APPARATUS FOR TIMING SPORTING EVENTS

The apparatus is a motion picture camera including a charge coupled photosensitive device provided with a multiplicity of unit sensors. The sensors are arranged in a matrix of M rows and N columns. The apparatus is equipped with a pulse generator for controlling the transfer of charges from sensor to sensor along the columns, the frequency of the pulses being adjusted to effect substantial correspondence between the speed of charge transfer and the speed of the image moving over the device. A shift register is arranged at the end of the columns so as to receive in parallel information from said columns and to transmit it in series to an output circuit for reconstitution of the image. The apparatus is used for timing sporting events. This invention concerns an apparatus for timing sporting events including a motion picture camera installed at a fixed position and having a lens the axis of which is directed onto a line to be crossed by competitors so as to record the events occurring on said line.