Electronic equipment for radio control of fencing bouts

Claim 2

Apparatus for scoring fencing bouts in which each fencer carries a weapon having first and second electrically conductive parts, said weapon comprising for each fencer a unit including: means for transmitting a signal of a predetermined frequency, means for generating pulses for application to a first electrically conductive part of the respective weapon carried by a fencer, receiver means having an input for connection to a second electrically conductive portion of the respective weapon carried by a respective fencer, switch means on the weapon, means connected between said switch means and said transmitting means and responsive to a touch made by the weapon on the body of the other fencer to produce a command signal to operate the transmitting means of the unit of the fencer making a touch to produce a signal indicating the touch, said receiver means of the unit of the fencer making the touch also including means responsive to reception of pulses from the unit of the other fencer on the weapon associated with said receiving means for blocking the command signal from affecting the transmitting means of said unit.

Claim 3

Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein each said unit includes means for inhibiting the pulses from the pulse generator of the respective unit returned by coupling from the body of the other fencer from affecting the operation of the transmitting means of the unit originally producing the pulses.

Claim 4

Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the electrical common point of the pulse generator means of a unit is connected to the electrical point of the weapon with which it is associated which is also the electrical common point of the receiving means.

Claim 5

Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the pulses produced by a respective generator means are of a frequency lower than that of the corresponding transmitting means.

Claim 6

Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein the pulses are of short duration and have a predetermined polarity.

Claim 7

Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said receiving means includes a first signal channel havng buffer circuit means with substantially linear amplification characteristics, and means for passing signals of only one polarity connected to said buffer circuit means.

Claim 8

Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the command signal producing means applies a signal to said transmitting means when the switch is actuated by a touch.

Claim 9

Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein the weapon includes a first electrical conductor connected to the input of said buffer stage means, a second electrical conductor connected to said command signal producing means, said switch means connected between said first and second conductors adapted to be closed when a touch is made by the weapon for applying the command signal to said transmitting means to produce an output thereon.

Claim 10

Apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said weapon is an epee and said first and second conductors extend axially of its blade.

Claim 11

Apparatus as in claim 6 further comprising an integrating means connected to the pulse passing means of the first channel.

Claim 12

Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein there is a second channel including means for passing only signals having a polarity different from those passed by the pulse passing means of the first channel, and means for applying the pulses passed by the second channel to modulate the transmitting means.

Claim 13

Apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the pulse passing means of the first and second channels both derive signals from the output of the buffer stage means, each channel having means for passing signals only of a predetermined length and polarity.

Claim 14

Apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising means for coupling the pulses from a respective pulse generator to the body of the fencer carrying the unit, the pulses from the pulse generator means of one unit being communicated to the receiving means of the other unit by direct contact of the weapon associated with the one unit with the body of the fencer carrying the other unit and by coupling caused by the conductivity of the body of each fencer.

Claim 15

Apparatus as in claim 13 wherein the pulses coupled to the receiver associated with the fencer carrying said other unit are reversed in polarity from the pulses produced by the pulse generator means included in said other unit.

Claim 16

Apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising a directional antenna means coupled to the transmitting means for radiating the signal produced thereby, and loop antenna means defining the area for the fencing match for receiving the signals radiated by said directional antenna means.

Claim 17

Apparatus as in claim 15 wherein said loop antenna means is of low impedance.

Claim 18

Apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising an electrically conductive ground means and means for supplying pulses at a low frequency to said ground means.

Claim 19

Apparatus as in claim 17 wherein said means for supplying pulses to said conductive ground means has a high impedance output.

Claim 20

Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the weapon includes a first electrical conductor, connected between the switch means and the command signal producing means, said switch means carried by said weapon operating to apply the command signal to said transmitting means when a touch is made on the body of the other fencer.

Claim 21

Apparatus as in claim 19 wherein said weapon is a foil and said first electrical conductor means extends axially of the foil, said switch means being normally closed and connected to disable the command signal means when closed.

Claim 22

Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein an electrically conductive plastron is provided for each fencer, said pulse generator producing pulses of two polarities, the pulses of one polarity being applied to the first electrically conductive part point of the weapon and the pulses of the other polarity being applied to the plastron.

