SONDE-BASED GROUND-TRACKING APPARATUS AND METHODS
A ground tracking system includes a ground follower assembly including a sonde for use with a locator or other device for determining position, motion, and/or orientation information.
This application is a continuation of and claims priority to co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/841,879, filed Mar. 15, 2013, entitled GROUND-TRACKING SYSTEMS AND APPARATUS, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/615,810, filed Mar. 26, 2012, entitled GROUND-TRACKING SYSTEMS AND APPARATUS, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/781,889, filed Mar. 14, 2013, entitled OMNI-INDUCER TRANSMITTING DEVICES AND METHODS, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/783,011, filed Mar. 14, 2013, entitled MULTI-FREQUENCY LOCATING SYSTEMS AND METHODS, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/786,385, entitled DUAL ANTENNA SYSTEMS WITH VARIABLE POLARIZATION, filed Mar. 15, 2013, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/784,854, filed Mar. 14, 2013, entitled SELF-GROUNDING TRANSMITTING PORTABLE CAMERA CONTROLLER FOR USE WITH PIPE INSPECTION SYSTEM, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/786,350, filed Mar. 15, 2013, entitled USER INTERFACES FOR UTILITY LOCATORS, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/779,830, filed Mar. 13, 2013, entitled GRADIENT ANTENNA COILS AND ARRAYS FOR USE IN LOCATING SYSTEMS. The content of each of these applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.
FIELDThis disclosure relates generally to ground tracking systems and apparatus for use with buried object locators. More specifically, but not exclusively, this disclosure relates to a ground tracking system for providing signals associated with position and/or motion information of a coupled buried object locator, relative to the surface of the ground.
BACKGROUNDThere are many situations where it is desirable to locate buried utilities or other objects, such as pipes and cables. For example, prior to starting any new construction that involves excavation, it is important to locate buried objects and underground utilities, such as power lines, gas lines, phone lines, fiber optic cable conduits, cable television (CATV) cables, sprinkler control wiring, water pipes, sewer pipes, and the like (collectively and individually referred to herein as “utilities” or “objects”). As used herein, the term “buried” refers not only to objects below the surface of the ground, but also to objects located inside walls, between floors in multi-story buildings, cast into concrete slabs, or otherwise obscured, covered, or hidden from direct view or access.
Location of these buried objects may be important for cost, time, and safety reasons. For example, if a backhoe or other excavation equipment hits a high voltage line or a gas line, serious injury may result. Further, severing water mains and sewer lines leads to messy cleanups.
Buried objects can be located by sensing an emitted electromagnetic signal. For example, some buried cables, such as electric power lines, are already energized and emit their own long cylindrical electromagnetic field. In other cases, the buried object may be energized to produce electromagnetic radiation. For example, an external electrical power source having, for example, a frequency in a range of approximately 22 Hz to 500 kHz may be used to energize a buried object such as a pipe or conduit. Location of buried long conductors is often referred to as “line tracing,” and the results may be referred to as a “locate.”
SUMMARYThe present disclosure relates generally to systems, methods, and apparatus for locating buried objects (locators). More specifically, but not exclusively, the disclosure relates to ground tracking devices configured for use with locators or other measurement devices to follow a ground or other surface and provide signals associated with position and/or motion information in one or more axes of motion that may be used by the locator to generate position, motion, and/or orientation information.
Various additional aspects, features, functions, and details are further described below in conjunction with the appended Drawings.
The present disclosure relates generally to systems, methods, and apparatus for locating buried objects. More specifically, but not exclusively, the disclosure relates to a ground tracking device configured with a locator to follow the ground or other surface, and provide position and/or motion information, including measurements regarding changes in heading of the ground tracking device (e.g., translational and rotational movement with respect to the ground/other surface).
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the ground tracking device may include at least one measurement device for sensing motion and position in x, y and z dimensions in addition to a time dimension. The measurement device may sense a rotational motion of a ground tracking device (or any part of the ground tracking device) about a substantially fixed ground reference point, and one or more output signals may include one or more signals corresponding to the rotational motion about the substantially fixed ground point. The measurement device may also/alternatively sense a translational motion of the ground tracking device, or a part thereof, over the ground/surface, and the one or more signals may include one or more signals corresponding to the translational motion. The measurement device may also/alternatively sense an up and/or down motion of the ground tracking device, or a part thereof, relative to the ground/surface, and the one or more signals may include one or more signals corresponding to the up and/or down motion. Alternately, or in addition, the measurement device may sense a swivel motion of the ground tracking device, or a part thereof, with respect to the ground/surface or another part of the ground tracking device, and the one or more signals may include one or more signals corresponding to the swivel motion. The measurement device may sense, for example, vertical, horizontal or other movement and/or orientation of a floating wheel with respect to another wheel (e.g., the center wheel), and the one or more signals may include one or more signals corresponding to the relative movement and/or orientation of the floating wheel.
