Ribbon marking tool
AssigneeAT&T Corp.
InventorsHossein Eslambolchi, John Sinclair Huffman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A ribbon marking tool (10) for dispensing a length of warning tape (14) along the ground above a buried conveyance tool includes a housing (20) within which a roll of warning tape (36) is mounted for rotation. A mechanism (32) within the housing serves to feeds the tape out through the housing and to staple the tape to the ground and to sever the tape once a sufficient length of tape is dispensed.
Claims14
A tool for dispensing a length of warning tape along the ground above the path of a buried conveyance, comprising:
- a housing for rotatably mounting a roll of tape containing warning indicia;
- means within the housing for feeding a length of warning tape past a window in the housing in communication with the ground;
- means within the housing opposite the window for driving a staple through the to secure the tape to the ground;
- means adjacent to the feeding means for cutting the warning tape;
- and
- actuating means for actuating the feeding means, the staple driving means and the cutting means.
A method for warning of the existence of a utility conveyance buried below ground, comprising the steps of:
- positioning a portion of a warning tape in proximity with the ground below which the conveyance is buried;
- securing said tape portion to the ground by driving a first staple through the ground;
- dispensing a length of tape along the path of the conveyance;
- driving at least one additional staple through the tape;
- and
- cutting the tape proximate the additional staple.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.