Patent ID: 8280631

Claim:
An apparatus for generating an electronic record of a marking operation to mark on ground, pavement, or other surface a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising: an actuator to dispense a marking material so as to form at least one locate mark on the ground, pavement or other surface to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility; at least one input device to provide marking information regarding the marking operation; a memory to store processor-executable instructions and the electronic record of the marking operation; and a processor coupled to the memory, the at least one input device, and the actuator, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor logs in the electronic record an actuation data set including a plurality of actuation event entries for at least one actuation of the actuator, wherein at least one actuation event entry includes at least some of the marking information provided by the at least one input device.