US 4,081,754 AGranted

Programmable television receiver controllers

OwnerJoseph N. Jacksoninventor

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Abstract

Programmable television receiver controllers which may be manually programmed by a user to select or to limit the viewing selections for random times, typically in one-half hour intervals, throughout a predetermined time period such as a one week time period. Program selections may be made by setting suitable controls for the day, AM or PM, the half hour of the day and the channel desired, and entered into a memory by a push-button control. Thereafter a digital control clock automatically selects the pre-entered information at the appropriate times and provides a control signal to the channel selector of the television receiver. This signal may be used to automatically select the identified channels to the exclusion of all others, or in the alternative, to exclude the selected channel from selection manually at the receiver. Alternate embodiments include means for controlling other functions such as the ON-OFF function of the receiver.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A programmable television receiver controller comprising:

a random access memory means having a first plurality of address input lines, a second plurality of data input/output lines, and at least one read/write control line;
clock means for providing a plurality of time dependent output signals in a given format;
control means input/output to said date output lines for controlling channel selection on a television receiver in response memory output signals on said data input/output lines and a read condition on said control line.
first program means for manually selecting a future time period, and for providing a plurality of time programming output signals equal in number to said first plurality of address input lines of said memory means and of the same format as the output signals of said clock means;
second program means for manually making a future channel selection corresponding to said future time period selected on said first program means, and for providing a plurality of channel programming output signals coupled to said data input/output lines of said memory means;
and
channel selection entry means for coupling said clock means to said address input lines when reading memory output signals or said first program means to said address lines when writing into said memory means for programming said memory means at address locations determined by said first program means with channel selections manually determined by said second program means when a write condition is provided on said control line.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.