A HIT RECORDING DEVICE

Abstract: Hit recording equipment for a participant in a fencing contest in which sword-like fencing implements (2) are used, said equipment including a protective garment (1) which is carried on the torso of the contestant and which has at least one hit recording device (3) that is adapted to trigger a hit recording in response to actuation caused by a fencing implement on an exposed surface. The device (3) includes two electrodes (31, 32) each of which is connected to a respective power source terminal. The electrodes (31, 32) are disposed at a narrow distance apart across essentially the entire surface area of the device. The fencing implement (2) includes an elongated blade that has an electric conductor in the direction of its length, whereby the implement is able to bridge the two electrodes (31, 32) upon contact of the conductor with the surface of said device. The equipment includes recording means (5) for recording a short circuit caused by the implement (2) bridging said electrodes.

Description: A HIT RECORDING DEVICE The present invention relates to a hit recording device for a participant in a fencing contest in which sword-like fencing equipment is used, said hit recording device being of the kind defined in the preamble of Claim 1. When fencing with an epee, it is known to provide the blunted tip of the epee with an electric switch which makes an electric circuit when subjected to load and which is connected by a cable to a stationary indicator located at a distance from the fencer. One drawback with this known system is that although it will register which of the participants has successfully actuated the switch with the tip of his/her sword and therewith close said circuit, the system fails to register the participant that has been hit. This is a disadvantage in contests in which more than two fencers are involved. Because the known hit recording device presumes a cable connection between the fencer and a stationary recording device, it is not possible to use the known system in team events or in large arenas or in contests in which the contestants are able to move freely in the arena. One object of the present invention is to provide a hit recording device with which one or more of the aforesaid drawbacks are avoided. Another object of the invention is to provide a hit recording device that enables the use of a sword-like fencing instrument with which a hit is not only recorded when the tip of the instrument strikes a hit sensing surface, but also when the hit sensing surface is struck by a sharp edge or a long-edge of the blade cf said instrument. Another object of the invention is to provide a device that can be carried bv respective contestants. Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device with which the risk of an erroneous hit recording is minimised. Other objects will be apparent, either directly or indirectly, from the following description. One or more of these objects is realised with an inventive hit recording device as defined in Claim 1. Further embodiments of the device are set forth in the dependent Claims. In the case of one embodiment of the invention, which is particularly preferred at present, the exposed surface of the hit recording device is formed by two electrodes that are each connected to a respective current potential. The electrodes are configured and disposed so as to be spaced narrowly apart across essentially the whole of the exposed surface area. The fencing implement includes an elongated blade which is electrically conductive along its length. The tip of the fencing implement has a width which is greater than the distance between mutually adjacent electrode parts. The fencing implement is thus able to bridge two narrowly separated electrode-parts in said surface area, either with an edge of the blade or with its tip. The recording device is provided for recording short-circuiting of the electrodes by the fencing implement. The recording device and the electrode current supply source are carried by the fencing equipment and the recording device may include a number of lamps that are extinguished one after the other with each recorded hit. An acoustic signalling device may emit an audible signal in conjunction with a hit recording. The recording device will preferably include a locking device which functions to prevent the recording of a further hit over a predetermined time period, for instance for a period of one second, after a hit has been recorded. The device may include a separate indicating lamp which is caused to light-up over the duration of this blocking period. When all of the relevant hit recording lamps have been extinguished, the signal emitter can emit a corresponding acoustic signal. Alternatively, or supplementary thereto, there may be included a special lamp which is caused to light-up when all hit lamps have been extinguished. It will be obvious to the person skilled in this art that alternatively the lamps may initially be switched off and then ignited consecutively as each hit is made in order to indicate the aforedescribed events. In one particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the two electrodes forming said hit surface are elongated and extend in mutually parallel and spaced relationship in a meandering path that extends between two mutually opposite edges of the hit area and that changes direction through 180° at two other edges that are generally perpendicular to the two first mentioned edges. The electrodes may be carried by a rigid insulator, which also affords mechanical protection to the wearer. The equipment may also include a protective helmet. This helmet may conveniently carry the indicator lamps concerned, the acoustic alarm, and possibly also the power source. The clothing included in the equipment may have the form of a protective vest or waistcoat which carries a hit surface of the aforesaid kind in a central region on the chest side and the back side of said vest. The equipment may include sensors for sensing the resistance between the electrodes and for enabling a hit to be evaluated positively, even when the hit area is wet or moist for instance. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the spacing between the electrodes will be at most about 1 mm, with said electrodes carried by a generally rigid insulating plate. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to exemplifying embodiments thereof and also with reference to the accompanying drawing. Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of fencing equipment according to the invention, and also shows a sword-like fencing implement. Fig. 2 illustrates the hit recording surface and its electrodes . Fig. 3 illustrates diagrammatically a signal circuit used with the fencing equipment. Shown in Fig. 1 is a protective vest or waistcoat 1 which is intended to be worn by a participant in a fencing contest, for instance a fencing tournament. Also shown in Fig. 1 is a fencing implement 2 in the form of a sword which includes a handle 21 and an elongated, generally straight blade 22 that consists of electrically conductive material. Alternatively, the sword may include electrically conductive material solely along a substantial part of its length. The blade 2 includes a tip 23 that has a smallest width b. As will be seen from the Figure, a hit surface 3 is provided centrally on the front of the vest 1. It will be evident from Fig. 2 that the hit surface 3 is comprised of two electrodes 31, 32 each being connected to its respective current source terminal (not shown) and carried on the protective vest 1, for instance. The hit sensor 3 is connected electrically to an indicator panel 5, which may be carried by a helmet 6 that forms part of the protective equipment and which shall be worn by the wearer of the protective vest or waistcoat 1. The panel 5 includes a number of lamps 51, 52, 53 all of which are illuminated at the start of a contest. When a hit on the sensor area 3 is detected, the first lamp 51 is extinguished. A second recorded hit causes the second lamp 52 to be extinguished and a third hit causes the third lamp 53 to be extinguished. The equipment will also conveniently include a buzzer 7 which audibly indicates that a hit has been recorded. The equipment also includes a blocking device which functions to prevent the recording of a further hit within a predetermined time period after a hit has been recorded. The blocking device thus prevents several hits being recorded over a given period of time, for instance when the blade 22 lies against the surface of the hit area 3. The equipment may conveniently include a separate indicator lamp 8 which is kept ignited during the blocking period. The equipment may also include a special indicator lamp 9 which ignites when a predetermined number of the hit indicating lamps 51-53 have been extinguished. It will be seen from Fig. 2 that both electrodes have a comblike configuration with mutually parallel pins, said combs being nested in each other with their pins lying in respective gaps between adjacent pins of the other comb. The resultant gaps between the electrodes will thereby spread across essentially the whole of the hit area 3 while the distance between adjacent electrodes will, at the same time, always be less than a predetermined distance that is smaller than the measurement t of the tip of the fencing implement 2. For instance, when the combined width of the electrode pins and the width of the gaps therebetween is slightly smaller than the size t of the tip of said implement, the electrodes will always be short-circuited when the tip 23 of the instrument 2 hits the surface 3 at any place thereon. The configuration of the electrodes illustrated in Fig. 3 is only an example of an embodiment at present preferred. It is conceivable to arrange the exposed surfaces of the electrodes as patches disposed over the hit area 3. As will be seen from Fig. 2, one terminal Vcc of the power source is connected to one electrode, while the other terminal GND of the power source is connected to the other electrode via a resistor R. A voltage Vsens is taken out between the resistor R and the electrode connected thereto. As will be seen from Fig. 3, a comparator 55 is arranged to compare the voltage Vsens with an adjustable reference voltage Vref so as to deliver a hit indicating signal when Vsens is greater than Vref. The hit signal is passed to the indicator 5 via a blocking device 56 which is adapted to prevent further hits being recorded on the indicator 5 for a given period of time after a hit signal has been delivered. The blocking device 56 is also adapted to ignite the aforesaid indicator lamp 8 for the duration of this blocking period.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Hit recording equipment for use by a participant in a fencing contest in which sword-like fencing implements (2) are used, said equipment including a protective garment (1) which is worn on the participant's torso and which has at least one hit recording device (3) that will trigger a hit recording when an exposed surface thereof is actuated by a fencing implement, characterised in that the device (3) includes two electrodes (31, 32) each of which is connected to a respective terminal of a power source; in that the electrodes (31, 32) are mutually spaced at a narrow distance apart over essentially the whole of the surface area of the device; in that the fencing implement (2) includes an elongated blade which has an electric conductor in its length direction, wherewith when hitting the hit surface of said device the implement is able to bridge the two electrodes (31, 32) thereon; and in that the equipment includes recording means (5) which function to record the occurrence of a short circuit caused by the implement (2) bridging said electrodes . 2. Equipment according to Claim 1, characterised in that the power source is carried by said garment (1) . 3. Equipment according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the recording devices include a recording blocking means (56) which functions to prevent the recording of a further hit within a predetermined time period after a hit has been recorded. 4. Equipment according to Claim 3, characterised in that the recording device includes an acoustic signal emitter (7) which emits an acoustic signal that confirms that a hit has been recorded. 5. Equipment according to Claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the recording device includes several lamps (51-53) ; and in that the recording device is adapted to extinguish one of said lamps with each hit. 6. Equipment according to any one of Claims 3-5, characterised in that the recording device includes a counter which is adapted to ignite a separate lamp (9) and/or to activate the acoustic signal emitter when a predetermined number of hits have been recorded in one batch of recordings. 7. Equipment according to any one of Claims 3-6, characterised in that the recording device includes resetting means . 8. Equipment according to any one of Claims 1-7, characterised in that the electrodes (31, 32) have a comblike configuration, wherewith the pins of one electrode are inserted into the spaces between the pins of the other electrode. 9. Equipment according to any one of Claims 1-8, characterised in that the fencing implement (2) has a tip (23) whose smallest width (5) is chosen to ensure that the electrodes will be short-circuited when the hit surface (3) is struck.

Inventors: HAEREN TEO, KAELLGREN MIKAEL, HAEREN, TEO, KAELLGREN, MIKAEL
Applicants: HAEREN TEO, KAELLGREN MIKAEL, HAEREN, TEO, KAELLGREN, MIKAEL
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A63B71
IPC codes: A63B69