Locating equipment docking station communicatively coupled to or equipped with a mobile/portable device

摘要

A docking station to dock locating equipment (e.g., marking devices, locate devices, combined locate and marking devices) may be communicatively coupled to and/or equipped with a mobile/portable device (e.g., a mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other portable computing device) that provides processing, electronic storage, electronic display, user interface, communication facilities and/or other functionality (e.g., GPS-enabled functionality) for the docking station. A mobile/portable device may be mechanically and/or electrically coupled to the docking station. The mobile/portable device may provide redundant, shared and/or backup functionality for the docking station to enhance robustness. In one example, the mobile/portable device itself serves as a docking station for the locating equipment.

主权项

1. An apparatus for holding, storing, and/or locking locating equipment, the apparatus comprising:
a locating equipment docking station to dock the locating equipment, the locating equipment of the type used for locating and/or marking a presence or an absence of an underground facility, the locating equipment docking station comprising a mobile device interface to facilitate mechanical, electrical and/or communicative coupling of a mobile or portable computing device to the locating equipment docking station.