Methods and devices for construction layout

1 . A method of locating features for construction layout on a build site, the method comprising:

recalling, by control circuitry of a detail locating apparatus, a defined point descriptor associated with a first defined point, wherein the first defined point has first defined point coordinate data describing a location of a first floor plan feature on the build site;

parsing, by the control circuitry, the defined point descriptor into a parsed descriptor;

generating, by the control circuitry, a point configuration based on the first defined point coordinate data;

generating, by the control circuitry, detail data for a first mark point based on at least one of the point configuration and the parsed descriptor, wherein the first mark point is a first location defined relative to the defined point for one or more layout marks for describing the first floor plan feature;

generating, by the control circuitry, a first reference point coordinate position based on a coordinate position of the detail locating apparatus and the detail data;

generating, by the control circuitry, a first mark point coordinate position of the first mark point based on the first defined point coordinate data and the detail data;

generating, by the control circuitry, navigation instructions for locating the first mark point, wherein locating the first mark point comprises moving the detail locating apparatus to align the first reference point coordinate position with the first mark point coordinate position;

retrieving, by the control circuitry, a first detail icon associated with the first mark point based on the detail data; and

displaying, by a user interface of the detail locating apparatus, the first detail icon.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein parsing the defined point descriptor into the parsed descriptor comprises:

separating the defined point descriptor to generate a group type and a grid position; and

re-associating the group type and grid position to generate the parsed descriptor.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the detail data for the first mark point comprises recalling detail data from a lookup table based on at least one of the point configuration and the parsed descriptor.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

measuring, by electronic surveying equipment, a coordinate position of the detail locating apparatus; and

transmitting the coordinate position to the control circuitry.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

retrieving, by the control circuitry and based on the navigation instructions, a navigation icon type; and

displaying, by the user interface, a navigation icon for the retrieved navigation icon type.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

fixing, by the control circuitry, an orientation of the first detail icon relative to a relative north of the build site such that the orientation of the first detail icon is constant relative to the relative north as the detail locating apparatus moves about the build site.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining, by the control circuitry, a wall width associated with the first mark point based on the detail data, wherein retrieving the first detail icon is further based on the wall width.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the retrieving the first detail icon is further based on an orientation of the detail locating apparatus.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first detail icon includes a plurality of position line icons offset along the user interface.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

determining, by the control circuitry, a wall width associated with the first mark point based on the detail data; and

displaying a first position line icon of the plurality of position line icons and a second position line icon of the plurality of position line icons such that the first position line icon is spaced from the second position line icon by the wall width.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the control circuitry, a first offset between a previous defined point and a current defined point, the first mark point associated with the current defined point; and

determining, by the control circuitry, a second offset between a next defined point and the current defined point;

wherein generating, by the control circuitry, the point configuration is further based on the first offset and the second offset.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating, by the control circuitry, second detail data associated with a second mark point based on at least one of the point configuration and the parsed descriptor, wherein the second mark point is a second location defined relative to the defined point for one or more further layout marks for describing the first floor plan feature;

generating, by the control circuitry, a second reference point coordinate position based on the coordinate position of the detail locating apparatus and the second detail data;

generating, by the control circuitry, a second mark point coordinate position of the second mark point based on the first defined point coordinate data and the second detail data;

generating, by the control circuitry, second navigation instructions for locating the second mark point, wherein locating the second mark point comprises moving the detail locating apparatus to align the second reference point coordinate position with the second mark point coordinate position;

retrieving, by the control circuitry, a second detail icon associated with the second mark point based on the second detail data; and

displaying, by the user interface, the second detail icon.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

recalling, by the control circuitry, an active zone scheme;

generating, by the control circuitry, a first active zone based on the active zone scheme and the detail data, wherein the first active zone comprises a first sector extending about a base of the detail locating apparatus;

generating, by the control circuitry, a second active zone based on the active zone scheme and the second detail data, wherein the second active zone comprises a second sector about the base of the detail locating apparatus, and wherein the second sector does not overlap with the first sector;

displaying, by the user interface, the navigation instructions based on a detail locating arm extending from the base being located in the first sector, wherein an orientation of the detail locating arm is determined based on position data provided to the control circuitry by an orientation sensor associated with the detail locating arm; and

displaying, by the user interface, the second navigation instructions based on the detail locating arm being located in the second sector.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

displaying, by the user interface, a navigation icon based on the navigation instructions; and

determining, by an orientation sensor associated with the detail locating apparatus, a first orientation of the detail locating apparatus;

providing the first orientation to the control circuitry;

dynamically updating, by the control circuitry, a second orientation of the displayed navigation icon based on the first orientation.

15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

storing, by the control circuitry, a first time when the first mark point is selected;

storing, by the control circuitry, a second time when the first reference point is aligned with the first mark point; and

generating, by the control circuitry, a locating duration based on the first time and the second time.

16 . A detail locating apparatus for locating and marking detail on a construction site during construction layout, the detail locating apparatus comprising:

a marker base having a vertical axis extending therethrough;

a detail locator extending radially relative to the marker base, the detail locator comprising:

a user interface; and

control circuitry configured to:

generate a navigation icon for navigating a first reference point associated with the detail locating apparatus to a first mark point coordinate position of a first mark point, wherein:

first mark point is a first location defined relative to a defined point for one or more layout marks for describing a first floor plan feature;

the defined point has defined point coordinate data which describes a location of the first floor plan feature on the construction site;

the first mark point coordinate position describes a location of the first mark point on the construction site;

the first mark point coordinate position is based on the first defined point coordinate data and detail data for the first mark point;

cause the user interface to display the navigation icon;

generate a first detail icon associated with the first mark point; and

cause the user interface to display the first detail icon.

17 . The detail locating apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the detail locator includes a detail locating arm extending radially away from the base and supported by the base, and wherein the detail locating apparatus includes an orientation sensor configured to generate orientation data regarding an orientation of the detail locating arm relative to the base.

18 . The detail locating apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the detail locating arm is rotatably supported by the base such that the detail locating arm can rotate relative to the base and about the vertical axis.

19 . The detail locating apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the detail locator includes a body having a top side and a bottom side, and wherein the user interface includes a display screen disposed on the top side.

20 . A method of performing construction layout on a build site, the method comprising:

navigating a detail locating apparatus to a mark point based on navigation data displayed by the detail locating apparatus to align a reference point associated with the detail locating apparatus with the mark point, wherein: the mark point is a location defined relative to a defined point for one or more layout marks for describing a first floor plan feature;

the defined point has defined point coordinate data which describes a location of the first floor plan feature;

the detail locating apparatus comprises:

a base having a vertical axis;

a display extending radially from the base; and

an orientation sensor associated with the display;

detail data is generated by control circuitry of the detail locating apparatus based on at least one of a parsed descriptor associated with the mark point and a point configuration associated with the mark point;

a coordinate location of the reference point on the detail locating apparatus is determined by control circuitry of the detail locating apparatus based on a measured position of the detail locating apparatus and the detail data;

a coordinate location of the mark point on the detail locating apparatus is determined by control circuitry of the detail locating apparatus based on the defined point coordinate data and the detail data;

displaying, by the display, an icon associated with the mark point based on the reference point being aligned with the mark point, wherein the icon is displayed above a location on the build site where the one or more layout marks should be made.