Apparatus and method for determining the winner of a race
First Claim
1. Apparatus for determining the crossing of a finish line in a race course by one or more contestants in a race, comprisingvideo display means, a camera operatively connected to said video display means, said camera having a viewing axis, and being adapted for mounting with said viewing axis intersecting a vertical plane which intersects said race course at said finish line, said camera further having a visible light sensor with a plurality of pixels corresponding to pixels on said video display means for receiving visible electromagnetic energy reflected by said contestants and producing, for each pixel, data indicative of an intensity of visible light to be displayed at a corresponding pixel on said video display means, and an invisible light sensor having a plurality of pixels corresponding to pixels on said video display means for receiving invisible electromagnetic energy reflected by said contestants and producing, for each pixel, data indicative of the distance of said contestants from said camera, means for reading said data indicative of an intensity of visible light and data indicative of the distance of said contestants from said camera, means for combining said data indicative of an intensity of visible light and data indicative of the distance of said contestants from said camera to produce data indicative of the intensity of a superimposed image of portions of the contestants to be displayed after crossing the finish line, and invisible radiation means for radiating invisible electromagnetic energy toward said finish line to be reflected from said contestants.
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Abstract
The winner of a race is determined by pointing the viewing axis of a camera having separate charge coupled devices sensitive to visible electromagnetic radiation and invisible electromagnetic radiation in a direction transverse to a vertical plane intersecting the finish line. A beam-splitter directs visible light to the visible CCDs for forming a visible image and invisible light to the invisible light CCD for providing range information. Superimposed images of contestants as they cross the finish line provide a real time display of their body portions “breaking through” a display background to make the winner readily apparent.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining the crossing of a finish line in a race course by one or more contestants in a race, comprising
video display means, a camera operatively connected to said video display means, said camera having a viewing axis, and being adapted for mounting with said viewing axis intersecting a vertical plane which intersects said race course at said finish line, said camera further having a visible light sensor with a plurality of pixels corresponding to pixels on said video display means for receiving visible electromagnetic energy reflected by said contestants and producing, for each pixel, data indicative of an intensity of visible light to be displayed at a corresponding pixel on said video display means, and an invisible light sensor having a plurality of pixels corresponding to pixels on said video display means for receiving invisible electromagnetic energy reflected by said contestants and producing, for each pixel, data indicative of the distance of said contestants from said camera, means for reading said data indicative of an intensity of visible light and data indicative of the distance of said contestants from said camera, means for combining said data indicative of an intensity of visible light and data indicative of the distance of said contestants from said camera to produce data indicative of the intensity of a superimposed image of portions of the contestants to be displayed after crossing the finish line, and invisible radiation means for radiating invisible electromagnetic energy toward said finish line to be reflected from said contestants.
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8. A method of determining the crossing of a finish line in a race course by one or more contestants in a race, comprising
pointing a camera having a visible light sensor and an invisible light sensor so that its viewing axis intersects a plane which intersects said race course at said finish line, radiating invisible electromagnetic energy toward said finish line for being be reflected from portions of the bodies of said contestants, deriving from said visible light sensor, a colored image of said contestants for display on a video monitor, deriving from said invisible light sensor, a black and white image of said contestants, which image is a function of the distance of said contestants from said camera, superimposing said color image on said black and white image, and displaying only portions of the bodies of said contestants which have crossed the finish line on a video monitor.
Specification