DE20004174U1 - Game device, device for detecting the game device and parts of this device - Google Patents

Description

Play equipment, equipment for recording the play equipment and parts of this equipment

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a gaming device according to the preamble of claim 1 and a device for detecting the position and direction of movement of the gaming device according to the preamble of claim 25. Furthermore, parts of this device according to claims 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 are the subject of the invention.

Games can be all kinds of individual and team games, so that playing equipment such as footballs or handballs can be considered, as well as tennis or golf balls or even a football or rugby ball.

State of the art

It is becoming increasingly common for controversial decisions by the referee in a football match, for example, to result in lengthy discussions, sports court hearings and even replays. This was mainly caused by video recordings, which can be used to identify incorrect decisions by the referees after the fact. The evaluation of video recordings is very complex and the two-dimensional nature of the imaging systems often results in distorted values. Nevertheless, magazines such as "Kicker", issue of February 25, 2000, page 17, or newspapers such as "Badische Neueste Nachrichten", issue of February 23, 2000, report that the goal camera is to be introduced and is to be the only technical aid that will be permitted to assist the referee.

Summary of the invention

The invention is therefore based on the task of creating a game device whose position can be determined precisely enough to transmit this information in a suitable form to the referee and the audience or, if necessary, to the players.

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-2-

A device according to claim 25 can be used for detection. The transmission to the audience can be carried out by an output device according to claim 16 or to the referee or player by an output device according to claim 17. Further aids are charging devices adapted to the game device according to claim 19 and control devices according to claim 20. The position detection is made possible by a transmitting device according to claim 21 in the game device.

The position detection is similar to the GPS system with the significant difference that in the GPS system the signals from several transmitters (satellites) are received by one

&iacgr;&ogr; receivers are evaluated and in the position detection described here, the signals from a transmitter, e.g. in a football as a game device, are evaluated by several receivers. Alternatively, as with the GPS system, a receiver can be present in the game device, which receives the data from several transmitters and passes it on to another receiver via a transmitter for position detection. This allows the position of the football to be determined so precisely that the impartial person, e.g. a referee, can make a reliable assessment of the game situation. The system is not intended to and cannot replace the referee!

An electronically detectable toy such as a soccer ball emits spherical electromagnetic waves such as radio waves. The radio waves are registered using several receivers. The transmitter in the soccer ball sends out a signal at a constant frequency that is modulated with a digital identifier.

This signal is evaluated by the receivers, whereby not only the digital identifier is recorded, but also the phase position of the carrier wave is measured, for example. If the frequency of the carrier wave is high enough, the position of the transmitter and thus of the gaming device can be determined very precisely using the phase position measured multiple times from different points.

Preferably, the transmitter or receiver is supported in the center of the game device according to claim 4 by elastic means, so that the game device can still deform freely. Such elastic means can be, for example, spring mechanisms, which are transferred with the transmitter or receiver, for example through a valve opening (claim 6) into the interior of the game device. These are already included in the manufacturing process.

The toy can be foamed into the ball or fixed without elastic means, which is possible with a golf ball, for example. The golf ball can then be easily found by its transmitter if it is lost.

In an embodiment of the gaming device according to claims 8, 9, the transmitter or receiver in the gaming device can be supplied with power, e.g. from a rechargeable battery emulator, which can be charged by means of a charging device according to claim 19.

The data obtained on the position and/or direction of movement of the game device &iacgr;&ogr; can be displayed on output devices, on the one hand for the audience in an embodiment according to claims 14, 16 or 27 and for the referee or player (e.g. in golf to find the ball) according to an embodiment according to claims 15, 17 or 28. This makes it possible to monitor the game device, depending on the game, inside or outside the playing field with sufficient accuracy and differentiated visualization for the referee and the audience.

Finally, a camera tracking system according to claim 29 can be connected, which no longer loses sight of the gaming device.

Further advantages arise from the subclaims.
Short description of the characters

The invention is explained in more detail below using an embodiment shown in the attached figures. They show:

Fig. 1 a section through a game device with transmitter,

Fig. 2 a charging device for charging the power supply for the transmitter,

Fig. 3 a playing field monitored with receivers,

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of the transmitter,

Fig. 5 shows the schematic structure of a receiver,

Fig. 6 a device for detecting the position of a gaming device.

