification field 725. In another
implementation, the data
set 700 may include additional, fewer, or different fields.
[00109] Timestamp field 710 may include time data that identifies the day
and/or time
that a locate operation was performed. This may coincide with a time at which
an
environmental landmark location was identified in connection with the dig
area. The time
data in timestamp field 710 is shown in Fig. 7 as 9:43 a.m. on October 20,
2005-although
any type of date and/or time code may be used. The information in timestamp
field 710
may be useful in establishing when a locate operation occurred.
[00110] The underground facility identifier field 720 may include an
identifier that
uniquely identifies the type of underground facility that was marked. The
identifier in
underground facility identifier field 720 is shown in Fig. 7 as "power"-
although any type
of identifier may be used. Underground facility location field 730 may include
geographic
location information corresponding to an underground facility locate mark. In
one
implementation, the geographic location information may include a set of
geographic
points along the marking path of the located underground facility. The
geographic
location information in underground facility location field 730 is shown in
Fig. 7 as
N38 51.40748, W077 20.27798; ... ; N38 51.40784, W077 20.27865-although any
type
of geographic location information may be used. The information in underground
facility
location field 730 may be useful in graphically presenting the underground
facility locate
marks on a map, and/or to verify that the locate operation was actually and
accurately
performed. Additionally, or alternatively, underground facility location field
730 may
include geographic location information for multiple underground facility
locate marks.
[00111] Environmental landmark identifier field 740 may include an identifier
that
uniquely identifies the type of environmental landmark being marked. The
identifier in
environmental landmark identifier field 740 is shown in Fig. 7 as "curb"-
although any
type of identifier may be used.
[00112] Environmental landmark location field 750 may include geographic
location
information corresponding to the environmental landmark identified in
environmental
landmark identifier field 740. The geographic location information in
environmental
landmark location field 750 is shown in Fig. 7 as N38 51.40756, W077 20.27805;
... ;
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N38 51.40773, W077 20.27858-although any type of geographic location
information
may be used.
1001131 Other information field 760 may store other data that may be useful,
including
user notes, such as offset or distance information that identifies a distance
between one or
more environmental landmarks and one or more underground facility locate
marks. Other
information field 760 is shown in Fig. 7 as including "1.2 meters between curb
and power
line"-although any other data may be used. Additionally and/or alternatively,
other
information field 760 may include audio/voice data, transcribed voice-
recognition data, or
the like to incorporate user notes.
1001141 The underground facility owner field 765 may include the name of the
owner/operator of the underground facility that has been marked during the
locate
operation. For example, in Fig. 7, the underground facility owner field 765 is
shown as
"ABC Corp." Because multiple underground facilities may be marked during a
single
locate operation, it may be beneficial to associate each marked underground
facility with a
particular owner/operator. Alternatively, this field may include one or more
identifiers for
the locate company performing the locate operation, or an additional field may
be added to
the data set 700 for this purpose.
1001151 Marking method field 770 may indicate the type of marking used at the
dig
area to indicate the location of an underground facility. For example, in Fig.
7, marking
method field 770 is shown indicating red paint. Property address field 780 may
be the
property address associated with the marking recorded in the data set 700. The
property
address field 780 may include, for example, the street address and zip code of
the
property. Other information in field 780 may include city, state, and/or
county identifiers.
The ticket number field 790 may include the ticket number associated with the
locate
operation, such as ticket "1234567" shown in Fig. 7.
1001161 Location stamp field 715 may include a location stamp indicating a
location
where the locate operation was performed (e.g., the dig area). The location
stamp may
optionally be generated at the same time as timestamp 710, and the information
underlying
these stamps may be from a same source or otherwise correlated, such that the
location
stamp reflects the location of the locate technician, user device, or
associated locate and/or
marking device when the timestamp 710 is generated. The location stamp may
comprise,
for example, location coordinates (as shown in FIG. 7), a city name or
designation, a state
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name or designation, a county name or designation, and/or an address.
Generally, the
location stamp identifies the presence and location of a locate technician in
connection
with the locate operation.
[001171 According to one exemplary implementation, location stamp data is
generated
by the user device (e.g., by location identification unit 360) in response to
an action
associated with a locate operation (e.g., a marking being made on the
electronic manifest,
creation of a new electronic manifest, completion or certification of an
electronic
manifest). According to another exemplary implementation, location stamp data
is
generated by a GPS-enabled device associated with a locate technician
dispatched to
perform a locate operation (e.g., a GPS-enabled device in the vehicle and/or
on the person
of the locate technician), a GPS-enabled locate and/or marking device operated
by the
technician during the locate operation, or another locate and/or marking
device capable of
determining its own location. The location stamp data may then be transmitted
from the
GPS-enabled device or locate and/or marking device to the user device alone or
in
association with other data (e.g. marking data or locate data). The
transmission may
occur, for example, in response to a request by the user device, a request by
the user, or
some triggering action. The location stamp data may be recorded to the data
set
automatically (e.g., without user intervention) or in response to user input.
