Automatic line officiating system and method thereof

• US 5,489,886 A
• Filed: 08/04/1993
• Issued: 02/06/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alos-Officiating Tennis System Limited
• Original Assignee: Alos-Officiating Tennis System Limited
• Inventors: Steinberg, Alexander, Wexler, Gil
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, John K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pope, Daryl C.
• Application Number:
  US08/101,889
• Time in Patent Office: 916 Days
• Field of Search: 340/323 R, 273/29 R, 364/410, 364/411, 358/105, 358/108
• US Class Current: 340/323.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/806 Video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0605 Decision makers and devices using detection means facilitating arbitration

Abstract

An automatic line officiating system including a video camera and associated optics and electronics disposed adjacent to a line to be officiated and arranged with the longitudinal axis of its field of view concentric with the line and adapted to provide image data representing the vicinity of the line and a central processing system coupled to the video camera and arranged to receive the image data from the camera, to process the data to determine the path of the ball before, during and after a bounce, and to provide an indication whether the ball has bounced on or within the line, or outside the line.

Claims

1. An automatic line officiating system comprising:

a video camera disposed adjacent to a line to be officiated and arranged with the longitudinal axis of a field of view of said video camera concentric with said line to provide image data representing the vicinity of said line;

an image processing system coupled to said video camera and arranged to receive said image data from said video camera, to process said data to determine the path of a ball in said field of view of said video camera, and to provide a determination whether said ball has bounced on or within said line, or outside said line; and

cuing apparatus coupled to said video camera for activating the transfer of image data from said camera to said image processing system when said ball is within said field of view of said video camera, wherein said cuing apparatus comprises at least one cuing camera disposed adjacent to said video camera and sharing the same field of view with the video camera.

2. An automatic line officiating system as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said cuing apparatus comprises said at least one camera with frame rates which are at least half an order of magnitude higher than the frame rate of a conventional video camera.

3. An automatic line officiating system as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said cuing apparatus comprises said at least one camera having a shutter modulated with a variable duty-cycle.

4. An automatic line officiating system as claimed in claim 1 and wherein said cuing apparatus comprises at least one line-scan camera disposed so as to view a line parallel to and a few centimeters above the ground.

5. An automatic line officiating system comprising:

a video camera disposed adjacent to a line to be officiated and arranged with the longitudinal axis of a field of view of said video camera concentric with said line to provide image data representing the vicinity of said line;

an image processing system coupled to said video camera and arranged to receive said image data from said video camera, to process said data to determine the path of a ball in said field of view of said video camera, and to provide a determination whether said ball has bounced on or within said line, or outside said line; and

cuing apparatus coupled to said video camera for activating the transfer of image data from said camera to said image processing system when said ball is within said field of view of said video camera, wherein said cuing apparatus comprise at least one camera disposed above a court to be officiated and coupled to said video camera.

6. An automatic line officiating system comprising:

a video camera disposed adjacent to a line to be officiated and arranged with the longitudinal axis of a field of view of said video camera concentric with said line to provide image data representing the vicinity of said line;

an image processing system coupled to said video camera and arranged to receive said image data from said video camera, to process said data to determine the path of a ball in said field of view of said video camera, and to provide a determination whether said ball has bounced on or within said line, or outside said line; and

a display for displaying an output picture of the path of the ball in the vicinity of said line.

7. A method for automatic line officiating comprising the steps of:

mounting a video camera adjacent to a line to be officiated with the longitudinal axis of a field of view of said video camera concentric with said line;

determining the existence of a ball within the field of view of said camera, said determining step comprising the steps of;

mounting a cuing camera adjacent to said video camera wherein said cuing camera shares the same field of view with said video camera;

viewing said line with said cuing camera; and

processing the images originating from said cuing camera to determine whether a ball is within the field of view of said cuing camera;

said method for automatic line officiating also comprises;

providing image data from said video camera to an image processing system coupled to said video camera;

processing said image data to provide data corresponding to a path of a ball in the vicinity of said line; and

providing in response thereto, a determination whether the ball has bounced on or within said line, or outside said line.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 and further comprising the step of providing an output picture of the path of the ball in the vicinity of said line.