-A- Description
preferred embodiments

In the following embodiment, the game device 10 is a soccer ball and the playing field 11 is a soccer field. However, the invention is only explained using this game device, since basically any game device such as a ball or the like that has to be moved over a playing field or a course according to some rules can be considered as a game device. Games can therefore be all types of individual and team games, so that - not exclusively - soccer balls or handballs can be considered as game devices, as well as tennis balls, golf balls or hockey balls or even

&iacgr;&ogr; a football, rugby ball or an ice hockey puck. It can also be used for position detection in races of any kind if the participants, whether human or animal, are assigned a suitable transmitter in order to achieve camera tracking, for example - as explained below. In a bicycle race, for example, a transmitter could be placed in the area of the front wheel hub, so that even target cameras are not needed.

The game device 10 has, for example, in a soccer ball, an outer skin which represents a playable surface 10a and, in a soccer ball, encloses a hollow interior 10b. The interior can be pressurized via a valve opening 10c. In the interior 10c, as shown in Fig. 1, a transmitter 22 with a transmitter for electromagnetic waves, preferably for radio waves, is used, the signals from which are sent to several receivers E1, .., E4. Alternatively, however, a receiver can also be provided in the game device 10 which receives the transmission data from several transmitters and sends them outwards, e.g. to a computer, using its own transmitter for position detection. In the following, an example with a transmitter 12 is explained as an embodiment, since with a receiver in the game device the principle only has to be reversed and the data received in the game device then has to be transmitted back outwards, which can preferably be done via a transmitter in the game device 10.

There are various options for attaching the transmitter 12 to the game device 10. Since the game device is often deformed during play, the transmitter should

by elastic middle.^gela.ge.rJ-vyeitlenrwhich him.ddnrtdch m^gßchist in the center of the . . · ... . · ·· ; ; ; .

Position the ball. The center of the ball is important for positioning the transmitter in football, for example, because the ball only crosses the line when it has completely crossed the line. However, since the diameter of the ball is known, the position of the ball's circumference can also be calculated when the position of the center is determined. However, depending on the rules of the game, the position of the transmitter can be determined.

As elastic means, spring mechanisms can be used, for example, as shown in Fig. 1, which are either elastic themselves or support the transmitter 22 with transmitter 12 in the game device 10 via elastic means 13. The spring mechanism can be designed, for example, so that it can be subsequently inserted into the game device with the transmitter 12 via the valve opening. The transmitter can also be installed during the manufacture of the game device. Another elastic fastening option is, for example, encasing the transmitter in an elastic foam. Depending on the ε-module of the game device, it is also conceivable to position the transmitter firmly or even to cast it in, which would be conceivable with a golf ball, for example.

The position detection of this game device 10 is similar to the GPS system with the significant difference that in the GPS system the signals from several transmitters (satellites) are evaluated by one receiver, whereas here the signals from a transmitter 12 in a game device 10 (football) are evaluated by several receivers E1, .. , E4. For example, the phase position of the received signals can be determined or the field strength of the transmitter can be measured. The corresponding alternatives are known to the expert. The further explanation is given here using the example of detecting the phase position of the received signals.

In order to determine and compare the phase position of the received signals, the phase detectors of the receivers E1, .. , E4 must be synchronized with one another via a ring line 25 as shown in Fig. 6. This does not have to be a hardware line, it is only necessary to synchronize the receivers in a suitable manner. The accuracy of the position measurement can be improved by increasing the number of receivers.*9o|spllteei the receivers to the : : :·· " ^: : :: : : : : :··· · :* ^: ·:· : : :

Places on the playing field 11 where the highest accuracy is required. In football, this is particularly the case behind the goal 26. In order to be able to measure the position of the football with sufficient accuracy in three-dimensional space, at least four receivers should be used. According to Fig. 3, one receiver E1, E2 is arranged on the ground behind the goal 26 and one receiver E3, E4 on each side of the center line 27 on the ground.

The transmitter 12 sends a start signal at a certain point in time, in which a peak is modulated onto the carrier wave. The distance measurement is carried out by counting

δ of the zero crossings in the same direction as the carrier wave and addition of the phase shift. A carrier frequency of 300 MHz results in a wavelength of 1 m. If the phase shift is measured in the range from 0 to 360 ° with an accuracy of +/- 2%, the position resolution is approximately +/- 2 cm. The accuracy can be increased by increasing the carrier frequency. A distance of 40 m, for example, corresponds to a total phase shift of 14400 °. Since the positions of the receivers E1, .. , E4 are known, the position of the transmitter 12 can be calculated from the phase shift differences using a relatively simple system of equations with 4 independent equations. The result provides two solutions, whereby the solution in which the transmitter 12 is below the earth's surface can be neglected. Since the system of equations is overdetermined, the additional information can be used to improve the resolution. This is also the reason why the resolution can be increased by increasing the number of receivers. For example, if there is a receiver in the game device, the start pulse is modulated onto all transmitters.

