Direct access channel selection apparatus for a digital tuning system

Abstract

In a channel selection arrangement including scanning apparatus for causing the next channel after a presently selected channel to be selected when activated and skipping apparatus for automatically activating the scanning apparatus when the selected channel is not in a group of preferred channels, apparatus which allows a viewer to directly select a channel by the operation of a single respective switch element is provided which makes advantageous use of the scanning and skipping apparatus. Specifically, the direct channel selection apparatus includes a plurality of switch elements associated with respective decimal numbers which may be allocated to ones of the preferred channels having corresponding ordinal numbers and scan activation apparatus responsive to the operation of one of the switch elements for causing the scanning apparatus to be activated a number of times related to the decimal number associated with the operated switch.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.