1001181 It should be appreciated that both the timestamp field 710 and
location stamp
field 715 may optionally include a plurality of timestamps and location
stamps. For
example, each of a plurality of actions (e.g., markings on the electronic
manifest,
actuations of the locate and/or marking device) may be associated with a
particular time
stamp and/or location stamp recorded in fields 710 and 715 so that the time
and location of
various actions associated with the locate operation can subsequently be
determined. The
actions may cause the time stamp and/or location stamp to automatically be
logged.
Further, the timestamp field 710 and/or location stamp field 715 may
optionally be "read
only" fields. Prohibiting changes to these fields (e.g., by the locate
technician) may
preserve the integrity of the data therein so that it can be reliably used for
verification of
the locate operation.
1001191 Certification field 725 may comprise a certification of the data in
data set 700,
e.g., by the locate technician and/or another reviewer, such as a supervisor
or other
authorized representative of the locate company. Such a certification may
comprise a
I I I
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signature, initials, an electronic stamp, or some other indication that the
information in the
data set 700 is "certified" (e.g., has been reviewed and/or is
correct/approved).
[001201 In one implementation, the user device 210 may store multiple data
sets
corresponding to multiple underground facilities identified at a particular
dig area. User
device 210 may provide the data sets to server 220 in a batch-such as a batch
corresponding to the group of underground facilities documented within the
electronic
manifest-or individually. The batch may be grouped together with other
information
generally relating to the locate operation, such as the name of the company
responsible for
performing the locate operation, the name of the locate technician, and the
like.
Additionally, or alternatively, the other information generally relating to
the locate
operation may be included in each data set.
[001211 FIG. 8 an exemplary diagram of a user interface 340 that may be
presented via
the user device 210. The user interface may be presented on a screen 800 that
may be the
screen of the user device 210, as described herein with respect to Fig. 2. The
screen 800
may display a variety of graphical elements, including but not limited to: a
map control
810, an address search panel 820, a locator palette 830, a navigation palette
840, a status
bar 850, a menu bar 860, a service grid 870, a scale bar 880, and the input
image of the
geographic area including the dig area. As discussed above, the displayed
input image
may include one or more dig area indicators or virtual white lines 890 to
identify the dig
area in the displayed image.
[001221 Map control 810 generally may be the surface, or canvas, where images-
such
as an exemplary image 802-are displayed. The user may draw or input shapes "on
top
of' this surface using for example, the input device 340 of Fig. 3 to identify
underground
facility locate mark locations. Fig. 8 shows a stylus 804 as an exemplary form
of input
device 340.
[001231 The address search panel 820 may be used to identify images
corresponding to
a desired address. Panel 820 may, for example, accept a partial or complete
address and
allow the user to search for matches. If an excessive number of addresses
match the
search, then the size of the result set may be constrained. Address search
results may be
displayed which match the address search. The listed matches may serve as a
springboard
for displaying the image desired by the user. For example, when the user taps
with a
stylus 802 on an address match, the user device 210 may load the image
corresponding to
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the selected address. As described above, this image may be stored locally on
user device
210 or retrieved from central server 220.
[001241 Palettes may be generally defined as a toolbar or toolbars containing
soft
buttons or other controls that are grouped in some logical order. The buttons
on a palette
may duplicate the commands available on the menu bar 860. The locator palette
830 may
allow the user to select the type of underground facility locate marks (e.g.,
electric, gas,
water, sewer, telecommunications, etc.) the user will draw on the image 802.
The locator
palette 830 may also include a choice of various shapes or shades, such as
freestyle, line,
circle, rectangle, or other polygon that the user may select to draw on the
image 802. In
one implementation, the locator palette 830 may present a list of potential
environmental
landmark identifiers. In this case, the user may select an environmental
landmark
identifier from the list to overlay at the appropriate place on the input
image 802.
1001251 The locator palette 830 may also include an offset tool that allows
the user to
mark the distance between, for example, an environmental landmark identifier
and a
drawn underground facility locate mark. Once the user has chosen the type of
shape they
wish to draw (freestyle, line, polygon, shading etc.) the application may
track the user's
movements to define the layout and location of the shape. The shape may be
completed
when the user terminates the drawing (for example, by lifting the stylus 804
or releasing
the mouse button). A text label or other indicator may be added to the shape
automatically
based on the type of underground facility locate mark or environmental
landmark selected
(e.g., "electric" or "curb") or may be manually added.
