System and process for charting and displaying the time and position of contestants in a race

Abstract

There is a system and a process for determining the timing and position of contestants on a track. This system comprises at least one directional antenna in communication with at least one competitor communication device that can be coupled to each contestant. A remote base station, is in communication with the positioning device, wherein the positioning device determines a contestant time as the contestant passes the projected field and also determines the position of the contestant in relation to an inside guide such as a rail. There is also a process which includes attaching at least one competitor communication device on at least one contestant, starting a race and then recording the position and time for each contestant and transmitted from the competitor communication device to a remote base station.

1 . A display for providing information relating to a contestant in a race comprising:
 a plurality of graphical representation elements wherein each graphical representation element represents a contestant in a race wherein each contestant is represented by a corresponding graphical representation element,   a race clock representing a race time of arrival by a lead contestant at each distance point of call and finish during a race; wherein each graphical representation element is arranged in an order the display to indicate an order of contestants in the race;   wherein each graphical representation element includes a number corresponding to the number of a contestant.   
     
     
         2 . The display as in  claim 1 , further comprising at least one graphical distance indicator indicating a distance that each contestant is positioned in relation to said lead contestant wherein said graphical distance indicator is positioned adjacent to the number corresponding to the number of said contestant and wherein said graphical distance indicator indicates a distance that each contestant is spaced based upon an average length of a contestant and a distance that each contestant is spaced from an inside rail on a track. 
     
     
         3 . The display as in  claim 1 , wherein the display further comprises a video display of all the contestants. 
     
     
         4 . The display as in  claim 1 , further comprising a second set of a plurality of graphical representation elements wherein each element in said second set of elements represents a distance that each associated contestant is spaced from in relation to a leading contestant in the race. 
     
     
         5 . The display as in  claim 3 , wherein each graphical representation element represents distance as a fraction of a length of a contestant. 
     
     
         6 . A system for determining a particular position of an individual contestant in a race and a position on a track of that contestant wherein the system comprises:
 at least one stationary transmitting directional antenna positioned at a position on one side of the track and for creating and broadcasting an encoded radio signal across the track;   at least one competitor communication device which can be coupled to each contestant and which can be used to read the encoded radio signal;   at least one remote receiving station for receiving at least one transmission from said competitor communication device;   wherein said at least one competitor communication device has at least one processor, and at least one antenna, which is configured to measure a position of a competitor relative to an inside rail of a track, and is configured to determine a position, speed and time of a contestant as that contestant is passing said at least one stationary transmitting directional antenna, by measuring an amplitude, and recording a time of crossing a peak position of the signal, and transmitting a set of captured information comprising said position, speed and time of a contestant, to said remote receiving station; and   at least one solar power station coupled to said at least one stationary transmitting directional antenna.   
     
     
         7 . The system as in  claim 6 , wherein said at least one competitor communication device comprises at least one microprocessor which contains a set of instructions which creates a unique identity for said competitor communication device identifying the contestant using the competitor communication device as a node in a wireless network, and wherein said at least one remote receiving station is configured to determine a position, speed and timeof a competitor based upon a slope and amplitude of a signal received from said at least one stationary transmitting directional antenna. 
     
     
         8 . The system as in  claim 7 , further comprising at least one transceiver wherein said microprocessor contains a time division multiple access (TDMA) protocol to set a periodic time for transmission to and from said transceiver to said remote receiving station to avoid collision or interference of a signal. 
     
     
         9 . The system as in  claim 6 , further comprising an infrared beam sensor system positioned adjacent to at least one of said at least one stationary transmitting directional antenna wherein said infrared sensor system's beam is broken when a contestant crosses a path of said infrared beam sensor system to determine the time of a leading contestant. 
     
     
         10 . The system as in  claim 7 , wherein the system is configured to determine a position of a contestant relative to a position of a stationary emitting antenna disposed adjacent to an inside rail on a racetrack by comparing a received signal curve to a pre-calibrated signal curve. 
     
     
         11 . The system as in  claim 6 , further comprising at least one display in communication with said stationary transmitting directional antenna, wherein said display displays the time, speed and position of one contestant of said plurality of contestants in relation to said plurality of contestants and said display includes a graphical representation of a set of top three finishers taken from said plurality of contestants at a plurality of different distance points of call throughout an entire race wherein said display indicates a distance each contestant is spaced from an inside rail of the track during the race. 
     
     
         12 . The system as in  claim 11 , wherein said at least one display is in the form of screen including a graphical representation of a full field running order for each and all the contestants in a race and each contestant's position in relation to at least one other contestant in the race and wherein the distance each competitor is spaced from an inside rail of the track is displayed in terms of an average width of each contestant. 
     
     
         13 . The system as in  claim 11 , wherein said display includes a screen displaying a television based graphical representation which can be used to provide an instant race recap for each fraction and finish position depicting all contestants in the race. 
     
     
         14 . The system as in  claim 6 , further comprising at least one antenna adjuster coupled to said at least one stationary transmitting directional antenna, said at least one antenna adjuster being configured to adjust a pointing position of said at least one stationary transmitting directional antenna.