Automatic vehicular timing and scoring system

• US 5,194,843 A
• Filed: 06/24/1991
• Issued: 03/16/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Progressive Concepts Incorporated (Teletouch Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Progressive Concepts Incorporated (Teletouch Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jones, R. David, Sweeney, Arthur F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland, Donnie L.
• Application Number:
  US07/719,850
• Time in Patent Office: 631 Days
• Field of Search: 340/323 R, 340/539, 455/41, 455/9, 455/19, 455/22, 455/67, 455/185, 455/260, 455/267, 455/67.1, 455/67.3, 455/185.1, 364/410, 364/411, 364/227.1, 273/86 R
• US Class Current: 340/323.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/143 electric
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 18/005 Accessories for indicating the winner of a race, e.g. lap counters, speed indicators
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/24 Race time-recorders

Abstract

An automatic timing and scoring system equips vehicles with transmitters and places the receiving antenna on the track used by the vehicles. Each vehicle transmitter has a unique frequency. The receiving antenna is located so that the transmitters pass adjacent thereto. The receiving antenna is coupled to a receiver. The receiver has an amplifier and bandpass filters. The bandpass filters pass all of the transmitter frequencies, while rejecting much of the noise. The signal that is received by the receiving antennas is amplified and then limited to a predetermined amplitude. Then, the received signal is shifted in frequency to an intermediate frequency. The intermediate frequency signal is passed through a narrow bandpass filter that rejects all transmitter frequencies but the transmitter frequency of interest. Then, the intermediate frequency signal goes to a tone decoder, which detects signals having predetermined minimum durations. The detected signal is then sent to a computer that records the presence of the signal and the time of occurrence of the signal. The computer tracks the laps of each vehicle as well as elapsed time of each vehicle.

Claims

1. A system for automatically tracking plural vehicles traversing a track, comprising:

a) a transmitter means located on each vehicle, each transmitter means transmitting a continuous wave signal that has a frequency that is unique with respect to the signals transmitted by the other transmitter means;

b) a receiving antenna that is located on said track such that said vehicles and said plural transmitter means can pass adjacent thereto, said receiving antenna producing a received signal for each transmitter means signal received by said receiving antenna;

c) receiver means coupled to said receiving antenna, said receiver means comprising narrow bandpass filter means, there being a narrow bandpass filter means on each one of a plural number of channels in said receiver means, each channel being for detecting a received signal from one of said transmitter means, said narrow bandpass filter means on each channel being for filtering out all frequencies lying outside of the frequency of said respective received signal;

d) each channel having a mixer means therein, each of said mixer means for producing an intermediate frequency signal from said respective received signal, each of said mixer means having a first input that is connected with a respective local oscillator and a second input that is connected with said receiving antenna, each of said local oscillators producing signals such that said intermediate frequency signals on all of said channels have the same frequency, said output of said mixer means being connected with said respective narrow bandpass filter means;

e) each channel having a signal length detection means connected to an output of said respective narrow bandpass filter means, each of said signal length detection means for detecting a respective intermediate frequency signal of a predetermined duration and producing an output signal whenever said intermediate frequency signal having said predetermined duration is detected;

wherein said output signal indicates that said vehicle having the transmitter means with the frequency that has been assigned to said channel has passed adjacent to said receiving antenna.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said transmitter means operates in the 1-10 MHz range.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said receiver means comprises a common mode differential amplifier connected with said receiving antenna, said bandpass filter means being connected with an output of said differential amplifier.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising computer means for tabulating said output signals from each of said channels, said computer means being connected with outputs of said plural signal length dection means, said computer means also for tracking the elapsed time between output signals on each channel.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said narrow bandpass filter means comprises a crystal filter having a bandpass of 1.5-2 KHz.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein each of said transmitter means comprises a transmitting antenna that is configured to produce primarily a magnetic field.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein each transmitter means transmits said respective continuous wave signal with microwatt power, wherein the range of each of said transmitter means is only a few feet.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a) computer means for tabulating said output signals from each of said channels, said computer means being connected with outputs of said plural signal length detection means, said computer means also for tracking the elapsed time between output signals on each channel;

b) each of said narrow bandpass filter means comprises a crystal filter having a bandpass of 1.5-2 KHz;

c) each of said transmitter means comprises a transmitting antenna that is configured to produce primarily a magnetic field;

d) each transmitter means transmits said respective continuous wave signal with microwatt power, wherein the range of each of said transmitter means is only a few feet;

e) each of said transmitter means operates in the 1-10 MHz range;

f) said receiver means comprises a common mode differential amplifier connected with said receiving antenna, said bandpass filter means being connected with an output of said differential amplifier.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein each vehicle is provided with two transmitter means for redundancy, each transmitter means transmitting a signal that has a frequency that is unique with respect to signals transmitted by transmitter means on other vehicles.

10. A system for automatically timing and scoring plural vehicles traversing a track, comprising:

a) plural transmitter means for transmitting signals, there being a transmitter means on each vehicle, each transmitter means transmitting a signal having a frequency that is unique with respect to the signals transmitted by the other transmitter means, each transmitter means operating in the 1-10 MHz range;

b) receiver means for receiving said transmitted signals so as to form received signals, said receiver means comprising a receiving antenna that is located on said track such that said vehicles pass adjacent thereto;

c) said receiver means comprising first amplifier means and first filter means both being connected with said receiving antenna, said first filter means comprising a bandpass filter for filtering out all frequencies lying outside of said plural transmitter means frequencies of interest;

d) limiter means for limiting the amplitude of said received signals to a predetermined amplitude, said limiter means being connected with said first filter means;

e) said receiver means comprising plural channels, there being one channel for each transmitter frequency, all of said channels being connected with an output of said limiter means;

f) each channel comprising mixer means for mixing said received signals with a signal produced by a local oscillator, said mixer means producing an intermediate frequency signal at its output, each of said mixer means having a first input connected with said limiter means output and a second input connected with said local oscillator, said local oscillator signal having a frequency selected such that the frequency of said intermediate frequency signal differs from the frequency of the received signal of interest by a predetermined amount, said intermediate frequency signals from said channels, when produced by the respective received signals of interest, all having the same frequency;

g) each channel having second filter means coupled with said output of said mixer means, said second filter means comprising a narrow band bandpass filter;

h) each channel having signal length detection means for detecting a signal of a predetermined duration, said signal length detection means being coupled with an output of said second filter means, said signal length detection means producing a signal at its output that is representative of said respective vehicle for said respective channel being in near proximity to said receiving antenna.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said signal length detection means is of the phase-locked loop type.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein each vehicle is provided with two transmitter means for redundancy, each transmitter means transmitting a signal that has a frequency that is unique with respect to signals transmitted by transmitter means on other vehicles.

13. A method for tracking plural vehicles traversing a track, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a transmitter means on each vehicle, and a receiving antenna on said track;

b) transmitting a signal with each transmitter means, each transmitted signal having a unique frequency with respect to said other transmitted signals;

c) driving said vehicles around said track so as to pass adjacent to said receiving antenna, wherein a received signal is produced in said receiving antenna by each of said transmitter means passing adjacent to said receiving antenna;

d) filtering each of said received signals so as to remove those frequencies that are different from said respective received signal

e) filtering each of said received signal so as to remove noise signals having the same frequency as said respective received signal by rejecting those signals having a temporal duration that is less than a predetermined minimum temporal duration and passing those signals having a temporal duration that is more than said predetermine duration;

f) recording the occurrence of said respective passed signals so as to track the lap number of said respective vehicles and recording the time of occurrence of said respective passed signals so as to track the elapsed time of said respective vehicles.