The measurements of the individual receivers E1, .. , E4 or the receiver in the game device are transmitted to a computer 17. This solves the systems of equations and determines the absolute position of the game device 10 above the playing field 11. By comparing with the previous measurements, the resolution can be further optimized. In addition, the vector V1 (Fig. 1) for the direction of movement of the transmitter is also determined. As a result, the position and/or the direction of movement of the ball on a virtual playing field can be displayed on an output device 18, 19. This display can be made accessible to the player by displaying the information :· : .:.. ·..· ·..* '..* : .:. : : '··* ·:·

information can be shown on large screens. As soon as the ball crosses a line, the respective playing area can be highlighted accordingly. If, for example, the ball moves into a 16m area in a soccer game, the playing area of the 16m area can be shown in red. If the ball moves over the playing area boundary, the place of the throw-in is shown accordingly. This can be increased to such an extent that when the player throws the ball in, it is automatically checked whether the throw-in takes place in the right place.

Last but not least, it can be determined without a doubt whether the ball has crossed the goal line, regardless of the height of the ball. Furthermore, the results of the position calculations can also be used for game statistics. For example, it can be calculated how long the ball was in the opponent's 16m area or which wings were used for the most attacks, etc.

Since the display in the stadium is unsuitable for the umpire or referee, they must be informed in such a way that they can still concentrate fully on the game. This can be done acoustically, for example. The referee carries a display device 19 or a miniature receiver with him as an output device, which is radioed by the computer 17 via a transmitting antenna 28. This emits, for example, two different tones. One tone indicates that the ball has crossed the goal line. The other tone signals that the field of play has been crossed. This can be broken down into whether the field of play has been crossed for a corner kick or a throw-in (this is sometimes difficult to determine with certainty, for example if the ball crosses the field of play at a great height in the direction of the corner flag). Instead of acoustic information, the display device can also have other means of transmitting information, such as a small screen or a vibration alarm.

Depending on the game, it may also be important that only the referee is informed about the game-relevant information, so that the computer 17 makes an assessment of which information it makes available to the audience and which it makes available to the referee. In this case, the display device 19 can, for example, have medium-

which allow the referee to suppress the relevant information, for example due to an advantage rule.

The structure of the transmitter 22 with transmitter 12 in the soccer ball is shown in Fig. 4. The transmitter 22 - which in the alternative embodiment would also include the receiver - is housed on a small circuit board that is centered in the middle of the ball with, for example, four fingers as shown in Fig. 1. The power supply 15 can be provided by a lithium ion battery. This battery is charged contactlessly via a special charging device 20. For this purpose, a coil 16 is housed in the game device 10. To charge the ball, it is placed in the receptacle 20a of the charging device 20. This generates a high-frequency alternating magnetic field using alternating field generating means 24 and transfers the charging energy inductively to the ball. The computer 21 in the ball then controls the charging of the battery.

The coil 16 in the ball can also be used to switch the transmitter 12 in the ball on or off. To do this, the transmitter 12 is switched on using a small hand-held control device before using the ball or using the charging device before removing the ball from the holder 20a. This hand-held control device, like the charging device, emits an alternating magnetic field. The frequency of this alternating field tells the computer 21 in the game device 10 whether the transmitter should be switched on or off.

If the transmitter 12 is switched on, the oscillator 29 is activated via the computer 21. The oscillator 29 is quartz-stabilized. The transmitter can also be a ceramic transmitter. The transmitter and its components should be selected so that they can withstand the loads that occur during the game. The computer generates a digital code that is modulated onto the oscillator signal using the modulator 30. This signal is then amplified and emitted via an omnidirectional antenna 23. In order to save energy, only oscillation packets with a duration of approx. 100 \is are emitted, interrupted by pauses of 10ms. This makes 100 position measurements per second possible.

i »S«·

The structure of the receiver outside the game device is shown in Fig. 5. The signal received by antenna 31 is first amplified in phase by amplifier 32 and then fed to a Schmitt trigger 33 and a phase comparison 34. The Schmitt trigger 33 determines the number of positive signal passages of the carrier signal. The phase comparison 34 determines the phase shift to a reference signal. This reference signal is determined in one of the receivers from the received signal by synchronizing a reference oscillator with the received signal. The signal of the reference oscillator is then transmitted to all other receivers by cable 36 or wirelessly. The phase shifts that occur in the

The phase angles resulting from the signal from the cable 36 are taken into account by the computer 17. The determined phase position and the result of the Schmitt trigger 33 are recorded by a small computer 35 in the receiver and reported to the computer 17.

