GB2339504A

GB2339504A - Referee's computer aid

Info

Publication number: GB2339504A
Application number: GB9808867A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Russell Murray
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-04-25
Filing date: 1998-04-25
Publication date: 2000-01-26
Also published as: GB9808867D0

Description

REFEREE'S COMPUTER AIED 2339504 This invention relates to a referee's

computer aid to decision making.

Refereeing decisions dictate the outcome of sporting contests. Critical to a referees decision making ability is to determine if the ball has crossed the pitch boundary for a throw in or goal and to decide when offside has occurred in soccer for example. A computer aid will make it easier for refereeing officials to make better judgements in these situations.

According to the present invention there is provided a computer which is carried during the game by the refereeing officials and which can be held in the hand and which makes calculations based on the relative positions of the ball, players and pitch boundary. The computer calculations are based on location information received from location transmitters placed inside the ball, on the pitch boundary lines and from location transmitters wom by every player. The computer software logic is based on the rules of the game and the computer calculates if the ball goes out of play or if offside occurs or if there is a goal. When any of these incidents occurs, a fight, noise or vibration or combination thereof is indicated by the computer and alerts the attention of the referee. The computer aid also uses the location data of ball, players and pitch to show immediately via a screen in the computer, a replay of the incident, Figure I shows the positioning of the location transmitters; Figure 2 shows schematically signals received by the computer aid; Figure 3 illustrates the information shown on the computer aid.

Referring to the drawing the referee's computer aid comprises a computer 6 and location transmitters I.

The location transmitters I are placed around and at the comers of the playing pitch 2, in the ball 3 and are wom. by every player 4. This is shown in Fig. 1. Signals 5 transmitted by the location transmitters are received by the computer 6 as illustrated in Fig. 2 which makes real time calculations based on the relative positions of the transmitters 1.

Shown in Fig. 3 is a plan view of the computer 6. The computer 6 is portable and has dimensions 10 and I I of approximately I 00mm each. The computer signals if the ball has gone out of play, there is a goal or offside has occurred by a light 7, a sound 8, or a vibration 9. The referee has the opportunity of replaying the stored transmitter I location information in the computer through screen 12.

I

Claims

I A referee's computer aid which is of a size suitable to be hand held, portable and contains software based on the rules of the game which continuously assesses the relative positions of the playing ball and the players in relation to the pitch boundary via wireless signals received from transmitters worn by the players, inside the ball and from transmitters located at the pitch boundary and calculates in real time if the ball has gone out of play, if an offside has occurred, if a goal has been scored by indicating with a light, a noise or vibration or combination thereof.
2 A referee's computer aid as claimed in Claim I which receives the decision making information via wireless signals from an intermediary computer which makes all calculations and transmits to the portable computer carried by the referee.
3 A referee's computer aid as claimed in Claim I which shows visually immediately a replay of the incident involving players, the ball, and the playing pitch.
4 A referee's computer aid as claimed in Claim I which includes sports which use a moveable object in place of a ball.

A referee's computer aid substantially as described herein with reference to Figures I - 3 of the accompanying drawing.