초록 ▼

An object locating system, especially for use in locating a gaming ball in the game of football, utilizes a series of three sensors positioned on one side of a football playing field and a calibration source positioned on the other side. The calibration source emits an ultrasonic signal which is rec

An object locating system, especially for use in locating a gaming ball in the game of football, utilizes a series of three sensors positioned on one side of a football playing field and a calibration source positioned on the other side. The calibration source emits an ultrasonic signal which is received by the sensors in order to provide a calibration signal. A ball marking unit is positionable on the field at a location of the ball and emits an ultrasonic signal which is received by the sensors and an RF signal which is received by the calibration source in order to turn the calibration source off. The sensors provide signals in which a processing unit calculates time delays by a time acquisition process in order to determine the position of the ball. In an alternate embodiment, the ball marking unit emits only an RF signal which is received by the sensors. The sensors again provide signals which are analyzed by the processing unit to determine delay between receipt of the signals at the sensors. Additionally, an automatic ball marking unit on a track drive can be controlled by the processing unit to automatically provide a visual representation of the ball\s location.

대표청구항 ▼

A method of determining a position of an object comprising the steps of: establishing an object area which is graphically represented by a first cylindrical coordinate system having a first origin and a second cylindrical coordinate system having a second origin; positioning a reference receiver at

A method of determining a position of an object comprising the steps of: establishing an object area which is graphically represented by a first cylindrical coordinate system having a first origin and a second cylindrical coordinate system having a second origin; positioning a reference receiver at a reference location in the object area, a first additional receiver at a first additional location in the object area and a second additional receiver at a second additional location in the object area; transmitting a signal from the object; measuring, at a processing unit operable to process siqnals received by the reference receivers, and the first and second additional receivers, a first time delay as a function of the difference between receipt times of the signal received at the reference location and a signal received at the processinq unit via the first additional location; measuring, at the processing unit a second time delay as a function of the difference between receipt times of the signal received at the reference location and a signal received at the processinq unit via the second additional location; determining which ray of the first cylindrical coordinate system represents the first time delay and which ray of the second cylindrical coordinate system represents the second time delay; and determining whether a first position along the ray of the first coordinate system and a second position along the ray of the second coordinate system are located within a predetermined tolerance.