Buried object locators with dodecahedral antenna nodes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10078149-B2
Application number	US-201514949868-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 23, 2015
Priority date	May 11, 2011
Publication date	Sep 18, 2018
Grant date	Sep 18, 2018

Abstract

Systems for locating hidden utilities including a portable locator with a dodecahedral antenna node are disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A utility locator for locating buried or hidden objects based on magnetic field signals emitted from the objects, comprising:
a locator body;
an antenna node, including twelve antenna coils positioned to form a dodecahedral shape, mechanically coupled to or positioned on or within the locator body; and
an electronic circuit operatively coupled to output signals from the twelve antenna node coils for generating information associated with a hidden or buried object based at least partially on magnetic field signals received at the antenna node coils.

2. The locator of claim 1 , wherein the antenna node includes a housing enclosing the twelve antenna coils.

3. The locator of claim 2 , wherein the housing comprises an upper hemispherically-shaped shell and a lower hemispherically-shaped shell coupled to form an approximately spherically-shaped housing enclosing the twelve antenna coils.

4. The locator of claim 1 , wherein the electronic circuit includes a processing element to determine a gradient of the magnetic field measurement based on magnetic field signals measured at a plurality of coils of the twelve antenna node coils and wherein the information associated with a hidden or buried object is based at least in part on the determined gradient.

5. The locator of claim 4 , wherein the determining a gradient of the magnetic field includes measuring voltages at each of the twelve antenna coils, storing the measured voltages in a matrix, determining an orientation vector α, solving for B at each vertex, determining a center field by averaging a field of vertices, for each vertex, multiply coordinate vector b by vertex magnitude B, and determine the gradient by summing vertices.

6. The locator of claim 1 , further comprising an upper antenna node including a plurality of coils, wherein the generated information associated with a hidden or buried object is further based on outputs from the plurality of coils of the upper antenna node.

7. The locator of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of coils of the upper antenna node includes six coils.

8. The locator of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of coils include three nested coils in an omnidirectional antenna array and two gradient antenna coils positioned outside the nested coils.

9. The locator of claim 1 , further comprising an ISM-band radio communications module, a physical navigation module, and an indirect navigation module.

10. The locator of claim 9 , wherein the ISM-band radio communications module is a Bluetooth or WiFi transceiver module, the physical navigation module is an inertial sensor module, and the physical navigation module is a GPS receiver module.

11. The locator of claim 1 , further including a camera operatively coupled to the locator to capture image or video of an area being located by the locator.

12. The locator of claim 1 , wherein the body includes a mast, and wherein the antenna node is positioned on a distal end of the mast so as to be in proximity to the ground during a locate operation.

Assignees

• Olsson Mark S
• Merewether Ray
• Aldridge Sequoyah
• Levin Ryan B
• Seescan Inc

Inventors

• Olsson Mark S
• Merewether Ray
• Aldridge Sequoyah
• Levin Ryan B

Classifications

• G01V3/165 Primary

  operating with magnetic or electric fields produced or modified by the object or by the detecting device (with electromagnetic waves G01V3/17) · CPC title

• G01V3/00

  Electric or magnetic prospecting or detecting; Measuring magnetic field characteristics of the earth, e.g. declination, deviation · CPC title

• G01V3/15

  specially adapted for use during transport, e.g. by a person, vehicle or boat · CPC title

• G01V3/104 Primary

  using several coupled or uncoupled coils (G01V3/101 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01V3/081

  the magnetic field is produced by the objects or geological structures (characterised by the method of magnetic field measurement G01R33/00) · CPC title