In accordance with another aspect, the ground tracking device may include a ground follower assembly coupled to an antenna node. The ground follower assembly may be configured to generate one or more output signals corresponding to motion and/or distance of the locator device over a ground or surface. The ground follower assembly may further include a wheel assembly coupled to an antenna node of a locator with a coupling element, such as a yoke element, which may be removably attached to a race ring assembly mounted on the antenna node. For example, the yoke may be coupled to a pair of hinges disposed on the race ring assembly.
In accordance with one aspect, the disclosure relates to a wheel assembly which may include one or more wheels which maintain contact with the ground simultaneously. The wheel assembly may include, for example, a left floating wheel, a right floating wheel, and a center wheel. Each wheel may turn in a forward or backward direction
In accordance with another aspect, the wheel assembly and/or other components of the ground tracking device may include various sensors for collecting movement and position information. Examples of sensors include one or more compasses, accelerometers, magnets, GPS receivers, gyroscopes, barometers, magnetic field, and other sensors. Any number of these sensors may be used to collect information regarding movement or position of each individual wheel and/or the relative movement or position of two or more wheels (e.g., the left and right floating wheels) with respect to each other or another wheel (e.g., the center wheel). For example, relative turning of the left and right floating wheels may be measured with respect to the center wheel, and different outputs may be determined depending on the direction of the respective turning, and also distance traveled by each wheel over a period of time. When the wheel assembly travels over a surface along an arc (e.g., a clockwise arc pathway), for instance, the outside wheel (e.g., the left floating wheel) normally must turn more than the inside wheel (e.g., the right floating wheel) because it travels a greater distance during the same amount of time. The traveled pathway may be determined, for example, by considering both the difference between the distances traveled by each wheel and the fixed distance separating the wheels. When the wheel assembly rotates/pivots about a point on a surface below the center of the wheel assembly (e.g., in a clockwise direction), for instance, the outside wheels normally must turn in opposite directions while the center wheel does not turn. The amount of rotation may be determined, for example, by considering the amount of turning by each wheel and the circumference of each wheel. Knowing the relative translational and rotational movement provides information that may be used to track the relative direction and/or distance traveled by the ground tracking device.
Tracked movement and position of the wheel assembly may be used to track movement and position of an antenna node in a locator assembly connected to the wheel assembly. For example, the locator assembly and wheel assembly may be connected to each other via a coupling element having a fixed length. Vertical and horizontal differences between the position of the wheel assembly and the locator assembly may be determined and used in association with calculated position and motion of the wheel assembly to ascertain the position and motion of the antenna node. For example, the measured angle of magnetic field lines generated by an inductor disposed in the wheel assembly may provide a relative angle of the wheel assembly to the locator. In some embodiments, such an inductor may include a magnetic dipole beacon such as a sonde. Hereafter, the terms “inductor”, “magnetic dipole beacon”, “dipole beacon”, “beacon”, or “sonde” may refer to the same concept. Furthermore, corresponding compass readings from a compass in the wheel assembly and a compass in the locator can also provide a relative angular bearing between the wheel assembly and the locator. By way of another example, relative magnetic field strength measured at two antennas may provide a vertical height of the locator from the wheel assembly.
In one aspect, the disclosure relates to a ground tracking system. In an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of magnets may be disposed within the floating wheels. One or more sensor elements, such as three-axis accelerometers and one or more three-axis compass sensors may be disposed in the wheel assembly to measure the relative motion of each floating wheel and generate an output signal corresponding to rotation, position, and/or other information. The wheel assembly may include various circuit elements including a central circular PCB and magnetic sensor boards. The wheel assembly may further include one or more battery elements, such as a C-cell battery, to provide power to various circuit elements. The wheel assembly may optionally include a gyroscope, a barometer, and/or a tilt sensor. A High Q high frequency sonde may be optionally included in the ground tracking system.
