DEVICE FOR DETECTING, MONITORING AND/OR CONTROLLING RACING VEHICLES

• US 20130143675A1
• Filed: 07/19/2011
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amusys Amusement Systems Electronics GmbH
• Original Assignee: Amusys Amusement Systems Electronics GmbH
• Inventors: Platzer, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 9,162,155 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/58
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 18/026 Start-finish mechanisms; Stop arrangements; Traffic lights; Barriers, or the like A63H18/025 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 18/16 Control of vehicle drives by interaction between vehicle and track; Control of track elements by vehicles

Abstract

A device for detecting, monitoring and/or controlling racing vehicles on a preferably multi-lane racetrack, having at least one sensor unit which is arranged countersunk under the surface of a carriageway. The at least one sensor unit is mounted on a guide element which can be inserted into a receptacle space under the carriageway in the transverse direction with respect to the carriageway, from the lateral edge of the carriageway. In this context, cables, lines or the like can be pre-assembled in a complete state with the at least one sensor unit and can be inserted under the carriageway from the side together with the guide element, with the result that there is no need for any separate laying of cables or even for a cable connection once the sensor is in position.

Claims

1. A device for detecting, monitoring and/or controlling racing vehicles on a preferably multi-lane racetrack, having at least one sensor unit, which is arranged countersunk under the surface of a carriageway, wherein the sensor unit is mounted on a guiding element, which can be pushed into a receiving space under the carriageway transversely in relation to the carriageway from the lateral edge of the carriageway.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, the guiding element and/or the receiving space having sliding guiding means for lateral guiding and/or positioning transversely to the pushing-in direction of the guiding element into the receiving space, the guiding element preferably being given the form of a guiding rail with at least one projecting guiding strip and/or at least one groove-shaped guiding recess and/or the receiving space being formed as a guiding shaft with portions of the wall forming sliding guiding means.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, the at least one sensor unit being arranged free from contact with the carriageway of the racetrack and/or kept at a distance from the carriageway under the mentioned carriageway.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, the at least one sensor unit being mounted on a circuit board, which forms at least part of the guiding element and/or is rigidly fastened to the guiding element.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, a plurality of sensor units being mounted on the guiding element at a predetermined spacing from one another, the mentioned spacing of the sensor units corresponding to the division of the carriageway into lanes (L1, L2, Ln) and/or the spacing of sensor windows provided in the carriageway.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, the at least one sensor unit having optical means of detection and the carriageway having a viewing and sensor window, which is closed by a light-transmissive element and is arranged in the detecting axis of the optical means of detection.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6, the sensor window being arranged in the carriageway alongside lane contacts for supplying the racing vehicles with power.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1, the at least one sensor unit having a signal input and/or output channel, which determines the detecting direction of the sensor unit, is preferably aligned perpendicularly to the surface of the carriageway and in particular is approximately cylindrical.

9. The device as claimed in claim 1, the sensor unit comprising a barcode reader.

10. The device as claimed in claim 1, the sensor unit having a receiving/reading device, in particular in the form of an RFID reader, for reading a vehicle memory provided on the racing vehicle.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10, the control device being provided for predefining a temporal receiving/reading window for the receiving/reading device in dependence on a signal of further means of detection of the sensor unit, in particular the aforementioned optical means of detection.