Racecourse lap counter and racecourse for radio controlled vehicles

• US 20060229843A1
• Filed: 06/07/2006
• Published: 10/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daniel Freifeld
• Original Assignee: Daniel Freifeld
• Inventors: Freifeld, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,474,984 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/178
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 18/005 Accessories for indicating the winner of a race, e.g. lap counters, speed indicators
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 18/026 Start-finish mechanisms; Stop arrangements; Traffic lights; Barriers, or the like A63H18/025 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/24 Race time-recorders

Abstract

A combination of a racecourse and a plurality of racing vehicles where the racecourse has a predefined path defined by at least one gate. This gate further includes a unique identifier. Each of the plurality of racing vehicles has a sensor capable of detecting the unique identifier and the sensor is further coupled to a logic circuit and to a transmitter. A scoreboard has receiver to receive information from the transmitter and display that information, such as lap speed and ranking, according to a desired format. Alternatively, the unique identifier is mounted to the racing vehicle and the sensor to the gate.

Claims

1. A race course amenable to rapid reconfiguration, that comprises:

at least one gate that a vehicle must pass to record its position along said race course, said vehicle containing an electronic identifying code;

an identifier that specifies a particular gate integral to said at least one gate;

a sensor in said vehicle to detect said identifier; and

a transmitter affixed to said vehicle to transmit vehicle race progress information to a display, wherein said race progress information comprises said electronic identifying code and passed specific gate identifier.

2. The race course of claim 1 wherein said vehicle further comprises an electronic memory circuit.

3. The race course of claim 2 wherein said electronic memory circuit stores said vehicle race progress information.

4. The race course of claim 3 wherein said electronic memory circuit transmits said vehicle race progress information less frequently than at each gate passing.

5. The race course of claim 4 wherein said transmittal of said vehicle race progress information occurs only when said vehicle passes a gate designated to be a finish point.

6. The race course of claim 5 wherein said vehicle uses a common transmission frequency to send respective vehicle race progress information in a burst format, thereby minimizing the possibility of interference between two simultaneously transmitted signals.

7. The race course of claim 6 wherein said display is placed within about 20 feet of said finish point, wherein said placement of said display facilitates use of low power, low cost vehicle transmission electronics.

8. The race course of claim 2 wherein said electronic memory circuit comprises an electronic logic circuit.

9. The race course of claim 8 wherein said electronic logic circuit transmits information of said gates passed by said vehicle to said display, wherein said information of said gates comprises an order of said gates in a numerical sequence.

10. The race course of claim 1 wherein said vehicle is a radio controlled vehicle and said display is a lap counter.

11. The race course of claim 1 wherein said display is a scoreboard comprising:

a visual display indicating lap number of said vehicle and position of said vehicle; and

an audio announcement system capable of broadcasting race specific commentary and sound effects.

12. The race course of claim 1 wherein said vehicle race progress information is transmitted to a handheld display device.

13. The race course of claim 12 wherein said handheld device is a remote control for a vehicle.

14. The race course of claim 1 wherein said identifier is a specific radio frequency.

15. The race course of claim 14 wherein said specific radio frequency is generated by a passive re-transmitter.

16. The race course of claim 1 wherein said identifier is an optical pattern.

17. The race course of claim 16 wherein said optical pattern is a bar code.

18. The race course of claim 1 wherein said vehicle is a toy character.

19. The race course of claim 1 wherein said display shows vehicle position information.

20. A combination of a racecourse and a plurality of racing vehicles, comprising:

said racecourse having a predefined path defined by at least one gate, each one of said at least one gate including a unique identifier;

each one of said plurality of racing vehicles having a sensor capable of detecting said unique identifier, said sensor coupled to a logic circuit and to a transmitter; and

a scoreboard having a receiver capable of receiving information from said transmitter and displaying said information according to a desired format.

21. The combination of claim 20 wherein one of said at least one gates defines a finish point of said predefined path.

22. The combination of claim 21 wherein there are a plurality of gates.

23. The combination of claim 22 wherein a time to travel between gates determined by said racing vehicle (T₁) is compared to said time to travel between gates determined by said scoreboard (T₂) and displaying a false start if T₂ is less than T₁.

24. The combination of claim 22 wherein each of said plurality of gates is of a size effective to receive at least two of said plurality of racing vehicles at the same time.

25. The combination of claim 24 wherein at least some of said plurality of gates are portable to facilitate changing of said predefined path.

26. The combination of claim 25 wherein each of said plurality of racing vehicles has an indicator that confirms one of said unique identifiers has been detected.

27. The combination of claim 21 wherein said unique identifier is a bar code and said sensor is an optical scanner.

28. The combination of claim 21 wherein said unique identifier is a color and said sensor is an optical spectrum detector.

29. The combination of claim 21 wherein said unique identifier is a wire loop transmitting a radio signal at a unique frequency and said sensor is an inductive antenna.

30. The combination of claim 21 wherein said information is displayed as one or more of speed, relative position and lap count for said plurality of racing vehicles.

31. The combination of claim 20 wherein said information is displayed on a handheld radio controller either in combination with or in lieu of said scoreboard.

32. The combination of claim 20 wherein said information is displayed on said racing vehicles either in combination with or in lieu of said scoreboard.

33. A race circuit, comprising:

at least one flexible strip defining a border of said race circuit and releasably supported by a plurality of stanchions; and

said stanchions non-permanently bonded to a surface of said race circuit.

34. The race circuit of claim 33 wherein said non-permanent bond is selected from the group consisting of sticky plastic, suction, weights and stakes.

35. The race circuit of claim 34 further including one or more of bridges, over passes, chicanes and four-way intersections.