In accordance with various other aspects, one or more magnets may be disposed in left and right floating wheels and one or more sensor elements, such as magnetic sensor elements, may be disposed within the wheel assembly (e.g., in the center wheel) to sense a rotation of left and right floating wheels, and to generate one or more output signals based at least in part on the sensed movement or position. The wheel assembly may further/alternatively include a compass element configured to generate a compass output signal corresponding to a position of the ground follower assembly. The ground tracking device may also/alternatively include an accelerometer (e.g., a three-axis accelerometer) that may be configured to generate an output signal corresponding to a motion of the ground follower assembly. A GPS receiver module or other terrestrial or satellite position location device may also/alternatively be included. The ground tracking device may further/alternatively include one or more sensor elements and associated hardware and signal processing circuits configured to sense a rotation of one or more wheels associated with translation motion, to sense tilt of the wheel assembly from a vertical plane or the tilt of one wheel with respect to another wheel or the vertical plane, to sense roughness of a surface, to sense steepness of a surface, to sense sudden elevation changes of a surface (e.g., when the wheel assembly descends down or ascends up a curb or other object), to sense acceleration up or down a surface, to sense whether the wheel assembly is sliding against the surface, and to sense other environmental conditions.
Other aspects relate to a ground tracking device comprising one or more sensors configured to determine motion, position, and/or orientation information relating to the ground tracking device or a component of the ground tracking device. The motion, position or orientation information may comprise any-dimension motion, position or orientation information.
In accordance with one aspect, the one or more sensors comprise one or more accelerometers, compasses, magnetic sensors, GPS or other location-based receivers, or gyroscopes. The one or more sensors may be configured to: generate one or more output signals representative of a motion of the ground tracking device or the component over a surface; generate one or more output signals representative of a position and an orientation of the ground tracking device or the component over a surface; measure a translational movement of the ground tracking device or the component relative to a surface; measure a rotational movement of the ground tracking device or the component relative to a surface; measure a position of a wheel relative to a position of a locator assembly; measure an orientation of a wheel relative to a locator assembly; measure an orientation of a wheel relative to a fixed point on a surface; measure a direction of rotation and an amount of rotation of a wheel relative to a fixed point on a surface; measure a distance traveled by a wheel over a surface during a time period; measure a direction a wheel is traveling at a point in time; measure a movement of a first wheel relative to a movement of a second wheel; measure respective movements of two wheels relative to a movement of another wheel; measure a first direction in which a first wheel turns and a second direction in which a second wheel turns (e.g., when the first direction and the second direction are different, the ground tracking device determines that the component of the ground tracking device is rotating about a point on a surface); and/or measure a first distance in which a first wheel turns and a second distance in which a second wheel turns (e.g., when the first distance and the second distance are different, the ground tracking device determines that the component of the ground tracking device is traveling along an arc over a surface).
In accordance with another embodiment, the ground tracking device may include a wheel assembly with a first outer wheel, a second outer wheel and a center wheel. The center wheel may be disposed between the first and second outer wheels, and the first and second outer wheels may be floating wheels relative to the center wheel and further configured to maintain contact with an uneven surface. The first outer wheel may comprise a flexible mechanism configured to permit the first outer wheel to move in a vertical direction relative to the center wheel. The flexible mechanism may comprise one or more spiral spokes.
The wheel assembly may also include some or all of the one or more sensors, which are configured to: measure a position of a wheel assembly relative to a position of a locator assembly; measure an orientation of a wheel assembly relative to a locator assembly; measure an orientation of a wheel assembly relative to a fixed point on a surface; measure a direction of rotation and an amount of rotation of a wheel assembly relative to a fixed point on a surface; measure a distance traveled by a wheel assembly over a surface during a time period; and/or measure a direction a wheel assembly is traveling at a point in time.
The ground tracking device may further include a locator assembly, a coupling element configured to couple the locator assembly to the wheel assembly, and a circuit or other processing element. The wheel assembly may comprise an inductor, and the locator assembly may comprise one or more antenna nodes configured to measure the magnetic field strength and one or more magnetic field lines of the inductor. In such embodiments, an inductor may refer to a magnetic dipole beacon such as a sonde. The coupling element may be configured to permit the wheel assembly to swivel around the locator assembly. The circuit may be configured to determine an approximate height of a first antenna node from a surface based on two measurements of the magnetic field strength of the inductor at two different instances in time by a second antenna node. In addition, or alternatively, the circuit may be configured to determine a swivel angle based on an angle of the one or more magnetic field lines relative to a reference plane.
