Underground Gas Line Barrier With Tracer Wire Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for underground gas line protection fail to provide effective warning and direct resistance to excavation tools, often miss alignment with the gas line due to dirt coverage, and are labor-intensive and costly to install.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a woven protective barrier with embedded locatable wire and warning labeling, designed to be easily applied and transported, offering direct protection, clear warning, and traceability in a single product, with the barrier and wire spaced appropriately to prevent damage and ensure safe location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If standard caution/warning tape is buried above the gas line, then warning is provided to excavators, but the tape does not provide direct resistance to excavation tools and may not align with the gas line
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the warning function and protection function into a single integrated device. The caution/warning tape is merged with a flexible protective barrier that provides direct resistance to excavation tools, eliminating the need for separate warning and protection systems while ensuring both functions work together at the exact location of the gas line
Solution Approach 2:
The device is installed directly on the gas line before backfilling, ensuring proper alignment with the utility line. This preliminary placement ensures the warning and protection are exactly where needed, preventing misalignment issues that occur when tape is buried separately above the line
2Object-affected harmful factors
If board protection is used to provide direct resistance to excavators, then protection is improved, but the product is not traceable and installation is labor intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible barrier material that can be easily wrapped around or placed over the gas line, unlike rigid boards that require fastening and assembly. This flexible film approach simplifies installation while maintaining protective function, and allows the integrated warning tape to be included for traceability
Solution Approach 2:
The protective barrier is merged with the warning tape and locatable wire into a single integrated device, eliminating the need for separate components that would require multiple installation steps. This integration reduces installation complexity while providing protection, warning, and traceability functions
3Reliability
If multiple separate components are used for protection, warning, and location, then each function can be optimized, but installation time and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges three separate functions (protection, warning, and location) into a single integrated device. The flexible barrier provides protection, the caution/warning tape provides warning, and the locatable wire provides traceability, all in one unit that is installed in a single step, tripling the functionality without increasing installation time
Solution Approach 2:
The device is designed as a multi-functional universal product that simultaneously provides mechanical protection, visual/tactile warning, and locatable traceability. This universal design eliminates the need for multiple specialized components and simplifies the installation process while maintaining all required functions
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is an underground gas line protective barrier to help prevent damage by common excavation. The core components of the invention include a protective barrier, warning text on the protective barrier, and a locatable wire, which is commonly referred to as a tracer wire, which, generally speaking, are configured as follows: a woven protection barrier with warning text and a locatable wire positioned beside the barrier but attached to the protective barrier. The protective barrier is placed directly on the underground line with the tracer wire to the side of the protective barrier. With respect to the associated method, in order to carry out the method the following core steps are followed: unroll the product directly over the gas line, apply dirt on the product as needed to hold it in place, and continue with normal backfill procedure to cover the device.