[001261 The navigation palette 840 may allow the user to zoom or pan the image
802.
For example, the navigation palette 840 may include selections to zoom in,
zoom out, or
zoom to a selected section of the image. The navigation palette 840 may also
include pan
command buttons to pan left, pan right, pan up or pan down. Other selections
that may be
available on the navigation palette include buttons to alter the transparency
of either the
image 802 or the underground facility locate marks.
1001271 The status bar 850 may display information about the map control, such
as the
coordinates of the subject area, the coordinates of a cursor or stylus in
relation to the
image 802, and the image scale. The menu bar 860 may include an operating
system
element that allows a user to access commands, such as exiting the
application, selecting
what palettes or panels to display, or accessing online help.
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1001281 The service grid 870 is shown as an exemplary "floating" window to
show how
the user interface for the screen 800 may operate in a typical operating
system
environment. The service grid 870 or any of the other graphical elements
described in
relation to screen 800 may be in a fixed or floating orientation. As
underground facility
locate marks are drawn on the map control 810, they may appear in a list in
the service
grid 870. Thus, the user may edit the properties of an underground facility
shape using the
service grid 870, as well as by selecting the shape in the map control 810.
The service
grid may include properties, such as the type, length, circumference, and
material of the
marked underground facility.
[00129] FIG. 9 shows an exemplary searchable electronic record or electronic
manifest
900 that may be generated according to methods and apparatus described herein.
The
electronic manifest comprises image data or information including a marked-up
image
905. In the example of FIG. 9, the marked-up image 905 includes digital
representations
910 (locate mark indicators) of physical locate marks, offset indicia 915, and
virtual white
lines 920 (dig area indicators). In addition, the electronic manifest 900
comprises
non-image information relating to the locate operation, derived from one or
more of the
fields of the exemplary data set 700 illustrated in Fig. 7. In the example of
Fig. 9, the
displayed elements of such a data set constituting non-image information
include (but are
not limited to) a ticket number 925 for the locate operation (from the ticket
number field
790), an identifier 930 of the locate technician (e.g., from the field 765 or
another similar
field, which may indicate facility owner/operator, or locate
company/technician), a time
and date stamp 935 indicating when the electronic manifest was created (from
the
timestamp filed 710), a location stamp 940 indicating where the electronic
manifest was
created (from the location stamp field 715), a completed checklist 945 of
markings used in
the locate operation (from the marking method field 770), and a locate
technician
signature 950 certifying that the information of the electronic manifest is
correct (from the
certification field 725). The marked-up image and additional information
relating to the
locate operation may be stored as a single file (e.g., a combined image or
image and text
file), in associated files, or separately. It should be appreciated that the
electronic manifest
900 shown FIG. 9 is merely exemplary, and that an electronic manifest as
described herein
may alternatively include other combinations of the information described
herein and may
be formatted in different manners.
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[001301 An electronic manifest of underground facility locate marks may serve
several
purposes. For example, the electronic manifest may provide significant
improvements in
accuracy and save time for the locate technician. Manual sketching is time
consuming and
imprecise. For example, with manual sketching, the general geographic features
of the dig
area location, i.e. roads, sidewalks, landscaping, buildings, and other
landmarks, must be
reproduced by the locate technician. Creation of an electronic manifest that
includes
drafting on retrieved input images may improve accuracy and eliminate drafting
of these
general geographic features.
[001311 Additionally, or alternatively, an electronic manifest of underground
facility
locate marks may provide a variety of data formats from a single user event.
For example,
electronic drafting creates data about the electronic manifest which can be
reviewed
without viewing the image. The type of marked underground facilities can be
determined
based upon the existence of different colors, different line types (e.g.,
solid, dotted or
dashed), or other coding schema. Length of marks for each underground facility
can be
approximated, and the existence and length of offsets detected. If available,
the location
of the marks can be cross-checked to the user's description or depiction of
the area to be
marked or excavated.
[001321 Additionally, or alternatively, an electronic manifest of underground
facility
locate marks may provide for easier dissemination and record-keeping.
Electronic
manifests can be associated with individual tickets and recalled
electronically, avoiding
the uncertainties and errors associated with manual filing systems.
Furthermore,
electronic manifests can be interrogated to ensure that the information
recorded on the
electronic manifest accurately comports with billing data or other information
regarding
the locate operation(s) performed.