In accordance with another embodiment, the ground tracking device may include a circuit configured to determine one or more characteristics of a surface based on the motion, position, or orientation information. The one or more characteristics include one or more of an elevation of particular points on the surface, a terrain profile of the surface, a surface area of the surface, a composition of the surface, and/or a contour of the surface across a surface area.
In another embodiment, a rolling ground tracking device may be configured to couple to a locator or other device and trail behind the device to act as a ground tracking device, such as described herein, and/or an induction device, to generate signals for induction of signals into buried objects, or both. Examples of induction device embodiments and details as may be combined with the disclosures herein are described in, for example, co-assigned U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/781,889, filed Mar. 14, 2013, entitled OMNI-INDUCER TRANSMITTING DEVICES AND METHODS, which is incorporated herein.
In another embodiment, a rolling or moving element, such as a wheel, axle, or other rolling element, or bracket, swing arm, or other moving element, may include one or more sondes. At least one sonde may have an axis that is not coincident with the rolling axis. The rolling element may be coupled to a buried object locator or other instrument, tool, or device. The device may be configured to track the position and/or rotation of one or more of the sondes while rolling and measure its own movement over the ground relative to the position or rotation. The device may also be configured to detect induced signals from buried objects from transmitted signals from the one or more rolling sondes.
In another embodiment, a rolling or moving element, such as a wheel, axle, or other rolling element, or bracket, swing arm, or other moving element, may include an orthogonal array of three sondes. The axis of rotation may be positioned at approximately equal angles to each antenna coil, and signals may be transmitted from the sondes for use by a locator in determining rotation or other motions.
In another embodiment, one or more batteries may be configured to have a long axis that is coincident with the axis of rotation of one or more of the rolling structures. The batteries may be used in a wheel or other rolling element in various embodiments.
In another embodiment, a connecting arm that is configured to pivot with a pivoting assembly may be coupled around an axis, such as a vertical axis, attached to a locator or other device. One or more sondes may be disposed on or within the arm to determine movement similarly to movement detection with respect to a rolling element such as a wheel.
In another embodiment, a flexible connecting arm may be disposed between the locator and a rolling element, such as a wheel or axle, that includes a sonde array. Various lengths of flexible arms may be used. The flexible arm may be flexible both in bending and in twisting motions. The flexible arm may include both rigid sections and pivoting joints.
In another embodiment, a flexible connecting arm may be disposed between the locator and a rolling sonde array. A trailing end of the connecting arm may be secured to the locator for transport and storage.
In another embodiment, a detection circuit for sensing movement or rotation and automatically waking up a coupled device, such as a locator or sonde array, from a low power state or off state may be included or coupled to a rolling element such as a wheel or axle. Upon waking or powering up, the device, such as a sonde array, may begin transmitting. Such a circuit may be used to conserve power in a sonde array powered by a batteries and/or in a coupled locator.
In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that transmit at different frequencies may be included, such as in a rolling device such as a wheel and/or a rolling sonde array element. In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that transmitting in a timed sequence may be included. In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that are oriented orthogonally to each other may be included. In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that employ primary and secondary coils on each axis may be included. In such a configuration, the secondary coil may be part of a circuit that includes a capacitor. In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that have a resonant Q of greater than 10 may be included.
In another embodiment, a rechargeable battery may be included. The rechargeable battery may be coupled to a sonde array to provide power to the sonde array. The rechargeable battery element may be configured, in conjunction with a circuit in the rolling device, moving element, or sonde array, to be recharged by inductive charging from an inductive charging device. In another embodiment, the rechargeable battery may be configured, in conjunction with a circuit in the rolling device, moving element, or sonde array, to be charged from a USB port or other serial or parallel data interface port.
In another embodiment, a wireless data module for providing a data communications link from the rolling sonde array to the locator may be included in the rolling element or sonde array. The wireless link may be a Bluetooth, or Bluetooth LE link, or Wi-Fi or other wireless communications link.
