The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 14, 2017
Filed:
Dec. 20, 2012
Electrawatch, Inc., Charlottesville, VA (US);
Ryan C. Dunn, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Guy D. Davis, Catonsville, MD (US);
Robert A. Ross, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Paul A. Bell, Catonsville, MD (US);
Nathaniel M. Brakeley, Marblehead, MA (US);
Emily A. Schechter, Upper Saddle River, NJ (US);
Amber M. Bryant, Libertyville, IL (US);
EAS IP, LLC, Charlottesville, VA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus are disclosed for preventing excavation damage to buried infrastructure. A plurality of excavation-sensing modules is buried near the buried infrastructure. The buried infrastructure excavation-sensing modules protect and detect buried infrastructure by emitting dense clouds of visible gas when the excavation-sensing modules are activated by impact with excavation equipment. In most instances, the visible gas will be brightly colored and it may also have a strong odor. In addition to the gas released by the modules, a loud sound may also be produced by the activated excavation-sensing module. This alerts construction crews or other workers that their excavation is nearing a protected underground structure. Once installed, no maintenance or active monitoring is required.