The structure of the computer 17 is shown in Fig. 6. The computer 17 receives the current phase position of the received signal from each receiver E1, .. , E4. When the system is started up, the positions of the receivers are communicated to the computer 17. In addition, the ball can be placed in the middle of the playing field, for example, and recorded by the computer 17. Since this ball position is known, the computer can correct the phase shifts in the synchronous cable (ring line 25). The accuracy of the position calculation can be significantly improved by additional recordings of known ball positions.

The phase measurement data is analyzed using a system of equations. The determined position is then corrected using the known position-phase relationships. The result is the absolute ball position projected onto the playing surface 11. The position and direction of movement are now determined and visualized. A playing field 11 is shown on the monitor, on which the position of the ball can be seen. Line crossings, for example, can be recorded precisely and displayed. The data relevant to the referee can be transmitted wirelessly to a small receiver (display device 19) at the referee's location. This receiver signals a line crossing to the referee, for example using tones.

The determined position of the gaming device 10 can also be converted into movement data for tracking cameras. This data can then be used to control movement means for tracking the cameras with respect to the gaming device 10.

Output device 18,19, charging device 20, the control device for switching the transmitter 12 on or off, the transmitter device 22 for installation in the game device and the means for camera control are parts of a device which can be sold in whole or in parts.

As an alternative to the two options for position detection described so far, it is also possible to provide the game device with a reflection element for the electromagnetic waves. For this purpose, for example, a membrane can be introduced into the interior 10 b of the game device or into its outer skin. In this case, the game device 10 has neither transmitters nor receivers in the interior. Instead, transmitters - at least one is required - send out waves that are reflected by the game device so that the data can be detected by receivers - if there are several transmitters, just one is sufficient. The position and movement vector of the game device can be determined from the data obtained in this way, so that the data obtained can be processed as explained above.

-6-List of reference symbols (not part of the application documents)

10 Play equipment 10a surface 5 10b inner space 10c Valve opening 11 matchfield 12 Channel 13 elastic means 10 14 Spring mechanism 15 Power supply 16 Kitchen sink 17 computer 18 Output device 15 19 Display device 20 Charging device 20a Recording 21 Calculator in 10 22 Transmitter 20 23 Omnidirectional antenna 24 Alternating field generating means 25 Ring line 26 Goal 27 Centerline 25 28 Transmitting antenna 29 oscillator 30 modulator 31 antenna 32 amplifier 30 33 Schmitt-Tricker 34 Phase comparison 35 calculator 36
EL. Cable
E4 Reception F ViJUlJ ¹ T 1 :'' ¹ V O!l

Claims (29)