In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that transmit in a specific phase relationship to each other may be included in a rolling device or sonde array. The two or more transmitting coils may be phase locked to one another. In another embodiment, three or more transmitting coils that are all in phase at a periodic interval of time may be included. In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that use or are provided with a signal using a single clock may be included. In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils that use a single clock that is accurate to better than 20 ppm may be used. In another embodiment, two or more transmitting coils of a sonde array that are mounted inside an approximately spherical structure may be used. In another embodiment a two or more wheeled structure or device, each with one or more independently rotating transmitting sondes, may be provided. The two or more rotating structures or devices may be configured to be able to detect pivoting rotation against the ground. In another embodiment, at least one 18650 rechargeable lithium battery may be used to power one or more sondes.
In a rolling sonde array embodiment, sets of sonde transmit frequencies may be, for example, 90 kHz, 91 kHz, 92 kHz, or 70 kHz, 80 kHz, 90 kHz.
Various embodiments in accordance with details of the present disclosure may be used or combined with details of buried object locators and/or sondes and associated components as described in co-assigned applications. For example, various ground tracking device embodiments in accordance with aspects disclosed herein may be combined with details of locators and sondes such as are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,009,399, 7,332,901, 7,336,078, 7,443,154, 7,619,516, 7,733,077, 7,741,848, 7,755,360, 7,825,647, 7,830,149, U.S. Patent Publication 2011/0006772, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/161,183 (collectively referred to herein as the “related applications”). The content of each of these patents, publications and applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes.
Various other aspects of apparatus, devices, configurations, and methods that may be used in ground tracking embodiments as disclosed herein are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/677,223, filed Nov. 14, 2012, entitled MULTI-FREQUENCY LOCATING SYSTEMS & METHODS, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/570,211, filed Aug. 8, 2012, entitled PHASE-SYNCHRONIZED BURIED OBJECT LOCATOR APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/161,183, filed Jun. 15, 2011, entitled GROUND-TRACKING DEVICES FOR USE WITH A MAPPING LOCATOR, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/766,670, filed Feb. 13, 2013, entitled OPTICAL GROUND TRACKING LOCATOR DEVICES & METHODS, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/679,672, filed Aug. 3, 2012, entitled OPTICAL GROUND TRACKING APPARATUS, SYSTEMS & METHODS, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/268,641, filed Oct. 9, 2002, entitled OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATOR, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/077,947, filed Mar. 11, 2005, entitled SINGLE AND MULTI-TRACE OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS AND TRANSMITTER USED THEREWITH, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/932,205, filed Oct. 31, 2007, entitled OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATOR, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/579,539, filed Oct. 15, 2009, entitled SINGLE AND MULTI-TRACE OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS AND TRANSMITTER USED THEREWITH, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/902,551, filed Oct. 12, 2010, entitled OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATOR, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/916,886, filed Nov. 1, 2010, entitled SINGLE AND MULTI-TRACE OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS AND TRANSMITTER USED THEREWITH, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/916,886, filed Nov. 1, 2010, entitled SINGLE AND MULTI-TRACE OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS AND TRANSMITTER USED THEREWITH. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/956,328, filed Oct. 1, 2004, entitled MULTI-SENSOR MAPPING OMNI-DIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS AND TRANSMITTER USED THEREWITH, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/970,818, filed Jan. 8, 2008, entitled MULTI-SENSOR MAPPING OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATOR, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/103,971, filed Apr. 16, 2008, entitled LOCATOR AND TRANSMITTER CALIBRATION SYSTEM, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/243,191, filed Oct. 1, 2008, entitled MULTI-SENSOR MAPPING OMNIDIRECTIONAL SONDE AND LINE LOCATORS AND TRANSMITTER USED THEREWITH, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/780,311, filed May 14, 2010, entitled SONDE ARRAY FOR USE WITH BURIED LINE LOCATOR, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/826,427, filed Jun. 29, 21010, entitled LOCATOR AND TRANSMITTER CALIBRATION SYSTEM, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/356,408, filed Jan. 23, 2012, entitled SONDES & METHODS FOR USE WITH BURIED LINE LOCATOR SYSTEMS, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/886,856, filed Jul. 8, 2004, entitled SONDES FOR LOCATING UNDERGROUND PIPES AND CONDUITS, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/683,553, filed Mar. 8, 2007, entitled SONDES FOR LOCATING UNDERGROUND PIPES AND CONDUITS, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/789,074, entitled SONDE DEVICES INCLUDING A SECTIONAL FERRITE CORE STRUCTURE, filed Mar. 15, 2013 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/864,980, filed Sep. 29, 2007, entitled SONDES FOR LOCATING UNDERGROUND PIPES AND CONDUITS. The content of each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes. Various details as described in these incorporated applications and/or in the applications to which this application claims priority may be combined with the disclosures herein in various additional embodiments. For example, locators as described in the incorporated applications may include details of implementations of sondes and sonde arrays as described herein and/or in other incorporated applications or priority applications. Systems including locators, buried object transmitters, and other system elements may include ground tracking embodiments as described herein. Processing of sonde signals may be implemented using antennas, signal processing circuits, processing elements, storage elements, memory, and/or display elements or devices as described in the priority and/or incorporated applications.