Claim 23

Apparatus as in claim 21 wherein the pulses of said one polarity are of a short duration as compared to the pulses of the other polarity.

Claim 24

An improved apparatus for scoring fencing bouts between a plurality of fencers each carrying a weapon having at least one electrically conductive part, said apparatus including, for each fencer, a unit including a transmitter actuable to operate in an active mode wherein a predetermined signal is produced to indicate a touch by the corresponding fencer and in an inactive mode wherein said indicating signal is not produced, and means positioned on the corresponding weapon for sensing when said weapon makes a touch, the improvement comprising, for each unit: means connected to a first conductive part of said weapon and to the body of the corresponding fencer for generating pulses of a predetermined shape, polarity and duration; and a receiver having an input coupled to said sensing means and an output coupled to said transmitting means and being constructed and arranged to normally maintain said transmitter in a first of said active and inactive modes, said receiver including: means responsive to the sensing of a touch by said sensing means for actuating said transmitter to the other of said active and inactive modes, and means responsive only to a pulse at the input of said receiver having a predefined shape, polarity and duration for disabling said actuating means.

Claim 25

An improved apparatus for scoring fencing bouts between a plurality of fencers each carrying a weapon having at least one electrically conductive part, said apparatus including, for each fencer, a unit including a transmitter actuable to operate in an active mode wherein a predetermined signal is produced to indicate a touch by the corresponding fencer and in an inactive mode wherein said indicating signal is not produced, and means positioned on the corresponding weapon for sensing when said weapon makes a touch, the improvement comprising, for each unit: means connected to a first conductive part of said weapon and to the body of the corresponding fencer for generating pulses of a predetermined shape, polarity and duration; and a receiver having an input coupled to said sensing means and an output coupled to said transmitting means and being constructed and arranged to normally maintain said transmitter in a first of said active and inactive modes, said receiver including: means responsive to the sensing of a touch by said sensing means for actuating said transmitter to the other of said active and inactive modes, and means responsive only to a pulse at the input of said receiver having a predefined shape, polarity and duration for disabling said actuating means.

Claim 26

The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said predefined shape, polarity and duration correspond to said predetermined shape, polarity and duration, said disabling means receiving pulses of said predefined shape, polarity and duration when the corresponding weapon makes a touch on the first conductive portion of an opponent's weapon and when pulses from said generator are coupled back to said receiver during a touch on a conductive surface, so that said actuating means is disabled.

Claim 27

The apparatus of claim 24 wherein pulses provided to the body of an opponent are coupled to said disabling means with inverted polarity when said weapon makes a touch on a conductive surface adjacent to the opponent's body, said coupled pulses having no effect on said disabling means, so that said actuating means actuates said transmitter.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 23 further comprising an electrically conductive ground means and means for supplying pulses of said predetermined shape, polarity and duration to said ground means.

Claim 29

An apparatus as in claim 23 wherein an electrically conductive plastron is provided for each fencer, said generating means providing pulses having portions of opposite polarity, the portion of one polarity being applied to said first electrically conductive part of the weapon and the portion of the other polarity being applied to said plastron.

Claim 30

The apparatus of claim 27 wherein the pulse portion of said one polarity is of substantially shorter duration than the pulse portion of the other polarity.

Claim 31

Apparatus as in claim 23 wherein said disabling means includes a first signal channel having a buffer circuit with a substantially linear amplification characteristic, and means for passing pulses of only one polarity connected to said buffer curcuit means.

Claim 32

Apparatus as in claim 29 further comprising an integrating means connected to said pulse passing means.

Claim 33

Apparatus in accordance with claim 29 further comprising a second channel including means for passing only signals having a polarity different from those passed by the pulse passing means of said first channel, and means for applying pulses passed by said second channel to modulate said transmitting means.

Claim 34

Apparatus as in claim 29 further comprising directional antenna means coupled to said transmitting means for radiating said indicating signal, and loop antenna means defining the area for said fencing bout for receiving said radiated signal.