Electronic Marker Apparatus for Underground Facility Marking Records
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inaccurate marking of underground facilities during excavation can lead to physical damage, property damage, and personal injury, making it difficult to prove whether the facilities were properly marked, as paint lines are often disturbed or destroyed during the process.
Innovation Solution
A marking apparatus with a housing, a marking dispenser holder, and a processing device that logs and analyzes data on marker dispensation, including location and time, to provide an analysis result for evaluating marking operations, ensuring accurate and recordable marking of underground facilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If paint marking tools are used to mark underground facilities, then marking can be performed visually, but the paint lines are disturbed or destroyed during excavation, making it difficult to prove proper marking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses electronic markers with RFID tags instead of traditional paint lines. The electronic markers create a digital record of marking operations through GPS location data, timestamps, and marker dispensing logs, which serve as an immutable copy of the marking event that cannot be destroyed or disturbed during excavation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical paint marking system with an electronic marking system. Instead of using physical paint lines that can be disturbed, the system uses electronic markers that deposit RFID tags and create digital records, substituting the mechanical visualization with electronic data storage and transmission.
2Ease of manufacture
If workers manually mark facilities using paint cans, then marking can be performed with simple tools, but the process is time-consuming and prone to human error
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic marker system performs self-verification through automated GPS location tracking, timestamp recording, and digital logging. The system automatically confirms marking operations without requiring manual verification, reducing human error and increasing productivity while maintaining simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides immediate feedback through digital records that confirm each marking operation. GPS coordinates, timestamps, and marker dispensing data are automatically recorded and can be verified, providing real-time confirmation of accurate marking without requiring manual checking.
3Ease of operation
If traditional paint marking is used, then the marking process is simple, but it is difficult to prove marking accuracy after excavation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the marking operation through electronic data storage. GPS location data, timestamps, marker types, and dispensing records are stored electronically, creating an immutable record that preserves marking information even after the physical marking is disturbed or destroyed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary recording of marking operations before excavation occurs. By capturing GPS coordinates, timestamps, and marker dispensing data at the time of marking, the system preserves the information before it can be lost or distorted during subsequent excavation activities.
Data Source
AI summary
One or more pieces of equipment (e.g., a locate wand, a marking tool) are used to perform an operation to identify, in response to a ticket, a presence or an absence of an underground facility at a dig area. Data relating to the use of the equipment to perform the operation is electronically processed to determine whether the operation was completed correctly. In one example, ticket information from the ticket also is processed with the data relating to the use of the equipment to determine whether the operation was completed correctly. In another example, the equipment includes a marking apparatus, and data relating to the use of the marking apparatus that is processed includes one or more of marker characteristic information, timing information, supply information and location information relating to one or more markers dispensed by the marking apparatus.