[001331 Additionally, or alternatively, information from the electronic
manifest
regarding the distance between environmental landmarks and located underground
facility
locate marks may be used to verify subsequent locate operations or the
accuracy of the
electronic manifest. For example, if the information identifies an underground
facility as
running parallel to the curb at a distance of three meters, that information
may be used to
assess the accuracy or consistency of a subsequent locate operation at the
same dig area or,
upon inspection, the accuracy of the electronic manifest.
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[00134] Additionally, or alternatively, information from the electronic
manifest
regarding the number and types of underground facilities may be used to
estimate the
scope of a subsequent locate operation to be performed at a dig area. For
example, a large
number of underground facilities may be indicative of an extensive (i.e., time-
consuming)
locate operation.
[00135] Additionally, or alternatively, information from the electronic
manifest may be
used by a quality control supervisor and/or damage inspector to verify the
accuracy of the
underground facility locate marks. For example, if the user who performed a
locate
operation indicated that an underground facility runs parallel to a driveway
at a distance of
two meters, then the quality control supervisor or damage inspector may use
this
information to verify whether the marks properly reflected the actual location
of the
underground facilities present within the dig area. Also information from the
electronic
manifest may be used to train a user and/or to perform quality control
relating to a user's
work. The electronic manifest can be modified, e.g., after retrieval from the
memory of a
central server or the user device itself, to include indication of that the
manifest has been
reviewed and/or approved (e.g., by quality control supervisor). Such an
indication may
comprise, for example, the signature of the reviewer.
[00136] Since it is possible for a locate technician to create a manifest
without ever
visiting the dig area, it may be desirable to verify that a locate operation
was actually
performed in the dig area, as discussed herein. According to one exemplary
implementation, this may be accomplished by verifying that location
information logged
by a user device comports with a location where the locate operation was to be
performed
(e.g., the dig area) and/or that time information logged by a user device
comports with a
time frame for performing the locate operation (e.g., within 48 hours of the
ticket being
issued). The time and/or location information may be generated by the user
device and
automatically logged to the electronic manifest. Alternatively, the time
and/or location
information may be generated by the locate and/or marking device, transmitted
to the user
device, and automatically logged to the electronic manifest. The time
information may
comprise, for example, a time stamp generated by a clock internal to the user
device or the
locate and/or marking device. Such a time stamp may comprise a date and/or
time
indicative of when the locate operation was performed. The location
information may
comprise, for example, GPS coordinates or GPS-derived data such as a city,
state, county,
CA 02715312 2011-06-16
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and/or address indicative of where the locate operation was performed. The
time and/or
location information may be stored and/or transmitted as part of the marked-up
image or
associated data (e.g., data set 700).
1001371 Data or non-image information associated with performing the locate
operation
and/or creating the electronic manifest, such as time spent performing certain
actions or
actuations of an input or marking device, can optionally be tracked and stored
by the user
device. The data can be used, for example, to determine the cost of a locate
operation,
verify the performance of a locate operation, determine the location of
physical locate
marks, and/or train the locate technician. Exemplary data that may be stored
includes: a
start time and/or date of the locate operation; an end time and/or date of the
locate
operation; a total time for marking each utility (e.g., electric, gas, cable,
phone, water,
recreational water, and sewer); an activity count (e.g., actuations of a
marking device)
associated with marking each utility; a total time or activity count for other
actions (e.g.,
marking the property line, tie down, sketching, drawing, selecting, dragging,
resizing, or
performing an undo, clear or zoom); time and data associated with menu clicks,
line
clicks, and point clicks; image request information and information
identifying the
requested image; data associated with drawing lines (e.g., utility type, begin
location, end
location, width, and characteristic (e.g., dashed or solid)); data associated
with drawing
points (e.g., utility type, location, width, characteristic (e.g., symbol
type)); data associated
with text boxes (e.g., location, characteristic (e.g., color), and text);
drawing data (e.g.,
start and end time, ticket number, user name and/or identification, and IP
address); and
location data (e.g., image centroid, ticket location, start location, and end
location).
1001381 It should be appreciated that the user device described herein is
merely
exemplary and that other implementations of user device are possible. For
example, the
user device and/or certain components thereof may be integrated within a
locate and/or
marking device. In this case, the user device may share a display with that of
the locate
and/or marking device and process and store data within the locate and/or
marking device.
CONCLUSION
1001391 Aspects of the invention as described herein enable retrieving from a
database
the appropriate input image of a specific geographic location, or dig area,
where locate
operations are to be conducted for underground facilities. The user may draft,
on the
retrieved image, a variety of features, including but not limited to (1) the
type of
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underground facilities marked using an appropriate color or other coding
schema, (2) the
number of underground facilities marked within the dig area, (3) the
approximate
geographic location of each set of underground facility locate marks, and (4)
the
appropriate environmental landmark offsets for each set of underground
facility locate
marks. The combination of the retrieved image and additional information
drafted by the
user may be saved in a variety of formats as an electronic manifest. Other
information
regarding the specific geographic location of the locate marks and
environmental
landmarks may be incorporated into the electronic manifest using direct input
from
GPS-enabled positioning tools and the like.
[001401 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.
[001411 For example, certain information was described as being presented
visually on a
screen of user device 210. In other implementations, this information may be
audibly
provided to the user. Also, particular information was described as being
input via an
input device 340, such as a screen of user device 210. In other
implementations, this
information may be provided in other ways, such as by receiving inputs via
input keys
and/or buttons, by recognizing speech of the user, or by monitoring a
condition of the user.
More particularly, the input device 340 may be capable of capturing signals
that reflect a
user's intent. For example, the input device 340 may include a microphone that
can
capture a user's intent by capturing the user's audible commands.
Alternatively, the input
device 340 may interact with a device that monitors a condition of the user,
such as eye
movement, brain activity, or heart rate.
1001421 As another example, certain components, such as user device 210 and
central
server 220 were described as using an image cache. In other implementations,
user device
210 and/or central server 220 may communicate with an image server (such as
imager
server 230) in real-time, so that no image cache may be required. In still
other
implementations, the user device 210 may, for example, communicate in real
time with the
central server 220.
1001431 As another example, it should be noted that reference to a GPS-enabled
device is
not limited to GPS systems only, and that any global navigation satellite
system or other
CA 02715312 2011-06-16
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system that provides geo-spatial positioning may be used in implementations of
the
invention.
[001441 Also, while a series of blocks has been described with regard to Fig.
6, the order
of the blocks may be modified in other implementations. Further, non-dependent
blocks
may be performed in parallel.
1001451 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.
[001461 While various inventive embodiments have been described and
illustrated
herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of
other means
and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results
and/or one or
more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or
modifications
is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described
herein. More
generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all
parameters, dimensions,
materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and
that the
actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend
upon the
specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are
used. Those
skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than
routine
experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments
described
herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are
presented by
way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and
equivalents
thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically
described
and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to
each
individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described
herein. In
addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles,
materials, kits,
and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or
methods are not
mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present
disclosure.
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[00147] All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to
control
over dictionary definitions and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.
[00148] The indefinite articles "a" and "an," as used herein in the
specification and in
the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to
mean "at least
one."
[00149] The phrase "and/or," as used herein in the specification and in the
claims,
should be understood to mean "either or both" of the elements so conjoined,
i.e., elements
that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in
other cases.
Multiple elements listed with "and/or" should be construed in the same
fashion, i.e., "one
or more" of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be
present other
than the elements specifically identified by the "and/or" clause, whether
related or
unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting
example, a
reference to "A and/or B", when used in conjunction with open-ended language
such as
"comprising" can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including
elements
other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements
other than
A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other
elements); etc.
[001501 As used herein in the specification and in the claims, "or" should be
understood
to have the same meaning as "and/or" as defined above. For example, when
separating
items in a list, "or" or "and/or" shall be interpreted as being inclusive,
i.e., the inclusion of
at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of
elements, and,
optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the
contrary, such as
"only one of or "exactly one of," or, when used in the claims, "consisting
of," will refer
to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In
general, the
term "or" as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive
alternatives (i.e.
"one or the other but not both") when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such
as "either,"
"one of," "only one of," or "exactly one of." "Consisting essentially of,"
when used in the
claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.
[00151] As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase "at
least one,"
in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean
at least one
element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements,
but not
necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically
listed within the
list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of
elements.
I II
CA 02715312 2011-06-16
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This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than
the elements
specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase "at
least one" refers,
whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus,
as a
non-limiting example, "at least one of A and B" (or, equivalently, "at least
one of A or B,"
or, equivalently "at least one of A and/or B") can refer, in one embodiment,
to at least one,
optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally
including
elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally
including more
than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than
A); in yet
another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A,
and at least
one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other
elements); etc.
[001521 It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the
contrary, in
any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order
of the steps
or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the
steps or acts of the
method are recited.
[001531 In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional
phrases such
as "comprising," "including," "carrying," "having," "containing," "involving,"
"holding,"
"composed of," and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to
mean including
but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases "consisting of' and
"consisting essentially
of' shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases.