1. Game device ( 10 ), in particular a ball or the like, for individual and team games with an interior space ( 10b ) surrounded by a playable surface ( 10a ), characterized in that in the interior space (10b) of the game device ( 10 ) there is arranged a transmitter ( 12 ) for electromagnetic waves, the signals of which are sent to several receivers (E1...E4) for detecting the game device ( 10 ), or a receiver for electromagnetic waves which receives the signals of several transmitters and sends the received transmission data by means of a transmitter to another receiver for detecting the game device ( 10 ), or that the game device is provided with a reflection element for electromagnetic waves, preferably arranged in the interior space of the game device ( 10 ), which reflects the waves sent by at least one transmitter to several receivers for detecting the game device ( 10 ). 2. Game device according to claim 1, characterized in that the electromagnetic waves are radio waves. 3. Game device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver is fixedly positioned in the game device ( 10 ). 4. Game device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transmitter or receiver ( 12 ) is held in the center of the game device ( 10 ) by elastic means ( 13 ). 5. Game device according to claim 4, characterized in that the elastic means ( 13 ) are formed by a spring mechanism ( 14 ). 6. Game device according to claim 5, characterized in that the spring mechanism ( 14 ) can be inserted through a valve opening of the game device ( 10c ). 7. Game device according to claim 4, characterized in that the interior ( 10b ) is foamed with the elastic means under mounting of the transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver. 8. Game device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver is assigned a power supply ( 15 ), for example in the form of a rechargeable battery, which can be charged from the outside in the game device ( 10 ). 9. Game device according to claim 8, characterized in that a coil ( 16 ) is assigned to the transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver for charging the accumulator. 10. Game device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a predetermined influence on a coil ( 16 ) switches the transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver. 11. Game device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the game device ( 10 ) is a soccer ball. 12. Gaming device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receivers (E1...E4) are assigned a computer ( 17 ) which determines the position and/or direction of movement of the gaming device from the receiver data. 13. Game device according to claim 12, characterized in that the computer ( 17 ) is operatively connected to an output device ( 18 , 19 ) for displaying the position and/or direction of movement of the game device ( 10 ). 14. Gaming device according to claim 13, characterized in that the output device ( 18 ) shows the playing field ( 11 ) and, as soon as the gaming device ( 10 ) reaches a certain area of the playing field ( 11 ), a control unit controls the output device ( 18 ) to visually emphasize this area. 15. Gaming device according to claim 13, characterized in that the output device ( 19 ) is a display device preferably carried by a referee, and that a control transmits game-relevant information to the display device, wherein the display device ( 19 ) has information transmission means for forwarding the information to the referee. 16. Output device for outputting the position and/or direction of movement of a gaming device determined by a computer ( 17 ) according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the output device ( 18 ) shows the playing field ( 11 ) and, as soon as the gaming device ( 10 ) reaches a certain area of the playing field ( 11 ), a control system controls the output device ( 18 ) to visually emphasize this area. 17. Output device for outputting the position and/or direction of movement of a game device determined by a computer ( 17 ) according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the output device ( 19 ) is a display device preferably carried by a referee and that the control transmits game-relevant information to the display device, wherein the display device has information transmission means for forwarding the information to the referee. 18. Output device according to claim 17, characterized in that the display device ( 19 ) is a radio receiver. 19. Charging device for charging a transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver in a gaming device ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it has a receptacle ( 20a ) for the gaming device ( 10 ) and alternating field generating means ( 24 ) for generating an alternating magnetic field in the region of the receptacle ( 20a ). 20. Control device for switching a transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver in a gaming device ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it has further alternating field generating means for generating an alternating field with at least one frequency which serves the computer ( 21 ) in the gaming device ( 10 ) as an on or off signal for the transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver. 21. A transmitting device ( 22 ) for use in a gaming device ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the transmitting device has a transmitter ( 12 ) and a computer ( 21 ) or a receiver, a transmitter and a computer ( 21 ) which controls the signals transmitted by the transmitter ( 12 ) and modulates them as required. 22. Transmitter according to claim 21, characterized in that the transmitter ( 22 ) has a coil ( 16 ) for charging a power supply such as a rechargeable battery in the game device ( 10 ), wherein the charging energy is generated by an alternating magnetic field acting on the game device ( 10 ) from the outside. 23. Transmitter according to claim 22, characterized in that the coil ( 16 ) is at the same time the switch for the transmitter ( 12 ) or receiver by exposure to alternating fields of different frequencies which can be detected by the computer ( 21 ) in the game device ( 10 ). 24. Transmitter according to one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that the transmitter ( 22 ) is arranged on a spring mechanism ( 14 ). 25. Device for detecting the position and/or direction of movement of a gaming device ( 10 ) according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it comprises a gaming device ( 10 ) with a transmitter ( 12 ) and several receivers (E1...E4) or a gaming device ( 10 ) with a receiver and several transmitters and that a computer (NI 7 ) is provided for evaluating the receiver data. 26. Device according to claim 25, characterized in that the computer is operatively connected to an output device ( 18 , 19 ) for displaying the position and/or direction of movement of the gaming device ( 10 ). 27. Device according to claim 25 or 26, characterized in that the device comprises an output device which shows the playing field ( 11 ) and, as soon as the gaming device ( 10 ) reaches a certain area of the playing field ( 11 ), a control unit controls the output device ( 18 ) to visually emphasize this area. 28. Device according to one of claims 25 to 27, characterized in that the output device is a display device preferably carried by a referee, and that the control transmits game-relevant information to the display device ( 19 ), the display device having information transmission means for forwarding the information to the referee. 29. Device according to one of claims 25 to 28, characterized in that cameras are provided and that the computer ( 17 ) forwards movement data for tracking the cameras in relation to the gaming device to movement means of the cameras.