System and method of an event timing system having integrated geodetic timing points

• US 9,883,332 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2014
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Innovative Timing Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Innovative Timing Systems LLC
• Inventors: Hansen, Kurt S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kincaid, Lester
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lafontant, Gary
• Application Number:
  US14/776,697
• Publication Number:
  US 20160029158A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/10 Athletes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1113 Local tracking of patients, e.g. in a hospital or private home
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 1/24 Race time-recorders
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/00 ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A system and method for determining a route or waypoints along a route to be or being traveled by a participant, the system including a location device associated with the participant having a location data receiver for receiving location data from a location providing source, and a wireless communication interface, the location detection device receiving location information from the location providing source, time stamping each received location information, and transmitting location data associated with the location device over the wireless interface; a location detection device in at least periodic wireless communication with the location device for receiving the transmitted location data, and transmitting the received location data; and an event/timing system receiving the transmitted location data, and determining a route or waypoints along a route to be or being traveled by a participant that will be tracked.

Claims

1. A system for determining a location along a route being traveled by a participant having a participant identifier that will be tracked and timed during an event, the system comprising:

an RFID tag reader transmitting a tag read request and in response receiving a tag read from an RFID tag having an RF interface transmitting an RFID tag read including the participant identifier associated with the RFID tag responsive to the tag read request, the RFID tag reader determining a time for the received tag read and identifying the participant number associated with the tag read, the tag reader transmitting a tag read message over a timing system interface with the determined tag read time and the participant number;

a location device associated with the participant and the participant identifier, the location device having a location information receiver receiving location information from a location providing source, a location determination module determining a participant location from the received location information and a wireless communication interface for transmitting the determined location as location data that includes the participant identifier;

a location determination system in at least periodic wireless communication with the wireless communication interface of the location device receiving the transmitted location data and determining a participant location from the received location data; and

a timing system receiving the participant location from the location determination system, and receiving the tag read message including the tag number and tag read time from the tag reader, associating the participant location with the tag read and tag read time, the timing system determining participant position along the route as a function of the received participant location, and generating a participant location message over an output interface the tag read time and at least one of the participant location and the determined participant route position.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the location device, the location determination system and the timing system, includes a clock and identifies and associates a time of the location data with the location data and wherein the timing system associates that location data time with the participant location and the generated participant location message includes the location data time.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the timing system receives the location data as well the participant location.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the timing system receives location data associated with the route as route location data having a plurality of route location points, and timing system associates the participant location with at least one of the route location points, and the generated participant location message includes the associated at least one route location point.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the timing system includes a portion or all of the plurality of the route location points with the determined participant route position.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the received location data of the route and the route location data having the plurality of location points is less than all of the locations along the route, and wherein the timing system collects a portion of the received plurality of received participant locations and/or location data, and generates a virtual location point of the participant within or proximate to the route.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the virtual location point is a virtual split point and wherein the timing system determines a time of passing of the participant by the virtual split point and includes the determined time of passing the virtual split point in the generated participant location message.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the timing system does not include any route location data or route location points and the route of the participant is undefined, wherein the timing system collects a plurality of participant locations from a plurality of received participant locations and/or location data, and generates a virtual route of the participant therefrom.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the timing system determines at least one of a pace, a duration or a point of crossing a virtual waypoint of a participant along the route based on the received location data or the determined participant position along the route.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the location device is configured for storing location data at intervals based on a predetermined rate.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the location device is configured to receive a location download request, and wherein the location device transmits the location data over the wireless interface to the location determination system responsive to said received request.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the location detection device only transmits the received location data responsive to the location device receiving a request that a transmission to the location determination system is currently available.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a remote system communicatively coupled to the timing system to receive the generated participant location message and includes a display for displaying the participant location on a display map of the route or a map of the actual geodetic route traveled by the participant or the current participant location.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the remote system is a Kiosk, a website, a mobile phone, a portable computer, a tablet, a news station, a social network, or a broadcast network.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the location device is configured for selective activation and deactivation of its location information receiver, and wherein the wireless interface is configured to receive activation and deactivation commands from the location determination system, and wherein the location determination system is configured for transmitting the activation and deactivation commands responsive to a command message received from the timing system and the timing system is configured for generating the command message.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the location determination system is configured to transmit to the location device a location data request requesting all or a portion of the location data from the location device, and wherein the location device is configured to transmit the location data responsive to the location data request.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the location determination system is configured to transmit a dump all data and then clear all data command to the location device, and wherein the location device is configured to transmit all of the location data and then clear a memory associated with the location device.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising the RFID tag having the RF interface and receiving the TRID tag read request from the RFID tag reader and transmitting the RFID tag read including the participant identifier associated with the RFID tag responsive to receiving the tag read request.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the location device is communicatively coupled with the RFID tag and wherein the location device provides the location data to the RFID tag and wherein the RID tag transmits the received location data to the location determination system or the tag reader.

20. The system of claim 1 wherein the location device is communicatively coupled with the RFID tag and wherein the RFID tag provides the location device with the participant identifier.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein the location device is communicatively coupled with the RFID tag and wherein the location device is configured to receive a location download request from the RFID tag, and wherein the location device transmits the location data over the wireless interface to the location determination system responsive to said received request from the RFID tag.

22. The system of claim 1 wherein the location detection device only transmits the received location data responsive to the location device receiving an indicator request that the location device and RFID tag are within range of tag reader.

23. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the timing system and the tag reader system detects the proximity of the RFID tag to the RFID tag reader and transmits a location data download command to the location determination system that in turn transmits a location data request to the location device, and wherein the location detection device transmits the location data responsive to the received location data request.

24. The system of claim 1 wherein the timing system is configured to transmit the location data associated with a particular RFID tag number responsive to a request from a remote system.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising further comprising a remote system communicatively coupled to the timing system to generate the request to the timing system and in response receive the generated participant location message and includes a display for displaying the participant location on a display map of the route or a map of the actual geodetic route traveled by the participant or the current participant location.

26. The system of claim 24 wherein the remote system is a Kiosk, a website, a mobile phone, a PC, a tablet, a news station, or a broadcast network.

27. A system for determining a route or waypoints along a route to be or being traveled by a participant having an RFID tag that will be tracked along such route such as during an event, the system comprising:

a tag reader system receiving one or more tag reads from the RFID tag, determining a time for each tag read, identifying the tag number of the RFID tag, and transmitting a tag read message including at least a portion of the received tag reads with the tag number and the determined times and wherein the location device is associated with the RFID tag of the participant;

a location device associated with the participant having a location data receiver for receiving location data from a location providing source, and a wireless communication interface, the location detection device receiving location information from the location providing source, time stamping each received location information, and transmitting location data associated with the location device over the wireless interface; and

a location determination system in at least periodic wireless communication with the location device for receiving the transmitted location data, and transmitting the received location data;

an event/timing system receiving the transmitted location data and receiving the tag read message including the tag number from the tag reader, the timing system determining a route or waypoints along a route to be or being traveled by a participant that will be tracked along such route such as during an event or tracking of the participant along the determined route and associating the location data with the RFID tag number as provided by the RFID tag reader from at least one of the tag reads from the tag associated with the location device.