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US 7,443,154 B1Granted
Multi-sensor mapping omnidirectional sonde and line locator
AssigneeSeekTech, Inc.
InventorsRay Merewether, Mark S. Olsson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Portable locators are disclosed for finding and mapping buried objects such as utilities. A articulatable antenna node configuration and the use of Doppler radar and GPS navigation are also disclosed.
Claims10
A portable locator, comprising:
- a housing;
- an elongate support connected to the housing, the elongate support having an upper segment and a lower segment;
- at least one sensor node, the sensor node being connected to the elongate support and including at least three substantially mutually orthogonal coils;
- a structure that allows the sensor node to pivot relative to the housing including a hinge assembly joining the upper and lower segments of the elongate support;
- and
- processing circuitry at least partially mounted in the housing capable of receiving signals from the coils induced by electromagnetic emissions from a buried object, determining a location of the buried object, and providing an indication of the location.
3 more elements
A portable locator, comprising:
- a housing;
- an elongate support having an upper segment and a lower segment, an upper end of the upper segment being connected to the housing;
- first and second sensor nodes each including at least three substantially mutually orthogonal coils, the first sensor node being connected to the lower segment of the elongate support and the second sensor node being connected to the upper segment of the elongate support;
- a hinge assembly connecting the upper segment of the elongate support to the lower segment of the elongate support that allows the first sensor node to pivot relative to the second sensor node;
- and
- processing circuitry at least partially mounted in the housing capable of receiving signals from the coils induced by electromagnetic emissions from a buried object, determining a location of the buried object, and providing an indication of the location.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.