TITLE of invention: Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger Description:
1. Field of invention The invention relates to the application of Global Positioning System (GPS) and physical sensor technologies for capturing and storing specific data of a competitor during an outdoor competition such as adventure racing, cross-country running, skiing and mountain biking, sailboat racing, snowmobile racing and so forth. After the competition, the captured data is transferred to a computer and the Internet for competition analysis.
2. Background of the invention Outdoor competition for professional and amateur such as adventure racing, cross-country running, skiing and mountain biking, sailboat racing, snowmobile racing are becoming increasingly popular as information about these competitions is now available worldwide with the Internet.
However, once the competition is over, there is no valuable information available about what happen to each competitor during the race. Usually, only total race time and ranking information are available. Post-race analysis (individual and comparative) for future improvement and appreciation is not possible since relevant data was not collected during the competition.
GPS receiver and GPS antenna are now highly sensitive and accurate. With the newer versions, it is not necessary to wear a cumbersome GPS antenna on top of your body to capture the GPS satellite signals. The device (including GPS receiver and antenna) can be carried on the back of a competitor and the device will still continue to receive enough signal from different satellites to clearly establish the geographical position of the device.
Thus, there exists a need for a portable device that is small, rugged and waterproof which incorporate a GPS receiver, an atmospheric pressure sensor and a temperature sensor. Data from the GPS receiver and sensors is captured at selectable interval and stored into the device memory.
The device does not display any information that could help the competitor. Only vital informations are available (like On/Off status).
After the race, the data from each device used during the competition is downloaded into a computer. The computer (with appropriate software) provides competition analysis. The results of the analysis are then posted and made available on the Internet web site of the competition.
The unit can also be used for training in preparation for a competition. The competitor carries or wears the unit during training session. After the training session, data is downloaded into a personal computer for analysis using the appropriate software.
3. Summary of the invention Objects of the present invention are:
1- To provide a device which is portable, rugged and waterproof.
2- To provide a device which displays only vital information about the device operational status.
3- To provide a device which captures and stores into memory at selectable interval the date, the time, the geographical position, the temperature and the altitude (with pressure sensor).
4- To provide a device which can communicate with an external computer using infra-red communication or serial communication 5- To provide a device which is capable of downloading previously captured data using an encryption scheme into a computer.
6- To provide a system by which post-competition analysis is possible using downloaded data from multiple data loggers.
Brief description of the drawings:
Figure lb is the front view of the Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger Figure lc is the side view of the Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger Page 1 of 5 Figure 2 is a schematic of electronic components for the Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger device Figure 3a shows a competitor carrying the Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger Figure 3b shows an example of how the Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger can be carried on a backpack.
Detailed description of the drawings:
Figure 1B and 1C:
The Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger device (100) is a compact, waterproof device. The device is equipped with LEDs (104) to provide the competitor information about the operational state of the device like ONIOFF, initialization completed, acquired-download state. There are basic buttons on the unit to activate it (101) and select (102) the operational mode. The GPS antenna (105) is integrated in the unit but it is also possible to attach an external antenna with the antenna connector (103).
Data download to an external computer is possible with the serial interface connector (106) or the infra-red (108) interface. External power can be supplied to the unit (109). A multi purpose clip (107)is attached to the device for multiple carrying configurations.
The electrical schematic (fig 2) shows the CPU (202) which processes incoming data from the temperature sensors (208), the atmospheric pressure sensor (209) and the GPS receiver (207). Data can be stored into memory (203) or transferred from the memory to an external computer (211) through the serial interface (106) or the infra-red interface (108). The device is powered from a battery unit (201) but can optionally be powered from an external source with the power connector (109). An optional external antenna (205) can be connected to the device with the ext. antenna connector.
Figure 3 shows examples of two possible ways for carrying the Outdoor Competitor GPS-Based Data Logger (100). It can be carried on the back of a competitor (300) using a simple belt or attached to a backpack (302) if one is used.
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