Apparatus for timing sporting events

• US 4,743,971 A
• Filed: 11/03/1986
• Issued: 05/10/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1985
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Compagnie des Montres Longines Francillon S.A. (The Swatch Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Compagnie des Montres Longines Francillon S.A. (The Swatch Group AG)
• Inventors: Hugli, Heinz
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Jin F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRINICH, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US06/926,066
• Time in Patent Office: 554 Days
• Field of Search: 358/213.26, 358/213.29, 358/213.31, 358/109, 358/213.19, 250/578
• US Class Current: 348/157
• CPC Class Codes: G04F 13/02 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/22 in connection with sports or games
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/711 Time delay and integration [TDI] registers; TDI shift registers

Abstract

The apparatus is a motion picture camera including a charge coupled photosensitive device provided with a multiplicity of unit sensors. The sensors are arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns.

The apparatus is equipped with a pulse generator for controlling the transfer of charges from sensor to sensor along the columns, the frequency of the pulses being adjusted to effect substantial correspondence between the speed of charge transfer and the speed of the image moving over the device. A shift register is arranged at the end of the columns so as to receive in parallel information from said columns and to transmit it in series to an output circuit for reconstitution of the image.

The apparatus is used for timing sporting events.

This invention concerns an apparatus for timing sporting events including a motion picture camera installed at a fixed position and having a lens the axis of which is directed onto a line to be crossed by competitors so as to record the events occurring on said line.

Claims

1. An apparatus for timing sporting events including a motion picture camera installed at a fixed position and having a lens, the axis of which is directed onto a line to be crossed by competitors so as to record the events occuring on said line, said camera comprising a bidimensional photosensitive charge coupled device including a multiplicity of sensors arranged in rows and columns, the rows being in a direction parallel to said line and the columns in the direction of the running of the course and a pulse generator for controlling the transfer of charges from sensor to sensor along the columns, the frequency of the pulses being adjusted to effect substantial correspondence between the speed of charge transfer and the speed of the image moving over the device, a shift register being arranged at the end of the columns so as to receive in parallel information from said columns and to transmit it in response to a clock signal in series to an output circuit so as to reconstitute row by row the image received by the device, the pulses furnished by the generator controlling the charge transfers being employed as a time base at a time scale corresponding to the events being recorded, said scale being blended into the image resulting from said events.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the frequency of the pulse generator is manually adjustable by an operator so as to adapt the speed of charge transfer to the speed of the course image.

3. An apparatus for timing sporting events including a motion picture camera installed at a fixed position and having a lens, the axis of which is directed onto a line to be crossed by competitors so as to record the events occuring on said line, said camera comprising a bidimensional photosensitive charge coupled device including a multiplicity of sensors arranged in rows and columns, the rows being in a direction parallel to said line and the columns in the direction of the running of the course and a pulse generator for controlling the transfer of charges from sensor to sensor along the columns, the frequency of the pulses being adjusted to effect substantial correspondence between the speed of charge transfer and the speed of the image moving over the device, a shift register being arranged at the end of the columns so as to receive in parallel information from said columns and to transmit it in response to a clock signal in series to an output circuit so as to reconstitute row by row the image received by the device, the frequency of the pulse generator being manually adjustable by an operator so as to adapt the speed of charge transfer to the speed of the course image.