The term “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect and/or embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects and/or embodiments.
Example Ground Tracking System Embodiments
Referring to
In an exemplary embodiment, a separate transmitter (not shown) may provide an inductive magnetic field output for inducing alternating current (AC) in buried object 103, and/or current output from a separate transmitter (not shown) may be directly coupled to buried object 103. In some embodiments, the inducer or dipole beacon assembly may be configured to induce current into a buried conductor. The electromagnetic signal 105, such as electromagnetic signals generated by a current in a buried object 103, may be detected by the locator 110. Examples of portable locators include battery powered man portable utility locators such as those described in incorporated U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,009,399, 7,733,077, and 7,332,091.
One or more sensor elements and associated hardware and signal processing circuits may be used to sense relative position and motion, and other information.
Referring to
As illustrated in
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The bottom length is a known fixed quantity, so:
RConst 309 may be measured as the distance between the center of the wheel assembly 230 and annular race axle along the length of the yoke element 234. The distances between the upper/top antenna node 112 and the wheel assembly 230, such as R1 305 and R2 307, may be solved geometrically. Once the distances from the upper antenna to the wheel axle are known, such as R1 305 and R2 307, the approximate height 303 of the lower antenna 114 from the ground 107 may be calculated geometrically.
Other sensors may be used to determine R1 305 and R2 307, including acoustic sensors, optical sensors and/or other sensors.
Referring to
One or more magnets and/or other sensing elements (not shown in
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One or more tubes, such as a pair of carbon cross tubes 608 may be disposed between right yoke arm 602 and left yoke arm 604 to provide stabilization of the ground follower assembly 120. Tubes 608 may be secured between right yoke arm 602 and left yoke arm 604 with one or more screws, such as a pair of long screws 612, and secured with one or more nuts, such as a pair of nuts 614. In an exemplary embodiment, annular race assembly 640 may provide a mechanism for 360 degree rotation of the ground follower assembly 120 around the lower antenna node 114.
A plurality of latches, such as one or more race ring latches 634 may be used to couple race rings (not shown in
The ground follower assembly 120 may be stowed in an upright configuration and locked into stowage clip 236. In an exemplary embodiment, ground follower assembly 120 may be folded upwards at the hinge or race axles 752 (see
Referring to
In assembly, upper race ring 742 and lower race ring 754 may be firmly secured to the housing of lower antenna node 114 with race ring latches 634. Yoke race ring 744 may slide freely on one or more race rollers 748 relative to fixed race rings, for example, upper race ring 742 and lower race ring 754.
Referring to
In an exemplary embodiment, wheel assembly 230 may include a left floating wheel O-ring 852 stretched around left floating wheel 450, a right floating wheel O-ring 862 stretched around right floating wheel 460, and center floating wheel O-ring 872 stretched around center wheel 470, to provide traction between each wheel 450, 460, and 470, and the ground.
One or more magnets (not shown in
In one aspect, center wheel 470 may be formed by a left center wheel housing half 926 and a right center wheel housing half 928, which may be mated and sealed with a sealing element, such as an O-ring 936, and secured with one or more fasteners, such as with left housing screws 954 and right housing screws 958. A battery element 922, such as a C-cell battery, may be disposed in a battery tube 924 within center wheel 470 to provide power to various circuitry of ground tracking system 100. The battery element 922 may be seated in battery tube 924, and press against various battery contact elements, such as disks, springs, clips or other metallic parts, which may be electrically connected to one or more circuit elements disposed in wheel assembly 230. Such contact elements may be sealed or compartmentalized within wheel caps 802 and 804 with various materials, such as foam or an O-ring. For example, a left battery contact disk 952 and a battery contact spring 968 may be secured together and onto the inside surface of left wheel cap 802 with a fastening element or rivet, such as a left eyelet 932. Likewise, a right battery contact disk element 956 may be disposed on the inner surface of right wheel cap 804, and may be secured by fastening element or rivet, such as a right eyelet 934. In assembly, the battery element 922 snaps in firmly between contact spring 968 and right battery contact disk element 956 to complete the circuit and provide power to various circuit elements, which may be disposed in wheel assembly 230, such as PCB 962 and one or more sensor boards, such as a pair of magnet sensor boards 982.
A plurality of discrete rolling elements, such as ball bearings, may be disposed in wheel assembly 230 to reduce friction between moving element, yoke race 744, and fixed elements, such as upper race ring 742 and lower race ring 754. Left floating wheel ball bearings 902 and right floating wheel ball bearings 904 may be made of various materials, such as Delrin®, Phenoxy®, or other similar polycarbonate resins or polymeric materials. In an exemplary embodiment, a plurality of left floating wheel ball bearings 902 may be disposed between left center wheel housing half 926 and left floating wheel 450. One or more fasteners, such as left capture plate screws 912 may be used to secure bearings 902 against left center wheel housing half 926 through one or more holes formed into a left capture plate 906. Likewise, a plurality of right floating wheel ball bearings 904 may be disposed between right center wheel housing half 928 and right floating wheel 460. One or more fasteners, such as right capture plate screws 914 may be used to secure bearings 904 against right center wheel housing half 928 through one or more holes formed into a right capture plate 908.
One or more circuit elements, such as PCB 962, and magnet sensor boards 982, may be disposed in the wheel assembly 230, such as for example, in the center wheel 470, for ascertaining and processing various signals, measurements, and other information. A coil of wire, such as a Litz wire 966, may be disposed within center wheel 470, to provide a dipole field, such as the B field lines 505 emitted from the center of lower antenna node 114, as shown in
Other flexible materials may alternately be used in place of and/or in combination with spiral spokes 1004. For example, coil springs, compression springs, hydraulic and/or pneumatic cylinders, and other materials used in various types of suspension systems may be used to provide a flexible mechanism for floating wheels 450 and 460 to roll over uneven terrain and maintain contact with the ground.
In an exemplary embodiment, ground tracking system 1400 may include one or more magnetometers, such as a first floating wheel compass 1412 and a second floating wheel compass 1414. An ISM radio 1418 may be used to transmit data and other information. Ground tracking system 1400 may optionally include a gyroscope, a GPS and/or a barometer.
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As illustrated in
In some embodiments the dipole beacons may be secured about different locations along a wheel oriented in directions other than aligned with the wheel's axis or radius/diameter. For instance, in
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The ground tracking embodiments in keeping with the present disclosure as described in the various preceding paragraphs need not be connected to a locator device, but may be used in conjunction with other devices or systems where tracking of movement, position, or location may be needed or desirable. In addition, in locators or other devices, motion, position, orientation, or tracking information as may be generated from sonde signals may be associated with or combined with other location or positional information, such as from inertial sensors, accelerometers, compass sensors, GPS modules, or other satellite or ground-based positioning signals or systems from networks such as cellular networks and the like. These additional signals may be used to refine location or position information in conjunction with the information provided from sonde-based signaling or to cross-check or calibrate positional information from multiple information sources in various embodiments.
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In some embodiments, accelerometers or other motion sensors may be included in wheel assemblies or incorporated in or coupled to sondes or sonde arrays in conjunction with a circuit for awakening or powering up a ground tracking device in keeping with the present disclosure. For example, such sensors may be used to wake the device from a sleeping state or low powered or powered down state.
In various embodiments, the sensed motion signals may be processed in whole, or in part by the measurement circuit, with processed data or information sent to the locator 110. Sensed motion signals may optionally be processed in the locator 110. In one aspect, sensed motion signals may be used to calculate and map position, motion, location, orientation, and/or terrain data or information associated with movements of locator 110 by operator 102.
Signals provided from the ground tracking system 1400 may be combined or processed in combination with additional signals provided from the locator 110 to generate the position and/or movement data as well as to generate mapping data for the locating or tracing operation. For example, accelerometer or other motion sensing devices in a locator may be combined with motion signals from the ground follower assembly 120 to distinguish relative movements associated with the locator from movements generated by sensors in the ground tracking device. This can be used to generate more complete mapping data reflecting position and movements of the ground tracking system 1400. The data may be stored in the ground follower device 120 or locator 110 or other instrument for subsequent download and/or processing.
In an exemplary embodiment, the sensors may comprise magnetic sensors and associated permanent magnets to generate position and/or motion signals. However, in some embodiments, optical encoders, potentiometers, gyroscopic devices, compass devices, and/or other sensor elements and associated hardware and signal processing circuits may be used to sense relative position and motion, and other information.
Various example embodiments have been described previously herein to provide ground tracking devices that may be coupled to a locator or other measurement device. The ground tracking devices may be configured with a ground follower assembly, which may use an element such as one or more wheels, a sphere, or other mechanisms to follow the ground or other surfaces and provide sensed motion signals in multiple axes or dimensions. The motion signals may be processed in a processing circuit of the ground follower assembly to filter, correlate, generate motion and/or position data, and/or integrate the motion signals with other sensor data or information. The motion signals may be provided, either as raw signals or processed signals or data to the attached measurement device for further processing and/or data storage. Other combinations of the various aspects, elements, components, features, and/or functions described previously herein may be combined in various configurations.
In addition, details regarding additional aspects, elements, components, features, functions, apparatus, and/or methods which may be used in conjunction with the embodiments described previously herein in various implementations are described in the related applications of the assignee of the instant application.
In some configurations, the devices, elements, mechanisms, or apparatus may include means for performing various functions as described herein, such as are illustrated in the appended drawing figures. The aforementioned means may be, for example, mechanical elements such as wheels or other ground follower elements, sensor elements, processor or processors and associated memory in which embodiments reside, such as in processing elements, on circuit boards or substrates, or in other electronic configurations performing the functions recited by the aforementioned means. The aforementioned means may include a non-transitory storage medium including instructions for use by a processor to implement, in whole or in part, the various sensing and measurement functions described previously herein. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a module or apparatus configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.
In one or more exemplary embodiments, the various data collection, measurement, storage and signal processing functions, methods and processes described herein and/or in the related applications may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.
It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps or stages in the processes and methods disclosed are examples of exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Any accompanying process or method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, however, this is not meant to be limiting unless specifically noted.
Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the disclosure. In some embodiments mechanical elements and functions, such as ground follower assemblies, yoke assemblies, or other mechanical elements may be replaced, in whole or in part, by other elements, such as acoustic or optical elements. For example, in some embodiments, some or all of the mechanical elements of a ground follower assembly as described previously herein may include acoustic and/or optical ground movement detection elements in place of or in addition to mechanical elements such as wheels and yokes.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed in a processing element or other circuit with a general purpose processor, special purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. In some implementations, processors may be processors, such as communication processors, specifically designed for implementing functionality in communication devices or other mobile or portable devices.
The steps or stages of a method, process or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.
The scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown and described previously herein, but should be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more”. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c.
The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. It is intended that the following claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A ground following tracking apparatus for use with an electronic device, comprising:
- a ground follower element including a sonde for generating a magnetic dipole field; and
- an attachment mechanism for coupling the ground following tracking apparatus to the electronic device.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a magnetic-sensing buried utility locator.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ground follower element includes a wheel.
4. A system for locating buried utilities, comprising:
- a utility locator including a plurality of magnetic field antennas and a circuit for processing output signals from the plurality of antennas to determine information about a hidden or buried utility; and
- an omni-inducer wheel apparatus coupled to the locator for generating magnetic field signals for induction to the hidden or buried utilities.
5. A method of tracking ground movement using a buried utility locator, comprising:
- generating, from a rolling element including a sonde a magnetic dipole field;
- sensing, in the buried utility locator, the magnetic dipole field; and
- determining, based at least in part on the magnetic dipole field, motion, position, or orientation information of the buried utility locator.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the rolling element includes one or more wheels.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the sonde is disposed in one of the one or more wheels.
8. The method of claim 6, further including determining one or more characteristics of a surface over which the buried utility locator is moved based on the motion, position, or orientation information.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the motion, position, or orientation information comprises three-dimensional motion information or three-dimensional position information.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the motion, position, or orientation information comprises information associated with a translation movement of the locator relative to a surface over which the locator is moved.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 1, 2016
Publication Date: Apr 27, 2017
Inventors: Mark S. Olsson (La Jolla, CA), Ryan B. Levin (San Diego, CA), Sequoyah Aldridge (San Diego, CA)
Application Number: 15/225,623