Buried locator systems and methods
Portable self-standing electromagnetic (EM) field sensing locator systems with attachments for finding and mapping buried objects such as utilities and with intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) displays are described. Accessories may include a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system with a rotating Tx/Rx antenna assembly, a leak detection system, a multi-probe voltage mapping system, a man-portable laser-range finder system with embedded dipole beacon, and other detachable accessory sensor systems are accepted for attachment to the locator system for simultaneous operation in cooperation with the basic locator system. The integration of the locator system with one or mom additional devices, such as fault-finding, geophones and conductance sensors, may be used to facilitate the rapid detection and localization of many different types of buried objects.
1 . A self-standing tripod buried utility locator system, comprising:
a head having a front-facing side and a back facing side;
a user display mounted in the head so that it is readable in a normal orientation by a user when the front-facing side of the head is oriented in a forward direction relative to a user;
an elongate mast;
an omnidirectional antenna array coupled to the mast;
electronics in the head for receiving signals from the omnidirectional antenna array and determining information about a hidden or buried utility from the received signals;
at least one locator processor for processing the received signals;
an accessory mounting interface (AMI) coupled to the at least one locator processor and disposed to accept temporary attachment of an accessory sensor system, wherein the AMI comprises a mechanical coupler adapted to temporarily fix the accessory to the locator system, and an electrical connector adapted to transfer electronic signals and electrical power between the locator system and the accessory;
three hinged support structures coupled to the mast so that two of the support structures are mounted towards the direction of the front side of the head and the third support structure is mounted in the opposite direction towards a back side of the head, wherein each of the three hinged support structures is attached to at least one different omnidirectional antenna from the omnidirectional antenna array, such that none of the three hinged support structures is attached to a same omnidirectional antenna from the omnidirectional antenna array; and
an electromagnetic (EM) sensor array for producing a signal representing a B-field gradient at the EM sensor array as a function of time within at least one frequency band, wherein the at least one locator processor is coupled to a gradient processing circuit for producing signals representing target locations responsive to signals accepted from the gradient processing circuit.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the three support structures are foldable towards the mast.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the EM sensor array comprises three mutually-orthogonal EM field sensors each adapted to provide a signal corresponding to the local non-varying B-field component.
4 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a compass circuit coupled to the locator processor for producing an electronic signal corresponding to the horizontal orientation of the locator system.
5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a tilt-meter circuit coupled to the locator processor for producing an electronic signal corresponding to the vertical orientation of the locator system.
6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an accelerometer circuit coupled to the locator processor for producing an electronic signal corresponding to changes in the orientation of the locator system.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver coupled to the locator processor for producing an electronic signal cor-responding to the GPS coordinates of the locator system.
8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a user interface coupled to the locator processor for accepting user commands and for indicating the buried object location relative to the locator system.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the user interface comprises a graphical user interface (GUI).
10 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a program element coupled to the GUI for displaying a visual indicator representing the direction of current flow in a buried object.
11 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a signal processing circuit coupled to the at least one locator processor for producing signals representing target locations responsive to signals accepted from an accessory selected from an accessory sensor system group that includes a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) sensor system.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the accessory sensor system group further comprises an acoustic sensor system.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the acoustic sensor system is selected from the group that includes a geophone array having at least one detachable geophone sensor adapted for remote disposition;
a geophone sensor probe adapted for insertion into the earth;
a geophone sensor adapted for disposition on a flat surface;
an acoustic receiving array; and
an acoustic imaging and mapping system.
14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the accessory sensor system group further comprises a laser range finder system.
15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the accessory sensor system group further comprises a capacitive array sensor system.
16 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the GPR sensor system includes a spinning Rx antenna.
17 . A self-standing tripod buried utility locator system, comprising:
a head having a front-facing side and a back facing side;
a user display mounted in the head so that it is readable in a normal orientation by a user when the front-facing side of the head is oriented in a forward direction relative to a user;
an elongate mast;
an omnidirectional antenna array coupled to the mast;
electronics in the head for receiving signals from the omnidirectional antenna array and determining information about a hidden or buried utility from the received signals;
at least one locator processor for processing the received signals;
an accessory mounting interface (AMI) coupled to the at least one locator processor and disposed to accept temporary attachment of at least two different accessories, wherein the AMI comprises a mechanical coupler adapted to temporarily fix at least one of the accessories to the locator system, and an electrical connector adapted to transfer electronic signals and electrical power between the locator system and the accessory;
three hinged support structures coupled to the mast so that two of the support structures are mounted towards the direction of the front side of the head and the third support structure is mounted in the opposite direction towards a back side of the head, wherein each of the three hinged support structures is attached to at least one different omnidirectional antenna from the omnidirectional antenna array, such that none of the three hinged support structures is attached to a same omnidirectional antenna from the omnidirectional antenna array; and
an electromagnetic (EM) sensor array for producing a signal representing a B-field gradient at the EM sensor array as a function of time within at least one frequency band, wherein the at least one locator processor is coupled to a gradient processing circuit for producing signals representing target locations responsive to signals accepted from the gradient processing circuit.