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Stevens Lanes |
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How the Scoring System Works |
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Have you ever wondered how the scoring system can display the number of pins that you knock down so quickly and accurately? This page will attempt to explain how the scoring system works, from the time you roll the ball to the time that your score is displayed on the overhead monitor. 1.
Two sensors are located about 4/5 of the way down
the lane and determine when the ball has been thrown. Once the ball
passes the first sensor a counter is started and the time that the ball takes
to reach the second sensor is recorded. The computers know the distance
between the sensors and the ball speed is calculated. The ball speed is
displayed on the overhead monitors for you to see, but, more importantly, it
is used by the scoring computers to determine when to cycle
("reset") the pinsetter. Since the distance from the second
sensor to the pinsetter is also known, the computer calculates (using the
ball speed) how long the ball should take to reach the machine and then cycles
the machine after it is done reading the pins (see below). All of this
is done almost instantly. 2.
Once the pinsetter receives the signal to cycle
from the scoring computer (called the "lane computer"), the process
of reading the pins begins. If the machine is on first ball, the system
will read the pins before cycling the machine since there will not be enough
time to read the pins before the pinsetter lifts the standing pins. If
the machine is on second ball, the pinsetter will cycle immediately since
there is ample time to read the pins before they are knocked down. 3.
Each pair of lanes has its own CCD camera for
scoring. The camera sees the pins as a change in brightness.
There are many different ways that these cameras can work, but our cameras
score by comparing the brightness level of a pin that is there with the
brightness level of a pin that is not there. The camera takes a
snapshot of what it sees and then processes the image. Below is a graph
of what is seen by the camera. The high parts of the graph are where
the pins are located. We can change the brightness ratio that is
required to read the pin as being knocked down, as well as the time that the
camera reads the pins (the longer the camera reads the pins, the brighter
they will appear). There are two different settings on the camera, one
is for white (regular) lights and the other is for black lights.
Obviously, when the camera is scoring under black lights, the camera needs to
read the pins for a longer time. 4.
Once the camera has read the pins, the lane
computers compute which ones have been left standing and determines your
score from this. Again, this process takes a very short amount of
time. In fact, it usually takes approximately 2 seconds for the camera
to read the pins, the computers to calculate the score, and the information
to appear on the overhead monitors. |
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If you have any questions or comments, please email us. |