Methods, apparatus, and systems for generating electronic records of locate and marking operations, and combined locate and marking apparatus for same

A combination locate and marking apparatus, comprising:

• an actuation mechanism to control dispensing of a marking material;
• at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from a target object;
• a mode selector device operable to select a locate mode distinctly from a marking mode for the apparatus and operable to select the marking mode distinctly from the locate mode for the apparatus;
• a memory to store processor-executable instructions;
• and
• a processor coupled to the mode selector device, the memory and the at least one receiver antenna, the processor configured to, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, log both locate information and marking information in an electronic record stored on the memory, the locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna, the marking information including at least one characteristic of the marking material,
• wherein the processor logs in the memory the locate information during the locate mode and the marking information during the marking mode as an essentially continuous stream of data in which the locate information and the marking information, when present, respectively are uniquely identified.

A combined locate and marking apparatus for logging information relating to a locate operation and a marking operation for at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising:

• an actuator to dispense a marking material so as to form at least one locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to mark a presence or an absence of the at least one underground facility as part of the marking operation;
• at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility as part of the locate operation;
• at least one input device to provide locate information regarding the locate operation and/or marking information regarding the marking operation, the locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna and the marking information relating at least in part to the marking material;
• a mode selector device operable to select a locate mode distinctly from a marking mode for the apparatus and operable to select the marking mode distinctly from the locate mode for the apparatus;
• a memory to store processor-executable instructions;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory, the mode selector device, the at least one input device, the at least one receiver antenna, and the actuator, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor:
• 1) when the apparatus is in the marking mode, the processor logs in the memory, in response to at least one actuation of the actuator, at least some of the marking information provided by the at least one input device, the marking information including at least one characteristic of the marking material;
• and
• 2) when the apparatus is in the locate mode, the processor logs in the memory at least some of the locate information provided by the at least one input device and logs in the memory at least some additional locate information including at least one characteristic of at least one signal detected by the at least one receiver antenna.

A method for performing a locate and marking operation for at least one underground facility using a combined locate and marking apparatus, the method comprising:

• detecting, via at least one receiver antenna of the apparatus, a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility;
• dispensing a marking material from the apparatus, in response to an actuation signal from an actuator, so as to form at least one locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to mark a presence or an absence of the at least one underground facility;
• selecting, via a mode selector device, a locate mode or a marking mode for the apparatus;
• logging, via a processor, into an electronic record in a local memory of the apparatus both locate information and marking information, the locate information relating at least in part to the magnetic field detected via the at least one receiver antenna and the marking information including at least one characteristic of the marking material dispensed, wherein the processor logs the locate information and/or the marking information based on or in response to:
• at least one characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna when the locate mode is selected by the mode selector device, and
• the actuation signal provided by the actuator when the marking mode is selected by the mode selector device.

A combination locate and marking apparatus, comprising:

• an actuation mechanism to control dispensing of a marking material;
• at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from a target object;
• a mode selector device operable to select a locate mode distinctly from a marking mode for the apparatus and operable to select the marking mode distinctly from the locate mode for the apparatus;
• a memory to store processor-executable instructions;
• and
• a processor coupled to the mode selector device, the memory and the at least one receiver antenna, the processor configured to, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, log both locate information and marking information in an electronic record stored on the memory based at least in part on the locate mode or the marking mode as selected via the mode selector device, the locate information being logged during the locate mode and including at least one characteristic of at least one signal detected by the at least one receiver antenna, the marking information being logged during the marking mode and relating at least in part to the marking material in an electronic record stored on the memory.

A method for performing a locate and marking operation for at least one underground facility using a combined locate and marking apparatus, the method comprising:

• detecting, via at least one receiver antenna of the apparatus, a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility;
• dispensing a marking material from the apparatus so as to form at least one locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to mark a presence or an absence of the at least one underground facility;
• selecting, via a mode selector device, a locate mode or a marking mode for the apparatus;
• and
• logging into an electronic record in a local memory of the apparatus both locate information and marking information based at least in part on the locate mode or the marking mode as selected via the mode selector device, the locate information being logged during the locate mode and including at least one characteristic of at least one signal detected by the at least receiver antenna, the marking information being logged during the marking mode and relating at least in part to the marking material dispensed from the apparatus so as to form at least one locate mark on the ground, pavement or other surface to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility.