Aquatic event timing device

An apparatus for timing of water-based activities or events, such as, sailboarding, yachting, motorboating and swimming. The apparatus comprises a rigid horizontal support bar, two vertical members attached to the ends of the support bar, buoyant floats attached to the vertical members and a transmitter/receiver package disposed on the vertical members. The apparatus acts as a gate which individuals or water-vehicles passing therethrough are detected or timed by the transmitter/receiver package contained thereon. The apparatus is kept stabilized by being secured to any nearby stationary object and by adapting the submerged portion of the apparatus to provide negative buoyancy.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to a timing apparatus and more 
particularly to a water-based timing apparatus whereby aquatic sports and 
pleasure activities such as sailboarding, yachting, motorboating and 
swimming may be timed and otherwise supervised. 
In most water-based sports and the like, the critical points of a race such 
as the start, finish and completion of legs or laps, are generally 
determined by the passage of the participants through a reference line. 
The timing of such passage is usually recorded by the use of either 
hand-held stopwatches or some form of computer controlled timing system, 
either of which are activiated by an individual actually observing the 
passage of each participant through the reference line. 
The timing of water-based sports and the like is complicated by the fact 
that participants are often staggered or vying closely for position as 
they pass through the reference line. Moreover, because the start, 
completion of laps or legs, and finish of such races are determined for 
each participant by physically eyeing the point at which that participant 
crosses the starting line, timing may be further complicated by the angle 
of view, the degree to which the participant is obscured by other objects, 
including other participants, and human error generally. 
Further problems are presented by the so-called "flying start", in which it 
is the object of each participant to remain as close as possible to other 
participants in proceeding through the reference line, while not crossing 
the line before a starting signal is given. Because of the rapid motion of 
participants in events such as motorboating, it is often extremely 
difficult to determine by direct observation which participants should be 
disqualified for crossing the starting line prior to the official start of 
the race. Moreover, because such a start is presently judged by the use of 
a photograph to determine any disqualification, one must therefore wait 
until such photograph is developed to make rulings. Accordingly, races are 
well under way or are completed before a restart may be ordered, and 
often, as a result, participants can afford but one mistake in running 
such a race. 
As a result of such complications, supervision and timing of aquatic races 
requires close scrutiny and is often subject to substantial error. Since 
such races are often determined in seconds or fractions of seconds, this 
error can be crucial indeed. 
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved 
means for judging the start, finish and completion of laps or legs of a 
timed aquatic event such as a sailboat, motorboat or yacht race. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved means 
whereby the time at which participants in an aquatic sport and the like 
pass through a reference line may be more accurately determined. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water-based apparatus 
whereby participants may pass between two sensing means contained thereon 
to actually record the occurrence and time of such passage during an 
aquatic race. 
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a water-based 
apparatus which is stabilized such that its position in the water is 
relatively constant thereby allowing for the improved recording of data 
therefrom pertinent to position and timing of objects passing 
therethrough. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a stable and torsionally 
rigid floating apparatus to act as a base for a transmitter/receiver 
package adapted to detect the presence of an object passing between such 
transmitter and receiver contained thereon. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accomplishing these and other objects there is provided, according to 
one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus comprising substantially 
horizontally disposed support means; at least two substantially vertical 
members attached to the support means and extending upwardly therefrom; 
sensing means disposed on the vertical members to detect the passage of an 
object between two of the vertical members; flotation means coupled to at 
least one of the vertical members or support means; and anchoring means 
for coupling at least one of the vertical members or support means to a 
substantially stationary object.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
In the description of the present invention that follows, it is to be noted 
that like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the 
several views of the accompanying drawings. It is further to be noted 
that, for the sake of brevity, the present invention will be hereinafter 
described in conjunction with its use in a sailboat race. 
According to the embodiment of the invention shown generally in FIG. 1, two 
substantially vertical members 12 and 14 are attached at opposite ends of 
a substantially horizontal support means 10 and extend upwardly therefrom. 
Flotation means 22 and 24 are attached to said vertical members 12 and 14 
by means of extension bars 26 and 28 which may be movably adjusted along 
the height of said vertical members 12 and 14. Note that the degree of 
flotation (i.e., the buoyancy) of the flotation means 22 and 24 and the 
weight of the remainder of the apparatus (the support means and the 
vertical members) must be chosen with due regard to each other such that 
the support means 10 remains submerged and the vertical members 12 and 14 
are kept substantially erect when the apparatus is placed in water. 
Transmitting means 32 and receiving means 34 (hereinafter referred to 
collectively as sensing means 35) may be disposed at the upper ends of 
said vertical members 14 and 12, respectively, such that a signal from 
transmitting means 32 to receiving means 34 will be interrupted by the 
passage of an object therebetween. Alternatively, the sensing means can 
comprise transmitter/receiver means disposed at the upper end of one 
vertical member and reflecting means disposed at the upper end of the 
other vertical member. In such case, a signal from the 
transmitter/receiving means to the reflecting means and back will be 
interrupted by the passage of an object therebetween. 
Rigid cross bars 42 and 44, preferably of metal or plastic composite 
material, may be provided as structural stiffeners between each vertical 
member 12 and 14 and the horizontal support means 10 to provide for 
structural integrity and resistance to torsional twist of the upright 
segments of the vertical members 12 and 14 from the plane established by 
the overall apparatus. Rigid plates 46 and 48, preferably of metal or 
composite material, may be disposed between cross bars 42 and 44, 
respectively, and the vertical members 12 and 14 and the support means 10 
connected by said cross bars, respectively, to further provide in-water 
stability on the vertical plane of the apparatus against currents and 
other natural movement of the water. 
In operation, the apparatus is placed in water and will come to rest at the 
level of the flotation means 22 and 24. FIG. 2 illustrates that the 
vertical members 12 and 14 may be rigged with two or more flotation means 
22 and 24 each. As mentioned above, the flotation means 22 and 24 may be 
adjustably secured at various heights along the vertical members 12 and 14 
in order to displace the apparatus at selected depths in the water. As 
depicted in FIGS. 1-3, the flotation means 22 and 24 may be secured to the 
vertical members 12 and 14 by means of extension bars 26 and 28, and the 
disposition of such flotation means at angles away from the vertical axis 
defined by the horizontal support means 10 and vertical members 12 and 14 
adds to the stability of the apparatus against the natural movement of the 
water. Naturally, other means, such as securing straps, may be used to 
secure the flotation means 22 and 24 to the vertical members 12 and 14. 
Once displaced in the water, the apparatus may be secured to the water bed 
or other substantially stationary object by means of cable or the like 
attached to an eyelet 50 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The eyelet 50 can also be 
a hook or similar means on the apparatus. To ensure further stability in 
the water, the horizontal support means 10, the plates 46 and 48, the 
cross bars 42 and 44, and those portions of the vertical members 12 and 14 
which will be disposed underwater may be made of porous material or may 
otherwise be fitted with holes and shall be of suitable weight to provide 
negative buoyancy for the portion of the structure below water. 
Consequently, the natural movement of water is prevented from exerting any 
upward force on the underwater portions to cause the apparatus to capsize. 
Once the apparatus is secured in place, the vertical members 12 and 14 
serve as a gate between which the participants of the sailboat race must 
pass. The reference line between the vertical members may naturally serve 
as a starting, finishing, or intermediate line for such a race, and, 
indeed, the apparatus in question may be placed wherever desired along the 
course of the race. 
Upon passage of a participant between the vertical members 12 and 14, the 
sensing means 35 disposed on such vertical members may be used to 
electronically trigger the timing device utilized at that point in the 
race. Accordingly, in addition to accurately determining the point in time 
in which the participant passes through the gate, it is also possible to 
determine premature starts and the like. 
As should be evident from the foregoing, the present invention allows for 
the accurate timing of water-based sports and eliminates the errors 
associated with timing of such sports by eye. This apparatus further 
eliminates human observation errors associated with the presence of other 
objects in the vicinity of a timing reference line and difficulties 
associated with angles of view of the reference line. 
Naturally, various sensing means 35 may be utilized for a multitude of 
timing and management aspects of such races. Among these are means 
sensitive to various methods of coding the participants, such as 
color-sensing or signal-sensing means, to ensure that specific 
participants pass through appropriate gates at appropriate times as well 
as means sensitive to such variables as size, velocity, or heat to ensure 
that a gate's timing device is only triggered by appropriate participants 
in the race, rather than any object passing through the vertical members. 
Examples of different sensing means are infra-red sensing means which 
detect the heat given off by the engine of a motorboat passing 
therethrough and color-sensing means as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,890,463. 
Other modifications and uses of and departures from the specific 
embodiments described herein may be practiced by those skilled in the art 
without departing from the inventive concepts. Consequently, the invention 
is to be construed as embracing each and every novel feature and novel 
combination of features present and possessed by the apparatus and 
techniques herein disclosed and limited solely by the spirit and scope of 
the appended claims.